Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 25th October 2015

Dear Friends, we enjoyed a very chatty breakfast last Sunday. As well as Kathy & Gerard, who were staying with us; Mary Goodall is in Daylesford again, dog & house sitting for the Anglican Minister, Jeff O’Hare, and Janine Hawker brought her son, Paul. We talked in small groups early on before breakfast arrived.  Then we moved to table topics, such as the superiority of Labradors as a breed (surprise, surprise); dairies & Clydesdale horses, and other delights of our childhoods, and finally, Margot amazed us by telling of her friend, Adrian, who feeds a magpie family with pieces of meat every day and has been rewarded with three witchetty grubs from the father magpie!

After breakfast, Wes met Barbara at Coles Supermarket to help her do a large shop, while Kathy, Ged, Bilbo & I all walked around the Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens, where the azaleas and rhododendrons are in full bloom. Kathy & Ged then headed home via the Garden of St Erth at Blackwood, and Bilbo and I strolled home to spend a quiet day with Wes after a very busy couple of days.

Ebb Tide - our very first rose to bloom this Spring

We both had busy mornings on Monday – I set off for gym, but was home again shortly afterwards. Poor Barry had mistakenly put on his very best aftershave, and I was so asthmatic it was impossible to continue. Instead, I collected Bilbo and we went for two circuits of the Botanic Gardens, which got plenty of fresh air back into my lungs and exhausted him for the day.

We were back in time for me to have a massage with Nick Massaro, who doubles as our handyman. After the massage, while I washed the Mazda 6, he mended 4 chairs and fixed our bedroom door, which hasn’t closed properly since the floating cork floor was replaced when we had the fire in the dishwasher three years ago. It wasn’t an issue until Bilbo started opening the door and getting comfy on our bed whenever he felt like it! Meanwhile Wes went off to a meeting of an informal Writers’ Group, which meets at ‘Wombat Hill House’ in the Botanic Gardens.

Margot had invited Bilbo to lunch with her at ‘The Glenlyon General Store’ and we were allowed to tag along. We picked Margot up at her home in Hepburn Springs and drove the 10 minutes to Glenlyon, where we found a table with umbrellas in the shade. Margot had brought a big bowtie for Bilbo to wear and surreptitiously fed him titbits from her lunch. We were pleasantly surprised with the quality of the food we ate and I was especially thrilled to discover they stocked jasmine tea.

We sat chatting for a couple of hours before returning Margot to her home and the three of us to Daylesford – Bilbo without his bowtie, which will no doubt emerge on another occasion.

Yummy meals & lovely teacups

The next day Wes got up early to walk Bilbo around Lake Daylesford before heading in to show the immensely enjoyable film ‘A Walk in the Woods’ based on a Bill Bryson true story, starring Robert Redford & Nick Nolte & Emma Thompson. We laughed and cried our way through this with about a dozen other patrons. Afterwards we came home to special fried rice and Wes put in another afternoon writing, while I did various household chores before settling down with The Age and cryptic crosswords.

On Wednesday, Wes drove to Brunswick to have lunch with Kyahl Anderson, oldest son of his nephew, John, at our favourite Sydney Road eatery ‘Foxtrot Charlie’. He also visited Peter Russo before driving out to Malvern to meet with his cousin, Amanda, at Joan Testro’s home to see what needs to be done before settlement next month. Meanwhile I went back to gym, where no one was wearing perfume or aftershave. Valerie, Dot & I met for Mah Jong at ‘Muffins & More’ until Dot left early when her husband, John, wasn’t feeling wonderful and decided he needed to see a doctor. Fortunately, he was diagnosed with a throat infection, so we are all relieved.

Back home, I collected Bilbo and we went for a long walk in the Botanic Gardens before settling down to a quiet afternoon with ‘The Age’ and crosswords. It was a lovely day, not too hot, with a pleasant breeze that removed the sultriness of the previous 24 hours. We even got 3.5 mls of rain, which was very welcome indeed. Wes arrived home while it was still daylight – one of the very good things about Daylight Saving.

Thursday was cold and windy, so there was no early walk for Bilbo. He was very happy to come back to bed after his bone and kept me company while I did the crosswords in The Age. Wes and I headed off to Ballarat through the rain and mist to see the Archibald Exhibition. We were most impressed with the way the Ballarat Art Gallery showed these finalist portraits for the Archibald Prize and Wes had no hesitation in voting for the Michael Caton study, while I loved the painting of Jenny Kee. We both thought the winning entry was much more impressive than it had seemed in the media. Afterwards we sat and chatted over cuppas in the coffee shop before driving home.

On Friday, when I woke, I realised I wasn’t able to cope with all the walkers who would be doing the Swiss Italian Heritage Walk that morning, so was very grateful that Wes took Bilbo for an early stroll around Lake Daylesford. I did the shopping and came home to struggle with DA’s Friday Cryptic, (which I was pleased to solve by mid-morning) before we drove to Trentham to have lunch with Jane Barrett & her husband, John Webster, at ‘The Plough @ Trentham’. We enjoyed a three-hour lunch together where the service was excellent and the main courses even better. I had skate, which was perfectly cooked and served on a bed of asparagus and couscous with tahini pillows on the side. Wes and John raved about their slow-cooked goat, and Jane tucked into a perfect duck dish.

From left to right – goat, duck & skate with another goat in the background

We drove home via Kyneton and spent the rest of the day very quietly indeed with glasses of water and nothing to eat!

Yesterday Wes got up early again and walked Bilbo. He then spent the rest of the morning doing weeding and clearing the gutters, as well as planting our new dogwood & placing our new Japanese Maple, which we have bought in honour of Joan Testro. Bilbo and I drove to Hepburn Springs, parked near Second Street and walked down to ‘Bellinzona Grange’, where we settled in the shade to watch the Annual Swiss + Italian Festa Grande Parade.

Four town criers leading the parade & Bilbo sitting patiently watching it all go by.

The rest of the day was spent quietly watching the races from Moonee Valley on Cox Plate Day. Sadly we gave back our winnings of the previous Saturday, but enjoyed some great racing, including a stunning win in the main race by Winx.

Bilbo and I are heading off shortly to pump water at Leitches Creek, then to the Sunday Market and after a short impatient interlude at home putting our fruit & vegetables away, we three will get back in the car and go to breakfast at ‘The Food Gallery’.

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 18th October 2015

 Dear Friends, once again our Sunday started well with yummy breakfast and interesting chats at the ‘Food Gallery’. Bilbo scored well with toast from Judi & Margot & bacon from Janine. Our topics ranged from modern weddings (during pregnancy or after the children are born), origins of our first & middle names, and over-servicing (real and perceived) by doctors these days.

As I have been feeling better, I have been making occasional long overdue phone calls in an effort to catch up with patient friends in Melbourne (mostly), who don’t ring because they hope I will ring them. So far, I have enjoyed great chats with old friends like Kathy Lazzaro, which resulted in a visit from Kathy & Ged this weekend; Gayle Gibson; Shar O’Reilly, where I found out that her ex-husband, Jamie, had died earlier this year; and newer ones like Jane & David Knox in Sydney. I also speak with my sister, Leanne, every couple of days, and that is usually 20-25 minutes.

Here is a lovely photo of Marilyn & Robert Preston’s two beautiful granddaughters, Charlotte & Ruby, which featured in Facebook during the week.

As well we received emails from Genevieve and Ava Spiteri (daughters of Matt Spiteri & Sara Lacey) thanking us for their birthday cards. Here is Ava making a wish before blowing out the candles.

And just in case you’ve forgotten what he looks like, here is Bilbo using his friend as a chin rest.

We’ve enjoyed a typical week – me doing gym twice, Wes gardening, each of us walking whenever we can, especially with Bilbo. Wes spending hours on Ancestry.com seeking out interesting information about members of our respective families, as well as working on short stories about various members or events in their lives.

Views of the front with lilac in bloom and the rosemary hedge in full flower – you can just see the dog decking which is covered by Banksia rose, also in bloom

The film this week was ‘Holding the Man’ which was attended by 19 patrons at the Daylesford Cinema. This wonderful Australian film is a bittersweet adaptation of Timothy Conigrave’s posthumous 1995 memoir about growing up gay in the 1970s and falling in love with a schoolmate in Melbourne’s Xavier College. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house at the end.

Daylesford experienced a power blackout just as Warren was about to begin showing the shorts, so he, in consultation with the audience, decided to delay the film until 10.30am start in the hope that power would be restored by then. It was, but I had a 1pm appointment and the film went for just over 2 hours, so it was a near thing to get to Emma at EKO on time for my relaxing facial etc.

Dot was well enough to be back at Mah Jong this week and promptly won most of the games we played, except for one where Valerie prevailed. We were asked by another couple of patrons in the café whether there was a club they could join and we pleased to be able to refer them to the U3A Mah Jong Club, which still plays at the Masonic Centre.

I went along to hear Jude Brown, former nun, talk about her experiences in the Convent, as part of a U3A series entitled ‘Interesting Lives’ on Thursday. This was well attended and we learnt quite a lot about the Loreto order, nuns in general & Jude in particular. Afterwards I had been invited by my friend, Rhonda, for a light lunch at her place, where we admired her beautiful garden, which is full of flowering rhododendrons, and I met her lovely cat, Miss Sharon. Lunch was wonderful as any meal from Rhonda always is, and we chatted for almost 2 hours, before it was time for me to come home.

The Bushwalking Group travelled to Kyneton on Friday morning, which meant Bilbo, Judi & I wouldn’t get back to Daylesford until nearly lunchtime, so we three, plus Judi’s dogs, Maddie & Major, walked around the Botanic Gardens together. Afterwards I drove us all to the Food Gallery, where we sat happily chatting and drinking Jasmine tea and saying hello to all the friends passing by. Wes spent the morning helping Margot with her computer again and she is very pleased indeed.

Later that afternoon, Kathy & Ged arrived to spend the weekend with us. We opened a bottle of Cofield Sparkling Shiraz to celebrate, Wes cooked porterhouse and salmon on the barbecue, and we chatted over cheeses until we were all ready for bed.

Kathy & Ged at breakfast yesterday morning

Yesterday was one of the most perfect days you could wish for, here in Camelot. The weather was wonderful, with the sun shining, but not too hot, and we were able to open all the windows and leave them open all day. After breakfast – Wes’s scrambled eggs & bacon on muffins, we headed off in Kathy & Ged’s lovely new car to visit the Leonard’s Hill Market. This is a tiny little affair, as befits a very small community, but Kathy & I managed to find a few things to buy, including some beautiful irises, which had been cultivated by Ken Rae’s son, Chris.

Then we headed through the Wombat Forest and past the Ashram to the Ballarat Road, where we found David Dawson’s wrought iron showroom and gardens in Blampied. This is a stunning display and his work is shown to much better effect than it ever was in a small plot of land in town. On the way back to Daylesford we detoured into Spring Park Nursery & Rose Gardens, where we bought a very pretty, fragrant, climbing double red rose to go over one of our arches.

Next stop was The Bookbarn by the side of Lake Daylesford, where we had tea, coffee and ANZAC biscuits and enjoyed the serenity of the decking there far from the children’s playground and the Boathouse Café.

We parked in the main street and headed into David Bromley’s Gallery, which I am ashamed to say we had not visited until now. We were amazed by what he has done with a very long narrow shopfront. His work commands big prices and it is very cleverly displayed with a judicious use of mirrors. He has opened up much further and added stairs at the back of the shop and has even moved into behind the newsagency next door. Kathy, Wes and I then popped into the Creswick Woollen Mills shop, which has been further advanced by a boutique space given to Liz Davenport designs. I managed to find a lightweight black vest for Summer, so we all came home happy with our purchases.

The afternoon was spent by Kathy & me knitting & watching the races, Ged walking around the Lake & Wes working on Ancestry. We had a silly quinella on the Caulfield Cup and it came home to the tune of $81. Wes cooked salmon pasta; we demolished another sparkling shiraz and somehow fitted in Eton Mess in front of the latest episode of ‘New Tricks’. This was a perfect day with old friends.....

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 11th October 2015

Dear Friends, we enjoyed a fun breakfast last Sunday and it was especially good to see Janine Hawker again after her trip to Russia and the Baltic States. Her husband, David, had died while she and her daughter, Peta, were on this trip, but her son, Paul, had urged her to continue with the trip as he could manage everything for her until her return. So most of the conversation at breakfast centred around Russia, although when Judi turned up wearing a dress, we all felt very underclad indeed. She was off to a birthday party in Geelong much to everyone’s relief, as we weren’t sure we could uphold the standard! This party turned out to be a wedding as well, so it was a good thing she was frocked up.

We also touched on caravan & camping parks, the fizzer of a Grand Final as far as non-Hawthorn supporters were concerned, and Bilbo was given plenty to eat as everyone had leftover toast.

Some of our beautiful tulips – deep purple, deep pink, red and yellow – they were too colourful to be hidden in the garden

Wes spent the afternoon helping Margot with her internet and after 4 hours he felt he had done all he could. She did ring back during dinner to say she needed his help one more time, so he very kindly drove back to Hepburn Springs and sorted out the final issue.

I walked to gym on Monday morning, had a good session, which was well attended, and was lucky enough to bump into Gillie on the way home. She can always be persuaded to detour into a café, so we popped into ‘The Food Gallery’ and spent a very pleasant 45 minutes chatting and catching up. Margot was there and told me how delighted she is with everything Warren had done for her.

I arrived back home to find serious gardening, mowing, clipping and watering going on. Wes is much better than he was, although he was still cold, even though the temperature was 28°. Some time ago, Leanne had given us a quiche, which I defrosted the previous night for dinner and we had the rest for lunch that day, with a green salad. Some of the ingredients for the salad came from our garden – baby spinach, chives & curly parsley.

Wes had asked me if I would like to have dinner at ‘Mercato’ that night to celebrate 15 years since I retired – 6^th October 2000. By mid-afternoon I still had energy, so booked a table and we headed off, making the most of daylight saving. As always, the staff was very attentive and our main course of poached salmon with long beans was very yummy indeed. Richard Mee, the chef, came out from the kitchen to say hello, and we chatted about how lucky we are to have him still here running the restaurant after all these years, and how fortunate he is to have such great staff and such wonderful food around with which to work miracles.

On Tuesday morning, we could barely wake up – so tired from the excitement of dinner out and a very hot night (for Daylesford anyway). Wes headed off to show ‘Oddball’ yet again, and I took Bilbo for a walk in the gardens before we met Judi at ‘The Food Gallery’ for cuppa and a catch-up. We managed to attract a few friends as we sat outside, most notably Jan Pengilley, who was delighted to see Bilbo in particular.

My favourite painting in the Horse Exhibition at the NGV – ‘Horses Bathing in the Sea’ by Lucy Kemp-Welch

The weather turned cooler on Wednesday, which was wonderful – I walked to gym and back and then met Valerie for two-handed Mah Jong. Dot is still in pain as her specialist tries to adjust her medications for her. Ann-Maree, who runs ‘Muffins & More’ told us we needed to attract another player or two and that she hoped we never left her café as she enjoys having us there. Wes spent the morning helping Barbara, and that night, he got back into the kitchen and made a lovely salmon, chilli and fennel spaghetti.

Bilbo got two walks on Thursday – one early with Wes and the other with me when I went to ‘The Cutting Studio’ for a fringe trim with Lyndal Conroy. I was looking like Cousin It, as I was a week overdue for the trim. Wes spent a couple of hours getting the front garden back into some sort of shape before we donned some better clothes and headed off to ‘Verey’s Funeral Parlour’ for David Hawker’s service.

It was a lovely celebration – Wes spoke very well and was followed by David’s daughter, Peta, and son, Paul. John & Jan Smith had driven up from Sandhurst, and we enjoyed seeing them again. After the coffin was removed, there was a light lunch & drinks served, which gave us all time to chat with other mourners as well as the family.

Our good friend, David Hall, was honoured at Government House last week with a Senior Achiever Award. David has been a guiding light behind so many good things in Daylesford – U3A, the ARC, Words in Winter to name but a few. Although he is in his early 80s, he never stops sharing his wonderful ideas and putting in the hard work needed to bring them into life. Everyone is delighted that he has been officially recognised and celebrated.

On Friday, after supermarket shopping early, I took Bilbo on the Bushwalk with 10 other ‘Spa Country Strollers’ as we are now called. Our walk took us into Glenlyon and it was a very enjoyable stroll by the side of the Lodden River and around the Glenlyon Reserve. Bilbo scored a pear, an apple, some banana & some mandarin pieces, so he was very happy with Morning Tea.

Wes had spent the morning in the garden – more mowing and clearing up and everywhere is looking good again. I can’t wait for the roses to start blooming as our bulbs are nearly all finished, and apart from daisies, camellias, lavender and rosemary, there is very little in flower.

The new cheese platter in use – we are thrilled to bits with it.

Yesterday I drove to Strathmore to spend the morning with Leanne. It wasn’t as hot as had been predicted, which made for a pleasant drive there and back. We had a good time together as usual and I was able to admire the garden, which has roses in bloom and is looking very pretty indeed.

At the U3A AGM on Thursday, which we missed, because we were at David’s funeral, Catherine King MP launched a new book about Daylesford called ‘Reflections’ by Keira Lockyer. This book covers the past 15 years of life and people in this area, so it should sell well. We haven’t bought our copy yet, but will. As well, Judi Allen was given the annual ‘Averil’ award for services to the Hepburn Shire U3A. This is a well-deserved honour, as Judi has given tirelessly of herself through her various roles on the committee and as President for two years and she continues to be a contributor and mentor.

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 4th October 2015

Dear Friends, I left you last Sunday as Bilbo and I were heading off to the Sunday Market and then breakfast at The Food Gallery. During the week, Toni’s father had died and the café had been closed. Wes and I arrived early so we could go into the kitchen to give our sympathies to Toni & her husband, Pasquale. They told us they were closing the café this week for the funeral, but would be open again next weekend. Conversations at breakfast ranged from the TV show ‘Utopia’ through Windows 10 updates to honey sticks, which I gave everyone courtesy of Gail White.

Afterwards Wes & I drove to Jubilee Lake Caravan Park as David Castles had left his antenna pole (whatever that is) beside a tree, when he left his campsite the previous day. I have never driven through the camping area before and it was quite an education. Sadly, the pole had disappeared – David’s only hope is that someone hands it in to reception, but that is now unlikely.

Bilbo and I did our usual walk around the Gardens after that. Most visitors were either picnicking or at ‘Wombat Hill House’ so we didn’t meet anyone on our stroll twice around the path. We finished off with what has become the usual swim in the pool. The temperature was 30° in the car so I didn’t blame him for wanting to cool down.

The rest of our day was very quiet. Wes stayed up and even had a whisky around 5.30pm, his first in days, and he enjoyed it very much and the good night’s sleep that followed.

On Monday, I went to gym early, as I wanted to try for a Grand Final ticket, when they went on sale at 9am. I was lucky enough to get straight into the website and picked up an excellent undercover seat. Nick arrived shortly afterwards to give me a massage, although Bilbo thinks he visits to give him a treat! Bilbo and I went walking afterwards and were thrilled to see Wes out in the garden, where he did some mowing and watering.

That night I was glued to the Brownlow Medal count like the rest of the Aussie Rules world, waiting to see if Nat Fyfe could get far enough ahead to keep the rest of the field at bay when he missed games in the second half of the season. He registered a wonderful win by 4 points from last year’s medallist, Matt Priddis, and was a very popular winner indeed, after playing in Friday night’s Preliminary Final with a broken bone in his leg.

 On Tuesday, Wes went off to show ‘Oddball’ again at the Daylesford Cinema and there were 55 in the audience. He had a double shift because it was school holidays and was very relieved to finally arrive home around 2.30pm after another screening of ‘Blinky Bill’. Meanwhile I had a manicure at EKO after first walking Bilbo around the gardens.

That afternoon, we were visited by Moshe & Helene Goldberg, brother & sister-in-law of Freda, a friend we met about 30 years ago in Brunswick when she & Wes were on a committee together. They were staying at the Lake House and were keen to meet us. We spent a couple of hours chatting over red wine and cheeses before they left to have dinner.

During the night I was quite unwell – whether I had too much cheese & wine or had picked up a bug I am not sure, but I ended up cancelling all my Wednesday activities and spending a very quiet day in bed, sleeping and watching old episodes of ‘Midsomer Murders’. After spending his morning working in Barbara’s garden, Wes very kindly produced soup at lunchtime and a light pasta dish for dinner and I woke up on Thursday feeling much better.

Wes took this stunning photo just before dawn over Lake Daylesford on Thursday

We had arranged to have breakfast at ‘Bocconcini’ with Phil & Faye Tagell & Paul & Jan Collins – four people I had never met before. Wes was at St Bernard’s College with Phil & Paul and had made contact with Phil when organising the recent 50-year reunion. We enjoyed a good chat with them before they set off – the Tagells to explore Smeaton & the others to drive back home to Keilor East.

We went for a walk along Vincent Street, where we said hello to a few friends and eventually found ourselves at ‘The Magic Pudding’ buying a new cheeseboard to replace our much loved but very chipped avant garde pottery platter, given to us by Teresa De Fazio of  ‘Shaping’ about 20 years ago. That night Wes went off to the ‘Daylesford Seafood Bar’ to buy us fish & chips and ended up in a long erudite discussion of hellebores with Ros Berry.

We only realised it was a public holiday on Friday when we woke to find both Rob & Dene at home next door. It was a beautiful day – lovely cold night, but warm by 10am. I went shopping after spending time doing DA’s dastardly cryptic crossword and was too late to go with the Bushwalkers who were exploring Bullarto. Wes got out with the mower and clippers and did a wonderful job, while I caught up on phone calls & computer work and walked back into town to pick up the mail.

Yesterday I was up early and off to Melbourne at 7.30am. I had a good run and parked next to the MCG by 9am. First stop was Gate 3 to collect my Grand Final ticket. That was easy with no queues and very helpful efficient staff. Then I did a circuit of the ground, a bit of a tradition with me, enjoying looking at the early arrivals, the picnics and barbecues in the car park and watching the place come alive.

I had decided to try and get to the National Gallery of Victoria to see the ‘Catherine the Great’ exhibition and walked across Birrarung Marr past the huge crowds waiting to see if any of the AFL players with the longest kicks could send a footy across the Yarra. I was tempted to watch and missed a lot of fun, but I thought this might be my last chance to get to the NGV, so had words with myself and walked on.

The Exhibition was very interesting and varied and I particularly enjoyed learning all about Catherine the Great via the audio programme, which was most informative.

This beautiful painting of the Rest during the Flight into Egypt by Murillo was my favourite

After a refreshing cup of tea in the Members’ lounge, I visited the Horse Exhibition. This traced the history of the horse and included mythology, cruelty, pleasure and work. There was wonderful footage of the 1930 Melbourne Cup won by Phar Lap and the actual Cup, which had vanished for years, until someone worked out that the VRC had reused it and given it to the owners of the 1980 Cup, Belldale Ball.

Then it was time to head back to the MCG, where the crowds were much bigger. I walked along Alexandra Avenue, which avoided the crush on Birrarung Marr. My seat was undercover and out of the sun, which was good, as the temperature rose to 31°, making it the hottest Grand Final Day ever.

Sadly, the West Coast Eagles were no match for Hawthorn in front of 98,000+, and it seems incredible to think that only 3 weeks ago, the Eagles had triumphed by 32 points. Cyril Rioli was fantastic and deserved the Norm Smith Medal. Hawthorn have now won the last three flags and are easily the best team of this century.

I left before the end and arrived home safely to a warm welcome from my boys. Wes had spent the morning cleaning drains and the pond, and the afternoon with Barbara watching the game. Bilbo had spent most of the day sleeping after his early morning walk.

Today it is going to be hot again, but not as bad as yesterday. We remembered to change all our clocks before we went to bed last night and had a good night’s sleep. Bilbo and I are off to the Market shortly and then breakfast. I suspect we will all be pleased to have a quiet day with lots of newspapers to read.