Daylesford St Patrick's Day Dispatch - Sunday, 17th March 2024

 
I've never had a limb in plaster, but I imagine the itching would be unbearable - poor Snoopy!

We enjoyed our visit to the Daylesford Market last Sunday, but it was already getting hot, when we pumped mineral water at Leitches Creek afterwards. We decided to forgo the ChillOut Parade, but Wes drove to Ballarat mid-morning, where he had promised to attend a session on Labour History at the Ballarat Trades Hall, which is a heritage-listed building. He knew most of the other attendees, and listened with interest to a talk from long-time friend, Jenny Beacham. 

It looks as though there was a big enough crowd to watch the Parade without us!

I spent Monday glued to the Test in New Zealand as Australia clawed its way back from 4/34 to eventually win the match. It is what makes Test Cricket so good to watch - the game see-sawed all morning, but thanks to Alex Carey's 98* and contributions from Marsh & Cummins, we managed to survive some great bowling. 

Morse suffering Test match tension!

Wes has been putting his mini-chainsaw to good use this week, and all the buddlias have been chopped back, much more rapidly than usual. He also cleaned out the pond, which is looking much better now it has been cleared of weeds, and I'm sure the frogs will jump back in with gusto. 

We decided to go to Ballarat on Wednesday morning to see the film The Great Escaper, starring Michael Caine & Glenda Jackson, both acting in their final films. We had breakfast at Café Lekker first and explored a few of Ballarat's laneways before making our way to the cinema. We were blown away by this wonderful film, which is based on a true story. The main actors were brilliant, but so were the supporting actors, and even the bit parts were carried off with aplomb. We haven't stopped talking about the issues it raised - love, ageing, unfinished business, secrets & lies etc. Please go & see it if you get the chance. 

We've both had lots of Zooms & phone calls this week - thanks to everyone who participated, and apologies to Terry Borg, who was the victim of a giant upgrade on both my desktop & the laptop, just as we were due to chat. 

Wes was very excited when Carlton held off the brave Tigers to record a second win on Thursday night. I had a reserved seat for the Collingwood game against Sydney the following night, especially because I wanted to see last year's Premiership Flag unfurled. 

Our neighbour, James, came to visit in the morning and offered to drive me to the MCG, as he was going back home that afternoon. I accepted his offer with pleasure, and he dropped me off just before 6pm, which gave me time to spend a few minutes with David Lazzaro, before going to my seat to watch the ceremony. Afterwards I had a good chat with Gayle Gibson, as it was the first Anniversary of her husband, Fraser's death. She told me about three brothers that sit with her in the Long Room - Charles, Harold & José (call me Joe). She asked quite rightly - what was your mother doing or thinking to call you José, for which there was no reply. P.S. They were all born in the Nederlands. 

I was sitting next to a dapper older gentleman on his own, who introduced himself as John, and we got talking. He is 74 and rides to the G on his motorbike from Mornington. Apparently his wife is keen for him to stop, but he's been riding since he was 18 and will consider her request when he turns 80!

The Swans were far too good for the Pies, and ran out easy winners by 33 points. I left about 10 minutes before the end, as Wes & Morse were picking me up outside the ground and I arrived at our spot just as they pulled up. We had a good run home & were in bed just after midnight. Yesterday morning Wes got up at 5.20am to walk Morse, who wouldn't get out of bed, so we had a sleep in until 7am. Win! Win!

We had a very quiet day recovering and I was in bed before dinnertime after watching Essendon record a good win against Hawthorn in a close, exciting match; and North try their best, but fail against GWS. We woke to discover Geelong had beaten St Kilda in another close game, and Gold Coast had recorded their second win beating Adelaide. 

Finally, our friend, Viv, let us know that her husband, Jon, died from a brain tumour 7 years after he was diagnosed and underwent treatment. Viv was so happy with Jon and they did everything together. We only met him once when they visited from Paris, but we warmed to him instantly and are so sorry his life has been cut short.