Letters to Ann

Dear Ann,

I thought my birthday celebrations were over, but not so as my dear Sydney friends were on the phone to set a date for them to come to Newcastle to take me somewhere special for my annual birthday lunch, which they so generously treat me to.

The friendship with Judy & Peter started way back in a year I can’t remember. It was maybe about forty years when Judy worked at the Westpac Bank & decided to order puddings for the staff & many more over the years that evolved. Judy is a beautiful lady with a heart of gold & hubby, Peter is no exception. He has a talent for making one feel special with his care, concern & comradeship. They are two of a kind & dear to my heart.

Peter certainly likes to take us to the most exclusive restaurants in town & quite often we have lunched at a restaurant called Scratchley’s, which is on the foreshore right in the city which the three of us are enamoured with.

That venue was out of the question this year, as the city of Newcastle was being torn up in certain areas to build a racing car track for the final round of the annual V8 Supercar Rally. I don’t know anything about supercars or car rallies, but I – along with thousands of others – knew it was a pretty important event because of what they were doing to our city.

It was almost a daily news item to tell people how to get into their homes or which streets would be cordoned off to the public. The whole city was a buzz over the final twenty laps for this, apparently famous, event.

Peter certainly knew what was taking place here & on the phone as to where we could go. It has only been through these good friends that I had kept in touch as to where the exotic restaurants were in Newcastle.

Peter enjoys his seafood platter for one.

It was a different story when Max was still here with me, as every Friday evening we would dress up & frequent the best places where the menu was known as well as a password! The staff at these places got to know us very well, as this was our Friday night treat in those days. Sadly, this is one of the things I missed most when Max left planet earth.

So I was not able to help Peter & Judy with an alternative venue in the city & our suburb is only small. However, God bless them. they googled & came up with our most famed restaurant in this quiet neck of the woods known as Brown Sugar. I had been there with friends a few times, but had forgotten all about it until this couple mentioned it. I knew instantly it would be what they were looking for. It is very exotic.

My birthday therefore continued on & two weeks later Judy & Peter were at my door to pick me up with our venue only five minutes away by car, overlooking our beautiful foreshore on Lake Macquarie.

It was a bit noisy. We had opted to sit out on the enclosed balcony, but finally asked if could we sit inside so that we could hear each other better, as this is the only time in the year we get together & we like to spend about three hours over lunch to give us time to catch up on everything.

The venue might have been a bit noisy, but the food was excellent. After a small entree Peter & I opted for the Seafood Platter for one, which we hadn’t come across before as usually it is only available for two people or more. The prawns were fabulous & we certainly were not disappointed with our choice. No wonder it has a renowned name.

If only we could hear what Judy was saying!

I didn’t get into any photos of the food on this occasion, but you can see how good the platter was & also Judy looking as if she was whispering some dirty joke into Peter’s ear. However, she is too much of a lady for that & more likely it was a promise for more good things to come as we certainly enjoyed our day & the time together. This loving couple have given me many hours of loving friendship which I value.

Friends are Forever. Love you. Dawn X O X O