Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 25th June 2017

We’ve had a busy week getting back into routine & catching up on emails, phone calls & chats. After breakfast on Sunday, Wes took Barbara shopping & helped her around the house for a few hours.

We had decided to try getting up at 6am instead of our usual 5.30am & the best time to make a change is when Bilbo has returned from the routine of Eureka Kennels. He has been happily sleeping in that extra half-hour & coping with his dinner being moved to 6pm at night instead of 5.30pm. Bilbo can’t do the full circuit of Lake Daylesford anymore, so we compromise by doing half the walk, and I have been taking him for a short extra walk most days as well.

I went back to gym at 8am on Monday, only to discover that our friend, Andrea Holmes, has joined Barry as an instructor & she will be taking Mondays & Fridays. As Barry pointed out, he turns 70 this year & would like to be easing down instead of working 5 days a week. It won’t hurt to have a different approach & I think everyone enjoyed meeting with Andrea & learning her new warm-up & cool-down procedures.

We had an unexpected visit from our old friend, John Smith, who had driven to Daylesford to have lunch with Glenn Mack, caught up with Terry White & spent an hour or so with us before driving back home. He is a staunch Dees supporter & enjoying their exciting play this year. Like many Melbourne fans, he is finding himself attending more games in 2017!

On Tuesday morning, there was a lovely frost everywhere. We talked to Barry the fisherman on our walk. Before we went away he was having a cataract operation done on his right eye, and we were delighted to hear that he has perfect vision & experienced no pain or discomfort during the procedure. Barry has been & worked everywhere, so it was no surprise to discover he had spent time in Hong Kong & even walked across all their mountains in one day back in the ‘90s.

Karen at Cheung Chau island with junks in the harbour & bikes galore behind me

Wes was projectionist for the film, ‘Viceroy’s House’ starring Hugh Bonneville & Gillian Anderson, as well as Simon Callow & Michael Gambon. I really enjoyed it, but Warren was annoyed that it wasn’t historically accurate, although he thought he was well-directed.

After that we met up with Gillie Gough for lunch at The Food Gallery. Gillie & her best friend, Irene, headed off overseas yesterday for 8 weeks or so & we wanted to wish them Bon Voyage.

After gym on Wednesday, I did enjoy playing Mah Jong with Dot, especially because I won more games – just for a change. Wes spent the morning helping Barbara, mainly with NDIS, as well as some practical stuff.

Later in the day we visited David Hall, who moved into a new home recently & was keen to give us afternoon tea & catch up. It is always good & stimulating to spend time with David, who has been responsible for many of the good ideas that have come to fruition in Daylesford.

Sitting in the Hong Kong Qantas Club filling in the Arrival forms with my Welcome Drink in front of me!

We both drove to Strathmore on Thursday to visit Leanne as it was a while since she had seen Wes & she had asked him if he could help her with a few things that are just too hard for her to do on her own. It was a most successful visit & we particularly enjoyed her curried egg & lettuce sandwiches for lunch!

While we were there, Wes read on Facebook that our niece, Jessie, was in Monash Hospital after suffering a couple of seizures. An MRI scan revealed a lump in her brain & a needle biopsy is needed. As you can imagine, we were all very shocked & I rang Mary & Terry to let them know we were thinking of them & wanted to be kept informed.

Great photo of Jessie & Michelle with their mother, Mary, taken in 2015

On Friday, after a mammoth shop at Coles, I drove to Ballarat to see my podiatrist, who pronounced herself delighted with my feet, which have improved a lot since I last saw her 9 months ago. At that time, we were still with Medibank Private & their contribution to her $70 fee was $17.50. This time, now we are with Qantas Assure (underwritten by NIB), $17.50 was my contribution – it’s a big difference.

Meanwhile Wes & Brian Nash went out together to visit the Hepburn Pool, Clydesdale & Newstead. They had a most successful morning & came back with lots of ideas.

Yesterday we drove to Melbourne to see Collingwood play Port Adelaide at the MCG. We parked near ‘Square & Compass’ café & enjoyed a yummy brunch there. Matt assured me that he had spiked the coffees of the Port players when they had visited for breakfast that morning, but whatever he did was unsuccessful, as Port outplayed us from the very first minute.

As you can see Bilbo was very pleased to see us back at home & leapt up onto Wes’s lap for a cuddle after his dinner

Hong Kong Final Dispatch - Sunday, 18th June 2017

 

When I last wrote, we had spent the morning in the Business lounge because of the extreme wet outside. Eventually it cleared enough for us to venture to the ‘Star Seafood & Roasted Goose Restaurant’ on the recommendation of one of the staff for a late yum cha lunch. We ordered far too much, not having any idea of the size of the dishes, but it was fun trying different things.

Some of the array of dishes & Wes consulting the menu

Afterwards we caught the double-decker tram ($1.10HK) to Wan Chai & wandered around in between showers. We feel we should travel on these trams as often as we can, as it will be a very sad day when they disappear from the streets. Back at our hotel we shared drinks in the lounge & then Wes worked magic with the laptop & TV & we were able to catch up on AFL 360 episodes.

On Wednesday we woke to sleet again, but it was still very steamy – the humidity meant that it felt like 42⁰. After breakfast we caught the hotel shuttle bus to Hong Kong Station & from there made our way to the Star Ferry & Tsim Sha Tsui. We don’t really enjoy Kowloon as much as the Island, so our visit was quite short. We popped into the Information Centre, which is tiny, but well-staffed by helpful people. While Wes was asking about Discovery Bay, I chatted to Cy, who had picked our accent as his daughter went to Melbourne 10 years ago to study & now calls Malvern East home.

We have never been to Discovery Bay & decided to catch the very comfortable ferry back at Central ($2HK) & have a look around. We walked for about an hour & enjoyed looking at the beach & imagining just how busy it would be in peak season. It was very quiet indeed when we were there & many shops & restaurants were closed.

When we returned to Central we were hungry & found the Crystal Jade restaurant inside the IFC buildings. We were finally able to order chilli prawns & some deep fried whitebait – lovely meal indeed. Our favourite Hong Kong restaurant, Szechuan Lau, which has moved position many times over the years, has finally closed & we were desperate to find somewhere to replace it. Perhaps this will be the one.

On our way back home, we stopped at the Wing On Department Store, which sells everything under the sun & had a wonderful experience finding me a new purple vest with the help of a couple of giggling young girls.

Back at the hotel, we sat in the lounge reading for an hour or so, before indulging in a glass of De Bortoli red or two & watching with horror the pictures of the Apartment Building on fire in London.

Thursday was our last full day here & we were determined to get to Disneyland. We had been told that it opened at 9am, so rose early for breakfast, only to find that it didn’t open until 10.30am in the off-season.

Breakfast – this is how it usually starts - congee for me & fresh fruit for Wes

We had been quoted $90HK to travel to Disneyland by train, but with our wonderful Octopus cards, it cost us $2HK instead. Entry was $100HK & that includes access to every ride & show. We headed straight for Fantasyland & looked in vain for Mr Toad’s Wild Ride, which Wes & Tom Tyrrell took back in 1978, when we went to the Los Angeles Disneyland together. We had to make do with a Carousel, the Mad Hatter’s Tea Cups, a Pooh Bear honey cruise, It’s a Small World After All etc etc. We loved every minute, apart from the humidity & occasional drenching shower & saw some wonderful shows before calling it quits & travelling back to our hotel to freshen up for drinks & dinner.

Tea cups & Wes on the Carousel above.

Friday was our last day & we wanted to walk around The Peak if possible. We caught the number 15 bus from Central to the Peak & arrived as the rain pelted down. After a short time, we abandoned all hope of a walk & took the Tram back down again.

We visited St John’s Anglican Cathedral, then got onto the wonderful indoor walkways between buildings before finally having lunch at Tea WG 1897. Lunch was vegetarian quiches with Jasmine Queen Tea for me & Bhutan tea for Wes. Our maître d’ was French & delighted we knew a few words to chat with him.

Everything went smoothly for us as we left Hong Kong. The shuttle bus drove us to the Hong Kong Station where we paid our $100HK, checked us & our bag in to our flight, and travelled unencumbered to the airport. An hour after leaving Courtyard Marriott Hotel, we were seated in the very comfortable & inviting Qantas Lounge with our welcome refreshing drinks. We could even watch the North Melbourne vs St Kilda game on the big screen!

The flight home was less than impressive. It was full & mostly of first-time fliers from Hong Kong in two tour group parties. These patrons spent their time playing with everything available on & around their seats & had to be constantly asked to obey the rules & return their seats to the upright position, remove all devices from the terminals, put their bags under the seats, put their seat belts on & tray tables up, just so that we could take off.

Wes & I found it very hard to sleep as the couple in front of us reclined their seats to the max as soon as they could & left them in that position for the duration of the flight. Wes watched episodes of ‘The House of Cards’ & I saw ‘Patriots Day’, which was about the 2013 Boston Marathon Bombing & then cried my eyes out over a delightful Japanese film, ‘Quill’, which follows the life of a Guide Dog from birth to death. I was very interested to learn that Guide Dog commands are given in English as Japanese is too difficult for the dogs to master.

We were the only flight arriving at Melbourne at 7.30am & managed to clear Immigration & Customs, collect our bag & find our car in the Long- Term Carpark within an hour, which brought us back home by 10am. Wes had a quick freshen up & set off to Ballarat to collect Bilbo, who had been bathed in preparation & was very excited indeed.

We spent yesterday unpacking, washing, warming up the house, enjoying the minestrone soup Judi had left us & were early to bed, even though Carlton was playing (& won).

Here is Bilbo enjoying his cabbage at the Sunday Market – Corey has shredded it & provided a mat for Bilbo to eat it from. Breakfast at the Food Gallery was good & everyone was interested to hear our stories from our lovely trip.

Hong Kong Mid-Week Dispatch - Tuesday, 13th June, 2017

Last Sunday after breakfast, we caught the air-conditioned bus to Stanley ($2HK for Elders each way) & enjoyed a picturesque drive along very winding roads through Repulse Bay & Aberdeen, finally arriving at Stanley after almost an hour. It was very hot & humid, with suggestions that it could be Hong Kong’s hottest day ever!

We wandered through the Markets until we found the perfect new black summer cap for me. At another stall, we picked up the other things for which we had been searching, including a ‘romantic’ lightweight wraparound for me. I had expected our hotel to provide dressing gowns & hadn’t packed something suitable for sitting on the bed watching footy.

The water at Stanley was clean & attractive & many young families were sitting in the shade or paddling in the shallows. I can’t get over how clean everywhere is – there are signs asking you observe coughing etiquette, to be thoughtful on public transport & mindful of others. All the destinations on public transport are in Chinese & English. On our return, we sat in the front seats upstairs on the bus & had an even more stunning view of our journey.

We looked for a yum cha restaurant & picked one that was reached by lift in a building, which everyone assured us was very good. Once again, we were surprised by the amount of English spoken. Our waiter listened to our request for dim sum without meat, & was able to bring us three dishes only – ginger cake!!; seafood on scallop shells & prawns in wet noodles. We followed this up with vegetarian special fried rice.

Wes, wearing his Carlton shirt for good luck, sipping tea at Ying Kee Hotpot Seafood Restaurant. The gentleman on the left smiled & chatted to us & we all shook hands when he left.

Back in our room, we switched on the Australian TV channel to find Carlton just ahead of GWS in the second quarter & settled down to get them over the line, which we did, by one point, in a most exciting match.

On Monday, we celebrated 47 years of marriage by catching the double-decker tram along Des Voeux Road to Central, where we attempted to do a walking tour of Old Central looking at street art & galleries. It was very hot & sticky & every now & then a heavy rainstorm would soak everyone before disappearing & leaving the air even stickier. Everywhere we looked we saw these signs.

We had been warned at breakfast, but the heavy rain wasn’t expected until the afternoon. We found a few good examples of street art, but all the galleries were closed & even the Museum of Medical Sciences was shut for the day while they repaired a front gate! However, we did find the Hong Kong Arts & Crafts Centre, they had relocated to Central from Kowloon & we paid them a visit for old times’ sake.

After a cool drink at the Western Market, we caught the tram back home & settled in the watch the afternoon’s activities at the MCG. For friends reading this who know very little about Australian Rules football, the match on the Queen’s Birthday (second Monday in June) is a big occasion & has been played between these teams only since 2001. In 2015, Neale Daniher, a very popular former player with Essendon & former coach of Melbourne, went public on his diagnosis with Motor Neurone Disease & vowed to raise money to find a cure. 

Everyone got behind Neale & for past three years, famous sportspeople & media stars have agreed to be pushed down a slide into a pool of ice. The Big Freeze precedes the game & is the impetus for many of the donations. Over $2M was raised on the day, and the Federal Government matched it dollar for dollar. All funds go towards research. It is too late for Neale, but he hopes to help many others who are diagnosed now or in the future.

Gerard Whateley last year in Black Caviar colours & Lleyton Hewitt on Monday wearing an Adelaide jumper

Collingwood played well but lost a tight, exciting game to Melbourne by 4 points. The atmosphere was incredible & we could feel it through the TV. This match was only one not shown live on the Australian TV channel, so the AFL Live pass came in handy after all.

We had hoped to go somewhere special for dinner, but the sleet suggested eating in our hotel would be the sensible thing, so that’s what we did. We had a bottle of Penfold’s Shiraz (with a cork) to accompany Wes’s scallop & black truffle risotto & my penne with chillies & prawns. We finished the night back in the lounge on the 6^th floor chatting with other guests & eating tiny cream puffs.

Back home, friends & family are welcoming new puppies & you might just relate to this very early Snoopy cartoon

We had earmarked today for Disneyland, but the rain is too heavy & there is no guarantee that we could get to Lantau Island. The ferries weren’t going to Cheung Chau, so we were pleased we had already been there. After breakfast, we gathered up the laptop, our books & puzzles & settled ourselves in the Guest Lounge to wait it out & relax.

As I look out the window, everywhere is very wet & grey & foggy. Wes has been talking to Judy, who runs the lounge & she has suggested a seafood restaurant close by which would be perfect for lunch. We have brought rain-jackets & an umbrella, so should be perfectly equipped for a small adventure.

Karen & her coconut at Cheung Chau – we were so hot after our walk, it seemed the coolest thing to have.

We hope this weather hasn’t set in, but if it has, we will just make the most of the less wet times & rejoice that we have already done much of what we wanted to do. Importantly, we are so very thrilled to find Hong Kong almost smog-free, welcoming & easy to get around. 

Hong Kong Dispatch - Sunday, 11th June 2017

 

We are having a wonderful time in Hong Kong & so pleased that we decided to visit here one last time. Our flight was delayed leaving Melbourne, but we were only 30 minutes late arriving here & by the time we had cleared immigration, our bag was waiting for us. We caught the bus to our hotel, as there was a stop in Water Street, right outside – one of many firsts we are attempting this time.

Our 18^th floor room is compact, but has a stunning view of the Harbour across to Kowloon & includes a comfortable KS bed, a big TV, free wi-fi & a good shower. The package we took also includes access to the Business area on the 6^th floor, with free breakfast, coffee & tea all day & wine & snacks from 5.30pm.

The weather is hot, over 30⁰ each day, with terrible humidity. Yesterday it felt like 40⁰, according to my phone & I think I agree with it. We have been very pleasantly surprised by many changes since our last trip here, where we first met our lovely Sydney friends, Jane & David Knox & Terry McDonald & dear Norma Hutchins from Freo, who died too soon from ovarian cancer.

Everywhere is very clean, smoking is forbidden in many places, nearly everyone we have interacted with speaks English (even cab & bus drivers) & the level of service we have received in this hotel is second to none. Even our room housekeeper speaks & understands a little English.

Long suffering old friends will know that even though I think my needs are very simple, I am, in fact, a pain in the neck at times – especially when travelling. I am in heaven here – congee for breakfast every morning, with lots of interesting accompaniments; Jasmine tea; an Australian TV station that is showing the footy (didn’t discover that until after we paid for a week of Aussie Rules on our computer); quiet, efficient air-conditioning & firm pillows!

On Thursday morning, we decided to walk to the Peak Tram from our hotel in Sai Yin Pun district. We arrived there to discover the Tram was out of action all week, and were encouraged to catch the bus instead. This was another first & we loved it. Up at the Peak we wandered around for a while, but it was too hot to do our usual walk around, so we caught a different bus back to Central. I wanted to get us Octopus cards, and we found we could at any railway station. We qualify for ‘Elder’ status & that reduces the fares considerably.

Back in our hotel, we joined a few others for ‘Cocktails’ which is red & white wine, beer & soft drinks. After a couple of glasses of wine, we headed downstairs to the restaurant here, which had a seafood buffet on offer. A few prawns & lobster tails with salad hit the spot & I finished off with a squid ink pasta, while Wes headed for the ice-creams.

We were replete & unready for the surprise that greeted us in our room. Apparently, we had booked the Romantic Package (we thought we had booked the Explorer Package) & there was a bottle of Prosecco, a bowl of fresh fruit & a dish of chocolate, complete with warming candle & matches. Needless to say, this was all put in the fridge for the next night.

The next morning, we headed to Pier 5 by taxi to catch the fast ferry to our favourite island, Cheung Chau. We first visited it with Jane Danaher, many years ago, and we have continued to enjoy it each time we visit Hong Kong. It cost us $2HK for 35 minutes on the water. We retraced our steps by doing the walk that we first did with Jane & David Knox & on the spur of the moment, Wes decided to enter the traditional barber’s shop & have ‘the best haircut experience of his life’ – for $60HK, about $12AU.

Top to bottom: getting the customer ready; the barber begins; nearly finished & outside the humble establishment

Afterwards we had lunch at ‘Morocco’s’ where we chose Indian curries, which were perfect with the heat. Wes had a beer & I ordered a coconut. On the way back we went by the slow ferry, and sat upstairs in the deluxe area – air-conditioning & tables.

Wes with his new look at lunch

Back at our hotel we discovered that all the trappings of our Romantic Package had been cleared away, so while we enjoyed tea & coffee on the 6^th floor, we asked that they be brought back again & they were. We didn’t need dinner after Prosecco & fruit dipped in warm chocolate.

Yesterday we set off on the hotel shuttle bus to catch the Star Ferry to Kowloon. However, we ended up at Hong Kong station instead, where we were able to top up our Octopus cards & discovered we could check ourselves & our bag into our return flights before catching the train to the airport. As the shuttle bus travels to the station hourly, this seems like the perfect way to get to the airport next Friday afternoon. 

Our favourite spot in Kowloon, ‘The Hong Kong Arts & Crafts Store’ was nowhere to be found, but we strolled along Nathan Road looking for a new summer hat for me & a pink shirt for Wes. We found the perfect shirt in Marks & Spencer & celebrated with the most expensive cups of tea ever at Tea WG 1837.

The shop is wonderful to behold & we just loved our big pots of tea with sorbets (mango for me & rose for Wes)

We caught the Star Ferry back & wandered along the various laneways until we reached our hotel, where we were very ready for the air-conditioning & footy!

The business lounge was serving dim sum & other snacks when we headed down & that was enough (with some glasses of wine) for dinner. 

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 4th June 2017

 

When I said goodbye last Sunday, Wes & I were heading off to the footy together, but he was feeling unwell & went to bed instead, after a piece of raisin toast at the Food Gallery.

I headed off to the MCG, as he assured me he would be fine, and had a good run there. I parked about 30 minutes’ walk from the ground at the back of the Arts Centre precinct. There was only a small crowd of 35,000, so I easily snared a seat under cover in the Balcony area, and after a chat with Loud Gayle, settled down to enjoy the game. It was a rather frustrating afternoon, as the Pies were very wasteful in front of goal, but we ran out winners by 45 points.

When I arrived home, Wes was still in bed & had been sleeping on & off with occasional glances at the footy. His Blues rallied against North Melbourne in a most exciting game, where the young Carlton players were sadly overrun in the last quarter.

Fortunately, Wes had made an appointment to see Dr Brad Wyer on Monday morning, as he needed prescriptions, so I drove him to the Springs Medical Centre, where we knew just about everyone in the waiting room. It was particularly good to see Bill & Sue Longley, who are among our oldest & most favourite Daylesford friends. Brad confirmed that Wes had picked up a virus & suggested he go back home to bed & keep drinking water & introduce hot soups to his menu.

This stunning photo of Daylesford Station was taken the other morning by our friend, Beck Walker.

I was delighted when Wes decided to spend Tuesday in bed as well & he definitely gave himself the best chance of getting better.

He had promised to be by Barbara’s side on Wednesday morning when she was visited by a Local Area Co-ordinator for the new NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme). He was able to do that & they were both disappointed by the inadequacies of both the LAC & the Scheme itself. Meanwhile I played Mah Jong with Dot & had the very rare experience in a Goulash of picking up all 4 blanks. Apart from that game & one other, Dot managed to win the rest & keep up her fine record.

The rest of the week has progressed nicely. We have enjoyed lovely sunny days after very cold mornings, but when I drove to Melbourne on Thursday to spend time with Leanne, I was very relieved that there was no black ice to worry about, as Woodend is notorious for it.

Wes has enjoyed getting back in the garden – planting the rest of the bulbs, doing a light cut of the grass & weeding garden beds. Bilbo prefers a shorter walk these days, so we have been taking him around part of the Lake & he is very happy to come home to warmth & a treat.

On Friday Judi & I joined the Bushwalkers for the lovely Wombat Trail in Trentham. Each time I do this walk, I notice improvements & Friday’s were the additions of some small wooden bridges over the worst of the muddy area. I felt we had the Warren & Brian Friday experience when two women mounted on police horses joined us as we started our stroll around the old Racecourse and later, as we were finishing our walk, we were greeted by two older horses looking over their fence for carrots or apples. There was even a miniature Shetland pony in the field as well.

Our friends, Gail & Terry White, are back home after 6 weeks in America, where they have travelled extensively & caught up with friends they made on an earlier trip many years ago. Gail has sent a blog weekly with lots of photos & amusing descriptions of all they have done.

Bilbo Baggins under his comfy warm rug 

Yesterday we invited Glenn Mack for a fish pie lunch and caught up on his latest plans. His home is being sold & he needs to find somewhere else to live, so we offered a guest room & ensuite, & under the house storage. I am sure we are among many who are making similar offers while Glenn decides what to do.

Last night we saw the last episode of the stunning BBC series ‘River’ starring Stellan Skarsgård & Nicola Walker. We had seen the first episode two years ago in Adelaide on Netflix & weren’t able to find it again. It was so good to finally see all 6 episodes. This has to be one of the best series ever – beautifully conceived & written, with perfect casting & direction.

This morning we are off to Sunday Breakfast – no Market beforehand, so Bilbo is most confused & not letting me out of his sight in case I should go there without him. The rest of the day will be spent in packing & getting ready for our upcoming trip to Hong Kong to say goodbye to one of our favourite spots in the world. We might stop at 4.30pm in time to watch Collingwood play Fremantle over there in Western Australia!

We head off early Wednesday morning & return on Saturday, 17^th June. I hope to send the occasional holiday Dispatch, but if I don’t I should be back on line again on Sunday, 18^th June.

Bilbo & Karen on the Wombat Trail in Trentham earlier this year