Scotland Autumn Dispatch - Tuesday, 7th October 2014

Dear Everyone, I left you on Saturday heading off for a walk into Pitlochry with a couple of tasks to fulfil. I had bought Wes new bamboo socks for this trip, but we discovered they were dress socks, not walking in boots socks, and totally unsuitable, so we found ourselves visiting every shop on Atholl Road in the hope we could replace them. Eventually we did and he is much more comfortable walking around. We also visited the second-hand bookstore at the railway station, where we managed to find 4 books we couldn’t live without, had a cup of tea and slice of fruit cake at a very friendly little café, and finally walked along the river to the Festival Theatre to see Perfect Days.

I don’t know if I have explained that this season of plays is Scottish (not including The Scottish Play however), so we are occasionally challenged by very quick dialogue, but usually able to work out the gist of what is being said. This play is a brilliant slice of life with the main character a 39-year old career woman keen to have a baby before it is too late. It is funny, sad, insightful, provocative and ultimately uplifting. The author, Liz Lochhead, is a poet and novelist and currently holds the title of Makar or National Poet of Scotland.

After the play we wandered to the Old Mill for a very yummy dinner – steak pie for Wes and fish cakes for me with an Australian shiraz to wash them down. We had the best seat in the house right next to the watermill, and although this restaurant hadn’t been highly recommended by our host, we enjoyed it very much. Our B&B is a very short stroll into the heart of town, so we were home by a very reasonable hour and able to read before bed.

The next morning, after another lovely breakfast, we headed off for a walk along the dam and by the Fish Ladder, which I utterly love and completely don’t understand at all! Wes keeps explaining, but it’s a bit like locks, a mystery to me. We arrived at the Explorers’ Garden, which is owned by the Festival Theatre and celebrates the achievements of early Scottish explorers, doctors and botanists, who travelled the globe to bring back rare and exotic species of plant life. Our guide, Pat, was very knowledgeable about all things Scottish, but not so knowledgeable about why some of the imported plants and trees weren’t thriving – you have never seen such pathetic, spindly gums, thoughtfully planted under the shade of spreading trees and overwatered into the bargain.

After our tour, we invited another couple, Malcolm & Marian, from England, to join us in a cuppa at the Theatre café and enjoyed swapping stories with them. He nearly became a £10 Pom in the early 50s and was attracted to Melbourne, where there were jobs advertised as tram conductors. Now he feels too European to even consider travelling to Oz. They belong to a very active and educational U3A and, like us, had come to Pitlochry for the plays.

After we left them, we set off to walk along the river to Killiecrankie, site of a famous battle and much-recommended by one and all. We found the lack of signposts very frustrating, ended up in Faskally Wood, (where preparations were in order for the night’s Enchanted Forest performance), and finally found a sign which told us we were ¼ mile further from Killiecrankie than when we started! We walked the mile or so back in the other direction to Pitlochry in Scottish mist and vowed to try again the next day.

We came back to dry our wet clothes, have a cup of tea and rest before it was time to go back into town and find an early meal. We chanced upon another very good restaurant, where we enjoyed lightly fried calamari followed by a pork chop & crunchy vegetables for Wes and smoked haddock linguini for me. This time we had a Spanish tempranillo as our drink of choice.

Then off to the meeting point, queue to join the queue to join the next queue, until we were all safely on buses and taken to Faskally Wood for the Enchanted Forest. Buses arrived and departed at 5 minute intervals, which made sightseeing easy, and we did two rounds of the circuit before catching a bus back here around 8pm. Wes took some wonderful photos, but nothing does justice to the magic of the transformation of the woods and water.

Yesterday morning we awoke to find real Scottish weather had set in and our plans for a walk to Edradour Distillery had to be shelved. We had breakfast then came back to our room to catch up on computer work and read and wait for the rain to ease a little. By the afternoon it was dry enough for me to walk into town as I needed to visit the chemist, buy tickets for our train journey to Edinburgh next Saturday and buy a box of yummy Scottish shortbreads to accompany our frequent teas and coffees.

We went back to Strathgarry for dinner and discovered that without our lovely Swedish waitress, things were quite different. Three gay guys patrolled the floors, chatting to themselves more than to the guests and totalling ignoring service until insistent bells from the kitchen sprang them into action. As well as that, the potatoes had been salted at least twice and everyone was complaining. Our waiters insisted it was a matter of taste, but we pointed out that everyone was having the same taste issues, so hopefully that was sorted by the next round of meals. Boy, will they pay on Trip Advisor by the time Wes has finished with them!

On our walk to Killiecrankie

Our play last night was called Passing Places and comprised a journey from bottom to top of Scotland, channelling the lives of two young men as they coped with life’s slings & arrows – or at least that is how I saw it. We enjoyed it very much, lots of great lines and as we have driven to, or plan to drive to most of the places mentioned, we weren’t lost by the allusions.

This morning, after a good sleep, I’ve had a lovely long phone call with Leanne, who is doing very well. After breakfast we hope to do the walk to Edradour Distillery – although it is very Scottish outside, the rain has stopped and we have a completely free day, with no plays and nowhere we have to be at any time – bliss! 

Scotland Autumn Dispatch - Saturday, 4th October 2014

Dear Everyone, we had a busy day on Thursday – after catching up on footy news early, Wes rang Barbara to get some Daylesford news and she confirmed that our much loved Mitre 10 run by Jenkin & Thomas would be closing at the end of the month, but the electrical/electronic side of the business would continue at present. I don’t know how we will survive if they close as well – John, Keith & Tim are friends and can solve every problem we throw up at them!

After breakfast we walked to the Kelvingrove Museum & Art Gallery, which took about an hour and was worth every step. We were blown away by the history of Glasgow, the art, the building (although it is not as decorative as Melbourne’s lovely Exhibition Buildings) and the organ. We spent two hours there and our heads were spinning. Highlight for Wes was seeing Dali’s Christ of St John of the Cross, which was a very controversial purchase some years ago, and I enjoyed seeing some French art we had not previously encountered.

Couldn’t resist this sign!

We decided to walk on to the Botanic Gardens and when we arrived it was 1pm, so we headed to the tea rooms and are so pleased we did. We shared a Scottish Seafood Tapas dish of smoked salmon dip, prawns Marie Rose & pickled herrings with rye bread. I had a pot of spicy citrus tea and Wes settled for a strong smoky blend called Belfast Shipyards. Perfection, including our waitress, Iris, who spent her time saying Thaaank Youuu and Sorrrrry as she worked her way between the tables.

We visited the Kibble Palace with all the wonderful tropical plants reaching up to the sky and then the second hothouse, which went for miles it seemed and contained every plant known to man. The gardens are well-maintained with lots of public seating and grassy areas.

Wonderful vintage racing car at the Museum

Into a taxi and off to see The Tenement House, a wonderful late Victorian tenement flat frozen in time. It was home to an unmarried shorthand typist for over 50 years and apart from electric lighting, little has changed since the early 20^th century.

As we walked back to our hotel, we decided to pay The Willow Tearooms a visit, and came away quite underwhelmed. Our meringues looked fabulous but were almost impossible to eat, however Wes had his first enjoyable coffee of the trip, so that was a plus.

After a rest we donned better clothes and walked all the way to the Alston Bar, where gin is the specialty of the house. I tried Botanic, which I have been dying to taste and discovered it is served with freshly-ground black pepper. We both had Hendricks for our second drink and wondered why we had bothered with anything else. This bar and eatery is under the Grand Central Station and is named after a street that has disappeared over time. It has a good atmosphere and was much frequented by working women especially as it is a very safe and welcoming place for an after work get-together.

Yesterday morning we were delighted to find we had managed to sleep through the night without waking at 2am, having cups of tea, catching up on emails and trying to tire ourselves out so we would sleep until 6am at least. Off to our last breakfast at this hotel where we got into conversation with 4 travellers from Norfolk who were on their last day of a 5-week coach trip of Scotland.

Stairs leading to the Glasgow Police Museum…..

We went for a walk in the rain and crossed a couple of the bridges over the Clyde river before finding ourselves at St Andrew’s Catholic Cathedral, which is a very beautiful church and has an interesting cloister garden of mirrored plinths with words of inspiration.

Sadly we had to go to Queen Street station to catch our train to Pitlochry, but we had reserved seats and after working out the complex system of numbering and finding somewhere to put our bags we settled back for a lovely 90 minute trip. Rhonda had warned us that when we arrived we would probably have to lug our bags up the stairs and over the bridge, which we did, before popping into the station second-hand bookstore, where we gave the volunteer there our return tickets, in the hope that one of them would be able to use them. It was cheaper to buy return tickets than single tickets!

We walked to our accommodation, Claymore Guest House, which is on the main road, Atholl Road, and settled into our lovely front room with a bay window looking out onto a beautiful garden. We unpacked and decided to rest until 5pm when we went searching for an early dinner, which we found at the Auld Smiddy Inn. We had eaten there last year and the food had been good but the service officious. This time we enjoyed excellent service and Wes tucked into a salmon steak, while I consumed Scottish mussels, washed down by an Australian shiraz.

We were due to see our first of 6 plays that night, hence the quiet afternoon, and we did enjoy seeing The Admirable Crichton, a dated but interesting play, which was very professionally produced and acted. It was lovely to walk back home here afterwards, reflecting on what we had seen, before falling into bed and sleeping soundly for 7 hours.

Breakfast this morning is in a lovely conservatory strikingly decorated in black and white, with stunning views out to the garden and greenery beyond. We have Scottish weather, with gentle rain falling, and as soon as it dies down, we will head out for a walk and then see our second play, Perfect Days, at 2pm.

Lunch at the Botanic Gardens – Scottish Seafood tapas!

Scotland Autumn Dispatch - Wednesday, 1st October 2014

Dear Everyone, we enjoyed a lovely breakfast last Sunday at the Food Gallery with Judi, Maureen, Margot & Barbara, then went home to do last minute packing, turning off of switches etc and in the early afternoon Wes drove Bilbo to Eureka Kennels in Ballarat, where he settled in nicely, unaware we will be away for 5 weeks.

Wes then collected me and we drove to Andrew’s Parking, where we left the car and were speedily driven to the International Terminal at Melbourne Airport. We were first in the queue at Emirates and allowed into the Qantas Club, even though we were travelling economy. This was a wonderful surprise and enabled us to relax before our 14+ hours flight to Dubai. We haven’t travelled overseas in Economy for some years and weren’t quite prepared for the lack of space. However we had excellent, thoughtful travellers around us, who asked if it was OK when they reclined their seats.

Enjoying a large glass of bubbles before the flight!

We watched Calvary together and agreed the film didn’t quite know where it was going, then while Wes overdosed on The Vikings, I saw The 100-Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of a Window (which I loved), and finished up with The Grand Piano, which I felt was a brilliant idea executed clumsily. In between we got snatches of sleep, although I realised that the days when I could curl up on the seat were long gone!

We had showers and hot drinks at Dubai in the Emirates Lounge, which prepared us for the nearly 8 hour flight to Glasgow. This wasn’t quite as pleasant, but while Wes continued with The Vikings, I saw two episodes of Wallander (with Krister Henrikssen ) that I hadn’t seen before and enjoyed them immensely. Eventually we arrived at Glasgow, where we were warmly greeted, there was no Duty Free, but we found a very friendly taxi driver to take us to the Grand Central Hotel, which is situated in the Central Railway Station.

Our room is a little tired, and quite dark, but it is fun to be at this Hotel, which is Grand in the way the Windsor in Melbourne is, and we loved the wide carpeted staircases, the lofty ceilings with chandeliers and we especially love walking out into the station concourse each morning. We unpacked as much as we could, then fell asleep on and off for the rest of the afternoon, evening and night.

Yesterday morning we headed off to breakfast which was OK without being memorable – however it is served in a lovely room and the staff is very attentive. There are lots of teapots, so I can start the day with a pot of Jasmine tea, which is lovely.

We had decided to do the bus tour on our first day and caught the 9.30am red bus which made 28 stops and gave us a real feel for Glasgow. After 2.5 hours we hopped off and visited the Modern Art Gallery, which featured installations we didn’t understand, some interesting artwork we thought would go well in Daylesford, and the piece de resistance, a floor of cardboard replicas of all the churches, mosques, etc in Glasgow stripped of their trimmings and presented as examples of architecture. We were interviewed by Scotland TV and asked our opinions, but forgot to watch that night to see if we made the cut!

Then we visited the Police Museum, which has been put together by present and past police, and is staffed by volunteers. We learned that Glasgow had a police force 50 years before Robert Peel invented the concept in England, and were impressed with the wealth of information and stories contained in the display cases.

Wes outside the Tailors’ Window – a sea of old sewing machines behind him

We stopped for lunch at Café Gandolfi, recommended by a tour guide and enjoyed a stunning, simple lunch of Barra scallops, baby leeks and new potatoes. The scallops were the cleanest, plumpest, tastiest we have ever eaten and obviously benefitted from growing in an unspoilt sea. Afterwards we explored the Trongate area, which reminded us of Fitzroy before it became mainstream. Back home for a rest, then off to the Champagne Bar in the hotel to try an interesting whisky and gin. I chose an English/Icelandic gin, which was tasteless compared to Hendricks or our previous favourite, Bombay Sapphire, and Wes had a 15-year old whisky, which was OK, but not as good as the Jameson he has been drinking.

This morning, after I rang Leanne on Skype, we had breakfast then headed out on a long walk to visit the Glasgow Cathedral, which is in beautiful condition and obviously much-loved, then across the bridge to the Necropolis, where we marvelled at the incredible monuments that the Glasgow Merchants erected to their own memories – the best spot was reserved for a giant statue of John Knox, (the enemy as far as we are concerned) and he enjoys stunning 360° views of Glasgow. Back to the Cathedral and into the impressive St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art. Don’t miss it if you visit Glasgow – it is a unique exploration of various religions presented thoughtfully. 

Lunch was a yummy Thai vegetarian meal looking out over Sauchiehall Street, most of which is a mall.

After a visit to the Glasgow School of Art, which is housed in a magnificent building, we walked back to our hotel via a Catholic Church, St Augustine’s, where we lit candles in memory of our parents (a tradition we like to continue whenever we travel).

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 28th September 2014

Dear Everyone, we had a fun breakfast last Sunday with John & Jan, Judi, us, Barbara, Maureen Peterson (who grew up here and recently moved away, but was back house-sitting), Margot, Aileen & Glenn. I asked Maureen where she was house-sitting and when she answered Radium Avenue, Margot piped up that she lived in that little street and they discovered they were living across the road from each other!

After breakfast Wes headed to Melbourne to visit Joan Testro in rehab and it was a perfect day for a drive. I mulched the last of the front veggie patches, caught up on paperwork and then settled down to watch the Footscray vs Box Hill VFL Grand Final on the ABC, which the Doggies won after a close nail-biting game in front of 23,000+.

Newborn Alessia Spiteri being held by her sister, Katia – daughters of Shane & Melinda

Wes arrived home around 4.30pm after a very good visit with Joan and a surprise visit with Ben Sudano, who has moved into Rathdowne Place in Carlton.

Monday was a very cold morning which ushered in a perfect Spring day. Wes got stuck into the garden, planted one of our lemon trees in the orchard and moved the other lemon and lime into the sun in the hope that the frosts are just about over.

We had been invited to lunch at Judi & Michael’s place with Glenn Mack, so headed off with some Asiatic lilies and good wines to share a very enjoyable afternoon sitting on their balcony looking out at their beautiful view and chatting away happily. Both Maddie & Major were very well-behaved once they recovered from their initial excitement. Judi had made a smoked trout pasta dish which was very moreish and accompanied it with a fennel & zucchini salad.

Sadly their guests had to leave early as both Wes and Glenn had to be part of separate Skype conference calls. Bilbo was thrilled to see us arrive back and sat up with me watching the Brownlow Medal presentation until we were both too tired to last any longer.

Danny Millman ran into our old friend, Murray Godso, & his partner, Teo, at a birthday party recently

Tuesday was another cold morning which rapidly turned into a perfect day. Wes spent ages in the garden, mowing everywhere, and shifting the remaining sheltering plants out into the air, so that they can be rained on while we are away. I went to gym, and then bought a new printer (my last one according to Wes) from Keith at Jenkin & Thomas. My old printer had suddenly given up the ghost the day before and I can’t exist without one. My hand-writing is so poor that I prefer to print address labels rather than sent post-people crazy trying to read it! I managed to install it OK and we are getting used to each other.

Wes cooked a beautiful mushroom & pumpkin risotto for lunch and we watched an episode of Silk together. I think this is such a great show and each successive episode I am persuaded is the very best. We spent the afternoon fine-tuning our trip with me choosing seafood meals for us on the flight and Wes checking all our accommodation was confirmed and paid for if required.

The next day we were due for rain, but the day dawned dry, so Wes decided to water everywhere using our two tanks, which are both full. I spent some time making my new printer wireless connected and am very pleased with the quality of the print so far. Sandra came to clean so we all tried to stay out of each other’s way. Dot & I had been going to play Mah Jong, but her sister was unwell and she preferred to visit her instead. So I drove to Kyneton to see the Avenue of Daffodils and visit the NAB. It is one drawback for us living in Daylesford that the NAB doesn’t have a branch or ATM and I’ve experienced difficulties taking money out of other ATMs and prefer to go to a NAB if I can.

Wes spent some time with Barbara as usual and arrived home in time for me to make special fried rice for lunch – so nice for him to be waited on for a change. We watched the first episode of Hinterland, set in Wales and were most impressed with the storyline, characters and vibe. Later that evening the rain finally arrived and gave everywhere another soaking as well as replenishing the water tanks.

Wes & Bilbo were up at 4.30am on Thursday, but it was too wet to walk, so Bilbo settled down to a bone from Leanne (Aunty), and it was over an hour before he stopped munching and came back inside. I headed off to gym and did a few chores while I was out.

Good friends and excellent winemakers – Rob & Marg McDonald -at the Daylesford Pipe Band 10^th Anniversary celebration

There have been many changes to shops again here – sadly they continue to be replaced by cafés, home shops & clothing shops – most of them directed at the visitor market and not the locals. I don’t know how some of them survive, especially in Vincent Street, where the rents are high and the landlords heartless. Our IGA store is closing down as parts of the building they inhabit has been condemned. It has been no match for Coles Supermarket, but it did offer an alternative, which is a good thing and its wine section championed local growers and makers.

We watched the first episode of the ABC drama The Code, and were blown away by the use of technology, the storyline, the settings and characters. Before going to bed we saw 360° on Foxtel, where lovely footballer, Robert Murphy, awarded his Rascal of the Year. He and the cameramen at Fox have perfected finding those special moments, that Channel 7 cameras often miss – Geelong’s Stevie J listening in to the Port centres discussing tactics without them noticing, Collingwood’s first year player Tom Langdon giving his mate in the crowd a couple of drink bottles from the trainers, a youngster taking a spectacular dive in a Little League game much to the confusion of his opponent, and a cameraman on the boundary line shouting instructions to an Essendon player rather than taking photos.

On Friday Wes and Bilbo walked very early and settled down to a morning of gardening while the rain held off. I had appointments for a haircut and face rub, manicure and pedicure, which occupied my morning, before coming home for a lovely lunch and a henna application.

The crimson rosellas are loving Fawlty Towers and only desert it when the magpies swoop in or the cockies come too close. We have discouraged the cockies as much as we can because of the damage they do and there is no seed around that interests them.

Rob & Dene, our next door neighbours invited themselves in for a drink to show us their photos from their very recent Italian holiday, spent mostly in Umbria with a rest in Kuala Lumpur on the way home. We had been depleting our food supplies, so Wes raced out to Tonna’s and brought back a nice supply of cheeses & fruit to accompany the Morris Sparkling Durif and Pepperjack Shiraz that we demolished while sitting on the balcony watching the sun set.

Leigh & Simon’s home in London the day they moved back in

Yesterday was Grand Final day and I set off at 7.15am armed with my paperwork for collecting my ticket and arrived at Melbourne Airport to pick up Jane Knox who had flown in from Sydney for the game. Her flight had left late, and I had to drive around the block a few times, but we found each other and headed off into town via Brunswick Road & Rathdowne Street, as I didn’t know if she had ever been along those roads. We got a park in Spring Street nearly opposite The European, spotted one of our favourite footballers, the aforementioned Robert Murphy of the Doggies, strolling along in his suit to the ground and nabbed a great little table for two for a late breakfast at The Europeon. Jane always has the same thing for breakfast there – baked eggs with chorizo & black pudding, and I nearly always enjoy the omelette special.

After breakfast we drove to the new car park that services the MCG, Tennis Centre & Rugby Stadium, where I had booked a spot. I collected my ticket very easily and we strolled around the ground, until we ended up at the Coodabeen Champions broadcast tent, where we laughed and sang along with all the other devotees of this wonderful programme. Eventually I left Jane and went to find my seat, which was 9 rows from the front and on a flank – it was a great position and I was at the end of the row which suited me very well.

The first quarter was fast & furious and the pressure was enormous, but Hawthorn always looked in control after 10 minutes and so they were – running out comprehensive winners by 63 points over a shell-shocked lacklustre Swans team. I left the ground before the end and had a good drive back home, arriving in daylight, where I was greeted by my two boys and a very yummy pasta dish accompanied by a bottle of Angove’s Shiraz. We were all tired and in bed early in preparation for today.

Wes had spent most of Saturday with Barbara – he took her for a big shop, brought her over here and showed her our downstairs in case there is an emergency, and watched the Grand Final with her. She will miss his company and assistance very much, as he is always just at the end of the phone and across the road.

Our flight leaves at 9.25pm, so we are off to breakfast shortly, then home to finish washing, ironing, packing, backing up computers, charging phones, turning off switches and eventually dropping Bilbo at Eureka Kennels in Ballarat before driving to Melbourne airport and checking in.

As usual while we are away I will post on Facebook with a link to my blog, or else you can follow our adventures by going directly to http://karenmaloney5.blogspot.com.au/

We will be back in Melbourne on 5^th November, so normal Dispatches should resume the following Sunday. Please stay in touch via Facebook, emails or Viber – it is always lovely to read about what everyone else is doing. 

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 14th September 2014

Dear Everyone, after 1° last Sunday morning, we enjoyed a perfect Spring day. Breakfast was fun with stories from Aileen about her mother; Judi described the beautiful meal at The Argus @ Peppers Springs Hotel that she and Michael shared to celebrate their 21^st Anniversary; Barbara had tried and failed to get photocopying done locally in the new copy shop in the Rex arcade; Wes raved about the trouble Bilbo had taken to buy him a special reserve Jamieson whisky and a new rose Brass Band; and Aileen invited a friend, Margot, who was sitting on her own downstairs to come and join us, as her usual Sunday breakfast friend has gone back to Melbourne to live.

Margot has lived in the Daylesford area on and off since 1963 and resents the tourism that keeps this town alive. She blames Tina for doing up the Convent Gallery and encouraging visitors, but both Warren and I argued with her on two grounds – firstly, Alla opening The Lake House in the early 80s was what brought us to Daylesford, and secondly, Daylesford has always relied on tourism once the gold dried up and the mineral water was found.

Brass Band – memories of a young Brunswick Mayor leading the Brunswick Brass Band down the length of the Town Hall as the band played ’76 Trombones’ – a highlight of his Mayoral Ball!

I set off for Ballarat again on Monday morning to collect the doona, buy some pants at Snowgum and replace the car aerial, which had been damaged when I put the car through the carwash. Snowgum has disappeared even though the signs are still there, and I had to order a new aerial at Mazda, but I did successfully collect the doona. Meanwhile Wes spent the morning in the garden, both ours and Barbara’s and filled two green bins with weeds. I had a fringe trim and came home to a yummy prawn and pumpkin risotto which we enjoyed while watching episode one of Ice Cream Girls, which is far too serious and provocative for lunchtime watching.

That night Wes took Barbara to the ALP meeting, where there was some spirited discussion among the members present. Bilbo and I went to bed early as the day had started at 4.30am and we were both tired. I watched AFL 360° to get the wash-up on the weekend’s games and especially the eye-witness report from Mark Robinson who had been at the Adelaide Oval to see Port completely demolish Richmond in the first 17 minutes of the game.

Tuesday was a warm, wet morning, so Bilbo missed out on a walk, but was happy to eat his bone and then spend time in the study with Wes. Fawlty Towers was in big demand with up to seven crimson & green parrots sharing seed at any one time. Wes told me that it was three years to the day since I had been diagnosed with chronic fatigue and that this time last year I had spent the entire week in bed – progress indeed.

On Wednesday we drove to Melbourne to see The Last Confession starring David Suchet at the Comedy Theatre. I had bought tickets months ago when they first went on sale and we were seated in the middle 6 rows from the front, which was a perfect view. We enjoyed yum cha at Westlake first, before taking our seats in time for the 1pm matinee. The play is well-written and David Suchet has a wonderful stage presence, beautiful voice and moves comfortably in his role. We are so pleased we went. David is a very capable actor, not quite in the class of a mesmerising actor such as Sir Ralph Richardson or Nigel Hawthorne or Anthony Sher, all three of whom we were unable to take our eyes from when we saw them on stage.

Thursday was cold and wet and then just cold – I went to gym and Wes spent the morning fixing up under the house and getting it ready for the old fridge as the new one was delivered after lunch by Tim & Alex from Jenkin & Thomas. As usual, they were polite, agreeable and saw no problem in taking the current fridge from upstairs to under the house.

Terry’s Asiatic lilies continuing to beautify our living area with their glorious blooms and perfume

Barbara’s cat, Bobby, had been attacked by another cat, and she rang for help in getting him to the vet. Wes offered to do it all for her and Bobby seems to be recovering OK after his ordeal.

I drove back to Ballarat on Friday to get the new aerial fitted onto Dolly Grey and arrived back in time to get ready for lunch at the Lake House with Di Lyttleton & Jeff Bain, who had invited us to join them. We enjoyed walking down the hill and across King Street in our finery. We spent a wonderful long afternoon with them and arrived back home just after 5pm, much to Bilbo’s relief as his dinner time had come and gone without any sign of us. Sadly we were too tired that night to last the second half of the very exciting Geelong vs North Melbourne match and awoke to find North had hung on for a one-goal win.

Yesterday started very slowly indeed and we spent the morning reading all the pieces of Saturday’s Age newspaper as well as doing the crosswords, checking emails and listening to the Coodabeen Champions with their unique sense of humour in dissecting our wonderful game of Aussie Rules. Wes made a yummy pasta lunch which gave us a little more energy in the afternoon. We even watched every minute of the very exciting Freo vs Port game, where Port proved too good in the end. Should be an exciting pair of Preliminary Finals next weekend – we know supporters of every team in them except for Port.

It’s another lovely cold morning, and Bilbo and I are about to go out for our regular shopping, including Coles supermarket, before having breakfast at the Food Gallery.

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 7th September 2014

Dear Everyone, we gave our house guest Terry, an interesting Sunday last week. He enjoyed breakfast, especially meeting Glenn Mack, and was most impressed with Glenn’s artistry. There were 9 of us at breakfast and everyone had something special to talk about, so conversation flowed. Afterwards Terry and I went for a short walk up and down Vincent Street, before Wes took Terry for a drive that included a visit to Cricket Willow and the Chocolate Mill.

In the afternoon they went across the road to Barbara’s home so that she could film Wes interviewing Terry for posterity. Terry’s reward was a trip to the Swiss Mountain Hotel in Blampied for a few beers before coming home to a yummy pasta dish and an episode of Vera. We were all tired after our big weekend and headed to bed early.

On Monday, Wes and Terry set off at 7.30am to play golf at Trentham, but it started to rain as they pulled into the course and decided it would be better to give it a miss. Wes took Terry to Sunbury to see the birthplace of The Ashes, feed him a big breakfast, and then deliver him to Melbourne Airport to catch his flight home. Wes arrived back here to discover that our friend, Aileen O’Reilly, needed help with removalists who were arriving from Adelaide, and promptly set off and spent the next 5 hours at her place. He was very pleased he was there especially as she had to take her 100-year old mother, Dorothy, to Ballarat for an appointment in the afternoon.

I spent the day washing and ironing and cleaning, before settling down to watch a couple of repeats of Hercule Poirot short stories as relaxation after the busy day. We were all tired and in bed early yet again, but thrilled with Terry’s visit and all we had achieved.

On Tuesday it was cold and wet, so Wes had a sleep in and Bilbo was very happy to be given his bone and not made to walk early. I went to gym and then had a hot drink with Jane Webster at the cosy, warm Harvest Café afterwards. Meanwhile three tree-loppers arrived to remove a dangerous old gum and we sat in our study trying not to watch the slight young woman balanced precariously in the wind at the top of the tree.

Note that the guests at Fawlty Towers have all checked out!

Fortunately a meeting that Wes was supposed to attend in Ballarat was cancelled, as the tree-cutters took all day to remove this gum and it was good that Wes could be around to make sure that the mulch & logs were placed where it suited him best.

On Wednesday it was wet early, so Bilbo missed out on a walk, although I took him with me into town during the morning, so he was a happy boy. Wes spent ages in the garden getting the wood into manageable piles and filling up the garbage bins with weeds etc. I had a few chores so waited until Sandra had arrived before taking Bilbo and getting out of her way.

As there was no Mah Jong, I had a lovely lunch at Gracenotes Café with Judi and we caught up on each other’s news. Wes had gone to Ballarat with Barbara, as she had a few appointments and needed his help. By the time he arrived back around 3pm, he was as tired as I was, so we cancelled plans to go to Aperitifs at Ken & Linda Gillies’ place and enjoyed a quiet night watching Vera and eating a very yummy pasta dish.

After gym on Thursday I came home and immediately set out again with Bilbo for a long walk into town and back. He had already walked early, but was very happy to go accompany me and we met up with a few friends and some other dogs along the way. I quite enjoy the little amount of socialising that occurs when you have a dog with you and you meet old and new friends very easily. Meanwhile Wes and Glenn Mack spent the morning helping Aileen get her mother’s room right, moving furniture and making everything just so.

The view over the Lake from the top of the gum tree just before the sleet arrived!

Wes arrived back feeling as though he had done enough physical labour for the day, so, after making fish pie for our lunch, he spent the afternoon in front of the computer. We have a much wider vista now that the big old gum tree has gone, but sadly most of our downstairs view is rooftops, while upstairs we can see much more of Lake Daylesford.

Although it was cold early on Friday, my boys went for their walk, then as the sun came out, I drove to Ballarat to collect the guest room doona, which we had decided was due for its annual dry-clean. Sadly it wasn’t ready, so I decided to go through the car wash, and even though I laid the aerial down flat, it appears to have broken. I had hoped to collect some more manure for Wes on my way there or back, but I was unsuccessful in that as well!

We went to lunch together at Harvest Café, where we spotted old friends, Steve & Jo Millard, as well as Ian Esmore, all enjoying the fresh vegetarian food served there under the new ownership. The café is really busy, with most of the tables occupied. When we first moved to Daylesford Harvest Café was the place to go for all things vegetarian, both food and products, and it is lovely to see it back to how it once was. We went for a walk around the Lake at 5.30pm that night – first time for me in ages and it was so enjoyable. We watched Hawthorn get on top of Geelong in the first Qualifying Final and march straight into a home Preliminary Final.

Prunus at no 80 in bloom – Rob & Dene next door are in Italy and missing out on this gorgeous sight

During the week I was reading a quarterly magazine issued by the support organisation for chronic fatigue and other similar syndromes and illnesses and I found an article that really resonated with me. I hope it might help clarify how I and others in the same boat feel.

Imagine you wake each day and are allowed six bursts of energy. You can’t bank any of these bursts and if you use them all up, you will have nothing left. So you need to reserve one for getting up, showering, dressing etc and one for going to bed. You need one for exercise – gym or a walk or gardening; you need one for a long phone call; you need one to do the washing, and maybe another to do the ironing if you have been changing sheets and towels that day; you need one for socialising, and you need one for driving any big distance; you need one for preparing and cooking a meal, and you need one for any strenuous housework. As you only have four left every day, you need to plan your week wisely, otherwise you end up in a heap. And, of course, every now and again, you miss out on a delivery of bursts.

Our camellias are all starting to come out in bloom, with the pink ones leading the way. The rosemary is in flower, and everything else looks as though it won’t be far behind. Although Autumn is our favourite season here, Spring isn’t far behind, especially on still sunny days.

Yesterday was a beautiful morning after some frost, so I went shopping at Coles and then walked Bilbo up to the Farmers’ Market at the Daylesford Primary School, where we bought some local Orange Blossom honey for Leanne and Emu Oil products for me. There were so many stalls, including one describing itself as Scottish Cooking, with a tall chap wearing a tam o-shanter spruiking his very meaty wares.

Libby and her daughter, Becky, are driving to Tannum Sands starting yesterday, as Lib farewells Victoria and becomes a banana bender. We wish them a very safe trip and hope Lib will be happy in her new home. Above is a photo of them both and me on Christmas Day, 1974 at 12 Scott Street, Essendon, with glimpses of Tom, Wes and Bonnie.

At lunch time, Donna from Wombat Hill Nursery and Florist arrived bearing a most beautiful sheaf of Asiatic lilies from Terry McDonald. I love receiving flowers and these delicately perfumed, beautiful lilies are among my absolute favourites. Thank you Terry so much.

We enjoyed watching Sydney & Freo play a good close game until the Swans took control and leapt into the other Preliminary Final, and last night we gave up watching Essendon & North as it was such a one-sided game and looked all over at half-time. What a surprise to wake up this morning and find North had beaten Essendon and set up a clash against Geelong next week.

It’s another cold morning, and as it is Fathers’ Day, Wes decided to give Bilbo his bone at 5am and go back to bed – a very wise decision indeed. Now the sun is starting to emerge and the frost is melting, so Bilbo and I will head out to pump mineral water, visit the Sunday Market, and collect Wes to go to breakfast with friends at the Food Gallery. Happy Daddies’ Day to all the fathers we know.

Karen & Bilbo out walking