You will be delighted to read that I am up & about
again & enjoying Winter in Daylesford once more. The first part of the week
went rather quietly. Collingwood was lucky enough to win a hard-fought game
against Essendon in front of 70,000 at the MCG on Sunday afternoon. I was sorry
not to be there, but not well enough, so we watched it on the big screen
instead.
I’ve been reading quite a wide variety of books while I
have been confined to quarters. One author I have been meaning to try for some
years is Michelle de Kretser & I finally picked up her second novel The Hamilton Case, set in colonial
Ceylon. It’s not the sort of book you want to put down & I am in awe of her
writing talent.
Before Michelle, I read the latest two novels by Ann
Cleeves – one set in the Shetland Islands & the other featuring Vera. Ann
has a wonderful ability to create characters that come to life through her
words & the skilful casting of Brenda Blethyn to play Vera in the TV series has been inspired.
Currently I am reading an omnibus by P G Wodehouse which
centres around Uncle Fred, one of his finely-drawn characters, who doesn’t
impinge on the Jeeves & Wooster novels, but rates three novels of his own,
with his nephew Pongo. This is also stunning writing, not just in the convoluted
plots, but the many finely-drawn lesser characters who people these books.
As soon as I finish these novels, I will be heading back to
Italy to read my fifth Marco Vichi novel featuring Inspector Bordelli, Death in the Tuscan Hills. These books
are set in 1960s Italy & provide an interesting backdrop to the crimes that
Bordelli is forced to face.
By Wednesday, I was ready to face the world again, and
headed to Muffins & More to play
Mah Jong with Dot. That afternoon I answered my mobile, which I don’t usually
do if I don’t recognise the number, to find a female caller asking if she had
found Maloney Insurance Brokers? Wow! We sold our business to OAMPS back in
1999 & the only contact point that remains the same since that time is my
mobile. During the first few years after 1999, my phone rang often, but
eventually the calls petered out.
On Thursday, Wes took me to breakfast at Larder, where we sat in the window
& watched the street come alive. We saw quite a few friends – Aileen, Kim
& Marjorie in particular & enjoyed a short chat with front of house,
Martin, before settling down to eat our meals & catch up with each other’s
news.
One of our favourite
photos – taken 50 years ago at Melbourne Uni!
On Friday, it was back to normal – food shopping at Coles,
followed by a walk around Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens with Wes & Bilbo.
We arrived home to discover that our NSW Opal Travel cards
had arrived, after only 10 days since we applied for them online. That is great
service & I hope that interstate Myki buyers are having the same
experience.
Yesterday morning, we went out for breakfast again – this
time to Boathouse Daylesford, where
we were beautifully looked after by Susanne & Claire. Good friends, Eddie
& Jenny Beacham arrived with some of their large extended family, but the
rest of the patrons were visitors enjoying views of Lake Daylesford from behind
glass & in the Winter sun.
Wes is very disappointed with Carlton’s efforts against St
Kilda on Friday night – this year has been the worst in his lifetime as far as
his beloved Blues are concerned. Today, after breakfast, we are heading to
Melbourne – me to the footy & Wes to the Save the ABC rally. Fingers
crossed the Pies can continue their winning ways, although it will be difficult
to beat West Coast with three of their key forwards back in the team.
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