Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 26th November 2017

We started our week with the usual activities including the Sunday Market, followed by Breakfast with Friends at the Food Gallery. I’ve filled the house with bowls or vases of roses as they are so profuse at present. The minute you cut some, others appear, so the garden always looks beautiful & smells fragrant.

This vase of yellow, peach & rust-coloured roses is my favourite!

A highlight this week was a most enjoyable & indulgent lunch with Jan & Warren (Secundus) Pengilley at Boathouse Daylesford. Claire & Susanne spoiled us when they discovered that three of their lunch guests have birthdays in November & we were presented with sweets & cheese & free drinks - very generous indeed.   

All of us were keeping an eye on the score as it was Day 1 of the 1^st Ashes Test at the Gabba. Wes had taped it for us, so when we arrived home, we were able to catch up with all the action.

  

                                                                                                            

Yesterday we both headed off to Melbourne, but separately. I went early in the morning to visit Leanne. On the way I met two black wallabies – father & son I suspect, as the large one bounded away as I approached, while the young one sat still watching & wondering exactly what I was in my little Mazda 2. Eventually he, too, hopped off the road. Even though it was hot in Melbourne, Leanne’s unit was nice & cool & we got lots done in preparation for Christmas.

In the afternoon, when I was driving home, Wes set off to St Gabriel’s Theatre Group, Reservoir, to see a performance of Sound of Music, as our Godson, Matthew Spiteri & his wife, Sara Lacey, have been involved in this theatre for 20 years. He loved every minute, cried & sang along, and thought of the Climb Every Mountain Choral Society, which we all belonged to many years ago & participated in with great gusto, usually when we had enjoyed more than enough to drink!

The first Test in Brisbane has been riveting & we are in awe of Steve Smith’s physical & mental strength as he took us from a precarious position to enjoying a slender lead when our final wicket fell yesterday.

The latest crop of beanies, which I delivered to Jodie in Wheatsheaf on my way to Strathmore yesterday. 

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 19th November, 2017

 

We are so thrilled for all our friends that Australia voted very strongly for Marriage Equality & look forward to the Bill going through Parliament as speedily as possible, which means marriages can be held as early as mid-January. I suspect that Daylesford is going to be very busy indeed over the next 12 months & we will be delighted to see long-time partners able to marry here if they so wish.

The other highlight of this week was Wes’s birthday, which he chose to celebrate as my guest in the Committee Room of the Melbourne Cricket Club. As it was Friday, the traffic getting there was horrendous, but we forgot all that the minute we parked under the MCG & caught the lift to lunch. As always, the food was wonderful – we both had oysters done two ways, followed by pork for Wes & barramundi for me. We couldn’t resist the deconstructed pavlova for sweets!

Wes looking very dapper indeed in pink!

We arrived home to find that Bilbo had taken up residence in Wes’s armchair & was brazenly staring up at us as if to say – make me get out of this comfy spot! We are not sure how long he has been doing this, but it is obviously the current favourite sleeping place.

On Wednesday week, 29^th November, we are heading off to Adelaide again for the Pink Ball Ashes Test. On the way we are staying two nights at Casterton & on the way home we are spending three nights at Port Fairy.

Whenever you go away, even for a short time, there is always so much to do. We have arranged for Gillie to do the watering & put out the bins; for Michael to collect the mail from our PO Box; for Bilbo to have a holiday at Eureka, and we have let our neighbours, Rob & Dene know, so they can keep an eye on things over the weekends. We have both been busy in the garden – me staking the tomatoes & chillies, and cutting bunches of roses, & Wes mowing, weeding & pruning in the hope that we come back to not too much work.

Yesterday morning we drove to Kingston, which is 20 minutes away & a very pretty place, to see their Three Open Gardens, which was a fund-raiser for their Avenue of Honour, which celebrates its Centenary next year. The garden at the old Primary School was most impressive with beautiful hedges, old trees, interesting plantings & occasional surprises like the one below.

While we were there we received a phone call from Rob & Dene to say that Bilbo was crying & they wondered if one of us was inside & hurt. I thanked Rob & explained that Bilbo had been washed that morning & the door from the laundry into the house had been closed, which was preventing him from leaping onto Warren’s armchair & he was quite upset about that! When we arrived home, we found Bilbo safe & well & sitting on his bed. We opened the door into the house, went next-door to say thank you & ended up chatting over tea & coffee & cake. Bilbo was on the armchair when we returned – at least he was dry!

We received a lovely thank you card from Jess & Eri with this beautiful photo of them inside. It was a very happy day indeed.   

This morning we are off to the Sunday Market & then breakfast with the usual crew – Judi, Barbara, Janine & Margot. Last week we had David, Sandy & Bam Bam as well, and heard all about life in Port Melbourne, where they have moved after many years in Box Hill.

Our friend, Jane Knox, is in London at present, visiting her daughter, Emily & her husband, Alan. Jane is finding it cold, but enjoying all the wonderful things that London has to offer – like shows!         

  

  

Jane & Emily suitably rugged up!

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 12th November, 2017

We started this week with a lovely social Sunday, even though there was no Breakfast with Friends. After the Sunday Market & pumping water, Bilbo & I came home for breakfast & he eventually worked out that he wasn’t going anywhere else & settled down for the day. Wes & I headed into Vincent Street to see the Daylesford Rotary Art Show. We were very impressed with the standard of work, which was an improvement on last year. Sales were good & the prizes had been awarded to popular paintings as many of them had sold. While we were there, we spotted Warren’s sister, Denise, with her partner, Barry, & her son, Leon. We had a lovely catch-up & Barry was able to show us the works of art he had been involved in through his Thursday group. 

Leon, Barry & Denise – all smiles at the Art Show  

Earlier, David Lazzaro had rung to say he was dropping his daughter, Jessica, in Ballarat & wondered if he could visit us while she saw a film with her boyfriend. We agreed at once & were thrilled to have 1½ hours with him. Wes cooked his very yummy smoked salmon pasta for us. 

Photos from last month’s wedding – Jack Lazzaro (son of Ben & Leanne) with his cousin, Daniel Lazzaro; David Lazzaro & Karen Maloney; Maya & Jessica Lazzaro  

I didn’t have a photo to show last month when Clara Millman was born – here she is with her father, Patrick, & mother, Kate.

We got very brave on Melbourne Cup Day & doubled our outlay per race from $3 to $6. After reading Sunday’s Age from cover to cover, I had decided on Rekindling as my choice with Max Dynamite for second. Wes took the two favourites – Marmelo & Almandin, even though the latter was being ridden by Frankie Dettori, allegedly the world’s best jockey, who has not won this race yet after 17 attempts. I’m not sure his riding style suits Flemington & this race. While Wes’s back was turned, I put $5 on the nose for each of our picks & Rekindling paid $17 for the win, which helped boost our profit to $165 for the day.

Don’t ask me what to back next year as I tend to have a long break between successful punts on the Cup – previous winner was Saintly in 1996 & before that Beldale Ball in 1980, so the tote is way ahead! 

We only had one collect on Oaks Day, but it was a beauty – a quinella that paid $150, so we finished ahead yet again.

On Friday, we had decided to catch up with a couple of new films at the Regent Cinemas in Ballarat. We are really missing the Daylesford Cinema & hope it won’t be long before it is in action again. The first film was the latest version of Murder on the Orient Express with Kenneth Branagh in the role of Poirot. We enjoyed Gold Class comfort with the morning $20 deal & had pots of tea & scones with jam & cream (a bargain at $7.50). The film is visually stunning & I particularly loved seeing the train leave a bustling Istanbul station (which we had visited when we were in Turkey).

However, the casting was uneven & apart from Michelle Pfeiffer, who was excellent & believable as Linda Arden, and Johnny Depp who might be the best Mr Ratchett ever, we were not impressed with it. Even Judi Dench was wrongly cast as the autocratic Princess – she had far too much warmth. Kenneth plays Poirot for laughs, which is very annoying & neither of us liked the changes to the storyline. However, it is a great spectacle & we enjoyed thinking about our memorable journey in April 1990 on the Orient Express from London to Paris. And yes, I took a hat box, courtesy of Loud Gayle!

The second film was an Australian beauty called Three Summers written by Ben Elton, starring Michael Caton, John Waters, Deborah Mailman & Magda Szubanski among others. This is beautifully cast, not quite as well-directed as the earlier film, but a funny, touching, moving & entertaining story set in WA. We loved it.

Yesterday was the final day of the Cup Carnival – another big day of racing with a great crowd of nearly 70,000. Once again, we were lucky enough to turn $54 outlay into $105 & at the end of the day I transferred $400 into our bank account, rather than risk frittering it away on silly bets! We’ve still got some funds if we want to splurge on the Sandown & Ballarat Cups coming up.

Bilbo is sitting anxiously at my feet, waiting to go to the Sunday Market & shredded cabbage treats. Then we are off to breakfast, where we will be joined by David & Sandy & Bam Bam after quite a few weeks’ absence. It will be good to catch up with them, Margot, who has been in China with Janine, and Judi & Barbara who have been unwell.

         Beautiful flowers from our garden at last – irises & roses                       

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday. 5th November 2017

 

The weather has been extremely changeable this week – very hot & windy on Sunday, followed by rain & cool for most of the rest of the week, including frost on Friday. Our garden has really appreciated the rain & everywhere is looking very green & ready to burst into flower, if it hasn’t already. The irises are very late this year, but the seaside daisies have made up for that as they are poking up everywhere & looking very cheery. The lavender is out & I’ve picked the first small posy of roses.

We’ve been able to walk most mornings, making sure we avoid causing the parents of ducklings & goslings any grief as they make their way around their favourite spots at Lake Daylesford, which quite often includes where we park our car.

We’ve both done lots of gardening – Wes mowing & weeding & planting more seaside daisies, which remind us poignantly of Stuart Rattle. I’ve harvested the last of the snow peas & baby spinach & am about to plant the tomatoes & chillies.

Barbara hasn’t been well again this week, so Wes put her car in for service for her on Monday; went to the pharmacy for her, & made sure she had plenty to eat & drink. Judi was also unwell & had a quiet week, which is most unusual for her.

Dot & I played Mah Jong & Dot was back to her best, wiping the floor with me. I also had a lovely facial with Emma Ford at EKO & am feeling much better after my period of unwellness.

On Thursday, I drove in pouring rain to visit Leanne in dry, sunny Strathmore. We had a good visit together & caught up on each other’s news. Meanwhile Wes took his sister, Denise, out for a drive to show her places in the Hepburn Shire, where their family settled & they finished with lunch at Boathouse Daylesford.

Denise at Yandoit cemetery

On my way to Strathmore I dropped off my latest crop of beanies – most of them in footy colours, which I hope will be appreciated by the blokes who get them!

Yesterday & this morning, we walked around Wombat Hill Botanic Gardens for a change. It is so beautiful there at present – lots of irises, roses, rhododendrons, primula, and hellebores.

We enjoyed watching Derby Day on TV yesterday. Once again, we put three horses in a quinella, which cost $3 each race. Our outlay was $27 & our return was $75, so we have still have money up our sleeves for Cup Day.

No breakfast with friends again this morning, so we are off to see the Daylesford Rotary Art Show & visit the studios of our friends, Doug & Annie before it gets too busy, as town is jumping with visitors enjoying our Market, shops, beauty & attractions.                                                   

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 29th October 2017

We’ve enjoyed getting back into the garden this week – I’ve moved daffodil bulbs & put some punnets of extra hot chillies into the greenhouse to get them started. The tomato seedlings in there are doing well & I hope to put them in the garden this coming week. The tulips are just finishing & the roses are about to bloom. Each day I go exploring looking for the first one – not yet!

Wes tried everything to get my computer going again, but to no avail, so we’ve had to buy a recovery disk & start from scratch. Very frustrating indeed.

There has been a lot of work done at Lake Daylesford & the latest involves new seating & tree-planting, both of which are much appreciated. There are families of ducks & geese anxiously shepherding their young out of our way as we stroll around early in the morning.

As well, the roundabout is finally finished & we are all pleased with the design & the difference it makes to traffic flow when entering or leaving along the Trentham-Woodend road. We were hoping for some colourful & exciting plantings in the middle, but native grasses seem to be the current choice. Perhaps next year we could have some lavender or roses.

Apart from our usual activities, we spent Thursday in Melbourne, mostly at the Cinema Nova, seeing films. We started with breakfast at Brunetti’s, and finished with a cuppa at Strathmore with Leanne. In between I saw two very good & thought-provoking films – Ali’s Wedding, which is a true story set in Brunswick of a Muslim romantic comedy, with plenty of serious undertones. I highly recommend it if you haven’t seen it. Then I went to Suburbicon, which is set in 1950s middle class America, with frightening racial & murderous themes masked by a tranquil setting. Wes saw Bladerunner 2049 & was entertained & engaged by it.

There has been a demand for a Bilbo photo – here he is wearing my Greek fisherman’s hat

We have been worried about Bilbo recently – he can no longer jump into the back of the car & is slowing down on our walks around Lake Daylesford. When we got home on Thursday, he was nowhere to be found & he usually greets us at the door with his tail wagging, so we feared the worst. Wes eventually found him sound asleep on our bed (we had left the bedroom door open by mistake). It seems that he can still leap after all!!!

Yesterday morning we had breakfast with our lovely neighbours, Rob & Dene, to hear all about their wonderful trip to Japan & Hong Kong. They very kindly brought us back some Japanese chocolate, which we tasted last night – very rich & decadent.

We had a few bets during the Cox Plate & made enough on the first quinella to see us through a couple of meetings during the Cup Carnival. We actually had the trifecta, which would have been even better! Winx won her third Cox Plate, but it wasn’t in convincing fashion as Humidor nearly ran her down. There was a capacity crowd at Moonee Valley creating a wonderful atmosphere.

No breakfast with friends this morning – Janine & Margot are on their way to the airport & China; Judi & Gillie are off to Stawell to see an Open Garden; David & Sandy are moving from Box Hill to Port Melbourne, and that leaves just three of us, which is not enough to justify heating & lighting upstairs at The Food Gallery. 

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Monday, 23rd October 2017

 

It’s been a very busy & emotional week for us both & just when we thought life would get back to normal, my computer died. Apparently, it is a Windows 10 compatibility issue & could take some days. Hence this late Dispatch. I have set up the laptop on the dining room table, plugged in my back-up USB & am back on line this morning.

The best news of our week was our visit to our niece, Jessie, on a very wet Thursday morning. We left Daylesford at 7.45am armed with flowers & gifts from ourselves & Leanne & arrived at Narre Warren a couple of hours later. Our first surprise was to be greeted by Jessie’s mother, Mary, who had swapped shifts with Michelle to be there; our next surprise & thrill was to see Jessie, not just up & dressed, but having put a slow cooking meal on for dinner, and our final surprise was a very unexpected visit from my brother, Terry (Jessie’s father). We spent 90 minutes there & Jessie talked most of the time. We were delighted to be able to enjoy such a long visit, to give Jessie plenty of hugs & kisses & to catch up on her progress.

Terry, Jessie, Karen & Mary – all of us thrilled to be together at Jessie & Anthony’s home.

On Saturday, Jessie & Anthony held a ‘Bugger Off Cancer’ party, which also celebrated their 42^nd birthdays, which are a week apart. They had 80 guests & Jessie didn’t seem at all fazed that she would have to cope with all these people.

After our visit, we drove back home via Beacon Cove, where we delivered Lovely & Malcolm’s painting & saw them both briefly, & then via Northcote, where we delivered Danny’s painting & had a quick chat with him & his friend, Kim, who is living at Danny’s house until he finds one of his own. We were also able to congratulate them all on becoming grand-parents again, as Patrick Millman & his wife, Kate Adams, welcomed Clara Joan into the world last week.

The next afternoon, along with most of Daylesford, we headed to the Convent Gallery for a Memorial Service for Al Ebenreuter, who had died a fortnight previously & been buried privately. It was a very bittersweet affair – Al would have loved it, especially as friends came from near & far. Our friend, Caroline Storm, aged 86, came from Clifton Hill, & enjoyed seeing us, as well as old friends like Ginger, Peter & Cathy, Ann & Kevin, as well as giving her condolences to Kathy Hancock.

Our favourite photo of Al, taken at a Daylesford picnic

We are still in shock over the news that our friend, Trish Nield, died last week, after falling while walking her dog. She never regained consciousness & will be very sadly missed by her family & friends. We first met her when she joined Rotary about 10 years ago & enjoyed spending time together.

Lovely recent photo of Trish with her great grandson, Jax

On Saturday, Judi & I travelled by train to Melbourne to see the ‘Wallace & Gromit’ Exhibition at ACMI, Federation Square. We were blown away by the size & scope of it. It was due to finish this week, but has been extended to the end of January, so if you love Wallace, Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, Chicken Run, the Pirates, the Were-Rabbit, or any other characters, don’t miss it. We paid $20 each & spent 90 minutes there, which is fabulous value.

Afterwards we walked to the Kino to see ‘Final Portrait’ with Geoffrey Rush as the painter, Alberto Giacometti. He does a wonderful job with his role, but it is a very slow, monochrome film & we were delighted when it speeded up towards the end!

Yesterday, we had a fun breakfast – Margot & Janine are heading to China for 10 days & very excited about the trip. Barbara had been unwell again during the week, but recovered sufficiently to join us. Judi regaled everyone with our visit to ‘Wallace & Gromit’, which made Barbara, Janine & Margot decide to go & see it before it finishes.

Wes showed the documentary ‘I Am Not Your Negro’ yesterday afternoon to a very appreciative audience, on the last day of films at the old Daylesford Cinema, which has closed now while the new one is being built. We’re going to miss the luxury of being able to see films without going to Ballarat or Melbourne. 

Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 15th October 2017

What a busy Sunday we had last week. Bilbo & I had a fun time at the market & collected Wes for breakfast, where we were joined by David & Bam Bam, after a few weeks’ absence. Barbara was well enough to attend, but didn’t get too close to anyone in case she was still infectious.

Wes & I got into the garden – he needed to finish Barbara’s lawns & had bought some seedlings which were anxious to be planted. I put the tomatoes into separate pots in the greenhouse & transferred the coriander & baby spinach into the boxes on the decking. I also planted Italian parsley straight into one of the boxes & put up plenty of shiny stuff to deter the birds from investigating.

Wes asked for a yellow plant from the Sunday Market, but there were no complaints when I brought home a small pot of Lavender Sensation White!

In the early afternoon, Wes went with Barbara to put Bobby into the cattery as Barbara was having new double-glazed windows installed this week & didn’t need to be worrying about an escaping cat.

On Monday, after gym, Wes & I met for breakfast at Larder to celebrate the anniversaries of our retirements – me on 2^nd October 2000 & him on 11 October 2002. Those work days seem far behind us now. We enjoyed  delicious meals before heading home – Wes to work in the front garden & me to do some computer work. I went for a walk up to the Post Office afterwards with some mail & was delighted as I passed the Daylesford Primary School to see the children marching back into class after playtime, to the strains of We’re from Tigerland. Today was the first day of school since the Grand Final & it was a lovely gesture by the Principal to celebrate Richmond’s historic win. In fact, the tune played so often I wondered if he was a Tiger supporter himself!

Happy photo of rellos – Leigh, Kev, Anka, Jeff & Peter at Lincolnshire last week.

Wes was due to show the film Victoria & Abdul on Tuesday morning, but the cinema wasn’t allowed to screen it until Friday, plus work started on the Rex Arcade, so Tuesday films are now finished until the new cinema opens in some weeks’ time. It was a perfect day in Victoria, so we took advantage of the morning off – I went for a long walk into & around town, while Wes did wonderful lots of weeding in the garden. I felt guilty on my return & did a bit as well.

Judi had given me a beautiful jigsaw called Tea Time featuring a small girl giving her teddies a tea party, while the Labrador is snaffling the cakes when her back is turned. I have been dying to do it & decided after my latest batch of beanies, that I had earned a break & could spend some of my relaxing time on the jigsaw.

Dot wasn’t well enough for Mah Jong, so I came home after a muffin at the café. Wes had taken the Mazda 6 to Ballarat to have the passenger air-bag replaced & when he arrived back, he visited Barbara to see how she was going. He had collected her cat, Bobby, for her the day before.

We decided to go to the Regent Cinemas in Ballarat on Thursday morning to see Victoria & Abdul & loved the film. Judi Dench is at her finest & most memorable yet again in a beautiful portrayal of Queen Victoria in a little-known true story of her friendship with an Indian, who was chosen to present her with a gift.

We had lunch at Boathouse Daylesford on our return & enjoyed a glass of merlot with our perfectly cooked calamari. Wes had read on Facebook that Joe Rozen was in Daylesford Hospital, so visited him there after a 2pm appointment at the Men’s Shed. Joe has reacted to medication, so he will be in hospital for a few days while the doctors get him back to normal. I had been told that another friend, Trish, was also in hospital in intensive care in Melbourne, after falling while walking her dog.

Good news with a very happy Andrew Kierce & his fiancée, Kate, & their daughter, Lily Rose, born on 9^th October.

Yesterday, we were delighted to have been invited to share in the wedding of Jessica Lazzaro to Eri Carbajal-Ruiz at St Andrew’s Conservatory at the Pumphouse Hotel in Fitzroy. Wes had his new pink shirt from Hong Kong to wear, but I discovered the top I was going to wear no longer sat nicely, so did a panic buy at Creswick Woollen Mills shop in Daylesford on Friday morning, which turned out to be a much better alternative after all. It was a beautiful day here & even better in Melbourne where the weather was slightly warmer.

We really enjoyed the wedding, which had a decidedly Mexican flavour, in honour of the groom. After a simple ceremony, we spent time in the bar with the other guests, while Jess & Eri had their photos taken. We were seated at a table with Jess’s brothers, David & Ben, & their lovely families. It was wonderful to catch up with their wives, Helen & Leanne, as well as their offspring – Jessica, Maya & Daniel; & Jack & Olivia, who were page boy & girl. I hope to have photos next week.

We arrived back here just after midnight, so it’s going to be a very quiet day for Bilbo & I. We’ve been to the Sunday Market, shared breakfast at The Food Gallery with friends & now it’s time to rest. Wes is screening Victoria & Abdul this afternoon & we’ll all be in bed early tonight!