Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 31st July 2016

Dear Friends, once again, we had a fun breakfast, especially with the addition of Gillie, who popped in for a coffee and catch up. Bilbo was given far too much to eat as usual and slept away the rest of the day until dinnertime, when he woke on cue for a smallish repast.

You can see how cold it still was at 9am outside the Food Gallery

Wes drove off to Bacchus Marsh to listen to more poetry readings from Amit and others. Penny didn’t get there, but there were quite a few other readers and Wes got to read some poems himself. On his way home, he stopped at Tylden Cemetery, where he found a Munro baby (Viva’s side of the family); a Maloney family, and lots of Macaulays, relatives of friend, John Macaulay, who was interested in what Warren posted on Facebook.

On Monday, after gym, I enjoyed a lovely long catch up with friend, Di Lyttleton, at the Food Gallery. It was foggy and wet, so she was happy to forgo walking her dogs for the warmth of the café. When I arrived home, Wes told me the sad news that our dear friend of many years, Mike Hill, was at home in palliative care, as he was no longer able to go anywhere safely.

Sadly, Mike died of lymphoma on Tuesday, and leaves behind his partner, Lorna Pitt, as well as a great legacy to Brunswick through his work establishing Westwyck, and as a Councillor and first Mayor of the City of Moreland. He loved reading my Dispatches and often followed up on things like changing passwords or correcting any ambivalent statements I made. His last outing that I know of was to the footy on Queen’s Birthday, where he was delighted to see his Demons beat Collingwood. I didn’t begrudge him his excitement for a second.

I watched the film, Downriver, with Wes at the Daylesford Cinema on Tuesday morning and what a bleak film it was. There was barely a character to like in it, just some very fine acting and a very tragic story. This is an Australian film, a mystery drama, beautifully shot in Warrandyte. Afterwards, Wes went to visit his sister, Denise, bearing lunch, to celebrate her birthday; while I had lunch at Jackie’s on Vincent with Gillie Gough & Michael Ivanchenko. The other two shared some yummy, but meaty dumplings and I tucked into the Shanghai pepper squid with extra chilli sauce. We had a lovely time chatting about all sorts of topics and were toasty warm under the heater and near the open fire.

Stunning glimpse of Lake Daylesford early on Tuesday morning courtesy of Beck Walker

There was no Mah Jong and no Sandra on Wednesday, so after gym I came home and rested before we headed off into Melbourne to visit the Old Melbourne Gaol and attend a private viewing of  ‘Degas: A New Vision’  courtesy of our financial advisors, First Samuel, at the National Gallery of Victoria. We parked near the Malthouse Theatre and caught the tram along St Kilda Road into town. Our visit to the Gaol was superb. We are National Trust members, so it was free. We were welcomed very warmly and our options explained clearly by Fiona, who gave no impression that she was saying it for the umpteenth time that day. Inside a group of schoolgirls were being taken on a noisy guided tour, but we were able to wander in and out of the cells on all three floors without hindrance. The Gaol focuses on many things, but Ned Kelly’s hanging is the most historic event to have occurred here and there is a lot of information to digest. Wes has a forebear, Edward Adams, who was at the death at Ned’s request and he is shown in the picture taken just before Ned was hanged. The man who murdered Warren’s ancestor, Frank Cartwright, was imprisoned here and we found his cell as well.

Before we left, we visited a small room, which commemorated the 30^th Anniversary of the Russell Street bombings, which were meant to destroy the police complex, which was across the road from the Gaol. Sadly, they killed Angela Taylor, a young police officer, who was walking across the road to get lunch for her mates. The complex was damaged but not destroyed and there were very few injuries.

We caught the tram back to the NGV and found our way to the private viewing, where we were plied with excellent and plentiful food & drink by very friendly, experienced staff before we were given an overview of the Degas Exhibition, and then a tour accompanied by two volunteer guides. I was underwhelmed by this huge display – I found his paintings of women showed little or no empathy with the exception of what I think is his best work by far – The Absinthe Drinker (pictured). There were a couple of other paintings I liked, mostly horses, which he seemed to prefer to women! The highlight of the evening was catching up with dear friends, Tom Tyrrell & Deb Fowler.

We were quite tired by the time we arrived back home, well past our bedtime, only to discover that I had forgotten to close the door into the laundry, and Wes had forgotten to close the door into the bedroom, with the result that Bilbo had spent the time we were away lying on our bed in supreme comfort – when he wasn’t gnawing at the giant bone we had left to keep him occupied!!!!!

On Thursday, Wes had an early appointment here before driving to Strathmore to help Leanne with her computer. I did the supermarket shopping, so he could take some stuff with him and then had a very quiet day recovering from the excitement of the day before. Bilbo and I were in bed by the time Wes arrived back at 9pm and we decided to have a sleep-in on Friday morning, which was a good decision, as Friday remained wet & foggy all day.

Another of our Daylesford friends, Russ Wilkinson, has been very unwell and in hospital in Melbourne. We knew Russ back in Brunswick days when he was a member of the East Brunswick Progress Association, run by Vic & Vi Little. Russ has taught Daylesford & surrounds how to play Mah Jong and looks after the weekly group, the longest-running U3A class, which has been going since our inception.

Jane Knox’s father, Frank, had a fall in the shower on Sunday, and has been in hospital ever since. Jane & David has just arrived at the snowfields, when they got the news, so drove back home on Monday to be by Frank’s side. It is such a worrying time for us as parents reach their nineties and frailty sets in – we are very lucky if they don’t suffer mental issues as well. On Friday, Jane herself, ended up in hospital, and will have an angiogram tomorrow to find out why she hasn’t been feeling quite right.

Yesterday we woke yet again to fog and constant rain – 10-20mls per day on average. Wes and Bilbo walked early in it, then came home & dried off before Wes went off to attend a Council briefing for the new suggested home of the Hepburn Hub. Council has suddenly realised that we have a nearly empty building in the main street that could solve most of its space problems, and cost heaps less to alter than the plans they have been foisting on an unhappy Shire. They are choosing to ignore the fact that many ratepayers, us among them, suggested the Rex Theatre ages ago and were ignored.

Wes arrived home very pleased with the hearing he and others had received and hopeful that sanity would prevail in every respect. We had fish & chips for lunch in celebration and sat down in front of the open fire for an afternoon & evening of footy. Sadly, the Blues were unable to beat ladder leaders, the Hawks, but they tried hard to stay in the contest.

We were thrilled when Collingwood was able to come back in the last quarter after being headed to beat West Coast, and then settled down to watch an even contest between North Melbourne & St Kilda, where North were determined to celebrate Boomer Harvey’s record-breaking 427^th game with a win, and did.

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 24th July, 2016

Dear Friends, we started our week very well with a good trip to the Sunday Market, a fun breakfast, where Bilbo got more than his share of bacon & eggs on toast, and arrived back home for me to make a big pot of minestrone soup, and Wes to spend some time in the garden.

You can just see Bilbo in his Collingwood coat sitting outside the window waiting for Barbara, Margot, Judi & Janine to arrive and say hello.

After a cold morning, the sun came out in the afternoon in time for us to attend our first ever ‘Commitment Ceremony’ between old friend, Chris Dobson, and new friend, Suzanne Brimacomb. There were nearly 100 invited guests and we were very adequately contained within a marquee extension of the garage and kitchen. Everyone we have spoken with agrees it was a loving and meaningful ceremony, and we can all only hope that they can be married within the next 12 months.

We arrived home to find ourselves quite exhausted after all our socialising from Friday to Sunday, and were in bed and sound asleep very early.

I went to gym the next morning and then enjoyed a very welcome massage from Nick Massaro, who was not long back from a lovely holiday in Rockhampton with his wife, Robyn. Wes made his famous fish pie for lunch and we watched episode 2 of the BBC’s Undercover, which we are really enjoying.

Wes spent 2.5 hours later in the day helping Margot with her computer, which desperately needed updates and was very pleased to come home to tea and toast.

It wasn’t cold on Tuesday, but very foggy – Wes & Bilbo walked early and I delivered my latest crop of beanies & berets to Mell Sappho, who runs Keeping Daylesford Warm. She is always very appreciative, which keeps me going!  

   

Berets & beanies are at the top of the page      

Wes, Lauren & Malcolm, AKA the A Team, were showing ‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople’ but I needed to go to Ballarat more than I needed to see that film, so off I went in the fog to pick up a few things that I just can’t get in Daylesford, as well as visit the NAB ATM to change card pin numbers & get out cash. The film was well received and the Daylesford Cinema decided to have an encore performance on Wednesday night as it was so popular.

In the afternoon, we had an appointment at our local Post Office, to apply formally for our new passports. It took about 10 minutes, including photos, and we found it a very easy and relaxing way to renew passports. We aren’t planning on travelling anywhere this year, but we both felt it would be a shame if the opportunity arose and we were unable to take it.

On Wednesday after gym, Wes and I headed to Muffins & More for a catch-up with Dot & John Smith & Valerie Lefel, as Dot & John are off to Coff’s Harbour for 5-6 weeks on the weekend. We had originally planned lunch, but John had double-booked, so Wes came in early for coffee and a chat.

John, wearing the Fair Isle jumper I knitted him, deep in conversation with Wes.

In the afternoon, I took Bilbo for a walk around the Gardens, while Wes took Barbara to do a big shop at Coles and to fill her car up with petrol. They had planned to do this in the morning, but Barbara very kindly agreed to the change of time so Wes could get to the café.

On Thursday, we headed off to Castlemaine on one of our regular outings exploring areas around where we live. We started at the Old Castlemaine Gaol, with a cuppa at the Governor’s Café, which was quite underwhelming as you can see from the look on Warren’s face! After that, we headed on our self-guided tour (you can go anywhere but upstairs!) and were even more underwhelmed, if that is possible. What a disaster this is and it could be such a wonderful and interesting place for locals & visitors in Castlemaine. Signage was appalling, finding out where to buy a ticket was difficult and we, along with other visitors, hadn’t worked out that the initials OCG meant Old Castlemaine Gaol and thought they referred to some Government Department that must have been using the many out of bounds areas.

Our next stop was the Castlemaine Botanic Gardens, where we did a circuit and encountered a few locals walking dogs, some mothers & kids in the excellent playground, and a few signs telling us about the fountain, lake, trees & old tearooms. We eventually spotted two workers inspecting new growth, but didn’t come away feeling that this was a particularly loved spot, bounded as it is by the railway line and streets.

We decided to visit Das Kaffeehaus for lunch, as we had planned to do some months ago, when we were going to meet Lovely & Malcolm in Castlemaine, but I was too sick to go. What a delightful spot – we loved the Viennese style of the décor, enjoyed the smiling, helpful greeting & service and best of all, found interesting meals that we tucked into! This place has that very rare person these days – a maître d’ and ours was a very attentive well-dressed female who seemed to have eyes in the back of her head, making sure no one was neglected.

 My meal was a special called serviettenknödel (friend bread dumplings with scrambled eggs & salad), while Wes asked for the best sausage on the menu, which came served with two kinds of sauerkraut & three mustards

After lunch, we headed for the Castlemaine Art Gallery, which is always worth a visit. Sadly, two couples were using the Australian artists’ room as a venue for catching up, so we exited quickly and found ourselves in the very back room, where there was a fascinating display entitled Beards & Influence. Clayton Tremlett has 12 large self-portraits of himself as various Australian bushrangers and it was amazing how different beards & facial hair make him look immediately identifiable as Ned Kelly or Martin Cash for example.

Down in the refurbished museum, we learnt much about Castlemaine’s history and early persons of note & influence, including Nellie Sheehan, who was their first female Councillor in 1942 & Mayor in 1954-5. We also read that the Campbell’s Creek cemetery had a Chinese Burial Oven and decided to visit it on our way home.

What a wonderful cemetery – we loved it – it is easily the biggest country one we have ever seen and gives the Chinese a prominent spot on a hill, where there is a marble plaque celebrating their achievements, particularly on the goldfields. The oven is bigger than the one at Maldon, but not in such good repair. However, we are not suggesting for a minute that this cemetery isn’t well looked after. It is immaculate, beautifully set out and on our drive through, we discovered that old headstones, those had fallen over, had been replaced carefully along the path, supported by the base of the hill.

We drove home thinking that our day had been a big success, except for the Gaol, which is desperately in need of TLC. Bilbo was delighted with our return and the countdown to his dinnertime.

During that night & early morning, there was a wild storm, which brought rain everywhere, so that even cars under cover were completely covered in water. It was too wet & wild to walk, or even to garden later, but I did go and pump water, plus do the shopping at Coles in between showers.

In the afternoon, I drove to Danny’s place in Northcote, so we could go to the footy together that night. We met Danny’s friend, Nu, who is a North supporter, and had a couple of drinks before going to our seats in the Docklands Stadium. Danny & Nu were seated on Level 1, behind the goals, but I was on the second tier, in an area available to MCC Members, which was a very good view. Sadly, the Pies didn’t bring their best footy to the Docklands, and we Collingwood supporters were most disappointed, after having gone to the game with some hope of a win.

Yesterday morning, Danny & I had breakfast at Square & Compass in East Melbourne, before heading our separate ways. Danny had a busy day visiting his daughter, Greta, and family; having an early dinner with a friend, and then driving to Bentleigh to a Trivia Night to support his son-in-law, Cory, who is married to Celia. I drove to Strathmore to spend the morning with Leanne and later drove back here through pouring rain, in time to watch Carlton just fail to topple the Swans at the SCG.

Wes had been to a poetry reading on Friday night, to support Penny Reilly, who was reading some of her poems in company with Amit Dahiyabadshah, an Indian Poet Laureate. He was most impressed and is planning to spend time with Amit & Penny again today, while I recover from my travels and disappointment!

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 17th July 2016

Dear Friends, it has been a busy few days since I returned from Sydney. While I was away, Wes visited Leanne, had a haircut, cooked Glenn Mack & Barbara Simpson a meat meal, ate lots of bacon which he shared with Bilbo, washed, ironed, made meals, washed up, gardened, watched footy, read and slept! I arrived back with only my own washing to worry about and with everywhere looking neat, tidy and clean.

I didn’t go to see the Tuesday film, but had a haircut and manicure instead. It was particularly cold & windy with snow promised later in the day. Apart from a flurry around 1.30pm, we went to bed without any sign of snow, but wakened the next morning to discover we were covered in the stuff.

Greenhouse, fountain & backyard views

Front yard, street & decking views

Everyone was very excited and FB was full of photos of white fields, snowmen, cars, trees and even cows covered in snow. Bilbo didn’t venture out at all – very happy to stay warm inside. I headed off to Mah Jong, where we were seated at a new table under the heater, which was wonderful until it turned itself off!

Table set for Mah Jong with Tommy in the background having his breakfast & catching up on the news

Wes went over to see what he could do for Barbara, but the weather prevented him from doing any outside chores and once the district nurse arrived, he was banished back home to computer work.

It was dry but very misty on Thursday and the boys walked early before the mist came right down and made it impossible to see beyond our back fence. The rosellas & magpies were glad to see me back, especially when I strewed birdseed on the lawns and on Fawlty Towers for them.

I had lunch with Rhonda Lubin at Cliffy’s, where we enjoyed a lovely thick soup and caught up on our respective travels. Cliffy’s was busy with everyone getting out of the cold. Later Wes visited Janine Hawker to help her with computer issues, which gave me no excuse not to cook special fried rice for dinner, which I did!

Bilbo & I had hoped to walk on Friday, but it was foggy, wet and cold, so we decided to give it a miss, as the weather in Trentham would have been worse. After shopping at Coles, where Mari & Wendy had missed me the previous Friday, I met Judi at the Food Gallery where we enjoyed some jasmine tea and toast and updated each other on our news.

Later that afternoon, we met friends, David & Penny Reilly at the Daylesford Hotel for drinks and a discussion on her upcoming poetry reading session with the current Indian poet laureate.

Yesterday we finally had sunshine and warmth – we had arranged to meet Gail & Terry White for lunch at Boathouse Daylesford and what an inspired spot it was. We enjoyed a yummy meal, lovely wine and some strenuous debates with Gail, who likes to instigate debates, especially when she thinks we won’t agree with her point of view!

The Pies were very disappointing at the Adelaide Oval last night against the Crows. Glad I wasn’t there! Shortly I will be off to the Sunday Market – Bilbo can’t wait…and breakfast at the Food Gallery to follow.

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Tuesday, 12th July 2016

Dear Friends, I forgot to tell you last Sunday that I would be heading to Sydney during the week with Danny Millman, and that there would be no Sunday Dispatch. You are getting a Tuesday Trumpet instead.

Although it was cold on Monday, it wasn’t wet, so Wes mowed the upper lawns and planted a Gallipoli Centenary Floribunda Rose (made in Germany) that I had bought from Ken Rae at the Sunday Market. I planted all the little seedlings I had bought to replace the massacred geraniums and the dog decking is looking a little better for some colour.

I also bought Bilbo a warm rug which he absolutely loves and demands be put on him as it gets cooler in the afternoon.

Wes took Barbara to lunch at the Farmers Arms Hotel to celebrate her birthday – her choice of venue, and they enjoyed their time out.

On Tuesday, I joined 16 others to see the film ‘Florence Foster Jenkins’, which I enjoyed very much, although I am still torn between reality and the deception. I haven’t decided yet which is better, but obviously, the deception was kinder as far as the story went. Wes and I met for a quick lunch afterwards at The Food Gallery, and then he visited his sister, Denise, who had rung needing help with her computer, while I went home to play with my new phone, which had been delivered that morning.

It was wild & wet on Wednesday, so there were no walks and only 4 of us turned up to gym. We devoted the morning to changing our Telstra passwords – always fun, as there are so many places you have to remember to do it, finishing off with the mobile phones. Wes visited Barbara, but couldn’t do much practical stuff because of the weather.

The afternoon was spent doing more passwords, as well as packing. It will be good to have a break from all this computer work – I am doing more than I usually do, while I work my way methodically through our e-wallet. Sandra came to clean, Mah Jong was cancelled because Valerie had to go to Bendigo, which suited Dot & me as it was so wet and unpleasant outside.

We were up early on Thursday, and off to the airport in Brigadoon conditions, which really only lifted around Keilor. Danny arrived just before us, so we settled into the Qantas Club and waited until our delayed flight finally boarded. Once on board, we discovered that only one runway was in use, so we had a further 40 minutes wait before we hit the skies. We arrived an hour late to driving rain in Sydney and caught the train direct to Town Hall Station, which was 1.5 blocks from our hotel, Metro on Pitt.

We checked into our hotel and contacted Jane Knox, who came into town to meet us and chat for an hour over a hot drink. Danny & I were hungry as we had missed lunch, so we headed to one of his favourite places, Fat Buddha, at the top of the Queen Victoria Building and enjoyed a couple of hours leisurely meal of chilli prawns & steamed fish.

The next morning we headed out for tea & toast at Kikko, one of my favourite spots in Sydney, which is also in the Queen Victoria Building, before enjoying a mostly dry walk around Darling Harbour, Chinatown, Paddy’s Market etc. We ended up in the mall, where I bought a new pair of pants from Kathmandu.

Kikko café

Back to Chinatown for yum cha lunch with Peter, a 79-year old friend of Danny’s, who had caught the train in to meet us. We enjoyed a very yummy lunch at Judi & Michael’s favourite yum cha spot. Afterwards, we had thought we would watch a film, but it was school holidays and not much on offer, so we elected to go back to our hotel for a rest instead.

 Danny & Peter at East Ocean

Later, we caught the train to Circular Quay, after panicking when we read that there were no paper tickets available any more – fortunately we spotted the fine print, which said ‘ after 1^st August’. At the Quay, we caught a ferry to Neutral Bay, where Jane picked us up and took us back to their home for dinner and a night of watching the Swans play Geelong at Kardinia Park. We had a wonderful night – beautiful meal, lovely wine, and a good win for the Swans. Jane very kindly drove us back to our hotel afterwards.

On Saturday morning, we decided to have breakfast in the park, so walked through the Domain to find The Pavilion was open for business. We walked through the door, past the open sign and were promptly advised that they weren’t open until 9am. I asked politely if we could sit until then, which we did and on the dot on 9am we were given our menus. If the view wasn’t so lovely, we would have walked straight out. Breakfast was fine and we continued our walk afterwards, all the way to the Opera House and back to our hotel via George Street. Jane & David picked us up and we drove to Homebush, in plenty of time for the match.

Danny, David & Jane at the Showgrounds Stadium

Apart from the incessant noise from the ground announcer, which made chatting impossible, we enjoyed our time there, especially after the first quarter, when the Pies suddenly decided to play and kicked 9 goals to 2 to take the lead. Jane, Danny & I were sitting together upstairs, and the rest of our party – David, Terry, Tim & Marjory were all on the bottom level. It was a very exciting game and a thrilling win, especially with Travis Cloke playing his best game in ages.

Afterwards we dropped Danny at Leichhardt to catch the light rail back to our hotel, where he was meeting his friend Min. The rest of us made our way to the North Annandale pub and later down the street to the Vinery Restaurant.

Marjory, Time & Jane perusing the menus

Jane & David dropped me back at the hotel afterwards, where sadly I seemed to have a bout of food poisoning and spent a most uncomfortable night, finally falling asleep at 5am.

I missed out on Sunday’s activities, which included a walk around a new development called Barangaroo and very yummy dumplings for lunch. I spent the day in bed, and around 1pm risked tea & biscuits, which fortunately stayed down. Our lovely hotel rooms included packets of biscuits, a clock radio, quiet & efficient air-conditioning and a wonderful walk in shower. The staff didn’t disturb me until early afternoon, when they rang to see if I was all right.

Yesterday, David picked us up at our hotel and very kindly drove us to the airport in plenty of time for our flight home. We sat in the Qantas Club and had fruit salad, which was just right for my sore tummy. Wes was at the airport to greet me and we had a lovely trip home, where Bilbo seemed pleased to have me back. I had a mug of soup before going to bed and am feeling much better this morning. 

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 3rd July 2016

 Dear Friends, it was another cold Sunday last week, with the threat of black ice still around, so we travelled carefully to the Market and then to breakfast, where we enjoyed a long, fairly serious chat about the effects of the vote by the UK to leave the EU. None of us can understand it, and it appears to have been an anti-immigration vote as much as anything else. We hope our cousin, Leigh, and her husband, Simon, are not adversely affected by it.

We will have a chance to discuss this in person, as Leigh, Simon & Simon’s daughter, Charlotte, are all travelling to Australia early next month. They fly into Melbourne on the Saturday morning, and we are meeting them for brunch on Sunday before taking them to the MCG to see Carlton play St Kilda. Leigh is a Carlton fan and is keen for the other two to see Aussie Rules. I have bought guest passes & reserved seats in the MCC, so there will be plenty for them to look at if the footy doesn’t grab them. Two days later, after visiting Leanne, they are driving to Daylesford to spend two nights at Lake Daylesford Cottage, before heading off to Tathra to see my sister, Paun & her husband, Brian, on their way to Sydney, finishing their trip with some days of R&R at Port Douglas. They are hoping to catch up with my brothers, Terry & Peter, and their wives, Mary & Anka, as well as some of Leigh’s many friends in Oz.

After breakfast, I made a big pot of minestrone soup, which we enjoyed with olive sourdough bread, fresh from the Sunday Market – I bought the loaf three minutes after it was delivered to the bread stall.

Wes finally got into the garden on Monday, as it was dry in the morning. He and Bilbo enjoyed an early walk, and I had a fun session at gym. Barry had written a new programme for me, but left it at his home, so we worked off someone else’s sheet with a few changes. I spent 25 minutes on the phone to Deo at Telstra, trying to get some action – no one wants to take responsibility for my lost phone and both Deo and a later ‘follow-up’ caller from Telstra suggested that I should be ranting & raving at our local Telstra shop. I object very strenuously to this – Keith has looked after us brilliantly for the last 18 years and I believe his version of events.

Enough said!

We woke on Tuesday to find that our dear friends, Bobby & Marilyn, had made a special trip to St Columba’s Island on the Isle of Skye to find Viva’s tree & see if the scarf we tied there two years ago had survived. Sadly it had gone, but they left some flowers and thought of her. I was in tears with their kindness.

We are really enjoying following their trip around Scotland with them and they keep us informed with lots of photos. They have eaten at places we suggested, done walks we loved and, in spite of the cold and single lane roads, are having a great time. We can’t wait to catch up with them on their return and chat at great length about what they have done.

On Tuesday, I gave ‘Finding Dory’ a miss and drove to Strathmore to spend time with Leanne instead. We had a good visit, but it was amazing the difference in weather in 100 kms. I left and returned to Brigadoon, but Strathmore was bathed in sunshine & 15º.

Two stunning views of Lake Daylesford taken at 6.30am by Robyn Lawrence

Wes did a double shift at the cinema as it is school holidays, which he followed with a meeting at the Food Gallery and a visit to Margot to collect her computer, so he can do some upgrades for her. My computer is running well after its visit to hospital, but the mobile has still not been replaced, and the dishwasher has a burnt out motor, which needs replacing.

Valerie, Dot & I enjoyed our games of Mah Jong on Wednesday morning – the heater was fixed; the café was full of happy visitors and locals tucking into big breakfasts & pancake stacks, and the staff never stopped smiling and being helpful. Meanwhile, Wes spent time with Barbara as usual – she has a foot infection, so has been advised to have as much bed rest as possible to help the antibiotics do their work.

The 30^th June dawned cold and wet. The boys walked early, but it never really got above 4º (feels like -4), so we spent the morning on the computer. I had decided to change all our passwords again and this seemed like a good time to do it, while Wes had set himself a deadline of that date for research on the family tree…..now the hard work of writing the stories begins in earnest.

There was a boys’ film afternoon at the Pengilleys’ place, so I drove Wes and Jeff Bain there, where they were joined by Brian Nash & David Hall, for a solid afternoon of eating, drinking, watching a film (The Bridge of Spies) and solving most of the world’s problems. We agreed that Wes & Jeff would catch a taxi home when they were good & ready, but Jan Pengilley kindly did the honours around 8pm.

On Friday, we were excited to have a visit from Libby Tyrrell Edgoose, with her friend and former next-door neighbour, Jan di Luca. They drove up from Ivanhoe and brought some drier weather with them. We had lunch at Boathouse Daylesford, where Susanne & Claire looked after us beautifully. The minute Lib & Jan decided to go home it started to rain again, and within a short time, we were back to wet & grey weather.

Jan & Lib enjoying the views of Lake Daylesford as we chat over a glass of pinot gris before lunch

It ended up a very busy day for both of us – the phone was running hot in preparation for yesterday, as Wes was Captain of the Glenlyon voting booth.

I visited Keith at our local Telstra shop to see if he had any more news on my lost phone – he didn’t, but as I was leaving Wombat Hill Nursery, (armed with little plants to replace my much-loved geraniums that the rosellas destroyed), I received a phone call from Graham, a manager at Telstra to let me know that he would be sending me a replacement phone that day and to ask me what I would like. I opted for the updated version of the LG phone that was lost, and asked him about the two months’ rent that we had paid. He agreed to send me $150 in vouchers, which rose to $200 by the time we finished talking. This is a very satisfactory outcome after 9 weeks since my phone stopped working. Fingers crossed that the phone arrives safely.

Wes and I had very different mornings yesterday – he walked Bilbo early in the light rain and mist, then packed the car and set off around 7am to get the Glenlyon Hall ready for handing out ALP How to Vote Cards for Catherine King. I met Judi at Jackie’s on Vincent for a yummy breakfast omelette and catch up, after walking around the Farmers’ Market across the road, where I caught up with local producers, as well as wonderful Rotarians – Bronnie, Ron, David & Gordon. We both walked around town afterwards redirecting visitors who were heading to the Daylesford Primary School to vote. For the first time in our memory, the polling booth was in Smith Street at St Michael’s Primary School.

Lovely photo of Wes being visited by another True Believer, Lauren Matthews-Nicholls, at Glenlyon Polling Booth

When I got home, Wes had dropped back briefly to warm up, recharge the mobile and sit down, before heading back to do another shift at Glenlyon.

It was a busy night – I made dinner while Wes settled down to watch the Election broadcast on a wide spectrum of channels, most of which were ruined by giggling females or people talking about results that didn’t match what was on the screen. Early signs were for a reduced Coalition majority, but we woke this morning to find that Labor had done better as the night wore on, and as I send this, we still don’t know which party will be in government. Our local member, Catherine King, has comfortably held her seat, which is a testament to her hard work here and as Shadow Minister for Health.

I left the political broadcasts at 7.25pm to watch the Carlton & Collingwood game on the TV in our bedroom. After the stunning game in the afternoon between Sydney & Western Bulldogs, which resulted in a 4-point win to the Doggies at the SCG, I didn’t expect as high a standard in our game, which the Pies managed to win by 2 goals in a low-scoring scrap. It was lovely to see the first game of Jack Silvagni, the third generation of Silvagnis to play for Carlton. Both his father, Steve, and grandfather, Serge, were watching on proudly. He is a natural, who seems to have no fear, and with this nerve-wracking debut behind him, he will only improve.

Jack in long sleeves, like his father, SOS, getting out a handball against Mason Cox with Nathan Brown in the background

Bilbo is getting anxious at my feet, so it must be time to venture out into the early morning mist and collect some provisions at the Sunday Market, before catching up with friends for breakfast upstairs at the Food Gallery.