I can't resist Sally!
We started our week with a great visit to Leanne, and planted some azaleas & herbs under her lounge window. All the other garden beds are going well, and there are flowers on her lemon tree at last. We arrived home in time to watch Carlton look good for a half against St Kilda, before the Saints took the lead and didn't stop, winning by 22 points.
On Monday, I had asked Wes to give me a lesson in moving to One-Drive, so we made that our School, and after a few hiccups, I seem to be managing better than I did the first time we tried to do this. Before that I had an early chat on Messenger with my aunt, Jeff, and her daughter, Leigh, in Torksey Lock, Lincolnshire. Leigh & Simon were with Jeff for the week, before all three drove to London to check into the Hotel Kimpton Fitzroy, where they were meeting up with my brother, Peter, and his wife, Anka, who are enjoying an overseas trip.
Tuesday was ANZAC Day - we had hoped to get to the Daylesford Dawn Service, but opted for the 9am service at Eganstown instead. We really love this casual, but meaningful country remembrance with a local bugler (Jack Walker), piper (Langley Rowbottom), speaker (Group Captain Phillip Lavelle ret) and vocalist (Sallie Harvey) singing "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" unaccompanied. Afterwards billy tea & homemade ANZAC biscuits are offered around the fire.
Floral wreaths
Ian Tinetti, RSL President; John Menadue, son of Winsome, who started this tradition, and Keith Pyers, MC
Some of the crowd in attendance
Daylesford Pipes & Drums piper
When we arrived home, we planted over 100 yellow daffodil and tête-à-tête bulbs in our front & back gardens. We do this most years and ANZAC Day is the recommended perfect time to do it. Usually, I then catch the train to the MCG to see Collingwood & Essendon play a game that is always made meaningful by the ceremonies that surround it. Our two teams have been lucky enough to play this game since 1995 and until COVID struck, I hadn't missed a match. However, this year I didn't get a reserved seat, and as most of the MCC Reserve had been sold, my chances of getting one were not good. I decided it would be madness to travel for two hours to the ground and then have to come back home again if I was unsuccessful. If I had more energy, I would happily have arrived two hours before the gates opened & queued up.
It was an amazing game in front of over 95,000 fans - the second biggest crowd ever to a game during the home & away season. After Essendon looked the goods for three quarters, they tired in the fourth & we managed to overcome a 28-point deficit to record a narrow win. Afterwards I was so proud of our Captain, Darcy Moore, whose acceptance speech of the trophy was all about the ANZACS & their families & what the day means to Australians.
Both teams running through the joint banner before the game & Darcy Moore speaking afterwards
After the walk on Thursday, we had a rainbow, followed by a deluge of rain, which was just what the garden needed. Wes enjoyed an interesting chat with his Overseas Friends, and I followed with my Old Friends.
Wes took this stunning photo
On Friday, Wes took Pearl to Ballarat to have the new windscreen fitted. He was told it would take around 6 hours, so he had breakfast in Sturt Street, before going to the Regent Cinemas to see the film, Alleluia, as it was the only offering with any interest to him. We had hoped to see it together, but I will try and get there soon so we can debrief. Fortunately, the car was ready much earlier than expected and he was home by lunchtime.
Yesterday afternoon, we went to Victoria Park to see the Annual Grudge Match between fierce rivals, Daylesford & Hepburn in the local footy. We are members of Daylesford and have been ever since we moved here. Sadly, neither the Reserves nor the Seniors were any match for Hepburn, but our Under 18 team recorded a good win, which gives us hope for the future. We sat next to Colin, who used to live here, and was Shire President back in the days before Jeff Kennett amalgamated lots of small Shires into bigger Councils. He had lots of amusing stories to tell & we were pleased to have met him.
Country footy at Victoria Park yesterday
Last night Carlton recorded a huge win against West Coast over in Perth, with Charlie Curnow kicking 9 goals. Wes was delighted with the performance, although he assures me that Morse didn't like staying up late to watch to the very end.
We've woken to a cool, misty morning here and will be heading off to the Daylesford Market shortly to collect fruit, vegetables & dog treats.
Beautiful Autumn colours in our backyard
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