I thought that after my long trip I would sleep well overnight. But jet lag won the day and I was awake at 0400h. But the sunrise birdsong, the view out of the bedroom window and the aroma wafting up from the rose garden below made the early rise worthwhile.

It also gave me a good chance to have a quiet wander around the house and check out all the work that had been done in the past nine months. Nearly everything is done, including the rose arcade over the entry pathway in the garden, the wooden flooring on the verandah, the appliances and plumbing in the main kitchen, and most importantly the glass flooring and roof at the top of the lightwell. The only thing remaining is to finish the painting on the ground floor and stairwell, and this will be done in the next couple of weeks before the Barge Artz Expo being held at la Maison in early July.

After pottering around and re-learning the house during the morning, I settled down in late-morning to watch the live AFL game on watchAFL.afl.com.au between Hawthorn and Essendon. This in an annual grudge match between me and my son, who supports Essendon. Over the past 30 years there have been some classic games, but this year Essendon looks depleted after half their team was suspended for the season on drug-related charges. After a competitive first 10 minutes, when Essendon led by a goal and looked threatening, Hawthorn released the handbrake and went on to run out easy winners 151-43; our biggest win of the season and Essendon’s biggest loss. I almost (not quite) felt sorry for Essendon, and so I didn’t even send my usual “congratulatory” email to David.

I had intended going for a walk around town and down to the port in the afternoon, but the weather set in and heavy rain convinced me to stay indoors. I thought I heard a dripping sound in the house, and a little investigation showed me that it was happening onto the glass floor in the Lightwell. A small leak at a joint in the glass roof was discovered, and will require some remedial work in the near future before the summer thunderstorm season arrives.