Same, same, different

I had an after-work drink with my workmates last night to farewell a contractor who worked with us during Vivid Sydney.

We went to Hart’s Pub in The Rock’s, which is just a few blocks away from the office. I have walked past it many times and never properly noticed the craft brewery, which is located in a building constructed in the 1890s.

It had a framed plague notification on the wall, which was very atmospheric.

God save the King.

Anyways, I was chatting to two of my co-workers – Rhianne and Alyse – who are not only young and gorgeous, but also really lovely.

Some people win the trifecta.

We got to chitter chattering about things other than work and the youngest of the gorgeous women and I professed our mutual love for The Dog House, which is a TV show where dogs are matched with new owners. Invariably the trauma that either the dogs or the people have experienced in their lives – or the happy ending that comes through finding the perfect rescue pet – brings me to tears.

Then Rhianne shame-facedly confessed she was a “geek” who loved a TV show called Doctor Who and my face lit up.

We spent the next 20 minutes bonding over our favourite Doctors and assistants and episodes while Alyse stared at us blankly because she’d never even heard of Doctor Who, which blew my mind a bit.

While the blokes had heard of Doctor Who, they were definitely not fans.

Rhianne is a big David Tennant fan, as am I. He is heaven and I’ve had many a stirring thought about him. But my favourite Doctor is Matt Smith. I would watch every episode starring him all over again in a heartbeat.

I told Rhianne about holding a birthday party for the eldest featuring Matt’s first episode, where he infamously ate fish fingers and custard. I gained quite a bit of notoriety in the neighbourhood after serving the primary schoolers the combination as party food.

Then we moved onto my next favourite subject, snorkelling. And Billy noted that he was mad keen to get to the Cocos Keeling Islands. My eyes lit up because I AM TOO!

The Cocos Keeling Islands lie 3685km west of Darwin and about 900km southwest of Christmas Island … about as remote as you can get and still be in Australia.

The islands’ tourism website describes them as “Australia’s Last Unspoilt Paradise”. The territory consists of two atolls made up of 27 coral islands, of which only two – West Island and Home Island – are inhabited. The population of around 600 people consists mainly of Cocos Malays, who mostly practise Sunni Islam and speak a dialect of Malay as their first language.

So the food is excellent and so is the snorkelling and diving.

The youngest’s best friend went there earlier this year and is mad keen to return.

Then I told Billy that I also want to go to Rowley Shoals very badly. It’s a marine park 300km west of Broome – also very remote – made up of three coral atolls, with untouched coral gardens, amazing marine life and clear lagoons.

Billy had never heard of Rowley Shoals and I urged him to Google it when he got home.

There was also much talk about how we survived COVID-19 lockdowns, with my British boss spending two weeks alone in quarantine at a Sydney hotel after being separated from his Aussie wife for five months.

Those were very strange times and I think we are all still processing our journeys through them.

As I walked to the bus stop it dawned on me that COVID-19 messed with the important custom of after-work drinks – whether you have a soft drink or a beer in your hand they actually served a genuine purpose of connecting you with your co-workers in a way that Quarantini-style virtual drinks couldn’t.

Oh, plus my boss bought me a glass of rose. Bonus! Well, guilty bonus because Tuesday is supposed to be one of my nights of abstinence.

Unlike tonight, which promises to be a very fancy affair. Stay tuned!

Song of the day: The Rollings Stones “Waiting on a friend”