Daylesford Autumn Dispatch - 23rd April 2023

 
This is for our neighbour, Glen, who enjoys crosswords, except for that last elusive clue!

We started our week with a wet visit to the Daylesford Market, where Morse enjoyed his pear, and I shopped for us & Glen, getting some beautifully fresh fruit & vegetables for the week. Later in the morning Rob & Dene paid us a surprise visit with a sorrel plant they had given me, which I had forgotten to take home the day before. Morse was delighted & excited in equal amounts.

We had been invited to Glenda Rozen's birthday lunch at The Convent with two other couples - Peter & Irene, and Gus & Marilyn. We had met Peter & Irene a few times, but not Gus & Marilyn, who spend most of their year in Darwin. Tina, the owner, shouted bubbles for the table, which was beautifully set & much appreciated by Glenda.

Gus, Marilyn, Irene, Glenda, Wes, Karen & Peter

I was quite tired by the time we arrived home and decided to watch the Collingwood & St Kilda game from bed. Before the match, Collingwood FC finally issued the unconditional apology we owed to First Nations St Kilda players - Nicky Winmar & Gordon McAdam, who were racially vilified hideously 30 years ago at Victoria Park. Nicky Winmar was present at Adelaide for this match & tossed the coin. He then shook the hand of every single Collingwood player, which was a wonderful gesture. Before the game, the AFL & the South Australian Premier had announced that the Gather Round would be played in SA for the next three years, as it had been such a resounding success with every match sold out.

The game itself was an arm wrestle with the defensive St Kilda team constantly repelling the attacking Magpies. Eventually the Pies prevailed by a goal, in a game that deserved to be a draw, and would have been if it had lasted much longer. 

At School on Monday, we focussed on my health & lack of energy which has gone on too long this time. Wes suggested I ask Dr Ellie if there was anything else I could be doing when I saw her the next day, which I duly did. She suggested I try taking zinc tablets & promised to read up on a new medication which has become available, to see if it would be suitable. 

Tuesday started with a good Zoom chat with Leanne, followed by an excellent catch up with Terry Borg in Burwood. It was three weeks since we had spoken & there was much ground to cover, including our thoughts on the film, Living. Between the Zooms & my appt with Dr Ellie, we had been invited next door by James for morning tea. He served orange poppyseed cake, which was very morish and we heard about his many projects, as well as told him a little of our history. After I left, Wes invited him in here to see our place, which was probably not his cup of tea, apart from the views, as we have too many bright, colourful feature walls to please him.

Glen was looking good on Wednesday when I brought her a chai latte, and very pleased with the progress being made on her ramp. The young builders are working hard, and she will be so happy when it is fully operative & she can achieve the next level of independence. At present, her two front steps at the gate, are impossible to negotiate without assistance.

After spending time with Glen, I had a lovely phone conversation with old friend, Sherryn Danaher, who is always interesting to listen to, and I miss her very much now that we live so far from each other. She & I bought a holiday home in Blairgowrie back in the mid-eighties, furnished it, and introduced Paul & Wes to it only after it was set up. It was a wonderful weekender and so many friends enjoyed visiting. We were close to the back-beach, which everyone loved, including the many kids who played in the rock pools & caves. 

1991 - Karen, Paul, Wes & Sherryn in Paul's cocktail garden at Blairgowrie

1990 - Ben, David & Jessica Lazzaro having fun at Blairgowrie back-beach

1988 - Samuel Snugglepot taking control of Sherryn's towel - he also loved her pillow - the first time we realised Labradors needed their own pillows!

We were sad to read of the death of Fr Bob McGuire, who I first met when I was 17. He was one of those young priests of the 60s & 70s, who showed enormous compassion for everyone, and the church was very fortunate that he didn't leave the priesthood, as some of them felt compelled to do. He was a good, kind man, with a great sense of humour, who remained Parish Priest of his church in South Melbourne for 39 years. 

On Thursday morning, Kathy, Lib & I had a great Zoom catch-up, and Lib was looking much happier now the humidity in Gladstone has eased off and nights are cooler. It was also 12 months to the day since I turned all the coat & trouser hangers around on my clothes, which meant it was time to check which hangers hadn't been turned back during that year. I discovered quite a few clothes hadn't been worn and parcelled them up for the Salvos. Thanks to Judi for this very practical and easy way to weed out what you don't wear from your wardrobe.

We had been waiting for a new part for Pearl's undercarriage and when it finally arrived, Wes volunteered to drive to Ballarat on Friday morning to get it done. While he was there, he stocked up on gin & whisky at Dan Murphy's, and bought tuna & swordfish from Ballarat Seafood, as well as vanilla slices from the Golden Nugget Bakery. Meanwhile, I had a podiatry appointment, and did some chores for Leanne, as well as picking up a chai latte for Glen.

Yesterday was a beautiful day after a cool morning. Wes washed Morse, who was very overdue for a bath after three weeks & I washed all his bedding, and was under extreme pressure to get it all back again. Meanwhile, Wes has been pruning in the front & back gardens, which have grown madly, especially the buddleias. I've been picking small quantities of Roma tomatoes, harvested exactly one cucumber, and pulled out the basil plants which had finished. 

Morse post bath, luxuriating in his clean bedding!

We visited the Rotary Farmers' Market, which was quite small & not well advertised or attended, which is such a shame, as it is very accessible in the Primary School grounds, with plenty of parking. I bought some things for Glen, Wes had a snag in white bread and we chatted to Ken from Spring Park Nursery. On our way home, we bought a chai latte for Glen and afternoon tea for us from Pancho.

At lunchtime, Glenda contacted us to say that she had tested positive for COVID 19, so we promptly did RATs, even though we had no symptoms and were pleased to discover we were negative as we are due to have our next booster & flu injections this week. 

We woke this morning to the very sad news that the incomparable Barry Humphries had died yesterday, aged 89. We were lucky enough to see him perform live and will never forget the anxiety of audience members, especially those who arrived late, as he pilloried them mercilessly. He will be greatly missed.

Barry Humphries as his most famous & unforgettable creation, Dame Edna Everage & as himself