Dear Everyone, when
I left you last Sunday, we were awaiting the arrival of Kathy & Ged Lazzaro
and what a lovely time we had with them. After fuelling them with hot drinks
and biscuits we set off to do a bit of a walk around Lake Daylesford. We were
amazed as the traffic was non-stop in both directions of King Street and it was
hard to find a gap to point the car in the direction of the Daylesford Primary
School, where Kathy & I visited the Spa
Quilters Exhibition, while Wes and Ged drove around the Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens and admired
the fernery renovations. The Exhibition was excellent, with some very beautiful
quilts on display, and a lovely memorial to Lorelle Hall. We were both very
impressed with the work as well as the decorations, as the area had been
decorated for Christmas in June and was very welcoming.
Then off to Lake
Daylesford where we enjoyed a peaceful walk around, and then more hot drinks
and snacks at the Book Barn, where we
sat outside overlooking the Lake.
Back home we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon quietly chatting and
keeping an eye on the footy. Ged helped Wes prepare his famous, yummy fish pie
by peeling the spuds and topping and tailing the beans. It was a lovely meal
and a very relaxing evening with Kathy & I knitting, the fire lit and
plenty of Jameson whisky and red wine.
Wes somehow got up
early on Monday to walk Bilbo and thought it would be good to suggest a trip to
Clunes as Daylesford was too busy to be enjoyable. Kathy & Ged were pleased
with that idea, so we drove in convoy, as they were spending the next two
nights in Torquay and could head off in that direction after we finished in
Clunes. We visited every book store, bought a handful of books each and enjoyed
hot drinks on the footpath outside Widow
Twankey’s which is run by our friend, Tim Hayes, and his partner, Michael.
Tim arrived for a chat and we discussed the exciting news that another good
friend, Sheila Hollingworth, is returning from Perth to take up the position of
Book Town Manager on 1st July. She and Vaughan have found a home to
rent and will be great assets to Clunes.
That afternoon I
drove to Melbourne to attend the Collingwood vs Melbourne game at the MCG. No
extra trains had been put on the Ballarat line, which meant catching the train
home would involve an hour’s wait after the game, so I decided it would be
easier to drive and I am so glad I did, as every night train was delayed or
cancelled or replaced by a coach! My first stop at the G was to find our seats
as Danny was joining me and then I made my way to the MCC side to find Loud
Gayle for a quick catch-up and then try to find Matt Spiteri, which I was
unable to do. The atmosphere at the ground was great with lots of Melbourne
supporters, many of them sporting brand new scarves, and much anticipation that
the new improved Dees would give the Pies a run for their money. And they did!
The Great Ron
Barassi at the G
It was an
engrossing but low-scoring game and I enjoyed seeing the Demons play some very
good defensive footy, which restricted our scoring. However, they weren’t able
to score themselves and we won by 33 points, which was a very good result for
David Lazzaro, who had taken a very complicated footy bet that would net him a
reasonable prize if we won by 5 goals or more. David was on his own and joined
Danny and I at half-time when the family next to us moved somewhere else. We
were seated in front of a super box with Peter McKenna and Twiggy Dunne in it
and I was able to say hello to them both before the crowd built up.
My drive home was
good until I turned off at Ballan and hit a terrible pea soup fog, which
remained all the way until I drove into Daylesford. It was quite frightening
and luckily I had no cars in front of me or behind me, (everyone was leaving our
area), so I could travel at a safe speed without worrying about some maniac
wanting to pass me. Wes had a glass of red and yummy pizzas ready for my
arrival home, both of which were very welcome.
I found I was
completely exhausted on Tuesday, so missed gym and got up late. Wes did lots of
gardening, including pruning of fruit trees, and he has everywhere looking
wonderful. I changed sheets and towels, but didn’t have the energy for ironing.
Terry Borg had driven up from Melbourne to have a treatment at EKO and share lunch with us. She arrived
an hour later than expected as she missed the turn-off to Ballarat and found
herself driving to Geelong instead. We did enjoy spending time with her – as
always. Terry arrived with tulips, a bottle of sauvignon blanc, three different
cheeses, crackers, olives and a bone for Bilbo. Wes had made a seafood risotto,
which we demolished before getting stuck into fruit meringues and cheese. After
Terry left I tidied up then went to bed as I seemed to be fighting off a head
cold as well as being tired.
Wednesday was spent
in bed as well, doing crosswords, Logic Puzzles and catching up on Miss Marple repeats on TV (the ones
starring Geraldine McEwen, who I really enjoy in the part). Wes and Barbara
decided it was too cold to go for a drive, so they had lunch at Gracenotes Café instead.
Thursday was our 44th
Anniversary which we celebrated by sleeping in and sharing a yummy meal of poached
salmon with mushrooms & carrots at lunchtime. Judi & Michael were due
home that night after spending time with their friends, Roger & Vicki, so I
took their mail and some fresh parsley & rosemary to their place, filled up
our car with petrol, checked John & Jan’s home, bought two bags of pine
cones and did some shopping. Wes has been elected President of our local ALP
branch and he finds that he has a lot of work to do to get the Branch records
up to scratch again, so he spent the morning on the computer.
After lunch and the
latest instalment of Last Tango in
Halifax, we spent a very quiet afternoon reading and watching the rain come
down, while Bilbo slept at our feet. We both felt better for the peaceful day
in preparation for our big lunch on Friday.
We had decided to
have lunch at Kazuki’s, but it
doesn’t open for lunch on Thursdays, so we delayed our meal until Friday. Wes
suggested we drink our bottle of ‘97 Grange, which was given to us by Kingsley
Lamont in 1999 when he was delighted to persuade us to sell Maloney Insurance
Brokers to OAMPS. We took a taxi to the restaurant (always very wise) and were
greeted warmly by Martin and Bronwyn, shown to the best table and given a complimentary
Japanese whisky and Tasmanian sparkling for starters. We had already chosen to
have the degustation menu, which gives you tiny tastes of all the best dishes
on the menu and we weren’t disappointed. The Grange was stunning and Wes very
generously offered some to a single woman celebrating her birthday alone at
another table, as well as Martin & Bronwyn, who all accepted with delight.
After three hours
it was time to pour ourselves into another taxi and go home, feeling very
replete. Wes fell asleep at once, while Bilbo and I stayed awake until I had fed
him. Wes woke up to watch the Carlton vs Hawthorn game, but I missed it
completely and only woke when he came to bed to announce a disappointing end
after the Blues had been within a kick at three-quarter time.
Yesterday Wes was
up early walking Bilbo, I delivered the spare Age newspaper to Judi & Michael (Rob & Dene next door
aren’t here this weekend and they don’t seem to know how to cancel their
newspapers) and then we went to Wombat Hill Nursery to collect our
wine-coloured pots for our new camellias. We are very thrilled with the result
and look forward to the first flowers later in the year.
Our Anniversary
gift to each other is something we have wanted for a long time and have to wait
until August to collect – it is called Fawlty
Towers and sits on the end of a pole. We couldn’t resist it and feel sure
that many of the different birds that we attract to our garden will enjoy its
delights.
This morning Bilbo
and I are off to pump mineral water at Leitches Creek, then a small shop at the
Sunday Market followed by breakfast at The
Food Gallery, with Judi, Barbara, John & Jan. I have decided not to go
to the footy this afternoon so we are planning on lighting the fire and sitting
back watching the game together.
There will be no
Dispatch next Sunday as we are heading off on another little footy holiday on
Thursday – we start at Rutherglen, then spend three nights in Sydney where we
will catch up with Jane & David, who will be home from their trip catching
up with their daughter, Emily; meeting her current squeeze, and celebrating a
special birthday for Jane. We have tickets for the Carlton & Greater
Western Sydney match on Sunday and Jane will be joining us. We hope to see
Terry McDonald at some stage as well. Then onto Canberra, via Wollongong, where
we will have lunch with Peter & Anka, before driving in convoy to the ACT.
We are staying there two nights and then driving home. I’ll be in touch again
after our trip.
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