Morse

Morse
Morse & friend

Sunday, 18 September 2016

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 18th September 2016




Dear Friends, when I left you last Sunday, we were about to embark on our usual activities of Sunday Market shopping followed by breakfast with friends. Bilbo’s diary had told him that Margot would be back and he didn’t stop pestering us until we popped him into the car and headed off early.

Conversation was very interesting – Janine had been to Hobart with her son, Paul, and came back with some ideas about enlightenment at Port Arthur that none of us shared. Margot had photos to show from her trip, the highlight of which was watching whales from her unit nearly every morning. Judi told us about a leaking vase which collapsed when she picked it up, which forced her to do a Spring clean of their dining room whether she felt like it or not. Janine had volunteered at the 5000 Club, a group that puts on a free lunch every Friday and has been doing so for 5 years. She was very impressed with the donations for the meal, the table settings & the menu and intends to keep volunteering there when she can.



After breakfast we dropped our little fat dog home and went to the Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens to buy some plants. Sadly, the best of the stock had already gone and there was nothing that appealed to either of us, so we headed off to the Daylesford Museum to see the pop-up Exhibition of Jack Green’s paintings. There were over 40 on display, as well as some early sketches, and paintings by some of his students, one of whom was Margot, who had arrived back here in time to contribute a very fine painting she had done.

It was wet again on Monday, but Wes & Bilbo walked early and noticed that the Lake was not as full as it had been. I went off to gym and then enjoyed a massage with Nick Massaro, which is always a treat for me and Bilbo as Nick never arrives without something in his bag for each of us!



Wes admiring the view from Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens over the Convent Gallery and out to Mt Franklin

After the massage I gave Valerie a ring at Box Hill Hospital and was thrilled to hear her sounding much more like her old self. She had enjoyed a weekend of visitors and some quality time with one of her daughters, Alison, & one of her sons, Andrew.

On Tuesday we woke to another morning of soaking rain – Wes took Bilbo for a short walk around Victoria Park, before preparing for his morning at Daylesford Cinema where he was showing the film, ‘Ab Fab’. I dropped him off there and headed to The Cutting Studio for a fringe trim, before joining the rest of the audience for this very funny film. We enjoyed it, but it wasn’t side-splitting in the way the TV episodes were.

Afterwards we went to the Food Gallery for lunch and while we were there I received an unexpected phone call from Alison to say that Valerie had died very suddenly from a heart attack. I let Dot know straight away and asked Wes to tell Bob Kennedy & Carol Bruce when he got home, as I had an appointment at EKO. Emma & Alanna were very kind and I was so pleased I had gone. That night was early to bed with toasted sandwiches, red wine & a good sleep!

On Wednesday I went to gym in pouring rain (80mls in 24 hours) before meeting Dot for a cuppa and chat at Muffins & More. Bella & Jackie were very upset to hear about Valerie’s death and bought us each a bunch of flowers, which was very thoughtful of them.


It was still raining on Thursday morning & I emptied 100mls out of the rain gauge. We had planned a day in Buninyong and were looking forward to the Botanic Gardens, the Cemetery, and the Info Centre at the Old Library, as well as visiting the Mount Buninyong Winery for lunch. Everyone was posting photos on Facebook showing how hard it was to get in or out of Daylesford, and we decided it was madness to add to the road chaos when we didn’t need to travel.
So we planned the rest of our trip to Adelaide at the end of November for the Day/Night Pink Ball Test against South Africa. We have decided to spend a couple of nights in Mount Gambier on the way over and three nights in Portland on the way back.


When Bilbo has finished his dinner each night, he likes to sit on Wes’s lap, but Wes didn’t appear, so he jumped up on the couch to be with me instead!

It was good to wake to a dry morning and Wes & Bilbo had a careful walk around the Lake, where the path is very wet & slippery. I went shopping at Coles and then walked into town to meet Judi at Muffins & More for a catch up cuppa, which was most enjoyable.
Wes made a very yummy garlicky pumpkin & fennel soup before heading off for an afternoon of meetings with Jenny Beacham. I chatted with Leanne and then had a lovely phone call from Karen Stevenson. We had planned to catch up with her & Malcolm yesterday before going to the footy at Port Melbourne, but with all this rain, we decided not to make the trip. We were also feeling quite flat after Valerie’s sudden death and probably not in the right mood for socialising.
  


Great photo of Lake Daylesford – you can just see the bridge, which is impassable and God knows where the seat has gone!!!

We couldn’t take our eyes off the footy and watched in amazement as the Western Bulldogs team got their act together in the second half & ran all over Hawthorn, putting them out of the contest for the Grand Final.

When we woke yesterday, it was dry & warmish, so Bilbo & I went for a lovely walk around the Wombat Botanic Gardens, where we enjoyed looking at the stunning display of primula in the Conservatory.

Wes spent the morning in the front garden, putting down steps to make it easier for us to get around. We settled down to watch the Collingwood Reserves play the Footscray Reserves in a Preliminary Final. I turned the TV off when Footscray got 20 goals up & congratulated all my Doggies friends – a Preliminary Final in the Seniors next Saturday and a Grand Final in the Reserves next Sunday – what a weekend.

The Swans were too good for Adelaide at the SCG, but ended up with some injuries and will be hoping they can field a strong team to beat Geelong next Friday night.

Bilbo with his back to the stunning primula at the Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens.

It is wet and cold again this morning, so plans for a walk to Tipperary Springs have been put on hold. Bilbo is waiting impatiently at the top of the stairs for me to take him to the Sunday Market and then breakfast.
We have Irish friends, Jim & June Swatman, in Iceland at present & all their photos are making us quite keen to get back there. We have done so little and there is so much to do. I am rereading all my Arnaldur Indridason crime novels – it is so much better once you have been there and can picture exactly what & where he puts his detective, Erlendur.




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