I subtitled this weekend "from Dylan to Donizetti", as we went to the Bamboo Bean last night.
Chris had curated 28 Bob Dylan songs in deference to his 80th birthday, and had got Justin, Pete, his son Hamish, and his music teacher to come along and contribute also
Was a surprisingly good night, and I'm not the biggest Bob Dylan fan out there
Anyway, on Saturday, we had a bit of a lie in with ipads and breakfast in bed. I had wanted to go and get the olive oil on the way to Inglewood this morning, but John (the olive oil man) wasn't available, so we made it Sunday afternoon.
That meant that we didn't have to leave early, as Don Pasquale started at 2pm in Tarnagulla
Left around around 9.30 or so, and when we arrived had a look around the garden, and lunch in the rotunda. It was a beautiful day - sunny and blue
Went and changed into our finery around 1pm, and then off to the opera
Damo and co had organised the Inglewood Community bus to take them there, we just drove ourselves, as we weren't sure what time we were going to arrive
Got there around 1.45, and it was a pretty full house
As per the norm, Rachel was Madame Carandini, and explained each scene, as the opera was in Italian, and we wouldn't have known what it was about otherwise
Anyway, it was fun, and we were glad that we'd dressed up. There was also the opportunity to get a plate of food (very reasonable $6, supplied by the local CFA) and a glass of bubbles during the interval
So, it finished around 4.30, and back to Inglewood to sit on the veranda and enjoy the last of the sun.
While sitting there, we saw the Inglewood community bus go by and waved (thought it was quite late though) and then a bit later Damo and Nicole parked out the front as they had ordered a pizza for dinner. We invited them up for a quick drink with us - while they waited, and we "planned" what we'd do for the Gondoliers performance in mid June (at the Inglewood Town Hall). Justin had suggested lunch, but the dining room won't be ready by then, so maybe drinks - prosecco of course either before, after or both. Damo and Nicole were keen
So, had a quiet evening, watched some more of Line of Duty - in our room (put the tv on the desk)
Sunday had a very cold start - the thermometer in the kitchen said 6.9 degrees. I made us fried eggs and hash browns - delicious.
Afterwards went into the garden and did some weeding etc, while Justin trimmed the olive trees - did a good job
Justin also inspected my plastering and sanding handiwork - didn't think that much of it (I was a bit crushed) - he wants to bring in the professionals - as he didn't think I had sanded down well enough in the curved cornice part (and other parts), or I hadn't filled properly etc
I had wanted him to help me move the table so that I could get the scaffold around next to the chimney, but it was more complex than that - as the bookshelf also needed to be moved. We've got too much furniture....
If it were up to me - I'd get rid of the bookshelf and the organ, and just have the table and chairs, dumb waiter and sideboard, and lounge suite in there. But Justin wants to keep the organ in there, and is talking about bringing the good bookshelf from Glen Iris there (but we don't have the ute anymore - it was written off by Fraser a couple of weeks ago)
Anyway, nothing has been decided yet.
Had a late lunch, and listened to live music being played in the back courtyard of the Brooke St cafe - they were pretty good playing old standards. Maile and David dropped in to say hello, and we told them about the upcoming Gondoliers production at the Town Hall. After they left we tidied up and left for Sedgewick to pick up the olive oil that had been produced from our olives
I believe that we got about 20 litres or so - the big container that Terry had was full, and my smaller one had about 10cm in it
John (the olive maker) was there this time - and he showed us around a bit. He also said that the larger olives didn't have as much oil, the small black ones are the best, but the hardest to pick. I still have 2 pretty much full trees of little black olives in my group of 9, plus the self sown one outside the fence, and the big tree near the house. So I'm thinking of doing another batch. Maybe not 80kg with John, so maybe 50kg with Apulia olives - but we'll see
Drove home with google maps - and saw that there was a big traffic jam ahead - so we had to make a detour. Ended up on Ballarat Road again (like when we got lost on the way back from the airport)
Ended up getting home around 7pm - and luckily didn't drop in at Coles on the way back - as it was subsequently identified as a covid tier 2 site.....
