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Sunday, 26 February 2017

Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 26th February 2017


Dear Friends, you will be pleased to read that Bilbo didn’t miss out at all last Sunday, even though Margot was missing. Barbara brought him a carrot; Judi fed him some of her croissant; Janine & Wes & Barbara & I left enough on our plates to give him a hearty breakfast, and he was very content when we arrived home to go to sleep and nurse his very full tummy.


On Monday, it was cool, but fine, so I finally got stuck back into giving the dog decking a second coat. It took most of the morning & some of the afternoon, and I gave all the flat exposed wood a third coat before I finished. I certainly slept well that night after all the physical activity – walk, gym & painting – much more than I usually achieve in one day.



Tuesday’s film was “Jackie” - a warts and all look at Jackie Kennedy and the aftermath of John Kennedy’s assassination. We were both most impressed with Natalie Portman’s acting ability, but very disappointed that Jackie was so self-centred and lacking in empathy for her children, her brother-in-law, mother-in-law and LBJ, who became President in the worst possible way. We had hot drinks & a croissant at the Food Gallery afterwards to talk about the film, as it definitely needed discussing!

Wes has been very busy helping the Daylesford Cinema Committee as they fight an action by Council that will see them without a home after the end of April, with no clear alternative in sight. He has also designed a form discussing Membership of the cinema, as at present, members get very few privileges, especially if they are Seniors.

Dot & I enjoyed a morning of Mah Jong at Muffins & More after I did gym. Bella & Lily, who make the drinks & serve the meals, are delightful girls and it is always a pleasure to see their smiling faces when we come into the café. Meanwhile, Wes did some gardening for Barbara, before taking her to do a big shop at Coles.

I have been reading Reginald Hill’s Dalziel & Pascoe series again from Book 1 and am amazed anew at how well he creates believable characters. Warren Clarke was perfect as Dalziel in the TV series, which was a huge success, but didn’t really capture the splendid, insightful writing of the books. In between, I read ‘Runaway’, a stand-alone novel by Peter May, courtesy of Michael Ivanchenko, who found the book, bought it and then offered me first read of it. It is set in the present & 1965, and is full of nostalgic memories of that time in London. Peter May is a very interesting & knowledgeable writer, who sets his series in different places – Scotland, Italy, China – and writes as though he is a native of all three.


I just love this Peanuts cartoon – hope you do as well!

Wes had offered to show the film, The Wizard of Oz, on Thursday, as there was no-one else available. This is the last in a series of 8 classic films, which have been put on for free, with the older & less advantaged members of our community in mind. They have been a great success and perhaps will be repeated when the cinema future is settled.

I spent some time booking AFL tickets for this year. Wes & I gave up our AFL membership at the end of 2015, so we look at the fixture at the start of the year & I book reserved seats & guest passes in the MCC so we can go together. After that I caught up with Judi at Muffins & More, as it was a couple of weeks since we had spent any time together & had plenty to chat about.

On Friday, after the early morning walk and the shopping was done, I was able to join the Daylesford Bushwalkers for the first time this year. Wes dropped me at the meeting point in Raglan Street & 10 of us went on the short walk, which was along the railway line towards Musk & back. We were away for 2 hours, which is the perfect amount of time. I peeled off from the group as we got close to Daylesford Station & walked up to East Street, where Wes picked me up. After lunch, he & Brian Nash spent time in Bald Hills, where the enjoyed the stunning views available from Tim Blood’s home, ‘Candlebark’.

We have been blown away by the performance by Australia in the 1st Test in India. Wes & I have been on three Cricket Tours in India, Sri Lanka & England, and are yet to see the Aussies win overseas. We would love to have been at Pune for this historic win – the first time we had won in India since 2004. We are full of admiration for nearly all of this current team – especially Steve Smith, Matt Renshaw, Mitch Starc, Steve O’Keefe, Matt Wade & Peter Handscomb, who have played their roles almost to perfection.

Yesterday I spent in Strathmore with Leanne and we had a good time together, shopping, having hot drinks in our current favourite café, Edward Abbott, and getting a few home chores done. Wes attended a very successful meeting of the Daylesford Cinema committee, volunteers & members & is very optimistic that a sensible solution will be found soon. Afterwards he had lunch at Boathouse Daylesford with Barbara Simpson, and they were joined for coffee by David Castles.


Last night we watched with delight as the Collingwood AFL women finally won a game, when they beat the Western Bulldogs, who are desperately missing their inspirational captain, Katie Brennan. 

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