Merrymaking and mishaps on Mother's Day

Mother’s Day in Brisbane saw Carol, her sister Kay Bertini and their cousins get together for fun and food. It was also a day of high drama.

The cousins, all on the late Nanny Taylor’s side, i.e. nee Dossetto, were Lyn Cotton, Cheryl Dossetto, Tracey Jones, Michelle McLaren plus Carol and Kay, and assorted husbands, mums (including Marj and Beattie Dossetto), partners, kids and other rellies.

Right, Carol and Kay.



The sumptuous
gourmet lunch was kindly hosted by Michelle and her partner John Bastin-Byrne, one of nature’s true gentlemen, at their two-storey mansion set on three acres in Samford next to Cedar Creek, your classical babbling brook.

Right, Lyn, Michelle, Kay, Tracey, Carol and Cheryl.

The property, in rolling hills with magnificent views, is a bit remote from facilities we normally take for granted. We were most impressed by John’s environmental management systems, including rainwater collection for domestic use and biocycle wastewater treatment, providing for fruit trees and other plants.

Right: Tracey Jones and daughter Chloe. Below: Marion Dossetto, Michelle's daughter Aimee and mum Beattie, John Bastin-Byrne, Michelle and son Luke, his wife Jasmine, Jasmine's mum Jan and her partner Ian.

But there are dangers in
working on a property where parts are steep.

Bobcat bother

This steepness got the better of John’s bobcat before our arrival and it finished up down the bank (but thankfully not in) the creek (below right).

John’s mate turned up with another bobcat to the rescue but once again the steep sides proved calamitous, sending it tumbling down the hill to rest upside down in a gully. Fortunately no one was hurt.

There was nothing for it but to call in the heavy metal: in this case a 20-tonne excavator whose clanking presence drew the men, like so many kids, from the lunch table.

The excavator made short work of its task, gouging out a platform for itself (right), then ramps to pull out first one bobcat and then the other: a masterly performance in a sticky situation.

Given the focus on boys’ toys, Mother’s Day finished up in a sense Father’s Day.


















Clockwise, from left: the rescue bobcat upside down in the gully, the first bobcat safe and rescue of the second.

On the way back to where we were staying at Carol's sister's home in Camp Hill, we dropped in to see another niece, Catherine Dimmick and her family.

More news on Brisbane in our next report.






The Dimmick family: Tony, Emily, Jake, Cath and Bethany.