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2022 |
2023
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January.... although we are
retired, we have lots on during the year and
it all stops in January. So - we
should be able to go off somewhere, even
though it is summer school holidays and busy
everywhere.
But that's not how it turned out. Part of
the problem was "Take 2 Violins"; we'd seen an
Australian Story program on them, so I
looked them up on the internet. They are
famous YouTube violinists, because quite
apart from being very accomplished
musicians, they are very funny as well.
Their website had a box to tick if you were
interested in their forthcoming World Tour.
I ticked it.
So - their only Melbourne concert was
at Hamer Hall on 17th January. I booked
seats on a Saturday when priority booking
opened; general booking began on Monday, and
on Tuesday it was sold out. And - it was
well worth having our "away' time in January
limited by a concert in the middle of the
month.
We did manage to get away to Mt.
Hotham and Dinner Plain for four days in the
White House, before the concert. I'd had in
the back of my mind to walk to Tabletop
Mountain near Dinner Plain since we went on
the Auswalk trip there, and rain and wind
dissuaded us from doing it then. This time,
there were no problems like that; it was a
pleasant walk, with the only problem being
march flies. It made me surmise that they
were the origin of the Aboriginal "smoking
ceremonies"; if we didn't have a
fly-screened area to retire into they would
have been intolerable, and smoke would
likely be the best defence against them.
We came back home through Shepparton.
We stopped in the middle of town (it was a
Sunday) and searched for a cafe for lunch.
Not much luck - until we found Cafe Eighty8.
We ate at an outside table, and it turned
out to be so good that I, who dislike
tipping immensely, went inside after our
lunch to break a $50 note so that I could
leave them a tip.
We did go down to Melbourne to Lume to
see their "Connections" display of  Aboriginal
art. As usual with Lume, very well worth
seeing.
But the other thing keeping us in
Castlemaine, after the concert, was plums.
Our five plum trees (too many!) started
ripening, and we've been eating plums ever
since. And making jam; and bottling them;
and giving them away.
It's just not sensible to go away in the
middle of plum season.
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