BOUNCEBACK MOUNTAIN

I knew I was in trouble after dinner.

I’d arrived around 2 pm, reeling from a morning so busy I’d not had a chance to eat. ‘Just in time!’ Juanine said, waving me closer to a small group seated on the mid-century furniture that makes Stanford Valley’s Manor House such a cool country restaurant.

While she explained how a stint at St Francis Health Centre had inspired her to spread the philosophy of its founder Anneliese Cowley, I looked around, appreciation tinged with nostalgia. I had celebrated my 50th here – a decadent weekendlong celebration during which we ate like kings and drank