Daylesford Autumn Dispatch - Sunday, 17th May 2020

We started our week with a lovely Mothers’ Day. After shopping at the Sunday Market, we put our purchases in the car & went for a stroll along the length of the stalls, looking to see what else was available – sadly no Portuguese tarts or any other appealing naughties, so went home to Stella’s croissants & plum jam from Rob & Dene. The rest of the day was relaxing with a couple of delightful occurences. While I was chatting with Leanne & reminiscing about Mothers’ Day lunches when our mother, Viva, was alive, Wes received an unexpected & very welcome call from Ken & Geraldine Wilson. Ken was Town Clerk of the City of Brunswick when Wes was a Councillor & Mayor there in the early 80s, and although we don’t see each other often, it is always enjoyable to remember old times & celebrate the present.

More glimpses of Autumn – this time from our back yard with Ornamental grape, carpet roses & espaliered cherry trees

That afternoon, Wes had a wonderful Skype call with other old friends, Hymie & Joan Zawatzky. Hymie was originally a friend of Ray Maloney (Wes’s Dad), and they met at the Carlton Social Club, where Ray held sway on match afternoons. Hymie soon joined the group chatting about the team & saving seats for those who arrived later & intended to watch the game live, rather than view it from the bar. We’ve stayed in touch over the years, but this is the first time Wes had seen them for some time.

We had found another bottle of Cofield Sparkling Shiraz to go with our take-away meal from Jackie’s on Vincent, and it was the perfect way to finish our day with our usual orders cooked to perfection & piping hot. We had to freeze the sweets as we couldn’t fit them in!

Monday School was learning how we each save our Documents & Pictures & we discovered some areas that needed work as we were showing each other how we manage our files. It was most instructive & useful & I am sure we picked up tips to better save files in the future.

Morse & Lewis taking things easily for a change!

That afternoon, I got stuck into the garden beds in the front – dug them over, covered them in manure & newspapers & soil, before finishing off with sugar cane mulch. They are already being covered in Autumn leaves as the dogwoods shed their beautiful canopies. I found that amount of work quite exhausting, so indulged in our spa bath afterwards, something I very rarely do. It was just what was needed I felt much more relaxed afterwards.

Last Roses for the season

The next morning, Wes worked in the rest of the front garden, mulching & removing ivy from our shared fence & even had the energy to work in the back as well. Meanwhile I had my regular Skype call with Leanne, followed by a most enjoyable Zoom chat with local friend, Jane Barrett. We don’t see each other often, but we find we have lots to talk about when we do catch up. I also had a good phone call with Kathy Lazzaro, who keeps skiting about the number of figs on their tree, compared to the 8 or so that we have picked from ours!

A glorious sunset on 12^th May

There has been a lot of activity in Daylesford during the week, including replacement of wires & connectors at the top of telegraph poles, which meant no power on Thursday from 9am to 2.30pm. As well, there have been Council workers putting in a new drain at Rob & Dene’s place, this is probably the third attempt to solve an overflow problem & the Council is finally doing what should have been done at the start. Lewis & Morse were interested observers until a Collie dog wandered down our driveway munching on a bone & they went ballistic! Fortunately our bins were emptied very early on Thursday morning or else the Garbos wouldn’t have been able to get into our little dead-end street.

On Friday, we did an extra walk – from Bryce’s Flat to The Blowhole, which took about an hour. We had hoped to walk around The Blowhole, but there were workmen everywhere, so we just turned back.

Wes with Bilbo at the Blowhole in 2016

Jane Knox put up some lovely photos on Facebook on Thursday to let us all know that her father, Frank, aged 100, had died peacefully that morning. We didn’t get to meet Frank, but I spoke to him on the phone & appreciated the wonderful relationship that Jane & David shared with him. I’m only sorry that I won’t be able to attend his funeral in NSW. I will never forget Jane’s surprise arrival at St Monica’s, Moonee Ponds, for Viva’s funeral in 2014, & what it meant to me to have her make the effort to be there.

One of my favourite photos of Jane & Frank

When I read in The Age, that hairdressers were going to be permitted to re-open, I contacted Lyndal Conroy at The Cutting Studio, and she very kindly fitted me in for a fringe trim. I was the only customer at the time & she was the only hairdresser operating, so I felt very safe in that environment. She had removed everything from her salon such as magazine, cushions, products and decorations & was scrupulous with her sanitising.

Yesterday was yet another beautiful day after a cold morning. It was warm enough to be in short sleeves once the sun got going. Wes spent time in the back garden, where he is fighting more ivy, which has taken over in some areas. I weeded the strawberry patch & mulched it where I could. It has grown like Topsy from the single plant that Bill & Sue Longley gave me about 12 months ago.

Thanks to everyone who has kept in touch this week via phone, mobile, text, email, FB, Zoom & Skype. We really appreciate your contact with us and it has made this time in semi-isolation so much easier. Apart from the fringe cut, neither of us has relaxed our vigilance & we have no plans to travel outside of the Hepburn Shire in the near future.