Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 8th November 2015

Dear Friends, we started last Sunday with a trip to the Market, followed by Breakfast at ‘The Food Gallery’ with Judi, Barbara, Janine, Mary & Aileen. Mary took this photo of Atticus, the dog she has been minding, and Bilbo, as they sat patiently waiting for breakfast toast.

Afterwards we were joined by Judi, Mary and Barbara at the Daylesford Town Hall, where we visited the 2015 Rotary Art Show. There were some wonderful paintings and lots of interest from visitors. In the 30 minutes we were there four paintings were sold, much to the delight of Jan Pengilley, who has single-handedly driven the Show for the past three years since we had to retire from running it.

The rest of the day was spent very quietly as we were both tired from our recent trips to Melbourne.

As there was no gym on Monday, I took Bilbo with me as we delivered old newspapers to Judi, pumped water at Leitches Creek, and collected some more seedlings and potting mix from Wombat Hill Nursery. In between, we had a walk around the Gardens. Wes also spent most of the morning at ‘Wombat Hill House’ in the Gardens, with the Writers’ Group and returned home full of enthusiasm to finish his next short family story.

While he was ensconced in the study writing, I spent most of the afternoon doing wonderful things in our garden – there are now Thai chilli & mixed chilli seedlings in the greenhouse, as well as some flat-leaf parsley on the decking. My multi-coloured little geraniums are all starting to bloom and Wes’s roses are so plentiful I imagine I could pick a bowl of roses every day from now until next May!

On Cup Day, it wasn’t too cold, so Wes & Bilbo walked early before Wes set off to show the film, ‘The Intern’, to a very appreciative audience of 12. We both thought it was worth watching just to see Robert de Niro’s acting. I liked Anne Hathaway and the chemistry between them, but Wes would have preferred someone a little more manic in her role.

We had been invited to Rob & Marg McDonald’s winery with about 40 others to see the Cup, but I decided I would be better off having a quiet afternoon at home. Daylesford is so busy, that it was lovely to be able to come back here and shut the door. We had chosen our quinellas the previous evening and started the afternoon with a modest win of $10. Wes took Barbara to ‘Sailors Falls Estate’ as she was having problems with her wheelchair and couldn’t drive herself.

These little cuties were put up on Facebook in their Cup finery

Along with most of Australia, we were absolutely delighted to see Michelle Payne smash a glass ceiling with a faultless ride on 100-1 shot, Prince of Penzance. I was crying before she reached the finishing line – I guess I never thought I would see this in my lifetime! We have followed the Payne family story for years, ever since Michelle’s mother was killed in a car accident when Michelle was 6 months old. Her father, Paddy, was left with 10 children – 7 girls and 3 boys, and all but two of them have become successful jockeys. The second youngest, Stevie, has Down syndrome, and through this victory, he has shown exactly what people like him can achieve, if they are given responsibility. Trainer, Darren Weir, trusts him utterly and allows him to exercise and strap horses, and manage the stable timetable. Stevie & Michelle have repaid this trust in spades.

On Wednesday, I went to gym, where Barry, our trainer, was the last to arrive – we all thought he had been sleeping in after a trip to Adelaide & back over the long weekend for his niece’s wedding. However, he confessed to playing with the cat and not realising the time!

After gym, I played Mah Jong with Dot & Valerie, while Wes did some gardening for Barbara & filled her car with petrol. It was lovely to be in town again after the hordes had left – Daylesford was bursting at the seams with visitors for the Cup weekend.

Late in the afternoon, we had a visit from Jeff Bain, who was happy to sit outside with us drinking a Cofield red, as we waited for the promised rain, which pelted down so heavily we all got rather wet and had to retreat inside. The rain continued on and off all through the night and the next morning.

On Thursday, we offered Judi the use of our small car, as we were worried about how she would get around Daylesford in the rain. She was very grateful. It was a good time to be down to one car as I am spending most of my time watching the Test Cricket and Wes is very happy to be gardening and sitting with me as well. We had a few quinellas on Oaks Day and got back our outlay, which is better than not!

In the afternoon, I went to visit one of our oldest Daylesford friends, George Killingback, who is dying of an aggressive cancer. We first met when I joined the Bushwalking Group in January 2000, and he, and his wife, Vera, have been a lovely part of our lives ever since. I was very glad when Vera understood that I wanted to tell George how much I had enjoyed our friendship – not everyone is able to let you in when their loved one is dying, but she was happy for my short, teary visit. It is only a few weeks since George did his last walk with the Strollers. Suddenly the hospitals in Ballarat & Melbourne announced they could do no more for him and his life is ending very rapidly.

George Killingback & Bill Longley at the Daylesford Bowling Club for the celebrations for George’s 80^th birthday on 30^th July this year.

Wes walked Bilbo early on Friday while I did the shopping, before baking a date loaf, filling bowls with new roses, solving DA’s cryptic crossword and watching Day 2 of the Test. Wes spent time making inroads in the weeding, shifted the fountain, the bird bath & the lemon tree, before making a yummy lunch of baked peppercorn-crusted salmon with potatoes & peas.

We have gotten 23mls of rain this week, much to the delight of everyone as our gardens and water tanks were desperate for the water. We even got a few drops yesterday morning early before the wind blew the rain away and the sun came out.

Wes and I headed to the Daylesford Primary School to get some things from the Farmers Market. I needed Emu Oil face cleanser & moisturiser, and Wes wanted to buy a fragrant plant to grow on a wire tepee. Chris Rowe suggested we try honeysuckle, which has a lovely delicate perfume and is perfectly suited to this.

Lovely photo of Ben & Leanne introducing Jack to his sister, Olivia.

After the Market, we had hoped to have breakfast at ‘Jackie’s on Vincent’, but they don’t open until 9.30am these days, so we ended up at ‘The Food Gallery’, where we enjoyed different breakfasts and a good conversation.

Back home we put on our quinellas for Stakes Day, the final Spring Racing meeting at Flemington, and while Wes mowed the lawns (bugger that rain), I sat and watched the cricket as the Aussies cleared up the rest of the wickets, and batted well in their second innings.

This delightful cartoon appeared on Facebook during the week – I feel sure that Wes can relate to this – we tea drinkers can match you coffee drinkers for finickiness!

We had invited Judi to join us for dinner last night as she was still batching and Michael is the chef in their household too. Wes made a particularly good fish pie, which he followed up with Sri Lankan Eton Mess – instead of cream we had yoghurt and honey on our fruit and meringues.

Bilbo is sitting patiently at my feet waiting for me to finish writing this and take him to the Sunday Market for pats and cabbage leaves.

We keep putting Bilbo’s soft toy ‘Friends’ in difficult to reach places, and this latest ploy has him beaten. He finds himself dragging the chairs around, as he can’t seem to pull the friends out of the spokes on the back of the chairs – poor Bilbo!