Loddon Valley Arts Trail 3rd - 6 October 2024

Whew, this weekend was a blur....

Arrived on Thursday night with Justin - he was working from home in Inglewood on Friday

Had a late dinner, watched some TV, and then bed

Friday, and had a modest breakfast in bed, and then went out and had a quick inspection  of the garden

Shane had mulched the new garden beds and spread some more stone around

He'd also mulched the olives and the kiwi fruit

 And he put the stones up around the garage - so that we should be able to drive in now

 And, I was thrilled to see that there were some tiny pears (from the suspect suckers) 

At least two apricots (first time for this tree)

And some lovely yellow irises

Justin and I also attached the Arts Trail corflute poster upstairs (in addition to the one I'd put up last week on the gate)

Right, and after this it was "action stations"

Kingower Mel's Mum, Dad, brother & Mal  came over at 10.30am to have a look around the house.  They had wanted to book on the Arts trail website, but every session was booked out - so I told them today at 10.30.  That said, I thought I'd told them Saturday morning at 10.30 am, so was surprised when Mel texted me on Thursday saying they were looking forward to tomorrow....And of course I'd told some other people that they could come on Saturday at 10.30 also

That meant that instead of 5 official sessions ie 2 on Friday, 2 on Saturday and 1 on Sunday, that we now had 3 each on Friday and Saturday, and still one on Sunday   

So, showed Mel's party around, and also asked the blokes to roll out the carpet in the green parlour as it was still rolled up, and a bit of an eyesore.  

 I was glad that that was done- had been bugging me for a while, and we needed more than 2 people to do it

Right, so they finished up, and then there was the first of many unsolicited door knocks, a couple asking if they could come in for "open house"  I hopefully kindly told them that this was bookings only, and that it was booked out. I guess they left a bit disappointed

The next  knock on the door came soon afterwards, and I gave them the same spiel, except they dejectedly said they had driven 1.5 hours just to see the house - they'd come from Riddels Creek - so softy that I am, I let them in ....and gave them an abridged tour

By the time knock number three came I was more than ready - and just asked them to come back for an official tour, I told them that it didn't matter that it was booked out, but that I would be asking for gold coin donations - for my time.

So the guy got out his waller and put a $100 note into my tarnished silver coffee pot - I was stunned, and told him no it was just supposed to be a gold coin donation - but he insisted - said he was very happy to do it, and was pleased to see what we have done here.  And then he and his partner left, and came back for the 1.30pm tour

Anyway, Justin and I had a quick lunch 

And then they came....

Had about 15 for the first tour, and about 22 for the 2nd tour.  So what with the first lot it was approximately 43 people 

I started in the hallway, explaining how/why we'd purchased the house, then into the very original front parlor (downstairs green room), then into the back hall and the mural, and finally the dining room

Rachel came and helped out a bit, and there were also some relatives of Elsie Parry.  In fact, over the 3 days there were three lots of relatives, and some friends who used to play with Elsie's daughter when she was a child.

I took this photo of my first official tour

Rachel took some photos (and videos)

Marilyn and Lyn came from Bendigo CWA 

Right, so I completed the 2 official Friday sessions (took about an hour, rather than the advertised 1/2 hour) 

Caught my breath, and then Rosemary came and picked me up to go to Tarnagulla around 4.30 - for the Opening night BBQ.  The reason being was that Justin had a soundcheck up in Kingower at 5pm - and so needed his car

Quite a good number there - including Bev and Suzi from St Marys in Inglewood

There was a retro caravan with a duo playing music

And various artworks displayed inside

Had a sausage in bread, and sat down and talked to a couple who had bought the old Tarnagulla Court House years ago, plus a local councillor and Mel another artist

Was very pleasant

Rosemary drove me back, and we passed Justin standing in the street, waiting for his takeaway pizza.  I got out and waited with him, and had a couple of slices with him once we got home

I think that Justin took this rather good photo of a truck, and the pile of David's bricks while waiting for his pizza

Saturday - and it was almost rinse and repeat.

Another modest breakfast in bed, and then up and at em for the unofficial 10.30am session

I took the below photo from the stairs

And the this one by standing on a chair

Had about 30 then - Shaun and Sara arrived during it, and helped corral everyone, did a head count etc

Given that there were so many - after the hallway introduction, I took approximately half the crowd into the green room, while the other half went with Shawn into the back hall and listened to him talk about the mural commission/creative process etc 

Then another 18 or so at 3.30, so about 80 for the Saturday

Alex also arrived sometime during the day - it really was all a blur

And then onto Kingower - Sarah and I went up there around 5.30pm or so - saw some cheeky kangaroos right in the middle of the road 

Nabbed our usual table (front left) - and helped set up.

Irene and Neil from Bendigo were there too - so it was nice to catch up 

There was delicious pate to start with and some cucumber rounds and mini quiches 

People were supposed to get there at 6pm, but Justin, Alex, Shawn and Michelle got there later - as they had waited for Michelle to arrive in Inglewood.

Main course was beef cassoulet and green salad, and then dessert was apricots with custard 

Music started at 8pm

First up the Boozy Brothers  - David, Mark, Justin, Peter & Alex 

Then they did some individual sets, and Dermot came on also

Justin & Alex did one song with Shawn 

And then for the last song which was the crowd pleaser - The Gambler - Justin called up Sara to be on percussion, and then me also to assist with the chorus (no photos of this, will just have to live in our memory)  

And Shawn also sprung up to assist with David - and some Ricky raccoon lyrics

And he also popped up with Dermott

Anyway, another good fun night, and we left around midnight - pretty much the last ones left apart from Terry and Dermott

Sunday, and a modest breakfast

After breakfast I thought I'd be civic minded - and went to visit some of the other exhibitions 

First off Bill up the road, then off to the Goods Shed near the old railway line where I saw Chris E's photos, and had a bit of a chat

Then back home for it all to start again - was only supposed to have one session at 11am, but one sort of rolled straight into the 2nd one - I'm a glutton for punishment

People waiting out the front

In full flight

And some more CWA gasl dropped by - this time from Charlton (Cabaritta branch) and Wedderburn

Chris E and the council photographer came for the 1st session and were busy snapping shots from the front door.  we were pretty full.... Shawn counted about 45 across the 2 sessions

Had a quick lunch, and then Alex dropped me at the Eucy Museum to hear Sophie Cunningham (author) and Damien Wright bespoke furniture maker talk about eucalypts.  they were very interesting, and hats off to Rosemary for curating such a great pairing.  I could imagine the same discussion happening at the Wheeler Centre

 After the talk it was the end of the trail wrap up party - which was very nice

Justin came to pick me up, and we went back to the house, tidied and packed up

Also, little did I know, but Justin continued to do further torus of the house, as even though we were only supposed to have one on Sunday - people were still coming at all hours.  So Justin took approx 15 people through

So, all up we we figured on approximately 183 people through - whew! and it was only supposed to be 50 max ! (ie 5 sessions x 10 people) - so almost 4 times the number. There was a lot of interest

Anyway...

Michelle had left me a lovely plant

David S had dropped off a tasty looking bottle of bubbles

And Shawn's Dad had given us a bottle of wine 

And the 183 tour attendees had been very generous ....donating close to $500! I'd like to buy something for the house/garden with this money

Lastly, here are photos/article re the Arts trial from the Loddon Herald

 

2 x ABC interviews and fancy plants Mon Sep 23- Wednesday 25 2024

Got to Inglewood around 1.30pm - Declan, Shane's offsider was there moving some dirt around etc.  I put my coveralls on and tidied up the garden a bit   

I also saw that they had put some new edging in

Shane came a bit later, and advised that the new watering system hadn't been hooked up to electricity yet.  He hadn't been able to get onto Josh.  I gave him another number to call, and he got through, Josh advised that he's be able to get there on Monday to hook it up.

So, then I had to decide if I was going to buy and plant the new plants or not.....I didn't want to plant them, and they die through lack of water.  But I didn't want to wait too long as it was already starting to warm up....

It was about 22 degrees today, and the forecast for tomorrow was 25 degrees, and then cool til Monday....

Shane thought it would be okay, I double checked with Bianca from the nursery, and she thought it would be fine too, so yep, I decided to go and get the plants tomorrow.  Shane also said he would water them on both Thursday when they came back, and then again on Sunday.   

Stayed out in the garden til after 6.30...so then inside for a shower and dinner.  wanted to watch Netflix, but couldn't -  it said our account couldn't work here - not happy, so I watched Critical Incident on Stan instead - pretty good

Tuesday, and went and chose/picked up the plants from Bridgewater nursery.  Walked around with Bianca - and filled up the ute.  I was so thrilled, been waiting such a long time for this

Carefully drove them home and parked at the back

First thing was to unload, and then place the plants (had a bit of help with this)

Bed one which gets afternoon shade is going to be the fragrant bed - ie 2 x central daphnes and surrounding gardenias.  We'll also have hellebores in here - but they had sold out of the dark ones which we wanted (will get them when available)

 Bed two - some lavenders - and I forget what the other ones are.  

bed three - salvias etc 

bed four

bed five

So, as this is what I bought :-

5 x English 8 inch lavenders

3 x French 8 inch lavenders

1 x white salvia

8 x Brachyscome pink

7 x Brachyscome purple

5 x penstemon

2 x carnations

8 x gaura pink

8 x gaura white

6 x pink daisies

1 x polygala

1 x hydrangea candelight

1 x crepe myrtle

12 x gardenia

2 x daphne

6 x roses

1 x lilac

1 x smoke bush

Wow, 78 plants all up. Bianca said I should be able to see a change (ie growth)  within about a month - I can also fill in gaps with other plants ie my succulents etc - we'll see.  I've never really started any  garden beds from scratch before - so very exciting for me.  The plan is to have a beautiful, fragrant, colourful garden with interest throughout the year.  Each bed has a central larger plant ie lilac, smoke bush, crepe myrtle, hydrangea and the 2 x daphnes - and then there is some repetition in the beds - so that they tie in together

Anyway, Bianca strongly recommended that I go to the IGA and buy a 30m hose and a small sprinkler so that I could give all of the pots a good soaking and all of the beds also

Took me a little while to work  out how to get the hose working (easier said than done) - the attachments that came with it didn't seem to allow the water through the hose (it was through the watering computer which complicated things, and i couldn't easily take it off because of all the tape.  Anyway went and found some old fittings and they worked - luckily as I was getting a bit cross, frustrated and wet....

So watered each of the pots, and then attached the hose to the sprinkler and put a timer on for 1/2 hour for each bed

And it was only after this that I could start planting - ie watered bed 1 first, so planted these plants while the sprinkler was on bed 2 etc 

It really did a thorough job watering

Little did I know but I really should have been wearing gum boots while planting in the middle - I sank right down

And because I have boots which are too big for me - at one stage I needed to move my foot, my socked foot came out of my boot, and into the mud, while my boot remained stuck fast in the mud - oh well.  Bianca did say it was good - those holes showed that the water really soaked it 

Connie and her grandkids also dropped by which was nice

Finished up around 6pm or so - and it was pretty tiring ....and now that I've counted up the plants I can see why - 78 plants is nothing to sneeze at

Also admired all of the flowers on the quince - maybe we'll get some actual fruit this year

So, inside for a shower, dinner and more Critical Incident 

I also did some preparatory homework for my interview tomorrow morning on ABC Central Victoria radio - for the Loddon Arts Trail.  I wanted to be able to say which towns were involved, which events appealed, how far each town was from Inglewood etc   

Anyway, set the alarm for 6.30am so that I could have breakfast, and do my quizzes etc before the interview

I was listening to the program - Fiona Parker from around 7am, and she was referring to our upcoming interview which was cool

They called up after the 7.30am news 

As it was, they didn't really ask anything about the trail, more about the house and the renovations.  It  was fun enough to do - and some people told me afterwards that they had heard me

Below is the link

https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/centralvic-breakfast/breakfast/104374086

Terry dropped in around 10 or so, and we had a coffee in the kitchen (he said he'd heard me on the radio), and during this I received a phone call.  It was from Phillipe from the news desk at ABC Central Victoria radio, asking if I would be interested in follow-up interview with photos etc.  Why not?I thought - would be fun, so we arranged for him to drop by at 3pm

Terry left, and I continued in the garden - giving the new beds another good watering 

During this time - two sets of people were at the front gate - both sets having heard me on the radio also.  One of the guys told me how he'd worked on the town hall in 1988, rebuilt the tower, and had put his business card and a special $1 coin in the flagpole, and then capped it. Very interesting.

NBN were also supposed to come today (after having had to postpone them a couple of weeks ago).  Anyway they couldn't make it, so we had to change the date yet again

I met up with Pauline at Cafe 3517 for a coffee and a chat next, and had to leave before 2pm, as the Audio Visual guy was coming to look at the Town hall then

I saw his van drive past me in Verdon Street (it was about 1.50pm) and turn down Market street, so I met him outside the Hub.  He'd heard me on the radio also!

Anyway, we went in and I showed him around, his company had set it up originally, so he was familiar with the set up. 

He'll give us ((Town Hall Committee) a quote to get the on line meeting facility sorted in the board room upstairs, plus a cinema/projector/audio etc in the Town hall itself - should be good, hope it comes off

Finished up around 2.45, so back home and in the garden weeding near the front waiting for Phillipe the journalist - still in my trusty blue coveralls - take me as I come in my gardening gear

There were some friendly magpies under the veranda

 Phillipe arrived on time, and we went and sat out in the rotunda where he asked me a few questions, and recorded me on his mobile phone.  We then went inside and he took a few photos of me.

Finished up around  3.45, so I showered and quickly changed as Terry was coming over to take the two of us up to Wedderburn for a pre official Arts Trail photography exhibition Opening at 4.30pm

I guess we only stayed 1/2 hour or so, as I had to drive back to Melbourne tonight, as I was volunteering at the royal Melbourne Show for CWA tomorrow 

Also picked up the Loddon Arts Trail program guide - with our house featured in it 

Got back to Melbourne around 8pm

Phillipe called me back the next day to double check some details  

And then on Saturday morning I got a phone call from Helen around 8.30 am advising me that her news feed had me in it 

there were a few little mistakes ie my surname mis- spelled - so I asked him to correct them

Was amazing how many people saw it and commented on it - including 2 x old friends who I'd lost contact with ie Jo C and Madeleine F - amazing!  I plan to catch up with both of them 

At the end it also referred to the Arts trail, and also the upcoming episode of Restoration Australia  - so some nice cross promotion happening 

And here's the link

 https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-28/nimmitabel-victorian-mansion-restored-renovation-inglewood/104400102