Well the Pies played out of their skins last Sunday
afternoon at the MCG, but Richmond showed their class with a last quarter
demolition. I was so pleased I had gone as the atmosphere was electric. As well
as catching up with David Lazzaro, I bumped into old friends, Marg & Eric
Nolan. Marg was on the original Ladies Committee at Collingwood with me, back
in 1982, when we fought for & won equality at our Club after being treated
second-class citizens, especially on match days.
That night, I was delighted to receive an email from our
Pom friend, Paul Jackson, saying that he had started watching Aussie Rules on
TV in England. He is having trouble working out the actual rules of the game
& wanted to know which teams we & his good friends followed. Between us
we follow 4 of the oldest teams – Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon &
Richmond, so perhaps Paul will decide to barrack for one of those four.
Winter’s icy claws are taking hold early each morning, so I
have let Wes & Bilbo walk on their own at 5.45am. I find I cough too much
& that’s my excuse for a pot of jasmine tea & The Age’s cryptic
crossword before I get up & into the day. However, the colours here are
stunning & Monday night’s sunset was very special indeed.
View from
our decking over the Wombat State Forest
Wes had very kindly offered to help both Margot &
Janine with their computers & spent Monday afternoon successfully getting
them back in control. Afterwards he attended a meeting on the future of the
Daylesford Town Hall, which seems like a very mixed bag indeed. I suspect there
will be plenty more meetings before the Council moves across the road to the
Rex Arcade.
I’ve been trying to take Bilbo out with me for a short walk
& a cuppa most mornings. He loves sitting at my feet & saying hello to
the passers-by. A special treat is a pat from a young child, most of whom
aren’t at all scared of this lovely lab & start smiling & waving the
minute they see him.
Our very close friend, Joe Rozen, had a heart attack on
Sunday, & was taken to Epworth Hospital for a triple bypass operation which
occurred on Tuesday. We hope to visit him when he does rehab in St John of God,
Ballarat this week.
Joe relaxing in Fingal
last year
Wes spent Wednesday morning with Barbara, as usual, this
time helping with her interview with the National Disability Insurance Scheme
visitor. Dot couldn’t play Mah Jong, so I took Bilbo out for a pot of tea after
gym to give Sandra a chance to clean our house without either of us under her
feet.
On Thursday, we met up with Annie Smith & Maisie, her
Irish Water Spaniel, at Larder.
Annie has just returned from a wonderful trip to Japan & it was good to
hear her thoughts & impressions. Wes entertained a young political hopeful,
Jed, later that morning before we headed to Ballarat for a film & art
exhibition.
The film was the Guernsey
Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society, based on the wonderful book of the
same name by Mary Ann Shaffer. Sadly, this film doesn’t do justice to the book.
I decided to sit back & enjoy it, but Wes was very cross & felt that an
opportunity had gone begging. We haven’t been to Guernsey but have spent time
on Jersey & will never forget going into the tunnels & getting an
accurate impression of how dreadful their Second World War was. We were
impressed by Penelope Wilton & Tom Courtenay, as well as Katherine
Parkinson, but the main characters were badly cast.
Bilbo looking for pats
from passers-by as we sit outside the Food Gallery – fortunately Margot &
Max both came by & obliged!
Afterwards, we crossed the road to the Art Gallery of
Ballarat to see a wonderful exhibition of Eugene von Guėrard, an Austrian born
painter, who spent 1852-1862 in Australia. Many of his works are of places near
where we live & we have long been in awe of his amazing talent. The Gallery
has access to most of his sketchbooks as well, which show his meticulous eye
for detail.
Bush fire between
Mount Elephant & Timboon 1857
On Friday, we drove to Reservoir to visit our old friends,
Joyce & Manny Spiteri. Joyce is recovering after a triple by-pass earlier
this year & we had waited until she was home to see them both. It was a
lovely visit & we were lucky enough to have over two hours together, just the
four of us. Manny has been an absolute rock during Joyce’s illness, keeping the
home & garden immaculate & visiting her in hospital every day.
When we arrived back in Daylesford, we headed for Boathouse & had a late lunch of
mussels & crusty bread, our favourite meal there. It was pouring with rain
& we loved sitting warmly inside looking out at the rain. Overall, we had
20+mls of rain, which has been so sorely needed.
Manny showing Wes one
of his many orchids in his beautiful back garden
Yesterday we headed off to Spudfest in Trentham (about 20 minutes’ drive), where we met up
with Wes’s cousin, Glenn Testro, who was waiting for us outside Chaplin’s. We walked in for a warming drink
and chat & found Bob White there with his daughter, Natalie, son Brendan
& his wife, Kath, & four grandchildren.
We always enjoy spending time with Glenn, who now lives in
Newbury, about 5 minutes out of Trentham. We chatted over our tea & coffee
until Mel, the owner, threw us out, so she could accommodate a group of 8!
Spudfest was a fun to walk around – each year there are more stalls, more
entertainers, more fun things to do! We watched kids trying to knock spuds off
poles; bought 100 daffodil bulbs for the bargain price of $45, as well as 4kg
of the freshest Dutch Cream potatoes you could wish to eat for $10. We met so
many Daylesford & Trentham friends, it was a delight to be there.
Glenn & Wes watching
the fun at Spudfest
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