Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 26th February 2017

Dear Friends, you will be pleased to read that Bilbo didn’t miss out at all last Sunday, even though Margot was missing. Barbara brought him a carrot; Judi fed him some of her croissant; Janine & Wes & Barbara & I left enough on our plates to give him a hearty breakfast, and he was very content when we arrived home to go to sleep and nurse his very full tummy.

On Monday, it was cool, but fine, so I finally got stuck back into giving the dog decking a second coat. It took most of the morning & some of the afternoon, and I gave all the flat exposed wood a third coat before I finished. I certainly slept well that night after all the physical activity – walk, gym & painting – much more than I usually achieve in one day.

Tuesday’s film was “Jackie” - a warts and all look at Jackie Kennedy and the aftermath of John Kennedy’s assassination. We were both most impressed with Natalie Portman’s acting ability, but very disappointed that Jackie was so self-centred and lacking in empathy for her children, her brother-in-law, mother-in-law and LBJ, who became President in the worst possible way. We had hot drinks & a croissant at the Food Gallery afterwards to talk about the film, as it definitely needed discussing!

Wes has been very busy helping the Daylesford Cinema Committee as they fight an action by Council that will see them without a home after the end of April, with no clear alternative in sight. He has also designed a form discussing Membership of the cinema, as at present, members get very few privileges, especially if they are Seniors.

Dot & I enjoyed a morning of Mah Jong at Muffins & More after I did gym. Bella & Lily, who make the drinks & serve the meals, are delightful girls and it is always a pleasure to see their smiling faces when we come into the café. Meanwhile, Wes did some gardening for Barbara, before taking her to do a big shop at Coles.

I have been reading Reginald Hill’s Dalziel & Pascoe series again from Book 1 and am amazed anew at how well he creates believable characters. Warren Clarke was perfect as Dalziel in the TV series, which was a huge success, but didn’t really capture the splendid, insightful writing of the books. In between, I read ‘Runaway’, a stand-alone novel by Peter May, courtesy of Michael Ivanchenko, who found the book, bought it and then offered me first read of it. It is set in the present & 1965, and is full of nostalgic memories of that time in London. Peter May is a very interesting & knowledgeable writer, who sets his series in different places – Scotland, Italy, China – and writes as though he is a native of all three.

I just love this Peanuts cartoon – hope you do as well!

Wes had offered to show the film, The Wizard of Oz, on Thursday, as there was no-one else available. This is the last in a series of 8 classic films, which have been put on for free, with the older & less advantaged members of our community in mind. They have been a great success and perhaps will be repeated when the cinema future is settled.

I spent some time booking AFL tickets for this year. Wes & I gave up our AFL membership at the end of 2015, so we look at the fixture at the start of the year & I book reserved seats & guest passes in the MCC so we can go together. After that I caught up with Judi at Muffins & More, as it was a couple of weeks since we had spent any time together & had plenty to chat about.

On Friday, after the early morning walk and the shopping was done, I was able to join the Daylesford Bushwalkers for the first time this year. Wes dropped me at the meeting point in Raglan Street & 10 of us went on the short walk, which was along the railway line towards Musk & back. We were away for 2 hours, which is the perfect amount of time. I peeled off from the group as we got close to Daylesford Station & walked up to East Street, where Wes picked me up. After lunch, he & Brian Nash spent time in Bald Hills, where the enjoyed the stunning views available from Tim Blood’s home, ‘Candlebark’.

We have been blown away by the performance by Australia in the 1^st Test in India. Wes & I have been on three Cricket Tours in India, Sri Lanka & England, and are yet to see the Aussies win overseas. We would love to have been at Pune for this historic win – the first time we had won in India since 2004. We are full of admiration for nearly all of this current team – especially Steve Smith, Matt Renshaw, Mitch Starc, Steve O’Keefe, Matt Wade & Peter Handscomb, who have played their roles almost to perfection.

Yesterday I spent in Strathmore with Leanne and we had a good time together, shopping, having hot drinks in our current favourite café, Edward Abbott, and getting a few home chores done. Wes attended a very successful meeting of the Daylesford Cinema committee, volunteers & members & is very optimistic that a sensible solution will be found soon. Afterwards he had lunch at Boathouse Daylesford with Barbara Simpson, and they were joined for coffee by David Castles.

Last night we watched with delight as the Collingwood AFL women finally won a game, when they beat the Western Bulldogs, who are desperately missing their inspirational captain, Katie Brennan. 

Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 19th February 2017

Dear Friends, I realised after I sent last week’s Dispatch, that I had omitted to mention the very exciting visit by members of Carlton’s AFL side to Daylesford & Hepburn during the week. We met two of the younger members when we were having lunch with Gail & Terry White at ‘Jackie’s on Vincent’ on Thursday. They were visiting schools, the Hepburn footy club, (which has announced they are creating a Women’s AFL team), & the bowling club, where they played barefoot bowls on Friday morning. Wes was very disappointed that Carlton’s female spearhead, Darcy Vescio, wasn’t among their number & I am sure he wouldn’t have been the only one.

At breakfast, we were joined by Mary Goodall & her rescue dog, Angel, who is an 8-year-old Golden Retriever, who had been trained as a companion dog for a boy with mild autism. She has a lovely nature and she & Bilbo were thrilled to meet each other until Bilbo realised he would only get half-rations!

On Monday, It was another lovely cool night & morning & we enjoyed our early walk around the Lake before I went to gym, followed by a massage, and Wes spent the morning on the computer, so that he could mow in the afternoon, when it wasn’t so wet. At the Post Office, there was a big bag of leftover 8 ply wool from Kathy Lazzaro, and I can’t wait to get stuck into some different colours with my beanies & berets for Keeping Daylesford Warm. Thank you so much Kathy.

Wes showed the film ‘Collateral Beauty’ at the Daylesford Cinema on Tuesday morning, and, amazingly, everyone there enjoyed it. We had both been turned off it by the very poor reviews and uninspiring trailer. Late in the morning I began to feel quite unwell with a pulled muscle in my neck, so retreated to bed and spent the rest of that day & the next resting & sleeping.

While I was recovering, Wes mowed all of Barbara’s lawns, plus the verge at the end of our street & our back lawn. He must have been exhausted after all that work & I was pleased that he & Barbara opted for mostly chatting on Wednesday morning. By Thursday I was feeling much better, with a lot less pain, so got up & stuck into a few chores before we went out for a delayed St Valentine’s Day lunch at the Bad Habits Café at the Convent Gallery. Lunch was stunning – Wes enjoyed the salmon tacos with spuds & I hoed into the very colourful & tasty quinoa salad. Tina, the owner, noticed we were there & asked our waitress to give us a discount on our bill, which was very kind of her.

That night the first of this year’s practice matches took place between Collingwood & Essendon at the Dockland’s Stadium, with the roof open for a change. It was a very interesting affair – like all practice games, familiar players were in unfamiliar spots on the field and unfamiliar players needed much consultation of the AFL phone app to work out who they were, as the TV commentators didn’t see that as a priority. The Pies were lucky to win in the end after a close contest.

Yummy lunch at the Convent

On Friday, we three walked early, before I went shopping & Wes joined Brian Nash on a tour of Breakneck Gorge, followed by coffee & cake at Blue Bean Café.

I was feeling much better & enjoyed another walk to the Post Office with Bilbo. We were lucky enough to bump into Annie Smith & Maisie, and the dogs were delighted to meet each other. The rest of the day was spent gardening, computer work & getting out the Friday cryptic, always an interesting challenge.

Yesterday I drove to Strathmore to spend time with Leanne. We went shopping & had a good time together, while Wes spent his morning in our garden as it was perfect weather for being outside without getting too hot.

The Collingwood women came within 4 points of an upset win over Brisbane in Brisbane, in front of a healthy crowd of 6,000. We then watched Melbourne men & women both beat the Western Bulldogs – an unexpected result on both fronts.

This morning I walked Bilbo early in the dark, while Wes had a well-earned sleep in. Bilbo is at my feet waiting for the next activity – the Sunday Market, so I had better stop writing & get going.

This cartoon is so funny & quite true I am sure. We have had Labradors who employed the same tactic!

Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 12th February 2017

Dear Friends, Wes led the conversation at breakfast last Sunday with a discussion on the future of the Daylesford Cinema, and particularly its membership structure. Everyone contributed and we enjoyed a lively debate on this topic

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Afterwards we came home to gardening, more washing & ironing, New Zealand beating Australia easily in the final One Day game over there and an exciting last match in Round One of the Women’s footy. The game was played at Casey Fields in Cranbourne, between Melbourne & Brisbane. There was a healthy crowd (which included our good friend, John Smith), in spite of the rain, and unexpectedly the Lions proved too good for the Demons in a match that was halted for lightning.

After gym on Monday I drove to Ballarat to collect my bracelet. We had woken to the sound of rain and the news of 22mls in our gauge, which was just wonderful. Not everyone enjoys the cold, but most people were happy to have a coolish day after the hot ones we have been experiencing.

We were very delighted to read on Facebook on Monday of the safe, but early arrival of Violet Rae Cook, daughter of Emily Turner, who is in turn the daughter of Becky Turner, Tom & Lib’s daughter. This makes Tom & Lib great-grandparents, which is amazing! Congratulations to everyone.

Emily, Daniel & Violet

On Tuesday, Wes showed the film, ‘La La Land’, which was well-attended at the 10am session. Some people loved it, others, like me, were underwhelmed. Perhaps it appeals to a younger audience. I found it too long, too American, with ordinary acting, bad miming & I struggled to care about the characters until near the end. Afterwards Wes visited ‘The Barber’, a hairdresser from St Kilda, who has moved here with her partner, and does inexpensive haircuts from her garage near the Daylesford Speedway. His hair looks good and Wes declares it was an experience – not sure if it will be repeated!

After an early morning walk & gym on Wednesday, Dot & I met at Muffins & More for Mah Jong & chats. Dot managed to win every game bar one, much to her husband, John’s delight. Wes spent time with Barbara, while Bilbo kept an eye on Sandra as she cleaned our house, making sure she didn’t forget to give him an apple when she left.

Wow! Four generations of strong women together – Emily, Becky, Violet & Libby

I had hoped to spend Thursday morning putting the second coat on the dog decking, but it was so hot early, after a very warm night, that I cancelled those plans & stayed cool inside instead. I have been playing avoidance behaviour with our bookshelves & this was a good chance to rearrange them slightly to make room for all our newest books.

Friday was another stinker and I gave Bilbo a swim in Lake Daylesford during our early walk. While I stayed at home after doing the shopping, Wes and Brian Nash headed to Allandale, a little-known hamlet in our Shire, where they discovered gold mines, horses, old buildings & much natural beauty, including this stunning photo by Wes.

That night the Adelaide women easily beat the Flag favourites, Western Bulldogs, in front of 7,000+ spectators.

Yesterday, I was in tears, when I opened The Age and discovered two women footballers had announced that they were life partners and would be opponents last night. One of the two, Penny Cula-Reid, made headlines some years ago, when she went to VCAT to argue the case that girls should be able to play footy in boys’ teams after the age of 12 & won!  

Sadly, the Pies weren’t able to sustain a good first half & were blown away by the Demons in front of another good crowd of 7,000.

In the afternoon, Danny Spooner held a concert at the Daylesford Town Hall by way of a farewell to everyone, as his aggressive cancer won’t allow him to do much more in the way of performing. It was well-attended by over 400 people, and included many guest artists, including Eric Bogle & Derek Guille. Wes had been involved in the set up & was very delighted with the turn-up and entertainment. When he arrived back here, he was quite emotional and shared some of the special moments with me. I would love to have gone, but needed a very quiet day with nothing I had to do, so missed out.

We woke to a much cooler morning today and it was lovely to walk around the Lake with occasional raindrops. We’ve had a couple of showers, but not enough to stop me from taking Bilbo to the Sunday Market. He is waiting upstairs – somewhat impatiently, wondering what I am doing – why aren’t we getting in the car & going?

Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 5th February 2017

Dear Friends, we started the week with another lovely breakfast & some interesting discussions. Bilbo was particularly thrilled to see Margot & be overfed with bacon & toast, although he wasn’t too sure about the washing hanging above him!

Afterwards, Wes & I went to the Daylesford Museum to see the Pop Up Exhibition of Winsome Moffat’s paintings and were most impressed by her body of work. Our first painting bought in Daylesford was by her & it is a beautiful oil painting entitled ‘Near Golden Spring’, which we haven’t been able to find as the spring itself is underground & located in Hepburn Springs up high above the Bathhouse. According to Jan Smith, who collected it from us for the exhibition, an 11-year-old girl was particularly taken with the painting & thought it was magical, as did we when we bought it.

We were very lucky with Monday’s weather & after our walk, and after Wes cleaned the dog decking, I put the first coat on it all. Amazingly it is 12 years+ since we moved into this house, so we can expect heavy duty areas to need repainting. We are pleased with the result and I hope to get 2-3 coats done by the end of February.

On my way home from gym on Tuesday, I saw Annie Smith with a new Irish Water Spaniel. Her name is Maisie & she is probably 6-7 years old. She has been a kennel mother for most of her life and has earned a happy retirement here in Daylesford. One of our friends, Vin Lyttleton, has one of her daughters, and they have enjoyed a joyful reunion already.

Wes showed the film ‘Red Dog, True Blue’ that morning to an appreciative audience of 20. It certainly isn’t a great film, but Bryan Brown’s acting is wondrous and the dog is magnificent, so we enjoyed the experience.

In the afternoon, Tim from Bi-Rite came to install a new washing machine. Ours had been playing up & I texted Kiyo, the local repairman with a photo of what had been ejected from the machine. He replied saying he thought repairs would cost $600-$700 and we would be better off getting a new one. We took his very generous advice and are now the proud owners of a Beko 8kg model with a ‘pet hair removal cycle’!

On Wednesday morning, sunrise was spectacular, and I took this photo, which doesn’t do it justice, but gives you some idea of how good it looked just before dawn.

When I came out of gym I found a message from Dot to say she couldn’t play Mah Jong as she was having trouble walking. I decided to drive to Ballarat to put my bracelet in to be repaired instead. The catch has gone & it is too risky to wear it, even though I feel quite naked without it!

Wes spent the morning helping Barbara in her garden and arrived home in time to make us a yummy version of his famous Fish Pie – this one included zucchini from the garden, as well as fennel, spuds, barramundi & celery.

We had a huge day on Thursday – after walking around Lake Daylesford early, we set off for Melbourne and a visit to Leanne. Wes was able to fix up some computer issues, while she & I did some shopping. We had been invited for lunch by Lovely & Malcolm and their other guests included Libby, Joyce & Manny. What a wonderful catch-up it was – Joyce, Lovely & Lib had all worked for us at Maloney Insurance Brokers, and we were struggling to think when we had last all been together. Joyce & Manny were in great spirits and very entertaining & we caught up on all their family news.

The next day we had hoped to drive to Melbourne again for the inaugural AFL Women’s game between Collingwood & Carlton at Princes Park, but I was too tired to contemplate getting home at midnight, so we watched in on TV instead. What a wonderful event it was – the AFL had not imagined a lockout at the ground, with gates closed once 25,500 were in and over 1,000 outside turned away. The Blues were far too good for the Pies, as expected, but it was a spectacular success, with the crowd staying to the end and enjoying kick to kick after the game.

During the morning, I spent time with Judi at the Food Gallery, where I had booked the best table, also known as The Locals’ Table, when I saw Pasquale at Coles that morning. Neither of us had eaten, so we enjoyed yummy breakfasts & swapped stories until it was time for Judi’s next appointment. Meanwhile, Wes and Brian Nash spent the morning here discussing their joint venture and Bilbo made his way very quietly into our bedroom and spent a very relaxed couple of hours on our bed!

Yesterday after the early walk and after Bilbo had been bathed, I set off for the Farmers’ Market, where the conversations were all about the Women’s Footy, much to my delight. Wes and I met up at ‘Jackie’s on Vincent’ for breakfast, where we were joined by Jeff Bain first & Nick Massaro later, who each had a hot drink & exchanged news.

Wes spent the morning in the back garden before it got too hot, while I had dedicated my day to washing – I can even fit our washable wool doona into this new larger machine, which is wonderful. Bilbo spent most of the morning crying until I put his collar back on him – he obviously feels naked without it!

Lovely colours in this selection of roses at our front door

We watched both Women’s games in the afternoon & evening & both attracted good crowds – 9,000+ in Adelaide in the rain where the Crows were too good for GWS & 10,000+ in Footscray where the Doggies easily beat the Freo Dockers after an even start. My cousin Bernard’s daughter, Alex Saundry, wore no 4 for GWS – I can’t describe my emotions watching her play – this is such a dream come true for all of us who grew up knowing we would never pull on the guernsey of our favourite team, much as we wanted to. And it all happened so quickly – thanks Gillon McLachlan & the AFL for bringing this about in 2017.