Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 7th January 2018

I think I’m just about used to writing 2018 after 6 days, but it does frighten me the way the years are flying by.

We had our usual quiet New Year’s Eve – after an early morning walk, Bilbo & I went to Leitches Creek to pump mineral water & discovered that someone had stolen the wooden handle. I was still able to get water, but not as easily as before. Then we visited the Sunday Market, where all the early locals were exchanging their Christmas news with the stall-holders. Bilbo was delighted to get his cabbage &, as well as fruit & vegetables, I brought home a beautiful rose called Henri Matisse, which Wes has planted amongst the seaside daisies in the back lawn.

That night we were wakened by the Lake House fireworks, which went for 10 minutes at midnight. I had left the blinds up, so we could see them, but our trees have grown too tall & neither of us wanted to get out of bed & wake properly, so we missed out.

Next morning, we walked around Lake Daylesford early & found ourselves cleaning up after a couple of very messy parties. We filled three large & two small bags with streamers, cakes, glasses, bottles & cans & had to leave the rest for the next shift.

Bilbo emerging from a dip in the lake & deciding once was enough in spite of my encouragement

When we got back home we had a delightful Skype call with my aunt & uncle, Jeff & Kev, in Lincolnshire & found them bright-eyed & waiting for visitors to arrive to see the New Year in with them.

We had decided to go to Regent Cinemas at Ballarat to see the film, Breathe, which is a true story of the Cavendish family coping with Robin’s sudden onset of polio. The film was directed by his son, Jonathan, so we were very confident that it was as accurate as it could be. Robin & Diana Cavendish were amazing & are responsible, with the help & creative genius of their friend, inventor, Teddy Hall, for freeing severely disabled people from being confined to hospital for the rest of their lives. This 2-hour British film is stunning to behold, well-cast & totally engrossing.

We spent the rest of the day quietly at home, and I cooked lunch, which is a good sign for the rest of the year! Wes had given me an exciting new gin to try (Botanica, which contains Jasmine) & I just love it. Hendricks is still the most intriguing I have ever tried, but this is beautifully perfumed & goes down very easily. In return, I had given him a dozen bottles of Cofield Rosė, which is also being enjoyed.

On Tuesday morning we decided to walk around the Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens, as it is such a beautiful cool, green, quiet spot, especially early when no-one else is around.

Wes got stuck into the garden doing a mow & trimming the lavender & rosemary, as well as mulching all the roses with horse manure from Coomoora, his new favourite spot.

This is the Fell family plus a friend. L-R – Liam, Greg Cavill, Warwick, Paun (my sister), Rohan & Brian (her husband), all celebrating in Peru

We just love our early morning walks, which we vary between the Botanic Gardens & the Lakes. One day we met a pair of young kangaroos on the track around the Lake – this is quite a rare occurrence as our usual sightings are of the ducks & geese that join the birds in accompanying us. We used to have a family of black swans, but haven’t seen them in quite a while. In the gardens, we are usually serenaded by magpies & hear the occasional rustle in the leaves suggesting something bigger might be watching us. There are three wombat sculptures as well, which always give us a smile.

Bilbo Baggins watching the cricket with a couple of friends

Living here feels like being on holidays 24/7 – beautiful walks, lots of greenery, even in Summer, so many places accessible on foot, & most people smile when they see you. Even when we suddenly have no water, as happened this week at 6pm one night, I was able to engage with Central Highlands Water via Messenger & received accurate updates on our situation. Wes had rung them as well, but Facebook turned out to be a better bet.

We’ve enjoyed watching the Sydney Test on TV, especially yesterday, which was the 10th Jane McGrath Pink Day, raising funds for breast cancer awareness & support nurses around Australia. The Poms got into the spirit & donated signed caps, as have most visiting teams.

We had planned on going to the Big Bash League double-header clash between the women’s & men’s T20 teams yesterday at the MCG, but the 42° heat frightened us off, as did the extreme fire rating for Central Victoria, where we live. We visited Leanne early in the morning, as it was the 4^th Anniversary of Viva’s death, and we didn’t want her to spend the day on her own. It hit 40° here, but we were cool in the air-conditioning & so pleased we had made the right decision.