Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Wednesday, 30th December 2015

Dear Friends, I do hope you enjoyed a very Happy Christmas Day. I left you on 20^th December just about to go out in the heat, which eventually was replaced by cool weather that afternoon. We did our annual exchange of gifts for dogs & cats, were given chopsticks by Janine, who had brought them back from Thailand & received gift bags from our waitress, Kerry, who also brought us a dish of fresh cherries from her tree.

Warren & Barbara with cherries at breakfast

We were very pleased when the cool change finally arrived late afternoon & brought 4mls of rain with it. Wes and Barbara went to the ALP Branch Christmas party at Eddie & Jenny’s home ‘Mooltan’ in Hepburn Springs. I made a vegetable curry for dinner and was tucked up in bed by the time Wes arrived back home.

During December, we lost one of Daylesford best-loved shops ‘Benjamin Bandicoot’, which was the first gift shop here. Rodney & David had been trying to sell the business and after the fourth breakdown of a potential purchase decided just to close as David was very keen to retire, especially after suffering a heart attack in Bali two years ago. So many of the soft toys we gave to new babies, our leather handbags & gloves, quirky cards & wonderful room fresheners all came from this treasure trove & it will be missed.

‘Moor Please’ a trendy Middle Eastern place in Hepburn Springs run by Jason Jones & Joseph Abboud, also closed at the beginning of December. We only went once and found the food very expensive & not particularly interesting. Most people who went there were locals who wanted coffees or visitors who didn’t come back. It would probably have been more successful situated in Daylesford as we get the lion’s share of visitors.

Lovely photo of cousin Leigh with her husband, Simon, doing the Christmas cooking for her parents, Jeff & Kev, at Torksey Lock, Lincolnshire

I stayed home all morning on Tuesday waiting for the Foxtel technician & when Wes arrived back from the Daylesford Cinema, he still hadn’t turned up. After yet another call to Foxtel, we discovered that we had been put ‘on hold’ as we hadn’t answered the phone the day before (no one had left a message, so we didn’t know about being put on hold). Finally, at 2.30pm Rick & his mate arrived to sort things out. They left at 5.30pm with the problem partially solved. We have two IQ boxes instead of Mystar boxes (there aren’t any in Ballarat), which means we need to flick between TV & Foxtel to watch the free to air stations & we can’t record programmes from those stations on our set top boxes. According to Warren’s new best friend at Foxtel, who actually rang him on Wednesday morning, replacement boxes will arrive in early January.

Wes had spent an enjoyable morning having breakfast with Lauren & Jeanette at ‘The Larder’ before helping train 5 more volunteers & showing ‘The Martian’ to 11 patrons. Lauren was staying on to show the next film, which enabled him to come home at a reasonable hour. That night we celebrated the return of TV stations by watching ABC news followed by some of the Big Bash game in Hobart.

V-line launched this train on the Ballarat line during Christmas week & Michelle got to drive it briefly – how thrilling for her to be recognised so publicly

On Wednesday I took the Mazda 2 to Jamie to have new tyres fitted and while that was happening, spent a lovely 90 minutes or so with Janine Hawker at ‘Daylesford Health Food & Organics’. Janine & her son, Paul, and daughter, Peta, are going to have Christmas lunch at Craig’s Hotel, Ballarat, where they ate last year when her husband, David, was still alive and they all feel it was such a good experience that they wanted to do it again this year.

Christmas Eve was cool early so Wes weeded in the front garden before the bins were emptied, while I did a big Coles shop & made brandy butter. He had mowed the day before, so everywhere looked good for the big day.

Paun & Brian’s café in Tathra with wonderful new signage

Warren & Barbara each spent time this week giving their input into the ‘Hepburn Hub’ design from the point of view of disabled access in particular. Council wants to amalgamate everything under the one roof, which will place an enormous strain on parking, access, Vincent & Bridport Streets. It appears that very little thought had been given to wheelchair, pram & pusher access, nor had the architects considered the law when it came to disabled toilets as they were planning to offer both male & female disabled facilities, which is illegal as it prevents carers of the opposite sex being able to help their clients.

On Christmas Eve, we enjoyed a wonderful meal of fresh oysters, followed by barbecued prawns, calamari & green beans. We exchanged gifts as we always do – the night before, and opened Sandra’s presents to us, which were two good bottles of red wine & two perfect red apples.

We all got up early on Christmas morning & went for a walk around Lake Daylesford, which was surprisingly clean & tidy after a warm night. I hadn’t done that walk in quite a while & did enjoy seeing the changes, such as new tree plantings & more bins, but the water level has dropped in the Lake and we are desperate for rain.

Back home & Wes spent some time marinating the meats and deciding how he would cook everything now that a barbecue was out of the question with a Total Fire Ban Day. I had set the table the day before, and made the brandy butter, so I could settle down with a pot of tea & ring my family members, none of whom I was going to see that day. I also rang a few friends & we all promised to catch up very soon.

I think our guests were very pleased to have their meal indoors. We did sit outside for an early drink & nibbles provided by Leon, but it was getting very hot & windy by the time we were serving lunch. Wes had outdone himself yet again offering perfectly cooked steaks, pork & snapper. Our extra guest, Madeleine, who would have been on her own otherwise, contributed smoked salmon & fresh peas, which complemented the tomato salads Denise had made & the potato salad from Barbara. Afterwards we had pudding, using Viva’s recipe, which probably came down from her grandmother, with brandy butter & whipped cream for those who don’t drool over brandy butter. Coffee & teas were consumed with mince pies and chocolates, courtesy of Shaun. By the time we fell into bed around 8pm, the dishwasher was onto its last load, and everywhere was looking good again.

On Boxing Day, we were up at 5am, and I packed & finished the cleaning up while Wes walked Bilbo before we set off for Melbourne in very welcome pouring rain. Wes dropped me at the MCC gate, and I had my first experience of the new improved security – I can only give it the thumbs up – cheerful, non-threatening staff with lots of welcome smiles and chatter. The doors opened as I arrived and I was able to get upstairs to my favourite Bay N47 and secure a seat in the back row – perfect.

I went back to join Wes and we drove to the new breakfast spot – the Square & Compass in Clarendon Street, near the corner of Victoria Parade, where we met Pete & Anka, exchanged gifts, and enjoyed very yummy breakfasts & time together. They had driven because of the rain, so Wes only had to drop me off at the G again and put my suitcase in at Rydges Melbourne Hotel in Exhibition Street, before driving to Strathmore to spend time with Leanne.

The rain stopped, the cricket was only delayed an hour and all the time lost was made up that day. It was freezing cold in the MCC as we couldn’t escape the wind, but I was very happy with my seat behind the bowler’s arm and with easy access to the toilets.

The rest of my stay followed the same pattern – up early, walk 30 minutes to the Square & Compass, enjoy a yummy breakfast (I tried 4 of the meals on offer) with Gillie Gough on 27^th & Danny Millman on 28^th.

This chia pudding with raspberries, kiwi fruit, passionfruit ice, blue berries & flowers was probably the pick of the meals

There is no argument in my mind – this is a great breakfast spot and I only wish their teapots were a little more capacious!

Most nights when I got home I was tired, but happy to walk across the road to the Yum Cha café, where I was greeted warmly and enjoyed Hunan chilli prawns one night, braised chilli fish another night & dim sum with chilli salt & pepper squid on the third.

We were shocked to read that part of the Daylesford Secondary School had burnt down in the early morning of 28^th December, especially as the fire appears to have been deliberately lit. The Principal is hopeful that the school can start the first term on 27^th January as planned. Many of our friends live in Smith Street opposite the school and it must have been very frightening to wake to the sound of fire engines and the sight of flames and the smell of smoke.

Wes has done lots of driving – the trip to Melbourne and back on Boxing Day was followed by a drive to Melbourne Airport at 11pm the next night with Michael Ivanchenko to collect Judi Allen, who was returning from her visit to her mother, Mavis, in Caloundra. Their car has been overheating which meant Michael couldn’t safely make the trip on his own. Wes offered to drive there instead, for which Michael & Judi were very grateful.

He spent time with Barbara, taking her to lunch at The Grande one day, as well as working in her garden. He also showed the latest Star Wars film on Tuesday morning. He then had to drive to Melbourne & back to collect me today (after I enjoyed an early walk around the Carlton Gardens)...and turn around and make lunch later on.

Meanwhile Callum Preston married Maureen Wyse in her hometown, Seattle, with his parents, Robert & Marilyn, his brother, Heath, and his family – Sarah, Charlotte & Ruby – on Boxing Day in a very joyous ceremony. We wish them well in their life back here in Melbourne.

Have a very Happy New Year – may 2016 be kind to us all and I’ll be in touch again shortly.

Daylesford Sunday Dispatch - Sunday, 20th December 2015

Dear Friends, we had an unexpected visitor at breakfast last Sunday when Glenn Mack joined us for an hour. It is always good to see him and we covered a wide range of topics, as usual. Janine was back from her family holiday at Coconut Island in Thailand and was very keen for Daylesford to think about a treetop restaurant just like one they had visited in Phuket.

Back home I got stuck into painting the underside of the outdoor table, while Wes spent quite a bit of time in the front garden. Bilbo opted for a snooze inside. I picked a vase of lovely roses, which look beautiful on the dining room table. We have decided not to get a Christmas tree this year, but I have put out my favourite decorations and the house looks very festive, especially with lots of Christmas cards arriving.

Close to You, St Patrick, Big Purple & Donald Bradman roses in a vase from Leanne

It was good to get back to gym on Monday & Wednesday, although Barry has me on a new programme, so I am quite sore from using muscles that haven’t been tested for a while. I also had a lovely massage with Nick Massaro, our last for the year.

The Tuesday morning film was ‘The Dressmaker’ and I had an appointment at Springs Medical Centre at 9.30am. The doctor was running late and I didn’t get in to see him until 10am, but Wes promised to delay showing it as long as he could, and I arrived at my seat just at the end of the promos, which was a great relief. I loved the film, especially the stunning acting by Judy Davis, who left everyone in her wake.

Afterwards we had lunch at ‘Larder’, which we haven’t visited in years – ‘Bocconcini’ was closed for renovations & ‘The Food Gallery’ was closed for pre-Christmas mid-week break, so we had to try somewhere new. We were greeted warmly by our waitress and both enjoyed a surprisingly tasty and interesting butterfish salad, which was very reasonably priced at $18.50. If only we had known, we could have caught up with Judi & Michael who were sitting in the courtyard having lunch with friend, Kasey & her son, Eliot. 

Our lovely next-door neighbours - Dene & Rob at the Highland Gathering Parade

It has been so hot this week that we have been trying to get anything strenuous done before the afternoon, so I have been getting up when Wes & Bilbo go walking & painting chairs or washing the car or walking Bilbo if we have slept past 5.30am. Bilbo has been given a ‘Christmas Friend’ by Judi & Michael’s dogs, Maddy & Major, and he loves it to bits. Leanne thinks it is ‘Winnie the Pooh’, but whoever it is, the bright red & yellow seems very attractive to our darling Labrador.

The news on Rodney Peacock is better and he has been moved out of Intensive Care & into a ward. He has even been able to put up the occasional message on Facebook. Nicole & Janine who are doing most of the shifts at Daylesford Clothing are hoping that he will be able to recover slowly and not feel he has to get back to his shop before he is ready.

Our good friend, Danny Millman, retired on 3^rd December and I enjoyed catching up with him over the phone to hear about what he has been doing & his plans for 2016. He is particularly excited about golf lessons that were a gift from Aspex Consulting when he left. I have also chatted to Karen Stevenson (AKA Lovely), as she & Malcolm will be heading to Caloundra as well for Christmas and we hope to see them on their return. Another good friend, Gayle Gibson (AKA Loud Gayle) also rang to catch me up on her news & I was sorry to hear that she has been to another two funerals since her father’s death. We will see each other on Boxing Day at the MCG. Finally, I rang to congratulate Kathy Lazzaro who has decided to retire next month – we are very thrilled for her as well.

One very enjoyable aspect of Christmas is giving thank you gifts to those people who make life easier – we are very appreciative of our Garbos; of Steve, who delivers our newspaper and tries to get it under the carport if the morning is wet; of Nick, who doubles as a handyman as well as a masseur; of Emma & Alanna at EKO; of Lauren & Jeanette at the Daylesford Cinema; of Barry at the gym, and of Sandra, our wonderful cleaner. Like many people, we have long ago given up on presents for family & friends, as we don’t want for much, and this year we decided to donate to Guide Dogs Victoria again. The Breakfast Group members exchange gifts for dogs & cats & it is always fun going to the local pet shop to choose items for Bobby, Maddy & Major & Aileen’s & Margot’s cats, as well as gifts for Leanne’s cat, Smokey.

One night, Wes took Barbara to a CFA Fire Awareness seminar, where he learned a few tips, but found the instructor very unaware that in a tourist town like Daylesford; your next-door neighbours probably aren’t there most days as the house is on the holiday rental. This week’s heatwave has us very conscious of the dangers of an errant spark or a deliberately lit fire and we have our running away bag packed with essentials.

On Thursday afternoon, I delivered Wes to the Pengilleys’ home for a boys’ afternoon & evening of whisky, red wine, food & a film. The other boys, Brian Nash & Jeff Bain, enjoyed themselves as well as their ‘host’ Warren Pengilley, who is unable to look after himself after years of being waited on hand & foot, so Jan came home around 5pm to make sure all was going well.

The Bushwalk was cancelled on Friday morning because it was a total fire ban day, so I took Bilbo around the Gardens at 7am and let him have a swim in the pool at the bottom of the waterfall. Wes set off on a date with Greta & Penny and they decided to meet at the Melbourne Museum, rather than their original plan of the Zoo, as the Museum would be much cooler.

Greta & Penny at the Museum

Wes tells me that they had a wonderful time together mostly in the kids’ area, although he made sure they all looked in on Phar Lap before they left. He arrived home with fresh oysters for us to enjoy with a glass of sparkling Shiraz. However, our replacement set top box had arrived from Foxtel, so he decided to handle that first. Three hours & two Indian call centre assistants later, we now have no stations on the bedroom TV except for channel 2 and have lost all the recorded programmes. We also only have channel 2 on the lounge TV, but haven’t lost the recorded stuff – however, we can’t watch it! Foxtel has agreed to send out a technician, but he won’t be here until Tuesday, probably arriving at the exact time we are both out! And all I wanted was to be able to relax watching the fun of the Big Bash each night while enjoying Adam Gilchrist’s entertaining commentary.

Yesterday was to be the hottest day of this streak, so we made sure both air-conditioners were on overnight and awoke to a cool house. Wes and Bilbo walked early and spent their time clearing up the mess left overnight from people too hot to sleep, who chose to frolic by Lake Daylesford instead.

Rob & Dene had invited themselves to our place for Christmas drinks in the afternoon – they provided all the nibbles, if you can call smoked salmon on pikelets, cheeses, olives & roasted eggplant ‘nibbles’. They also brought a bottle of Seppelts Sparkling Shiraz, which was quickly demolished, so we finished off our bottle of Bests and opened another. We did enjoy spending time together and chatting about Daylesford, our past lives, what we had done this week & were planning to do over Christmas etc.

We’ve awoken to another very hot morning, but relief is in sight as rain and lower temperatures are expected sometime today. Bilbo & I are about to go out pumping water at Leitches Creek, then we will visit the Sunday Market & moan about the weather, before joining a handful of others for the last Sunday Breakfast of the year.

I probably won’t get a chance to send you a Dispatch before I head to the MCG for the Boxing Day Test, so I’ll catch you up on my return. We have Warren’s sister, Denise, her partner, Barry, two of her sons, Leon & Shaun, and Barbara coming here for Christmas lunch. We have decided on a barbecue and everyone is providing some part of the meal.

The next day we will leave here very early and Wes will drop me at the MCC gates to find a seat before we join Peter & Anka for breakfast at a new location – ‘Square & Compass’ in Clarendon Street. Wes will drop them back at their hotel after breakfast, but I should be able to walk to the G from there. After dropping my bag at ‘Rydges Hotel’ in Russell Street, Wes is going to visit Leanne and spend some time with her before driving back here, where Bilbo will be very pleased to see him. 

Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 13th December 2015

Dear Friends, things have settled down now we have been home for just over a week. Last Sunday there were only 5 of us for breakfast, but everyone had plenty to say and we enjoyed hearing about what Barbara, Judi & Margot had been doing over the past fortnight as well as sharing a few of our stories from our trip. Bilbo was particularly thrilled to be given his usual Sunday treat of toast with leftovers from both Margot & Judi.

This week’s vase of roses – pink, yellow, red & purple

I had set the day aside for making the Christmas pudding, so spent most of the day watching the large pot to make sure there was plenty of water covering the top of it as it simmered for 6 hours. By mid-afternoon, I was tired again and retreated to bed, where the ceiling fan and air-conditioner were both very welcome indeed.

The next morning we ordered new tyres for the Mazda 2, which has already driven 55,000 kms, bought some shade cloth for the greenhouse to keep plants alive over the next few very hot weeks, bought paint & brushes for me to give the outdoor setting a new look, and replenished our supplies of potting mix and seedlings from Wombat Hill Nursery.

On Tuesday, it was another hot day, but I walked up to the Daylesford Cinema to see ‘Spectre’, the latest James Bond film. My favourite Bond has always been Roger Moore, followed by Sean Connery, and Daniel Craig seems to lack that spark both those actors had. The film was long but entertaining, although the jury is out on whether Ralph Fiennes is the right replacement for Judi Dench at ‘M’.

Stunning flowers on the cacti in our backyard

Afterwards Wes and I had special fried rice for lunch at ‘Jackie’s on Vincent’, where we greeted other locals and were especially delighted to see Bob White having a meal with his friend, Rick Youssef. Barbara had let Wes know that another good friend, Rodney Peacock, had been rushed to Epworth Hospital where he was to undergo a quadruple bypass that evening. We were very shocked indeed, as we had both seen & spoken with Rodney on Saturday morning during the Highland Gathering street march. Rodney is recovering slowly in Epworth, after ‘dodging a bullet’ according to his sister.

We woke to a cool morning at last on Wednesday, so Wes and Bilbo had a good long walk early and I started painting two of the outdoor setting chairs that Wes had sand-papered for me. We are pleased with the result and I hope to get them all done well before Christmas Day. Our final Mah Jong for the year had to be cancelled as Valerie was unable to come and Dot wasn’t feeling wonderful. One of Wes’s cousins, Gary Testro, drove to Daylesford to have lunch with him at ‘Daylesford Royal Hotel’ – Gary is a plain eater and this seemed the best place to feed him...and it was.

The next morning I took Bilbo for a stroll around the Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens, which is always beautiful and usually peaceful. Afterwards I did some more painting before heading into town to buy cat & dog Christmas gifts, have a fringe trim with Lyndal and finish the morning with a relaxing manicure with Alanna at ‘EKO Skin Care Spa’.

Lovely Peanuts cartoon

I arrived home keen to watch the cricket, but we had lost our free-to-air stations again, so I made do with the ABC radio, which is always entertaining. Wes spent the morning with Barbara as she needed his help and when he arrived back and had eaten some biscuits & cheese for lunch, he rang Foxtel to see if he could get the problem sorted. Eventually around 4pm, Foxtel agreed to send us a new set-top box, which should solve the problem, but only for one TV. We will have to beg for another one once the first arrives and has been installed.

Wes set off at 5pm to spend time with Margot and her computer and then went to the Convent Gallery for ‘Ancient Carols’ presented by Danny Spooner in the chapel. It was a well-attended and very special event and he was so pleased he went. We Micks don’t do carol singing very well and he was outsung by the Methodists, Anglicans & Presbyterians in the audience.

Friday was Leanne’s birthday and we set off to visit her at Strathmore bringing morning tea of Boston bun & custard tarts, as well as some roses & herbs from our garden. We had a lovely morning together, chatting, watching the cricket & with Wes able to help her with some computer issues that had arisen. We had a late pasta lunch when we arrived home to strong winds and intermittent rain.

Leanne & Karen with Boston bun birthday cake

Yesterday was an early start with a walk in the cold (4°) for Bilbo and Wes, followed by cleaning of the barbecue, more sandpapering & painting of outdoor furniture, much reading of ‘The Age’ while listening to the cricket, risotto lunch, computer work and a long phone call with Jane Knox to catch up on their news.

Photos from last weekend’s Highland Gathering – bands above & Karen & Bilbo catching up with Di Lyttleton & Scottie outside The Food Gallery

                                          

All our wine has arrived so Wes also spent time yesterday morning putting new racks in place to hold it all under the house. Everything is very well ordered and easy to find, and we can’t wait to taste some of the exciting wines we bought, especially from Crabtree Watervale Winery & Grampians Estate.

This morning Bilbo and I are off to pump water at Leitches Creek before heading to the Sunday Market where we will stock up on food, eggs & dog bones. Then breakfast, which will be our last chance to wish Judi a Happy Christmas as she is heading off to Caloundra to spend 10 days with her mother, Mavis, and sister, Sue; as well as catch up with friends and other family members.

Then I will get stuck into some more painting – there are 4 chairs and the underside of the table to be done. Wes is hoping to do some more gardening – he has been pruning the lavender, tidying up the roses, propagating, weeding, staking, moving the fountain & birdbath & finding new spots for seaside daisies. My contribution is a daily tomato count (17), while we wait anxiously for them & the zucchini to ripen.   

 

Beautiful view from the cliffs at Robe – perfect spot for a seat!

Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Saturday, 5th December 2015

Dear Friends, when I last wrote, we were off to breakfast, where we discussed Labradors (Margot brought an old photo of herself with a beautiful female lab at the beach); Aileen...until she arrived & could tell us exactly how she was; Gillie’s latest exploits, as we hadn’t seen her for ages, and Warren shared a few of the stories from the lovely lunch we had hosted for old friends the previous Friday.

We came home to finish the Christmas cards, get the laptop up to date, let our next-door neighbours know that we were off and to eat a meal made up mostly of leftovers in the fridge.

Everyone has been raving about this beautiful dogwood in the front garden – it has masses of white flowers

We were up early on Tuesday, delivered Bilbo to Eureka Kennels and set off chatting for Dunkeld, taking no notice of our Tom Tom and adding 45 minutes to our journey! We arrived at the Royal Mail Hotel at exactly 1pm and enjoyed a lovely lunch. After we checked into our room, we set off for a walk around town, visiting the Information Centre, seeing the old horse trough & gaol until the heat & flies sent us back inside.

The next day we walked early to the Arboretum, which is a lovely collection of trees on the site of an old sawmill. There are plenty of signposted paths, lots of birds and we were followed by a Westie, who wouldn’t go home. We were worried he would be killed crossing the highway, but apparently he is a serial absconder and we were encouraged to let him loose. We gave him some water outside our room and when we emerged for breakfast, he had taken himself off.

Breakfast was OK, but there is nothing extravagant or interesting on the menu and the waiting & reception staff are too young and aren’t concentrating, which is very disappointing. We headed off for a drive, which included visiting a golf course with scrapers instead of greens for putting; found the footy & cricket grounds & the racecourse.

Back at the hotel, Nigel, the head chef, took us on a tour of the kitchen garden, which is huge and allows the restaurant to be self-sufficient in fruit, vegetables & herbs. There was every kind of herb, berry & vegetable growing there and we were interested to discover the chefs pick the produce themselves daily.

Appetisers using produce & flowers from the garden

In the afternoon, we drove to Halls Gap, through scenery that reminded us of Scotland, except that it was windy and 31°. Back home the wind was rattling the windows incessantly and I discovered miniature chocks on the floor, which solved the problem when inserted in the window frames. Dinner was memorable with a bottle of Bests 2011 Pinot Meunier and we did enjoy identifying the various herbs & vegetables that we had seen in the garden. We decided not to do the degustation menu, but had hapuka and duck instead. I couldn’t resist sweets, which was a combination of crepe suzette with bombe Alaska & Johnny Jump-ups for decoration.

We walked early again on Thursday morning, without spotting the Westie, but seeing a mosaic & labyrinth, sheep, hares & wallabies. It was a beautiful start to the day, which was spent driving to our accommodation in North Adelaide. It was an easy drive, with one stop, at Keith, to visit the ‘Henry & Rose Café’, which had been recommended. Wes’s coffee tasted like boiled milk and his vanilla slice he likened to cardboard. I quite enjoyed my Jasmine tea, which the waitress had told me wasn’t on the menu.

Our noisy studio apartment was tiny, much smaller than the photos and without the dryer that we expected, so washing had to hang on a clotheshorse. Everything was shiny, new, and so up-to-date we couldn’t work most of it. However, the bed was comfortable, I found latex pillows hidden in the wardrobe and we were within 1.5kms of the Adelaide Oval. After an early & very yummy dinner at the Chinese restaurant downstairs, we headed back to our Studio to see if we could work Netflix. After 10 minutes, we found a film we thought we would enjoy and 30 minutes into it, we lost all connection. We restarted the modem, but couldn’t find the film again, so gave up and went to bed to read.

After a restless night, we headed off to the cricket where we were expecting to see Jane & David Knox, although their flight was delayed and we didn’t really catch up until the dinner break. However, as we were looking around the forecourt on level 5 of the Riverside Stand, I spotted my brother, Peter, and his wife, Anka, who, unbeknown to us, had seats for Day 1. It was lovely to see them both and we had a good chat before they went off to get settled. At the dinner break, we all met up over chips and wine! Anka had arranged three days in Glenelg for her and Peter as a surprise for him. We all loved the cricket and found the pink ball easy to spot.

On Day 2, we met up with Jane & David at ‘E for Ethel’ a great breakfast spot, where we spent two hours chatting before having a pleasant walk around the area and over to the Oval. Our seats were more in line with the pitch than the previous day and we were much closer to each other, so David was able to spend some time sitting with us. The cricket was mesmerising and we were so pleased we had come.

Stunning sunset

David & Jane flew home the next morning, so we decided to walk to the beautiful South Australian Art Gallery, where we had breakfast and spent 2 hours exploring areas in the Gallery we had not seen before. We then walked to the Casino and found the bridge over the River Torrens, which took us straight into the Riverside Stand again and similar seats to the day before. We wore our footy polos and bought me a pink cap to celebrate being at this historic Test. The cricket was gripping again and we were amazed that it lasted all day, while the Kiwis never gave up on winning and were unlucky to lose in an exciting finish.

It was a hot morning as we set off to the Clare Valley, which took us through the tragic Pinery fire areas, where the destruction and loss of property and livestock was heart breaking to behold. The dust was thick and impenetrable at times and it was easy to see how you could become disoriented if you left your escape until too late.

We visit the oldest winery in South Australia, Sevenhill Cellars, where we were served by someone who couldn’t really be bothered talking to us about the wines or the history or the place. We bought 6 bottles, decided our second stop would be somewhere quirky, and fortunately chose the boutique ‘Crabtree Winery’ in Watervale. Our host, Cheryl, invited us to choose a barrel to stand at and brought wines to us to taste. This was a great experience and we tasted and bought some very lovely wines before heading, at her suggestion, to ‘Reilly’s Winery’ nearby, where we had a late lunch. Back at our Studio, we could no longer send or receive emails, so after wasting an hour of our lives, abandoned the internet and watched the ABC news instead.

We were pleased to be leaving on Tuesday morning and set off around 8.45am for the drive to Robe. We drove through wind and heavy rains, but after 4 hours arrived in Robe in time for a lovely lunch at ‘The Adventurous Spoon’, where the staff were coping with a combined RSL/ Golf Club Christmas party, but were still smiling & cheery.

Our accommodation at ‘Robe House’, which describes itself as a B&B, but is really a self-contained beautiful old home, the oldest in Robe, was lovely. We were in the newest room set in the rose garden and the key was in the door awaiting our arrival. We unpacked, collected ‘The Age’ and went for a walk around the marina and beach before spending a quiet night at home.

This lovely jar of roses greeted us when we opened the door

The next morning we did the Historic Town Walk, where there are so many interesting plaques telling us the history of the various cottages & buildings we passed on our way. The rest of the morning we spent sitting reading in the garden before heading for a seafood platter lunch at the ‘Caledonian Hotel’, where we drank a bottle of local Riesling. That evening we had another long walk around the cliffs where there is a clearly defined path and lots to see. We discovered that 16,500 Chinese heading for the goldfields were dumped at Robe so that the ships on which they had travelled wouldn’t have to pay £10 per person to land in Victoria.

The seafood platter

On Thursday, we were on the road early again and off to visit Great Western, which we reached at lunchtime. We went straight to Bests, which has the oldest vines in Australia, and which had been such a good experience earlier this year, but once again, were served by someone who wasn’t listening to what we wanted. We bought a dozen bottles and on her recommendation, went to ‘Grampians Estate’, which we had not been to before. We were so pleased we did. Suellen was an older woman, who knew her wines and quickly worked out what we liked. We bought up big – some reasonably priced still Shirazes and some excellent sparkling Chardonnay, Rosé & Shiraz. Lunch was savoury muffins with a glass each of sparkling Shiraz – what a treat!

When we reached Ararat, we headed straight for the ‘Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre’ as some of those Chinese discovered alluvial gold on their way to Clunes, Ballarat & Bendigo, and helped found the city of Ararat. They were treated badly at that time, but have been celebrated ever since, even though only one of those original gold miners stayed in Ararat.

After a couple of false starts (my fault) we found the Southern Cross Motel, where we had booked a night and were pleasantly surprised by our clean, comfortable room, with a great shower, good bed & huge TV set. There was even a teapot. Wes got us salads for dinner.

The next morning, Judi had recommended ‘Vines Café’, so we went there for breakfast & were so pleased we did. The best breakfasts we have enjoyed in ages and beautifully presented to boot! Afterwards we drove to Eureka Kennels, where I dropped Wes off with what I thought were his keys to the Mazda 6, but weren’t, so I had to retrace my route after 5 minutes and return with the right keys! Wes arrived back here with Bilbo about 15 minutes after I got home and I was just starting the first of 4 big loads of washing when they came in the door. We came back to a very clean house, as Sandra had done our windows before heading on a holiday herself with her partner, Darren, and their daughter, Sarah.

 

Thriving tomatoes

Wes spent the afternoon catching up on the good & not so good things that had been happening to Barbara while we were away before unpacking wine & watering (although both Judi and our lovely next-door neighbours, Rob & Dene had watered frequently while were away). I did 4 loads of washing and we both finally collapsed around 6pm with glasses of whisky & wine and an episode of ‘Home Fires’ to watch before heading to bed.

Today I woke early and took Bilbo with me to pump water at Leitches Creek, before doing the shopping at Coles. We had been shocked to read in the local paper that yet another friend, Mary Danchuk, had died, so I popped into the Newsagency, where Kim was able to tell me Mary discovered she had pancreatic cancer and had died in a matter of weeks.

Stunning 100^th Anniversary of Gallipoli monument at Robe

We went back into Vincent Street to see the Highland Gathering Parade, where we met up with heaps of friends, had a cuppa at ‘The Food Gallery’ with our neighbours, Rob, Dene & Barbara before enjoying a late breakfast and catch up chat with friends, Ron Prophet & his partner, Deb Baron, who had been spending the night in Ballarat. Bilbo enjoyed the whole thing and must have said hello to at least 50 other dogs, as well as quite a few human friends. The rest of the day was spent catching up on computer stuff, writing this, sorting out photos, balancing Reckon, putting up the wreath on the front door and finally, opening the mail.

 

Ron & Deb at breakfast

 

Wes enjoying the cliffs at Robe

So now you are up-to-date and I’m going to send this out today rather than wait until tomorrow morning, when Bilbo will be delighted to get back into routine going to the Sunday Market and breakfast with friends. Thanks for all the comments & suggestions & support on Facebook and for the emails & texts you sent while we were away. We had a great time and if the Adelaide Test Day/Night Test becomes a fixture, I think we might make our trip there an annual event.