Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 19th August 2018

We have been overwhelmed by all the expressions of sympathy & love from friends, family & Facebook friends. Thank you to everyone who has found time to put down some comforting words. We have especially enjoyed the funny memories that a few of you have shared with us & somehow it helps to know that Bilbo was loved by so many people.

When I arrived at the Sunday Market, both Yvonne & Ken were there to greet me with hugs & tears. Yvonne had let the other stall-holders know & there were lots of expressions of sympathy, as Bilbo was a well-known character early each Sunday. When I told Ken Rae from Spring Park Nursery that I wanted a rose for Bilbo’s grave, he immediately found a beautiful red Best Friend, from the RSPCA, which Wes has planted.

At breakfast, Janine arrived with a lovely bunch of liliums & Gillie made a very rare appearance, so she could give us hugs & let us talk about Bilbo. The downside was that after giving us such a good experience the previous week, the Hotel Frangos café was underwhelming this time. Our table wasn’t ready, the teas didn’t arrive until I went up to the three waitresses who were chatting around the coffee machine, the meals were served without cutlery & the noise level was most unpleasant once a large family with a rowdy toddler arrived.

We had decided to walk around Lake Daylesford after breakfast & on our way we met a couple with a pair of young Labs in training to become Guide Dogs. It was so good to pat the puppies & admire their energy. We plan to have some time to grieve Bilbo, do some jobs around the house & garden that are better done without puppies, have a break & then introduce Lewis & Morse to Daylesford sometime in January. They will struggle to be as cute as the two in the photo above, but I am sure they will find their way into our hearts very quickly.

 

At gym on Monday, there were lots more hugs from friends who had read the news. When I arrived home, Wes was working in the front garden & wondering why he bothered to lock the side gate as he went up & down the path with his wheelbarrow. Nick Massaro came to give me a massage & we both agreed it was rather quiet & uneventful without Bilbo. Nick always brought him a treat & then spent most of the massage time trying not to step on his feet, as he often went to sleep under the table.

It was lovely to have lunch at Boathouse Daylesford with Michael Ivanchenko, where we were spoilt by Susanne & Claire, as usual. Michael headed off to Caloundra on Tuesday to be with Judi as her mother, Mavis, died peacefully that morning.

There was a scheduled power cut for 4 hours on Tuesday, so like lots of locals, we headed to Ballarat to the Regent Cinema & chose to see the film, The Wife, starring Glenn Close. This is probably the best film we have seen this year. The story is compelling, the acting & direction superb & it is hard to fault it in any way.

We arrived home to find this beautiful arrangement of flowers from my sister, Leanne. However, when we went downstairs to check our computers, the modem was misbehaving badly & it took the rest of the afternoon to sort it out & get us back on track.

We had hoped to catch up with friends on Thursday, but that didn’t work out, so we drove to Healesville instead, where we had lunch at a tiny Italian café & deli called Essenza. Wes drove us through countryside to get there & we stopped at Lancefield for morning tea at MAD Cafė, that we remembered from a previous trip. On the way home we used the ring road, but there had been a big accident, so we were held up for quite a while.

Yummy pizzas served on cheese boards

I had booked the Mazda 2 in for new tyres on Friday morning, and thought I would fill in the time by having a pot of tea at The Food Gallery, while Wes had his first go at washing our windows from the outside, using a handy washing tool with telescopic handle, which we borrowed from our neighbour, Rob. Jamie at Daylesford Tyre Service forgot about my little car & got caught up rescuing someone with a flat tyre instead. When I rang him to see what was happening, he was most apologetic!

Deep red liliums from Janine cheering our front entrance

Yesterday Wes drove me to Woodend Station early & I caught the train to the MCG, where I met up with Danny Millman for a lovely day at the footy. I had been able to get a Balcony Pass for him, so we found our seats & walked out of the ground up to Square & Compass Café for a most enjoyable brunch. Matt, one of the owners, told me they had served breakfast to 10 of the Port Adelaide players earlier that morning.

Back at the MCG, we found Gayle Gibson & made arrangements to meet for a drink at half-time. Then David Lazzaro arrived & we had a drink in the Percy Beames bar, where we were joined by his best friend, Matt, over from Tassie for the match & his friend, Jonathan. It was a most entertaining interlude as we all reminisced about our favourite & worst memories. I even managed to forget about Bilbo for a short time.

The match started slowly, but by half-time we were looking the goods in a tight contest. We met up with Gayle back in the bar & watched Winx win her 26^th race in a row in her usual style – so far back in the field that you think she can’t possibly win & suddenly accelerates & leaves her rivals well behind at the finishing post. What a champion mare!

Winx winning the Winx Stakes at Royal Randwick yesterday & breaking Black Caviar’s record of 25 wins in a row. Black Caviar was never beaten in her career, which was amazing. Winx won 4 of her first 10 starts & is the world’s top-ranked filly or mare & Australia’s leading money-earner in history

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 12th August 2018

We started our week with a lovely breakfast at the new café at Hotel Frangos. Barbara had booked a table & they were expecting us when they opened just before 9am. We were seated in the sunshine, the noise level was manageable, the staff were friendly & efficient, & we all enjoyed our different breakfasts. Even David, who always has raisin toast – this was very thickly cut & came with cinnamon butter & jam. Yum! We’re off there again this morning. It is such a bonus being able to book a table & Barbara can get in there easily, unlike most of the cafés on the other side of Vincent Street.

Entry to the café & David & Warren waiting patiently outside. David was worried about the change but enjoyed it very much!

We listened to David’s stories about his huge road trip to Western Australia & thought he looked very relaxed despite the thousands of kms he had travelled in his new big Mazda.

Afterwards, I went for a long walk in the Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens. I needed to get over my crossness from the footy the night before & I was lucky enough to meet the one person I wanted to see on my travels. We had been shocked to hear on the grapevine that my local GP, Greg Stewart, had suffered a heart attack. It was reassuring to speak with his colleague, Jon Barrell, & hear that although he had endured some setbacks, Greg was recovering well in Cabrini Hospital in Melbourne.

We had been invited to morning tea with Nick & Robyn Massaro, long-time friends, who bought Brian Nash’s painting of their place last November. Warren took Brian to Porcupine Ridge on one of their excursions in 2017 & Brian loved the property & thought it was perfect for him to paint. They asked us, plus Brian & Roberta, so we could see the painting in situ. Robyn is a wonderful cook & had made gluten-free lamingtons & a fig cake, which were all beautiful. We did enjoy sitting around their dining room table chatting, as well as meeting their dog, Jack, who gets very excited when visitors arrive & then needs to sleep!

Nick, Robyn, Brian & Roberta in front of the painting. Wes put this up on FB & it attracted lots of comments

We were all delighted to welcome back our lovely cleaner, Sandra Frost, who has been in Thailand & Fiji, enjoying a well-deserved holiday. She is still on Fiji time, so we were very understanding & glad that she was prepared to come back & get us all sparkling again.

Wes & Barbara were involved in the resurgence of Hepburn Voices that afternoon with an interview of well-known local historian, Les Pitt. Wes has handed the tapes over to the Daylesford Museum & there is plenty of interest to keep them going. I suspect the problem lies in a lack of skilled interviewers & video-recorders of the human kind.

I have been knitting squares for a while, having a break from beanies & gloves & scarves. We were able to deliver 49 squares to Jodie from Keeping Daylesford Warm to send on to the person who has volunteered to crochet them all together into a rug. The squares are mostly pink, blue & white, with plenty of multi-coloured & bright shades. I’ll be pleased to get back to the beanies for a while as squares aren’t as exciting to knit.

Wes & I visited Leanne on Thursday, where we were both able to help her with a few things that are just too hard for someone living on their own. On Friday, Wes finally got into the garden again & I had a relaxing breakfast with Gillie at a new café, Pancho, with excellent staff & wonderful food. We were delighted to find it just about filled with local friends, including Glenda Rozen, our first Daylesford friend, and the person who sold us our home here 20 years ago in August 1998.

That afternoon, suddenly, Bilbo had a seizure. We had an hour with him before taking him to the vet, where we decided that we owed him a peaceful death, rather than subject him to the probability of further seizures. He was confused, frightened, couldn’t stand up & couldn’t see. Andrew, the vet, told us that he might recover, but that he would probably have more seizures. We weren’t prepared to risk that & let him die quietly with us at his side. Yesterday, Wes buried him in the dog graveyard, next to his brother, Frodo, and their predecessor, Casper.

We have been overwhelmed by the messages of support & love that have found their way to us. Wes asked me to put something up on Facebook & I included the above photo, which produced so many beautiful comments. We also appreciate the visits, phone calls, texts & emails that helped fill our day yesterday.

The house felt so empty that we decided to go to Melbourne in the afternoon. Wes dropped me at the Docklands where I met up with dear friend, David Lazzaro, & his son, Daniel, to see Collingwood beat Brisbane in a scrappy game that keeps our final four hopes alive. Wes went to see a film, Beirut, that helped distract him for a couple of hours. We encountered snow flurries as we were driving home last night, which was rather wonderful!

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 5th August 2018

Last Sunday turned into a very chilly day with sleet during the afternoon, so we opted to spend our time in front of the fire, watching the various footy games that were on. The Doggies played Port Adelaide in Ballarat, where the conditions were icy to say the least. No wonder their coach has requested that they play their games there earlier in the year from now on!

On Monday, I was delighted to be able to get back to gym & was warmly welcomed by everyone, especially the Richmond supporters after their fine win over the Pies. I was careful not to do too much & came home for a rest & read of the Age afterwards, before washing both cars as they were due for trips to Melbourne during the week. Wes got out into the garden & was thrilled to be able to do some cleaning up. It is still very wet underfoot, great for weeding, but not much else.

This happens at our house at 5.25pm each night – so funny!

On Tuesday we drove to Melbourne, via the airport, where we dropped Judi off as she was catching a plane to Queensland to visit her mother, Mavis, who had broken her hip in a fall. I spent the morning with Leanne in Strathmore, while Wes took his nephew, Leon Anderson, to breakfast at The Boot Factory, which used to be where the prisoners worked in Pentridge Prison. Wes was very impressed – easy to park, good range of meals & excellent coffee.

The next morning, while I went to gym, Wes headed off to Bulleen for Terry Lane’s funeral, which was attended by over 500 people, many from the insurance industry, where he was so well-known & liked. It was a nightmare to get there & Wes was pleased he had allowed over 2 hours. I took Bilbo for a late morning walk in the Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens, where we met a few couples enjoying a stroll in the sunshine.

Bilbo in the fernery at the gardens.

On his way home, Wes stopped in High Street, Northcote, wandered into a barber shop & discovered the young owner had also gone to St Bernard’s College. I think they enjoyed sharing stories about their time in Essendon.

We decided to have a quiet day at home on Thursday, which was a very wise decision, as we were both tired after travelling, especially Wes who had done all the driving.

On Friday, it was too wet to walk early. I had made arrangements to catch up with Gail White that morning, and we enjoyed a very happy 90 minutes or so in The Food Gallery, as she updated me on the latest cruise she & her husband, Terry, had taken with Terry’s twin, Lyn & other friends.

Beautiful purple & white hellebores in our front garden – they are just loving the wet weather!

Yesterday we had breakfast at Boathouse Daylesford, one of our favourite spots to eat here. Susanne & Claire were pleased to see us & we enjoyed our meals & hot drinks very much indeed, looking out at the rain falling gently on Lake Daylesford.

One of my early morning routines, feeding the birds – magpies, parrots & small brown birds (not sure what they are), has become even more exciting since I bought some chopped up meat to put out. The magpies are delighted & getting bolder in their demands. As I look out, there are about 50 birds eating seeds or searching for worms in our back lawn. Bilbo is very restless – he knows something is happening, not sure what!

We spent the rest of yesterday listening to the Coodabeen Champions on the radio, followed by various games of footy. It has been an amazingly close round so far – Richmond beat Geelong by 4 pts; Hawthorn held off the fast-finishing Dons by 4 pts; North won over Brisbane by 3 pts; Adelaide pipped Port by 3 pts in a controversial finish & Sydney were too good for Collingwood by snapping a late goal & winning by 2 pts. The only other game was a puzzle with the Doggies held goalless in the first quarter, only to pile on 15 goals to 5 in the next 3 quarters & beat St Kilda by 6 goals.

I was very disappointed with the Pies play against the Swans – I know we have had injuries, but so has every other team. We were flat-footed, especially in the 3^rd quarter, where we allowed the Swans to kick 5 goals to nil. We’ll find ourselves out of Finals contention unless we can win our remaining three games against Brisbane, Port & Fremantle.

This morning, after the Sunday Market, we are off to try a new café for breakfast. It is part of the Hotel Frangos & has an interesting menu for us to try. We do enjoy Larder, but it is very noisy & we are hopeful this place might enable us to hear each other more easily.

A fun photo from 1990 – Karen, Wes, Karen AKA Lovely & Joyce at that year’s National Insurance Brokers’ Ball – we always enjoyed these occasions.

Wes is hoping to get out into the garden after breakfast as we are not expecting rain again until tonight. In the meantime, he is busy documenting all the convicts he can find in his family tree & there are plenty of them!

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 29th July 2018

 

Last Sunday’s Dispatch was sent just before Bilbo & I had an unexpected collision within the confines of our walk-in robes – I turned to avoid him, he turned to match me & his head collided with my instep, leaving me with strained ligaments in my left foot. At first, it seemed very minor, but as the day wore on it became more & more painful & I was forced to apply ice, keep my foot up & eventually go to bed with a compression bandage.

This is the perfect Snoopy cartoon to accompany my whinge!

I was very lucky that it wasn’t worse & by Friday was feeling just about back to normal. I think the sunshine helped after a few days of Brigadoon. Wes was even able to get into the garden & potter around for a bit, although it is still very wet underfoot.

Foxtel offered free films during the early part of July & Wes booked a few for us to watch, which have come in handy during the past two weeks. I have watched my all-time favourite film, Chariots of Fire, which is so well-cast, beautifully written & filmed with the wonderful music of Vangelis. I’ve also seen Paddington for the first time, watched A Passage to India with the wonderful Aussie actress, Judy Davis, in the title role in 1983; reconnected with Dead Poets Society starring Robin Williams, and The Book Thief with Geoffrey Rush.

On Wednesday, Dot & I played Mah Jong for the last time for a month, as she & John are heading for warmer weather. We evened out the wins, which pleased us both, if not our husbands. Thursday was Denise Anderson’s birthday, so Wes booked a table for two at Bad Habits Café, at the Convent Gallery, and the siblings spent an enjoyable lunch time catching up on news. We are so lucky to have so many choices for breakfast, lunch & dinner here in our little neck of the woods.

Denise enjoying her birthday lunch.

Yesterday, we drove to Melbourne for the big Richmond vs Collingwood game at the MCG. It was very exciting to be there amongst 88,000+ for a great match. Richmond were too good for us in the final quarter, as expected, but I was very proud of our team.

Last night, Carlton had its second win for the season, unexpectedly against Gold Coast up there. Wes is enjoying the day after very much – it’s been some weeks since he woke up as a winner!

It’s going to be a very quiet day today after our big day driving to & from the footy yesterday. Bilbo is very happy to have us home again & didn’t want to get up for an early walk or anything else this morning. He will start to show interest shortly when I prepare to leave for the Sunday Market.

We have a busy week coming up with a trip to Melbourne on Tuesday – me to see Leanne & Wes to take Leon to breakfast for his birthday. Wes has a funeral in Bulleen on Wednesday – Terry Lane, a very popular & much-loved insurance broker died suddenly last week (on the golf course, which would have pleased him). We are due to go on a date on Thursday, but I suspect we will be happy just to see a film in Ballarat, rather than drive anywhere very far!

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 22nd July 2018

Last Sunday’s trip to Melbourne brought about mixed results. Wes enjoyed being at the Town Hall with a group of like-minded people all determined to preserve our ABC, although he was amused that he had to queue to rally! At the MCG, I arrived in time to get a seat in my favourite bay, and then found Margaret Nolan & her daughter, Judith, in the Collingwood Social Club, where I could finally give them hugs & commiserate about the sudden death of Margaret’s husband, Eric. After that I went into the Long Room & spent a very pleasant hour with Loud Gayle & her friend, David, quaffing bubbles & reminiscing, until David realised that his wife, Joan, who was sitting outside, was eating all the hot chips! It was that sort of a cold afternoon!

Collingwood played their best but weren’t good enough to beat the West Coast Eagles in front of a good crowd of 53.000+. Wes picked me up after the match & we drove home listening to the very exciting game between Sydney & North, which was won by the Swans in the last minute by their Sudanese player, Alir Alir, who had been beaten most of the game by North’s Sudanese player, Majak Daw.

All this excitement was too much for me & I had a relapse in the early part of the week, which meant I didn’t get back to gym. Nick came & gave me a massage on Monday, which was very welcome. Dot was unable to play Mah Jong on Wednesday, which gave me extra time to get the guest suite ready for our friend, Deane Wells, who was due to arrive from Brisbane early that afternoon.

Deane at the Chocolate Mill

Deane flew in later than planned & stayed overnight in Melbourne. We picked him up at Ballarat Station on Thursday morning & took him to the Regent Cinema to see the latest Australian film starring Shane Jacobson & his brother, Clayton, called Brothers’ Nest. Fortunately, we knew nothing about it, except that it wasn’t like Kenny, the film that put these two actors on the map. We haven’t stopped talking about ever since.

After the film, we crossed the road to the Art Gallery to see their special Winter Exhibition Into Light featuring artists such as Renoir, from the Musėe de la Chartreuse, Douai. There were some good paintings, but we were disappointed with the quantity on display & the variation in quality. Most paintings were excellent, but a handful didn’t deserve to be in such elevated company. We ate lunch at the café attached to the Gallery & enjoyed our food choices very much indeed.

On Friday, I had an appointment with Emma for a facial at EKO, so missed out on the trip around the Shire that Deane & Wes went on. I think the highlight for Deane was the visit to the Chocolate Mill & they finished in Trentham with scones at Chaplin’s, sitting at the communal table. That night Wes took Deane to The Farmers Arms Hotel, where they sat at the bar chatting with locals & enjoying dinner & a bottle of red. Everyone there was thinking of Rodney Peacock, who used to run the Friday night raffle so well. Rodney now lives in Ireland & married his partner, Mark, that day. Over 30 people from Daylesford area flew to Ireland to attend the wedding, which seems to have stretched over a few days!

Yesterday we dropped Deane in Essendon, where he was staying overnight & headed to the MCG to see if Collingwood could beat North Melbourne. I had obtained a Balcony Pass for Wes, which meant we could sit in the best seats in the ground. Before the game started we headed to the Collingwood Social Club area & spent time with Margaret Nolan & her daughter, Judith. They were both thrilled to see Wes & we enjoyed a good chat. We also had a chance to see Loud Gayle, who told us that the current Ladies committee at Collingwood (the Dolly Greys) were providing the guard of honour for the team as they ran onto the ground. 36 years ago, when the first committee was formed, this would have been impossible – women weren’t allowed in the Social Club on match days, let alone out on the ground. The first President, Shar O’Reilly (Lendrum at the time) was considered good enough to run the creche! The first Treasurer, me, refused to help her on the grounds that I had never been much good with children, especially the spoiled sons & daughters of footballers.

Gayle & I standing in front of a small section of the massive tapestry outside the Long Room – you can see famous footballers & cricketers behind us

Much to the delight of the Collingwood supporters, we played very well & after the first few minutes, were never headed by North Melbourne, who didn’t bring the same desire to win. This sets us up for another tilt at Richmond, who are top of the ladder & looking the goods – next Saturday should be a huge game! I’m hoping to bring Wes along again as he is obviously a good luck charm.

We arrived back home to find Bilbo happily asleep on his bed in the lounge, although he suddenly felt very hungry when he saw me come through the door. The last two weeks we have asked our lovely neighbours, Rob & Dene, to bring Bilbo inside if they should see him wandering around in the garden while we are away. They have done that successfully & he has happily slept in his bed waiting for us to come back home. The issue is the stairs – he has tumbled down them a couple of times & is much happier if someone accompanies him.

He & I are about to head off to the Sunday Market, then breakfast at Larder, where we will be a small group as David & Sandy are both away & Margot is preferring to eat at The Food Gallery, where they serve more meals that she likes. Then we are going to rest for the rest of the day!

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 15th July 2018

You will be delighted to read that I am up & about again & enjoying Winter in Daylesford once more. The first part of the week went rather quietly. Collingwood was lucky enough to win a hard-fought game against Essendon in front of 70,000 at the MCG on Sunday afternoon. I was sorry not to be there, but not well enough, so we watched it on the big screen instead.

I’ve been reading quite a wide variety of books while I have been confined to quarters. One author I have been meaning to try for some years is Michelle de Kretser & I finally picked up her second novel The Hamilton Case, set in colonial Ceylon. It’s not the sort of book you want to put down & I am in awe of her writing talent.

Before Michelle, I read the latest two novels by Ann Cleeves – one set in the Shetland Islands & the other featuring Vera. Ann has a wonderful ability to create characters that come to life through her words & the skilful casting of Brenda Blethyn to play Vera in the TV series has been inspired.

Currently I am reading an omnibus by P G Wodehouse which centres around Uncle Fred, one of his finely-drawn characters, who doesn’t impinge on the Jeeves & Wooster novels, but rates three novels of his own, with his nephew Pongo. This is also stunning writing, not just in the convoluted plots, but the many finely-drawn lesser characters who people these books.

As soon as I finish these novels, I will be heading back to Italy to read my fifth Marco Vichi novel featuring Inspector Bordelli, Death in the Tuscan Hills. These books are set in 1960s Italy & provide an interesting backdrop to the crimes that Bordelli is forced to face.

By Wednesday, I was ready to face the world again, and headed to Muffins & More to play Mah Jong with Dot. That afternoon I answered my mobile, which I don’t usually do if I don’t recognise the number, to find a female caller asking if she had found Maloney Insurance Brokers? Wow! We sold our business to OAMPS back in 1999 & the only contact point that remains the same since that time is my mobile. During the first few years after 1999, my phone rang often, but eventually the calls petered out.

On Thursday, Wes took me to breakfast at Larder, where we sat in the window & watched the street come alive. We saw quite a few friends – Aileen, Kim & Marjorie in particular & enjoyed a short chat with front of house, Martin, before settling down to eat our meals & catch up with each other’s news.

One of our favourite photos – taken 50 years ago at Melbourne Uni!

On Friday, it was back to normal – food shopping at Coles, followed by a walk around Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens with Wes & Bilbo.

We arrived home to discover that our NSW Opal Travel cards had arrived, after only 10 days since we applied for them online. That is great service & I hope that interstate Myki buyers are having the same experience.

Yesterday morning, we went out for breakfast again – this time to Boathouse Daylesford, where we were beautifully looked after by Susanne & Claire. Good friends, Eddie & Jenny Beacham arrived with some of their large extended family, but the rest of the patrons were visitors enjoying views of Lake Daylesford from behind glass & in the Winter sun.

Wes is very disappointed with Carlton’s efforts against St Kilda on Friday night – this year has been the worst in his lifetime as far as his beloved Blues are concerned. Today, after breakfast, we are heading to Melbourne – me to the footy & Wes to the Save the ABC rally. Fingers crossed the Pies can continue their winning ways, although it will be difficult to beat West Coast with three of their key forwards back in the team.

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 8th July 2018

Last Sunday was a very cold & chilly morning & everyone was careful driving to breakfast. Judi stopped to help a trader from the Sunday Market, who had hit a kangaroo & couldn’t drive his car; Barbara had to avoid black ice as she travelled in her electric wheelchair & Janine reported seeing more kangaroos & wallabies than usual on her journey in from Musk.

At the Market itself, it was very quiet at 8am & lots of regulars were late. We arrived to find Bilbo’s shredded cabbage waiting for him, but that wasn’t enough. He wouldn’t walk past Geoff, the dried dog treat man, without something & Geoff obliged. Then Bilbo smooched up to Ken Rae from Spring Park Nursery & wouldn’t move without a pat or three. We eventually arrived back home & he turned his nose up at the celery offcuts!

Me enjoying English toffee ice-cream after our fish & chips in Triabunna, Tasmania

In the afternoon, we visited Jane Barrett & John Webster to admire the new home they have built on a beautiful block in Western Avenue, Hepburn Springs. Alan & Linda Stroud had also been invited & it was lovely to chat with them over tea & cake with the sun streaming through the windows.

Apart from gym on Monday, I spent a very pleasant time catching up with good friend, Rhonda. We haven’t seen each other properly in ages & it was lovely to share our stories in the warmth of The Food Gallery. The sun shone again in the afternoon, which gave me a chance to wash our very dirty little Mazda 2 before my next trip to Melbourne.

Wes has been in the garden a few times this week – he has planted 200 daffodil bulbs; weeded; mulched & enlarged some of our garden beds. I emptied the remaining two planter boxes & put most of our herbs into the greenhouse to help them survive Winter. Things like the Winter Savoury, the Basil Mint & Pennyroyal all seem to thrive in the cold frosty weather, so there are still plenty of herbs for the chef to pick.

Judi advised me that it is now possible to buy a permanent Senior’s NSW Opal Card, so Wes & I applied for them online. In the past you had to apply 2-3 weeks before you travelled & they only lasted 60 days, which was very restrictive. Even though we have no plans to visit Sydney, we would like to be prepared when we next do, as it is possible to travel all day there for $2.50 as a Senior.

Wes tucking into sardines at Artifakt Café, Swansea, Tasmania

On Tuesday afternoon, just as Wes was congratulating me on being so much healthier than at the same time last year, I could feel a very rapid head cold coming on. Sure enough I have been confined to quarters ever since as it travelled rapidly into my chest & seems determined to stay put.

Wes took Barbara to the Regent Cinema to see The Bookshop & lunch afterwards at the Art Gallery of Ballarat to celebrate her birthday on Wednesday. After he arrived home, he started to show signs of having caught my cold. So, we have both been under the weather for the rest of the week.

Fortunately, he has been able to do the Friday supermarket shopping & this morning’s Sunday Market, as well as cook meals, for which I am very grateful, as I haven’t been up to anything much at all!

I’m disappointed to be missing this afternoon’s big game against Essendon at the MCG with one of our best-loved players, Steele Sidebottom, playing his 200^th game for Collingwood.

Bilbo can relate to this Snoopy cartoon – one morning he refused to get out of bed until after 9am – even the lure of a treat wasn’t enough to drag him out into the day. Can’t blame him with these -2° starts.

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 1st July 2018

 

We enjoyed a wonderful night celebrating the 70^th birthday of our oldest friend, Tom Tyrrell, last Saturday night at La Luna in Carlton. There were only 16 guests, so we felt very honoured & enjoyed catching up with good friends, Danny & Kim, Mike & Kathey & Tom’s daughter, Becky (who flew down from Qld as a surprise) & son, Paul, who brought his son, Oscar, & daughter, Macy. Wes had spent the week planning his speech & presented it to Tom afterwards in a typed dossier which included some great photos.

Back – Bob, Gayle, Mike, Oscar, Tom, Paul & Jackie; Front – Kathey, Lynette, Becky, Deb, Karen, Macy, Giovanni, Wes, Kim & Danny

Everyone had stories to share & it was fun to remember good times, especially from years ago! It was a late night for us as we didn’t get home until after midnight & saw far too many kangaroos & wallabies on the roads to ever be able to relax. Fortunately, we didn’t hit any of them, especially the young wallaby posing in the middle of the turn-off to Woodend.

Last Sunday, Wes had offered to drive me to the footy to see Collingwood & Carlton play, but we were both quite tired after our trip to Melbourne the night before & decided to stay home instead. We made the right decision, even though Wes would have been very proud of how well his boys played, especially with a couple of early injuries.

We’ve had a busy week – both of us have been to Strathmore to visit Leanne (on separate days). Wes had a wonderful Boys’ Afternoon with Jeff, Danny, David, Brian & Secundus, where they watched the Churchill film, Darkest Hours. By the look of Wes when he arrived home, a very good time was had by all! He spent Tuesday morning helping Barbara instead of their usual Wednesday catch up.

I’ve been able to catch up with friend, Gillie, & we shared a lovely time having breakfast at The Food Gallery after gym on Monday. Gillie is not long home from a month visiting her sister, Wendy, in South Africa, followed by some R&R in Singapore. We talked about both holidays, and the time just flew by. Later in the week, Bilbo & I had a cuppa with Annie & Maisie in the courtyard at Larder. We ordered sunshine from Martin, but he explained his previous customers had requested clouds & we would just have to wait!

Branching out – matchings mitts & beanies & the odd scarf!

On Friday, we took my trusty chair, which must be at least 30 years old, to a local upholsterer in Warrenheip, near Ballarat, for him to replace the material on the seat, which is starting to wear. He told us that the fabric used had lasted that long because it was something he would expect to see in a car, not on a typist’s chair.

Beautiful addition to Vincent Street from David Bromley that we found on our return from Tassie

I had bought tickets to see Tea with the Dames at Ballarat’s Regent Cinema. We had time for a cuppa in their Gold Class lounge before seeing the film, which we loved. It was a brilliant idea to bring these four wonderful actresses together & let them share their stories over cups of tea, glasses of water & finally flutes of champagne.

Yesterday was so cold I cancelled all plans to do some gardening & found some indoor chores instead, until it was time to sit down & watch footy. We lit the fire, which was wonderful & watched games until it was time to go to bed! The Blues did their best against Port Adelaide but fell short in the end. The Pies were at the Gold Coast playing a very determined pack of Suns, who wouldn’t let us run away with the game. I was amazed to discover that we were second on the ladder after the win. That won’t last long as we have to play some very good teams over the next few weeks & I hope we can stay in the Top 8 at least.

Bilbo getting as comfy as possible!

Today, apart from the usual activities, we have been invited to visit friends, Jane & John, who have recently built a new house in Hepburn Springs. It will be good to see what they have done to the beautiful block they bought, which had a very tiny rental property on it.

I suspect the rest of the day will be spent watching more footy games (by me at least). I’m knitting scarves at present, thanks to some multi-coloured pink wool given to me by Leanne & the footy is the perfect accompaniment.

Two Trees beach on Bruny Island – we stopped here as part of our tour & read the history of this place, which looks pretty much as it did 200 years ago