Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 20th November 2016

Dear Friends, we enjoyed a good breakfast last Sunday with Danny’s company. Everyone had lots to say and share and we particularly liked our chat about Australian vernacular, apropos a comment from Deborah Fowler the day before, of an embarrassing invitation she received when she was first in Australia from Zimbabwe. She was invited to a barbie, assured that there would be a few rellies, asked to bring her bathers & a plate. She had no idea what a barbie or rellies were, guessed bathers & had to ignore her culture, which told her that taking food to someone else’s place was considered an insult to the hosts, as it suggested that they were unable to feed you.

Bilbo in relax mode as things are back to normal in the Food Gallery & he can see us through the windows

It was another cold, wet Spring day, so Wes and I decided to relax in front of the cricket, which was promptly washed out!

On Monday, it was cold again, but not wet, so Wes spent a morning in the garden weeding & tidying up. Nick Massaro came to give me a massage, which he did to the accompaniment of the cricket. I did a few chores afterwards and then settled down to writing the Christmas letter and getting Christmas cards organised.

The film this week was ‘Truman’, a wonderful Spanish/Argentinian film with subtitles. I was the only one in the audience, until Wes & Malcolm came in to see this superb film. We will remember it for a long time – great acting & direction & such a believable storyline. That night Wes & Barbara went to the AGM of the local Bendigo Bank.

On Wednesday, it was a lovely morning & all the birds were chirruping happily as they ate the seed I had strewn on the lawn at the back. The roses just need a little more sun before they are out, but everything that is yellow or purple seems to be in abundance – lavender, daisies, irises, rosemary and even seaside daisies.

Wes took Barbara for a big shop, filled her car with petrol and helped with anything else she needed, including the garden, while I met Dot for Mah Jong in the morning, and brought home lunch from Muffins & More. That afternoon Wes & Barbara interviewed Eddie Beacham for the Hepburn Voices project.

  

 Group photo from Tuki – Kathey Jordon, Danny Millman, Karen & Wes Maloney, Tom Tyrrell, Deb Fowler & Mike Jordon

Thursday was Wes’s birthday and he wanted a quiet day at home, so we had just that. He received a handful of cards & three phone calls, but Facebook went viral with good wishes and he replied to every one of them. I couldn’t cope with that sort of onslaught, but Wes loves FB and he enjoyed it. He spent the morning out the front cleaning the pond and weeding. I made special fried rice for lunch & included Istra ham in his serve, which went over very well. Afterwards he had a chocolate éclair with a candle & poppers, which set him up for an afternoon’s working on the computer.

That night we watched a very modern 2012 stage play of ‘Jesus Christ, Superstar’, my all-time favourite musical. It was absolutely stunning, with a live rock band and starring Ben Forster as Jesus & Tim Minchin as Judas. I think we might have to buy the DVD & watch it whenever we feel like it!

On Friday, apart from printer problems, we enjoyed a good start to the day. We were all up early as Bilbo was keen to walk from 4am onwards & finally Wes got up at 4.50am. We decided to go to the Ballarat Art Gallery to see the Archibald Finalists, as the Exhibition finishes at the end of next week.

There were some wonderful entries – most notably the winner, Barry Humphries, the Packing Room prize winner, George Columbaris; Garry McDonald, Wendy Whitely in her garden (an exquisite small portrait), the Sudanese refugee, Deng, & my favourite, Guy Warren.

We spent about an hour there and decided on the way home to stop at the Swiss Mountain Hotel in Blampied for lunch. We had taken Terry McDonald there for a drink a couple of years ago, but never tried their food. And we won’t be going back. The meal was OK, but the service was very second-rate and there were only two tables of diners, so there was no excuse.

Yesterday Wes spent in the garden & on the computer, while I drove to Melbourne and spent some time with Leanne. It was a perfect day and everyone was out & about enjoying the sunshine.

This is my last Daylesford Dispatch until 4^th December, as we are heading off to Adelaide tomorrow via Eureka Kennels in Ballarat & with a couple of nights in Mount Gambier to break the journey. We are not expecting the great cricket we enjoyed last year, but will be seeing Jane & David Knox, which is always wonderful. On the way back, we are spending three nights in Portland – haven’t been there for years, so it will be fun to see how it has grown & changed. No doubt we’ll keep in touch via Facebook. 

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 13th November, 2016

Dear Friends, I’m feeling much better than last week as I sit writing this. When I left you last Sunday, I was quite annoyed that I hadn’t recovered as quickly and well as I had hoped and had to say no to quite a few things. Wes did the Market shopping & then took Bilbo to breakfast, where he was finally able to see everyone again and enjoyed eyeballing Margot making sure she didn’t forget to feed him – as if!!!

Kathy & Ged had rung to see if they could visit; Ben & Leanne & the kids were in Daylesford for the day & wanted to pop in, and Glenn Mack invited us to lunch at Passing Clouds Winery with Judi & Michael. We had to decline all these lovely things as I wasn’t up to any of them.

We all slept in on Monday which was good and I was able to spend about 8 hours up & dressed, although I didn’t go anywhere or do anything more exhausting than change the sheets & empty the ironing basket. Wes spent the morning in the garden before the weather changed – he did heaps of weeding, mowing & trimming & everywhere looks green & lush. We can’t wait for our roses to start blooming – we seem to be much later than everyone else this year.

 Our weeping Japanese Maple, bought in memory of Joan Testro, is looking very happy & healthy out the front of our home

The 1^st Test finished in a very good win to the South Africans, whose bowling, batting & fielding left us looking very inadequate, especially as they were without their best batsman, their best bowler & their best fielder! Fingers crossed that this Test in Hobart goes our way or we will be watching a dead rubber at the Adelaide Oval in a couple of weeks’ time.

Wes showed the film, The Girl in the Train, on Tuesday morning, and I packed my cough lozenges and joined 15 others to see it. Wes sat with me and we both want that two hours of our lives back. The film was badly cast, had confusing time lines and failed to effectively highlight the main theme of the book.

After hot drinks, croissants & a debrief at The Food Gallery, we headed back home – me to chat to Leanne, and Wes to pick up Brian Nash & take him to Franklinford to show him the cemetery, which contains some of the few original native grasses of this area, as well as some interesting old graves.

I didn’t feel well enough to manage gym on Wednesday, but Dot & I met up at Muffins & More for a couple of hours of Mah Jong and a good chat. Afterwards Judi visited to check out what plants she needs to look after while we are away in Adelaide. Meanwhile Wes spent some time in Barbara’s garden before joining Jan & Warren Pengilley at Jeff Bain’s place to watch the American election results as they came through.

Like most Australians we know, we were absolutely flabbergasted and horrified by Trump’s landslide victory. I can’t believe the women of American voted for him in preference to putting Hillary into the White House & smashing the US glass ceiling.

On Thursday, we went to Vaughan Springs for a picnic. This is one of our favourite spots in our area, and we don’t go there often enough these days. Wes packed the picnic & then the car & we three headed off on a beautiful morning. We started with a walk to Glenluce Spring, which is sadly out of action, and then set up our chairs & table by the Lodden River, reading & listening to the sound of birds and falling water.

There is a lot to see at Vaughan Springs – even though it is a tiny little hamlet these days. There is a Chinese graveyard, a balancing rock, a model railway line, a giant slide, three mineral water springs, old trams up on hills, houses made of old railway carriages & it is the birthplace of Ball & Welch (1861), the Flinders Street department store that was part of our childhoods, but vanished in the 70s.

Spot the Labrador in the long grass at Glenluce

In its heyday, Vaughan Springs was called ‘The Junction’ and was very popular with the Chinese for alluvial gold & market gardening. These days there is a free, non-powered camping site close to the visitor area, and that was where we parked, as there was no-one camping.

Danny arrived on Friday for a two-night visit. It is always lovely to see him & he is the perfect guest – easy to please and fits in with whatever is happening. We had drinks & dinner out on the decking as it was such a good evening.

Yesterday we had a visit from Tom & Deb, & Mike & Kathey, who drove here and were then taken to Tuki for the unique experience there. We had a wonderful day – fishing before lunch was fun with Tom, Danny & Mike being competitive about catching the trout. Jan & Rob Jones were very busy, but had given us a table in a corner out of the way and we could make as much noise as we wanted while enjoying the stunning 180˚ views from where we sat.

Mike & Kathey at the table; Mike fishing, and Danny laughing – a fun day!

We came home via the little hamlet of Kingston to show everyone the beauty of that area and especially its Avenue of Honour, which is looking superb and is maintained by the locals.

Wes produced Eton Mess when we arrived home, and we sat around watching the cricket, which had been an Australia disaster – all out for 85 in the morning – victims of poor shots & excellent bowling.

On a sad note, we were shocked to discover that Don O’Connor & Sue Ewart had died in a single car accident this week. They were very well-known for their businesses – Timberbenders & Gentle Earth Walking, and they will be sorely missed here where they were much loved by the community. 

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 6th November 2016

Dear Friends, we enjoyed a very chatty breakfast last Sunday morning. Judi arrived looking resplendent in gear given to her & Michael as part of their trip on The Ghan, which went from Darwin to Adelaide. David & Sandy were there with Bam Bam, and Aileen popped in briefly for a coffee and catch up.

We dropped Bilbo home as he was tired after his early walk, socialising with Bam Bam & straining to see Margot through the glass! Then we headed to St Michael’s Catholic Primary School fête in Smith Street, Daylesford, where we met lots of friends and acquaintances. The fete was very well organised and we picked up some books, bought berry jams from Emma Ford that she had made, and tried our luck with the silent auction & the wood raffle.

Crowds enjoying the sunshine & spinning wheel at the fête

Back home, Wes got into the garden, and I put my precious tomato seedlings into the greenhouse to grow a bit stronger before being planted.

When I had woken early that morning, I found an email from a Barbara Ward, asking me if ‘Wes’ in my Blog was Warren Maloney, as they were probably related. I couldn’t wait for Wes & Bilbo to get back from their walk, and Wes was very excited to find another 5^th cousin. Not only are they related, via Catherine Nairn, who was transported with Margaret Mackintosh, but Barbara & her sister are keen to share their Ancestry research, and have found and visited the graves at Franklinford where Catherine & her husband, John Wayman, are buried.

It was a blustery afternoon, perfect for Ancestry.com for Wes, and for catching up on the weekend papers, Logic Problems, ironing & phone calls for me.

Can you see the beautiful flowers on our shiraz peas? So, exciting watching them grow!

We all slept in on Monday as there was no gym for me and I was happy to walk Bilbo around the Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens at 8.30am. Wes mowed the lawns and helped Barbara Simpson, and then it was time to go to the Hepburn Sound Shell & meet up with old friends, Joe De Simone & Karen Synon, who were here to see their son, Johnny, play the trumpet in his school band, as part of their concert celebrating the Murray River.

After the concert, which went for 75 minutes and was most entertaining, especially when rain fell just when the drought broke in the scene before us, we headed to Boathouse Daylesford, where we fluked half a long table and had a long, leisurely lunch with Joe, Karen & their younger son, Tommy. Wes & I had the mussels & felt we were in St Malo again!

We came home to find Bilbo wide awake after some serious sleeping and very happy to see us back with him. Leanne had left a message with our horses in her Melbourne Cup Sweep, and we settled down to enjoy a quiet few hours.

When I woke up the next morning I had a very sore throat and knew that I was in for another bout of bronchial asthma. This meant that I missed seeing the Beatles Film that all my friends had told me I mustn’t miss. There were 23 at the session and Wes was able to watch it with Barbara, as the other volunteers had already seen it or didn’t want to.

That afternoon Wes and Barbara went to a Cup Day function at Sailors Falls Estate Winery – an annual event, which is good fun, and once again I was sorry to miss it. I wasn’t in the mood for putting on silly bets, so didn’t back anything other than our Melbourne Cup picks, which came nowhere. Wes won $40 in one of Rob’s sweeps and arrived home having enjoyed a fun afternoon with good friends. He was kind enough to make me some dinner before relaxing.

You would swear Nurse Bilbo had been on night shift the way he slept all Tuesday afternoon!

I stayed in bed again on Wednesday and Wes had a big morning helping Barbara, before coming home to make lunch for us.

The next day I had hoped to be well enough to get up, but after a shower and sitting up for a couple of hours, I found myself exhausted, so back to bed to reread Ann Cleeves’ Shetland Series, watch the Oaks Day races & enjoy the cricket from the WACA. The Oaks was an amazing race, won by 120/1 outsider, who was boldly ridden from the front & stayed there. The Aussies had a good first day getting the South Africans all out and having a handy lead at stumps.

Friday, I was able to get dressed and stayed up until 5pm – no races, but the cricket was very entertaining and the South Africans turned the tables on us after David Warner & Shaun Marsh had started so well. Wes did the Coles shopping and was probably able to buy a few things he wished were in our pantry for a change!

Yesterday I woke with a sore throat still, but much better than I had been, and finally able to speak with Leanne, although I encouraged her to do the talking. It was another day of races & cricket. We finished about $2 up over the Cup Carnival and had lots of fun doing it. The cricket wasn’t so good, with the Proteas completely on top – let’s see what today brings.

I’ve had a bad night, so am back to bed again. I’m heartily sick of this current malaise and I am sure Wes is too, although he cheerfully went off to the Sunday Market with Bilbo and is at Breakfast now – dragged there by Bilbo who gets very upset if we are not in the car and ready to go by 8.45am.