Daylesford Autumn Dispatch - Sunday, 28th May 2017

Dear Friends, we had a most enjoyable breakfast last Sunday, as we were joined by our friends, Andrew & Syd, who had driven up from Carnegie to be with us. They both were in good spirits so there was much laughter, and I think David Castles was delighted to find Andrew as interested in tools, cars & gadgets as he is. Afterwards Wes took Andrew, Syd & Barbara on a tour of the area, until Syd became too tired & they went back to Barbara’s home for hot drinks & a chat.

In the afternoon, the footy was a mixed bag – Eleni Glouftsis made a successful debut as a field umpire in the Essendon vs West Coast game, which Essendon won by 10 goals; North Melbourne held Melbourne at bay, and after a promising start in driving rain in Freo, Carlton went down to a more determined side that played the conditions better.

We are at the end of Autumn here, but there is still much beauty to be seen, as some of the trees have been very slow to lose their leaves, and as I look up from my desk I can see all the shades of yellow, orange, red & green in the gardens around us. The birds are still here in good numbers & we have been visited again by a pair of kookaburras, much to our delight, until we discovered they had pulled all the Brussel sprouts seedlings out of their planter box & strewn them around the decking.

Kookaburras – one on Fawlty Towers in the garden & the other on our window ledge upstairs

We have had a very social week here. It started on Monday late afternoon when we met up with Jan & Warren (Secundus) Pengilley, for drinks at ‘Wine & the Country’. Jan has just published a 324-page A4 size story of their family from 1830 to 2016 & we have a copy to read, which will be a delight. We have known the Pengilleys for as long as they have lived in Daylesford. They moved here with Jan’s mother, Olga, to be near their daughter, Tara, & her husband, Diedrich & son, Renier. We first met them at Rotary & as Wes was already a member & the first Warren to do so, he became known as Primus, hence Secundus. We loved them from the minute we met, and although we don’t see each other as much as we would like, we are always in each other’s thoughts.

After Tuesday’s film, ‘Their Finest’ starring Bill Nighy et al, we had a lunch at ‘Jackie’s on Vincent’ with the 10am crew & their partners. We all loved the film, which includes some wonderful bit parts from well-known actors, and is much better & more thoughtful than the trailer suggested. Lunch was fun & Chris Soper discovered that he & Jeannette’s father-in-law had been born near each other in country NSW and had a common ancestor.

Clockwise – Jeanette, Malcolm, Chris, Betty, Norm, Ken & Wes

The next day after Dot & I had played Mah Jong & Wes had spent the morning with Barbara, we met up with friends of 45 years – Kathy & Gerard Lazzaro, who had driven up to Daylesford to have lunch with us at ‘Boathouse Daylesford’. This was the perfect spot to catch up over 2½ hours as the weather was cold & alternated between dull & drizzling & sunny & drizzling! Kathy & Ged have recently returned from a wonderful trip to Poland, Wales & England & we had loaned them our Tom Tom for the journey. Of course, when they picked up their car in Bristol, the one they had ordered & paid for wasn’t available & they had to take the bigger, less suitable model that Europa cars gave them. It turned out to have an inbuilt GPS, so they returned our Tom Tom, without having used it. They had plenty of serious & amusing stories to tell & we enjoyed our time together very much indeed.

On Thursday, I drove to Strathmore to spend time with Leanne, as it had been 4 weeks since I had seen her as I wasn’t prepared to risk driving a manual car with my sprained wrist. We achieved heaps together & I plan to visit again next Thursday to finish off some of the tasks we started. Meanwhile Wes invited Glenn Mack over for lunch & they had an enjoyable time together. He also took Bilbo to the vet for his annual check-up & we were delighted that he is in good shape for a 12½ year-old.

By Friday, I was very happy to spend the day at home after doing the shopping early & made a big pot of minestrone soup, which usually lasts three or four meals.

Wes went off with Brian Nash & they ended up spending time with Nick Massaro at his property in Porcupine Ridge.

Yesterday we started with breakfast at ‘Larder’ & chose something different from the interesting menu. My scrambled eggs were delightful & Wes enjoyed an avocado & heirloom tomato designer meal. This gave me some energy to sweep up Autumn leaves & wash the cars before sitting down to an afternoon of footy on TV.

This weekend is Indigenous Round & all the teams wear jumpers designed especially for the event. Yesterday was 50 years to the day since the 1967 Referendum (passed by over 90% of the vote) that finally included Aboriginals in our population and gave the Government the power to legislate with respect to Aboriginals. Some of the Indigenous players wore the number, 67, on their backs in lieu of their usual number, and at the tossing of the coin to start each game, Indigenous players represented their teams instead of the Captains, and gave each other gifts. The most important game played was last night when Richmond hosted Essendon at ‘Dreamtime at the G’ in front of 85,000+. Even the centre square was painted in the striking colours of the Aboriginal flag.

It has been raining quite heavily overnight, but the rain has settled down, so Bilbo is waiting patiently for us to go to the Sunday Market, followed by breakfast. Wes and I are then heading off to the MCG to see Collingwood play Brisbane in a game that starts at the very friendly time of 1.10pm. This should see us back home before dark & hopefully smiling as we listen to Carlton play North Melbourne on the drive back. 

Daylesford Autumn Dispatch - Sunday, 21st May 2017

 

Dear Friends, this is a longer than usual missive as I’ve just returned from a lovely trip to Sydney with Danny Millman. When I left you on Sunday, 7^th May, we were about to head off to breakfast, where we were entertained by Janine’s stories of her trip to Hanoi with her son, Paul; by Judi’s précis of her week away with Michael at the Mornington Peninsula; by Barbara’s tale of a sleep specialist who asked, among other inappropriate questions, whether any of the group of paraplegics & quadriplegics in front of him, had ever woken up ‘feeling paralysed’? His Master’s student was no better when she asked them all to participate in a quiz called ‘Last Man Standing’ & invited them all to stand.

Wes & I headed off to Clunes for the 11^th Annual Book Town & had a wonderful time looking for treasures amongst all the books for sale. We came home with eleven, which cost us $28 in all – bargains every one. Each year this Festival gets better & better & we were most impressed with the organisation, as well as the numbers of residents having garage sales. Every shop we passed had books, even the IGA supermarket!

We came home via Allendale, which is such a beautiful hidden village of our Shire & admired the horses, the wells, the unmade main street & thought about the very different lives being lived in this place. As we were close to Kingston we drove along its magnificent 3 km Avenue of Honour, which comprises 285 trees, mostly Dutch Elm. At the time of the 1^st World War, Kingston was the administrative centre of the Shire of Creswick, which is why the Avenue was planted there & not in the much larger town of Creswick itself.

  

Bilbo Baggins with most of his toys within easy reach!

I had decided to miss the Tuesday morning film & filled the time with appointments instead – fringe trim, manicure & pedicure. I finished off with a lovely catch up with Judi over a carafe of Jasmine tea at her place. The afternoon was spent sewing up more men-sized beanies & a girl’s jumper & matching beanie. Jodie, who now runs Keeping Daylesford Warm had sent out an SOS, so I responded & she was thrilled to have a few more items for her first distribution, which was last Thursday.

Danny & I had a wonderful trip to Sydney. We had the serendipitous start of pulling up outside Qantas at the same time. Everything went smoothly & after checking into our hotel, we walked to Myer to get Danny some new casual shoes & me a new cosmetic bag. We were highly successful & ended up with afternoon tea in ‘Victoria Sydney’ on the 3^rd floor of Myer – chandeliers, patterned wallpaper & tall casement windows! Dinner that night was at Neutral Bay with Jane & David & their good friends, Stephanie & Aescel Bush.

Friday morning, we were determined to visit the crypt at St Mary’s Cathedral, so after tea & toast at ‘Kikko Café’ in the Queen Victoria Building, we set off across Hyde Park. Of course, there was a Mass for schoolchildren, which went on for 90 minutes, so we ended up doing a circuit of the Cathedral & then finding a patisserie in Woolloomooloo where we had hot drinks and admired the amazing array of goodies at ‘Flour & Stone’.

It was worth the wait – the crypt is magnificent & quite unlike any I have ever visited before. The terrazzo inlay marble floor is dominated by a huge Celtic Cross, which is adorned by celebrations of the 6 days of creation & the 18 names for Mary, the Mother of God. As well there is a small exhibition detailing the history of the early Australian Catholics & the first church on this site, which was destroyed by fire.

We walked back to Chinatown to meet David & Jane at ‘Marigold’s’ for yum cha lunch. After that, we caught the ferry to Manly & visited the surf beach, as well as spotting the International College of Management, where our nephew, Rohan Fell, is studying. We looked for him on the surf beach, but were out of luck! Danny had dinner that night with his friend, Peter, after we two had demolished most of a bottle of shiraz in my room!

I walked around Hyde Park early on Saturday morning before Danny & I went back to ‘Kikko Cafe’ for a healthy breakfast. Afterwards we headed for The Rocks & explored some of the oldest parts of Sydney, including the Garrison Church & Observatory area.

David & Jane picked us up back at our hotel & we headed to the Sydney Rowing Club for a lovely lunch with Terry, Tim & Marj before the footy. Lunch was Greek style food and I enjoyed a piece of barramundi to die for.

We arrived at the Sydney Showgrounds in good time & found we had excellent seats on the wing, three rows from the front, which meant we were very close to the play. The game was fast & furious & the lead changed 16 times over the 4 quarters. GWS grabbed the lead with less than a minute to go & were delighted to finally beat Collingwood.

Here we all are L-R Terry, Marj, Tim, Jane, David, Danny & Karen

We were dropped back at our hotel, Metro, in Pitt Street, and Danny headed off to dinner with his friend, Min, while I walked to the nearest convenience store & bought an egg & lettuce sandwich which I ate, which watching the footy on TV.

While Danny had a sleep in on Sunday morning, I walked to Circular Quay, the Opera House, Mrs Macquarie’s Chair & back through the Botanic Gardens, trying to avoid the Mothers’ Day Fun Run (missed the runners, but turned a corner & found the walkers)! Danny & I met at 11 for brunch at ‘Kikko Café’ yet again & were picked up by David Knox a couple of hours later & taken to the North Sydney League’s Club in Cammeray.

 Brunch at Kikko Café

Jane had bought tickets for 5 of us to see the Mothers’ Day concert starring the Australian Tenors & Marina Prior. The fifth was her 97-year old father, Frank, but he was too unwell to come, so Jane’s friend, Merrilyn, joined us instead. The concert was fantastic – loved the 5 tenors & particularly their rendition of the Seekers’ song ‘We Are Australian’, which would make a much better National Anthem than our current dirge, ‘Advance Australia Fair’, which makes me cringe with embarrassment each time I hear it. Marina was very accomplished & sang a wide variety of songs before inviting the tenors to join her in some operatic pieces.

Danny was off to dinner with his friend, Reece, and partner, so I took myself to Chinatown & walked upstairs to enjoy a meal at Red Chilli Sichuan, which prides itself on its authentic décor & food. Here is my steamed clams with unusual vegetables.

The next morning I was up early for a final walk around Hyde Park before Danny & I headed to ‘Kikko Cafe’ for breakfast on our last morning. We checked out & headed to the airport by train (so embarrassing that we don’t offer this easy form of transport in Melbourne) and all went well until we boarded our plane & discovered that not only was it full, but nearly everyone had brought their suitcases on board & the plane didn’t have enough room for them all. A chap near us opened the overhead locker that holds the pillows & blankets & tossed them out to everyone around him to stow under the seats in front. This took care of 3 of the cases & the remainder were taken to the front of the plane to be checked in. When we landed in Melbourne the crew had arranged for us to disembark at the back of the plane as well as the front, as many of those of board were seated quite a few aisles away from their bags. 

By the time, we had disembarked down the stairs & visited the toilets, my bag was at the carousel, so we headed out to the 1 minute pick up area, where Wes was patiently waiting for us. It was lovely to see him & he very kindly drove Danny home to save him a trip on the Airport bus into town & back out again to Northcote by train.

Since arriving home, I have gone back to early morning walks with Wes & Bilbo most mornings & am enjoying them very much. While we were in Sydney, I found it easy to walk 10,000+ steps & I find this exercise very beneficial, so have been trying to keep it since my return.

While I was away Wes spent his time helping Barbara, visiting Smokeytown with Brian Nash, watching footy & keeping Bilbo walked, fed & happy. Since my return, he has spent an afternoon with Glenn Mack; a day in Ballarat with Barbara while her roof rack & wheelchair apparatus were re-attached to her car; finally spent most of a day in our garden mowing & watering, and on Friday he had a most enjoyable time in Melbourne playing golf & having lunch with Danny Millman, Robert Preston & Tom Tyrrell.

I have been lucky enough to see three wonderful films this week. The first, ‘Denial’, I saw with Wes at the 10am Tuesday session here in Daylesford. It was most powerful, with superb acting performances by Timothy Spall as the dangerous David Irving, & Tom Wilkinson as the defence barrister. I was so proud to be an Australian when we banned David Irving from entering this country again in 1993.

The other two were part of a day at the Kino in Melbourne with Judi Allen. We caught the train at Woodend & saw ‘Things to Come’ that showed us a slice of life of a philosophy teacher in Paris. She is passionate about her work & enjoys passing on the pleasure of thinking to the next generation. This film is beautiful, poignant & intensely personal. After lunch in the food court, we went back & saw the stunning new Australian film “Don’t Tell’, which is the true story of a young girl who fights back in the court after suffering sexual abuse at a prestigious private Anglican school in Toowoomba. Jack Thompson is excellent as the barrister & the rest of the cast makes the horror of this experience come alive. The case changed Australian child protection laws & led to the resignation of the Governor-General, Dr Peter Hollingworth.

Yesterday Wes & Brian visited Lawrence, Ullina & Kooroocheang once the fog lifted & they could see the wonders of these small villages. And last night Collingwood played their worst first half of footy in 20 years & followed it up by a stunning second half to finally beat Hawthorn, our bête noir of the past 30 years. Fingers crossed that Carlton can run over Freo over there later today. And at 1.10pm this afternoon at the Docklands, history will be made when Eleni Glouftsis officiates as a central umpire in an official AFL match – can’t wait to see her walk out – hopefully to warm applause. 

Daylesford Autumn Dispatch - Sunday, 7th May 2017

Dear Friends, you will be pleased to know that my wrist is much improved, although I still can’t really lift much with it. However, I have been able to get back into many of the things I enjoy doing, and, as those of you who commiserated with me agreed, it could have been so much worse.

We watched the footy last Sunday, sorry we weren’t there but knowing we had made the right decision. It was great to see the Pies have their second win for the season. Wes had spent the morning picking grapes at Sailors Falls Estate and had expected to have to return there on Monday morning. However, the team of 20 volunteers got it all done, and Wes came home in time for lunch, which I had made in his absence. I was feeling guilty that he had so much on his plate & I had so little….the result was a big pot of minestrone (cutting up carrots was the hardest) and a fruit cake fresh from the oven.

I had been due to go to Melbourne to spend time with my sister, Leanne, and had to cancel as I couldn’t drive, let alone drive that far. So I was thrilled to hear from her that my brother, Peter, & his wife, Anka, were in Melbourne briefly and paid her two visits.

Although I had advised the Jury Service that I would be in Sydney next week, I was called up for jury service starting on Thursday. I went online and pointed out again that I had sent a copy of my flights to them, & was rung immediately to say my service could be deferred until August. This suited me very well as I wasn’t looking forward to the 45 minute drive to Ballarat with my sore paw. Wes had offered to get me there, but he also had to drive Barbara there as well & it was going to be impossible for him to do both.

I am hopeful that by the time Danny & I board our Qantas flights next Thursday, my wrist will be much better & I will be less inconvenienced than I am at present. We are staying in Sydney until Monday morning, so don’t expect a Sunday Dispatch. The footy is on Saturday afternoon at the Showgrounds against Greater Western Sydney. Jane & David Knox are also going, as is Terry McDonald & his ex-in-laws, Tim & Marj. Jane has booked us into a Mother’s Day concert at Norths Leagues Club to see Marina Pryor with the Three Tenors.

I have been walking to the Post Office to check our box for mail each morning, as it is too cold early to join Wes & Bilbo. The exercise is good & I often meet friends, such as Annie & Maisie, along the way.

On Wednesday morning, we experienced our first real frost of the season – the rubbish bin lids were frozen shut and Wes saw some black ice when he took Bilbo for an early morning stroll around Victoria Park.

Happy photo from ANZAC Day – Pam Hicks, Kate Redwood, Ken Rae & Karen Maloney at Eganstown before the ceremony.

This week’s film was an Australian one – ‘Jasper Jones’ & everyone in the small audience enjoyed it, except for Wes, who was disappointed in the acting (except for Hugo Weaving) & the direction. It was set in a WA country town in 1969, where a young woman has gone missing. Toni Collette was excellent as the unhappy mother of the main character, her teenaged son Charlie.

Afterwards we repaired to the Food Gallery for hot drinks & a catch up with Jenny & Eddie Beacham & Jeanette Oakes. We talked for so long that we ended up having lunch there – yummy lentil soup for me & a croissant for Wes.

 A recent beautiful sunset – from our decking

We had been keen to get to Macedon to see their trees, which are stunning in Autumn and on Wednesday, after spending the morning in Barbara’s garden, Wes offered to drive Bilbo & me. We had missed the very best of the colours, but it was still very beautiful & we drove to Mount Macedon, up to the top & walked to the cross to enjoy the panoramic views available there. We had hoped to stop for a hot drink on our way home, but Macedon & Woodend were closed & we knew Trentham would have been as well. In fact, you are very lucky to find many coffee shops open after 3.30pm anywhere in the country as parents & grand-parents are busy picking up kids from school, kindergarten & day-care.

Wes & Bilbo at the base of the Cross, with all the ANZAC Day wreaths.

While Wes & Barbara were in Ballarat, I spent the morning doing one-armed gardening, which was an interesting challenge. I pulled out all the tomato plants, dug over the soil, put down wet newspapers & covered them with a fresh layer of soil & some gum chips. I also declared a finish to our purple beans & planted Brussel sprouts, silver beet & parsley in the free pots on the decking. After lunch, I turned the tomatoes into pasta sauce and sat down with a pot of tea to relax as I was quite exhausted after all that activity!

Wes finally got into our own garden on Friday & mowed the lawns to his heart’s content. Everywhere looks so much better & the birds can spot their seed from the air. We have started putting out a few strips of meat to entice the kookaburras to return, but so far, the magpies are snatching it up.

Yesterday we had been invited to Kyahl & Loz’s afternoon engagement party at Edinburgh Gardens, Brunswick Street, North Fitzroy, which meant that the footy was out. Collingwood was celebrating its 125^th Anniversary by playing Carlton at the MCG & a crowd of 70,000+ turned up, even though both teams are towards the bottom of the ladder. Sadly, for the Collingwood supporters, Carlton led from the first score & were never headed, running out easy winners by 4 goals. We heard the last quarter on the radio as we were driving back home. Wes was delighted that the Blues won, but sorry for me that the Pies were so insipid.

The engagement party was a very happy affair. Between them, Kyahl & Loz have 8 parents & the date was chosen as it was the only one that suited them all, especially Loz’s father, who flew over from Perth. We enjoyed catching up with Warren’s nephew, John Anderson, who is Kyahl’s father, and seeing his mother, Robyn, after an absence of many years. We spent most of our time with John & Dannielle & their 4 children – Malachi, Kalarni, Dublin & Irish. John’s father, John Anderson, was there with his wife, Maureen. As well we met the rest of Kyahl’s family including Lachlan & Kasen, who were young children when we last saw them.