Daylesford Dispatch - Sunday, 29th May 2011

Greta, Lauren, Danny & Karen in Devonport showing our allegiance & in Greta’s case a little more than is necessary! Danny assures me Pat still wears this jumper.

Dear Friends, thanks for the phone calls and messages wondering if I was alright as there was no Dispatch last weekend. I have spent most of this past week in bed fighting off the first Winter cold and seem to have won the battle. Sadly we had to postpone a luncheon we were hosting yesterday and hope to we can reschedule it in July.

When I last wrote, we were heading off to collect Hanna, have lunch with her at Café 3460 and drive her to Melbourne, all of which went off without a hitch. Kim was delighted to see Hanna and lots of familiar faces stopped to stay hello to her as we had our lunch. When we got to the National Gallery, we were worried that Hanna’s friend had not arrived to meet her, and eventually discovered she was waiting in the foyer of the Arts Centre next door. Wes and I left them and walked to Federation Square to see the Eugene von Guérard Exhibition and the hour we spent there wasn’t anywhere near enough time to appreciate it and him fully.

We had a delightful casual meal at the Curve Bar at the Arts Centre, before going to see “Next to Normal” an American musical play supposedly about schizophrenia, but more about grief and misunderstanding. Wes was completely underwhelmed by it, and I enjoyed the music, but was annoyed by the schmaltzy feel of the play.

We played golf on the Tuesday morning early, just the two of us, and once again, although we weren’t brilliant, we had enough good shots to keep us interested. In the afternoon I had a massage with Ann, while Wes drove Barbara to Castlemaine where they picked up Bobby, her new cat, who is about 12 months old and very playful.

Carol, Dot and I played Mah Jong on Wednesday and shared out the honours and that night we had an enjoyable Rotary Meeting where we were addressed by a police Inspector who has been mentored by Rotary. He was most interesting and impressive.

On Thursday I finally caught up with Judi at her place, where Maddy and Major greeted me like a long-lost friend. We had a good chat and lots of cups of tea. They have a beautiful view through their lounge window and it makes the most of the morning sun. In the afternoon Wes drove to Woodend for a dental appointment, while I spent some time in the garden getting the vegetable beds in the back ready for Winter planting with enormous help from Bilbo and Frodo.

We were out early on Friday having breakfast with Jim Swatman again to talk through our role in his year as incoming President of Rotary. He has some great ideas, which mean we keep having to change the template of the Rotary Bulletin, but I think it is finally agreed on.

Warren & Barbara drove to Melbourne to see Carlton play Geelong. I don’t know about Barbara’s feelings, but Wes came home on quite a high, convinced that Carlton are not only Finals material, but potential Grand Final participants. He was disappointed that they couldn’t win the game, but pleased with the fight and the skills shown by most of the players.

We had volunteered to be on the gate for the local footy on Saturday – Daylesford vs Buninyong and had an early start of 9.30am in the cold. We both enjoyed the shift, especially with a cash register tray to put the money in and thermoses of tea to keep us warm. I went home and collected the boys at midday and tied them up to the gate, where they attracted lots of attention and pats.

John Goullet relieved me at 1pm and I went to watch the seconds have a close win, while Wes joined me just after the start of the firsts. Daylesford was never in the hunt and we left for home at half-time as we felt we had already spent enough time at the ground. When we saw the final result we were pleased with our decision – much nicer sitting in the heated lounge with a glass of wine and a plate of cheese and biscuits.

There was a lovely moment in the morning when I recognised Nathan Cummings, a handsome young man that I first met 6 years ago when he was about 10 and the boys were puppies. He sat in the gutter outside Sweet Decadence playing with them, then went over the road to the $2 shop and bought them combs and proceeded to comb their fur. We met often over the next 3 years and he used to walk the boys around the boundary line at the footy during half-time. I haven’t seen him for 2 years as he has been playing footy for the Under 18s and now he is taller and slimmer and when I greeted him by name as he came through the gate, he smiled and gave me a hug! He found us later during the game much to the delight of Bilbo and Frodo.

1987 in Peter’s jeep in the Seychelles

Sunday was the usual busy morning – I walked the boys, then after a shower and fresh clothes, took them with me to Leitches Creek to pump mineral water for the week. Then we went to the Sunday Market, collected our fruit, vegetables and dog bones, came home and put everything away, then off to breakfast, where there was a cast of thousands or so it seemed. The weather was cold and wet, so we decided to take the boys back home rather than tie them up on the veranda. I went inside to tell Kim and Gary, whereupon Gary grabbed their toast and vegemite which he had ready for them and fed them in the back of our car – talk about Meals on Wheels!

After breakfast we drove to Melbourne to see Collingwood play Adelaide at Docklands Stadium. We had good seats, were surrounded by good-natured supporters of both sides and endured a pathetic first half from the Pies in which they scored 2 goals 10 behinds. Fortunately we got our act together in the third quarter and finally ran away with the game with an 11-goal last quarter.

We had been invited to Kathy & Ged’s place for a Sicilian meal after the footy, so drove to Burwood and had a wonderful few hours catching up with them and eating a feast of fine food with equally fine Italian wines. It was lovely and relaxing to sit at their dining table listening to stories about their travels in Italy. I think all four of us would have happily caught the next flight out – we have never travelled around Italy and it seems as though we have missed out on some great experiences.

Wes with Kathy & Ged outside the Wolseley in London March 2010

As we were driving home I could feel I was coming down with a cold and by the next morning I was confined to barracks. Wes has been wonderful, cooking lovely meals and allowing me to stay in bed and try to sleep my way back to health. He was able to play Chess with Barbara on Monday, take her to an orthotics appointment at Ballarat on Tuesday, attend Rotary on Wednesday, walk the boys and keep the home fires burning. I gave my ticket to the opera “How to Kill Your Husband” to Judi, apologised for missing Mah Jong and Rotary, cancelled appointments with the dentist and beauty therapist in Ballarat (even if I hadn’t been coughing all over them, I couldn’t have driven there and back) and finally emerged on Friday morning to have morning tea with Gill Murray at her home locally. Gill made pikelets aplenty and we had tea and lots of chatter, mostly about her experiences as a Civil Celebrant, as well as Family Trees. Wes had hoped to meet his cousin, Glenn Testro, at the footy that night, but Glenn was unable to come and Wes saw Carlton down Melbourne on his own. He arrived home very tired around 12.30am.

Yesterday, after visiting Barbara early, Wes did a Rotary shift collecting for the Salvos, before having an early lunch with Glenn Mack, who dropped in to chat, and then caught up on some sleep. I made soup, did the ironing, answered emails and spent the afternoon and evening watching footy and knitting.

We’ve just come back from a lovely breakfast with Judi, Michael, Gillie, Glenn and Barbara. As Gail was away, we got a chance to send the conversation in some different directions and enjoyed a spirited discussion about imprisonment, battleships, Gillie’s impending trip to South Africa to look after her sister etc, while demolishing mountains of food & hot drinks, courtesy of Kim & Gary. We are shortly off to Melbourne, where I will find a warm spot to watch the footy and Wes will visit Joan Testro, who is in Cabrini at present for a rest.

Lovely photo of Denise Anderson with Joan Testro 2008

Daylesford Dispatch - Monday, 16th May, 2011

Leon Anderson looking very sweet aged 4 & Ben Lazzaro looking bemused aged 11

Dear Friends, Wes has been having so much fun posting old photos on Facebook and the reactions have been very interesting. His nephew, Leon, for example, likes this photo so much he has made it his profile on Facebook; however Ben Lazzaro has been in touch with his solicitor after Wes posted the photo of him above.

We have been very busy so I apologise for the delay in sending this week’s Dispatch to you. After our enjoyable weekend with Ron & Margo, we caught up on chores and sleep and everything else that we needed to do. Judi & Michael were away in Noosa for the week, so I collected their mail and checked their home every 2 days, as well as checking John & Jan’s cottage and bringing in their bin, as they were in Melbourne for the week. In between, I spent time with Sheila Hollingworth, while Wes took Barbara’s cat, Ascot, to the vet, as she had suffered renal failure and had to be put to sleep. We had planned to go to the Carlton vs St Kilda game on the Monday night, but cancelled that so that Wes could spend time with Barbara in the afternoon instead. Jan Smith kindly visited her as well and I sent over some minestrone soup in case she couldn’t be bothered cooking. I spent the afternoon in Ballarat collecting new orthotics, getting lost, buying dog bones (eventually) and trying the Coles Supermarket to see if it had a larger range than the one here – it hasn’t or at least not for the things we buy.

On Tuesday after Strong, Wes and I played golf in the frost at Trentham and hit just enough good shots to think we would come back again. In the afternoon Wes took Barbara to Ballarat for an orthotics appointment and for various other chores that needed doing. I had set myself a mission of finding the Collected Poetry of Wilfred Owen to give to Wes as he had been so moved by it during the play he saw 10 days ago. So I tracked down a book locally, but had to wait 24 hours to collect it and give it to him and he was delighted.

The next day, Wes spent on the computer while I played Mah Jong with the usual crew and we shared out the games, then had a manicure with Michelle at her home, and raced back here to get ready for a busy afternoon/evening. It was Peter Widdop’s birthday and we had been invited to share drinks with him and Cathy and a few friends before we went to Rotary and they went to dinner. That was lovely as always, and more than made up for the appalling Rotary Meeting, where we went back to the 70s with butcher’s paper and textas as we discussed the best ways to mentor new Rotary members, now called ‘mentees’, a word not in my dictionary!

On Thursday Wes invited me to have lunch with him at Annie Smithers Bistrot in Kyneton and we set off on a cold, wet day to enjoy a stunning meal together. Wes enjoyed a perfect piece of pork to match my perfectly cooked fish. We can’t resist Annie’s rose pavlova (she told our waiter that she created it for my 30^th birthday – more like 50^th but it was a kind thing to say) and finished our meal with a piece of Roquefort, accompanied by a thick Spanish sherry, which was to die for. We have bought a bottle of the sherry and allowed our Saturday night guests to partake of this pleasure.

Needless to say we didn’t need dinner, but we watched our second Mike Leigh film in a week instead. We can’t recommend him and them more highly – ‘Meantime’ which was fabulous – contrasting 2 families in Maggie Thatcher’s London and their struggles to stay afloat. The second film, “Career Girls” is fantastic as well & as Wes wrote on Facebook - if you experienced inadequate self or inadequate friends or inadequate awareness when stumbling through the 16-21 years, you will relate to this. And of course because it is a Mike Leigh film all the actors just act their socks off.”

The next day we set off in the early afternoon for Melbourne. I had heard that the MCG car park would be completely closed for the Collingwood & Geelong game that night, so we decided to drive in and see a film before the footy. We were so pleased we did, got a great park at the Tennis Centre, and went to the Kino where we saw “Incendies”, which we had won free tickets to and been unable to go. Kathy & Ged (who used our tickets) had highly recommended the film and we haven’t stopped talking and thinking about it since. This was Wes’s comment on Facebook – “We saw this amazing film yesterday. It challenges so much about the Middle East, our comfort zones, families, and sibling relationships. It is so good that films like this are made.”

David Lazzaro met us at the bar before the match and I discovered he was as nervous about the game as I was. It was a good, close match and the Cats deserved to win – they could have blown us away in the first quarter if they had kicked straight! We got out of the car park easily in spite of the 81,000+ crowd and were home and in bed just before midnight.

On Saturday we spent the morning cooking and preparing for our dinner party that night. Our friends, Mike Hill and Lorna Pitt go back to Brunswick Council and ALP days and it is always lovely to catch up with them. Wes gets a good fill of current politics from Mike and Lorna and they are easy guests. We took them to Café 3460 for lunch when they arrived, then watched the Melbourne vs North game on TV as Mike is a passionate Demons fan. He was most disappointed when the Dees gave away a good lead and let North cruise to an easy victory.

Mike Hill as Mayor of Brunswick with Rotary Kids in Poverty Project 1996

We had invited Jenny & Eddie Beacham, Candy Broad & Hal Swerissen & Sheila Hollingworth to join us at dinner, which was a Sri Lankan fish curry served with rice and an old favourite African beef stew served with mashed potatoes. We followed that with bread and butter pudding and trifle, then a cheese platter courtesy of Eddie and Jenny, and chocolates which had been brought by Candy, Hall and Sheila. Needless to say we got through countless bottles of beautiful red, white, sparkling and soft drinks and got to bed around midnight, after some fascinating political discussions.

Wes very kindly walked the boys early for me yesterday while I hand-washed all the crystal glasses and put endless loads through the dishwasher. I took the boys to Leitches Creek to pump water, collected fruit and vegetables & dog bones at the Sunday Market and completed the kitchen clean up just as Mike and Lorna emerged in time for breakfast. Kim and Gary had excelled themselves again and we enjoyed a spirited and entertaining 90 minutes where we welcomed back Judi & Michael and received lovely gifts from them, and attempted to stop Gail hogging the limelight!

Mike and Lorna went to visit Lorna’s brother, John, who lives at the Old Macaroni Factory with Maria Viola, and then we took them to see the Wind Farm at Leonard’s Hill before driving to Clunes to participate in the last few hours of Booktown. We were so pleased we got there and met up with Tim Hayes, Tess Brady and Graeme Johnstone, the hard-working trio that has made this annual weekend celebration such a success. The wonderful thing for both of us was that they still remember that it was Warren’s idea and that he pushed them hard to get it going and didn’t stop thanking him. We were in time to shake hands with Bob Hawke, who was a powerful drawcard, and he looked in fine form – blue eyes sparkling and cravat casually knotted around his neck – Blanche has done wonders for his dress sense.

We also spent time with Chris Maldon and Wayne Cross who have taken over the National Hotel in the main street and, with their usual flair, are making it the place to be. We shared a bottle of Passing Clouds Shiraz with Mike and Lorna and left them eating a pizza before driving home. We got home in time to feed the boys before they got too frantic and collapsed into bed after polishing off some leftovers.

Today Wes enjoyed having Judi’s company on his early walk and the boys were pleased to have seen Maddy & Major after their break at Eureka Kennels. Wes and I played golf and each knocked 9 strokes off our previous scores. Once again we hit enough good shots to make us come back – perhaps tomorrow morning.

Shortly we are collecting Hanna Laundl, who has been in Daylesford this weekend with her daughter, Rebecca, and two friends, all from Sydney. We are driving her to the Arts Centre, where a Melbourne friend will collect her. We are going to see the Eugene von Guerard exhibition at the National Gallery before going to the MTC play “Next to Normal” and hope to get home by 10.30pm, which is much better than midnight!

Viva with Karen – what an intelligent looking baby she was!

Karen with Toby Jug 22 years later – what an intelligent looking puppy he was!

Daylesford Dispatch - Sunday, 8th May, 2011

Happy Mother’s Day to Viva & all you other mothers

Dear Friends, after some lovely Autumn days, we are suddenly being introduced to Winter with some very cold mornings. We’ve had a great weekend catching up with old friends, Ron & Margo Prophet, who have been out of our lives for about 8 years. Ron spotted Wes on Facebook, followed up and they arrived yesterday afternoon for a short, but very successful visit. After hugs and kisses and a late lunch of soup and Red Beard pumpkin bread, we took them for a brief drive around the Shire, then brought them back here to prepare, as we had invited Glenn, Bronwen & John for dinner. Margo & I avoided too many duties, but Ron settled happily into a dual role of sous chef and drinks waiter.

Wes made a yummy bouillabaisse with rockling, prawns and mussels, which we accompanied with sourdough bread and baked kohlrabi. I had made a trifle, using Viva’s recipe, and then we offered Goldfields cheeses bought at the Farmer’s Market. Bronwen had made some yummy macaroons to accompany tea and coffee, so we didn’t even open the beautiful chocolates that Margo had brought, although we managed to get through most of the wine that everyone contributed! Conversation flowed, the fire added warmth and atmosphere and after everyone else had left we sat around chatting until I peeled off around 11pm, Margo at midnight and the boys at 1am.

This morning I did my usual routine with Bilbo and Frodo – early walk, and then we pumped mineral water at Leitches Creek, bought goodies at the Sunday Market, then off to breakfast. Ron & Margo coped very well with meeting more of our friends, Gail arrived in her traditional Mother’s Day outfit of dressing gown and pjs, Kim outdid himself with corn fritters to accompany the eggs, snags, bacon, mushrooms, smoked salmon, tomatoes and spinach. Gary was kept busy providing hot drinks for us, once he had given the boys their toast with vegemite.

We all went to the Sunday Market together and enjoyed wandering around, meeting Nick & Lindsay, Ruth Bray and Glen & Peta Heyne on our way, as well as lots of dogs. Then back home for a last cup of tea and chat before Ron & Margo drove back home in time to watch their son, Andrew, play hockey at the State Hockey Centre. Thank you so much for the visit – let’s not leave 8 years’ gap before we see each other again.

Ron & Margo with Andrew & Lauren flanked by Lib on the left & Viva on the right @ 246 Brunswick Road, Christmas Morning 1999

Yesterday, before our visitors arrived, we spent a very enjoyable shift on the Farmers’ Market, where everyone seemed in good spirits, and our friends, Nigel & Sandy told us they had finally sold their Bullarto property, entertained their last paying visitor, and were moving into Daylesford in a rented house while their new Fasham & Johnson house is being built on a block of land here. They have always wanted to use them as builders and just love our house – sliding doors, brickwork and all!

When I left you last Saturday, we were off to the local footy. I took Michael and Wes joined us later, after he had driven Deane to the airport. It was an exciting and close game that Hepburn won by 9 points at the end. I suspect if we hadn’t had 2 serious injuries the result could have been different. Sunday we had another big turnout for breakfast with Judi & Michael’s friend, Yvonne, and Gillie’s friend, Hilary, swelling the numbers.

After breakfast I drove to Melbourne to visit Viva, and then to Northcote to stay the night with Danny. We went off to the twilight footy together and until the Pies got their act together in the last quarter, it looked as though our pre-match drink together would be the highlight. Afterwards we had dinner in Victoria Street. The next morning, we had breakfast together in East Melbourne before Danny went to work and I drove back here in pouring rain and fog. In the meantime, Barbara drove Wes, John & Jan to the Williamstown Little Theatre to see ‘Not About Heroes’, which they all loved. Judi wasn’t well enough to go and offered their tickets to John & Jan, who enjoyed the experience of the tiny theatre and dinner afterwards at the pub.

Celia, Lauren, Danny & Greta on Greta’s wedding day – 3 beautiful young women with their proud father

The rest of Monday was quiet, although Wes played Chess in the afternoon with Barbara and John Smith, who has joined U3A to do this class. We missed golf on Tuesday as well, as Wes had breakfast with his nephew, Leon, and I made a big pot of minestrone soup before having a massage with Ann. We were sorry not to play golf, but we just can’t fit everything in!

On Wednesday we met Jim Swatman, the Irishman who is incoming Rotary President, to discuss his needs for the Bulletin, which we have agreed to do for his year. We spent 90 minutes talking about his vision for his year and not much on the Bulletin, except for the request to include a shamrock. Then I went off to play Mah Jong with Valerie and Dot and we had a most enjoyable morning catching up on each other’s news and sharing the Mah Jongs around.

That night, Wes was Chairman at Rotary, where Jan Thompson, who founded ‘Strong Classes’ was the Guest Speaker. She was very good and will no doubt recruit some new members, especially as she didn’t push her classes, but spoke about her journey. I had invited Jan Smith to attend, as I knew she was interested in meeting Jan Thompson and learning about Strong.

The next day, Nicole came to cut my hair, give me a henna and keep me updated on gossip. Then Wes and I spent an hour or two designing a new Bulletin cover for Jim, which he promptly reviewed and asked for a few more impossible things. Fortunately I thought of asking Callum Preston in Seattle for help and he came back with a clip art line of coloured stick figures holding hands – thank you so much Callum, perfect! Wes is loving scanning old photos and working on the Family Tree.

By Friday we were running out of minestrone, and I had to make a curry for dinner. I caught up with Carol Bruce at Cafe 3460 to hear all about ‘Dr Zhivago’, which she and Marjorie had seen on Wednesday. Gillie had invited us and Glenn to drinks to say goodbye to Judi & Michael who left yesterday morning for a week in Noosa catching up with family. We had a stimulating and indulgent hour or so in Gillie’s lounge drinking beautiful wine and demolishing wonderful cheeses and dips. Then home for eggplant curry and early to bed in preparation for the busy weekend just gone.

1976 – outside the House of Dunhill in London!