Daylesford Autumn Dispatch - Monday, 31st March 2014

 

Dear Friends, Warren & Barbara arrived back safely from Auckland late on Sunday afternoon, after the usual hassles of retrieving her wheelchair and its accessories (both often on different carousels). I had enjoyed a fun breakfast with Judi & Gillie, and spent the rest of the day very quietly except for afternoon tea with John & Jan Smith who were on their way home to Sandhurst from Bendigo. They detoured via Daylesford to check on Daisy-Lea cottage and we were able to spend an hour together at Gracenotes Café, until Bilbo suggested it was time I fed him.

Wes was very tired, went to bed early and slept straight through until 6.30am on Monday. Bilbo missed out on an early morning walk, but he and I have been doing a regular mid-morning walk to the Post Office and he is quite happy to sleep at my feet for the rest of the day. Cathy O’Toole came for a visit and Wes took her on a tour of the garden, where she fell in love with Hot Cocoa rose, as does everyone who sees it.

I had made a vegetable curry the night before and there was plenty for us to eat for lunch, so Wes had a rare day off cooking. Afterwards he applied my henna, helped Barbara and then hosted an ALP Discussion meeting, which finished in time for his regular Skype hook-up with Terry & Peter.

We woke to gentle rain on Tuesday, which was most welcome and gardens everywhere are looking so much better. After gym, Wes spent some time mulching, while I walked Bilbo. It was good to get back to gym too after missing last week. Afterwards I went to Daylesford Travel to buy a small suitcase, as our usual weekend away bag has worn out. I am very pleased with the new one, which can fit into the cabin if need be, but I am usually happy to check luggage in rather than have to worry about liquids & lotions and whether there is room in the overhead lockers!

There are two big issues in town at present – the first is the state of Vincent Street, between the two roundabouts. The road was resurfaced, apparently badly, some weeks ago and now it is in a worse state than before it was worked on. The second issue is that the owners of The Rex Arcade have asked the Daylesford Community Theatre to vacate the premises as they don’t pay enough rent to warrant the change in use of the Arcade. We are hoping that the vibrant new committee, led by Linda Carroll, will be able to find a suitable new venue, which is a better marriage of owners and occupiers. Sadly The Rex Arcade is going to die unless the owners can find another drawcard tenant such as the theatre has been. It is ironic that the original site of one of the three theatres in town can no longer show films!

On Wednesday Wes took Bilbo for an early morning walk in pleasant weather, and then spent some time cleaning the storm water drains, which was a messy, but very necessary job. I walked Bilbo into town with me, all the way to John & Jan’s place, checking for mail and the local paper. I was pleased that my knee suffered no ill effects and suspect I am just about back to normal as far as it is concerned.

Wes then spent a few hours with Barbara, taking her shopping at Coles; helping her exercise and then sharing lunch, which he cooked. Bilbo & I took it very quietly as he was exhausted and I needed to be in top condition for my trip to Sydney. There was no Mah Jong as Dot & John were away for the week, Gail & Terry went to Melbourne and Valerie was unavailable as it is Lent.

We woke to the sound of rain on Thursday morning and were delighted to have around 20mls in our gauge. It was good soaking rain, and everywhere looked so much better for it. Not a soul was complaining! Bilbo was happy to forgo his walk and came straight back to bed after enjoying his bone. Gym was full with the main topic for discussion the incredible decision taken by Tony Abbott to reintroduce knighthoods. We are all so very sad that Quentin Bryce chose to accept her title of Dame after 5½ years of incomparable service as our Governor-General.

After gym I spent a very pleasant hour catching up with Glenda Rozen, who was one of the first friends we made in Daylesford as she sold us the original house at 78 Duke Street. We hadn’t spent time with each other in a long time and both enjoyed it. Afterwards Wes met me as he thought we should find a suitable tray to put on our newly restored table. We searched through Brick Lane and finally found the perfect tray in the Mill Markets. Judi will be pleased to see the silver name plates she gave us many years ago back in action on our decanters!

 

Wes cooked a beautiful prawn risotto for lunch, and then I packed for Sydney while he caught up on computer work and settled his pre-match nerves for the Richmond vs Carlton game that night. He and Barbara had been planning to go, but she agreed with him that it would be such a late night and he had to be up and about early the next day driving me to Melbourne airport. So he took pies over to her place and somehow coped with the incredible nail-biting loss without tearing his hair out.

We have been worried about our friend, Jan Smith, who was taken to Cabrini emergency department on Tuesday night, apparently suffering a recurrence of diverticulitis (the same ailment her twin sister, Jen, is currently battling in Bendigo where Jan has been helping her). The specialist decided that Jan's problem is scar tissue from previous operations growing around other organs which causes all the pain. We are waiting to see what happens next.

I had a lovely time in Sydney – Wes drove me early on Friday, so I could relax in the Qantas Club and Jane met me the other end. We went straight to the Orpheum Cinema, a beautiful art-deco theatre in Cremorne, next door to Neutral Bay, and were just in time to see Wadjda, the stunning Saudi-Arabian film. Back home for me to unpack and settle in, which is always very easy to do…we drank lots of cups of tea and read and rested until Jane produced a brilliant, colourful polenta-based ‘pizza’ with an equally colourful salad to accompany it. Afterward we enjoyed oven-baked figs, which were such a treat, while we watched the footy. Hawthorn looked to have Essendon beaten at half-time and Australia was losing wickets in the Twenty20, so I went to bed and left Jane to watch and sleep on the couch until David arrived home.

The next day they both slept in and I spent a couple of quiet hours reading. Jane had arranged for us to have lunch with Terry McDonald at a lovely restaurant in Balmoral (behind the Bathers’ Pavilion). We duly met and enjoyed crab cakes, salad, pinot gris and conversation, followed by a walk along the foreshore. Back home Jane & I rested again watching the footy, which was a very entertaining game between St Kilda & Greater Western Sydney, with Nick Riewoldt the reason the Saints finally kicked away and won. Then we saw the first quarter of the Port vs Adelaide showdown at the beautiful Adelaide Oval, where there wasn’t a spare seat in sight.

 

Terry McDonald sporting his new hat, a gift from his daughter

Then it was time to go to the Olympic Stadium for the big game of Swans vs Magpies. Jane drove which was very comfortable and we arrived in plenty of time to get a good park in the multi-storey car park. We then did a circuit of the ground trying to find the right window to collect our tickets and discovered we had reserved seats, 6 rows from the front on the half-forward flank – brilliant!

We celebrated with a glass of ‘premium’ wine and a bag of chips before settling in for the match. The crowd was disappointingly small – 32,000+ but they more than made up for it with noise. It was a good game and the Swans looked as though they would stay in front and win, but somehow we managed to take the lead and win by 3 goals. Jane was very disappointed, but is always sporting and congratulated me. We drove home chatting happily to find David ensconced on the couch watching Dr Blake and not interested in talking footy at all.

 

Jane at the footy with our ‘premium’ white wine…. in not so premium plastic cups

Yesterday we went to a bright little café called Thelma & Louise in Neutral Bay, right on the water, where we fluked an outside table and had a lovely breakfast as my thank you to David & Jane for their generous hospitality. It wasn’t cheap but the food was worth every penny and it was no surprise to find a long queue outside as we left.

Herbed mushrooms, fruit platter & crepes with berries

Jane & David dropped me off at the airport in plenty of time for my plane and Wes and Bilbo were waiting at the other end. Bilbo ignored me and didn’t show any interest in me until I fed him later in the afternoon. Wes had enjoyed a good time while I was away – cooking chicken risotto on Friday and Bolognese sauce on Saturday. He entertained Barbara for lunch with the Bolognese and gave her the leftovers much to Bilbo’s chagrin. Sunday breakfast had gone well with Judi & Wes encouraging Barbara to tell stories from her holiday, and Gail with a few stories of her own to add to the conversation.

When I got home I discovered how much work Wes had done in the garden as well, and, when I started to unpack, I discovered I really needed to sit down quietly with a pot of tea. Wes had taped the footy, so we watched the whole game again, which was just what I felt like. We had his yummy pizzas for dinner and went to bed early exhausted.

Today I am off to have a catch up cuppa with Judi at The Food Gallery, and then I plan to do a bit of computer work and prepare for our few days in Melbourne later this week. We don’t get back to Daylesford until Monday, so the Dispatch probably won’t arrive until next Tuesday.

 Lovely photo of David at breakfast

Daylesford Autumn Dispatch - Sunday, 23rd March 2014

Dear Friends, we started the week with a wonderful breakfast at The Food Gallery, where Aileen regaled us with her tales of procrastination, which had been legitimised by the short book The Art of Procrastination. Meanwhile, outside, Bilbo and Molly eyed each other off and wagged their tails, but stayed well clear of each other.

I had a head cold, and decided not to March in March at Castlemaine, so Wes and Glenn set off to do that together, and Bilbo and I came home to the warmth and a quiet day. When Wes arrived home, he decided to have a sleep in preparation for his big night at the footy and emerged three hours later realising he wasn’t well enough for the drive either. John Goullet collected our tickets and would have enjoyed three quarters of footy before the Blues were overrun by a keener Port Adelaide outfit.

We woke to Brigadoon and gentle rain, which meant golf was off the agenda. However, Wes had made arrangements to meet Bob White at his favourite Trentham café, Chaplin’s, so he drove there anyway and they had a good time together, along with two of the ministers who had been at Kirk’s funeral.

I had the flu injection in the afternoon and took it easy afterwards, while Wes worked on the computer and then in the garden while the sun was out. I had my usual reaction to the injection, swollen arm and sniffles, so went to bed and stayed there until Wednesday morning, by which time both symptoms were decreasing in effect.

Dot and I had a quiet morning at Mah Jong, neither of us being at our very best – Muffins and More was full, with standing room only by 10am. Their winning formula is smiling locals, inexpensive but generous meals and reasonably priced hot drinks. Later that afternoon, Wes was at Springs Medical Centre getting his flu injection at the same time as Gillie, Dot & John.

 

Fabulous photo of Jan McClean, me and Viva in Hong Kong - April 1984

I had hoped to have lunch with Janine Hawker on Thursday, but we had to postpone it as I wasn’t well enough, ditto Friday when I was to have spent the morning & lunchtime with Sherryn at Cinema Nova. We decided it was best if I just took it easy by getting up late and going to bed early. Fortunately I had a few episodes of Lewis to keep me entertained.

Wes drove to Melbourne on Friday where he and Leanne went to Fawkner Cemetery to sort out a new plaque for Viva & Perc’s grave. They ended up making an appointment to see someone on 31^st March. Leanne took him to lunch at her favourite Vietnamese restaurant in Puckle Street, Moonee Ponds. Wes also visited the solicitor to sign papers and make sure the ball was kept rolling as far as paying bills is concerned.

On Saturday we had breakfast together at Gracenotes Café, with Bilbo in tow. It was quite cold, so we didn’t hang around for second drinks. On the walk back home we met Annie and Rosie, which caused Bilbo to dance around in excitement. Wes had to take a big suitcase to New Zealand this time, as Barbara needed another one to bring back family keepsakes. Apart from that his packing was minimal and he set off in high spirits for his weekend of travelling.

 

That night Bilbo went to sleep in his bed in our bedroom, but just after I turned out the light he jumped onto our bed and fell asleep there and didn’t move all night until I woke him at 6.30am with the offer of a bone.

We are off to the Sunday Market, then breakfast, and I hope to have a cuppa with John & Jan Smith before they head back home after spending time in Bendigo. Wes and Barbara should arrive back around dinner time.

Next weekend I will be in Sydney, staying with Jane & David Knox, so that Jane & I can go to the Olympic Stadium to see Collingwood play the Swans. I’ll get a Dispatch out sometime on Monday.

 

Daylesford Autumn Dispatch - Sunday, 16th March 2014

17^th March 1949

Dear Friends, ChillOut was a huge success over the Long Weekend here and we particularly enjoyed the Parade after breakfast at the Food Gallery.

 

Standing are Andrew, Danny, Judi, Dene, Rob & Karen,

Seated are Syd, Russell, John & Jane

 

Judi & I watching the Boot scooters

We came back home after the Parade. Danny left for Melbourne and Wes and I had a rest in preparation for a late lunch at Di & Jeff’s place.

Lunch was wonderful – Di really enjoys cooking and produced some stuffed calamari, tandoori chicken, umpteen salads and a huge pavlova filled with beautiful berries.

We enjoyed seeing Roger & Valerie Roberts again, as they left Daylesford late last year for the Adelaide Hills. We suspect they are missing the community here and all their good friends. We were joined by Phil & Sue May, Lesley McGillvray and Cate & Paul Lever, who have taken over Dudley House in Hepburn Springs. Conversation flowed, as did the wine, and we were sorry to leave, but needed to get back home so that Wes could have a short rest before donning his ChillOut T-shirt again and acting as security on the door of the Town Hall for the Dance Party. He ended up doing the shift with Max Primmer aka Di Alysis, which made for an entertaining, if long, evening.

Di Alysis

Wes earned a sleep-in on Monday, so I took Bilbo shopping early, then for a walk around 9am, just as everywhere was waking up and bleary-eyed souls were looking for cooked breakfasts in their droves.

That night we had been invited to Gail & Terry’s place for cocktails & pizzas with Judi & Michael. Gail had taken a lot of trouble to make martinis for us all; she opened her capacious and fascinating drinks cupboard; plied us with cheeses and dips & nibbles beforehand, and accompanied the pizzas with spaghetti with two sauces! What a wonderful night we shared.

Wes and I left after he had tried three different whiskies and I was being served Benedictine from a soft-drink bottle!

Fortunately we slept very well and woke in time for the early morning walk with Bilbo followed by gym. After gym, I took Bilbo with me to meet up with Gillie at Gracenotes Café. Bilbo enjoyed watching the passing parade and was delighted when Rosie, Annie’s Smith’s dog, appeared. They greeted each other very enthusiastically.

That afternoon we drove to Trentham for Kirk Bradbury’s funeral. Fortunately we were early as eventually the Anglican Church was full and loudspeakers broadcast the service to those sitting outside. The flag on the Post Office was flown at half-mast, which was a great honour. Kirk was farewelled in style – Bob White gave a thoughtful, amusing and interesting eulogy, and he was followed by the Rev Dr Peta Sherlock, who also spoke well, both about Kirk and about his faith. One of their friends sang, unaccompanied, the very poignant Send in the Clowns, and we later spotted him retrieving a chocolate cake from his car as a contribution to the lavish afternoon tea served in the Mechanics Institute. Bob’s daughter, Natalie, and her husband, Fabian, were there to support him, and, like us, were overwhelmed by the incredible turnout.

 

Wes invited me to accompany him to the Daylesford ALP Branch meeting that night, but I was too tired and declined his kind offer, opting to watch a Midsomer Murders episode instead. I was so pleased I made that decision as the Macedon candidate, Mary-Anne Thomas, turned up unexpectedly, and the meeting voted not to hear her speak.

We drove to Ballarat on Wednesday morning as Warren had promised to put Barbara’s car in for service while she was away, and our Mazda 6 was overdue for a service. After breakfast at our favourite Ballarat café, Lekker, we decided to see Mandela at the local cinema. We are both so pleased we did – what a stirring and moving film that is and how well it depicts and explains a time we lived through. Nelson Mandela is shown warts and all, which makes the film so very believable and makes his ability to forgive his captors even more amazing.

We arrived home to find a note from Sandra, our wonderful cleaner, to say that Bilbo spent her visit sleeping on our bed. She wasn’t sure he was allowed to do that, but didn’t like to shoo him off the bed in case we had relaxed the rules. What a scamp he is!

When I opened the mail I discovered a lovely card and this black and white bracelet and ring from Genevieve Spiteri. Thank you so much for the surprise – as you can see the colours suit me very well indeed.

 

On Thursday, after gym, we drove back to Ballarat so Wes could collect his car, as it needed new brake pads. It was a beautiful morning and we enjoyed the drive there and back. Then Wes got into gardening and mowing in a big way, stopping only to make yummy dukkah-encrusted rockling for lunch.

Nick Massaro arrived late afternoon to give me a massage and agreed that I could stop wearing the compression bandage the next day. He thought my knee looked much less swollen and provided I took things easily, should be back to normal very soon.

We were going to take a Freo fan, John Webster, to the footy on Friday night, but he changed his mind, so Wes and I decided to catch the train to Docklands Stadium, as V-Line had put on an extra train to get us home. There is a gap of 90 minutes between the train that leaves just before the game finishes and the one that leaves when everywhere is in darkness, so something in-between was very welcome!

 

Honey Dijon, our latest rose. When fully in bloom it is the milk coffee colour of Julia’s Rose – sensational!

Sadly the game was very disappointing after a closely-fought opening quarter, and just before ¾ time we decided to leave and get the early train home, which meant we arrived back here at 11.30pm. I have found late nights a challenge over the past few years, as you know, and, although I noticed an improvement, I was exhausted by the time we walked in the front door to a rapturous reception by Bilbo. We made a decision to sleep in, give Bilbo a bone, and take him for a walk to breakfast instead.

We chose Gracenotes Café, where we could sit outside with Bilbo at our feet. Our friend, Annie, was there with Rosie, and the two dogs were delighted to see each other again, before settling quietly. Breakfast gave us energy we desperately needed and Wes spent most of the day achieving heaps in the garden, while I cleaned out the pantry and made a vegetable curry for dinner, using quite a few ingredients from our vegetable patch.

 

Although we had not planned to go overseas this year, we have decided Carpe Diem rules, as too many of our friends are succumbing to illnesses, and we realise we should travel while we can as we don’t know what is around the corner. So we have used our Qantas frequent flyer points to book a trip to Scotland in October. I have been in touch with the Pitlochry Festival Theatre and we are booked into all six plays this season as well as their backstage tour and garden tour. Wes is in charge of the rest of the trip, now that I’ve done the groundwork!

Watching the footy yesterday, I don’t feel quite so bad about Collingwood’s poor start to the season – the Swans were beaten by a more determined Greater Western Sydney, and Richmond were no match for the Gold Coast Suns. Already many tipsters would have 0/3. The Sydney match was amazing in that the players had to leave the ground at quarter time for a prolonged break as the lightning was too dangerous for them to play. As we were watching that storm on TV, we had our own downpour of about 15mls which was very welcome indeed.

This morning, Bilbo and I are about to head off to pump water at Leitches Creek, buy fruit and vegetables, a rose and some bones at the Sunday Market, before the three of us meet up with Judi, Aileen, Glenn & possibly Gail at breakfast at The Food Gallery. We are hoping to get to the March in March peaceful protest at Castlemaine after breakfast, then rest up before travelling back to Docklands Stadium to see if Carlton can fare any better than Collingwood & Richmond against an interstate team on the rise…this time it is Port Adelaide. 

Daylesford Autumn Dispatch - Sunday, 9th March, 2014

Dear Friends, where do I begin? It has been quite an eventful seven days. When I left you last Sunday Bilbo and I were off to the Sunday Market, where I bought him a friend….I think it is meant to be a koala. He doesn’t quite know what to think, and takes his toy outside whenever we are away from the house. However, he wags his tail when he sees it again, so hopefully he will get attached to it and not rip it to shreds. We enjoyed a fun breakfast with Aileen regaling us with stories of her mother, Dorothy’s, 100^th birthday in Adelaide recently.

 

At lunchtime Wes and Barbara set off for the airport for her trip to New Zealand. Everything went as smoothly as it could, but Wes was there to play bad cop if needed.

Michael had invited me to the Farmers Arms Hotel for an early dinner and what a nice time we had there. The wine was wonderful – Summerfield 2011 Shiraz – we have met the winemaker’s son, who is a friend of Paul Tyrrell, at a race day at Avoca some years ago. I notice they offer accommodation at their winery which is such a sensible thing to do when you are as far from Melbourne as Avoca. Dinner was yummy, as always, and the pub was bustling with locals. We were home in time to see Michael Clarke make a very gutsy century.

That night I brought Bilbo’s bed into the bedroom with me and he settled to sleep until I turned off the light. The next thing I knew he had leapt onto Warren’s side of the bed and stayed there without moving a muscle until 6.15am, when I turned on the light. He woke, stretched, rubbed the sleep from his eyes and trotted out to get his bone!

The next day I took Bilbo with me when I went to the Post Office and we walked around Vincent Street together in lieu of an early morning walk as my knee is not yet up to the short hills required to do the Lake Daylesford walk. Wes arrived back safely late morning and after lunch, (pasta with chilies, parsley & tarragon out of the garden), had a good catch up sleep as he had only managed about 3 hours the night before lying on a couch in Barbara’s hotel room.

Back to normal on Tuesday with Wes walking Bilbo early, then gym for us both, and then a facial, commonly referred to as a face rub (in honour of the late, much missed David Smith) and very overdue manicure for me, with Emma at Eko. I arrived back home to discover the electricians from Fells, who had an appointment to fix our bedroom ceiling fan, were in residence. According to Wes they were up to Plan D, which was a complete new fan, incorporating a light and a remote control. The new fan works very well and is very quiet.

I spent the rest of the afternoon sorting out books for the Op Shop, while Wes did some gardening and then some watering, which meant we had a wonderful storm, which involved thunder, lightning and 25 mls of rain. We were watching the cricket and occasionally lost touch with the picture, but the radio didn’t suffer at all.

It was a lovely, cool morning on Wednesday and the rain was the big topic of conversation wherever I went – Coles, for early morning shopping, the Post Office, Springs Medical Centre, and Muffins & More, where Dot and I played Mah Jong very happily. When I arrived home for lunch, Wes was entertaining Rotarian Gordon Nightingale, who had come to borrow our light sleeping bag for his upcoming trip to Nepal for Rotary. He is hoping to take laptops and small musical instruments to the Nepalese.

We had home-made pizzas for lunch, and then Wes went to ChillOut Headquarters to get his instructions for this weekend. He came home with a dilly-bag of goodies, a very white T-shirt (won’t stay that way for long), and a name badge for his shifts on Saturday afternoon and Sunday night.

 

Publicity is priceless – great paragraph in Tuesday’s Herald Sun extolling the virtues of the soon to be opened Smith & Daughters in Brunswick Street, Fitzroy. Co-owner, Mo Wyse, (left) is engaged to Callum Preston. Can’t wait to try the menu!

Bob White’s partner, Kirk Bradbury, died over the weekend. He has been unwell for some time and it is a relief that he is out of pain. We have spoken with Bob, who is bearing up well. The funeral is on Tuesday in Trentham.

Our friends, John & Jan Smith, have decided to sell their home here in Daylesford and visit in their motorhome in the future. We are sorry to see them go as we have enjoyed their company on many occasions and they were very popular here. However, the ties of family and friends in Melbourne as well as their regular haunts have proven stronger than the charms of Daylesford and newer friends.

Daisy-Lea in Bridport Street – a very cute and surprisingly roomy cottage!

Wes wanted to get up to date with paperwork on Thursday, so I steered clear of the study and caught up on phone calls etc. After gym, I took Bilbo on a date to spend time with Annie Smith’s dog, Rosie. We met at Gracenotes Café, and after some initial excitement, they sat together companionably while Annie and I caught up on each other’s news. I am pleased that I was able to walk Bilbo to the café and back, and my knee was sore, but not painful afterwards.

We had a big day on Friday driving to Melbourne to have lunch with Ian & Robyn Robinson. We decided to leave early and visit Leanne as it is years since she has seen Bilbo and he was a lunch guest so would be in the car. She presented him with a huge teddy bear as a new friend, as well as a bone for later. We had a good visit, but Smokey stayed well clear while Bilbo was around.

Then off to the Robinsons, where we enjoyed a feast of at least six courses of memorable and beautiful food, mostly cooked by Robyn, with Ian doing the thrice-cooked chips which accompanied our main course of duck (and tuna for me). Bilbo was given some cooked chicken pieces in doggy shapes and would have been very happy to stay for a few more hours looking for leftovers and crumbs under the table.

Ian, Karen & Robyn with our beautiful appetisers...Bilbo is under Ian’s feet.

We arrived home to discover Danny was settled in for his visit and Wes cooked him some pasta for dinner. I wasn’t at all hungry after our amazing meal, but tired from all the travelling, so went to bed early and left the men opening a Tempranillo to accompany their dinner.

Wes walked Bilbo early, then after breakfast Danny & I strolled into town before it got too busy. We bought some cheese at Tonna’s, some raffle tickets and said hello to lots of locals who were out shopping with the same thoughts as us. Wes made a very yummy prawn, fennel and zucchini risotto, and then he headed off to spend the afternoon at the ChillOut Information Booth & Box Office. Mate and I placed some bets and spent our time watching the races at Flemington, where both Lankan Rupee and Fiorente scored fine wins. Mate headed off to The Rex Cinema to see 12 Years a Slave, while Bilbo and I spent some time together.

Wes and Danny met up after their respective activities and sat in deckchairs outside the Daylesford Hotel watching the passing parade, and no doubt solving the world’s problems. We were all shocked by the loss of life on the Malaysian Airlines plane and the early death of actress, Wendy Hughes. After sharing a cheese platter and a glass of white wine with them, I went off to bed, and by the sound of the snores this morning from upstairs and downstairs, it was a late night!

Bilbo and I are off to the Sunday Market, and then we are walking to breakfast with our neighbours, Rob and Dene, where we will meet up with Judi, who has been in Caloundra helping her mother celebrate her birthday. Then we’ll get a good position to watch the ChillOut Parade at 10.30, one of the highlights of the year here.

Danny is heading home after the Parade, and we have a late lunch engagement with Jeff & Di to catch up with friends, Roger & Valerie Roberts, who have moved back to Adelaide recently and are in Daylesford visiting. I’ll be pleased to put my feet up after that, but Wes has volunteered to be security on the door of the Town Hall tonight with Danny Moynihan, so he will be hoping for a sleep in between lunch and that commitment.

Yesterday’s pickings from the garden – zucchini, chilies & Roma tomatoes

Yesterday would have been Viva’s 92^nd birthday – thanks to everyone who remembered and sent their thoughts. I didn’t find it a sad day, as Viva died at the right time, after a full and happy life, but I did think about some of the many birthday lunches and dinners we had shared over the years and especially her stays at The Windsor Hotel for her 70^th & 80^th birthdays.

Daylesford Autumn Dispatch - Sunday, 2nd March, 2014

Welcome to Autumn – how nice it is to know that the worst of the hot Summer temperatures are behind us and to enjoy the cool nights and sleep. We’ve had a very busy and quite social week, so I had better get cracking and talk about. This week’s Viva photo is her and her best friend, Enid, in their WRAAF uniforms in 1942, when Viva was 20.

When I left you last Sunday, we were heading off to the Market and Breakfast. During Breakfast we received a phone call from John & Dannielle asking if we would be at home and ready for a visit from them all. They duly arrived around 2pm and it was lovely to catch up with Malachi, Kalarni, Dublin and Irish. Irish was very kind to Bilbo and patted him frequently, receiving licks in return. The kids played chess, ran around the backyard, and occupied themselves while we adults chatted.

 

Bilbo, Irish, Dublin, Kalarni & Malachi

 

Then Judi arrived to take me to The Rex Cinema to see The Railway Man, with Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman. We are both very pleased we saw it and so was everyone else in the audience of 37 – not bad for 3pm on a Sunday afternoon in Daylesford. I have rarely enjoyed Nicole Kidman’s acting, but she was very well-cast in this film. Colin Firth was excellent, the writing was superb and the end result was a film I won’t forget in a hurry. Do see it if you haven’t already.

When we arrived back here the Andersons were still visiting, so I got a chance to chat with them all some more and wish Malachi a very happy birthday for Tuesday. Wes had collected some Carlton stuff for him including a book, scarf and badge, so he was in seventh heaven. Bilbo was hungry, so I fed him, much to his delight.

 

Orange, red & pink gerberas from the Andersons...chosen by Kalarni

On Monday Wes took Bilbo for a long walk, followed by a game of golf at Trentham in preparation for Friday’s Boys’ Golf at Ivanhoe. I went supermarket shopping early before the hordes and before the heat. I am finding the combination of painful fingers and knee quite tiring, so went to bed early after feeding Bilbo. Wes had an ALP Think Tank at our place, but my brain was no longer operating, so I watched an Inspector Linley mystery and started to read Burial Rites, by Hannah Kent. I have been longing to read this much-acclaimed book and finally bought a second-hand hard copy for a reasonable price. It is brilliantly written, and because we have been to Iceland, we are able to picture the landscape, where this tragedy of the last woman executed in Iceland is set.

We finally went back to gym on Tuesday after a fortnight’s absence. Barry was able to adapt my programme to enable me to rest my knee and work on upper body strength. It was good to be back, but we left early as I was exhausted after 45 minutes and hoping to have more energy by Thursday.

 

More beautiful roses from our garden

Dot and Gail very kindly cancelled Mah Jong on Wednesday so I could drive to Strathmore to help Leanne clean out the garage. We had a date for Thursday, but then there was a street collection for that day, so Lal asked if I would come the day before. We got heaps done and it was all collected the next day. Lal had made a cake for morning tea and a quiche for lunch, so I didn’t starve.

In the meantime Wes attended a very successful Men’s Lunch at the Men’s Shed at Victoria Park in Daylesford. We arrived back home around the same time and he helped me empty the car of books I had brought home to go through before giving the balance to Carmel’s Op Shop. Wes then had a sleep in preparation for attending Rotary’s unveiling of the new interpretive signs for the Avenue of Honour along Raglan Street. I had hoped to go, but found myself in bed instead. The travel and hard work had taken its toll and it was good to lie down with a brandy and dry and Lewis to watch.

                        

                               

Wes and friends at lunch using the Fire Shelter bed invented by John Smith (in red in the middle of the front row)

On Thursday we went to gym and Barry had written a new programme for me which was very easy to manage. Afterwards I delivered boxes of jars to Nick Massaro in Porcupine Ridge, courtesy of Leanne, and had a fringe trim, before coming home to sort through the books and prepare them for the Op Shop. They all needed dusting as they had been in the garage for a while.

Wes spent most of the morning helping Barbara pack for her trip to New Zealand. They leave later today, but Wes will be coming back tomorrow after making sure that Barbara has been met by her sister, Margaret, and her husband, Noel, who will look after her from then onwards. Wes will fly back in three weeks’ time to bring Barbara back home.

On Friday Wes left very early for a delightful day of golf and companionship with Tom and Bobby at Ivanhoe. They played 18 then repaired to the Studley Park Boat House for a leisurely lunch. Danny was to have been part of the foursome, but came down with gastro and missed out. Wes then caught up with old Brunswick friend, Sam Esposito, at Bridie O’Reilly’s pub in Sydney Road. He eventually got back home at 8.30pm, tired but very happy with his day.

Bobby (top) & Tommy

I went to see the physio who decided my knee was going so well I needn’t wear a brace, which was very good news. So I am to continue with the elastic support and do some more exercises. Then I shared a long, enjoyable cuppa with Gillie at The Food Gallery, where we ranged over a few topics and greeted lots of other friends. We had the table in the window, so no-one escaped our eagle eyes. Gillie had been going to Geelong that day, but her car was playing up so I invited her to come to the U3A Flicks on Friday @ Barcaldine House that afternoon to see The Boat That Rocked. As Gillie grew up in England, she really empathised with the film, which is about pirate radio playing rock and roll offshore until the BBC caved in and agreed to play what young people in particular wanted to hear. We shared a yummy afternoon tea with all the other friends there.

Wes was too tired to walk Bilbo yesterday morning, so I took him to the Farmers Market and then shopping in Vincent Street, where he was talked to by lots of passing people. Josephine & Tony came to lunch so Wes spent the morning preparing and I set the table, picked the flowers and parsley and stayed out of his way.

We had a lovely visit from Jo & Tony, who arrived with an armful of flowers, wine, chocolates and a bone – everyone was very happy. We sat and chatted over a long lunch and heard all their plans for their wedding on 4^th April. As we can’t be at the wedding, we decided to give them their gift yesterday – a beautiful Hot Cocoa rose bush, which will look fabulous in a pot on their patio. No photo quite does justice to this reddish brown, fragrant rose….

 

We fell asleep at lunch in the cricket and were thrilled to wake to the news that we are 3/331 with Michael Clarke on 92 not out and with Warner having made 135. It is very important to win this deciding Test in Cape Town.

Yesterday Gerard Bugden, who operates the Wood Shed, and makes beautiful timber furniture, returned our Victorian Oak drop-side table that he had been restoring. He told us that he is closing his business at the end of the month as he can no longer talk his hands into crafting glorious pieces. We are so sad and Daylesford will miss his genius. He is having a closing down sale and we only wish we had room for one of his tables!

I’m about to take Bilbo out to pump water, buy fruit and vegetables at the Sunday Market and then share breakfast with Barbara, Aileen & Gillie. We have invited Jo and Tony to join us and we hope they wake up in time.

My ‘new’ tea tray courtesy of Gail White