TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 6     MARONG

John had to be up much earlier than usual. After he showered, I put a fresh dressing on the leg wound. Although the stitches were removed before we came away, the area rubs on his trouser leg and becomes sore if it is not covered.

I did a load of washing – $3. Had to go hang it on an older rotary line at the corner of the park, as the long lines by the laundry were full. There was lots of bedding, rugs and the like occupying the lines. I suspected someone from the retirement village section had done a big spring clean.

John left about 11am to drive to Williamstown in Melbourne for his sister’s funeral. He wasn’t sure if he would come back later, or stay overnight with another sibling. I had arranged with the park to move the Coaster onto an ordinary drive through site if we need an extra night, as this site is booked. I could manage such a move on my own, but am not very good yet at getting Bus lined up well by a slab, if I had to back it alone – hence the drive-through.

Read a novel found in the laundry, which was quite engrossing. Walked Couey around the park a few times. I wasn’t quite brave enough to run the gauntlet of the retirees, to take her up the back.

Caravan park at Marong

Spent some time studying the maps – paper variety. John really wants to go visit the site at Boolite, west of here, where he taught at a one-teacher school for a year in the 60’s. I thought we could go on there, from here, .look at the place, then go on to  Warracknabeal, Donald or St Arnaud for a couple of nights. All of those are new ground for me. Then we could base ourselves at Maryborough for a few days and look around the region, then ditto Castlemaine. There were so many little former gold mining villages in that region I’d like to look at. My artist brother went through a period when he painted lots of old buildings and scenes from those places and he was often off, poking about looking for new inspiration,  but I had never visited them.

Daughter, S and her mum, and the boys, arrived about 6.30, as arranged, to have a BBQ tea here. V brought hamburgers, rolls, sausages, bacon. They bought a very nice bottle of wine for crocheting the rug for their gift. I supplied some salad, eggs and tomato sauce. We cooked in the BBQ section of the camp kitchen and ate there. It was a little chilly, but not too bad – the big roof kept the worst of the chill off. After we’d finished, did a thorough clean up of the BBQ area to return it to its previous immaculate condition.

Adjourned to Bus because it was warmer, to chat and finish of the bottle of wine, mixing talking with partly watching Australian Survivor. John had phoned at 5.30 to say he was just leaving to come back. He arrived at 7.45.  The family left at 8.30pm – past the boys’ bedtime on a school and kinder night.

The funeral had gone off well enough, as these things go. John had the usual catch up with members of his very large family that he only usually sees on such occasions. We tried to count how many times he is a great-uncle, but gave up as he was not sure of “who has had what”. He knows all of the offspring of his eleven older siblings, but it gets a bit hazy after that. As a later-comer second wife, I know hardly any. With only one brother and one nephew, I find John’s family rather overwhelming. However, my recent family history research had turned up the fact that one of my great-great-grandfathers had 101 grandchildren, plus 21 step-grandchildren! I must be related to most of Tasmania…

John did not like the travel plans I’d devised today. He wanted to go straight to Castlemaine, from here, to visit his friend from teachers’ college days, who lives near there, and then go touring around the old goldfields towns.