Daylesford Dispatch - Sunday, 24th March 2013

Dear Friends, in total contrast to last week, this has been a very quiet week. I have been fighting off the dreaded cold, and CFS has reared its ugly head and rendered me depleted of energy and get-up-and-go…..such a pain. However, Wes has been very understanding and prepared some lovely meals and coped with my shortened days.

The biggest disappointment was missing out on the Crime Fiction Class, which was held on Thursday afternoon. I had read books by all thirteen authors, printed out biographical notes on them all, and was looking forward to participating in a robust discussion with a few friends. Jan Bragg very kindly emailed me to tell me how it went and that I was missed.

 Beautiful photo of Robert & Marilyn Preston with Charlotte at her christening last weekend.

 

Another lovely photo – this time it is Danny Millman easily persuading Penny to fall asleep on his shoulder.  

 

Photos from Noosa – Deane Wells & his son, Danny Wells & Wes, who has declared 2013 a Blue Year!

Apart from clearing PO Boxes, bringing in bins and picking tomatoes, I’ve done very little else this week. I did have enough tomatoes & cucumbers, courtesy of Judi & Michael’s abundant veggie patch to make a batch of Tomato & Cucumber Relish, which Wes has declared my best ever, and is demolishing at every opportunity!

We’ve just returned from breakfast where Wes was the only male present, so sat at the head of the table. Judi told us about a wonderful Melbourne Walk that she & Michael did, which explained the aboriginal history, and John Fawkner’s part in the establishment of Melbourne; Gail had stories to relate from their recent trip to the Blue Mountains to see their family; Jan & John had been sick, while their dog, Gypsy, is much better; Barbara had been finding old school-friends on a NZ website, and Gillie was excited to be heading off to Mildura, Canberra & Euroa tomorrow.  

My phone needed replacing, so I picked up a new one this week at our local Telstra shop, where I had the combined brainpower of all three experts – John, Tim & Keith, as we sorted out how to move all my Contacts onto the new SIM card & then change the password, how to avoid paying a fee for cancelling a 24-month contract with two weeks left on it, etc etc. I am thrilled to bits with the new phone, it is a Motorola RAZR HD, and the first thing I did on it was watch ABC News 24 as Julia outwitted the Rudd faction and remained Prime Minister this week. Then I took a photo of the boys, who happily climbed onto their bed at my request. 

 

Yesterday we drove to Melbourne where we had a most enjoyable long visit with Viva. Wes got her reminiscing about her young days & gathered lots of great information that he will add to the Family Tree data he has already compiled.                                         

Daylesford St Patrick's Day Dispatch - Sunday, 17th March 2013

Dear Friends, I forgot to mention two important things in last week’s missive – one, we have a goat at the end of our street – it is white, acrobatic and is keeping the grass down & the trees trimmed for our neighbours in Houston Street. The second is that we went to see the cricket film Save Our Legs, and loved it. It appears to be bombing at the Box Office – Wes thinks it is because the trailers were too blokey, and I think it is because the title is meaningless and hard to remember. We laughed until we cried at the humour; cried at the pathos, and empathised with the difficulties of touring in India. Please go & see it if you get a chance.


When I wrote last week, we had just been to see the ChillOut Parade & everyone seemed to love Sir Lancelot astride his beautiful horse. Danny & Kim, and their friends, Derek & Andrew left us to go to the Carnival at Victoria Park, and Wes went at 1.30pm as he was selling tickets at the gate all afternoon. I spent the time very quietly with the boys as it was too hot to do much else. That night we sat around with Danny & Kim talking about the day.

Karen with our dear friend, Terry McDonald, who rang to tell me how much he enjoys my Dispatches!
 Before they left on Monday, they took us to breakfast at Bocconcini, which was open for business at 8.30am. We got the prime table in the window and enjoyed another hour or so together, before they left for Melbourne. We drove out to Blampied to visit Kim & Gary and hear about their plans for this year. It was a lovely visit – we do miss the weekly contact at Café 3460, which has now been closed for over a year. Wes wanted to buy a vegetarian cookbook for Deane, so we went to 
Paradise Books in the main street of Daylesford on our way home and found the perfect book with lots of illustrations. The rest of the day was spent in washing & ironing, doing computer back-ups etc in preparation for his trip to Brisbane.

Judi had shared some of their garden produce – silver beet, cucumbers and zucchini, as well as some pickled zucchini she had made, so we have been enjoying these very fresh vegetables along with the weekly eggplant & occasional Roma tomato that our veggie patch is producing. We are also harvesting very sweet strawberries and our French tarragon & Italian parsley are thriving as well.

Kim in a familiar pose at Café 3460 with Jan Smith in the foreground
 On Tuesday, Wes walked the boys early, and then acted as Barbara’s carer as her usual one couldn’t get there early enough, before showering himself, closing the suitcase and heading to Melbourne with her for her annual appointment at Royal Talbot hospital. Barbara dropped him at Melbourne Airport on her way home. Meanwhile I walked to 8am gym, and then had a lovely long chat over a cuppa with Sheila Hollingworth. We sat outside The Larder, and caught up with each other’s news before going our separate ways.

Sheila Hollingworth in pensive mood!   
My daily phone calls to Viva have continued in spite of this heat – she has survived it all as well as we could expect, and with Leanne’s care, will continue to thrive. She got a good report from her specialist on Friday.

On Wednesday, after walking the boys early, I met Gillie for a cuppa at Bocconcini, and heard all about her holiday to Lord Howe Island. It sounds like a unique destination, pristine, tiny, and from another era. Kim Lyden popped his head in to say hello while we were there. At 10am I left Gillie and headed to Harvest Café where Gail & I played Mah Jong happily for 2.5 hours and she reacquainted herself with the game that she hadn’t played for some time. Kim also came in there and Wes suggested he was stalking me – he met old friends for a chat & hot drink, and we bemoaned the loss of Café 3460 yet again. I had broken my bracelet that morning & Gail very kindly offered to take it to Ballarat to be repaired as she & Terry were heading there the next day. During the afternoon the temperature started to drop & everyone opened their doors & windows to let the cool breezes in. We are so over 30°+ days!

 

 

 

Terry & Gail White in party mode  
 It was blissful to feel cool when walking the boys on Thursday morning and the same at gym, where everyone was relieved to have had a good night’s sleep. I arrived home from gym to find the phone ringing & Annie Smith asking me to join her for a cuppa at Gracenotes, which I promptly did and we enjoyed catching up with each other. I do seem to have been covering most of Daylesford’s cafes while Wes is away! Then I delivered mail to Glenn and made a date for a cuppa together the next day, as he is getting stir crazy while his knee heals.

Glenn, Gary & Wes at Café 3460 – looks like Christmas time…


While I was out, I met up with friends I hadn’t seen in ages for various reasons – Carol Bruce, Vaughan Brown & David Hawker. When I told David, a Collingwood supporter, that the Pies were playing the Cats at Kardinia Park on Friday afternoon, he didn’t believe me. I have very fond memories of driving there with Wes, Tom & Lib for games between our sides. We would queue up to get a good position when the gates opened & Lib & I would be knitting while we were standing.
On Friday I awoke with a head cold, but decided I should walk the boys, and keep my date with Glenn, but cancel the rest of the day, which I did, and felt much better for that. I took Glenn for a little drive around to show him things that had changed while he had been in hospital, and we ended up at Wombat Hill House, (pictured) in the Botanic Gardens, in a corner seat in the weak morning sun. Glenn became uncomfortable after an hour, so we walked up to look at the begonias in the conservatory and I took him back home.

Fortunately I was feeling better for the rest on Saturday morning, so after shopping & cooking rice for the boys, I picked some roses, packed Gillie’s eggs & some orange marmalade made by Joy (orange, brandy, lemon & honey), and set off to Melbourne to visit Simone Perele in Brunswick to get some underwear; then to Strathmore to spend time with Viva & deposit gifts, before collecting Wes at the airport. It was pouring with rain while I waited for Wes to arrive and he was delighted to come out into cool & wet after a few days of warm & sticky weather. Bilbo & Frodo were thrilled to see him and ran around in circles with excitement.


He looked good and had enjoyed his time with Deane & Danny, and especially with preparing a dinner party with Danny on his last night. Deane had planned Wes’s visit and they had lots to do, including a trip to Noosa for a walk & a swim, passing through Eumundi where they stopped for fish & chips at a Thai restaurant!! Wes was most impressed with Deane’s unit in Deception Bay.

This morning I did enjoy going back to bed with the Age while Wes walked the boys, then we headed to the Sunday Market, where it was lovely & cool, then onto Breakfast at Food Gallery, where Kim & Gary regaled us with some more stories from their big trip to America; Wes told us all about his time in Brisbane, and John & Jan shared the news that John has made the Hepburn Springs Golf Club pennant team & will be playing on Sunday morning at various places in Victoria. Their dog, Gypsy, isn’t very well, still recovering from the awful mauling she had at the caravan park in Mildura. We were joined by Glenn & Denise who arrived later on for coffee.


We have tickets for the Zelman Memorial Symphony Orchestra which is playing at the Daylesford Town Hall this afternoon, but unless my coughing subsides, we won’t be going. Judi has just popped in for a quick visit with some zucchini & cucumbers from their garden, which was very thoughtful.
Yesterday morning when I was walking the boys, we came upon a kangaroo in the main street near the fountain. Bilbo & Frodo started synchronised wailing, while the poor kangaroo stopped dead wondering what on earth was happening. We detoured past the Daylesford Bowling Club and the kangaroo was gone when we next looked.

Happy St Patrick’s Day to everyone….

Daylesford Chillout Dispatch - Sunday, 10th March 2013

Dear Friends, we’ve just returned from the Parade in the main street, after a lovely breakfast at The Food Gallery with eleven other friends & two dogs. We got a great position standing on the roundabout, which was where the Parade started. There were heaps of motorbikes, three bands, Dolly Diamond, vintage cars, dancers, gay families and Sir Lancelot astride a beautiful horse.

 

This rather stunning motorbike takes three in comfort, especially under their rainbow umbrellas; a much decorated Sir Lancelot & Danny, Judi & Karen watching the Parade

Aileen asked me this morning at breakfast if we had been busy this week and I had to stop and think…. We started with a very hectic Sunday – Clean Up Daylesford Cemetery was a big success with over 50 volunteers in the morning. We had brought our urn, borrowed John Smith’s generator to boil the water, and gave out umpteen cups of tea & coffee & cold water, accompanied by Bronwen Scarffe’s home-made biscuits. We have received very positive feedback from a lot of people; they were especially delighted to have been given hot drinks! We also provided Band-Aids, sunscreen, chairs & implements & the toilets had been cleaned & equipped with paper for a change. Barbara sat in the shade checking volunteers in and out, which freed me up to do some weeding & keep an eye on the urn.

 

Mark Rak & Jim Swatman with a huge barrow of weeds on their way to the skip 

We finally left the cemetery at 12.30pm and went home where we had quick showers, changed & drove to Sailors Falls Estate Winery, about 10 minutes away, for Bill & Sue Longley’s 50^th Wedding Anniversary party. Quite a few of the volunteers were there as well & we were all surprised to see each other again so soon. It was a lovely function – wood-fired pizzas under umbrellas amongst the trees, followed by indoor cake cutting.

We were both very tired the next day after our physical exertions, so cancelled golf and spent a very quiet day at home instead. After gym on Tuesday we visited Glenn Mack who was home from his second knee reconstruction. He has been very lucky to have his partner, Denise, looking after him for the week, as he is still in quite a lot of pain and looking pale & wan.

In the afternoon Wes went with Barbara to Ballarat to get her wheelchair car cover repaired as an over-enthusiastic helper had buggered it up! We were both still tired from Sunday, so had another very quiet night.

On Wednesday I played Mah Jong with Dot at Harvest Café, and when Gail White popped in and saw us playing, she told us how much she missed it…we promptly asked her if she would like to be our new fourth and she was delighted. Dot is away next week, so Gail & I are going to meet and play children’s rules as a way of getting her back up to speed. Afterwards I had a manicure with Michelle. That night Wes went back to Sailors Falls Estate, where Rob & Marg McDonald were hosting Aperitifs, then onto Rotary.

 

We had planned a very quiet day on Thursday in preparation for a trip to Melbourne to celebrate Viva’s birthday, but she wasn’t feeling very well and asked us to postpone, which we did. We decided that we would go to Melbourne anyway, as we had a clear day, so caught the train in, using free vouchers, and had a lovely five hours away. We went to the National Gallery of Victoria where we saw the Neo-Impressionist exhibition, as well as a stunning display by a German, Thomas Demand, who does the most amazing things with paper… including this Grotto. Google him if you have time.

 

We  then went in search of an outfit for me for Leigh’s wedding and after about an hour found the perfect clothes in Myer. Wes picked up some casual clothes at Target as he is off to Brisbane on Tuesday for a few days with Deane, and we celebrated with yum cha at our old favourite, Dragon Boat.

Yesterday morning I went shopping early as we were expecting Danny & Kim sometime in the afternoon and wanted to offer drinks on the verandah. It was lovely to have their company, and instead of eating out somewhere, they were persuaded by Wes to stay and he served seafood risotto and Tuki lamb, followed by fruit salad. We watched Collingwood unexpectedly lose to Brisbane Lions… we had a very inexperienced side playing, so perhaps we weren’t taking the Pre-Season Cup too seriously.

                                   

Breakfast this morning, both ends of the long table!

Daylesford Dispatch - Saturday, 2nd March 2013

Dear Friends, I’m sending this a day early – firstly to celebrate the start of Autumn and secondly because tomorrow morning will be spent cleaning up Daylesford Cemetery & the afternoon at our friends, Bill & Sue Longley’s 50^th Wedding Anniversary which is being held at Sailors Falls Estate winery.

I’ve just returned from the Farmers Market, where Wes & I did a double shift as no-one came to relieve us at 10am! It was quite cold, but we enjoyed interacting with the visitors and locals & we had International Women’s Day ribbons to give out to the first 50 females who came through the gates. It was a great day for children as there was an Animal Nursery as well as the chooks that are usually for sale. We thought the numbers were fewer than usual, but everyone stayed much longer & went out laden with fruit & vegetables, honey, plants, chooks, emu oil products, local cheeses, wines, beers & barbecued snags in bread.

Wes has driven to Ballarat to visit our friend, David Reilly, who had a double knee reconstruction earlier in the week, and is recovering from that big operation. It sounds as though he has had a few blood transfusions and today they are stopping all the drugs except Panadol!

              Greta & Harry with baby Penny on Day 2

We’ve had lots of rain here in Daylesford which has been wonderful, but we were only able to play golf once, on Monday morning, where Wes birdied the last hole, which means he is champing at the bit to return! Because of my gym work, I am hitting the ball further, but my short game remains in need of practice and I count any hole where I score a bogey or double bogey as a good result.

Viva aged two

When I was speaking to Viva on Tuesday after she had seen her local doctor and received a very good report, she told me that she & Leanne had been given the flu injection. So I rang our clinic and got an appointment for later that day. Wes was home from hydro with Barbara in Ballarat by then, so he came with me in case I had a reaction. Because I am asthmatic I am entitled to a free injection, even though the free flu clinics weren’t operating. The nurse told me that it takes 2 weeks before your body is immune, so I am pleased I was able to get the injection early. However, ever since, I feel as though I have a different strain of flu each day and my days have been quite short & punctuated by tiredness, coughing & headaches.

Lovely snap of Manny & Joyce Spiteri at a NIBA ball in 1993

Apart from gym, I’ve spent time with Dot, who rang to say she couldn’t play Mah Jong on Wednesday as she was having her stitches out after her knee operation, so we caught up at Harvest Café for a cuppa & chat; Rhonda was available on Thursday afternoon, so we rendezvoused at The Larder, which I haven’t entered since they did drastic renovations about 18 months ago, & yesterday Wes and I met Judi for Morning Tea at Gracenotes Café to celebrate her birthday, which is today.

It’s probably just as well that I have no energy and am spending each afternoon reading, doing crosswords, Words with Friends, Logic Puzzles or watching old episodes of Poirot & Midsummer Murders, as I only halfway through my list of 14 authors to read by 21^st March when we meet to discuss female detective fiction. So far the best new author I have come across is another Icelandic one - Ysra Sigurdardóttir, whose main character is a lawyer, Thóra Gudmunsdóttir, and a Swedish writer, Helene Tursten, whose character is Detective Inspector Irene Huss.

Viva’s mother, Doll Munro, with my sister, Paun, in 1989

Our good friend, Marjorie Atkinson, turned 80 yesterday & celebrated with friends by having yum cha next to the Sunshine Police Station on the Ballarat Road! Wes rang her in the morning & she was most excited about her achievement. Viva celebrates her 91^st birthday next Friday & she assured me this morning she is more than ready to reach this milestone. We will be visiting her & Leanne, probably for morning tea, and Peter & Anka will be in Melbourne for the weekend, so she will see them as well, which is lovely. We missed last year’s 90^th as we were overseas, and were determined we wouldn’t be away on 8^th March this year.

As usual the Labour Day Long Weekend in Daylesford will be very busy, with ChillOut activities in particular, including the Street Parade & a huge celebration at Victoria Park on the Sunday. Danny & Kim are coming to stay with us, so I am not sure when I’ll get to send the next Dispatch.