A place like the Mulgrave Country Club sounds a bit posh. When we rocked up on Friday night to catch up with Jason and Mel and U Marloney/A Hooi over dinner, it felt a bit more like an RSL. Maybe half a notch up. Maybe it’s egalitarian Australia. Maybe it’s what that joint was intended to be.
We had a good time catching up nevertheless and before we knew it almost 3 hours have wheezed by. Tress and I noticed however, that when the conversation turned towards how ICC is, Jason and Mel sort of switched off, turned away even. I guess 3 years notwithstanding, there is still a bit of rawness.
We got home, and half willed the Crows on but the Dangerfield inspired Cats remained strong and the maestro’s return to Adelaide didn’t give the Crow Eaters any joy.
On Saturday, the little fellow had a grooming appointment in the morning so we brought him across the street to the oval for a bit of a run around, before Amber (his groomer) showed up with the mobile cut and wash unit. When he was done, Tress and I washed up and we took a little drive to the peninsula.
We headed to the Montalto winery, and sat down to a very lovely lunch. It was a gorgeous day and after lunch we wandered along the grounds, which has a large display of sculptures spread within and beyond the vineyards. It was lovely walking on the grounds, wondering what those sculptures were saying and just soaking in the sun on a balmy late autumn’s day. We weren’t the only ones to take advantage of the unusually warm weather 2 weeks out before winter. A good crowd was there and as we were leaving the winery, we noticed the car park was full and more people were making their way in.
We stopped by a couple of clusters of quaint little shops in Red Hill South. On the second stop, we went into another cafe – the shamelessly named Epicurean – and had some coffee and shared a cake. I suppose we were swept along the Epicurean mindset…
After leaving the peninsula, we stopped by our usual grocery joint at The Chase and picked up some stuff to cook the week’s meals. Back home, we walked the little fellow to milk the sunny and balmy day, before going home to do the cooking (for me) and ironing (Tress).
Cooking done and meals tucked away in the freezer/fridge, we sat down to watch the Richmond v Swans game. It was a thrilling game and Tress and I were saying how good it was to see the Tigers fighting hard against the mighty Swans. Rance, Griffiths and Riewoldt were all hugely impressive and even young Rioli (Daniel, Cyril’s cousin) kicked a couple of goals. It was a guy called Sam Lloyd however, who gets a after the siren kick. 5 points down at the siren, Tress and I were both on our feet watching as we waited for that little fellow Lloyd take his kick. The Sherrin sailed sweetly in between the main uprights to give Hardwick just the second win after Round 8. It was unbelievable drama.
Sunday after church we headed as usual to Madam K but only to stop by to pick up some takeaway. We had arranged to see U Seng and A Anne in their home for lunch. U Seng had rung a few days earlier to ask if I could witness some documents for him so we arranged to have lunch on Sunday. I mentioned this to A Hooi on Friday night and so she and U Marloney joined us a bit later and it was very nice to catch up and talk about what’s been happening to our respective families and our holiday plans.
We left just before 4pm, headed home and walked the little fellow. At the oval, we caught up with an old acquaintance whom we got to know a couple of years back. She had a couple of pooches – a westie and a king charles but the king charles had died some months back.
Scruff looked like he really enjoyed the time with a number of dogs all running happily in the oval. We only headed home when it was turning dark.
It was a lovely weekend with lots of time catching up with friends and family, as well as taking in the beautiful surrounds of Melbourne. It really is a blessing to be living in this part of the world. We often hear that being born in Australia can be a bit like winning a lottery. Sometimes, in some seasons in our lives, living in this part of Melbourne feels a bit like that – even on a Monday morning which was 6.5deg at 6am.
Ante 