Daylesford New Year Dispatch - Sunday, 31st December 2017

Wow! New Year’s Eve already – where has this week gone? We started with breakfast at Boathouse last Sunday morning & enjoyed another beautiful meal with great service from Susanne & Claire. The day was spent doing all the last-minute things that crop up & I packed my bag for the Stamford Plaza & the Boxing Day Test.

Wes was worried that Barbara would be on her own on Christmas Day, but fortunately his sister, Denise, had realised that & invited her to join them for lunch, which was very thoughtful of her. At night on Christmas Eve, we three had dinner at Jackie’s on Vincent, and enjoyed our meals there. On the way we were tooted by Janine & Paul Hawker, who were on the way to Lake House for dinner with friends.

Christmas Day dawned fine & cool & we packed our little Mazda 2 with presents, pudding, roses & running away bag & headed off to Strathmore for lunch with my sister, Leanne, brother, Peter & his wife, Anka. We had spent the morning making & receiving lovely phone calls & gave Bilbo a big marrow bone (thanks Judi & Michael) as we left.

Lunch was a big success – Peter & Anka provided antipasto from David Jones; which was followed by roast pork, salads & sauces made by Leanne (with Anka cooking mushroom gnocchi for Peter & I), & we finished up with plum pudding & brandy butter.

Me cutting into the pud – only complaint was the lack of sixpences – I put 20 in, but only 5 were found!

At 3.30pm we packed our car with the presents we had been given; some pudding (after giving out generous doggie bags); a box of cherries from Leanne; Christmas lilies from Anka, and headed off to town to drop me at my hotel.

I had asked for a quiet room & got my wish with a lovely newly renovated QS room overlooking Little Collins Street on the 12^th floor, far from street & restaurant noise.

Christmas lilies still going strong here yesterday

After unpacking I went for a walk around town, looked at the Myer Christmas windows & visited my favourite church (since I was a child), St Francis, in Lonsdale Street. The church was bursting at the seams with Filipino families enjoying a special mass.

Next morning, I walked to the MCG early & got a great seat in the Balcony, before meeting Peter & Anka for breakfast at European, where once again the service is disappointing & nothing like what it was for so many years. We had a lovely time together chatting about Christmas lunch before we headed off to the MCG & Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test, which attracted over 88,000 fans, even though the Ashes were already won by Australia.

Great photo of Anka & Peter at breakfast

I sat next to a Ballarat man, whose son is technical director of the MCG scoreboards – a job he fell into by chance & has maintained for the last 20 years – doing footy & cricket & corporate & private functions. The Liberal on my other side was very critical of John Cain, former Premier of Victoria & had no idea until I told him, that without John Cain in 1983, women would not have had equality in sporting clubs. He, of course, bemoaned the loss of his Lady’s ticket, so perhaps he hadn’t turned it into a permanent female membership by making his wife a member as he would have been invited to do at the time.

Australia was on top after Day 1, but the Barmy Army didn’t stop supporting the Poms, who would have gain great heart from their backing which was audible around the ground all day.

That night I was wandering around Russell Street & spotted my brother, Peter, so we headed off for Little Bourke Street as I was keen to eat at 369 in Exhibition Street. Sadly, lots of Chinese restaurants were closed & we both ended up at Empress of China, where Peter was able to get take-away for himself & Anka & I was ordered get chili prawns & a glass of wine (total cost $30), when the waiters finally spotted the lone female sitting in the corner out of the way. (It did help that Peter came over to say goodbye to me & three waiter magically materialised)!

The next morning, I met Kathy & Ged Lazzaro plus Lovely & Malcolm Stevenson for breakfast at Square & Compass in Clarendon Street. We had a fun time together catching up with everyone’s Christmas Day, before it was time for Ged & me to walk to the MCG in time for the day’s play. It was an exciting day with the Poms on top for once, courtesy of Alastair Cook’s unbeaten century in front of another great crowd of nearly 68,000.

That night I went to 369 & enjoyed Hunan chili prawns with a glass of wine & watched the excited tables of families having an early meal before going to see Aladdin, The Book of Mormon or Dream Lover.

On Thursday, I met Danny Millman & Tan Kim Hock for breakfast at Square & Compass early before they headed off to Bendigo, where Kim had a job interview. It was a good day’s cricket with Alastair Cook becoming the highest scoring visitor to the MCG with 244*, which is also the highest score at the G for an opener carrying his bat.

Meanwhile, back in Daylesford, Wes took Denise, Barry & Barbara to Lavandula for lunch, which they enjoyed sitting in the shade & catching up with the owner, Carol White, one of the three most influential women in Daylesford – the other two being Alla Wolf-Tasker of the Lake House & Tina Banitska, who started the Convent Gallery.

You can guess what I did that night – off to 369 (previously Yum Cha Café) for spicy chili fish (their signature dish), before I went to David Jones to buy a top for the next day’s cricket. It was so hot that I hadn’t been able to recycle clothes the way I had hoped!

Breakfast the next morning & yesterday was coconut mango chia at Square & Compass by myself. I think this is my favourite of their many, yummy dishes.

I spent the entire lunch break with Loud Gayle, sitting on the couch in the Long Room, catching up over bubbles. It was a most enjoyable 40 minutes & I was pleased that my new top passed muster as the dress code can be very strict depending on who is on the door!

Rain stopped play mid-afternoon, which must have been very frustrating for the Poms, and I headed off to the Kino to see the only film on at that time, The Greatest Showman, with Hugh Jackman. I was entertained, but not overawed – this is definitely not one of those films you must see.

During my final meal at 369, I decided it would be best to give Day 5 a miss & ask Wes to collect me late morning from my hotel yesterday. He was happy to do that & arrived around 11.15am, which gave me time to go shopping for a new travel handbag. I tried Myer & David Jones, but they didn’t have anything suitable, but I was successful at Strandbags, which has been on the corner of Bourke & Swanston Streets for years & has a great array of luggage & accessories downstairs.

It is always good to come home, even if washing & ironing is the order of the day. Bilbo was thrilled to see me & I was delighted to be able to pick bunches of roses for most rooms in the house & inspect the growth on the tomatoes – no red ones yet!

Daylesford Christmas Dispatch - Sunday, 24th December 2017

I think I like Christmas falling on a Monday – you have the whole weekend to prepare for the actual day & plenty of time to do all those last-minute chores that Christmas brings. Of course, life is a lot easier for us now that we don’t welcome our friends & family to our house on the morning, followed by lunch for some of them. We both miss seeing everyone & have very happy memories of some wonderful Christmas mornings, especially at 246 Brunswick Road.

Last Sunday we had our final breakfast at the Food Gallery as they will be closed today & New Year’s Eve. It was good fun with everyone giving gifts to pets & Aileen arriving with homemade shortbread, ginger nuts & choc chip biscuits to share. Pasquale & Toni had given us Ferrero Rocher chockies & lit a Christmas candle in welcome.

We were glued to the radio & TV until the end of the third Test, when Australia was able to regain the Ashes after an exciting 5 days’ play. Steve Smith was a worth Man of the Match & it was good to see Josh Hazelwood rewarded with an 8-wicket haul after bowling so well.

Daylesford has become quite festive this year with two large decorated Christmas trees at the roundabouts in Vincent Street, as well as bunches of dried gum leaves tied to verandas with different coloured big bows. Quite a few houses have serious Christmas lights & we enjoy driving around admiring them if we can stay awake long enough for dark to fall.

We have been worried about dear Bilbo lately as he didn’t seem quite himself, so Wes took him to the vet last Monday. We were reassured that all his lumps & bumps are nothing to worry about; that the film over his eyes is normal ageing & not cataracts, & that his slight arthritis can be helped by half a tablet each night before dinner. We have already noticed a big difference in his energy levels & he is able to climb stairs more confidently than he was before he started the treatment.

Judi & Michael had given Wes a Gift Voucher for Wine & the Country, which is a delightful wine shop & bar close to home. We invited them to join us to spend it, which seemed only fair. Lots of sparkling shiraz was consumed with a glass of French champagne for Judi. We shared a yummy cheese platter as well.

Michael & Karen

On Thursday we had planned a trip to Melbourne to catch up with Greta, Harry & Penny, but that had to be postponed until after Christmas, so we had an early breakfast at Larder & allowed ourselves an indulgent day of reading newspapers & books. While we were at breakfast our garbos emptied the green bins, so I had to wait until the yellow bins were done to give the driver our Christmas card & gift. This involved numerous false alarms when I thought I heard the truck, but eventually he arrived, six hours after he usually does the recycling bins. It was worth the wait as the driver was very thrilled & made sure he didn’t knock over a single bin in our street!

Latest vase of roses – including St Patrick, Big Purple, Don Bradman & Governor Macquarie

Dinner that night was fresh oysters & prawns, courtesy of our wonderful Daylesford Seafood Bar – all we added was crusty bread & two flavours of Tabasco sauce. We’ll never forget eating fresh oysters in Dublin with four different bottles of Tabasco – Leigh Murrin was with us & I am sure she feels the same.

Bob Conroy’s funeral was huge on Wednesday morning at St Peter’s Catholic Church. Wes was unable to come with me as he had promised to mow Barbara’s lawns for her, so I walked down early while Sandra was cleaning our house & snared one of the few remaining seats 20 minutes before the scheduled start. The two main eulogies were amusing, heartfelt & told me lots about Bob & by the looks on the faces of the locals around me, I wasn’t the only one learning a few things.

Yesterday, while Wes gardened in the morning, I made the brandy butter for our Christmas pudding. It really feels like Christmas to me when I’ve done that simple task & spooned it into our Wedgwood Sterling Dog Bowls (small round bowls suitable for nibbles, much too expensive to feed dogs from). In the afternoon we had been invited next door, along with Barbara, to have afternoon tea with Rob & Dene.

This was most enjoyable – we were fed home-made shortbreads, mince pies, sausage rolls, cheese rolls, smoked salmon sandwiches, raspberries & chocolate, washed down by Seppelts Sparkling Shiraz. As we left, Dene presented us with boxes of wombat-shaped shortbreads & a Christmas cake. 

Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 17th December 2017

 

It was very sad in one way to finish our lovely holiday, but it is always good to be home & reunited with Bilbo, who is getting away with murder these days (sitting in Warren’s armchair, leaping onto our bed etc).  

We came back to long grass, plenty of roses, tomatoes that needed staking & lots of mail. Much of the post was Christmas cards & there was a common theme to many of them – it seems that everyone is finding things tough & as we age, we are experiencing health issues, some more serious than others. Thank you to everyone who has shared their year with us – we aren’t in touch as often as we should be & we are determined to change that in 2018.

Me in the Adelaide Library admiring the ceiling & endless rows of books

Wes attended a meeting of the Daylesford Cinema volunteers at Victoria Park, which has been chosen as the current venue for the cinema while the new one is being built, as it may not be ready until April. The committee is keen to show children’s films, in particular, during the long holidays.

We were invited to Eddie Beacham’s 80^th birthday afternoon tea last Tuesday. Jon Stephens had also been invited & drove up from Melbourne to attend. He stayed overnight with us & it was lovely to catch up with him, as always. Eddie’s celebration was most enjoyable with lots of locals mixing with some ex-politicians & friends from the Beachams’ days in Carlton.

The next morning Barbara joined Wes & Jon for breakfast at Boathouse Daylesford, which I am sure was very good, as per usual. After the early morning walk, I headed off to gym & then to Muffins & More to play Mah Jong with Dot, our final get-together for the year. We won two games each & had a lovely time catching up on news.

Wes turned up to do Front of House on Friday night for a Harry Potter film. Two patrons turned up, which was a start. Yesterday afternoon, no-one showed up for the 3pm film, probably because there hasn’t been much publicity. We can only hope that improves or this experiment will be over very quickly.

Gaggle of geese hissing at us yesterday morning!

I visited Leanne yesterday and we had a fun time getting everywhere ready for Christmas lunch.

We were very sad to read during this week that local trotting legend, Bob Conroy, aged 88, had died after being thrown from his sulky. His funeral is being held on Wednesday, and I imagine it will be standing room only half an hour before the 11am start. We didn’t know Bob very well, but are good friends with his wife, Pat, and grand-daughter, Lyndal.

We have been rivetted to the 3^rd Ashes Test in Perth – it’s great to listen to the radio, while watching TV. However, the TV can’t relay the tension you feel when you are at a cricket ground. Steve Smith’s mental & physical stamina is incredible – he batted all day yesterday & made perhaps four false strokes. Mitch Marsh was very exciting to watch after his brother, Shaun, was dismissed & the pendulum has swung back very firmly in Australia’s favour.  

Port Fairy Dispatch - Sunday, 10th December 2017

 

What an exciting Test Match – Australia looked on top until the last session of Day 3, when the Poms bowled brilliantly. Suddenly, the game could go either way. We turned up for Day 5, paid our $2 & were treated to 2 hours of excitement with an Australian victory after some fine bowling. 20,000+ watched the session, which was wonderful – we saw many families who might not have been able to afford the Days 1-4 tickets getting to see their heroes for a pittance.

Stunning sight of rain falling under lights

                                           

We’ve enjoyed some wonderful breakfasts while we were in Adelaide – after Luigi’s we tried Mister Sunshine’s, followed by Peter Rabbit, complete with live rabbit in hutch, and Handsome & the Duchess, and finally Jamface in the Adelaide Market. All were interesting, most warmed the teacups before serving & most required patrons to perch uncomfortably on stools rather than rest their backs sitting in chairs. The service in all places was friendly & welcoming, the meals were interesting & yummy & we would visit them all again!

We saw the film, Goodbye Christopher Robin, which was perfect in every way & hasn’t left our minds yet. Do see it if you haven’t already.

We also went to the State Library which had an amazing collection of political cartoons; the Centre for Democracy; the Art Gallery; the War Memorial and various Gardens. Because the weather was more like Melbourne than Adelaide, we were able to walk everywhere & enjoy it unlike the last two years when it has just been too hot. The Adelaide Oval has been a delight to visit again, with welcoming staff ready to help – one attendant even carried beer upstairs for a patron whose hands were shaking too much to attempt it.

Me with Shiraz vin plastique – most nights we were able to drink our wine out on the concourse, but this night was just too cold in the wind, even for Victorians!

Finally, we said goodbye to Adelaide after a last night which included drinks at the National Wine Centre (a favourite haunt) & dinner at Rigoni’s, a fine Italian restaurant in Leigh Street. We tried to have oysters at the Oyster Bar, but they were embarrassed to report they had run out of oysters & smoked salmon at 6.30pm! 

The final leg of our trip was three nights in Port Fairy, where Wes & his sister, Denise, had spent family holidays in the late fifties. I had booked an apartment with beach views, hoping it would be the back-beach. Not only was it the back-beach, but it was also where Wes & Denise used to come to swim & play every day amongst the rockpools. They stayed at The Star of the West, a pub that still exists.

The view from our room complete with bunnies!

Our drive into Port Fairy was quite challenging with very heavy rain & the possibility of being blown off the road each time a huge truck went past going the other way. However, we arrived safely & spent a few happy hours watching the rain beat down on the glass, through which we could see the waves. Our room was comfortable, although the shower was a challenge with a fierce spray that went in every direction & soaked the bathmat utterly. We walked down to the beach each morning along a private path.

After breakfast on Friday at The Farmer’s Wife, we set off for a stroll around town, followed by a drive remembering spots that the Maloneys visited during their two weeks here each year. The day dawned cold & wet, but there was a beautiful huge rainbow in the sky around 7.30am & everything started to improve after that.

Mushroom omelette for me & chia porridge for Wes with the wonderful Age headline – Signed, Sealed & Delivered re Marriage Equality.

We drove to Koroit, Killarney, Crossley & Tower Hill areas – found a viewpoint for a Von Guerard painting, as well as the graves of Danny Millman’s grand-parents. The wind was fierce, but the sun was shining & it was a lovely day for memories.

That night we had dinner at Lemongrass Thai Restaurant, which is BYO. Wes picked up a bottle of Brown Bros Dolcetto, which turned out to be slightly sparkling – no wonder it was on special at $13! The meals were yummy & the service very friendly & welcoming.

Next morning was breakfast with ex-Daylesford friends, Chris & Suzanne, who moved to Port Fairy about 5 months ago to have a fresh start together. They are both looking very well & happy & involved in the local community. We wished them Happy Marriage Equality & they were delighted.

After breakfast we visited the local Saturday Market, which was very well laid out with all stalls under identical tents. Then onto the wharf & an hour’s walk admiring the boats, before we returned via the front beach.

On our way back to our room, we stopped to look at Pea Soup Bay, which is a cove along the back beach – not as good as our cove though!

This morning we’ve been for a last walk along the beach & are looking forward to arriving home after a lovely trip. We miss Bilbo, friends, our own bed & pillows & having lots of space. However, we’ve done lots & it feels as though we’ve been away much longer than the 12 days it has been.

Thanks for sharing our journey with us – I’ll be in touch again next Sunday from Daylesford. 

Adelaide Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 3rd December 2017

We spent most of the early part of this week preparing to leave – it’s amazing how much there is to do – the garden was mowed, the roses were picked or head-headed, the tomatoes were staked & tied, everything we owned it seemed was washed, dried & ironed, to give us the maximum choices when we finally packed on Wednesday morning. Bilbo was bathed & taken to Eureka Kennels with his running away bag, which contains a pair of my thongs, a soft toy friend, his lead & collar & a treat!

I suddenly realised that I needed to get cracking on Christmas gifts for people like hard-working Sandra, our cleaner; the girls at EKO & the Cutting Studio; as well as for the Paper Deliverer, Steve, and our wonderful Garbos & Recyclers, all of whom do their jobs rain, hail or shine.

Wes made meals that used up everything in the fridge that wouldn’t last until our return & the birds were the beneficiaries of anything Bilbo hadn’t eaten before he went away.

We decided to start our trip with breakfast in Daylesford at Larder, which offers lots of interesting, healthy meals as well as the usual suspects, but with a twist. It was a lovely way to set off for Casterton, where we were spending two nights before driving to Adelaide, where we were booked for 6 nights at a self-contained apartment on North Terrace, about 10 minutes’ walk from the ground.

On our way we diverted to look at Cavendish, where a friend is thinking of moving. It is very pretty & has the Wannon River running through it. Casterton is the area that Major Mitchell described as Australia Felix back in 1836. We stayed at the Clarke Street Cottage B&B, run by Bruce & Janet, who are a very pleasant, obliging couple. The B&B is a large house & we had booked the only room with an ensuite. Most of the other guests were in town for a funeral on Friday of a well-loved local.

We visited the two cemeteries looking for Warren’s aunt, Norma’s parents. She, like Warren’s mum, Doris, was adopted, as her mother was only young when she was born & her father was killed at Gallipoli. Wes found him on the Honour Board in the Casterton Town Hall, which is a beautiful art-deco building. We couldn’t find Norma’s mother’s grave, but did find some McGintys, which Wes should be able to trace back to her.

Meals in Casterton are nothing to rave about – our breakfasts were lovely – fresh fruit, followed by poached eggs on toast, but dinner at night was really only available at the two pubs & although the service was friendly & welcoming, the meals were standard blokey pub fare.

We spent Thursday exploring Sandford, which is a train station away from Casterton & Harrow, which has a wonderful Bradman Museum, as well as interpretative centre commemorating the first Australian team that played cricket in England – it was an Aboriginal team & we enjoyed learning about how that team came to be formed & later tour in 1867.

800-year old redwood & decorative Premiership celebration in Sandford

On Friday morning we set off in pouring rain for the 5-hour drive to Adelaide. We were very fortunate that we drove out of the rain as it headed to Victoria & arrived safely here around 2.30pm. Our apartment is small, but clean & comfortable. The biggest drama that has occurred is the clothes dryer, which we discovered wasn’t working after we washed a load & tried to dry them.

That night we drove to our favourite Chinese restaurant, Lotus, in North Adelaide, where Wendy greeted us with a smile, gave us our usual table & remembered how much we love chillies. The meal lived up to expectations & we hope to get back there again before we leave.

Yesterday morning, we started our day with a long walk to Luigi’s Delicatessen in Flinders Street, where we had a very yummy breakfast of mushrooms on polenta with Napoli sauce & tons of trimmings.

Wes with Luigi, who took us under his wing.

We walked around Rundle Mall on the way back, buying a few bits & pieces to keep us going – orange juice, shampoo & conditioner, cheese & bikkies & fruit etc.

I have found a newsagent that gets the Melbourne Age each day, so am in seventh heaven, as I do like to read the newspaper & do the puzzles each day.

We headed to the Adelaide Oval around 1pm along with thousands of others – the first day of an Ashes Test match is very exciting & it was quite a buzz to be part of the throng. Our seats are up high, but not in the new nosebleed area! We are undercover for all 4 days that we have tickets & that is a very good thing if yesterday’s weather is any indication.

The cricket was absorbing especially after Joe Root won the toss & elected to bowl. Honours are even at present – let’s see what today brings!

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 26th November 2017

We started our week with the usual activities including the Sunday Market, followed by Breakfast with Friends at the Food Gallery. I’ve filled the house with bowls or vases of roses as they are so profuse at present. The minute you cut some, others appear, so the garden always looks beautiful & smells fragrant.

This vase of yellow, peach & rust-coloured roses is my favourite!

A highlight this week was a most enjoyable & indulgent lunch with Jan & Warren (Secundus) Pengilley at Boathouse Daylesford. Claire & Susanne spoiled us when they discovered that three of their lunch guests have birthdays in November & we were presented with sweets & cheese & free drinks - very generous indeed.   

All of us were keeping an eye on the score as it was Day 1 of the 1^st Ashes Test at the Gabba. Wes had taped it for us, so when we arrived home, we were able to catch up with all the action.

  

                                                                                                            

Yesterday we both headed off to Melbourne, but separately. I went early in the morning to visit Leanne. On the way I met two black wallabies – father & son I suspect, as the large one bounded away as I approached, while the young one sat still watching & wondering exactly what I was in my little Mazda 2. Eventually he, too, hopped off the road. Even though it was hot in Melbourne, Leanne’s unit was nice & cool & we got lots done in preparation for Christmas.

In the afternoon, when I was driving home, Wes set off to St Gabriel’s Theatre Group, Reservoir, to see a performance of Sound of Music, as our Godson, Matthew Spiteri & his wife, Sara Lacey, have been involved in this theatre for 20 years. He loved every minute, cried & sang along, and thought of the Climb Every Mountain Choral Society, which we all belonged to many years ago & participated in with great gusto, usually when we had enjoyed more than enough to drink!

The first Test in Brisbane has been riveting & we are in awe of Steve Smith’s physical & mental strength as he took us from a precarious position to enjoying a slender lead when our final wicket fell yesterday.

The latest crop of beanies, which I delivered to Jodie in Wheatsheaf on my way to Strathmore yesterday.