Adelaide Dispatch - Sunday, 12th April 2026

 
Priceless

We had a very quiet Easter Sunday - town was busy, and, after our walk, we were happy to finish off our Hot Cross buns for breakfast, and spend the day together. We shared lots of good wishes with family and friends - thank you.

On Monday morning it was raining when we woke up - most unexpected and very welcome rain - about 7mls in all. It was too wet to walk and too wet for Wes to get into the garden. I did some chores, and we settled down to watch the annual Hawthorn vs Geelong game at the MCG. This was a stunning game of footy, that was finally won by the Hawks by a point with 20 seconds to go. The crowd of nearly 85,000 were treated to a match worthy of a Grand Final.

We were able to walk on Tuesday morning and gave Morse an extra long time as he was heading to Eureka Kennels at lunchtime. He takes quite a bit with him - bed, pillow, apples, friend, toy, bone etc, but he has a good time there as he is used to going and many of the staff are the same from the last time. And this time, he was upgraded to the Penthouse - bliss!

When I visited the Post Office, there were three packages to collect - one was for Wes from his cousin, Gary; and the other two were from the Daylesford Football Netball Club. They had introduced Seniors Memberships for this year, and we paid for them back in December, when we first read about it on Facebook.

We weren't expecting the scarves nor to be given #1 & #2!

We packed that afternoon with a view to getting away early the next morning as we wanted to get to the Adelaide Central Market before it closed at 5.30pm. It's amazing how many things can't be put in the suitcases the night before, including glasses, tablets, thongs, brushes etc, but we left plenty of room, and were as organised as we could be!

We set off on Wednesday just after 7am - our first stop was Conway's Bakery in Horsham. We found it last year and see no reason not to return. It is the cleanest, most organised and welcoming bakery ever - we usually choose their freshly-made sandwiches (egg & lettuce for me) and sit outside with our thermoses of tea. Wes did most of the driving which was a huge effort, especially when heavy rain came down, but we made it to Adelaide Central Market just after 3pm. We headed straight to the Smelly Cheese stall and bought three interesting cheeses - a soft one, a blue from Castlemaine and an earthy orange hard one. We picked up some peaches & nectarines from the fruit stall next door, and then found 3 books at the bookstall that we love.

We arrived at Athelney Studio in Hackney an hour later, where Rosie had everywhere looking very welcoming, including a lovely bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, a fresh loaf of sourdough, and some chocolate (our first this Easter). We unpacked, ate, and were in bed by 7pm.

The next morning the rain came down in torrents again, but we found our way to Pantry on Egmont, in Hawthorn, where we enjoyed pots of tea and two of the breakfast specials. The staff were different from last time, but friendly and helpful and excited to have interstate visitors.

Top - my Harissa breakfast & below - Wes with April French toast

After we had finished, we drove to Third & Fourth Streets, Bowden, which is an interesting chic rethink of neighbouring industrial buildings, which have been turned into food courts & artisan shops and complemented by one, two & three bedroom apartments. We had a quick walk around as the rain was starting to get heavy, and on our way back to Hackney, we drove through extremely strong rain again. 

That night we walked to the Adelaide Oval on our usual route - past the Botanic Gardens, the Zoo, over the playing grounds, past the Moreton Bay figs and into the ground. We had great seats on Level 3, and kept dry in spite of the rain that bucketed down at half-time. Carlton were valiant in defeat, losing by 28 points to Adelaide.

It was a late night for both of us, so we took things very quietly the next morning and had tea & toast in bed. I realised I wouldn't be able to do much during the day, so we had a quiet one - reading mostly - I had bought the latest Donna Leon, and Wes was engrossed in Charles Dickens. When we finally went to the ground, we met all the Fox Footy team going to take up their spots - one of them was Nathan Buckley and he was being held up by Collingwood families begging for selfies!

We had hoped to meet up with my sister, Paun, and her husband, Brian, at the game; but their plans changed when Brian's mother, Una, was rushed to hospital in Warragul, and Brian was advised to visit her before she died. We had also planned to meet up with Adrian Tinetti and his family, but they were on the other side of the ground from us and arrived just as the heavens opened. So we had another glass of shiraz in the outdoor, undercover bar and chatted to the ladies sitting with us on the couch, who were grateful that the Victorians had brought rain with them!

Collingwood couldn't kick a goal and lost the game after being the better side for the majority of the match. Freo took their limited opportunities in the last quarter and deserved to win. Fortunately the rain eased as we set off back here, and we consoled ourselves with large glasses of Muscat before going to bed.

Yesterday we had another slow start, but were excited to be going to a lunchtime game - Melbourne & Essendon, once again at the Adelaide Oval. It was wonderful to be there when the Bombers broke a 17 game losing streak to blitz the more fancied Demons. 

Glen's grandson, Donnie, an Essendon supporter, at a footy clinic before the game, being taught by Collingwood captain, Darcy Moore. 

That night we watched Hawthorn prove too strong for the previously unbeaten Doggies. Wes found a little Italian restaurant nearby and picked up a yummy mushroom pizza for dinner. We had planned on eating out, but I didn't have the energy.