What a wonderful Christmas we've had & so have most of you if all the messages of goodwill are any indication. We spent the early morning ringing family & friends, before heading off to Strathmore to share lunch with Leanne. She had decorated the table beautifully, had bought thoughtful gifts & we three had a lovely time together. Our contribution was a platter of King prawns & the Christmas pudding, both of which went down very well.
Boxing Day started beautifully with breakfast in the dining room with David Lazzaro. We had a great catch up & walked through the gardens to the G together. I was able to get a seat in my favourite bay on Level 2, put my bag down & went to find old friend, Gayle Gibson, for our usual catch-up. As we were talking, she pointed out to me that someone in front of us was in trouble as paramedics were in action. For the next 30 minutes, we saw just how well the MCC springs into action. I learnt later there were 5 doctors helping the paramedics, who performed CPR for 20 minutes. The doctors basically performed a small operation on the spot before removing their patient by stretcher. The supervisors were brilliant - they cleared all the seats within cooee of the situation, arranged for screens and made sure a path was clear to the lifts & no doubt on the ground. I learned from Gayle on Day 3 that the patient, who was 70, had survived & was recovering.
I was able to return to my seat in time for the pre-match Welcome to Country, celebration of Warnie by the wearing of floppy cricket hats and the Anthems. It was a brilliant day, hugely entertaining, and we were thrilled to see Cameron Green take 5 wickets for the first time. I was sitting close to the MCC Committee lunch guests & was pleased to see Melbourne Premiership Captain, Daisy Pearce, and some of her teammates, were there. Daisy was in her element, chatting, laughing & enjoying being spoiled.
Too hot to go out for dinner so I had room service - yummy salad Nicoise
On Day 2, I hosted breakfast for Kathy & Ged, Karen & Malcolm & Danny. We caught up on each other's Christmas Day, and all the stories were very positive. It is lovely to sit at a big round table, nowhere near any other tables & chat without feeling you have to hurry. Ged & I walked to the MCG together - I went into the MCC & Ged went to Gate 3 into the Olympic Stand, where he was meeting up with friends.
From the top - Ged & Kathy; Danny & Ged; Karen & Malcolm
I was lucky enough to get the last seat in the back row of my favourite section on Level 2, right in line with the pitch, never dreaming we would see David Warner hit a double century before retiring hurt, his whole body experiencing cramps. An old friend, Brendan Wilkinson, spotted me & we enjoyed catching up at lunch, as we haven't seen each other since pre-COVID. He lives in Morwell, catches the train to Melbourne on Boxing Day morning & stays with his brother-in-law in North Fitzroy for the duration of the Test. He sleeps on a camp bed in the lounge & often falls briefly asleep during the cricket.
38° is just too hot for anyone & the air-conditioning in my room really struggled to get down to 18°. However, it was better than outside, and, after a cold bath, I had room service again, watching the T20 game at the Sydney Showgrounds.
On Wednesday, there was just me for breakfast, so I took The Age with me & did the crosswords while tucking into granola with fresh fruit & yoghurt. As I left The Hotel Windsor, I spotted Kathy & Ged sitting outside at the café nearby. They were looking out for me, and we enjoyed an unexpected catch up, before I headed off to the G & they went shopping. It started raining as I walked and the start of play was delayed by 15 minutes. Brendan & I sat together listening to the ABC radio coverage on our trannies. It was wonderful to see Alex Carey get his maiden century - like Warnie, he wanted to play Aussie Rules, but was too slow & now he is Australia's wicket-keeper & a very handy batsman.
Beautiful colours in the Fitzroy Gardens near the MCG
Play finished early when the rain came down again, and I decided to eat dinner out for a change. I found a little Chinese restaurant in a Bourke Street Arcade & tried their salt & pepper squid & whitebait, with a glass of shiraz. I was back home relaxing before the city got too busy with diners.
Day 4 was much cooler with a top temperature of 20°. Once again, I had breakfast with The Age, before heading to the G, dressed much more warmly than previous days. Brendan & I sat together and enjoyed the radio commentary as we watched the South African tail-enders take the score to over 200, in spite of a couple of run-outs. The match was over before tea and David Warner was a well-deserved Man of the Match, winning the Johnny Mullagh Award.
I dropped my bag at the hotel and walked down to Myer & David Jones in Bourke Street, where there were too many people and nothing I wanted or needed. On my way back, I tried to eat at two restaurants, where I was refused service, even though there were empty tables (single female syndrome). Finally, I struck gold at Chine on Paramount, where the staff were lovely & the food was special. I enjoyed prawns cooked in coconut & cream with steamed rice and a glass of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc - heaven!
As there was no play on Friday, I went for a long walk through the Exhibition & Carlton Gardens, before breakfast. Then it was time to pack, check out & be ready for Wes to pick me up out the front. When he arrived, he was driving Sammy, and had Morse in the back. Morse was thrilled to see me and couldn't stop smiling & licking me. We arrived home where the roses were stunning, the grass still green and everywhere looking wonderful. I unpacked, did three loads of washing & relaxed before we had fish & chips for dinner. There was no Blue Grenadier available, so Wes ordered Butterfish and it was yum!
Yesterday, Morse had his fortnightly bath and settled down with a dog treat kebab from Auntie Leanne, which he enjoyed so much, he buried the stick when he was finished. Wes worked on the front garden, and I did more washing & plenty of computer work, getting ready for end of year back-ups.
Wes went back to our fish shop & bought a brace of Rainbow Trout, which he baked last night for dinner & served with a garlic butter sauce & salad, while we watched the Melbourne Stars finally have another win, this time at the Adelaide Oval. We were wakened at midnight by fireworks, which didn't bother Morse & we all turned over & went back to sleep.
This morning we've had a lovely walk around Lake Daylesford, which is usually a mess after New Year's Eve celebrations. We were delighted to find it relatively tidy & I only filled two plastic bags with rubbish. We're about to head off to the Sunday Market and Morse keeps reminding us that it's time to go!
Thanks to Facebook for this delightful cartoon
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