Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 7th October 2018

Our dear niece & my God-daughter, Jessie, died early on Tuesday morning after fighting GBM, a serious & aggressive brain cancer, which was discovered in July 2017 after she had a brain tumour removed. We are in awe of her strength & resilience & determination through this time, and so proud of her husband, Anthony, her sister, Michelle, and her parents, Terry & Mary, who have done everything in their power to give her the best possible love & care over these past 15 months. We were lucky enough to visit her three times during that period & to tell her how much we loved her & had treasured her time in our lives from her birth on 9^th October 1975. Her funeral is on Wednesday in Narre Warren, about 150kms from Daylesford.

Whether everything got on top of me or I was due for a bout in bed, that is what happened. On Wednesday, after a lovely walk around Lake Daylesford & a good gym session, I visited Dot & John Smith to meet their new puppy, Patsy, a very affectionate black & white short-haired pointer. However, by the afternoon, I was starting to feel quite unwell & we cancelled plans to see Ladies in Black in Ballarat.

I’ve been in bed ever since, with Nurse Warren looking after me very well indeed & doing the cooking, shopping & gardening, Yesterday, he accompanied Barbara to Melbourne to attend a self-defence course, while I read & watched the races at Flemington, including a last-minute win from the champion Winx, who was boxed in for much of her race.

We will be in Glasgow next Sunday when my next Dispatch is due. I’ll do my best to keep up the routine, but it all depends on wi-fi, the laptop & a functioning brain!

Lovely 2015 photo of Mary with Jessie & Michelle