We had a wonderful
Christmas Day & hope your celebrations were successful too. Wes and I drove
to Strathmore to collect my sister, Leanne & meet with my younger brother,
Peter, & his wife, Anka to have lunch at the Little Thai Kitchen in Buckley
Street, Essendon, right opposite the end of Scott Street, where Wes & I
lived in a timber Edwardian house from 1972-1976. We moved back to Brunswick,
because we had two Labradors poisoned over a period of 3-4 months.
Leanne, Peter, Anka
& Wes in festive mode
After lunch, which
took 2 ½ hours, Peter & Anka took Leanne home & Wes dropped me at my
hotel, Stamford Plaza, where I spent the next 5 nights – days were at the MCG.
That afternoon, I went
for a walk to look at the Myer windows in Bourke Street, and visited my
favourite church, St Francis, in Lonsdale Street – both places were very busy
with families and single people like me. Wes rang me when he arrived home to
say that Bilbo had survived the 37˚ heat by spending the time on the couch
(forbidden) under the air-conditioning.
On Boxing Day, I met
Peter & Anka for breakfast at The European Café in Spring Street, which
used to be our favourite Melbourne café until it changed hands. Peter asked if
we could have a much-loved omelette, which has left the menu, and we were very
pleased to find we could. I had already lined up at 6.30am at the MCC gates to
make sure of getting a good seat in the back row of the Balcony directly in
line with the pitch. At lunch time I went to find Peter & Anka in the
Ponsford Stand and discovered they had ideal seats at the end of the stand –
only two seats and then an aisle, so they were feeling very comfortable.
I also
found Gayle Gibson in the Long Room, said hello to Glenn McGrath & Chris
Rogers, visited the Library to get the daily fact sheets and charge up my
phone, and settled into the day. There was a great atmosphere, as always and
the crowd was very revved up, especially for Nathan Lyon. On the third ball of
his first over, we were all organised to say in unison ‘Nice Garry’ as Matthew
Wade, the wicketkeeper does, but ‘Garry’ blew us away with a wicket instead!
When rain stopped
play, I came back to my hotel, showered and went for a walk to pick up some
forgotten items and had a yummy meal at Dragon Boat Restaurant. This set the pattern
for the rest of my stay – omelette for breakfast & Chinese food for dinner,
followed by the first innings of the Big Bash League on TV.
The next morning, I
met Gillie for breakfast at Square & Compass, where we ate well & were
warmly greeted. I secured another good seat in my usual spot and went for a
wander. Gayle & I tried to have a cuppa before the game, but the café took
20 minutes to get our tea & coffee organised, so we cancelled that and went
to watch the cricket instead. It was a frustrating day with rain delays, but I
met up with John Schibli, who runs the cricket tours we have taken & Gerard
Lazzaro, who was there with mates. Meanwhile Ged’s son, Ben, his wife, Leanne
& their two children, Jack & Olivia were visiting Daylesford &
popped in to say hello to Wes, which thrilled him to bits.
It was another sticky
day with high 30s, 80-90 percent humidity & a UV rating of 14, which was
the fare from 25-29th December. I felt as though I was in India or
Sri Lanka at the cricket.
On Wednesday, I had
breakfast at Square & Compass with Danny Millman, and Kathy & Gerard
Lazzaro. It was a lovely catch up for us all and we enjoyed our time together.
I got a great seat again, but there was a delay in starting play. Eventually
when it did resume, Azhar Ali made his unbeaten double century and Pakistan
declared at 9/443. The Aussies came out intending to make a game of it and
David Warner’s 144 at a run a ball was very entertaining. That night I had
dinner at 369 Chinese Restaurant, which is the new name for the old Yum Cha
café.
The next morning, I
had breakfast on my own, until I was joined by Gayle’s friend, Heather, who
lives in East Melbourne & had popped in for a coffee. Once again I had a
good view, seated between two very entertaining older gentlemen – Brendan &
John, and we three sat in perfect harmony listening to ABC radio & laughing
at the same time. I think my support for Collingwood was the only thing that
caused them grief. We enjoyed watching Peter Handscomb get his 50 & Steve
Smith his century. We got much more play than expected, but once the rain came
down it was there to stay, so I left, changed clothes and had an early meal at
369 Chinese again.
On Friday, I checked
out of Stamford Plaza and headed off to Square & Compass for my last
breakfast – a very healthy & yummy charcoal chia pudding with fresh
raspberries, blueberries & violets.
Once again, I was
seated with John & Brendan in the prime position and we enjoyed a most
exciting day’s cricket ending in a fantastic win for Australia against the
odds. I left as soon as the game finished because I knew Wes would be waiting
for me in the usual spot, which he was. I was very grateful that he let me stay
till the game was over, as I hadn’t missed a ball during the five days.
We arrived back here
in beautiful Daylesford, where Bilbo was quite pleased to see me and had spicy
gnocchi for dinner, once I had finished unpacking & put all my clothes in the
wash.
Yesterday it was
lovely to wake up in our bed and get up early to walk around the Lake, which
had an amazing number of visitors taking photos, as well as Barry the
fisherman, who doesn’t usually fish on Saturday. Wes spent the morning in the
garden, while I balanced the books, did my Trip Advisor ratings & caught up
with emails & late Christmas cards.
Wes made a lovely
dinner & we demolished a bottle of sparkling red, watched some Big Bash
cricket and went to bed, only to be wakened with a fright at midnight when the
fireworks started at the Lake House. They went on for 8 minutes, but Bilbo was
fine after a pat and a few words from Wes to reassure him.
It’s a lovely cool and
peaceful morning here in Daylesford & I am sitting looking out through the
roses across our back yard to the Lake. Shortly Bilbo and I are heading off to
pump mineral water, then we are going to the Sunday Market. I haven’t told him
there is no breakfast at Food Gallery today, but I’m sure he will adapt &
enjoy whatever the rest of the day holds for us all.
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