My day and
night have been spanking and they have been stonking. These are two terms used
by my colleagues the English to describe very pleasant and good things. I like
both words and their application. The word stonking is not made up. It is in
the Oxford dictionary. It is defined as:
"used
to emphasize something impressive, exciting or very large".
I first
associate spanking as a form of naughty playful slapping. I think that most of
us would. I now however also perceive it in a different way. I have adopted
both terms from the English with whom I work.
Spanking and
stonking.
I have claimed
them as my own.
Sydney. Steak
and Kidney. The Harbour Town. Here I am. You little ripper. I am feeling
comfortable and relaxed and Happy. Deliriously so. Despite the overnight flight
from Singapore - on Qantas - I am bouncing around the place.
It is
Bewdiful!
I am reminded
every time that I come back to Sydney how lovely this city is. It is stunning.
I look out of my hotel window and down onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge. To the
right of this is the Sydney Opera House. Both these structures are illuminated.
They are also iconic. And the harbour - Sydney harbor – it is the greatest body
of water in the world
The view from
my hotel window is screaming Sydney.
Here is a
picture of my view:
There are ferries gliding across the water. I can see them now going from Circular Quay to Balmain - and beyond. Walking back from my office this afternoon I saw a sign pointing east to Woolloomooloo. That's eight 'o's and three 'l's! Then I saw a sign pointing the way west to Parramatta. These are magnificent Australian and Sydney place names. I was so happy to see the signs that I said them out loud. I am saying them out loud now as I am writing them down.
Woolloomooloo.
Parramatta.
There is some
debate regarding the origin or meaning of the name Woolloomooloo. It is
aboriginal of course - as is Parramatta. Woolloomooloo is
possibly derived from the Koori word Wallamullah. This translates
to the 'place of plenty'.
Parramatta
means 'the place where eels lie down'.
I have been
yacking away to people all day. To perfect strangers - from the moment I
landed. We Australians just talk to each other without any hang ups or agenda
and most often without scruple. It is so different to Singapore. From the line
in Immigration at the airport this morning to the crowded lifts in my Sydney
office this afternoon people just start chatting.
"Owzitgoin
mate?
"Yeah
good owzitgoin yourself?"
"Beautiful
day huh?"
"Yeah
but its gonna rain on the weekend"
"No worries.
We need the rain"
And on and on
it goes. It is relaxed and natural and pleasant conversation.
I said "Gidday"
to an American couple in the hotel lift earlier. They told me that they were
here on holiday. On vacation in the American language. I asked them if they
were enjoying themselves and they told me they were. The female of the couple
told me in her Texan drawl how friendly she thought we Australians were. I
agreed and I told her with no small amount of pride that this is what we do. We
be friendly and we talk.
It is so nice
to be here.
It really is.
The most impressive,
exciting and very large part of today though was this evening. Tonight. I spent
time with some of my very old mates and it was quality time. That is Quality
with a capital 'Q". We talked and laughed and we shared. We all have them
I think - old mates. Good and precious ones. Really good ones. They are that
very small circle of people you have known for decades - since you were fourteen
or fifteen years of age. Our collective memories are indelible. They are many
and significant experiences shared across impressionable ages. They are bonding
moments that still make you laugh until your stomachs hurt whenever you talk
about them and remember them.
Even
Now.
Thirty years
later.
My old mates
and I did that this evening. We did a lot of recollection and reflection and
do-you-remembers. We talked about others in our circle of old mates. We mostly
reminisced and rolled around the floor laughing. There was much mirth.
It was
hysterical.
A lot of the
stories involved our common mate Berty who lives in the US. I was updating the
others on how he is going and we told funny Berty stories. We remembered one of
his Aunt's on his mum's side was a Private Investigator and he did some work
for her one Summer. Surveillance work. We were all very impressed with that at
the time. We also remembered Bert's mum Shirley getting us jobs parking cars at
the netball on Thursday nights. We used one torch in each hand to guide cars in
between gum trees at the Jells Park netball courts. We helped them park. In
this job we also got to watch heaps of girls play netball and were paid for it.
In cash.
We were living
the dream.
My mates and I
also recalled with great fondness the Reynolds Melbourne Cup Day barbecues.
They were a classic. Bert's dad Brian was an accountant with his own Practice
and every Melbourne Cup day he would host a big barbecue around the pool at the
family home. All his clients and relatives were invited. I went every year from
when I was about fifteen and Bert, me and his elder brother Shayne would grab
heaps of beers that were being chilled in ice in the bathtubs in the
house.
It was open
slather.
We also
remembered that one year a different aunt of Bert's turned up at
the Melbourne Cup Day barbecue with a guy we were told who had just been
released from prison. We were reliably informed that he had robbed a bank.
We remembered looking at him with a bit of awe and fear and we made whispered
references to him as "the Bank Robber". He ended up marrying the Aunt
and he came back every year to the Melbourne Cup Day barbecue. We think we
remember that the Bank Robber and the aunt later won a very big lottery prize
and then they lost it all when they were defrauded by an ex and aging Famous-Footballer
turned Television-Personality turned Investment-Adviser. He was a very bad
Investment Adviser as it turned out.
Berty's aunts
were all a bit crazy but they were colourful and they were highly entertaining.
Life is
theater sometimes. Theater is life.
Reminiscing
with my mates about all this tonight this has been wonderful.
Yes my first
day back in Sydney has been excellent.
It has been
spanking.
I am seeing
another old mate tomorrow and then I fly down to Melbourne to see my family on
Wednesday.
It just gets
better and better.
It is
stonking.
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