We are so devastated for my sister, Paun, her husband,
Brian, & their three sons, who have lost their home & business, Cliff
Place, in the dreadful Tathra fires, which have decimated this very beautiful
seaside town. Initially, everyone is grateful that nobody died, but once
reality sets in, it is very difficult to cope with the loss of everything. The
fire jumped the Bega River so quickly that residents had very little time to
pack cars before evacuating.
I want to thank all my friends who have sent messages
asking if Paun & Brian were OK. A lot of you don’t know them, but you knew
that I had a sister living in Tathra & it has been a great comfort to me to
know that you are thinking of them & wishing them well. We feel so very
helpless down here, miles away from them & unable to do anything other than
support.
While Paun & Brian were fleeing the flames last Sunday,
we were in an Irish pub, The Snug,
in Sydney Road, Brunswick (site of Nick D’Agostino’s restaurant from many years
ago), catching up with dear friends – Danny Millman, Tom Tyrrell & Deborah
Fowler, & Marilyn & Robert Preston. The pub food & service was
nothing to write home about, but it was wonderful to be together again after
such a long time.
Mostly Peace roses
with a couple of Oklahoma & Sweet Intoxication thrown in!
This week we went to Ballarat to see Finding Your Feet, a wonderful film directed at our age group &
covering just about every issue we are facing. It stars Imelda Staunton, Celia
Imrie & Timothy Spall, who all act their socks off & are assisted by
lots of well-known actors with lesser roles.
Men’s footy started in earnest this week, which meant the
importance of the Women’s Grand Final was lessened to some extent. It was a
close, low-scoring exciting game won by the Western Bulldogs, one of the two
pioneering women’s clubs. One member of the team, Jenna Bruton, is a farmer in
Trentham, so we have had an added impetus to support the Doggies.
Yesterday, after getting the Doggies over the line, we
drove to Melbourne to see Collingwood play Hawthorn at the MCG. We arrived
early, which gave us time to have a couple of drinks & watch the passing
parade from the MCC Blazer Bar. It had rained very heavily everywhere in the
morning (at last), but it was dry & muggy in Melbourne & I didn’t need
a coat. The Pies were no match for the Hawks, who played a much slicker game
& won easily.
This morning is cool & we’ve had some more rain (30mls
in our gauge), which is a big relief to everyone as tanks will have filled
again & the dry, yellow earth will soon be covered in green. Fortunately,
there is no breakfast this morning, as we are tired after our late night. I’ve
taken Bilbo to the Sunday Market, where the main topic for discussion is the
rain.
One of Rohan Fell’s friends, Bella, started a GoFundMe on Facebook, called ‘Fresh Start for the Fells’, which has
raised nearly $17,000 so far. It is a great way for friends & family to
contribute money easily, as there are more than enough donated clothes &
foodstuffs.
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