Daylesford Autumn Dispatch - Sunday, 11th March 2018

Once again, we enjoyed a fun breakfast at Larder last Sunday, with Danny in attendance & David & Sandy in good spirits & making lots of conversation. Danny drove Wes to Melbourne Airport, where Wes caught a plane to Brisbane and spent his first two nights catching up with his friend, Deane Wells & his son, Danny, before detouring to Caloundra to visit his cousin Ronda, & her daughter, Kim. Finally, he drove to Hope Island, on Queensland’s Gold Coast to spend the remainder of his time with old friends, Mike & Linda Kirby. As a bonus, he had a coffee & chat in Brisbane with Bryce Hatton, who used to work with us at Maloney Insurance Brokers.

Bilbo has been quite confused and kept looking for Wes, especially at night, when I put his bed next to my side of our bed and he wasn’t sure he wanted to be there at all. However, when I produced his rug, he quickly jumped onto his mattress and assumed his look of sublime happiness that is only produced by food & this rug.

We’ve been doing the early morning walks together as well, and there have been no complaints when I don’t get up until 5.55am. It is pitch dark at that time & we need a torch to navigate the path.

Over the past year or so, Council has invested plenty of labour into getting Lake Daylesford looking good, and we are particularly appreciative of the smoothed & widened paths. We are not so sure about the stockade look – groups of timber poles, about 1 metre high, forming a fence or break. However, there has been much planting of trees & grasses; the main playground & picnic area has had a thorough overhaul; most of the bins have been replaced, and there are concrete slabs bearing stories about early Daylesford dotted around the place. The Lake is still full of fish, ducks & geese & plenty of birdlife. While Danny & I were in Canberra, some geese were deliberately run down by a car, which is very upsetting. We say hello to them all each morning & love the way they form a circle to protect their young from the wild ferocious Labrador.

This week’s roses – Peace, Big Red, Shirley’s Rose & Hot Cocoa

I’ve taken advantage of being on my own to wash all Bilbo’s bedding; run cleaning agents through the dish-washer & washing machine; eat special fried rice every second night; have a lovely lunch with Michael Ivanchenko at Boathouse Daylesford; enjoy a long cuppa with Annie Smith & her Irish water spaniel, Maisie, at Larder; catch up on Trip Advisor ratings, and pick more tomatoes & chilies than we can eat!

Karen at the Arboretum in Canberra for all of you who complained there was no photo of me from our trip!

While Danny & I were in Canberra, we were shocked to learn that our dear friend, Joyce Spiteri, was in hospital recovering from a triple by-pass. The latest news is positive & we hope to be able to visit Joyce & Manny once she is back home & well enough to receive visitors. As well, Danny & Karen’s son, Patrick, fell off his bicycle in a freak accident, and shattered two bones in his leg. He has had rods inserted & is back home again, where he is on crutches for 6 weeks.  

Wes flew back into Melbourne on Friday afternoon & I drove to the airport in plenty of time, so I could be there at the Gate Lounge to greet him. He was thrilled, as he had been when Deane turned up at Brisbane Airport to delighted to see Wes again & have life back to normal.

From the top- Deane & Danny Wells; Wes with Lola Kirby that he threatened to bring home in the plane with him as they hit it off so well & Wes with cousin Ronda Smith & her daughter, Kim Barker   

Yesterday was another hot day, and after Bilbo had been bathed & consumed a bone, I took him with me for a cuppa at The Food Gallery. We sat outside, caught up with Pasquale, the owner, who has been recuperating after an operation, and spent a very pleasant hour or so just watching the passing parade.

In the afternoon, I watched the Collingwood women beat the highly-fancied Brisbane team in Moreton Bay in occasional torrential rain. They were delighted with their second win of the season against such good opponents. Later, the men had a good win against the Doggies in Moe, after a slow start.

We watched the 1^st quarter of the men’s Carlton & Hawthorn game, which was in Tasmania. It clashed with the Test cricket in South Africa, so we kept swapping channels & eventually went to bed with Carlton well behind Hawthorn & Australia seemingly on top in Port Elizabeth.

It was such a surprise to wake this morning & find that the Blues had beaten the Hawks by 5 points in a high-scoring game & that South Africa were 20 runs ahead with 3 wickets in hand in their 1^st Innings.

This weekend is the 21^st ChillOut Festival & people of every shape, size & persuasion find their way here for the 4-day celebration. We are particularly looking forward to the Parade after breakfast, as it should be a celebration of marriage equality after years of frustration & angst.