Dear Friends, I do
hope you enjoyed Easter Sunday. Mine was a mixed bag – it started well with the
Market & I came home to yummy chilli fried eggs, which lasted me until
dinner time.
Yummy eggs with Jasmine tea & special teacup
Wes, Maisie &
Bilbo all drove me to Woodend to catch the 12.25pm train as that got me into
Spencer Street to meet David Lazzaro & spend 1½ hours with him. This was
another highlight & we enjoyed our chat, before parting ways – him to head
upstairs to find his sister, Jess, and her fiancé, Eri, with his brother
Freddie, keen to learn all about Aussie Rules.
I was sitting in the
middle level, close to the action – if only there had been some to enjoy! It
was a terrible game of footy & Collingwood played particularly badly. With
8 minutes to go and victory a dream no more, I headed for the exit & caught
an earlier train home, to be met by Wes & dogs with sympathetic looks on
their faces. A big glass of red wine went some way to restoring my good
spirits.
Our Japanese Maple is
looking more vibrant every day & we miss being able to discuss its beauty
with Joan Testro, who always wanted more photos of Japanese Maples,
particularly as hers very defiantly stayed green all year round.
Annie Smith arrived
back from Singapore on Easter Tuesday morning & collected Maisie. Both dogs
were very excited to see her & I suspect Maisie was just as tired as Bilbo
was – he spent the rest of the day zedding, while I washed all his bedding that
she had used. I wonder if Maisie woke Annie at 5.30am for a walk on Wednesday!
Wes
had suggested we go for a drink at ‘Wine & Country’, a delightful wine bar
opposite the Information Centre, so we set off on Tuesday afternoon at 4.30pm.
Bronwyn Liddelow was on duty, so we left the choice of wines to her & enjoyed
five different styles between the two of us – I think Wes liked the Beaujolais
best, while I thought my Heathcote shiraz was very special indeed. We saw lots
of friends, including Judi, Michael & Gillie, who were meeting others there
for a celebration. We also spotted David Innes, who we have not seen in months
& had a joyous catch-up with him.
Needless
to say the next morning was a very slow start, and we agreed that I would walk
Bilbo at 7.30am around the Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens, which is always a treat
& absolutely empty at that time of morning.
We are lucky enough to
be visited by this pair of kookaburras at present – such a thrill to look out
& see them perched on the garden arch.
Last
Thursday we fulfilled a 40-year ambition, when we attended a morning concert of
the Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chamber ensemble playing Mozart’s
‘Divertimento in D for Strings’; followed by Mendelssohn’s ‘String Octet in
E-flat’. We had bought tickets when we first saw them advertised on 1st
January this year & were lucky enough to get the middle of the front row,
which was a stunning position from which to see & hear. About a week before
the concert, we received word that the world-famous violinist, Joshua Bell,
would be joining the Ensemble for the Mendelssohn Octet. What a treat that was
– he is absolutely mesmerizing & makes his violin sing unlike any other
performer I have ever seen. We had wanted to see the Academy ever since our
first visit to London in 1977, where we fell in love with the church of St
Martin in the Fields & each visit since we have hoped to find the Academy
performing – no such luck!
Afterwards
we had lunch at ‘Waterfront’ on Southbank, where we enjoyed fried sardines,
followed by perfectly cooked hapuku (one of our favourite fish). We first came
across hapuku after we had been to Sri Lanka in 1979 & came home wanting to
cook dishes using the seer fish of that country. ‘Canals’, the famous fish
mongers in Carlton, advised hapuku & laughed when I wanted to order one.
They suggested one or two steaks would be plenty & when the fish arrived, I
could see their point.
We
had travelled to & from the concert by train – drove to Woodend, parked the
car & enjoyed an hour’s ride into Spencer Street AKA Southern Cross
Station.
On
Thursday night, the rain started & didn’t stop until mid-morning yesterday,
giving us around 45mls in all, which was wonderful & well overdue. Wes had
put the motor-mower in for service after he mowed Barbara’s lawns – good timing
all round.
Our
Lincolnshire aunt & uncle – Jeff & Kev Hoolihan have been in the wars
& are currently both in hospital – fortunately the same one! We hope they
will both be back home in Torksey Lock very soon indeed.
The
outpouring of grief in our part of Australia over the unexpected death of John
Clarke, comedian, actor & political commentator, has been amazing. We are
feeling very bereft indeed & will miss ‘Clarke & Dawe’ at 6.55pm every
Thursday night on the ABC.
As
well as the mower needing a service, Sandra left us a note to say that our
vacuum cleaner had packed up, and we discovered that our rice cooker had a slow
leak. We went to Bi-Rite, where Tim was able to sell us a new vacuum cleaner,
and order in a new Breville Multi-Chef Cooker. The cost of a replacement bowl
was $45, so we preferred to pay a bit extra & get a new unit.
As
I look out over our back yard, the magpies & rosellas are happily foraging
for bird seed & worms, there is a mist over the Lake & Wombat Forest,
our grass is green & shining with dew & there are glimpses of yellow
& russet coloured trees through the gums.
Bilbo
is sitting happily at my feet, waiting to go to the Sunday Market & then
breakfast. We have Kyahl Anderson & his fiancée, Loz Sanders, coming to
lunch, so it will be a very social & stimulating day for us all.
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