Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 16th September 2018

We enjoyed another fun breakfast at Boathouse last Sunday. David Castles was to have joined us, but his brother & friend led him astray & he slept in! Afterwards Wes & I had planned a walk to Twin Bridges, but it was raining & we opted to come straight home & spend a quiet day inside instead.

I had bought yet another rose from Ken Rae, Spring Park Nursery, at the Sunday Market & Wes tells me that we have officially run out of room for any more roses unless he creates another garden bed.

 Apricot Clementine – no wonder I couldn’t resist it!

I’ve started a new programme at gym & it is quite tough – Barry tells me it is the one he does himself. Obviously with much heavier weights! The reps are 4 x 14, which is a mighty lot of lifting of weights, barbells, dumbbells & kettlebells. This current programme aims to boost endurance, which is perfect for someone with chronic fatigue.

We drove to Ballarat to see the Australian film The Merger, about a battling country Aussie Rules side, which recruits refugees to help them out. It is a lovely film which tackles the issue of acceptance from a few angles.

Thanks for all the suggestions & advice for our upcoming trip. We are thrilled that so many friends are interested in our doings & very excited about all the plans we have been able to make. On our third trip to Pitlochry, we are arriving too late to see the plays, but just in time to see the musical, Chicago, which stars all the cast. In Glasgow we have tickets for a Rachmaninov Concert & in Edinburgh, we are off to see Some Guys Have all the Luck, a new musical based on Rod Stewart’s life.

We are off to a 2009 Alan Bennet play The Habit of Art starring David Yelland, Matthew Kelly & Veronica Roberts, in Liverpool. The shows we have booked in London are The Wild Duck featuring Nicholas Day; The Play that Goes Wrong, a comedy with a big cast; A Very, Very, Very Dark Matter starring Jim Broadbent; & The Height of the Storm, where we will see Dame Eileen Atkins & Jonathan Pryce. Finally, we have a concert booked in Brussels & another in Venice to round off our cultural education.

Our cousin & God-daughter, Leigh & her husband, Simon, now live in Luxembourg, where Leigh heads up the European legal division of PayPal & we hope to see them while we are away.  

We’ve been able to walk nearly every morning this week, usually in frosty weather, followed by sunny Spring days. We even did the walk around Jubilee Lake on Friday – our first time since Bilbo died & it was so muddy we were very pleased he wasn’t there getting grubby.

After the walk, I feed the birds back here as it is now light enough for them to be up & about. On Friday I threw in some cheese squares & two young kookaburras arrived out of the sky & spent their time throwing the cheese up in the air & trying to catch it in their beaks. We also enjoy seeing the currawongs eat spaghetti, which they do in approved fashion, just as if they were swallowing worms.

I couldn’t get both kookas in shot as they did their tossing routine, but they are together in the old oak tree!

We had a wonderful catch up lunch with Karen (aka Lovely) & Malcolm at Williamstown on Thursday. We met at The Vault on the Strand, which had great write-ups on Trip Advisor – the service was fabulous, but the food & ambience didn’t live up to expectations. Absolutely no fish & chips on the menu, which is a shame when the water is just across the road. However, we loved spending time together with old friends & chatted about any number of things before it was time for us to hit the road.

My favourite red camellia bursting into bloom under the decking outside the guest bedroom.

The footy on Friday night was most exciting when Melbourne overcame a determined Hawthorn to progress to a Preliminary Final in Perth against West Coast.

Last night, we went to see Collingwood play Greater Western Sydney at the MCG along with 70,000 others. I was amazed & proud that the Pies were able to win, especially after GWS took the lead in the third quarter. Our reserved seats were in the open, so we arrived early & managed to get seats undercover on Level 4. We were sitting talking when an old friend from Brunswick Rotary days, Geoff Noble, came by. It was lovely to see him again after quite a few years. Collingwood now play the reigning Premiers, Richmond, next Friday night, in the other Preliminary Final.

On our way home after the game, we drove through snow flurries from Trentham through to Daylesford & there have been a few flakes again this morning to accompany -2°.

Old friends, Terry, Georgie & Laura Borg on a rare holiday together in Rome

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 9th September 2018

After breakfast last Sunday, we visited the Daylesford Primary School book fair, where we bought 15 books for $45 – bargain! We love supporting this school & the fair is held at this time each year. The books are sorted alphabetically, are in good condition & very reasonably priced. As we left Wes picked up some very yummy home-made treats for a young girl at the front door & we demolished them for afternoon tea.

We’ve spent much of our week planning a trip away before we collect a pair of young Labradors, probably around January 2019. We want to say goodbye to some of our favourite places in Scotland; explore a bit more of Wales; catch up with Jeff & Kev in Torksey Lock; see our friends, Paul & Pauline in Chipping Norton; stay in Nether Wallop (the first place we fell in love with when we visited England in 1975); see some shows in London; discover a little bit of Belgium (on the track of Hercule Poirot), & finish up in Venice at the Hotel Vivaldi where we stayed with my cousin, Leigh Murrin, 10 years ago. It is amazingly time-consuming looking for & discarding various types of accommodation, but we have finally found somewhere to stay for every night of the 7 weeks we will be away.

My job has been to book theatre & music experiences & we are quite thrilled with what we have managed to find. We leave on 11^th October & return on 27^th November, just in time for Chris & Malcolm’s wedding at the Convent Gallery on Friday 30^th.

Latest crop of beanies delivered to Jodie for distribution this week

Apart from the usual activities, we both visited Leanne on Thursday to help her with garage & computer issues; we had lunch with Chris & Malcolm to catch up on their plans for their wedding & watched all four games of footy. The first three games were very lopsided with Richmond, Melbourne & GWS winning easily, but the last game, West Coast & Collingwood over in Perth was very exciting & close until the Eagles took control in the last quarter & won by 3 goals. The Coodabeen Champions have dubbed the Perth Stadium, The Boo Factory, & most of the 60,000 in attendance did exactly that for much of the night!

I’m very proud of the Magpies for getting into the top 4, but always thought we would go out in straight sets. It will be interesting to see how we fare against Greater Western Sydney at the MCG next weekend.

Finally, we have enough daffodils to fill a vase – so happy & beautiful!

We got to bed so late last night that our early walk has been postponed until after breakfast. I’m heading off to the Sunday Market soon & even though it is 4 weeks since Bilbo died, I am still not used to going on my own. He loved Sundays & the ritual of visiting the Market followed by breakfast until we had to change venue & there wasn’t a spot for him within sight of us.

Bilbo enjoying shredded cabbage earlier this year

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 2nd September 2018

We started our week with another lovely breakfast at Boathouse, where we were joined by Aileen. Judi was pleased to be with her friends again & we listened to some stories about her time with her mother, the kindness of strangers & the success of the memorial service that she & her sister, Sue, had organised.

I arrived back home at the same time as Wes pulled in back from his overnight stay in Melbourne after Siobhan & Simon’s wedding. We chatted over cuppas & caught each other up on news, of which he had by far the most.

We’ve been enjoying walking around Lake Daylesford most days if the weather permits. If not at 6am, I like to go around at 8am, when it is quiet or late morning if I have been at gym.

Wes has planted two tree ferns in our garden. When we were in Tassie in June this year, we fell in love with them again & ordered a couple from Ken Rae at Spring Park Nursery. He finally produced them at the market on Sunday, & we are tickled pink as they look very healthy & are just starting to uncurl some fronds. One is in the back under the decking & the other is by the pond in the front up against the wall. Both are sheltered, will get lots of water & enjoy some sunshine, but not too much!

 This pair of Pacific Black ducks (thanks David Castles) were on the step looking as though they wanted to join gym on Monday morning – perhaps they liked the music playing!

We are delighted to welcome a new neighbour this week. Esther moved into no 76, the house that was briefly for sale next to us, and she assures us she is here to stay. Wes & I have both introduced ourselves to her – he to offer assistance & me to let her know that her recycling bin disappeared early one morning (I suspect it was collected accidentally by the truck emptying the bins). As I was chatting to Esther, mutual friends from Sister George arrived – with a big recycling bin in the boot of their station wagon! We don’t know anything about Esther yet and look forward to spending some time with her when she is out of panic mode unpacking & settling in.

Early morning birds finding their seed & rice under the frosty lawn

I’m very excited that Collingwood finished in the top 4 & has a double chance in this year’s finals series. We start by playing West Coast at the new Perth stadium. I did consider making the trip, but it would be too exhausting as the AFL package gets you there & back in two days!

It was so cold on Wednesday morning that I had to wait 20 minutes for the hot water pipes to defrost & was nearly late for gym. There were only 4 of us in attendance & I suspect we weren’t the only ones with no hot water. Plus, those who lived out of town would have been nervous of black ice on the roads. Once the sun came out it was beautiful – Barry’s 9.30am class was probably packed.

We were due to have a day out on Thursday, but as the rest of the week was busy we opted to see a film at Ballarat instead. We had a few chores to do on the way & had time for lunch before the film, so tried Jade Inn, a very enjoyable & friendly Chinese restaurant in Sturt Street with lots of variety on the menu. Wes had pork with blackbean sauce & I demolished a plate of Szechuan prawns.

Wes saw the film, Blackkklansman, recommended by his friend, Tom, while I watched The Book Club, as both films finished at the same time. My film was entertaining & I enjoyed watching Diane Keaton & Jane Fonda, two excellent actresses.

We had been invited to lunch on Friday to celebrate the ‘end of Winter, beginning of Spring’ by Di Lyttleton & Jeff Bain, who live about 5 minutes away from us. We were delighted to be part of their guest list, which included Georgina Meadows, who we met at the same time as Di in the early 2000s; Roger & Val Roberts, who are painters that we first encountered when we were running the Daylesford Rotary Art Show, & Norma & Jim Foster, who we have not met before & enjoyed spending time with. Di produced her usual spectacular meal – soup, huge cold platters of fish & chicken, yummy sweets with an enormous cheeseboard to finish. Conversation flowed around a wide range of topics with lots of laughter & some serious moments as well.

Yesterday we drove to Euroa, (via Kyneton to see the daffodils), where we had a lovely visit with Warren’s nephew John, his wife, Dannielle, & their 4 children, Malachi, Kalarni, Dublin & Irish. The family is building a new home on a large property a few kms outside of Euroa & we were able to have a guided tour before settling down to lunch at the local Chinese restaurant, Flam Shan, where we were brilliantly looked after by owner, Connie.

clockwise - Wes, John, Kalarni, Irish, Malachi, Dannielle & Dublin

We’ve already walked around the Lake this morning & are looking forward to breakfast at the Boathouse with friends after visiting the Sunday Market, followed by a quiet day at home.

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 26th August 2018

 

Just as I sent last Sunday’s Dispatch, we were lucky enough to have some snow flurries here. It didn’t last long but was beautiful to watch. Needless to say, it was freezing outside & the Sunday Market traders were doing it tough!

There were only three of us for breakfast, so we went to Boathouse Daylesford on Lake Daylesford & enjoyed lovely meals & great service sitting in the window watching the weak early sunshine make its way onto the water. That afternoon Wes & I had been invited to afternoon tea with Rob & Dene, to say goodbye as they headed to the UK & France this week.

I seem to have had a very busy week with lots of appointments – gym, podiatrist, facial, haircut etc. Wes has been able to get into the garden & everywhere is looking better for his work. Our first bulbs have just bloomed – tête-à-têtes, which are such happy yellow flowers….

…just like our latest rose, called My Yellow, which has a beautiful perfume & delicate petals

On Wednesday, I went to visit Leanne in Strathmore & we had a very enjoyable time sorting out emails & photos on her computer.

We had offered to pick up Judi & Michael on their return home from the Sunshine Coast. They were due to land at 6pm on Thursday. We set off early & of course, experienced no hold-ups at all & I was at their gate lounge waiting by 5.30pm. This was fortuitous, as while I was walking around the Virgin area, seeing how different it was from Qantas, who should I spy but the entire Collingwood team heading towards me & their flight to Perth for yesterday’s game against Fremantle. Everybody was very excited to see them, but the overwhelming impression was that they were all shorter & slighter than we expected, apart from Taylor Adams & Brodie Grundy, who are both quite solid. My favourite player, Tom Langdon, is quite small & slight, which makes his efforts at full-back even more remarkable.

Judi & Michael seemed thrilled to be met at the gate & it was useful to have an extra pair of hands when we collected their luggage. Wes had been watching planes land & listening to the incredible events in the Liberal Party while waiting & we were all pleased that we had brought our station wagon, which had plenty of room for our passengers & their luggage. We had an easy trip home in the dark & left Judi & Michael to settle back into home. We were delighted to hear that the service for Mavis had gone as well as it could with around 50 in attendance.

My brother, Peter & his wife, Anka, flew to New York on Wednesday. Here they are catching up with our cousin, Leigh, outside the Museum of Modern Art. Leigh & her husband, Simon, are in New York giving Simon’s daughter, Charlotte, an 18^th birthday to remember.

Yesterday, Wes attended the wedding of Siobhan Ward, daughter of Josephine in Melbourne. Wes was a big support to Jo when Siobhan was young, and we have followed her life & career with interest.

She married Simon at the Melbourne Museum at 2.30pm, followed by a reception at Quat Quatta in Ripponlea at 6pm. I would love to have been there but couldn’t do both. Fortunately, Wes was able to get an Airbnb room in Elsternwick, about 1km from the reception. His host, Eva, offered to give him breakfast this morning, which I am sure he will enjoy before he heads back home (about 2 hours’ drive). It was a perfect late Winter day in Melbourne with the sun shining & not a breath of wind.

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!