Daylesford Dispatch - Sunday, 15th July 2012

 Dear Friends, there have been a few attacks of Killer Labs so far this week – a Killer Lab attack usually occurs when I am lying in bed and it is getting close to their dinner time with no sign of anyone cooking rice in preparation for it. It is usually preceded by excited dancing, side by side, a quick grab of one of my thongs and a leap onto the bed by Bilbo, followed by a more sedate, but very determined leap by Frodo, who pushes Bilbo out of the way and settles in on my pillows. The attack subsides once they have been fed or locked out of the bedroom. Sadly on Monday afternoon, they worked out how to open our bedroom door, so that avenue is now closed for us!

Killer Labs plotting ….

Although I had enjoyed a very quiet afternoon & evening on Sunday while Wes and Barbara were at Williamstown Little Theatre seeing The God of Carnage, I woke feeling not quite myself on Monday. Dolly Grey was due for 1,000km service that morning, so I drove over to Ballarat, but stayed put in the showroom as it was only required for 90 minutes or so. By the time I arrived back home, I was exhausted and went to bed. Wes spent the afternoon doing Hepburn Voices across the road at Barbara’s place, with an interesting interview of Rob McDonald, and then a visit to Glenn Mack. By the time he got home, the boys were locked in the laundry and he had to see for himself that they really had worked out if they threw themselves bodily at the bedroom door, it would fly open and the impetus would land them on the bed. Our friend, Carol, had her beautiful grand-daughter, Alexandra, staying with her for 24 hours & we had hoped that we could have caught up with each other & the boys, but it didn’t happen. Maybe next time.

Tuesday was grey and the rain didn’t let up, so I stayed in bed and watched two films that Wes had taped – Enid, about Enid Blyton, starring Helena Bonham Carter & Matthew Macfadyen. The acting was wonderful and the story quite frightening – Enid treated her daughters abominably and wrote for all the other children in the world. Her output was prodigious and I have read nearly everything she ever wrote as she had such a gift. The second film, with Catherine Deneuve, was called Hidden Diary and deals very well with mother-daughter relationships and our penchant to judge by what we see on the surface.

       Helena Bonham Carter & the real Enid

Wednesday found me feeling much better and before I went to Mah Jong, I printed out 82 Art Show Entry Forms and posted them. We had a good morning playing and Carol is so happy now that she has a new front tooth after maybe six weeks of waiting.

It has been too wet for golf, or gardening most of the week, so Wes has been lost in Ancestry.com, finding out all sorts of things about our forebears. Meanwhile I sent out 132 emails to Artists on Thursday and on Friday I designed Entry Passes for the Opening Night Cocktail Party. As well, I visited various places in town trying to get our posters displayed and there are only a handful of places left, apart from the Info Centre.

I mentioned on Facebook that I had really enjoyed reading a book by Ailsa Piper, Sinning Across Spain, which is the story of her 1,300 km walk from Granada to Galicia carrying a load of sins in her swag. On Friday I took it with me when I walked into town and was lucky enough to meet up with Annie Smith, who walked the Comino about 10 years ago with her husband, David. She was thrilled to have the book to read and we enjoyed a good chat and catch up over cuppas outside Gracenotes Café.

Wes & Barbara drove to Melbourne for the Carlton & North game & left at ¾ time, with Wes quite disgusted with Carlton’s lack of effort after their brilliant game last week.

We had been worried about Jan Smith who is struggling with her health at present & I sent her a message on Friday afternoon, asking if she needed help. She was at Ballarat Base Hospital on her own for a CAT scan & put me on standby in case she couldn’t drive home. Fortunately she was OK, but we decided to meet for breakfast yesterday morning and catch up. I collected her in the fog & rain & we spent an enjoyable time at Bocconcini, one of the few places open at 8.30am. The food is good & the staff is very friendly and welcoming.

Wes decided to come to the footy with me last night as I was apprehensive about driving home on my own, and we had a lovely evening, out of the wind, rain & hail, watching the Pies prevail over a very fast finishing Geelong. We drove through some dirty weather on the way home & avoided a driver who did a U-turn in front of us, unaware there was anyone else on the road. Dolly Grey took it all in her stride!

Marilyn & Robert have some exciting news with both their sons – Heath & Sarah are expecting their first baby later this year and have bought a lovely period home in Ascot Vale; and Callum & Maureen have come back from Seattle to Melbourne to live.

              Sarah & Heath                    

Robert & Marilyn in welcome home mode!