Sydney, Christmas Eve


For my friends in the UK:

“It’ll be a blue Christmas without you,
I’ll be so blue just thinking about you.
You’ll be doing alright
With your Christmas of white
But I’ll have a blue, blue Christmas.. “

Actually, the weather here is cloudy and muggy, been like that 2 days now. Trying not to feel cheated. Experienced my first bona fide Aussie bbq last night, and pretty fine it was too. Killed my first mosquito as well.

Today I took a train into the city and am wandering down George Street heading for the Rocks. Christmas seems incongruous over here – at Manly I was confronted with the sight of tinsel wrapped around palm trees. Reminds me of the time at school when a couple of boys (prefects, actually) in my sister’s year stole a palm tree from the school foyer to use as a Christmas tree in the prefect’s common room. They weren’t prefects for too much longer as it turned out.

As I was mid-purchase in a store on George Street, the drought in Sydney ended rather abruptly.

Although I feel privileged to have been here to witness this event, I am now rather wet and taking refuge in Starbucks (any port in a storm, after all). Prior to this I was sheltering under an inadequately-sized piece of roof outside the store wherein I made my purchase (a rather fetching Billabong hat). Co-sheltering with me was a lady, with whom I struck up a conversation. She proved to be American, which wasn’t an altogether promising start, especially when I mentioned I had come over for the cricket.

“Oh, you’ve come over to watch the CRICKET?”
I nodded an enthusiastic assent, encouraged that she seemed to have heard of cricket and was able to pronounce it properly.
“And do you know, they LOST.”
“Yep, I know”
“So, do you play? You must do.”
I replied that I did.
“So, are you in DEfense?”
I looked confused.
“You’re not a fieldsman, are you?”
I explained, patiently I hope, that everyone was a fieldsman at some point.

I decided this might be a good time to don my new Billabong hat and make a run for it. She took one look at me in my Billabong hat and burst out laughing.

I ran for it.

3 thoughts on “Sydney, Christmas Eve”

  1. The fact that the new hat has been deemed laughable by an American “lady” can only be a good thing….

    Hopefully.

    Have you read that bit in “So long and thanks for all the fish” by Douglas Adams where he stumbles across a guy who is followed by rain clouds.

    It transpired that the rain thought the guy was great and put on a downpour to express it’s appreciation.

    Clearly that’s not you.

    Merry Christmas.

    W

  2. HEY HEY!
    Guess who else is in Australia? Arrived this morning (and no – checking your blog was NOT the first thig I did) – gloriously warm 30 degrees, breeze, sunny & so bright here in Sydney. Am over-tired – 40 hours of travel but have savoured my first decent mango in 2 years and pondered how AQ would respond to my Nanna’s hysterical laughter as she watches the POMS at the cricket (on TV) – “I don’t know why they’re cheering! They’ve got nothing to cheer about! *old lady laughter that makes you want to laugh as well*”
    on another note – are you coming back to Denistone? 10 minutes drive from me – I can come and hang… all..the…tiiiiime!

  3. Mr Quinn.

    Are you there – is everything alright? Have you joined the group-singing among what has been described as the Barmy Army?

    Are you singing a Carling-fueled Rule Britannia (which quite clearly it doesn’t in the sporting arena)?

    If you are, I’d love to see video…. ;->

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