Dear Friends, we’ve lived through some cold, wet, windy days here lately and I for one am very glad that Winter is half over as it has been here with a vengeance. It does mean the occasional lazy day sitting in front of the fire, but we both have too much computer work to be able to do that as much as we would like. Wes in particular is waking at 3.30-4am and goes downstairs to make sure that whatever thoughts he has had during the night are committed to the computer.
On Monday, we attended the official opening of the Daylesford Men’s Shed by our local MLA, Geoff Howard. The Shed has been built with grants from the Shire, donations from Rotary and a legacy in Klaas Kimstra’s will. The opening was very well-attended and impressive – I think Men’s Sheds are a brilliant concept and the members of our local Shed are keen to give as much back to the community as they can. I spent the afternoon designing the Entry Form for this year’s Rotary Art Show, building on the great work Wes did last year.
My package was through the AFL and I was most impressed with their organisation as I was met by two smiling faces at Coolangatta, ushered onto a bus and driven to Surfers Paradise along with 36 others from that flight. All in all, 7,000 Collingwood supporters made the trip, which must have injected heaps into the local economy. My hotel, Mantra Legends, was comfortable, with a flat-screen TV and kitchenette. I went for a long walk in the afternoon and decided that I would eat in as all the restaurants seemed to be offering ‘All You Can Eat’ deals and Room Service was very basic. Originally I had planned to have dinner with Lawrie Townsend, physio, whose practices I managed in the early 80s, but Lawrie thought I was staying in Brisbane and couldn’t face the drive in peak hour on Friday night.
My seat was nearly the very back row, but the view is similar to being in the back row on Level 3 at the MCG. It was in a pocket which is not my preference but I could see to the other end of the ground. There was a good atmosphere with lots of committed Suns supporters, heaps of Pies and their best crowd ever of 23,000+. Sadly the game never reached any great heights, not like the Carlton match which was an arm wrestle until half-time when the Blues powered away and we did not have a mark to rival Andrew Walker’s Mark of the Year which was a beauty. We were back at our hotel before 11pm and most people, including the footballers, watched Cadel Evans until they couldn’t stay awake anymore and discovered his win in the morning.
On Tuesday, after Strong Class, I drove through rain, wind and fog to visit Viva in sunny Melbourne where I was delighted to see that she had improved enormously and was looking much more like her usual self – a better colour, stronger and determined to get home ASAP. The pneumonia has left her lungs and settled in her chest, which means she will be coughing for quite a few weeks, but the doctors don’t expect the pneumonia to go back into her lungs again – at least not this Winter.
While I was away Wes and John Smith did an oral history interview with David Hall and there is so much material they will have to come back again for Part II. We watched ‘The Wind That Shakes the Barley’ over dinner. If you don’t know the film it is a sympathetic look at Republicans in early 20th century Ireland, and two brothers who are torn apart by anti-Brit rebellion and is directed by Ken Loach.
Wednesday was particularly windy and I was pleased not to be driving anywhere. Gillie arrived home today, so I put her mail in a big cardboard box, bought some jonquils and put them in a vase and left everything at her back door. She was planning on staying awake all day, but confessed over Skype that it was just too difficult to achieve. Wes and I spent most of the day sitting at our computers getting ready for the Arts Show meeting, with the boys snoring gently on their bed. I got them new pillows from the MS Shop, as they had destroyed their last lot from Barbara and they are delighted with them and snuggled in very happily.
Wes was the Guest Speaker at Rotary that night and asked for a commitment from the Club to make this Art Show a big success by building on all we had achieved last year. At our Committee meeting the following afternoon it became apparent that we have some great willing workers but we are all going to be very busy between now and Cup weekend.
I drove to Melbourne again on Thursday morning to visit Viva, then back here in time for the Arts Show meeting. That night we had dinner at the long table at the Farmers Arms to celebrate Gillie’s return home. It was a lovely evening and Wes decided on the spur of the moment to increase his dinner guests on Saturday night from one to whoever wanted to join him and Barbara as they watched the Carlton vs Essendon game.
Friday morning we were up early as I had managed to get a late package to see the Pies play the Gold Coast Suns on the Saturday night. Wes drove me to the airport, where I checked in to Virgin Blue, my first trip ever with them. Gail and Terry had raved about them and I was pleasantly surprised by 4 main things:
1. The friendliness of the staff
2. The description of passengers as ‘guests’
3. The ability to board front or rear of the plane, and
4. The willingness of the crew to completely clean up the cabin at the end of the flight which allows for a very speedy turnaround.
Gail had alleged that Virgin was always on time, but I arrived to find 4 delayed flights to the Gold Coast, but fortunately not my flight. Even the players had to change planes and we flew off before they did. Our flight included the injured and naughty Collingwood players – Beams, Dawes, Didak, Wellingham and Shaw. It was a lovely new plane, very comfortable and my only other surprise was to discover you had to buy your meals. That was all handled well and I had a less than ‘gourmet’ sandwich, but a lovely cup of tea for the princely sum of $12.
The next morning I went for another long walk before Michael and Linda Kirby picked me up and we drove to Southport for a long leisurely breakfast together, which was most enjoyable. Linda had booked a table at the Surf Club with uninterrupted views of the water. Thank you both again for making the time in a busy weekend to catch up as it was just lovely. As well Linda introduced me to Viber, which is a phone & text message service that you can download to i-phones or Android phones. If you are texting someone who is also on Viber, the text is free, ditto phone calls. When I downloaded it, which took no time at all, I discovered eight friends were already using the service. It is similar to Skype but not as sophisticated and not available on your computer. To download it go to www.viber.com
I spent most of the rest of the day walking, did about 20kms according to the road signs as I walked from Southport to Broadbeach and back to Surfers. It was lovely to walk and have the sun on my face although the temperature never got above a very comfortable 18°. In the meantime Wes was having a wonderful day as he, his three nephews, and John’s son Kyahl, all met at Royal Park to play golf in memory of Wes’s father, Ray, who died 10 years ago that day. John drove from Cohuna to Daylesford and went with Wes, Shaun took photos and put them straight up on Facebook, Leon had organised it and Kyahl was the surprise. They chatted about Ray and remembered his good advice, his love and care and his little routines, which they all experienced as all three of Denise’s boys lived with Ray at some stage in their teenage lives.
That night Wes cooked his famous lamb with garlic and rosemary and lots of roast vegetables for Barbara, Gillie, John & Jan Smith, who all contributed food as well. It was such a shame that Gail & Terry decided to stay home to watch the Rugby League, as they would have enjoyed the night and their needs would have been accommodated occasionally I am sure. Wes tells me that TV flicked between the Carlton and Collingwood games and the Rugby Union match. Meanwhile I watched some of the Swans/Doggies match before joining the rest of my contingent down in the bar for drinks, nibbles and a chat from Tony Shaw, before piling into 4 buses and heading to the ground.
I set off again on a good walk early then found a lovely cafe called ‘First Avenue’ where I had smoked salmon and scrambled eggs with a pot of tea and thought about my friends in Daylesford being spoilt by Kim at Café 3460. After another walk it was time to head to the airport for the flight home, which left late but arrived on time. Wes was waiting for me and we drove straight to visit Viva, who didn’t seem as good as she had been, but she may have been tired, as the days are long and I have never seen her that late in the day. Back home here after a hairy drive through fog, rain and an errant kangaroo in Muskvale and we settled down to a quiet night of vegetables that Wes cooked and watched the latest ‘Hustle’, which we are both enjoying very much.
This morning I have had a massage as Ann was unable to accommodate me at my usual time tomorrow. She was impressed with my energy levels and thinks the few hours in the sun and all the walking has done wonders. Wes is out interviewing David Hall again with John Smith, and later this afternoon he will drive Gillie and I to Ballan Station as we are seeing the Britten opera ‘Albert Herring’ at 6.30pm tonight. He is then hosting a meeting of ‘Hepburn Voices’ and will pick us up when we get back to Ballan.
Viva, Perc, Ben, Ged and Wes at a cricket match 1981
Viva has been told she is going home on Wednesday, but it depends what the doctors say today. If she has to stay for a couple more days I will visit her tomorrow after Strong, if not I will be going down on Wednesday to help her move out of the hospital so that Leanne can be at home to welcome her when the ambulance arrives.
Jane as Mae West & Sherryn as the Queen late 70s
I hope to get back to a regular Dispatch again soon, but the footy beckons on Sunday, so it might be Monday of next week before I get in touch. Enjoy your week.
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