Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 26th July 2026

 

Belle's teenage son does resemble the Pink Panther!

Last Sunday, Wes & Morse picked me up at Ballan Station at 10.15am. I'd had the excitement of getting into the wrong train at Southern Cross - it was at the platform and said it was going to Wendouree, but a helpful couple walking past told me that the right train was way in the distance, beyond the covered platform, so I hot-footed it there and was very grateful to them. 

We had a quiet day - Wes had been so busy doing the walk & Daylesford Market on his own, and then driving to Ballan, and I was tired from my late night. I went to bed at lunchtime, which was a good move, and was very excited to see Essendon hang on for a three-point win against GWS, to record their second victory for the season. 

On Monday, I had the energy to join Wes & Morse on the early morning walk, which was done in thick fog at Daylesford Cemetery. Then off to Coles for the supermarket shopping, followed by Baker's Delight, where I bought feta & spinach Danish for breakfast. Later I went back into Vincent Street to see if I could replace our glass litre bottles, which are starting to break after 28 years of holding Leitches Creek mineral water. I found one, and there will be more in a fortnight. 

Our neighbour, Glen, sent us this stunning photo of sunrise in Portland, where she was staying - quite different from here, where there was no moon or stars let alone a sunrise

The weather was similar on Tuesday, but the fog lifted a little earlier, which enabled Wes to mow everywhere, and me to have a manicure with Juls in Hepburn Springs. No walk on Wednesday, but Wes did the floors, while Judi & I enjoyed quite a few games of Mah Jong at Muffins & More, where we had a few enquiries from visitors about the game. 

On Thursday morning, it was too wet to walk yet again, and snow was forecast. Wes enjoyed an excellent Jackson Group Zoom, and I led the Old Friends WhatsApp catch up. Karen S, Joyce & I were all thrilled to see Kathy, who was recovering from her first cataract op, but all envious when she told us she didn't need to go through 4 weeks of drops every 4 hours, as the specialist had inserted a pouch under her eye, which delivered the drops as needed. Wow! That is amazing. 

Wes then drove to Hawthorn East, where Graham Hubbard was hosting a lunch for the Victorian members of the Jackson Group. He took flowers for Graham & his wife, Judy, and gave me a beautiful bunch of Oriental lilies, which started to open when the sun shone briefly & unexpectedly.

Lunch went well and Wes enjoyed it very much, arriving back home just after 5pm. We debriefed about all the wonderful conversations & yummy meal before having fish & chips & preparing to watch Collingwood tackle Adelaide over there. After being down by 27 points in the second quarter, we found our mojo and won by 34 points in a skilful, entertaining match. I fell asleep at half-time, and had to watch the second half the next morning.

I had two appointments on Friday - one at Daylesford with Peter, my podiatrist. I had hoped he would have new orthotics for me, but they hadn't arrived. He promised to let me know when they were available at Springs Medical. After a short break, Wes drove me to see Dr James at Kyneton for a skin check and to discuss Trelegy, my latest asthma medication. The skin check went well with no worrying marks anywhere, and we agreed to ditch Trelegy and go back to the combination of Seretide & Spiriva Respimat. He also referred me to a respiratory specialist in Ballarat and I'm waiting for an appointment. 

We were very sad to read of Greg Sewell's death this week. He was an influential figure in Brunswick Rotary, and we spent many happy times with him, his wife, Glenyce, and son, Mark. He was 93, which is a good innings! Greg was well known as an  Essendon footballer, who played 171 games, before joining the committee and later becoming President of the Club. 

L-R Greg Sewell, Les Gordon, Ian Kift, Bill Sharpe & Peter Johnstone - Brunswick Rotary power-breakers!

Yesterday we drove to Strathmore early to visit Leanne. It was an excellent catch up and we chatted for about 90 minutes over hot drinks & apple log. We bought a spinach quiche from Gusto on our way home - they are always yummy, and handy to have in the freezer. We arrived back home in time for the Carlton vs Gold Coast game at the Docklands. This was an close game, with the lead changing often, and Wes was thrilled when the Blues were able to hold for a 13 point win.

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday 19th July 2026

Last Sunday was definitely a Brigadoon morning. The sky was grey and visibility was very poor - we couldn't see our back fence-line. Our trip to the Market was taken very slowly and quite a few of the stall-holders had given it a miss, including Jeff, our dog treats man! On the way home we stopped at Baker's Delight & bought spinach & feta Danish - just the thing to warm us up after the cold morning.

When Wes & I debrief each evening, he often has stories to tell about family & friends he has been researching on Ancestry.com, and we sometimes ask ourselves - what happened in their lives to make them move home, go into or leave a relationship, or make  some other big change. As a result, I've been thinking about what brought us to Daylesford, and I realise that future generations will ask the same question about us. Why did two committed inner-city Brunswick people move from their beautiful 1883 2-storey terrace to a small country town?

Day 1 of Maloney Insurance Brokers - 1st July 1988

The answer is quite simple, but needs a lead up. For about 10 years we had shared a holiday home in Blairgowrie with our good friends, Sherryn & Paul Danaher, and after we all agreed to sell, Wes & I found ourselves without a weekend escape. As we ran Maloney Insurance Brokers P/L from our home, we could be contacted at any hour of the day or night & frequently were. 

As I remember it, we were on a plane returning from a trip to Sydney, when I suggested to Wes that we look at Daylesford as a possibility for a new holiday home. We had enjoyed one by the sea, and now we could try weekend living in the bush. He was in agreement, and we drove here one Saturday in August 1998 to buy a house. The first three estate agents didn't listen to us, and didn't even accompany us to look at properties, and we were feeling very downhearted, when I persuaded Wes to try one more agent. Fortunately, we met Glenda Rozen, and she showed us the only house on her books that satisfied our criteria of ducted heating, a view of Lake Daylesford, an open fire and a quiet street.

Lake Daylesford views from Holly Cottage 1998

We bought Holly Cottage as it was known, and moved in a month later. After just two weekends here, we knew we wanted to live here fulltime, not just on holidays. A couple of months later, OAMPS made a generous offer for our business, and we agreed to sell, provided all our staff could be re-employed in Abbotsford, if they wanted to move there. After a year working for OAMPS, I was desperate to leave and live here full-time and Wes agreed. He retired two years later and we both enjoyed many years of new friendships, volunteering plus Rotary & Council activities. Full-time living here meant a new home where Holly Cottage had been as it was definitely a weekend!

Maloney Folly nearly finished in 2004

The rest of our week has been quite busy for us. Lots of catch ups with friends and family, and lots of chats solving everyday issues! We sat down to go through our Executor's Dossier, and were pleased to find very few corrections were needed before sending the updated copy to Adrian Tinetti, our solicitor. 

Apart from his regular interactions with Barbara in New Zealand; Wes touched base with Gerard Westen, who went to school with him at St Bernard's College; he had a couple of chats with Helen Hanrahan; talked footy with Carole Hardwick; enjoyed a long overdue lunch with Danny Moynihan at the Daylesford Hotel; visited Cliff Talbot in Bendigo on his 85th birthday, and provided support for Wendy Owen whose husband Roberto is very unwell. 

Care staff singing birthday songs to Cliff

I had a very welcome remedial massage with Sarah Hunt; enjoyed chatting early with my aunt, Jeff, and my cousin, Leigh, in Torksey Lock; caught up with my sister, Leanne; heard Terry Borg's latest news, and had a delightful WhatsApp chat with the only Old Friend available - Kathy Lazzaro - and we made plans for our trip to the footy together last night.

Wes reading the paper with a little help from Morse, who brought his rug with him!

On Friday I had an appointment with the dental hygienist in Ballarat for a long overdue teeth clean. Wes very kindly drove me and afterwards we went to Wen & Ware café for toasties & hot drinks. We had a few chores to do, including dropping in to Ballarat Mazda on our way home as our sat nav had been playing up. It took the serviceman 1 minute to show Wes how to fix it, much to our relief.

Yesterday, I packed my little suitcase for yet another overnight stay at The Windsor, and Wes drove me to Ballan Station. The trip wasn't straightforward as trains were late, then cancelled, but I eventually checked in and had a rest before walking through the Treasury & Fitzroy gardens to The Pullman Hotel to meet Kathy & Gerard for a drink before the game. They had found a quiet spot and we enjoyed chatting before Kathy & I walked across to the MCG.

The game was even for three quarters, but Carlton had three injuries and were running on low in the last quarter, which allowed the Pies to run out 21 point winners in front of 83,000+. Ged met Kathy & I after the final siren and we walked back to town together.

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 12th July 2026

 
Time for Peppermint Patty & Marcie again!

Sunday was cold early, but turned into a lovely sunny dry day for a change. Wes & Morse did the Daylesford Market and came home with lots of fresh fruit & vegetables, which I washed & put away. I was still coughing and feeling unwell, so had a quiet day and was in bed early again after catching up on minis of our games the previous day. 

We woke to -3℃ and a heavy frost, which led to a beautiful sunny day. I did the shopping and chores, while Wes got stuck into the garden pruning, and filled 2 green bins. Morse was delighted to lie around in the sun, and everyone I met was smiling with the change to dry weather. 

Wes has had a busy week keeping in touch via WhatsApp, Zoom, phone calls & emails. We are both very conscious that, as we get older, we are all fighting health battles, and it's important to stay in touch with each other. He chatted with Barbara in New Zealand; with Paul in Oxfordshire & Rod in Donvale, and with his sister, Denise, here in Daylesford.

On Wednesday morning, I was able to play Mah Jong with Judi in Muffins & More café. We had a good time, played about 10 games with honours about even. I was tired by 11.30, so we stopped then and I came back home to sparkling floors!

Wes had an excellent Jackson Group Zoom chat on Thursday morning, where they ranged over a number of topics. My regular Old Friends chat had been cancelled because three of us were meeting up at Chadstone. We were sorry to miss Rone's latest exhibition Home, but I couldn't have done the long day and it would have been tricky travelling on the icy roads. As well, with trains out, there would have been much more vehicular traffic, which meant delays in getting through the city. 

Kathy sent these wonderful photos to show us what we had missed. So many memories came flooding back when we saw them. Callum Preston, who works with Rone to create these exhibitions, tells me that 55,000+ have seen Home, which finishes today.

Wes suggested we go for a drive in the sunshine to make up for missing our trip to Chadstone, and we found ourselves at Trentham Falls, where the water was flowing freely after the week of rain. Many of the visitors to our area were there as it is a great picnic spot with clean toilets, plenty of parking, a barbecue, and fenced steps to view the Falls. However, we couldn't help remembering that when we first visited these Falls after we moved to Daylesford, we could walk right down to the base and behind the water - a treat we shared with Ged Lazzaro early one morning when he & Kathy were staying with us.

 

It was still icy cold early on Friday morning, so I didn't walk with Wes & Morse, but had a couple of online chats instead. First with my sister, Leanne, who had been without power for most of the day before, and was still recovering from being so cold; and secondly with our friend, Jan, in Maleny, where 11℃ is considered chilly! Wes spent the morning filling our green bin with rose clippings, before doing a few handyman jobs. 

That night Collingwood & North Melbourne fought out an exciting game with the Pies hanging on for a 4 point win in the final seconds. It was exhausting to watch as the lead chopped and changed and with 4 minutes to go the Kangaroos looked set for victory. A draw would have been a very fitting result!

Over the past few weeks, we have both been engrossed in reading the Cormac Reilly books by Irish writer, Dervla McTiernan, who now lives in Western Australia with her family. I had seen good reviews of her work, and was encouraged by Jane Knox to give her a try, so have been borrowing from our local library. No sooner have I finished a book, but Wes has it and is captivated too. The first in the series is called The Rúin, followed by The Scholar, The Good Turn and The Unquiet Grave.

Yesterday we celebrated 58 years since we committed to each other in a relationship, by having breakfast at The Convent. All those years ago, we had no idea where we would be in 2026, probably didn't even give it a thought. In the photo below, we were sitting in the Melbourne Uni folk club rooms listening to Danny Spooner, never dreaming we would run into him again here in Daylesford and enjoy re-igniting our friendship.

Last night, Carlton suffered their first loss in 8 weeks, going down to Hawthorn in atrocious conditions at the MCG. Wes was disappointed, but has enjoyed the change of fortune since Josh Fraser became interim coach, and was philosophical about the end of his winning run. 

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 5th July 2026

Last Sunday, Wes picked me up from Strathmore Station and we had an excellent visit with Leanne. She was in good spirits and even Smokey, her cat, said hello for a change. We drove back here, where I unpacked and then had a quiet afternoon watching footy and catching up with minis of the Collingwood & Carlton games the day before. Wes watched a very instructive webinar on Family Tree Maker, and learned some new tricks from the presenter. 

It was raining when we woke on Monday, so we couldn't walk Morse and it stayed wet all day, which meant Wes's plans for the garden were put on hold. I did the supermarket shopping, popped into Baker's Delight, visited Tonna's, went to the Post Office and the pharmacy, dodging showers all the time. We had booked a chat with each other about the kitchen - we felt it was time to see if drawers, cupboards or shelves could be better utilised. 

It was an excellent use of our time and we made a few changes that make access to frequently used items a bit easier to manage. e.g. our Sunbeam blender was in a low cupboard, hidden behind the Sunbeam Mixmaster, and therefore difficult to reach. The blender ended up in the pantry next to the microwave and within reach of a power point.

  

Morse ignoring the wet weather 

On Tuesday, after an good WhatsApp chat with my aunt, Jeff, followed by a catch up with Leanne, I visited Springs Medical to see Dr James and find out what happens next. James told me I had a few cavities in my lungs, and the antibiotics had cleared up some infections, but we needed to try something else to clear up the rest. So now I am on a new asthma regime - Trelegy, which I inhale once a day and we'll see how that is going in three weeks' time. James also recommended I get the latest pneumonia injection, Pneumovax, so I had that while I was there. 

The result of the injection was that I started to feel quite unwell, coughing & headachy, so missed out on Carmel Lazzaro's funeral the next day. Wes left here in fog and rain, but arrived safely in East Bentleigh about 2 hours later in time for the 11am start. It was a lovely celebration of Carmel's life and he was so pleased he was able to attend. Many of the roads out of Daylesford were impassable with water and fallen trees, but Wes left in plenty of time to give himself options.

Lovely photo which graced the cover of the Requiem Mass booklet

On Thursday we both did very little - I had a short WhatsApp chat with friend, Terry Borg, in Burwood, and an even shorter catch up with Karen S & Joyce, as I was coughing too much to make the experience pleasurable for anyone. Wes had two chats booked, but neither was able to occur. 

By Friday the rain gauge was showing 82mls for the week - no wonder everywhere is flooded. I had postponed chats with Leanne & Jan as we had planned to have breakfast in Gordon with Rob & Dene to say goodbye before they headed overseas for a couple of months. We had to cancel that & will catch up with them on their return.

We were sad to learn that Petrus Spronk had died this week. He was a most talented artist and his bowls are prized possessions. He found himself in Daylesford in the 1980s and walked in the door of Springmount Pottery to meet Tina Banitska. From 1991 when she opened The Convent, he curated her exhibitions for the next 25 years. We were very fond of him and Wes last chatted with him in May at Alan Harrison's funeral. 

Vale Petrus.

You helped make this World beautiful, intriguing, simple, questioning, reflective, and pleasurable.

We were always a step behind you in our understanding but eager to be in your smile.

(Warren's tribute to him on Facebook).

Yesterday was another quiet day, although Wes was able to take Morse to the cemetery for a long overdue run. Morse loved it, but needed towelling down when he arrived back home. Australia was beaten by Egypt in a penalty shoot-out in the soccer World Cup, which will have disappointed their many fans, but we probably wouldn't have progressed any further. We've been unable to sit and watch the games as we find the lack of scoring too difficult to cope with.

We had scrambled eggs on toast for breakfast before settling down the Saturday Age, which is always full of good reading. In the afternoon there was plenty of footy to keep us occupied, including games by both our teams. All the matches had excitement - Melbourne were ahead of Hawthorn by 90 points before the Hawks slammed on 12 unanswered goals, falling short by 35 points at the final siren; the depleted GWS team beat the ladder leaders, Freo, by 21 points ending their 14 game winning streak; Collingwood & Gold Coast were neck and neck with the Pies holding on to win by a goal, and Carlton & Richmond played a close game with the Tigers storming home in the last quarter, but failing by 2 points.

The exterior of the beautiful Hotel Windsor in Spring Street, Melbourne