Published in 'Newslink', Headstart ABI Service; October, 2017
From September the 5th
I travelled to Adelaide for two weeks.
This began with a flight
down to Melbourne to visit my sister and her partner. The five days spent with
them were packed with activities. There was a meditation workshop, her regular
Tuesday night Art class, a trip to the Botanic Gardens and a visit to Coombe
Cottage- previously the Estate of Dame Nellie Melba. The scones there were
excellent and the restaurant’s setting real cosy.
Then I bunked at Melbourne
Central YHA ready to rise bright and early for the the Overland train to Adelaide.
By 7:30 I was up and waiting
on the platform. Our departure was delayed due to track-work, but we soon
regained what time we lost. The landscape was marked by sweeping fields of
canola flowers, rolling hills and rugged terrain. The sudden appearance of
‘Stobie Poles’, an answer to the dearth of long and termite-resistant timber
in SA, said we had truly left Victoria behind.
At Parklands station I met
Mr and Mrs Paul and Dawn, dear old friends. Rewind eighteen years, and you’ll
see two families happily hanging out together in Adelaide Hills. Return to the
present day, and the sentiments remain the same.
For the first few days I
hung out with Paul, Dawn and their daughter Lorinda. We visited the beach at
Brighton, saw late artist Hans Heysen’s residence out at Hahndorf and most
nights entertained ourselves with various movies such as Lars and the Real Girl and Top-Gear’s
Polar Special. A trip on the tram
from Glenelg seemed customary, and come mid-week I was soon traipsing the Adelaide
Markets, the War Memorial near Government House and visiting the Adelaide
Museum. Lunch at Spaghetti Western seemed
fitting too, particularly once I noticed a picture of John Wayne looking down
at me all adorned in hanging pasta!
The last few days were out near
Victor Harbor. Paul and Dawn’s middle son Steve lives there with his lovely wife
and two charming children, so I spent the better part of three days visiting.
As a Fireman, Steve works four days on, four days off so we managed to time my
coming and going quite neatly. Laughter, music and plenty of good company-
that’s what I recall best.
My final Sunday went like a
flash. My folks and I frequented a Baptist Church there years ago, so a visit
seemed called for. Then I headed out to Clarence Park to meet for lunch with a girl
whom I schooled with years ago. ‘What would you like?’ she asked. ‘Your
choice,’ I said, and the resultant “experiment” was a Korean dish that proved
to be a winner.
So Adelaide, 2017?
What a blast! Slightly dampened by the “funny throat” at the end, but that
pales into insignificance when compared with the pros. Armed with pages of
diary entries, dozens and dozens of photos and happy memories, who could ask
for anything more?
