Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 28th August 2016

Dear Friends, once again we enjoyed a stimulating and interesting breakfast last Sunday. Even though Wes and I were tired after 5 hours sleep the night before, we managed to get going and I visited the Sunday Market with Bilbo in the rain & fog. Janine suggested the Amish were moving into Musk, so we developed quite a conversational thread around that. Later Glenn Mack appeared and we caught up on his story of buying his replacement VW after his previous one was a write-off in strong wind & rain in NSW.

Wes hadn’t expected to watch all of the Carlton vs Melbourne game on TV, but when the Blues came out fighting and led all afternoon, he was very pleased indeed.

Great photo of the Murrins wearing the matching Carlton pyjama bottoms we gave them – a cold night in Balmain forced them to don warm sleepwear!

Monday it was Brigadoon again as I headed off to Melbourne to visit Leanne and help her with her laptop. Of course the fog disappeared after Woodend and it was a lovely day in Strathmore, until the rain bucketed down when it was time for me to come back home.

Wes’s Godson, Danny Wells, was driving here from the Blue Mountains, which worried us enormously as it is such a long drive, especially on your own. He finally arrived around 7.30pm after a huge, tiring trip with the frustration at the end of not being able to find our little piece of Duke Street. Fortunately, he rang Wes and was given very clear directions.

We let Danny sleep in on Tuesday morning and Wes headed off to the Daylesford Cinema at 9am to prepare to show the film, ‘Love & Friendship’, based on a Jane Austen book ‘Lady Susan’. When I left to see the film there was still no sign of Danny, so I left him keys, instructions & our phone numbers. There were quite a few of us at the 10am session and nearly everyone enjoyed this brilliantly-written Irish-English-Danish production. Wes and I were worried as neither of us had heard from Danny, so we came back home as soon as Wes could get away to find him newly emerging from the shower.

We took him to the Glenlyon General Store for lunch, where we enjoyed catching up on his news, as it is three years since he was last here, and at that time he was about to start building his own home in Caboolture, Qld. The house is finished & he seems very happy with it.

After lunch, we drove to Kyneton to see the daffodils and came back via Tylden & Trentham. We had discovered at lunch that Danny didn’t have a Tom Tom, but was relying on his phone & maps to get around, so we stopped at Bi-Rite in Daylesford to see if they had any, but they no longer have them in stock, although they can order them in. We dropped Danny at the top of Howe Street so that he could do a walk around and check out the shops. We came home and had a quiet hour or so reading the Age.

Wes and Danny cooked pasta with smoked salmon, fennel & chillies for dinner and it was very yummy indeed.

On Wednesday Wes asked Danny to help him in our garden and then across the road, while Sandra was cleaning the house. I went off for a fringe trim and walked to the Mill Markets afterwards to meet them. I was early so had a cuppa and saw them arrive with Barbara as well. Danny was looking for a gift for his father, Deane, as well as something for himself, but couldn’t find anything suitable. I think Barbara was the only one who bought an item. I discovered too late that my new mobile didn’t have my Book Inventory on it, so I couldn’t check if any of the books I saw were already in our library. After a rather indifferent early lunch at the café there, we returned home for a rest before Wes took Danny to play some practice shots at Trentham Golf Course.

That night they cooked chicken drumsticks with rice & vegetables, while I enjoyed leftovers from the night before. Wes and I were aghast at the news that North Melbourne had decided to cut their 4 oldest players at the end of this year and that it was announced via a press release. After the joyful celebrations of the end of Dane Swan’s & Matthew Pavlich’s career, this seemed very heartless indeed, especially as Boomer Harvey is rated 22^nd best player in the AFL this year.

On Thursday, we set off in convoy for Melbourne – Danny to meet up with a friend for lunch in South Melbourne and continue to Parkdale for the next stage in his holiday, staying with a friend of his aunt, Marguerite; us to the MCC for the annual Bradman lunch, an event we really enjoy.

There were over 500 at the lunch and we were on Table 4 in the very front row with an interesting table of blokes. Our old friend, Brendan Kierce, was there with a table of mates and it was lovely to see him and exchange a few words. Gerard Whateley did his usual superb job as compere; Greta Bradman was a guest and enjoyed watching another young soprano, Hanna, sing beautifully, and the Guest Speaker was Doug Walters, who didn’t disappoint. You could never describe Doug as a great speaker, but he has some wonderful stories to tell and he told them well.

The view from our table looking towards the back of the Members Dining Room

We arrived back home and were in bed fairly early as we were tired from all our activities.

The next morning Wes took Bilbo for an early morning walk, before heading to Ballan Station to catch the 9.37am to Southern Cross Station. Judi was also going into Melbourne, so Wes drove her there and they were both lucky enough to get seats on that busy train.

Wes had been the main organiser of a St Bernard’s School reunion, which was held at The Yorkshire Stingo Hotel in Collingwood. When he left home he was expecting 13-15 to attend, but there were 20 in all and it was a very successful get-together, as lunch lasted for 7 hours!

Meanwhile I took Bilbo out to pump water at Leitches Creek, and pick lemons from Bill & Sue’s tree. On my return, I sat at my computer desk to see if technical help could solve the issues I was experiencing. I had neglected to turn my computer off and a power surge took care of it and managed to corrupt a few files. Apart from sitting at the computer while experts took remote control of things, I did seven loads of washing, bolted down a quick salad at lunchtime, ironed in front of the computer screen, and finally at 8pm begged to be allowed to have dinner and go to bed!

When I woke yesterday morning, everything had been restored and was working perfectly except for Reckon, which is our accounting software app. Another tech sorted it out, but Reckon decided I was trying to download two programmes from the one licence and wouldn’t let me in. Fingers crossed this last hurdle will be crossed shortly.

Wes had a sleep in and I walked Bilbo around the Lake, which we both enjoyed very much. We met up with Di & Jeff, who were walking their two dogs. Back home I spent the rest of the morning listening to the Coodabeens and catching up on everything that I had hoped to do the day before.

In the afternoon we lit the fire and settled down to watch Carlton play Essendon. As nearly every Essendon supporter we know was going to this game, Wes was hoping madly that the Blues would put on a good show, but the Dons reacted to the huge show of support and blew them away instead, which was very disappointing for the Carlton supporters.

Three generations of Tyrrells at the MCG – Paul, his son, Oscar & daughter, Macy, & Tom

This morning Bilbo and I will go off to the Sunday Market soon and then meet friends for breakfast at the Food Gallery. This afternoon we are off to see Collingwood’s last game for the year, when we play Hawthorn. I am not optimistic as we haven’t beaten the Hawks since the Preliminary Final in 2011, a defeat my Hawthorn friends still haven’t forgiven me for as we lost the Grand Final to Geelong & they are sure they would have won!

Happy Birthday to my aunt, Jeff, in Lincolnshire – hope the weather is kind and you enjoy a very happy day. Safe travels to the Murrins who are winging their way home to London after three action-packed weeks in Oz.

This will be my last Winter Dispatch as Spring finally arrives this Thursday. We are enjoying the profusion of daffodils in our garden, as well as those hyacinths the rosellas leave alone. The mornings & nights are still cool, but afternoons are warming up and we look forward to getting back to the garden and painting – two activities that have been curtailed by this very wet Winter. 

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 21st August 2016

 Dear Friends, we started this week with a wonderful breakfast. David Castles brought his best friend, Mark Richardson, to join us, Judi, Barbara & Janine. As well, both Glenn Mack & Aileen O’Reilly popped in for a coffee and catch up. Mark is a scientist, who travels frequently to the Antarctic and he was fascinating to hear speak. He is originally from WA, spent many years in Melbourne and now lives in Hobart.

After breakfast, we brought Bilbo home, changed clothes and headed off to Torquay for lunch with old friends, Marilyn & Robert Preston. You may remember that on their recent trip to Scotland, they were kind enough to find St Columba’s Island on the Isle of Skye and look for Viva’s scarf that we had tied around a tree two years ago. They found the tree, using our photos, but not the scarf, which wasn’t strong enough to survive two Winters. They also climbed Ben Vrackie, and cursed us every step of the way!

We had a lovely lunch. Marilyn had made soup followed by lasagne & salad and we did enjoy sitting around the table swapping Scottish stories and catching up on other news. We discovered that we knew at least 3 of the blokes that Bobby played golf with on a tour of Ireland, before Marilyn joined him in Scotland.

Meanwhile, the Murrins were in Wollongong catching up with Peter & Anka, before driving to Sydney, where they spent the next few days doing all the things you do in that beautiful city, before heading off to Palm Cove for a relaxing few days and then home to London.

On Monday we set off for Melbourne early – me to visit Leanne & take her to an appointment, and Wes to travel on to Surrey Hills to attend Colin Simpson’s funeral. Col was a friend from Brunswick Rotary days and there were a few of them in attendance – Joe de Simone, Barry Cross, Kevin Dale & Ted Bailey & Wes enjoyed catching up with them.

The next morning, while Wes was showing the latest Ghostbusters film to a small but appreciative audience, I drove to Ballarat to see my podiatrist, Victoria Armstrong. One of the ongoing effects of chronic fatigue has been the emergence of a wart virus, which is flourishing, particularly on my right foot. I had seen Andrew Lowe, who offered to operate to remove them, but with no guarantees that they wouldn’t return. I originally booked an operation for October, but have now cancelled, as I don’t think the pain & discomfort are worth it, and every health professional I have seen assures me the virus will return. Victoria tidied up my feet, found a suitable cream and has referred me to a naturopath in the hope that she may be able to help.

On a lighter note, we saw a wonderful video on Facebook showing a golden retriever being vacuumed and loving every minute of it, so I sent it to Sandra, our cleaner, and her partner, Darren, and they both agreed she should try it on Bilbo.

I’m not sure where this week has gone to – there seems to have been lots of home duties, as well as reading, catching up on TV shows that we missed the previous week, planning for next week’s visitor, Danny Wells, and on a beautiful sunny day, going out for breakfast at the Glenlyon General Store. We have been meaning to go back there for ages and we were so pleased we did. Not only did we enjoy yummy breakfasts – Wes had crumpets with avocado and I had smoked salmon with parsnip cakes, but we also met up with Theo, (partner of Geof, who died last year) and Carol Presser, who used to live & work here, but now lives in Melbourne.

Then disaster struck – I had been experiencing problems with Windows 10, so we decided to upgrade our system to Office 365 2016. This downloaded beautifully on my computer & the laptop, but caused all sorts of issues on Wes’s computer and he was unable to access his programmes & Outlook. We spent most of the day trying to solve the issue. And finally, it was done after lots of patient uninstalling & backing up to make sure that he didn’t lose anything.

We woke to Brigadoon and a very cold morning yesterday. Wes and Bilbo did their walk early, while I did the Age crossword. We are both trying to learn all the tricks of Office 365, so spent much of the day in front of our computers again. It was too wet to go into the garden.

Last night we drove to Matteo’s in Brunswick Street, North Fitzroy, for Ian Robinson’s 70^th birthday dinner. We were very honoured to be part of a group of about 30 friends there and enjoyed a very yummy meal complemented by excellent wines from Ian & Robyn’s cellar. We were seated at a table for 6, which included Michael & his new wife, Adele. We had met Michael some years ago, when he and his then wife, Sue, were thinking of using Fasham Johnson to build them a home in Trentham. The Robinsons suggested they drop in on us, which they did, and after seeing our house, they went ahead with their plans for Trentham. Sadly, Sue died about 2½ years ago, but Michael has found love again with Adele, who he had known through a local dog-walking group.

We drove home through fog and rain from Woodend onwards and when we woke this morning, it is exactly the same weather and we can’t see beyond our back fence! Needless to say, this will be a quiet day after the Market & Breakfast are over!!!

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 14th August, 2016

Dear Friends, have we been busy this week! It started on Sunday, when we drove to Melbourne to meet Leigh, Simon & Charlotte Murrin at my current favourite breakfast/brunch spot – the Square & Compass in East Melbourne. Matt had saved us a table inside, but we opted for sitting out in the sun, which was perfect. We were all pleased to see each other again and chatted happily until it was time to walk to the MCG to see Carlton play St Kilda.

Wes made sure we went past Shane Warne’s statue, as Leigh is such a fan, and she was thrilled as you can see. Sadly, I’ve chopped Shane’s head off in my photo, but you get the general idea.

We found our seats, which were on the roofline on the ground level and went for a quick drink before play started. Wes and I were most disappointed that Carlton had left their wonderful attacking game at home – they put up a poor show against the Saints and Leigh didn’t get too many chances to cheer. Simon & Charlotte were bemused by Aussie Rules, but Charlotte asked lots of good questions and was very taken by the fact that supporters of both sides sat together.

At half time, we went for a quick tour of the MCC, starting on the 4^th Level and making our way back down via the Library, Long Room & Members’ Dining room.

At the end of the game, because it was Sunday, there was kick to kick after the siren, so we walked on the MCG and had great fun dodging footies.

We left the ground via the Great Southern Stand and all five of us piled into the Mazda 2 and set off for St Kilda, with a slight deviation so Simon could see the Grand Prix site. We then drove home, while the Murrins prepared to catch up with Terry, Mary & Jessie over dinner that night.

On Monday, after walks, gym & a massage, we had brunch with Mick & Suzanne Leahy, good friends from Brunswick Rotary days that we have not seen in a long time. We went to the Boathouse Daylesford and waited for them, wondering what had happened – they had gone to the Lake House instead!

We had cancelled our usual activities for Tuesday & Wednesday to be ready for the arrival of the Murrins in Daylesford. However, Wes went to Howe Automotive to pick up a new battery for the Mazda 6, so that we wouldn’t have any embarrassing moments during the next day’s tour. The Murrins visited Viva’s grave in the morning and then spent a lovely time catching up with Leanne at Strathmore before driving here and checking into Lake Daylesford Cottage.

They drove to our place in pouring rain, bearing lovely gifts and being thrilled by the Carlton pyjama pants we had left for them all, as well as Tim Tams & chocolate Teddy Bears. Wes cooked a brilliant fish pie, honey soy chicken drumsticks & steamed beans, which he followed with an Eton mess (made with Charlotte’s help) and some cheeses. He also taught Charlotte how to taste wines and she seemed very appreciative of the lesson.

We met Leigh & Simon at 7.15am outside Lake Daylesford Cottage, introduced them to Barry the fisherman, and walked around the lake for an hour. It was very peaceful and we all enjoyed the time together. At 9am, we went to Boathouse Daylesford to meet the three of them for breakfast, and Doug, the waiter, was busy trying to get the fire going without smoking out the café. He asked Wes for help and they had fun deciding it would be best to let the fire go out, as the customers would probably prefer the doors closed and no internal smoke. Breakfast was very yummy and Simon declared the Istra bacon to be the best he had ever tasted.

Wes then drove us all on the $35 tour – taking in Jubilee Lake; East Street natural spring; Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens; Musk; Trentham; Trentham Falls; Little Hampton; Mt Franklin; Dry Diggings; the Chocolate Mill (where the Murrins had fun drinking hot chocolates & choosing their chockies to take away); Franklinford; Shepherds Flat; Hepburn; the Hepburn Springs Golf Club (only 2 kangaroos & too far away to see clearly), and finally Vincent Street Daylesford and a chance to stretch our legs and inspect the shops.

Wandering along Vincent St, Daylesford

I went home after that for a rest, while Wes took the Murrins to Sailors Falls Estate, where Rob & Marg had opened their winery especially for us. I think it was another good experience and Wes certainly came home with plenty of his favourite Pinot Gris for our cellar.

We had invited Judi & Michael, Barbara & Gillie to come at 5.30pm for Aperitifs and to meet the Murrins, so we lit the fire, put out lots of nibbles, and welcomed our guests, who came bearing some beautiful wines. Michael helped Wes produce a yummy salmon & fennel pasta, while the rest of us chatted and got stuck into the wine, cheese & nibbles. It was a lovely night, and everyone was home again by 8pm.

Fortunately, Wayne, from Barclays in Ballarat, had fixed our dishwasher that morning and we were very grateful to Sandra, who stayed around our house until Wayne was finished rather than leaving him to lock up and put the keys back under the mat. After 8 weeks without a dishwasher, we were more than ready to get back into stacking & forgetting mode!

The next morning Wes and I had planned a sleep-in – instead we were wide awake at 4.30am, so he got up & dressed, cleaned out the fireplace, did some chores, had breakfast and eventually went back to bed with the Age to read. I got up slowly after a pot of tea, went around to Lake Daylesford Cottage to say goodbye again to the Murrins; walked Bilbo around the Lake; filled up with petrol; delivered Glenn’s mail to his home in anticipation of his arrival back today, and came back to watch the Olympic swimming (wouldn’t mind a call of the races instead of a commentary of where an Australian is or isn’t)! We were both hungry by midday and enjoyed some leftovers as Wes usually manages to cater for double the number of guests we have!

Lunch for the Murrins in Lakes Entrance – flathead tails, fish, chips, dim sims & potato cakes!

The next morning, my two boys went for their usual early walk, while I stayed in bed drinking tea until I had solved DA’s not so dastardly Friday cryptic crossword. Wes headed off to Trentham Golf Course for a lovely, but cold 10 holes, fitted in a visit to Trentham cemetery, and ended up at Chaplin’s meeting Noel Harvey, who wanted to run an idea past him. I did some shopping for Leanne, pumped water at Leitches Creek, and did a few more loads in the dishwasher.

That afternoon late, we drove to Melbourne to see Collingwood play the Western Bulldogs at the Docklands Stadium. As an MCC member, I can buy a seat for myself & a guest in the Centre Wing area on Level 2. We had a great view and as we were early, headed to the special club area for a glass or two of Shiraz. Every table had a container of peanuts with a spare container for the shells. We immediately thought of the peanut man, who used to visit all the suburban grounds on a Saturday afternoon with a sack of paper bags full of peanuts – ‘peanuts, shilling a bag, peanuts’. I also thought of my dear father, Perc, who loved peanuts in their shells and would have approved of this offering.

We were lucky enough to see a stunning close game of footy, where the scores were level 11 times and the Doggies held on to win by 3 points on their home ground. We were most impressed by the free water bottles on offer and the free water filling stations situated all around the ground. There was a young bulldog as a mascot and unlike most other teams, their scoreboard showed highlights from both sides during the breaks. If only the Blues had been able to match the Saints and played a close exciting game like this for the Murrins last Sunday.

We were so tired yesterday morning that we slept in and woke to find Brigadoon had descended on Daylesford and we couldn’t see past our decking. It was a tea & toast & watching the Olympics morning, followed by footy in the afternoon. Wes got very frustrated with Carlton again and retreated to the bedroom to watch a video. I had to let him know that the Blues were back in the game, and they only lost by 4 points in the end to a very determined Brisbane Lions outfit. We have been listening to the Olympics on the radio to get a rounder commentary, but it is very frustrating, as the TV is about 30 seconds behind real time.

Last night was the first Gay Pride AFL footy game between St Kilda & Sydney & there was a great atmosphere at the Docklands. It was an even first half, but the Swans ran riot in the second half and left the Saints in their wake.

This morning, it is a cool, damp morning – the boys have been for their early walk and I will take Bilbo to the Sunday Market shortly. After breakfast, we are driving to Torquay to have lunch with Robert & Marilyn Preston, where we will swap stories about our Scotland trips. Meanwhile the Murrins will catch up with Peter & Anka this afternoon, which means they will have seen all Leigh’s cousins on this trip to Oz.

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 7th August 2016

 

Dear Friends, we enjoyed a different Sunday last week – the sun shone nearly all day! Bilbo and I pumped water at Leitches Creek before going to the Sunday Market for fruit, vegetables, honey & cabbage leaves. Breakfast was most enjoyable with Pasquale serenading us before everyone else arrived; Judi telling us about her trip to Caloundra to see her mother; Margot excited to be going to Coolangatta the next day for 5 weeks; Barbara keen to buy the latest Harry Potter book, and Janine relating her unexpected trip to Daylesford Hospital with a painful muscle spasm in her back. Bilbo was overfed bacon & eggs by Margot, who will miss her weekly ritual.

Pasquale in full operatic voice at 8.55am

When we arrived back home, I made a big pot of minestrone to get us through our busy week, and Wes did some Ancestry work before heading to the Daylesford Cinema to show the film, ‘Me Before You’. I joined about 20 others, who all enjoyed this funny, moving, moderately accurate portrayal of life for a wealthy young man who becomes a quadriplegic after an accident, and the effect he & his young female carer have on each other. It was well cast & acted and, apart from glossing over the more unpleasant day to day effects of quadriplegia, succeeded very well in giving us a glimpse into life in a wheelchair.

Afterwards we met at the Food Gallery for a quick cuppa and debrief. The café had closed for the day, but Pasquale assured us we wouldn’t be in the way if we had hot drinks in the centre of the room, where no one could see us! So we did.

We woke on Monday to light rain, so the boys went for their usual sodden walk around the Lake and arrived back just before the heavens opened. All thoughts of gardening were cancelled; Barry sent a message that he was too unwell to run gym classes, so I had an extra hour or so before meeting Judi for pots of Jasmine tea at Muffins & More.

We headed off to Jackie’s on Vincent for a long overdue lunch with our first Daylesford friends – Glenda, who sold us our house, and her husband, Joe, who introduced me to the Info Centre. We sat happily over a bottle of Passing Clouds pinot noir and Jackie’s yummy food for an hour and a half, hearing all about their recent trip to Canada, Alaska & Hawaii. When we arrived home, there was a message from Barbara that she couldn’t close her garage door, so Wes went straight over to solve the problem.

Latest crop of beanies & berets – coming to the end of Viva’s wool!

I washed both our cars on Tuesday morning, as they were so dirty after all the rain, and I needn’t have bothered as they look dirty again! Mike Hill’s funeral was held that day, so we set off via Trentham, where we collected Bob White, and joined 500-600 other mourners at the Coburg Town Hall. It was a wonderful celebration of Mike’s life and achievements, and I was very proud when one speaker quoted Warren’s tribute on Facebook as something that couldn’t be better expressed, and another speaker, friend, Elisabeth Jackson, chose to relate a story about early Council days, when Mike & Warren first met and the plans they hatched together. We saw quite a few familiar faces, including John & Jim Connor, Rocco Di Zio, Peter Russo, Alan Austin & his wife, Kelvin Templeton MP & others from Councils, VLGA etc. We were very pleased to find Mike’s partner, Lorna Pitt, as we were leaving, and gave her extra big hugs.

On the way home, we stopped at The Trentham Collective for a very late lunch & hot drink sitting in front of an open fire. Bob was very grateful for the lift there & back & shouted lunch, which was very generous of him. We came home exhausted after our big day and were in bed early.

It was raining again on Wednesday and quite cold in the wind. The boys walked early and I went to gym, after dropping off the latest crop of berets & beanies. Afterwards I had a fringe trim with Lyndal, before coming home to drink Jasmine tea and rub Deep Heat on a pulled muscle in my neck. I think I must have done it the day before, swivelling my head around to chat with Bob who was in the back of the car. Wes spent the morning at Barbara’s place helping out and filling bins.

We had a sleep in the next morning as we were both tired – Wes wasn’t feeling well & I was in some pain, so it was lovely not to have to get up early for a change. I headed off to EKO to have a facial & pedicure, and Wes opted for a quiet day inside, instead of doing all the chores that were on his list.

On Friday, it was icy cold with -1º, before the sun came out during the late morning & hung around for a while. Wes & Bilbo walked, and later I took Bilbo for another walk to the Post Office and around Lake Daylesford. I got out DA’s cryptic crossword, our passports arrived and we printed out updated information for Peter Russo, our solicitor, to drop in as we drove into Melbourne for the footy.

We had a very easy drive into town and were safely parked and queued up before the MCC gates opened. Once in, we put our bags down in our seats & repaired to the Hugh Trumble café for a drink and catch up with David Lazzaro, who was meeting his best friend, Matt, who lives in Tassie and gets over for one or two games each year. Sadly, the Pies weren’t up to the task of beating Richmond, but the game was close until the very end, so we remained entertained until the final siren.

How lovely to get home just on midnight to find Bilbo sound asleep on his bed, but he was very happy to move into our bedroom and zed away the rest of the night. Leigh & Simon & Charlotte flew into Melbourne early yesterday morning and it was lovely to speak with her.

In the afternoon, we went to watch Daylesford play Smythesdale at Victoria Park. As the Melbourne vs Hawthorn game was so exciting, we had the radio on listening to it while applauding the Doggies as they kicked lots of goals. Suddenly the radio died and we realised the battery was flat. At ¾ time, Wes used the jump leads to attach us to the next-door car and we drove home in time for him to get to the Daylesford Cinema to show the 5.30pm film. I did the ironing while watching the end of the Melbourne match, which was a famous victory for the Club.

Bilbo facing the wrong way to watch the local footy

This morning when Wes and Bilbo went walking the battery was flat again, so Wes jump started the car and drove it for about 40 minutes in the hope that it will get Bilbo and I to the Sunday Market. After that, we are driving to Melbourne (in the other car) to catch up for brunch at the Square & Compass with Leigh, Simon & Charlotte, before walking to the MCG to see Carlton play St Kilda. Leigh is a Carlton film, and her big request months ago, when she was planning this trip, was to see the Blues play.

After the game we will drop them at their Airbnb apartment in Robe Street, St Kilda, (where they are meeting my brother, Terry & his wife, Mary, for dinner), before driving back here.

On Tuesday, after visiting Leanne, the Murrin family will come to Daylesford and spend two nights at Lake Daylesford Cottage, just across the Lake from us. We are looking forward to showing Simon & Charlotte where we live, and reacquainting Leigh with one of her favourite places that she has already visited twice before.

Lovely photo of David & Jane Knox after Jane was released from hospital, where the doctors found a heart irregularity that can be handled by the taking of tablets – great news!

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 31st July 2016

Dear Friends, once again, we had a fun breakfast, especially with the addition of Gillie, who popped in for a coffee and catch up. Bilbo was given far too much to eat as usual and slept away the rest of the day until dinnertime, when he woke on cue for a smallish repast.

You can see how cold it still was at 9am outside the Food Gallery

Wes drove off to Bacchus Marsh to listen to more poetry readings from Amit and others. Penny didn’t get there, but there were quite a few other readers and Wes got to read some poems himself. On his way home, he stopped at Tylden Cemetery, where he found a Munro baby (Viva’s side of the family); a Maloney family, and lots of Macaulays, relatives of friend, John Macaulay, who was interested in what Warren posted on Facebook.

On Monday, after gym, I enjoyed a lovely long catch up with friend, Di Lyttleton, at the Food Gallery. It was foggy and wet, so she was happy to forgo walking her dogs for the warmth of the café. When I arrived home, Wes told me the sad news that our dear friend of many years, Mike Hill, was at home in palliative care, as he was no longer able to go anywhere safely.

Sadly, Mike died of lymphoma on Tuesday, and leaves behind his partner, Lorna Pitt, as well as a great legacy to Brunswick through his work establishing Westwyck, and as a Councillor and first Mayor of the City of Moreland. He loved reading my Dispatches and often followed up on things like changing passwords or correcting any ambivalent statements I made. His last outing that I know of was to the footy on Queen’s Birthday, where he was delighted to see his Demons beat Collingwood. I didn’t begrudge him his excitement for a second.

I watched the film, Downriver, with Wes at the Daylesford Cinema on Tuesday morning and what a bleak film it was. There was barely a character to like in it, just some very fine acting and a very tragic story. This is an Australian film, a mystery drama, beautifully shot in Warrandyte. Afterwards, Wes went to visit his sister, Denise, bearing lunch, to celebrate her birthday; while I had lunch at Jackie’s on Vincent with Gillie Gough & Michael Ivanchenko. The other two shared some yummy, but meaty dumplings and I tucked into the Shanghai pepper squid with extra chilli sauce. We had a lovely time chatting about all sorts of topics and were toasty warm under the heater and near the open fire.

Stunning glimpse of Lake Daylesford early on Tuesday morning courtesy of Beck Walker

There was no Mah Jong and no Sandra on Wednesday, so after gym I came home and rested before we headed off into Melbourne to visit the Old Melbourne Gaol and attend a private viewing of  ‘Degas: A New Vision’  courtesy of our financial advisors, First Samuel, at the National Gallery of Victoria. We parked near the Malthouse Theatre and caught the tram along St Kilda Road into town. Our visit to the Gaol was superb. We are National Trust members, so it was free. We were welcomed very warmly and our options explained clearly by Fiona, who gave no impression that she was saying it for the umpteenth time that day. Inside a group of schoolgirls were being taken on a noisy guided tour, but we were able to wander in and out of the cells on all three floors without hindrance. The Gaol focuses on many things, but Ned Kelly’s hanging is the most historic event to have occurred here and there is a lot of information to digest. Wes has a forebear, Edward Adams, who was at the death at Ned’s request and he is shown in the picture taken just before Ned was hanged. The man who murdered Warren’s ancestor, Frank Cartwright, was imprisoned here and we found his cell as well.

Before we left, we visited a small room, which commemorated the 30^th Anniversary of the Russell Street bombings, which were meant to destroy the police complex, which was across the road from the Gaol. Sadly, they killed Angela Taylor, a young police officer, who was walking across the road to get lunch for her mates. The complex was damaged but not destroyed and there were very few injuries.

We caught the tram back to the NGV and found our way to the private viewing, where we were plied with excellent and plentiful food & drink by very friendly, experienced staff before we were given an overview of the Degas Exhibition, and then a tour accompanied by two volunteer guides. I was underwhelmed by this huge display – I found his paintings of women showed little or no empathy with the exception of what I think is his best work by far – The Absinthe Drinker (pictured). There were a couple of other paintings I liked, mostly horses, which he seemed to prefer to women! The highlight of the evening was catching up with dear friends, Tom Tyrrell & Deb Fowler.

We were quite tired by the time we arrived back home, well past our bedtime, only to discover that I had forgotten to close the door into the laundry, and Wes had forgotten to close the door into the bedroom, with the result that Bilbo had spent the time we were away lying on our bed in supreme comfort – when he wasn’t gnawing at the giant bone we had left to keep him occupied!!!!!

On Thursday, Wes had an early appointment here before driving to Strathmore to help Leanne with her computer. I did the supermarket shopping, so he could take some stuff with him and then had a very quiet day recovering from the excitement of the day before. Bilbo and I were in bed by the time Wes arrived back at 9pm and we decided to have a sleep-in on Friday morning, which was a good decision, as Friday remained wet & foggy all day.

Another of our Daylesford friends, Russ Wilkinson, has been very unwell and in hospital in Melbourne. We knew Russ back in Brunswick days when he was a member of the East Brunswick Progress Association, run by Vic & Vi Little. Russ has taught Daylesford & surrounds how to play Mah Jong and looks after the weekly group, the longest-running U3A class, which has been going since our inception.

Jane Knox’s father, Frank, had a fall in the shower on Sunday, and has been in hospital ever since. Jane & David has just arrived at the snowfields, when they got the news, so drove back home on Monday to be by Frank’s side. It is such a worrying time for us as parents reach their nineties and frailty sets in – we are very lucky if they don’t suffer mental issues as well. On Friday, Jane herself, ended up in hospital, and will have an angiogram tomorrow to find out why she hasn’t been feeling quite right.

Yesterday we woke yet again to fog and constant rain – 10-20mls per day on average. Wes and Bilbo walked early in it, then came home & dried off before Wes went off to attend a Council briefing for the new suggested home of the Hepburn Hub. Council has suddenly realised that we have a nearly empty building in the main street that could solve most of its space problems, and cost heaps less to alter than the plans they have been foisting on an unhappy Shire. They are choosing to ignore the fact that many ratepayers, us among them, suggested the Rex Theatre ages ago and were ignored.

Wes arrived home very pleased with the hearing he and others had received and hopeful that sanity would prevail in every respect. We had fish & chips for lunch in celebration and sat down in front of the open fire for an afternoon & evening of footy. Sadly, the Blues were unable to beat ladder leaders, the Hawks, but they tried hard to stay in the contest.

We were thrilled when Collingwood was able to come back in the last quarter after being headed to beat West Coast, and then settled down to watch an even contest between North Melbourne & St Kilda, where North were determined to celebrate Boomer Harvey’s record-breaking 427^th game with a win, and did.

Daylesford Winter Dispatch - Sunday, 24th July, 2016

Dear Friends, we started our week very well with a good trip to the Sunday Market, a fun breakfast, where Bilbo got more than his share of bacon & eggs on toast, and arrived back home for me to make a big pot of minestrone soup, and Wes to spend some time in the garden.

You can just see Bilbo in his Collingwood coat sitting outside the window waiting for Barbara, Margot, Judi & Janine to arrive and say hello.

After a cold morning, the sun came out in the afternoon in time for us to attend our first ever ‘Commitment Ceremony’ between old friend, Chris Dobson, and new friend, Suzanne Brimacomb. There were nearly 100 invited guests and we were very adequately contained within a marquee extension of the garage and kitchen. Everyone we have spoken with agrees it was a loving and meaningful ceremony, and we can all only hope that they can be married within the next 12 months.

We arrived home to find ourselves quite exhausted after all our socialising from Friday to Sunday, and were in bed and sound asleep very early.

I went to gym the next morning and then enjoyed a very welcome massage from Nick Massaro, who was not long back from a lovely holiday in Rockhampton with his wife, Robyn. Wes made his famous fish pie for lunch and we watched episode 2 of the BBC’s Undercover, which we are really enjoying.

Wes spent 2.5 hours later in the day helping Margot with her computer, which desperately needed updates and was very pleased to come home to tea and toast.

It wasn’t cold on Tuesday, but very foggy – Wes & Bilbo walked early and I delivered my latest crop of beanies & berets to Mell Sappho, who runs Keeping Daylesford Warm. She is always very appreciative, which keeps me going!  

   

Berets & beanies are at the top of the page      

Wes, Lauren & Malcolm, AKA the A Team, were showing ‘Hunt for the Wilderpeople’ but I needed to go to Ballarat more than I needed to see that film, so off I went in the fog to pick up a few things that I just can’t get in Daylesford, as well as visit the NAB ATM to change card pin numbers & get out cash. The film was well received and the Daylesford Cinema decided to have an encore performance on Wednesday night as it was so popular.

In the afternoon, we had an appointment at our local Post Office, to apply formally for our new passports. It took about 10 minutes, including photos, and we found it a very easy and relaxing way to renew passports. We aren’t planning on travelling anywhere this year, but we both felt it would be a shame if the opportunity arose and we were unable to take it.

On Wednesday after gym, Wes and I headed to Muffins & More for a catch-up with Dot & John Smith & Valerie Lefel, as Dot & John are off to Coff’s Harbour for 5-6 weeks on the weekend. We had originally planned lunch, but John had double-booked, so Wes came in early for coffee and a chat.

John, wearing the Fair Isle jumper I knitted him, deep in conversation with Wes.

In the afternoon, I took Bilbo for a walk around the Gardens, while Wes took Barbara to do a big shop at Coles and to fill her car up with petrol. They had planned to do this in the morning, but Barbara very kindly agreed to the change of time so Wes could get to the café.

On Thursday, we headed off to Castlemaine on one of our regular outings exploring areas around where we live. We started at the Old Castlemaine Gaol, with a cuppa at the Governor’s Café, which was quite underwhelming as you can see from the look on Warren’s face! After that, we headed on our self-guided tour (you can go anywhere but upstairs!) and were even more underwhelmed, if that is possible. What a disaster this is and it could be such a wonderful and interesting place for locals & visitors in Castlemaine. Signage was appalling, finding out where to buy a ticket was difficult and we, along with other visitors, hadn’t worked out that the initials OCG meant Old Castlemaine Gaol and thought they referred to some Government Department that must have been using the many out of bounds areas.

Our next stop was the Castlemaine Botanic Gardens, where we did a circuit and encountered a few locals walking dogs, some mothers & kids in the excellent playground, and a few signs telling us about the fountain, lake, trees & old tearooms. We eventually spotted two workers inspecting new growth, but didn’t come away feeling that this was a particularly loved spot, bounded as it is by the railway line and streets.

We decided to visit Das Kaffeehaus for lunch, as we had planned to do some months ago, when we were going to meet Lovely & Malcolm in Castlemaine, but I was too sick to go. What a delightful spot – we loved the Viennese style of the décor, enjoyed the smiling, helpful greeting & service and best of all, found interesting meals that we tucked into! This place has that very rare person these days – a maître d’ and ours was a very attentive well-dressed female who seemed to have eyes in the back of her head, making sure no one was neglected.

 My meal was a special called serviettenknödel (friend bread dumplings with scrambled eggs & salad), while Wes asked for the best sausage on the menu, which came served with two kinds of sauerkraut & three mustards

After lunch, we headed for the Castlemaine Art Gallery, which is always worth a visit. Sadly, two couples were using the Australian artists’ room as a venue for catching up, so we exited quickly and found ourselves in the very back room, where there was a fascinating display entitled Beards & Influence. Clayton Tremlett has 12 large self-portraits of himself as various Australian bushrangers and it was amazing how different beards & facial hair make him look immediately identifiable as Ned Kelly or Martin Cash for example.

Down in the refurbished museum, we learnt much about Castlemaine’s history and early persons of note & influence, including Nellie Sheehan, who was their first female Councillor in 1942 & Mayor in 1954-5. We also read that the Campbell’s Creek cemetery had a Chinese Burial Oven and decided to visit it on our way home.

What a wonderful cemetery – we loved it – it is easily the biggest country one we have ever seen and gives the Chinese a prominent spot on a hill, where there is a marble plaque celebrating their achievements, particularly on the goldfields. The oven is bigger than the one at Maldon, but not in such good repair. However, we are not suggesting for a minute that this cemetery isn’t well looked after. It is immaculate, beautifully set out and on our drive through, we discovered that old headstones, those had fallen over, had been replaced carefully along the path, supported by the base of the hill.

We drove home thinking that our day had been a big success, except for the Gaol, which is desperately in need of TLC. Bilbo was delighted with our return and the countdown to his dinnertime.

During that night & early morning, there was a wild storm, which brought rain everywhere, so that even cars under cover were completely covered in water. It was too wet & wild to walk, or even to garden later, but I did go and pump water, plus do the shopping at Coles in between showers.

In the afternoon, I drove to Danny’s place in Northcote, so we could go to the footy together that night. We met Danny’s friend, Nu, who is a North supporter, and had a couple of drinks before going to our seats in the Docklands Stadium. Danny & Nu were seated on Level 1, behind the goals, but I was on the second tier, in an area available to MCC Members, which was a very good view. Sadly, the Pies didn’t bring their best footy to the Docklands, and we Collingwood supporters were most disappointed, after having gone to the game with some hope of a win.

Yesterday morning, Danny & I had breakfast at Square & Compass in East Melbourne, before heading our separate ways. Danny had a busy day visiting his daughter, Greta, and family; having an early dinner with a friend, and then driving to Bentleigh to a Trivia Night to support his son-in-law, Cory, who is married to Celia. I drove to Strathmore to spend the morning with Leanne and later drove back here through pouring rain, in time to watch Carlton just fail to topple the Swans at the SCG.

Wes had been to a poetry reading on Friday night, to support Penny Reilly, who was reading some of her poems in company with Amit Dahiyabadshah, an Indian Poet Laureate. He was most impressed and is planning to spend time with Amit & Penny again today, while I recover from my travels and disappointment!