Daylesford Autumn Dispatch - Sunday, 19th March 2017

 

 

Dear Friends, we had a great time at the ChillOut Parade after breakfast last Sunday. There was a big crowd in attendance & probably the most people involved in the Parade ever. Bilbo was beautifully behaved, even when the motorbikes revved up in front of us. People came to pat him, to take his photo & to remark on his relaxed pose.

Bilbo & Bam Bam in harmony at breakfast before the Parade.

After the Parade we came back home & Wes spent time in the garden, while I watched the Collingwood women have a good victory over GWS at Olympic Park in Melbourne.

         Dame Edna on the left & Max Primmer looking stunning in gold below

Police, Precious Paws & the Wizard of Oz characters were part of the colourful line up

On Monday, we walked early & picked up a few bottles & a towel that had been discarded. There was a mess on the main barbecue area, but we left that for the next lot of walkers as it was too dark for us to be able to do properly. Barry the fisherman was in position again after a week’s absence & the only obstacle to our walk was a German Shepherd that was tied up to a van parked next to where we usually park & start our walk near the Lake House. We decided not to risk annoying the dog and had a chat to Bilbo about how hard some dogs lives are & to think twice before complaining because he, at least, has an inside bed & would never be tied up outside all night in a place he didn’t know.

As it was the Labour Day Public Holiday, we decided to celebrate with breakfast at Boathouse Daylesford – always a lovely spot to visit. We grabbed chairs looking out the window onto the Lake & enjoyed very yummy meals – chorizo breakfast for Wes & smoked salmon for me.

Afterwards we visited the Daylesford Museum to see the display celebrating the 20^th ChillOut Festival. There was a 90-minute video, words & pictures (including a photo if Wes when he was Mayor supporting the cause) about each year’s event & a few props as well as one of each of the T-shirts designed for the volunteers to wear, quite a few of which are still in our wardrobe. We were disappointed there weren’t more memorabilia – would love to have seen a few of Max’s outfits from over the years, but at least the Museum is firmly behind ChillOut after years of antipathy.

On Tuesday, we were amazed to see a small round trampoline on the diving deck at Lake Daylesford. We can only hope that the owner is on Facebook & discovers from Warren’s post where it has gone, although it was still there this morning. The 10am film was ‘Hidden Figures’ which I went to see along with 20 others & we all enjoyed it very much indeed. Afterwards, Judi & I had lunch at The Food Gallery & found ourselves talking about the film most of the time.

That afternoon, Nick came to give me a massage and brought some of his honeycomb as a gift. He is so thoughtful & like most generous people, doesn’t want anything in return – I offered zucchini, tomatoes & herbs, but was knocked back on all three.

Dot was unable to play Mah Jong on Wednesday as she had an appointment, but I visited Muffins & More after gym for a pear & ginger muffin & a pot of Jasmine tea. I used to have breakfast early before I went to gym, but find that I can exercise much better on an empty tummy. On Wednesdays, Sandra comes to clean at 7.30am, so by the time I get back from gym, it is after 9am & she has well & truly taken over our house! Wes spent the morning in Barbara’s garden, mostly hosing, which probably caused the lovely rain we had that night & the next morning early.

We had planned to go to Melbourne on Thursday to visit the NGV (National Gallery of Victoria) & catch up on their current exhibitions, but Ticketmaster decided to make tickets available for the GWS & Collingwood match at 10am that morning, so we cancelled any thought of Melbourne. I was ready at the computer on the dot to obtain 7 tickets for the game, preferably with an end seat to give Terry McDonald some room, which I achieved! The game is at the Sydney Showgrounds in May – Danny & I are going to it, as well as our Sydney friends, Jane & David Knox, Terry McDonald & his good friends, Tim & Marj.

Wes planned a picnic outing instead and a very lovely one it was. First, we stopped at Eganstown Catholic Church & cemetery and went for a walk around it with Bilbo. Next stop was Powlett Hill, where Wes & Brian had found the abandoned dry stone home with pear & apple tree orchard still growing. Our picnic was held at Smeaton Mill, by the side of the water, which was most relaxing. I was a million miles away when it was time to go home, which we did via the Kingston Showgrounds, so that Wes could let me see the splendid old grandstand there, which was stolen from Smeaton (God know how!).

Brian Nash painting of Eganstown Cemetery

We arrived back home just in time for the Third Test in Ranchi to start & what a great toss to win. We were glued to our chairs & particularly enjoyed seeing Steve Smith & Glenn Maxwell bat so well together.

I had hoped to join the Bushwalkers in Trentham on Friday doing the Domino Trail, but after shopping, I felt as though I needed a quiet morning & pottered around here instead. Wes worked in the garden & Bilbo slept. We enjoyed sending & receiving St Pat’s Day e-cards & when Wes & Brian Nash visited Sailors Falls Estate in the afternoon, Wes took some Guinness along to celebrate the day.

Wes & Bilbo getting settled at our picnic at Smeaton

Yesterday, after our early walk, we headed off to Melbourne together. Wes dropped me at Strathmore and I spent my time with Leanne, while he drove to Foxtrot Charlie in Sydney Road, Brunswick, for a long overdue catch up breakfast with friend, Jon Stephens. Gerard Lazzaro drove there to meet up with Wes & collect our Tom Tom for their upcoming trip, where they will be driving in England. We were very thrilled Kathy & Ged decided to take up our offer, as we have found using it makes such a difference.

We arrived back here in time to see Winx beat a small field at Rosehill in Sydney, to record her 16^th straight win. She is an amazing horse – the jockey carries a whip, but I have never seen him use it. He just seems to whisper in her ear & off she goes like the wind.

The 3^rd Test is nicely poised with the Indians slowly but surely amassing a decent total. We will be glued to it again this afternoon, hoping Australia can take the last 4 wickets before India gets ahead on the first innings. As well, we have two AFLW matches to watch – the last games for Collingwood & Carlton are being played this afternoon. The Grand Final is next Saturday in Brisbane between the unbeaten Lions & either Adelaide or Melbourne depending on whether the Pies can knock off the Crows.

20 years ago – Wes & Ray Maloney at lunch with Joan Testro – always a wonderful experience

Daylesford Autumn Dispatch - Sunday, 12th March 2017

Dear Friends, when I left you last week, we were looking forward to Bob White’s birthday lunch at Annie Smithers’ restaurant, Du Fermier, at Trentham. And we weren’t disappointed. It was a very happy event & we were glad to have been included in Bob’s group of 35 family & friends. Wes was MC & had spent a lot of time researching important & not so important events that occurred when Bob was born & during his lifetime, as part of his introduction.

Bob with his daughter, Natalie, and son, Brendan

Annie produced a stunning meal – smoked trout with salad, followed by mussels, which was followed by lamb cooked four ways or a chick pea casserole for us non-meat eaters. Her pièce de resistance was a stunning berry roulade, which is almost as good as her finest sweets ever (in our humble opinion) – rose pavlova.

On Monday, I had a great session at gym and am really enjoying my current programme, which is helping with my strength, stamina & asthma. Wes had a good morning in the garden and the highlight was planting a new hybrid tea rose that I had brought home from Ken Rae at the Sunday Market the day before. It is called Governor Macquarie and I snapped up the only one that Ken had, as I thought the blooms were exquisite and have a perfume to match!

While Wes prepared at the Daylesford Cinema to show the Oscar winning film, ‘Moonlight’, I had a lovely catch up with Gillie at Muffins & More. I was so pleased I went to see the film as it is absolutely stunning & totally engrossing. It would have been a travesty if ‘La La Land’ had beaten it for the award. In the afternoon, we were totally entranced by the cricket in Bangalore again – what an amazing Test this has been.

After gym on Wednesday I played Mah Jong with Dot in Muffins & More, which was great fun as always. I think the honours were even by the time we parted. Wes spent the morning helping Barbara, including filling her car up with petrol. He cooked us a beautiful lunch, then headed off to spend the afternoon with Brian Nash discussing their project.

I visited Leanne on Thursday – left at 7am as it was going to be a very hot day & I needed to do some painting for her before the temperature reached 33˚. We had a busy and productive time together and I was pleased to sit quietly when I got home again in the afternoon.

We were both tired on Friday morning, but did our early walk around the Lake, and I went shopping at Coles, before we both decided to have a quiet morning instead of the activities we had each planned. Below is a photo of our first ever cucumber, with our best zucchini & the first of our grosse lisse tomatoes.

Our street has been as busy as it has ever been over the past couple of weeks. Technicians have been installing NBN cables everywhere and there has been a Ditch Witch parked at the bottom of Houston Street, making access quite tricky. As well Mark & Lesley have been doing renovations to no 74 and there have been 5 or 6 tradesman vans parked along either side of our road, which also makes access difficult. Finally, over the past two nights, there have been two enormous moving trucks parked next door to us at no 76 and getting out of our place has been fun & games. Those of us living here are driving very slowly in and out as the visiting tradesmen all drive too fast & it can be quite dangerous if we should meet going in opposite directions, as our little bit of Duke Street is really only wide enough for one vehicle at a time.

Fortunately, most of them have disappeared for the Long Weekend, but their places have been taken by the many who flock here for the Annual ChillOut Festival, now in its 20^th year in Daylesford. I’ll have photos from this morning’s parade in next week’s Dispatch.

Just love this cartoon – Snoopy at his most delusional perhaps!

Yesterday, after the walk, we got stuck into the house & garden. Wes spent the morning watering, pruning & tidying up the back, while I fed all the vegetable plants & did the washing & ironing.

We watched Collingwood & Richmond play a thriller at Moe before Wes went to be the projectionist for a special screening of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ in celebration of ChillOut.

Overnight, we finally had some rain – not much, but enough to make everywhere look so much better. As well there was a full moon, so our walk wasn’t in pitch dark as it has been all week. Bilbo & I are about to head off to the Sunday Market, then we will leave early for breakfast at The Food Gallery and park somewhere that allows us an easy escape after the parade has finished.

We woke to find that the ALP had a landslide victory in Western Australia – the Liberals had made a deal with Pauline Hanson & it turned out to be a monumental error of judgement.

Finally, we were very sad, along with thousands of others, to read that this beautiful Azure Arch in Malta had disappeared without trace overnight during the week. This photo of cousin Leigh, me & Wes was taken in March 2010, when we had a wonderful visit together to this stunning country.

Enjoy your week and I’ll be back in touch next Sunday.

Daylesford Autumn Dispatch - Sunday, 5th March 2017

Dear Friends, because there were only three of us available for breakfast last Sunday, Barbara cancelled it, so after the walk & Sunday Market, Wes & I headed to Hepburn Springs to try breakfast at Blue Bean Love Café. It was funky, as most Hepburn places are, and we enjoyed good service and an enjoyable breakfast together.

In the afternoon, we were visited by our lovely neighbours, Rob & Dene, who came to chat over cups of tea & ended up with glasses of wine when Brian Nash also arrived!

Monday was a perfect morning – after our early walk, where we were delighted to see Barry the fisherman back after 3 weeks in Thailand, I headed to gym & Wes tackled the overgrown jasmine in the front garden.

We had lunch at Boathouse Daylesford with Libby Stewardson, an old friend of Joan Testro, and her daughter, Anne Mallen. This was the perfect venue to chat with people I had never met before and we spent a very enjoyable couple of hours together. Libby has lived in Switzerland for the last 50 years – moved there for her husband’s work with 4 children under 5 – which must have been quite a challenge. Anne is the oldest & she shares her time between England & her home in Footscray.

We shared memories of Joan and learnt all about life in Switzerland. Libby, aged 83, comes to Australia every year to catch up with family & friends.

The last official day of Summer was a hot one – we walked early, then Wes went off to the Daylesford Cinema to prepare to show the film, A United Kingdom. I had a fringe trim & then joined 15 others to see this well-acted, true story, which we all enjoyed very much.

While Wes was catching up with Bob White at The Food Gallery, I went to EKO to have a facial & manicure with Emma & Alanna. This is always a lovely experience and I emerge feeling much better for the treatments.

Peaceful entrance to EKO

Margie Thomas dropped in to home in the late afternoon to discuss the future of the cinema & brought a gift of 1 dozen eggs, which were very welcome indeed.

On Wednesday, the first day of Autumn, it was another hot day. We walked early, I went to gym and then played Mah Jong with Dot until it got too hot. Dot was very excited to tell me all about her grand-daughter, Bethany’s, wedding the previous Saturday. Wes spent the morning with Barbara, but they worked indoors solving computer issues instead of venturing outside into the heat.

At 5pm Wes headed off to Sailors Falls Estate, where Rob & Marg McDonald were again hosting Aperitifs. Quite a few of their guests were also heading to the Daylesford Cinema that night for a Rotary presentation of a 60 minute film showing Seven Women of Nepal, who have been helped by a young Australian woman Stephanie Woollard, who took pity on them when she realised (aged 19) their plight as disabled and therefore, scorned women in Kathmandu. The cinema was full & everyone was moved by what she has achieved in getting women to learn to read & write.

Bilbo & Bunny fast asleep!

We were due for a fortnightly day off and had planned to visit Cinema Nova in Carlton on Thursday to see a few films, especially ‘Lion’, which we had missed here. I discovered that we could see it in Ballarat, so we headed there for the 10.30 session and found ourselves in the comfort of the back row of their Showcase cinema. We loved the film and particularly admired the acting of Dev Kapel, whose Australian accent was faultless.

After lunch at the Knife, Fork & Spoon, across the road in Lydiard Street, we headed back & found ourselves upstairs in an old Gold Class cinema to see the stunning film, ‘Fences’, which features Denzil Washington at his very best. In fact, every actor in this film is wonderful and I was pleased to read that the original play won a Pulitzer Prize for drama back in 1987. The playwright, August Wilson completed the screenplay before he died in 2005.

Yummy lunch in Ballarat – crab omelette for me & vegetable lasagne for Wes

On Friday, we walked early under a star-filled sky, before I went shopping at Coles. Wes dropped me off in Camp Street, and I joined 12 others on a lovely walk through a part of Wheatsheaf I have never been before. One of the walkers, Vera, asked me if I knew of anyone who could fix concrete tanks. I said not, but promised to ask the question on the Daylesford Grapevine when I got home, and sure enough I had two helpful replies in 5 minutes and was able to ring her with a name & phone number.

Wes & Brian visited Powlett’s Hill, which has very little apart from a dirt road and a stunning derelict crofter’s cottage with fruit trees and Fool’s gold rocks. Brian gave Wes a beautiful painting he had done surreptitiously of Wes & Bilbo on the Wombat Trail in Trentham. We have found a spot for it on the wall right next to ‘Karen & Casper’.

We were very sorry to read during the week of the sudden, but peaceful death of Betty Amsden OA, a great philanthropist, who we were lucky enough to meet a few years ago at a Guide Dogs of Victoria lunch for supporters. She died aged 90, after a lifetime as an accomplished businesswoman who established one of the first modern aged care facilities in Australia. She chose to give her money away during her lifetime, and the Tributes to her continue to flow in from beneficiaries of her largesse – The Arts Centre, The Australian Ballet, Victoria Opera, to name but a few.

Yesterday we heard that Danny Spooner had died peacefully after a very short battle with his aggressive cancer. Everyone has lovely memories of the special concert he put on recently – he knew how much he was loved and had the perfect chance to say goodbye.

Wes answered an emergency call from the Cinema and helped out at the 5.30pm session of ‘Lion’, which was well-attended and enjoyed by everyone there. He met someone who knows the family & was able to confirm the accuracy of the film. Meanwhile I had a huge washing & ironing day back here – put on the first load at 5.30am before we went walking & folded the last towels at 7.30pm. In between there was plenty of sport to keep me going – three exciting women’s footy games; one close men’s game & a fabulous first day of cricket at Bangalore, where the Aussies bowled out the Indians for 189 & were 0/40 at stumps.

We have been invited to ‘Du Fermier’ in Trentham to help celebrate Bob White’s 80^th birthday today and are looking forward very much to doing just that!

Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 26th February 2017

Dear Friends, you will be pleased to read that Bilbo didn’t miss out at all last Sunday, even though Margot was missing. Barbara brought him a carrot; Judi fed him some of her croissant; Janine & Wes & Barbara & I left enough on our plates to give him a hearty breakfast, and he was very content when we arrived home to go to sleep and nurse his very full tummy.

On Monday, it was cool, but fine, so I finally got stuck back into giving the dog decking a second coat. It took most of the morning & some of the afternoon, and I gave all the flat exposed wood a third coat before I finished. I certainly slept well that night after all the physical activity – walk, gym & painting – much more than I usually achieve in one day.

Tuesday’s film was “Jackie” - a warts and all look at Jackie Kennedy and the aftermath of John Kennedy’s assassination. We were both most impressed with Natalie Portman’s acting ability, but very disappointed that Jackie was so self-centred and lacking in empathy for her children, her brother-in-law, mother-in-law and LBJ, who became President in the worst possible way. We had hot drinks & a croissant at the Food Gallery afterwards to talk about the film, as it definitely needed discussing!

Wes has been very busy helping the Daylesford Cinema Committee as they fight an action by Council that will see them without a home after the end of April, with no clear alternative in sight. He has also designed a form discussing Membership of the cinema, as at present, members get very few privileges, especially if they are Seniors.

Dot & I enjoyed a morning of Mah Jong at Muffins & More after I did gym. Bella & Lily, who make the drinks & serve the meals, are delightful girls and it is always a pleasure to see their smiling faces when we come into the café. Meanwhile, Wes did some gardening for Barbara, before taking her to do a big shop at Coles.

I have been reading Reginald Hill’s Dalziel & Pascoe series again from Book 1 and am amazed anew at how well he creates believable characters. Warren Clarke was perfect as Dalziel in the TV series, which was a huge success, but didn’t really capture the splendid, insightful writing of the books. In between, I read ‘Runaway’, a stand-alone novel by Peter May, courtesy of Michael Ivanchenko, who found the book, bought it and then offered me first read of it. It is set in the present & 1965, and is full of nostalgic memories of that time in London. Peter May is a very interesting & knowledgeable writer, who sets his series in different places – Scotland, Italy, China – and writes as though he is a native of all three.

I just love this Peanuts cartoon – hope you do as well!

Wes had offered to show the film, The Wizard of Oz, on Thursday, as there was no-one else available. This is the last in a series of 8 classic films, which have been put on for free, with the older & less advantaged members of our community in mind. They have been a great success and perhaps will be repeated when the cinema future is settled.

I spent some time booking AFL tickets for this year. Wes & I gave up our AFL membership at the end of 2015, so we look at the fixture at the start of the year & I book reserved seats & guest passes in the MCC so we can go together. After that I caught up with Judi at Muffins & More, as it was a couple of weeks since we had spent any time together & had plenty to chat about.

On Friday, after the early morning walk and the shopping was done, I was able to join the Daylesford Bushwalkers for the first time this year. Wes dropped me at the meeting point in Raglan Street & 10 of us went on the short walk, which was along the railway line towards Musk & back. We were away for 2 hours, which is the perfect amount of time. I peeled off from the group as we got close to Daylesford Station & walked up to East Street, where Wes picked me up. After lunch, he & Brian Nash spent time in Bald Hills, where the enjoyed the stunning views available from Tim Blood’s home, ‘Candlebark’.

We have been blown away by the performance by Australia in the 1^st Test in India. Wes & I have been on three Cricket Tours in India, Sri Lanka & England, and are yet to see the Aussies win overseas. We would love to have been at Pune for this historic win – the first time we had won in India since 2004. We are full of admiration for nearly all of this current team – especially Steve Smith, Matt Renshaw, Mitch Starc, Steve O’Keefe, Matt Wade & Peter Handscomb, who have played their roles almost to perfection.

Yesterday I spent in Strathmore with Leanne and we had a good time together, shopping, having hot drinks in our current favourite café, Edward Abbott, and getting a few home chores done. Wes attended a very successful meeting of the Daylesford Cinema committee, volunteers & members & is very optimistic that a sensible solution will be found soon. Afterwards he had lunch at Boathouse Daylesford with Barbara Simpson, and they were joined for coffee by David Castles.

Last night we watched with delight as the Collingwood AFL women finally won a game, when they beat the Western Bulldogs, who are desperately missing their inspirational captain, Katie Brennan. 

Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 19th February 2017

Dear Friends, I realised after I sent last week’s Dispatch, that I had omitted to mention the very exciting visit by members of Carlton’s AFL side to Daylesford & Hepburn during the week. We met two of the younger members when we were having lunch with Gail & Terry White at ‘Jackie’s on Vincent’ on Thursday. They were visiting schools, the Hepburn footy club, (which has announced they are creating a Women’s AFL team), & the bowling club, where they played barefoot bowls on Friday morning. Wes was very disappointed that Carlton’s female spearhead, Darcy Vescio, wasn’t among their number & I am sure he wouldn’t have been the only one.

At breakfast, we were joined by Mary Goodall & her rescue dog, Angel, who is an 8-year-old Golden Retriever, who had been trained as a companion dog for a boy with mild autism. She has a lovely nature and she & Bilbo were thrilled to meet each other until Bilbo realised he would only get half-rations!

On Monday, It was another lovely cool night & morning & we enjoyed our early walk around the Lake before I went to gym, followed by a massage, and Wes spent the morning on the computer, so that he could mow in the afternoon, when it wasn’t so wet. At the Post Office, there was a big bag of leftover 8 ply wool from Kathy Lazzaro, and I can’t wait to get stuck into some different colours with my beanies & berets for Keeping Daylesford Warm. Thank you so much Kathy.

Wes showed the film ‘Collateral Beauty’ at the Daylesford Cinema on Tuesday morning, and, amazingly, everyone there enjoyed it. We had both been turned off it by the very poor reviews and uninspiring trailer. Late in the morning I began to feel quite unwell with a pulled muscle in my neck, so retreated to bed and spent the rest of that day & the next resting & sleeping.

While I was recovering, Wes mowed all of Barbara’s lawns, plus the verge at the end of our street & our back lawn. He must have been exhausted after all that work & I was pleased that he & Barbara opted for mostly chatting on Wednesday morning. By Thursday I was feeling much better, with a lot less pain, so got up & stuck into a few chores before we went out for a delayed St Valentine’s Day lunch at the Bad Habits Café at the Convent Gallery. Lunch was stunning – Wes enjoyed the salmon tacos with spuds & I hoed into the very colourful & tasty quinoa salad. Tina, the owner, noticed we were there & asked our waitress to give us a discount on our bill, which was very kind of her.

That night the first of this year’s practice matches took place between Collingwood & Essendon at the Dockland’s Stadium, with the roof open for a change. It was a very interesting affair – like all practice games, familiar players were in unfamiliar spots on the field and unfamiliar players needed much consultation of the AFL phone app to work out who they were, as the TV commentators didn’t see that as a priority. The Pies were lucky to win in the end after a close contest.

Yummy lunch at the Convent

On Friday, we three walked early, before I went shopping & Wes joined Brian Nash on a tour of Breakneck Gorge, followed by coffee & cake at Blue Bean Café.

I was feeling much better & enjoyed another walk to the Post Office with Bilbo. We were lucky enough to bump into Annie Smith & Maisie, and the dogs were delighted to meet each other. The rest of the day was spent gardening, computer work & getting out the Friday cryptic, always an interesting challenge.

Yesterday I drove to Strathmore to spend time with Leanne. We went shopping & had a good time together, while Wes spent his morning in our garden as it was perfect weather for being outside without getting too hot.

The Collingwood women came within 4 points of an upset win over Brisbane in Brisbane, in front of a healthy crowd of 6,000. We then watched Melbourne men & women both beat the Western Bulldogs – an unexpected result on both fronts.

This morning I walked Bilbo early in the dark, while Wes had a well-earned sleep in. Bilbo is at my feet waiting for the next activity – the Sunday Market, so I had better stop writing & get going.

This cartoon is so funny & quite true I am sure. We have had Labradors who employed the same tactic!

Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 12th February 2017

Dear Friends, Wes led the conversation at breakfast last Sunday with a discussion on the future of the Daylesford Cinema, and particularly its membership structure. Everyone contributed and we enjoyed a lively debate on this topic

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Afterwards we came home to gardening, more washing & ironing, New Zealand beating Australia easily in the final One Day game over there and an exciting last match in Round One of the Women’s footy. The game was played at Casey Fields in Cranbourne, between Melbourne & Brisbane. There was a healthy crowd (which included our good friend, John Smith), in spite of the rain, and unexpectedly the Lions proved too good for the Demons in a match that was halted for lightning.

After gym on Monday I drove to Ballarat to collect my bracelet. We had woken to the sound of rain and the news of 22mls in our gauge, which was just wonderful. Not everyone enjoys the cold, but most people were happy to have a coolish day after the hot ones we have been experiencing.

We were very delighted to read on Facebook on Monday of the safe, but early arrival of Violet Rae Cook, daughter of Emily Turner, who is in turn the daughter of Becky Turner, Tom & Lib’s daughter. This makes Tom & Lib great-grandparents, which is amazing! Congratulations to everyone.

Emily, Daniel & Violet

On Tuesday, Wes showed the film, ‘La La Land’, which was well-attended at the 10am session. Some people loved it, others, like me, were underwhelmed. Perhaps it appeals to a younger audience. I found it too long, too American, with ordinary acting, bad miming & I struggled to care about the characters until near the end. Afterwards Wes visited ‘The Barber’, a hairdresser from St Kilda, who has moved here with her partner, and does inexpensive haircuts from her garage near the Daylesford Speedway. His hair looks good and Wes declares it was an experience – not sure if it will be repeated!

After an early morning walk & gym on Wednesday, Dot & I met at Muffins & More for Mah Jong & chats. Dot managed to win every game bar one, much to her husband, John’s delight. Wes spent time with Barbara, while Bilbo kept an eye on Sandra as she cleaned our house, making sure she didn’t forget to give him an apple when she left.

Wow! Four generations of strong women together – Emily, Becky, Violet & Libby

I had hoped to spend Thursday morning putting the second coat on the dog decking, but it was so hot early, after a very warm night, that I cancelled those plans & stayed cool inside instead. I have been playing avoidance behaviour with our bookshelves & this was a good chance to rearrange them slightly to make room for all our newest books.

Friday was another stinker and I gave Bilbo a swim in Lake Daylesford during our early walk. While I stayed at home after doing the shopping, Wes and Brian Nash headed to Allandale, a little-known hamlet in our Shire, where they discovered gold mines, horses, old buildings & much natural beauty, including this stunning photo by Wes.

That night the Adelaide women easily beat the Flag favourites, Western Bulldogs, in front of 7,000+ spectators.

Yesterday, I was in tears, when I opened The Age and discovered two women footballers had announced that they were life partners and would be opponents last night. One of the two, Penny Cula-Reid, made headlines some years ago, when she went to VCAT to argue the case that girls should be able to play footy in boys’ teams after the age of 12 & won!  

Sadly, the Pies weren’t able to sustain a good first half & were blown away by the Demons in front of another good crowd of 7,000.

In the afternoon, Danny Spooner held a concert at the Daylesford Town Hall by way of a farewell to everyone, as his aggressive cancer won’t allow him to do much more in the way of performing. It was well-attended by over 400 people, and included many guest artists, including Eric Bogle & Derek Guille. Wes had been involved in the set up & was very delighted with the turn-up and entertainment. When he arrived back here, he was quite emotional and shared some of the special moments with me. I would love to have gone, but needed a very quiet day with nothing I had to do, so missed out.

We woke to a much cooler morning today and it was lovely to walk around the Lake with occasional raindrops. We’ve had a couple of showers, but not enough to stop me from taking Bilbo to the Sunday Market. He is waiting upstairs – somewhat impatiently, wondering what I am doing – why aren’t we getting in the car & going?

Daylesford Summer Dispatch - Sunday, 5th February 2017

Dear Friends, we started the week with another lovely breakfast & some interesting discussions. Bilbo was particularly thrilled to see Margot & be overfed with bacon & toast, although he wasn’t too sure about the washing hanging above him!

Afterwards, Wes & I went to the Daylesford Museum to see the Pop Up Exhibition of Winsome Moffat’s paintings and were most impressed by her body of work. Our first painting bought in Daylesford was by her & it is a beautiful oil painting entitled ‘Near Golden Spring’, which we haven’t been able to find as the spring itself is underground & located in Hepburn Springs up high above the Bathhouse. According to Jan Smith, who collected it from us for the exhibition, an 11-year-old girl was particularly taken with the painting & thought it was magical, as did we when we bought it.

We were very lucky with Monday’s weather & after our walk, and after Wes cleaned the dog decking, I put the first coat on it all. Amazingly it is 12 years+ since we moved into this house, so we can expect heavy duty areas to need repainting. We are pleased with the result and I hope to get 2-3 coats done by the end of February.

On my way home from gym on Tuesday, I saw Annie Smith with a new Irish Water Spaniel. Her name is Maisie & she is probably 6-7 years old. She has been a kennel mother for most of her life and has earned a happy retirement here in Daylesford. One of our friends, Vin Lyttleton, has one of her daughters, and they have enjoyed a joyful reunion already.

Wes showed the film ‘Red Dog, True Blue’ that morning to an appreciative audience of 20. It certainly isn’t a great film, but Bryan Brown’s acting is wondrous and the dog is magnificent, so we enjoyed the experience.

In the afternoon, Tim from Bi-Rite came to install a new washing machine. Ours had been playing up & I texted Kiyo, the local repairman with a photo of what had been ejected from the machine. He replied saying he thought repairs would cost $600-$700 and we would be better off getting a new one. We took his very generous advice and are now the proud owners of a Beko 8kg model with a ‘pet hair removal cycle’!

On Wednesday morning, sunrise was spectacular, and I took this photo, which doesn’t do it justice, but gives you some idea of how good it looked just before dawn.

When I came out of gym I found a message from Dot to say she couldn’t play Mah Jong as she was having trouble walking. I decided to drive to Ballarat to put my bracelet in to be repaired instead. The catch has gone & it is too risky to wear it, even though I feel quite naked without it!

Wes spent the morning helping Barbara in her garden and arrived home in time to make us a yummy version of his famous Fish Pie – this one included zucchini from the garden, as well as fennel, spuds, barramundi & celery.

We had a huge day on Thursday – after walking around Lake Daylesford early, we set off for Melbourne and a visit to Leanne. Wes was able to fix up some computer issues, while she & I did some shopping. We had been invited for lunch by Lovely & Malcolm and their other guests included Libby, Joyce & Manny. What a wonderful catch-up it was – Joyce, Lovely & Lib had all worked for us at Maloney Insurance Brokers, and we were struggling to think when we had last all been together. Joyce & Manny were in great spirits and very entertaining & we caught up on all their family news.

The next day we had hoped to drive to Melbourne again for the inaugural AFL Women’s game between Collingwood & Carlton at Princes Park, but I was too tired to contemplate getting home at midnight, so we watched in on TV instead. What a wonderful event it was – the AFL had not imagined a lockout at the ground, with gates closed once 25,500 were in and over 1,000 outside turned away. The Blues were far too good for the Pies, as expected, but it was a spectacular success, with the crowd staying to the end and enjoying kick to kick after the game.

During the morning, I spent time with Judi at the Food Gallery, where I had booked the best table, also known as The Locals’ Table, when I saw Pasquale at Coles that morning. Neither of us had eaten, so we enjoyed yummy breakfasts & swapped stories until it was time for Judi’s next appointment. Meanwhile, Wes and Brian Nash spent the morning here discussing their joint venture and Bilbo made his way very quietly into our bedroom and spent a very relaxed couple of hours on our bed!

Yesterday after the early walk and after Bilbo had been bathed, I set off for the Farmers’ Market, where the conversations were all about the Women’s Footy, much to my delight. Wes and I met up at ‘Jackie’s on Vincent’ for breakfast, where we were joined by Jeff Bain first & Nick Massaro later, who each had a hot drink & exchanged news.

Wes spent the morning in the back garden before it got too hot, while I had dedicated my day to washing – I can even fit our washable wool doona into this new larger machine, which is wonderful. Bilbo spent most of the morning crying until I put his collar back on him – he obviously feels naked without it!

Lovely colours in this selection of roses at our front door

We watched both Women’s games in the afternoon & evening & both attracted good crowds – 9,000+ in Adelaide in the rain where the Crows were too good for GWS & 10,000+ in Footscray where the Doggies easily beat the Freo Dockers after an even start. My cousin Bernard’s daughter, Alex Saundry, wore no 4 for GWS – I can’t describe my emotions watching her play – this is such a dream come true for all of us who grew up knowing we would never pull on the guernsey of our favourite team, much as we wanted to. And it all happened so quickly – thanks Gillon McLachlan & the AFL for bringing this about in 2017.