Morse

Morse
Morse & friend

Sunday 31 July 2022

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 31st July 2022

 
Lovely cartoon from FB, thanks to Manny Spiteri

Our week started with Wes taking Morse to Eureka Kennels in Ballarat, to see how he would cope with a couple of nights on his own, away from us. 

On his return, Wes swapped cars & drove us both to Moonee Ponds Station, where we parked in a free Coles carpark & caught the Craigieburn line train to our respective grounds. We went through the loop, so I was first to alight & decided on Parliament Station, which has wonderful long escalators which remind us of London's Underground. This brought me out into Spring Street, near Hotel Windsor, and I enjoyed a lovely walk through the Treasury & Fitzroy Gardens to the Melbourne Cricket Ground

Moonee Ponds Station

I arrived in plenty of time to meet my hosts, and was able to catch up with long-time friend, Gayle Gibson, for a chat in the MCC before Glenda rang to say she had arrived. Her dear friends, Peter & Irene, were our hosts in the Hans Ebeling Room, just past the MCC area & just before the Collingwood Social Club in the Ponsford Stand. 

What a wonderful day I had - Glenda looked after me very well & had made sure there would be food I could eat - finger food, as well as light lunch options, which we washed down with sparkling wine. Our attendance included reserved seats out the front on Level 2 & we had an excellent view from the forward pocket. 

Collingwood's banner before the game

The match, against Essendon, had everything - the Pies started out of the blocks & recorded 6 goals before Essendon had scored. Then they kicked the next 5 goals, before taking a good lead in the third & fourth quarters. Suddenly in the last 15 minutes, we hit our straps again & managed to win with a stunning kick by Jamie Elliot after the siren. Glenda & I enjoyed the match, which had some great marks, tackles & goals, as well as each other's company. She is a Geelong supporter & they are favourites for the flag this year, sitting on top of the ladder & looking good. 

Meanwhile, Wes got into the Docklands just as Carlton kicked their first goal & was very happy to see them beat Greater Western Sydney easily in the end by 5 goals. While I was living the high life, he caught the train back to our car, and drove to the outskirts of the MCG, where he waited for me to join him after my game. 

We enjoyed sleeping in the next morning & I spent most of the day washing every item of bedding & clothing that Morse owns. School was a wonderful interview with one of our current favourite Crime authors - Nicci French, who is actually wife & husband team - Nicci Gerard & Sean French. The interview was well hosted by someone who had read their books & asked questions that drew them out. If you are interested in seeing it, here is the link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK3QM3Yuvn0

On Tuesday, Wes headed off early while I was chatting on Zoom to my sister, Leanne, & later, friend Terry Borg, to collect Morse. We were both delighted that he had enjoyed his stay at Eureka Kennels, had coped with all the different staff members & most of all had not been stressed by all the other dogs. He was very happy to be home, but we feel confident that he will cope for 10 days in December, while we drive to Adelaide for the Day-Night Test against the West Indies. 

Morse settling back to life in Daylesford

That afternoon I had a facial at EKO & when I returned home, Wes had made a vanilla mud cake, which was very welcome for afternoon tea. He's rather thrilled with cake-making, not so delighted with icing, but each time it gets better.

Judi & Dot couldn't play Mah Jong this week, so we took the opportunity to give our guest room a good clean - shifted all the furniture, vacuumed, dusted, polished & put everything back again. Our new modem arrived & we installed it, but we still didn't have NBN, which meant I was unable to join in my usual Thursday morning Old Friends' Zoom.

On Friday I visited a local podiatrist, who is conveniently situated inside Springs Medical Centre. Peter is from Auckland, but fell in love with Melbourne when he was a child & now lives in Castlemaine. He did an excellent job with my feet & I am thrilled to be able to have treatment locally instead of driving to Ballarat. 

Yesterday, I had enough energy to go to the footy, which was an early game at the MCG. Wes & Morse took me to Woodend Station mid-morning & collected me afterwards. I had made a pot of vegetarian minestrone soup on Thursday for dinner & we reprised it last night with toast, preceded by a piece of Shropshire cheese, that I was finally able to track down at local shop, Winespeak. Our lovely ex-neighbours, Rob & Dene, had served this cheese to us once & we had been keen to repeat the experience as it was so yummy. 



Pictures from the 90s - firstly, Karen with Gayle Gibson &  
Karen, Wes, Karen (aka Lovely) & Joyce (aka Spits) - the team at Maloney Insurance Brokers

Joyce & Gayle share a birthday & birth year, and their husbands, Fraser & Manny share a birthday too, but were born 2 years apart. I enjoyed speaking to both Joyce & Gayle on Friday to wish them well & thought a photo or two would be appropriate! We have experienced so much together & have some wonderful memories.

Sadly, the Blues were unable to beat the Crows at the Adelaide Oval last night, which was very disappointing for all their fans, especially Wes, who had high hopes. Also, sadly, singer, songwriter & storyteller, Archie Roach, died yesterday after a long illness. 

The Australian teams are doing well at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, which w have been unable to see because of the 9-hour time difference. We hope to catch up on replays when we return from visiting Leanne today.

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