Aboard the bike we jumped and travelled for half a day back to Victoria. We stopped to say hello to my folks, then kept going on to Kangaroo Flat.
The Fogues had a feast ready for us (and a bath for Kristie). Games, conversation, rest, sleep.
Saturday was for Castlemaine. We managed to catch Rachel just before lunch - to which were invited Ian and Meg Fuge, and Meg's father and wife (Tony & Toni).
It was good to be among people we know and, apart from the kids being a little older, everything was wonderfully normal.
Off to my parents after that. My sisters Christine and Janet were there, and my niece Vicki. We sat outside, as Folletts do, and watched the children and the traffic - we talked about life in general. Michael and Di arrived just as we had to leave to rendezvous with Thayne and his fiancée, Melissa.
We drove out and explored the Oak Forest at Harcourt, then stopped by the Theatre Royal to visit old friends.
Ray Lindstrom and his uncle, Norm, were playing pool downstairs. Barely a greeting before Ray asked if we ever paid Norm for driving the truck when we shifted to Adelaide. I know $50 doesn't sound like much, but it cost us nearly $1,000 to move, and when we arrived - after paying rent in advance and bond and security on our electricity (SA utilities are weird) we were luckly to even eat. $50 was far more than we could afford, but the thing was that Norm expected we had come in with more money, 14 months later. He still held a grudge - and we thought he'd offered to help us out because he was our friend. Other friends of ours wouldn't have expected anything - but we've learnt a lot about false friendship lately.

Anyway, still fuming, we shared pizza at Capones with Thayne and Melissa, then went for a drive and talked for ages. We all dropped in to Ian and Meg's to share puma stories, local myths and pumpkin soup.
The Fogues tricked us with the burglar alarm when we crept in late. Kristie eeked in terror.
Sunday was for Heathcote.
We rode out early to visit Kathryn and Paul at their beautiful banana house at Axedale. Kathryn and I went to TAFE together in Bendigo, and it was good to see her again.
The Fogues drove us out to Heathcote to visit Kristie's mum and nan, but I'll let Kristie write about that.
Thayne and Melissa came over to the Fogues that night to say hello, goodbye, we'll visit. It will be good if they can make it over to Adelaide for the winter holidays.
After stopping to say goodbye to my parents, Kristie and I went to visit Tamsin (who we haven't heard much from since we moved to Adelaide). We dumped most of the chocolate we'd picked up as we visited people, swapped business prospects (Spellbound Coconuts?) and generally renewed our neglected friendship.
It was a lightning visit, and if we missed visiting anyone then I apologise for not being able to make our visit longer. The cats nearly ate us when we got home.

While we were in Castlemaine, Kristie and I did a little business. The Quick Brown Fox showed interest in the books I make, and have asked for a catalogue which I hope to get finished in the next couple of weeks. If they order some stock then Spellbound Books will have gone national!
A shop in the hub of Adelaide, HangUp, has taken on Spellbound Books. The woman who runs the shop pays me as soon as I bring in an order, and also supplies me with really good pewter stuff to stick on the covers.
And, as of a few days ago, my books no longer appear in Brigitte's shop.

The Demise of The Cord

I had worked for a week on the next edition of The Cord and it was ready to proof read. When I got it back from Brigitte half the advertising and half the articles had been crossed out.
Apparently, Brigitte had told all her cronies that she intended to pull out of The Cord and to produce her own magazine. Naturally, they had all sided with her and poor old Ron was left with half a magazine.