Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 19th November, 2017

 

We are so thrilled for all our friends that Australia voted very strongly for Marriage Equality & look forward to the Bill going through Parliament as speedily as possible, which means marriages can be held as early as mid-January. I suspect that Daylesford is going to be very busy indeed over the next 12 months & we will be delighted to see long-time partners able to marry here if they so wish.

The other highlight of this week was Wes’s birthday, which he chose to celebrate as my guest in the Committee Room of the Melbourne Cricket Club. As it was Friday, the traffic getting there was horrendous, but we forgot all that the minute we parked under the MCG & caught the lift to lunch. As always, the food was wonderful – we both had oysters done two ways, followed by pork for Wes & barramundi for me. We couldn’t resist the deconstructed pavlova for sweets!

Wes looking very dapper indeed in pink!

We arrived home to find that Bilbo had taken up residence in Wes’s armchair & was brazenly staring up at us as if to say – make me get out of this comfy spot! We are not sure how long he has been doing this, but it is obviously the current favourite sleeping place.

On Wednesday week, 29^th November, we are heading off to Adelaide again for the Pink Ball Ashes Test. On the way we are staying two nights at Casterton & on the way home we are spending three nights at Port Fairy.

Whenever you go away, even for a short time, there is always so much to do. We have arranged for Gillie to do the watering & put out the bins; for Michael to collect the mail from our PO Box; for Bilbo to have a holiday at Eureka, and we have let our neighbours, Rob & Dene know, so they can keep an eye on things over the weekends. We have both been busy in the garden – me staking the tomatoes & chillies, and cutting bunches of roses, & Wes mowing, weeding & pruning in the hope that we come back to not too much work.

Yesterday morning we drove to Kingston, which is 20 minutes away & a very pretty place, to see their Three Open Gardens, which was a fund-raiser for their Avenue of Honour, which celebrates its Centenary next year. The garden at the old Primary School was most impressive with beautiful hedges, old trees, interesting plantings & occasional surprises like the one below.

While we were there we received a phone call from Rob & Dene to say that Bilbo was crying & they wondered if one of us was inside & hurt. I thanked Rob & explained that Bilbo had been washed that morning & the door from the laundry into the house had been closed, which was preventing him from leaping onto Warren’s armchair & he was quite upset about that! When we arrived home, we found Bilbo safe & well & sitting on his bed. We opened the door into the house, went next-door to say thank you & ended up chatting over tea & coffee & cake. Bilbo was on the armchair when we returned – at least he was dry!

We received a lovely thank you card from Jess & Eri with this beautiful photo of them inside. It was a very happy day indeed.   

This morning we are off to the Sunday Market & then breakfast with the usual crew – Judi, Barbara, Janine & Margot. Last week we had David, Sandy & Bam Bam as well, and heard all about life in Port Melbourne, where they have moved after many years in Box Hill.

Our friend, Jane Knox, is in London at present, visiting her daughter, Emily & her husband, Alan. Jane is finding it cold, but enjoying all the wonderful things that London has to offer – like shows!         

  

  

Jane & Emily suitably rugged up!