"Youth" Group Reunion

 It is another year on and we had another catch up with friends that last met as a formal youth group about 55 years ago.  The anomalous naming of the group is highlighted by the fact that 10 of the 36 members are turning, or will be 80 this year.

A great occasion to catch up on a little Secret Men's Business and review the past year.  Unfortunately we are starting to regard these occasions as our "Organ Recital" where we all discuss our bits that are going wrong!

Mitchell's 21st Family Celebration

 Mitchell picked the perfect day for his family celebration of his 21st. The Reid and Walsh sides of the family met up for a casual lunch in the back yard.  

A highlight for (a section of) the assembled company was the opening of a bottle of 2002 Vintage Grange that Brett had put away years ago for this occasion.

It was a great afternoon for an easy lunch, celebrating the occasion and catching up.

Of course, on such an occasion we had to be photographed with the Birthday Boy.

Birthday Lunch

 We decided on Tokar Estate Winery for Claire's 75th birthday lunch.  We usually find it worth the trip for a special occasion and this was no exception.  The wineries are set in great locations.

We had perfect weather and location.

The food was absolutely top quality. It got the coveted "Highly Recommended Award" from us.

We even had a Birthday cake!

Trentham and Surrounds

 Trentham township proved to be a little gem in the bush.

The town appears prosperous with shady tree lined streets and older but well cared for or renovated houses.  It has a number of excellent little cafes -

and generally gives the impression that some care is being taken of the town.

A short drive north took us to the Lauriston Dam on the Coliban River.  This storage services the needs of many townships in central Victoria.  Before visiting we had not realised the number of water storage dams that could be found in the area.

Garden of St Erth

 There are a number of gardens in the Blackwood area, we visited the Garden of St Erth as a sample.  The garden was started in 1967. The garden was a degraded site with all the rubble of a defunct gold mine littering the area.  It has gradually been rehabilitated since then .

Mt Macedon and Surrounds

 Our decision to have a look at the (First World War) Memorial Cross On Mt Macedon took an interesting turn.  It is the middle of summer but there was rain, wind and fog on the mountain to the point that we nearly froze!  The track up gave us a clue as to the view we would not see.

One of the attractions is Sanatorium Lake but on this day it had its own air of mystery about it.

We retired, cold and wet to Woodend for lunch and coffee.

On the way back we checked out the Trentham falls - picturesque but not exactly Niagara!

There are some mineral springs in the area that we also had to "taste test".  Actually a very pleasant drop.

Blackwood Bound

 We took the van to Blackwood for a few days.  A tiny rather tired park but quiet and with good amenities.

And there were friendly neighbours.

The township is tiny, surrounded by forest and on the edge of the Lerderderg State Park.

The cemetery was huge and well maintained and spoke of the areas history when it was at the centre of the gold mining boom.

There is evident concern about fire in the area.  Even with the recent wet season the forests are dry so the lookout towers are maintained.

Claire's 75th

 Adam and Kate hosted Claire's family celebration for her 75th birthday.  We are a growing family so a new table configuration was brought into play and it worked brilliantly.

While the hosts slaved over the preparation,

Claire had time to work the room.

The table arrangement made for comfortable dining.  Brett produced a layer cake decorated by Ebony.

Lisa produced a range of cakes and slices and they had nearly all disappeared by the end of the night.  Mercifully, coded candles were used to identify the 75th year so the inferno did not eventuate.  It was a wonderful family celebration.