Girls Day Out
Dear Ann,
It was many moons ago, when I was looking in particular for an item of clothing that I really wanted & bemoaning the fact to my friend who was with me at the time, that I couldn’t find it anywhere. I can’t recall just who that friend was, but she suggested we go & have a look at Millers Boutique, explaining that they had a wide variety of clothing which they sold at very reasonable prices.
I had never heard of them before, even though it is a very well known trade name in most of the States in Australia. The suggestion sounded like a good plan to me, so we drove off to Toronto, a suburb quite close to home, to visit Millers.
When we arrived I was pleasantly surprised at the large variety they had on show. It was here that I met my very dear friend, Cheryl along with her behind-the-counter working partner & friend, Yvonne, whom I thought were two delightful assistants. They didn’t hesitate to show me all they had to offer.
The shop was a little quiet when we were there, so these two girls waited on us hand & foot. My friend also suddenly became interested in ‘casing the joint’ as we used to say. It wasn’t hard to get interested in the garments as almost everything we looked at was ‘on special’. Cheryl explained that if you bought this on special & then bought another garment you also got a discount.
This went on for some time & I felt we were being treated so well that I made a stupid remark. It was close to the festive Christmas season & naturally I had Christmas puddings on my mind & told the girls if they went on like that giving us all these discounts I would give them one of my special home made Christmas puddings when it came time.
It took a while before I realised that Millers was a retail store & were never without specials! Â It was well stocked with more than I needed after taking advantage of all the ‘specials’ & left the store very happy with my purchases.
Since that first time I have been a regular shopper at Millers. When it came round to Christmas, I took a baby pudding to both girls as promised. The day I gave them to the girls I was some way down the street when I heard a voice behind me calling my name. It was Cheryl who had read the label on the pudding, came running after me to say how much like me the lovely label & the words it conveyed.
I admitted that my son had worded the labels for me, as he knows what I would like to say. It was obvious that Cheryl was quite rapt with both the label & the pudding. Then she told me about the group she attended, Prime Timers, & how friendly it was. I promised to go along to the next meeting as it sounded interesting & I had time on my hands.
Before we parted that day I had also mentioned to her about my hobby: writing letters to my friend Ann. She was so interested that she asked if I would bring one of my volumes along as she would like to read it. Hence, a strong bond was formed between us from the start.
Since then – for well over a decade – Cheryl & I have met on an average of once a fortnight for lunch. For the past couple of years our friend, Sandra has joined us. Cheryl collects us both from our homes & decides where we will go.
This year she took us to Poppy’s Nursery in a nearby suburb that not only serves delicious food, but has a real serenity about it. We went there just recently when Cheryl returned home from a ten day holiday when she had heaps of photos to show us from the trip.
Dawn, Cheryl and Sandra at Michele’s Patisserie after their Girls Day Out.
She & husband, Gary had driven a few hundred kilometres to Victoria & then travelled along the Great Ocean Road, which is rather spectacular with huge rocks, twelve of them, rising up from the ocean. These are known as The Twelve Apostles.
It brought back memories for me as Max & I with Philip & David as little boys (6 & 4 years old) did that route over fifty years ago.
Then they travelled on to various places in Victoria stopping wherever it took their fancy.
Sandra & I really enjoyed all the photographs & it certainly brought back lots of memories for me. One of their favourite stopping places was at a rural town called Ballarat that is steeped in history. From the photos it seemed the place hadn’t changed much.
Most of the noted places are heritage listed. One in particular, which belonged to someone of note way back in the eighteen hundreds, still remains as it was back in those olden days. Those responsible for taking visitors through dress up just as they did then. It was really interesting seeing it all again on paper.
I remember one old place where you could stay overnight & they still had an old fashioned potty under the bed because the toilet was not close. Imagine those good old days!!
One of the main reasons that Ballarat is so historical is that in 1854 there was a rebellion by the gold miners known as the Eureka Stockade where the miners revolted against the colonial authority of the United Kingdom.
Many were killed in the battle that followed, but the moral support was such that it ultimately resulted in new Electoral Acts in Parliament. The rebellion is identified as being the birth of democracy in Australia.
As we digested our pulled pork enchiladas we also digested Cheryl’a stack of photos. We also decided that when Philip & Greg come back for a visit next time we are going to take them to Poppys as Cheryl & I think they would enjoy the food & the atmosphere for an hour or so.
We missed Cheryl while she was away & certainly welcomed her back. We had a lovely day out ending up at Michele’s patisserie for coffee after lunch, so that both Sandra & Cheryl could do some needed shopping at the super market opposite, as Sandra had also been away for a few days.
For me, I have always been thankful that my friend had introduced me to Millers & ultimately Cheryl as she has been, from the start of our friendship, a true & loyal friend & my greatest fan. She loves reading my letters to you. She has purchased all the fourteen volumes as she loves them so much.
The old saying goes that you are very rich if you can count five friends on one hand that are true friends & I can honestly say that Cheryl is one of those.
How glad I am that we also became close friends, you changed my life & I love you. Dawn X O X O