Daylesford Spring Dispatch - 30th October 2016

Dear Friends, we started our Sunday with another lovely breakfast – this time with Mary Goodall, who drove here from Bendigo. Bilbo was most indignant to be outside against the wall and completely unable to see in and after Wes posted this photo on Facebook, most of our friends agreed!

Wes regaled us with stories from the 70^th birthday celebration he had attended the night before in honour of Sandy Breen at the Boathouse Daylesford, and Mary was keen to tell us all about her visit to the Bendigo Show the day before.

On Monday, I felt well enough to go to gym and it was dry, so I walked there and met Gillie afterwards for a cuppa at The Food Gallery, where we caught up on each other’s news and saw various friends, including Joe Rozen, Jan & Warren Pengilley & Margot Jordan. Afterwards Gillie dropped me home with some of her eggs & lemons.

Wes had walked Bilbo and spent most of the rest of the morning in the front garden, tackling the weeds and enjoying the profusion of bluebells. We sat on the decking to have our Atlantic salmon with asparagus & green salad, all of which attracted the first flies of the season. That night Wes attended the AGM of the Daylesford Cinema, where the new Committee was installed, promising bigger & better in the year to come.

Wes showed the film, ‘Bridget Jones’ Baby’ to an appreciative audience on Tuesday morning. There were four of us sitting in the back of the cinema, while the front was taken up with Mummies & Babies. Someone had suggested on Facebook that a group go, and there must have been 10-12 Mummies, who all settled in to enjoy a good laugh. The Cinema is perfect for them – they all sat at the front where there was space for prams & pushers, and toddlers could sit in booster seats next to them. It was a most entertaining film, and one that wasn’t in any way ruined by hearing the odd cry in the background.

After croissants for lunch with Wes at The Food Gallery, in the afternoon I went to EKO for my 6-weekly facial, which included a manicure & pedicure as well. It was a most relaxing & indulgent day, except for the very sad news that Lib’s father, Doug Mathews, aged 98, had died peacefully in his sleep overnight. We have known Lib’s parents, Doug & Bell, since 1969, and they were always very generous with their holiday home at Barwon Heads, and with including us in various functions & meals.

Lovely photo of Doug with Lib taken in April 2015

I walked to gym again on Wednesday, while Wes had a very busy morning helping Barbara. He mowed her lawns, filled up her car with petrol and collected mulch for her garden, as well as doing some planting & chatting about various issues. Dot wasn’t well enough for Mah Jong, but I had a pot of Jasmine tea at Muffins & More after my fringe trim. I had hoped to catch up with Glenn Mack, who had buried his oldest sister the day before, but he had a meeting, so we have taken a raincheck.

We had a quiet afternoon after all our busyness and woke up on Thursday morning ready for our visit to Woodend as part of our discovery tours around our local area.

We stopped at a local café, Brahms & Liszt, for a cuppa. It rated no 2 in Trip Advisor. We were a little underwhelmed by the décor, but the service was very friendly and everyone raves about their waffles!

Next stop was the Information Centre, where we were warmly greeted by Dorothy, who provided us with leaflets and suggestions. We were keen to do the Five Mile Creek Walk, which started just near the Info Centre under the old bluestone Woodend Bridge.

The Bridge is easy to find, but you are then in a sort of park or reserve, with absolutely no signage whatsoever and we couldn’t work out where the walk went, so did what we all do, and followed the next people who arrived. The walk is a little disappointing as there is very little signage or history apart from an explanation of the weir on the Nicholas family estate, where the wire on the fences was sourced from the old cable car routes when they were discontinued.

We had decided to try Double 8 Chinese Restaurant for lunch, and were very pleased with our decision. We were the only couple eating in, everyone else ordered and then collected takeaway. Our meals were very yummy and quite filling. The standard was good for a country town, but not quite Little Bourke Street.

Wes checking out the menu – note the Venetian blinds – as long as there are Chinese restaurants, there will always be Venetian blinds!

We collected our car from the Info Centre car park and drove up to the Woodend Cemetery, which is very well signposted and obviously cared for. We arrived about 30 minutes before a funeral, but were able to walk all the way around looking for rellos. We didn’t find any, but we did like the unusual layout, where very few graves are parallel to the fences.

  

Entrance to the cemetery and my favourite grave – the name and dates have been cut into the headstone, which lets the light shine through

On our way out of Woodend, we stopped at the Uniting Church, where Doug Mathews was minister for some years and thought about the happy times we had spent at the home at the back with Tom & Lib, Doug & Bell.

On Friday, after shopping, I drove to Strathmore to spend some time with Leanne. It was a good visit and we enjoyed the warmer weather. Wes had a quiet day at home with Bilbo.

Yesterday, I visited Judi & Michael’s home early, as they were due back last night after 10 days away on holidays. We do this for each other – empty PO Boxes, water plants, check for wind damage, leave some provisions &/or flowers.

This is a big weekend in Daylesford – you may know that for three years (2010-2012), Wes and I ran the Daylesford Rotary Art Show over the Melbourne Cup long weekend. We only stopped because of my chronic fatigue, which prevented me from coping with the long hours & big workload. The Art Show is now part of a bigger picture – Artober, which covers the Hepburn Shire and incorporates Open Studios and more involvement by schools & local Art Galleries.

We went to Brae Studio, owned by friends, Annie Saunders & Doug Wright, who moved here from Buninyong, and previously, Scotland. They have downsized to an architect designed long open plan home, with their studio at the front – perfect for showing visitors without having to open their whole house. We enjoyed their art, especially a large work by Doug, which had been commissioned by their son’s Finnish in-laws, who wanted a reminder of Finland.

Next stop was the Daylesford Rotary Art Show, where over 200 works were on display. As usual, there was a wide range of styles and ability, and we were very taken with some of the paintings by our old favourites – Brian Nash, Roberta Donnelly, Winsome Moffat & Carolyn Marrone. We recognised many of the names exhibiting and could see that some artists had improved on their techniques, while others had tried completely different styles, subjects & even frames.

The afternoon was spent watching Derby Day races from Flemington and having some small flutters in each race. We were lucky enough to pick a few well-priced winners & placegetters & ended the afternoon ahead by $15, which means we have plenty in kitty for the remainder of the Cup Carnival.

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 23rd October 2016

Dear Friends, we enjoyed breakfast last Sunday, even though we shared our room with various pieces of equipment etc as the Food Gallery attempted to complete its downstairs renovation in time to open for the weekend.

Afterwards we dropped Bilbo home and drove to Woodend for a Fly-Fishing Expo at the Buffalo Stadium there. We came home with a showbag of goodies, but not too much information, as it seemed to be a very clubby Expo and we weren’t members! We took the Mazda 6 in the hope of collecting bags of manure, but all the usual spots had been raided and there was nothing available to buy.

As we woke on Monday morning, I realised my throat was sore and that I was getting a rerun of my bronchial asthma. I cancelled everything for the week and spent Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday in bed. By Thursday, I had some energy back and got up & dressed and did a few things inside. Wes was very kind as always and provided umpteen meals, hot lemon drinks & glasses of water.

Nurse Bilbo’s practical assistance is confined to leaping onto the bed!

On Tuesday, Wes showed the film ‘Captain Fantastic’ to an appreciative audience of 6, who all enjoyed it.

On Wednesday, he spent the morning helping Barbara both in and out of doors. Barbara has decided to spend Christmas with her sister & family in New Zealand and is very excited about her upcoming trip. As it is 11 years since we have spent Christmas with any members of my family, we have let Warren’s sister, Denise, know that we will be in Melbourne having lunch with Leanne, Peter & Anka this year.

I had some energy on Thursday morning, so got dressed and did a few things around the house, including washing the bedlinen to remove traces of Nurse Bilbo, of which there were many! It was a beautiful day, which meant Wes got more time in the garden and we went for a walk around it in the late afternoon to admire all the blossom and buds. It won’t be long before the first roses are out.

While I was shopping at Coles on Friday morning, I met Mark McClure (aka Sellars), who was looking in vain for milk. I sent him to the other end of the store and admired his flowery long shorts – obviously, he was up here for a golf day. (He was later spotted in the Farmers Arms that night with Jon Barrel). Wes mowed and weeded with help from Bilbo. I pumped water at Leitches Creek, where the Council has installed a picnic table & bench seats, before visiting the Daylesford Post Office to have my photo taken for a new MCC membership card. The current photos are 12 years old and very flattering indeed!

We discovered that our hotplates are not working at all, so I have brought out the old electric frypan and it is getting a bit of use. We could use the barbecue but it is usually raining here at mealtimes!!! Hopefully Kiyo will arrive tomorrow afternoon to sort it out.

It was another cold morning yesterday – it doesn’t matter when the Swiss & Italian Festa Committee decide to hold their Annual event, it is very rarely ideal weather. I had hoped to take Bilbo to the Grande Parade at 10.30am, but couldn’t stop coughing and elected to stay inside. Bilbo wasn’t too distraught!

We spent the afternoon watching the coldest Cox Plate Meeting ever at Moonee Valley, where Winx blitzed her rivals and won by 8 lengths, the longest margin ever. Apart from putting money on the nose with Winx, we had gone back to the tried & true each way bets and made $35 profit on the day. My first Cox Plate was 1986 with Danny Millman and I think Wes & I probably attended the next 25 after that. Most of them were won by a whisker, like Saintly, but nothing we saw was a comprehensive as yesterday’s win.

This morning we will go to the Sunday Market shortly, then off to breakfast, where Mary Goodall will be a welcome addition to our group. It is a cold morning again and there is a photo doing the rounds of Facebook, which has a man telling a young boy that Spring has arrived – the boy looks up with tears in his eyes and says ‘but I live in Daylesford’! 

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 16th October 2016

Dear Friends, we enjoyed a fun breakfast last Sunday with lots of good conversations. The Food Gallery was looking forward to closing for a week so they could do some renovations and showered us with coffee-flavoured lollies in their excitement.

We had just arrived back home when John & Carole Hardwick arrived, unexpectedly. They had been in Creswick at the RACV Club and couldn’t bear to drive home without visiting us. We had a lovely catch-up for a couple of hours and they left just as the wind was starting to build up. Luckily our side of Melbourne didn’t experience the issues suffered by places like Emerald etc.

On Monday I went back to gym, where everyone was still happy to chat about the Grand Final. When I got back here, Nick Massaro arrived to give me a massage, which was very welcome, as it had been a few weeks since our last. As usual we chatted away – mostly about the footy and watched the clouds roll in, although the promised hail didn’t arrive until the afternoon. Wes spent some time working in the front garden – weeding & trimming, but retreated indoors when it got too wild & woolly.

It was raining again on Tuesday morning when I set off to drive to Strathmore and spend some time with Leanne. Of course, the sun was shining there and the temperature got up to 17˚, only to plummet back to 9˚ when I arrived back here after a successful visit. Wes showed the film ‘Sully’ to an appreciative audience of 19, but wasn’t able to watch it himself. Afterwards he had a coffee at ‘Sweet Decadence’ with Barbara, Denise & Kate.

Surprise, surprise – it was wet again on Wednesday morning when I headed off to gym after delivering the last of the beanies & berets created using Viva’s wool. Mell who organises ‘Keeping Daylesford Warm’ was keen to have the hats as it is still cold and miserable at times and there is a need for warm headgear. She left me a small bag of wool to keep me going over Spring/Summer. 

However, if anyone has any unused wool, preferably 8 ply or 4 ply, I would love to add it to my stockpile – let me know and I’ll work out how to collect it from you. This does not include offers from Jeff in Lincolnshire – far too hard to get, much as I would love to put your leftover yarns to use!

Wes went to Ballarat with Barbara as she needed help with a bone density scan – not every operator feels that aiding the patient to get onto and off the table is part of their job description, so Wes goes along in case he is needed. They arrived back here around 2pm and we had a late lunch of pastie (me) and pepper pie (him) that I had bought at ‘Muffins & More’, where Dot & I spent the morning playing Mah Jong. Dot won all the games except the last!

I turned into a handy person when I got home – replaced the lint filter in our 12-year old Westinghouse Clothes Dryer (not an easy task) and then fished out of the pump opening of our ASKO Dishwasher, a piece of teapot, which had broken off and wedged itself into a tiny opening. This little piece of plastic had shut down the entire workings of the dishwasher, but the instructions are clear, so I gave it a go and after an hour, we were operating again.

Although Thursday dawned cold & windy, we decided to go ahead with our trip to Kilmore and were so pleased we did, as the weather improved dramatically as the day wore on. We were underwhelmed by Kilmore, which has a most unattractive main street and no Information Centre as far as we could see. After strolling around, we headed for Rose Café, which is out of town slightly, and gets no 1 rating from Trip Advisor. It was lovely to sit in the sun in a beautiful garden with irises & tulips in bloom and rose ready to explode.

Karen enjoying the sun in the Rose Café garden

We drove around the area for a while, looking at Assumption College, which dominates the skyline these days and wandering along a Heritage Drive, which is always 1 km and seems to take you around the outskirts of Kilmore.

We decided to visit the Kilmore Catholic Cemetery, which is rather lovely and enjoyed wandering among the old graves, which are very well tended. We found a couple of Maloneys, as well as long rows of Sisters of Mercy and Marist Brothers.

Then it was off to Lancefield for lunch, where we followed Trip Advisor’s suggestions & took the second best café in their list, Mad Gallery, in the main street. We enjoyed piping hot yummy soup with a toasted warm bread roll.

Everywhere we drove was green and lush, and there is still a lot of water lying around in fields and by the side of the road.

Afterwards we came back here and stopped at Magic Pudding to replace my teapot! When we arrived home, Bilbo had to be wakened, but was very pleased to see us and immediately started his countdown to dinner time.

Wes spent the morning weeding and tidying up the garden on Friday, while I did early shopping and then drove to Ballarat for another appointment with the naturopath, who is surprised that I haven’t made more progress.

Judi had asked for help finding her way around her new smartphone, so I dropped in there for a couple of hours afterwards and we had fun together finding out all about her Telstra phone.

Me at Mad Gallery Café in Lancefield

Wes had suggested we have an early dinner at one of our local Indian Restaurants, ‘Taj Mahal’, which opens at 5pm according to its website. Sadly, it was firmly closed at 5.10pm, so we headed to ‘Wine & Country’ for a pre-dinner drink, but it was bursting at the seams. We decided to go home and Wes cooked Atlantic salmon with chilli infused rice, which was very yummy indeed.

Yesterday morning, after Wes did my henna & washed Bilbo, we headed off to ‘Boathouse Daylesford’ for an early breakfast before all the visitors piled in. This was a good decision, as the café was jumping by 9.30am and we were pleased we had arrived early.

We consulted the form guide and selected our bets for Caulfield Cup day – had yummy food – field mushrooms on toast for me & waffles with maple syrup & fresh strawberries for him. As we were leaving we told Susanne & Claire about looking for a pre-dinner drink the previous night and they advised that post Melbourne Cup day, they would be offering just that until 6.30pm or so.

Lovely photo of Wes with his back to the view at Boathouse Daylesford

We arrived back home to find Bilbo wandering around the garden looking for us, so Wes changed into gardening clothes and set out to make the most of the fine weather. I was doing washing & ironing with Trip Advisor reviews in between loads!

We didn’t have any joy in the early races, but finally hit pay dirt with the Cup itself – the quinella didn’t pay much, but I had put $5 each way on Scottish, which came second. We also had a big collect in the next race when Our Boy Malachi won the Caulfield Sprint. Warren is Godfather to John & Dannielle Anderson’s son, Malachi, so we had $5 each way on the horse as it seemed a very good omen.

Our Boy Malachi (2) sprinting away from the field

This morning Wes & Bilbo have walked early and now Bilbo is waiting impatiently for me to finish whatever it is I do at the computer and take him to the Sunday Market.

We are expecting a good crowd for breakfast, so it will be fun to catch up with everyone and Bilbo will no doubt have plenty of leftovers to keep him happy!

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 9th October 2016

Dear Friends, we weren’t allowed to discuss the footy for very long at breakfast last Sunday as Margot covers her ears and threatens to walk out. This was a shame as even David Castles, long time football atheist has jumped on the Doggies bandwagon, and was very excited. Judi, who doesn’t follow footy was prepared to be indulgent; Janine, who is an Essendon supporter was thrilled, and Wes & Barbara, the Carlton supporters, had enjoyed watching the Grand Final together.

We went home to a quiet day – after doing the washing & ironing, I sat reading the weekend’s papers and watched a replay of the game twice! My cousin, Bernard Saundry, CEO of Racing Victoria, was once CEO of Footscray. He ditched the Dons and embraced the Doggies and his family did the same. His daughter, Claire, is their dietician, and it was lovely to see her on TV during & after the game and to share her excitement on FB.

Claire holding the Cup with her father, Bernard

We woke to pouring rain again and there were 40mls in the rain gauge. I was quite asthmatic, so missed out on gym, but was well enough to get up and dressed and have another quiet day. Wes went out searching for horse manure, but wasn’t able to do much with it! Meanwhile Bilbo worked on his current favourite bone, a present from his Auntie, Leanne.

Wes spent the afternoon at the Lake House as part of a group discussing the feasibility of an Opera/Music complex at Lake Daylesford. Our good friend, Gillie Gough, was also part of the discussions, and as she attends more music performances than anyone else in Daylesford, her input was valuable. Wes, as former Mayor & Councillor, and with his big picture vision, was also able to give very useful suggestions, and we can only hope that the consultants listened and took the locals’ thoughts on board. Most of them had only visited the Lake a few minutes before the meeting, which tells you nothing about how it is used and its importance to us all.

On Tuesday I was quite unwell, and as the weather was fierce with rain squalls, hail, strong winds and the odd burst of sunshine, I decided to stay in bed. This meant I missed the U3A AGM with Fr Bob Maguire as guest speaker. I met Fr Bob when I was 17 and on a camp of some sort. He was probably the first person to take me into a pub, where we all had soft drinks. I have watched his career with interest, because even my naïve 17-year old persona knew that he was someone special, and he has lived up to every bit of that promise.

Wes showed and watched the film ‘Our Kind of Traitor’ with a small audience, who mostly came away unsatisfied. They loved the John Le Carré storyline, but not the acting.

Our tulips I rescued from the weather!

Sandra arrived to clean on Wednesday and I was due for a haircut, so decided to get up and dressed, which would allow her to clean the bedroom. I had cancelled or postponed all my appointments for the week, including a visit to Leanne, who was very understanding. However, I thought popping out locally for 30 minutes wouldn’t do too much harm and I really needed my hair cut. Although it wasn’t raining, everywhere was engulfed by fog and Wes advised locals on Facebook that a tree had fallen over on the Lake walk.

Neither of us felt particularly clever the next day, which was a shame as the sun was shining & birds were singing – the warmest day since April we were told. I stayed up until after lunch, when my eyes wouldn’t stay open!

On Friday it was shopping or starve as it had been two weeks since I had been to Coles Supermarket. I went early which is always very quiet and managed to get everything on my list with no hassles. Wes was still feeling as though he had a head cold, but went out and gave the lawns a haircut, as all the rain had really encouraged growth.

We have been enjoying the BBC One series ‘The A Word’ – don’t know anyone else who is watching it or has seen it, but it is an amazing drama about a family with a son diagnosed with autism and how they cope or otherwise with this.

Lovely photo of my niece, Michelle, and my brother, Terry, celebrating their birthdays together last Sunday.

Yesterday we both felt much better. Wes walked Bilbo early and was able to go right around the Lake avoiding the Lake House marquee set up for Larissa Wolf-Tasker’s wedding (and a perfect day she had for it). He spent the morning in the garden and everywhere is looking very loved and about to spring into bloom. I have been knitting furiously, and decided it was time to sew up the beanies & berets while watching the races at Caulfield and having a few silly bets (none of which saluted).

In the afternoon Wes went to help Margot again – her modem was misbehaving & she wanted Windows 10 downloaded. He fixed the modem, but Windows 10 proved more difficult and is a work in progress.

This morning is cool with 6 ˚– we are expecting 17˚ but wind, rain & cold in the afternoon. Bilbo is hopping from one foot to the other waiting for it to be time to go to the Sunday Market. We also have to pump water at Leitches Creek. After both those activities it will be time for Breakfast and once we get back home again, Bilbo will look a little like Snoopy for the rest of the day until 5pm dinnertime.

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 2nd October 2016

Dear Friends, we enjoyed breakfast last Sunday, and were delighted that Janine was able to join us again, after the death & funeral of her mother. Conversation centred around the American elections & the horror we all share of a Donald Trump victory and what that would mean for the world.

Afterwards we dropped Bilbo home and headed off on our postponed trip to Buninyong, which is close to Ballarat. We went first to Mount Buninyong and climbed the lookout to enjoy the spectacular views. It would have been good to have known exactly what we were looking at, but had to make do with guessing.

We then drove into the town and parked in the Anglican Church grounds so we could do a walk. First stop was the Sunday Market, but it was mainly plants & children’s clothes, so we moved on and walked around the streets, admiring the beautiful architecture and lovely old Churches.

We found the Botanic Gardens, which has this Queen Victoria Rotunda, an ornamental lake and a walled garden, as well as a children’s play area, picnic tables & barbecues. It is very picturesque and we were lucky enough to be the only ones there until a couple of people with their free-range dogs spoilt the tranquillity.

We strolled along to look at The Gong, which is a reservoir dating back to the 1800s and from there to the old Brewery, which has been restored and is now privately-owned and available for concerts, exhibitions & parties. We finally made our way back down to our car and set off to find the Cemetery. We headed in the wrong direction as Trip Advisor took us to a private home on the Midland Highway and it was only when I read a Trip Advisor review that I realised we needed to be heading in the other direction. The Cemetery didn’t delight us as much as previous ones have and it could do with an updated diagram and signage.

Looking for long lost ancestors – Adams & Cartwrights - at Buninyong Cemetery

We drove home via Bungaree, home of our dear friend, John Hanrahan, who died many years ago. He was born & brought up in this spud town, which boasts two pubs, a Catholic Church & school, a railway station, general store & all-purpose hall & not much else. We did find some plaques dotted around giving us the history of the various building.

Back home we were in time to watch most of the VFL Grand Final, where the Footscray Bulldogs were too good for the Casey Scorpions and won what we were all hoping would be the first of two Premiership Cups for the Club. I apologise to all our Swans supporting friends, but we have all grown up wishing the Doggies well and they are finally playing in their first Grand Final for 55 years.

On Monday, I went to gym and Wes worked hard in the garden. He cleaned out the pond, which should please the frogs & waterlilies, as well as mowing the grass at the top of the back garden, which delights the rosellas & magpies. After gym I caught up with Judi over pots of Jasmine tea at The Food Gallery, where we discussed wart remedies, healthy eating, holidays and Spring cleaning.

The next morning, I decided I would go to both films on offer during Wes’s shift at the Daylesford Cinema. Sadly, there was only a small audience to see a stunning Australian film, ‘Goldstone’, which we both recommend. It is well written and cast and provides Jacki Weaver with a chance to show what a wonderful actress she is. Aaron Pedersen is unforgettable and David Wenham shines as a baddie.

This early Peanuts cartoon is so like my game of golf I’m blushing!

The second film, ‘The Secret Life of Pets’, attracted an audience of 98, mostly children, including 28 from Daylesford Day Care (who didn’t think to let the cinema know that they would be bringing such a large group of kids, but luckily arrived early enough for them all to be accommodated). We all enjoyed it – good fun as well as being educational about the instincts of the various pets we have or crave for.

After gym, Dot & I met at Muffins & More to play Mah Jong and I won just about every game, which is unheard of, and would have pleased Valerie enormously as she thought Dot always won more than her fair share!!

I took a couple of pieces of spinach quiche home for lunch for Wes and I, and he enjoyed having a day off cooking, as I even made a salad & served it all, instead of sitting around like Lady Muck being waited on hand & foot.

We had been promised wild weather that night and sure enough there was 20 mls of rain and a few tree branches down in the Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens when I walked Bilbo later in the morning. Wes worked very hard in the garden and cleared a huge area where he plans to plant our newest wisteria – Double Japanese, which is not a common one and we were very lucky that Chris Rae remembered our interest and bought the only one he saw at the wholesale nursery.

I felt quite sick that night and ended up spending Friday in bed with nausea, dizziness, and the beginnings of a head cold. Meanwhile Wes drove to Prahran to attend the launch of a podcast based on the murder of his great grand-father, Frank Cartwright, by Dead & Buried. The link is www.deadandburiedpodcast.com.

We had planned a lunch for Warren’s nephew, Kyahl and his partner, Loz, with our lovely neighbours, Rob & Dene, but that had to be cancelled when I was so unwell. I spent most of the day sleeping on and off as I really wanted to be well enough to attend yesterday’s Grand Final.

Fortunately I woke yesterday morning feeling much better and up to the early morning drive to Melbourne. I queued up with thousands of others and was lucky enough to get a good seat on Level 4 of the MCC on the wing. After finding my seat and leaving my bag there, I headed out of the ground to the Square & Compass, where I snagged a table for breakfast and awaited the arrival of Jane & David Knox from Sydney with Danny Millman. Danny had very generously offered them his guest room if they decided to come to Melbourne for the Grand Final, and when Jane was able to get a couple of Standing Room tickets, they drove down on Thursday, attended the Parade on Friday, and were in good spirits when we met yesterday.

Danny & Jane

  

Karen & David

 After breakfast Danny went back home to prepare for his Grand Final party, while the three of us walked to the MCG. I discovered that this was David’s first Grand Final, so we did a circuit of the ground, looking for celebrities and trying to get close enough to hear the Coodabeens, before heading across Birrarung Marr to Federation Square for cuppas and a chat.

David & I wearing our scarves!

Eventually we walked back to the ground and parted company as we were on opposite sides of the ground. I enjoyed the pre-match entertainment, as did everyone around me, but we were all a mass of nerves waiting for The Big Dance to start.

It was a stunning game of footy, and until the Doggies finally broke away towards the end of the last quarter, it was anyone’s game. I stayed to watch the presentation of the medallions and the Premiership Cup, before heading home while it was still daylight. Like most people at the ground, my favourite moment had to be when the coach, Luke Beveridge, called his injured and much-loved Captain, Robert Murphy, onto the podium and gave him his own medal, saying that Bob deserved it more. If you weren’t crying before that, you certainly were afterwards!!!!

 Sid, the Bulldogs Mascot, waiting for the gates to open at the MCG &

Robert Murphy & Easton Wood feeling the elation