Saturday, 23rd October .....

We’ve come to Spencer on the Hawkesbury River to visit our friends, Karen and Tony, who are in the process of moving in, having sold their big house in Baranduda, near Albury. This house is much smaller but is quirky and has wonderful views of the river.

Spencer is a funny little village. Most of the houses are small and shabby. It seems to be still a place for fishermen. There is one general store which sells liquor which the locals drink at the 'Dunkirk Hotel', a collection of tables under a tree across from the shop.


The story of how Karen and Tony came to buy this house is typical of the way their lives unfold. Tony happened to be in a boat on the river, as part of a group scattering the ashes of a deceased musician friend. He rang Karen to say he had forgotten how beautiful it was and they should look at ways of spending more time here. From where he was floating, he could see a sign, advertising a house for sale. He gave Karen the name of the agent and the telephone number and, within a couple of days, they had signed the contract.



It is not a house for older people to live. The land is very steep, and there are many steps. The trees overhang everything so dropping leaves are an issue. However, it is a beautiful, peaceful site and the views are priceless. The builders are in at the moment, extending and renovating to make it more suitable for Karen and Tony’s needs.

There are a number of other interesting houses in the area which started off as a place for weekend ‘shacks’ but is now more likely to have full-time residents.


Unfortunately, Tony is not here this weekend and Samara is away at University. However, there are two other interesting people visiting. Karin is an Austrian woman who spent an exchange year with Karen and Tony when they lived at Bundanoon. She is now about 30 and married to Christoph.
They are a delightful young couple and Christoph, especially, has a wonderful sense of humour. They’ve left this afternoon to drive to Sydney for a party and have taken Montana to drop her off near Gosford to visit some of her friends. Their luggage is still in Paris having, somehow, missed the flight. The airline has promised it will arrive in Sydney on Tuesday and will be forwarded to their hotel in Adelaide, where they expect to be by that time. In the meantime they have been given $120 each to buy ‘essentials’. Christoph has bought a checked shirt with a hood, and Karin has bought a new wallet!

It’s great to have just the three of us in the house to talk about old times. The weather is coming in and there is already the sound of thunder in the distance. It looks like being a stormy night.