Dear Friends, I left you last
time about to go to the Sunday Market, followed by breakfast, where we enjoyed
a lively and interesting conversation centred around Aileen’s brother, Ron. The
rest of the day was quiet – spent by me watching footy and knitting. Wes worked
on Joan’s estate and when he finally came upstairs to relax, he played Scrabble
on his phone with the help of Bilbo as you can see.
The next morning, all three of us slept in and
enjoyed a slow start to the day. Wes was sitting downstairs at 8am, when
Barbara rang to say her carer hadn’t turned up and could he come over and help
her, which he did immediately. Barbara later emailed us to say that she had
been accidentally removed from the Master List at Council and the new roster
didn’t include her. She had rung the emergency number, which didn’t answer and
discovered the number had been changed without her knowledge. This sort of
emergency happens occasionally to Barbara and I often think it must be extra
difficult for those people who need carers and don’t have a back-up or simply
can’t work out what to do – the people most in need often are the ones who fall
through the cracks in any system.
On his return, Wes, still in his pjs and dressing
gown complained of feeling lop-sided. You can see from the photo I took that he
appeared to have dressed in a hurry - with one lace-up shoe and one slipper!
I set off to Tonna’s, as we needed muesli and
pasta. David, who is on his honeymoon and currently in Malta, is sadly missed
and without him, the place isn’t as cheery, especially as his sister, Danielle,
was also away today. When Judi lived with us in 1979, she used to make her own
muesli, which I thought most peculiar – it only took me about 30 years to catch
up and realise that you could put in the things you wanted to make it suit your
taste and so I have been for the past 6 years or so – figs, coconut, sunflower
seeds, dried cranberries & blueberries, as well as the usual ingredients. Thank
you Judi...sorry I was so unappreciative all those years ago, but you’ve always
been a trendsetter.
We awoke to Brigadoon on Tuesday and some more
rain. Wes set off to get the Daylesford Cinema ready for the film ‘Madame
Bovary’ and I did a few chores before joining him there for the film. There
were 19 of us in all and I think everyone enjoyed the film, which was faithful
to the book, with my only complaint being the occasional jarring American
twang. Afterwards I walked up the street to ‘The Food Gallery’, where Rhonda
and I spent an enjoyable lunch hour chatting and catching up. We were
entertained by the sight of the owners of the shop, ‘Harry and Me’ walking up
and down the footpath with laden arms, as they shifted from their little,
inaccessible shop to a recently vacated larger, much more accessible spot next
door to ‘Sweet Decadence’.
My final stop was EKO for a long overdue
manicure and pedicure with Alanna, and when that was done, I was very pleased
to come home and rest for the remainder of the day. After taking Bilbo for a
late afternoon walk, Wes cooked a yummy dish using tubular pasta that we hadn’t
tried before, and we gave it the thumbs up.
We were all thrilled to see Sandra again on
Wednesday morning as we had missed her while she was on two weeks’ holiday. She
got a great welcome from Bilbo and then settled down to getting Maloney Folly
back into shipshape condition. I went to play Mah Jong with Dot & Valerie,
as Dot was finally home from her big holiday in the north. We had a most enjoyable
morning catching up with each other’s news and all of us had a win. Valerie and
I had a toasted sandwich afterwards then I went home to pack for the Sydney
trip.
On Thursday morning, I said goodbye to my two
boys and set off in fog and rain for Melbourne Airport. It was a good trip and
when Danny arrived, we headed for the Qantas Club for a cuppa before our
flight. Jane Knox was at the other end to meet us and take us to our hotel, the
‘Oaks Hyde Park Plaza’ at the corner of College & Oxford Streets. The next-door
hotel, the ‘Pullman’, was where the Collingwood players were staying and Danny
and I were thrilled to spot them from time to time.
No players, but
black & white columns outside the Pullman looked very welcoming indeed.
Jane came to our apartment for a cuppa and chat
and we arranged to have dinner at a dumpling restaurant, ‘Din Tai Fung’ that
night with her and David. After Jane went home, Danny & I walked into town
looking for a white T-shirt for me, which we found in David Jones. We also
bought some juice, milk and tea bags for our stay. Wes and I had been at this
hotel (in the late 80s I suspect), when we shared a 2-bedroom apartment with
Shar & Jamie Lendrum. At that time, the rooms were huge and each bedroom
had a bathroom and shared a big lounge and kitchen area. The refurbishment
seems to have turned each of those apartments into two new 2-bedroom suites
with only one bathroom, and much smaller lounge area. However, we were up high
with a good view of the city and the apartment was clean & quiet.
We enjoyed our early meal at ‘Din Tai Fung’,
where the dumplings were fresh and tasty, where there were almost as many staff
as patrons, and where David & Danny found they had many interests in common
and got on like a house on fire at first meeting. We were able to walk back to
our hotel easily and fell asleep almost at once, as we were so tired.
On Friday, it was another lovely day in Sydney,
not too hot, and we walked to breakfast at ‘White Carrots’ café, where we were
fed yummy meals and found some AFL news to read in the Sydney papers.
Afterwards we went for a long walk around Sydney and I tried unsuccessfully to
get an ‘Age’ newspaper.
Jane collected me at 11am and we drove to
Clovelly Beach where we had a good walk around and enjoyed a cuppa or two at
‘Seasalt Café’.
Meanwhile Danny’s friends, Alex & Gareth,
had arranged lunch at ‘Catalina Restaurant’ at Rose Bay, which was apparently
out of this world and most enjoyable. Jane dropped me off around 2pm so we
could both have a rest before the footy and I spent the time trying to get into
DA’s head with the Friday crossword.
We had a lovely time at the SCG, where we were
joined by Terry McDonald, who took us on a guided tour of the Members and M A
Noble stands.
Danny with his good
mate, Steve Waugh
Terry had booked a table in the ‘Old Long Room’
and it was fun to meet up with his ex in-laws, Tim & Marjorie, and their
friends and have a meal & a few drinks before the game. We had reserved our
seats right behind the cameras on the wing in the Ladies Stand, and had an
excellent view of the match. David had been working and arrived just before the
game started. Sadly for Danny & me, the Pies were unable to match the
intensity or accuracy of the Swans and we lost by 11 points in an interesting
game. Jane & David dropped us back at our hotel before driving home
themselves.
We started slowly on Saturday morning and
decided to walk to the Strand Arcade for tea and toast. The only café there was
full, so we opted for the Queen Victoria Building instead and enjoyed breakfast
at ‘Kikko Caf
. We then walked around The Rocks area before heading to
Circular Quay and buying our tickets for the ferry to Neutral Bay, where we had
been invited to lunch ‘Chez Knox’. We walked around the Opera House, then into
the Botanical Gardens and around Government House, before making our way back
to the Quay, where we were joined by Terry McDonald, who was also a lunch
guest. The ferry trip was far too quick, but we had seats at the front of the
boat and made the most of our time on the water.
David picked us up at the pier
and took us home, where Jane had prepared the best meal I ate all trip. We
started with garlic studded baked camembert and crusty bread, followed by perfectly
cooked fish steaks with seaweed garnish and finished by somehow fitting in
pudding & custard. Jane’s friend, Merrilyn, also joined us, and the six of
us spent a very happy time around the lunch table, before David had to start
work, and Jane offered to drive us all home. Danny had been invited to dinner
by Min, Alex & Gareth, so, after a quick change, he set off with Min for a
pre-dinner drink, and I settled down with a glass of red to watch the footy and
enjoy an early night.
Yesterday while Danny slept in, I
walked to Mrs Macquarie’s seat and back through the Botanic Gardens and via St
Mary’s Cathedral. Danny was dressed and packed when I returned and we were
ready at 10am for checkout and David’s arrival to drive us to the airport,
which he had volunteered to do. Jane was visiting her father, Frank, for lunch
and then driving to the snowfields as she had a three-day pass.
Danny & I had a late
breakfast in the Qantas Club, before boarding our flight to Melbourne. It was a
comfortable and enjoyable one on a very new plane and when meat pies and sauce
were served for lunch, almost everyone on board tucked in with gusto. I found
our car and drove home through sunshine, arriving back here about 4pm, where I
was greeted warmly by Wes & Bilbo.
Wes had been busy – he had
delivered a report on the National ALP Conference to the ALP meeting on
Thursday night, invited Dene from next door, and Barbara from across the road
for lunch on Friday, driven to Melbourne & back on Saturday for the auction
of Joan Testro’s home in Malvern, and enjoyed Sunday breakfast with John &
Jan Smith, Gail White, Aileen O’Reilly and Barbara Simpson.
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