Lewis & Morse would be thrilled if Wes could do this for them every night!
When I left you last Sunday, we were heading off to the Sunday Market, where Yvonne had old dog coats to give me as well as sell me heaps of fruit & vegetables. We came home & changed & drove to Eganstown, 10 minutes away, for our favourite ANZAC Day service. This little hamlet started its own ceremony over 20 years ago & it has kept its charm - an open fire with billys boiling, tins of ANZAC biscuits, a piper, a bugler, a guest speaker & Sallie Harvey singing And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda, which never fails to bring everyone to tears. Local friend, Gordon Nightingale, spoke about The Night Witches, a Russian all-female Air Regiment. If you are interested in reading about these women, please click on this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/
Back home we got changed for footy at the MCG & drove to Melbourne, arriving just as the entertainment started. Although we were up high, we were on the wing, with a great view of the play, which we enjoyed after all that time confined to what the TV screen chose to show us. There was a services band, a local band, an excellent ANZAC Day ceremony, and a stunning rendition of both the NZ & Australian National Anthems.
This is one of my favourite moments in the match - both teams run out through one banner that commemorates the ANZACs
Although we got the early jump on the Bombers, we were no match for them once they got ahead, and were lucky to lose by only 24 points. The atmosphere around us was very friendly with no ill-will or bad scenes. As is usual here, Pies & Bombers fans sat side by side, and while they didn't always see things the same way, they barracked hard for their respective teams.
We drove home, our first experience in night driving in Pearl, and found all the safely features a big help as it was a dark night. We were greeted by a woof from Morse, and both sets of neighbours assured me that the boys had been very well behaved while we were away. No doubt the giant marrow bones helped!
We were pleased to have a day at home on Monday. After School (where we worked out how to add photos to our Artwork Inventory) - while I did washing, computer and house chores, Wes gardened, moved the lemons trees under cover, cleaned our main decking & picked the rhubarb for me to cook. Lewis & Morse lost interest in both of us & spent their day finding the best sleeping spots.
Our weeping Japanese maple certainly loves its new home in the garden - it has never been this bright red before! I took the photo at dawn which is why it looks fuzzy
The next morning after a wonderful Messenger chat with Jeff in Torksey Lock, Lincolnshire, and an equally good Zoom call with Leanne, we headed off to Geelong Gallery to see the Rone Exhibition. Callum Preston, son of our friends, Bobby & Marilyn, had made the set & his wife, Mo, produced the Exhibition. Mo suggested we might like to see it, so we bought tickets & used every minute of our hour's time. Tyrone is a superbly talented artist, who specialises in beautifying abandoned buildings inside & out. He is particularly skilled at "trompe l'oeil" - if you haven't seen this & can get to Geelong Gallery before it ends on 16th May, please do.
Tyrone Wright in front of part of his piece de resistance at Geelong Gallery
We were lucky enough to have a catch up lunch with David Lazzaro at an Italian restaurant close to the Gallery when we were finished. It was so good to spend 90 minutes with him, hearing about how he & his family are going & the effect that COVID had on them all. We were just about to leave when our neighbour, Glen, sent this delightful photo of our stickybeaks.
On Wednesday, after doing my deliveries & pumping water at Leitches Creek, I joined Dot & Judi at Muffins & More for a lovely morning of Mah Jong. The other two had played last week while we were in Melbourne, and were quite cheeky about how they had ignored the rules that I so love & enforce. Back here, Wes got started on the upstairs decking painting the uprights & outside door frames & Morse!
After our regular Zoom chats, we both got some gardening done on Thursday & Friday, which were more beautiful sunny days after cold mornings. Wes mowed everywhere, watered, and we both got beds ready for Winter vegetable planting, which is going to be tomorrow's School topic. I had a fright when I couldn't open anything on my computer, but Wes worked out it was the mouse that was faulty, so we changed it & everything went back to normal. I have been meaning to get started on Trip Advisor, as we went to so many places while we were in Melbourne, and it was good to get a few reviews under my belt before I forget everything I liked or didn't like about where we visited!
Yesterday we headed off to Melbourne mid-morning, and Wes dropped me off at the MCG, where I was meeting Danny for lunch & the game. We had excellent seats on Level 2, but so enjoyed chatting over lunch that we just made it out to our seats before the match started. Once again the Pies weren't good enough & we lost by 24 points, which was flattering.
Lovely photo of Danny at the Hugh Trumble café
Meanwhile, Wes parked Pearl near St Patrick's Cathedral & headed off to the Town Hall for the launch of "the world's first augmented reality true crime experience" - a phone app on the Eastern Market Murder of 1899 of his great-grandfather, Frank Cartwright. The app takes you to 10 heritage sites & hidden laneways in Melbourne giving you an idea of what life was like at that time. Wes's cousins, Gary Testro & Amanda Testro, joined him for the launch, and enjoyed sitting together afterwards at Juliet Melbourne Wine Bar debriefing on the event & catching up.
Lewis & Morse were delighted to see us when we arrived back home around 6pm, but once again giant marrow bones had kept them occupied. We were all in bed early after our big day & busy week, and are looking forward to a quiet Sunday at home together after the Sunday Market & breakfast with friends. Carlton play arch-rival, Essendon, this afternoon, so we'll be watching that with fingers & toes crossed.
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