Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 26th November 2017

We started our week with the usual activities including the Sunday Market, followed by Breakfast with Friends at the Food Gallery. I’ve filled the house with bowls or vases of roses as they are so profuse at present. The minute you cut some, others appear, so the garden always looks beautiful & smells fragrant.

This vase of yellow, peach & rust-coloured roses is my favourite!

A highlight this week was a most enjoyable & indulgent lunch with Jan & Warren (Secundus) Pengilley at Boathouse Daylesford. Claire & Susanne spoiled us when they discovered that three of their lunch guests have birthdays in November & we were presented with sweets & cheese & free drinks - very generous indeed.   

All of us were keeping an eye on the score as it was Day 1 of the 1^st Ashes Test at the Gabba. Wes had taped it for us, so when we arrived home, we were able to catch up with all the action.

  

                                                                                                            

Yesterday we both headed off to Melbourne, but separately. I went early in the morning to visit Leanne. On the way I met two black wallabies – father & son I suspect, as the large one bounded away as I approached, while the young one sat still watching & wondering exactly what I was in my little Mazda 2. Eventually he, too, hopped off the road. Even though it was hot in Melbourne, Leanne’s unit was nice & cool & we got lots done in preparation for Christmas.

In the afternoon, when I was driving home, Wes set off to St Gabriel’s Theatre Group, Reservoir, to see a performance of Sound of Music, as our Godson, Matthew Spiteri & his wife, Sara Lacey, have been involved in this theatre for 20 years. He loved every minute, cried & sang along, and thought of the Climb Every Mountain Choral Society, which we all belonged to many years ago & participated in with great gusto, usually when we had enjoyed more than enough to drink!

The first Test in Brisbane has been riveting & we are in awe of Steve Smith’s physical & mental strength as he took us from a precarious position to enjoying a slender lead when our final wicket fell yesterday.

The latest crop of beanies, which I delivered to Jodie in Wheatsheaf on my way to Strathmore yesterday. 

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 19th November, 2017

 

We are so thrilled for all our friends that Australia voted very strongly for Marriage Equality & look forward to the Bill going through Parliament as speedily as possible, which means marriages can be held as early as mid-January. I suspect that Daylesford is going to be very busy indeed over the next 12 months & we will be delighted to see long-time partners able to marry here if they so wish.

The other highlight of this week was Wes’s birthday, which he chose to celebrate as my guest in the Committee Room of the Melbourne Cricket Club. As it was Friday, the traffic getting there was horrendous, but we forgot all that the minute we parked under the MCG & caught the lift to lunch. As always, the food was wonderful – we both had oysters done two ways, followed by pork for Wes & barramundi for me. We couldn’t resist the deconstructed pavlova for sweets!

Wes looking very dapper indeed in pink!

We arrived home to find that Bilbo had taken up residence in Wes’s armchair & was brazenly staring up at us as if to say – make me get out of this comfy spot! We are not sure how long he has been doing this, but it is obviously the current favourite sleeping place.

On Wednesday week, 29^th November, we are heading off to Adelaide again for the Pink Ball Ashes Test. On the way we are staying two nights at Casterton & on the way home we are spending three nights at Port Fairy.

Whenever you go away, even for a short time, there is always so much to do. We have arranged for Gillie to do the watering & put out the bins; for Michael to collect the mail from our PO Box; for Bilbo to have a holiday at Eureka, and we have let our neighbours, Rob & Dene know, so they can keep an eye on things over the weekends. We have both been busy in the garden – me staking the tomatoes & chillies, and cutting bunches of roses, & Wes mowing, weeding & pruning in the hope that we come back to not too much work.

Yesterday morning we drove to Kingston, which is 20 minutes away & a very pretty place, to see their Three Open Gardens, which was a fund-raiser for their Avenue of Honour, which celebrates its Centenary next year. The garden at the old Primary School was most impressive with beautiful hedges, old trees, interesting plantings & occasional surprises like the one below.

While we were there we received a phone call from Rob & Dene to say that Bilbo was crying & they wondered if one of us was inside & hurt. I thanked Rob & explained that Bilbo had been washed that morning & the door from the laundry into the house had been closed, which was preventing him from leaping onto Warren’s armchair & he was quite upset about that! When we arrived home, we found Bilbo safe & well & sitting on his bed. We opened the door into the house, went next-door to say thank you & ended up chatting over tea & coffee & cake. Bilbo was on the armchair when we returned – at least he was dry!

We received a lovely thank you card from Jess & Eri with this beautiful photo of them inside. It was a very happy day indeed.   

This morning we are off to the Sunday Market & then breakfast with the usual crew – Judi, Barbara, Janine & Margot. Last week we had David, Sandy & Bam Bam as well, and heard all about life in Port Melbourne, where they have moved after many years in Box Hill.

Our friend, Jane Knox, is in London at present, visiting her daughter, Emily & her husband, Alan. Jane is finding it cold, but enjoying all the wonderful things that London has to offer – like shows!         

  

  

Jane & Emily suitably rugged up!

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 12th November, 2017

We started this week with a lovely social Sunday, even though there was no Breakfast with Friends. After the Sunday Market & pumping water, Bilbo & I came home for breakfast & he eventually worked out that he wasn’t going anywhere else & settled down for the day. Wes & I headed into Vincent Street to see the Daylesford Rotary Art Show. We were very impressed with the standard of work, which was an improvement on last year. Sales were good & the prizes had been awarded to popular paintings as many of them had sold. While we were there, we spotted Warren’s sister, Denise, with her partner, Barry, & her son, Leon. We had a lovely catch-up & Barry was able to show us the works of art he had been involved in through his Thursday group. 

Leon, Barry & Denise – all smiles at the Art Show  

Earlier, David Lazzaro had rung to say he was dropping his daughter, Jessica, in Ballarat & wondered if he could visit us while she saw a film with her boyfriend. We agreed at once & were thrilled to have 1½ hours with him. Wes cooked his very yummy smoked salmon pasta for us. 

Photos from last month’s wedding – Jack Lazzaro (son of Ben & Leanne) with his cousin, Daniel Lazzaro; David Lazzaro & Karen Maloney; Maya & Jessica Lazzaro  

I didn’t have a photo to show last month when Clara Millman was born – here she is with her father, Patrick, & mother, Kate.

We got very brave on Melbourne Cup Day & doubled our outlay per race from $3 to $6. After reading Sunday’s Age from cover to cover, I had decided on Rekindling as my choice with Max Dynamite for second. Wes took the two favourites – Marmelo & Almandin, even though the latter was being ridden by Frankie Dettori, allegedly the world’s best jockey, who has not won this race yet after 17 attempts. I’m not sure his riding style suits Flemington & this race. While Wes’s back was turned, I put $5 on the nose for each of our picks & Rekindling paid $17 for the win, which helped boost our profit to $165 for the day.

Don’t ask me what to back next year as I tend to have a long break between successful punts on the Cup – previous winner was Saintly in 1996 & before that Beldale Ball in 1980, so the tote is way ahead! 

We only had one collect on Oaks Day, but it was a beauty – a quinella that paid $150, so we finished ahead yet again.

On Friday, we had decided to catch up with a couple of new films at the Regent Cinemas in Ballarat. We are really missing the Daylesford Cinema & hope it won’t be long before it is in action again. The first film was the latest version of Murder on the Orient Express with Kenneth Branagh in the role of Poirot. We enjoyed Gold Class comfort with the morning $20 deal & had pots of tea & scones with jam & cream (a bargain at $7.50). The film is visually stunning & I particularly loved seeing the train leave a bustling Istanbul station (which we had visited when we were in Turkey).

However, the casting was uneven & apart from Michelle Pfeiffer, who was excellent & believable as Linda Arden, and Johnny Depp who might be the best Mr Ratchett ever, we were not impressed with it. Even Judi Dench was wrongly cast as the autocratic Princess – she had far too much warmth. Kenneth plays Poirot for laughs, which is very annoying & neither of us liked the changes to the storyline. However, it is a great spectacle & we enjoyed thinking about our memorable journey in April 1990 on the Orient Express from London to Paris. And yes, I took a hat box, courtesy of Loud Gayle!

The second film was an Australian beauty called Three Summers written by Ben Elton, starring Michael Caton, John Waters, Deborah Mailman & Magda Szubanski among others. This is beautifully cast, not quite as well-directed as the earlier film, but a funny, touching, moving & entertaining story set in WA. We loved it.

Yesterday was the final day of the Cup Carnival – another big day of racing with a great crowd of nearly 70,000. Once again, we were lucky enough to turn $54 outlay into $105 & at the end of the day I transferred $400 into our bank account, rather than risk frittering it away on silly bets! We’ve still got some funds if we want to splurge on the Sandown & Ballarat Cups coming up.

Bilbo is sitting anxiously at my feet, waiting to go to the Sunday Market & shredded cabbage treats. Then we are off to breakfast, where we will be joined by David & Sandy & Bam Bam after quite a few weeks’ absence. It will be good to catch up with them, Margot, who has been in China with Janine, and Judi & Barbara who have been unwell.

         Beautiful flowers from our garden at last – irises & roses                       

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday. 5th November 2017

 

The weather has been extremely changeable this week – very hot & windy on Sunday, followed by rain & cool for most of the rest of the week, including frost on Friday. Our garden has really appreciated the rain & everywhere is looking very green & ready to burst into flower, if it hasn’t already. The irises are very late this year, but the seaside daisies have made up for that as they are poking up everywhere & looking very cheery. The lavender is out & I’ve picked the first small posy of roses.

We’ve been able to walk most mornings, making sure we avoid causing the parents of ducklings & goslings any grief as they make their way around their favourite spots at Lake Daylesford, which quite often includes where we park our car.

We’ve both done lots of gardening – Wes mowing & weeding & planting more seaside daisies, which remind us poignantly of Stuart Rattle. I’ve harvested the last of the snow peas & baby spinach & am about to plant the tomatoes & chillies.

Barbara hasn’t been well again this week, so Wes put her car in for service for her on Monday; went to the pharmacy for her, & made sure she had plenty to eat & drink. Judi was also unwell & had a quiet week, which is most unusual for her.

Dot & I played Mah Jong & Dot was back to her best, wiping the floor with me. I also had a lovely facial with Emma Ford at EKO & am feeling much better after my period of unwellness.

On Thursday, I drove in pouring rain to visit Leanne in dry, sunny Strathmore. We had a good visit together & caught up on each other’s news. Meanwhile Wes took his sister, Denise, out for a drive to show her places in the Hepburn Shire, where their family settled & they finished with lunch at Boathouse Daylesford.

Denise at Yandoit cemetery

On my way to Strathmore I dropped off my latest crop of beanies – most of them in footy colours, which I hope will be appreciated by the blokes who get them!

Yesterday & this morning, we walked around Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens for a change. It is so beautiful there at present – lots of irises, roses, rhododendrons, primula, and hellebores.

We enjoyed watching Derby Day on TV yesterday. Once again, we put three horses in a quinella, which cost $3 each race. Our outlay was $27 & our return was $75, so we have still have money up our sleeves for Cup Day.

No breakfast with friends again this morning, so we are off to see the Daylesford Rotary Art Show & visit the studios of our friends, Doug & Annie before it gets too busy, as town is jumping with visitors enjoying our Market, shops, beauty & attractions.