Dear Friends, we had
some wonderful discussions at breakfast last Sunday – firstly Wes told everyone
about a very complex web of relationships he had found when researching his
aunt, Norma, who was adopted by the same couple that adopted his mother, Doris.
Aileen arrived and we got onto the poet, Judith Wright, and her biography and
moved onto an Iranian people-smuggler’s autobiography, that Judi had read
recently. Before everyone else arrived, Margot told me how disappointed she was
that Jack Green’s best artworks had not been on display at the Pop up
Exhibition at the Daylesford Museum the previous weekend.
Bilbo rugged up against the cold at the Food
Gallery – it must be worth it as he keeps coming back for more!
Afterwards we drove to
Sailors Falls to see the waterfalls there, which are quite spectacular. All the
walks are closed off, as is the mineral water, so I jumped out of the car, into
the rain, and admired the flow from a distance. It was so cold & damp, we
decided to drive back home and stay put – all thoughts of a walk from Lake
Daylesford to Twin Bridges or Tipperary Springs shelved!
Sailors Falls – view from the top in the rain
It was a perfect
afternoon for sitting in front of the fire reading, so we did.
I woke on Monday with
some energy again at last and enjoyed walking to and from gym, including a
detour to pick some lemons from Bill & Sue’s laden tree.
Wes spent the morning
in the garden, and, in the afternoon, after some hours writing, he visited
Margot to help get her laptop working again. It seems to have developed a mind
of its own while she was away in Queensland!
Tuesday was another
beautiful morning and I headed off to Ballarat for my postponed appointment
with the naturopath, while Wes did a double shift at the Daylesford Cinema. As
it is school holidays, the number of films is increased, and there aren’t
enough fully trained volunteers to fill the spots.
I was very happy with
my session – the naturopath seemed to think she could help my energy levels as
well as offer another way to eradicate the warts on my foot. We had an hour
together and she was very thorough. I am a stick in the mud & like to have
the same thing for breakfast, some variety at lunch, and very little variety at
night. However, I have to try some different things, so Wes has been poaching
pears, steaming broccoli and serving more eggs than usual!
Dot & I met up for
a couple of hours on Wednesday to play Mah Jong, as we thought it was important
to keep the tradition going. Everyone was lovely at Muffins & More and we
had a fun time together, before Dot had to leave for an appointment.
Pretty flowers in a cup & saucer on our Mah
Jong table
Wes went to the Old
Hepburn Hotel for dinner that night with Jeff Bain and they enjoyed the roast
pork special with lots of red wine.
I drove to Strathmore
on Thursday to spend time with Leanne. It was raining intermittently there and
back, and there were plenty of potholes to avoid on the roads. We had a good
time together. That night Wes went off to a meeting for volunteers of the
Daylesford Cinema, and then dropped in to the Daylesford Hotel, where a few members
of our ALP branch were discussing its future.
Wes had a sleep in the
next morning, so after shopping early at Coles, I walked Bilbo around the
Gardens. The weather was fine so Wes got into the back garden before it was
time to drive to Castlemaine for Valerie’s funeral. We went to the wrong Christ
Church, but had left in plenty of time so weren’t late for the service. The
first person we saw was Gail White, who had arranged for someone to take her
& Terry’s places at Brick Lane so she could attend. She had saved us seats
next to Dot & John, so it was good that all the Mah Jong ones were
together.
The Church was full -
Valerie had a large family of 4 and had about 10 grandchildren, as well as 3
great grandkids. There were also friends from Church, croquet, Probus and U3A.
Sandra Frost, our cleaner, was there with Valerie’s neighbours; Keith & Ros
Pyers were there as Ros went to school with Valerie in Yallourn and Keith’s
brother, Val, ran a choir there that Valerie joined. The minister told us that she
only made the mistake of calling Valerie ‘Val’ once, before she was put back in
her place and advised that Valerie was the only acceptable version of her name.
I can empathise as I don’t like any diminution of my name for reasons that go
back to childhood, but haven’t left me.
Valerie & Alison
After the service, we
walked down the hill to the Church Hall, where we finally met Valerie’s
daughter, Alison, who spoke well of how much she loved her mother and how much
she will miss her, as did her three daughters, one of whom flew back from
Brazil to be there. We also met Valerie’s good friend, Jean, who lives in Dunolly,
and who met Valerie through croquet. They went on holidays together as well as
spending half each week together. We were pleased to catch up with Tom Cockram,
the potter, who moved from Hepburn Springs to Castlemaine some years ago, and
Marj Green (wife of Jack, the painter), who lives in Daylesford, but played
croquet in Newstead with Valerie & Jean.
That night we watched
the Sydney Swans demolish Geelong at the MCG and put themselves into their 3rd
Grand Final in 5 years. Messages went to & fro from Jane Knox in Sydney –
she was now regretting she hadn’t snapped up cheaper airfares when they were
available. However, it is going to be hard for her & David to get tickets
as they are SCG members, not members of the footy club.
Yesterday was a busy
morning – Wes walked Bilbo, came home to put my henna on, wash Bilbo &
poach pears for breakfast. Afterwards, I took Bilbo into town for a walk as I
needed to pick up a few things. We met up with some lovely friendly dogs on our
walk as well as some friendly owners! Wes spent lots of time in the front
garden and everywhere is looking very happy for the attention. We even have a
few late daffodils in bloom and are waiting for the tulips.
Last night, while Bilbo
slept we were on the edges of our seats willing the Western Bulldogs across the
line against GWS at the Sydney Showgrounds. It was a stunning game that was
finally won in the last minutes and like most of the AFL footy world we are thrilled
that the Doggies will be playing in their first Grand Final since 1961.
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