Heart and Crossbones

It was Easter 2022 a few months ago now (I’ll write about that in an upcoming post). I always intended to publish this post about Easter 2021, my last draft on The Alexcellent Life blog, so here it is…

Magic Mike, the social whirl and hanging harbourside with Dr.Norman Swan

It was April 2021. It had been many months since we’d been to Sydney (since July 2020), the longest time I’ve ever spent away from the place, the longest in my life I’d gone without seeing the coast!

Back to Red Hill

Before our Sydney visit, we had a Good Friday walk up Red Hill, which we hadn’t done for ages, mostly due to my new(ish) job and longer work hours. Our weekends had been busy too. But on this peaceful Good Friday, we did a walk and it was great. Prickly brown Thistles had grown all over the hillside since we last visited.

Good Friday, the air was like a crisp dry champagne. Canberra’s Autumn has been stunning.

But back to Red Hill. As we approached, George said “We haven’t been here for ages.”

“I can’t remember the last time we went to Red Hill” I agreed.

George thought for a few seconds; “…Joe Exotic, toilet paper, quarantine and when we first started making Tik Toks – that’s when we went to Red Hill everyday. It seems so long ago.” It’s funny George associates lockdown with Joe Exotic, as he never actually watched an episode of Tiger King and I only made it through one episode. But it was trending on Tik Tok at the time.

The comment from George summed up our lockdown life and shows how a quieter life with less obligations can be a good thing. It reminds me it shouldn’t take a lockdown for us to spend more time in nature and exercise.

Sydney Visit

We hooned up to Sydney on Easter Saturday, masked on the Murray’s Bus. We had meant to visit between Christmas and early January, but Sydney had gone into partial lockdown (the Northern Beaches). Even though I would only have visited the city’s East, the ACT Government declared Sydney a Covid hot spot which meant returning residents would’ve had to quarantine on return, and George was not keen to quarantine for two weeks over summer holidays. Also, I’d just started a new work contract and January was busy there. January 2021 was a combination of working from home, working from my new work’s office, and helping friends who had been in “Covid hot spot” Sydney, by bringing them supplies and talking to them from a distance as they completed a two-week quarantine in an Air B’n’B, before returning to their home on the sunshine coast. Once they were allowed to leave quarantine, we did have a wonderful in-person catch up at one of our favourite restaurant’s Portia’s Place in Kingston. It was fun for G and our friends son to catch up – they had been at primary school together in Sydney years earlier..

I was supposed see the Magic Mike Live show at the time with my sister in November 2020 – cancelled! Then January, but we managed to get our tickets pushed back to Easter Saturday in April 2021, and I wasn’t going to miss out on this, my sister’s present to me for my 50th birthday the previous year!

Magic Mike was such a such fun night out, it was the first show we’d been to post-pandemic (editors note September 2022 – we are still in a pandemic! It comes in waves you know) and we loved it! Although the beginning reminded me of a 90s hens night (“Studs Afloat” I’m looking at you), Magic Mike elevates the genre way beyond shiny pecs and abs. There was a lot of talented dancers and a cute storyline

Easter Sunday Lunch

Had a lovely lunch with extended family. It had been a long time since G and I had seen everyone. Easter kicked off a jam-packed week of activities in Sydney.

Over the Bridge and back again.

Monday saw a trip over the bridge to Senorita Margarita’s new place and lunch at a Mosman cafe where I was sure I saw Raelene Boyle lunching. A quick Google search later confirmed that yes, this Sunshine-coast resident must’ve been enjoying a Sydney Easter getaway.

The rest of the week was a whirl of family and friend catch-ups for myself and George including: shopping in Bondi junction, lunch at Hard Rock cafe, bowling, and even a trip to the beach – thank you glorious Sydney Summer in Autumn.

George swam and jumped off the pontoon at a local harbour beach. I didn’t swim, or jump, due to the cold I’d caught from George who was now better. I didn’t think to have him Covid tested before we came to Sydney as he’s already had so many little sniffles and sore throats that he’d missed school for and that he recovered from a day or two later. At this point in April 2021, Coronavirus was not out in the community as prior to May then later July, the government restrictions had done a good job of keeping the virus at bay. If it was in the community I would have had myself and George tested. But I put my cold down to just that, a cold I’d caught from George. But later events in May 2021 revealed people catching Covid in quarantine and the potential for the virus to leak out into the community.

Mum and I sipped takeaway coffees sitting under a tree and discussed whether or not the middle-aged man in boardies 10 metres away was Dr. Norman Swan or not. When he took off his hat and sunglasses to put his t-shirt back on, we confirmed it was indeed my Coronacast hero enjoying the sunshine and water in this glorious Sydney location.

Friday night was a catch up drink with a friend, Saturday catch up with a cousin and her little boy, and Saturday night dinner with other friends and kids – 6 boys all together ranging in age from 10 – 15. As another friend commented, it would’ve been quite the “boysterous” evening, and it was.

Sunday we were up early to get the bus back to Canberra. On setting foot inside the townhouse it was a quick hello to the guinea pigs (and a quick veggie feed – we’d had a carer for them while we were away) before I headed off to the Arboretum for a former work colleague’s milestone birthday afternoon tea.

Mum, bless her, returned with us to hang out with George for the remainder of the school holidays while I went to work.

George and his granny had lots of video game time on the couch – which my mum loves – while she was recovering from the cold she caught from me. It began with a sore throat our first day back but thankfully after a couple of days she began feeling better. Well enough to visit Canberra’s Botanical Gardens on Friday, and for a family outing to Pialligo on Saturday.

Pialligo is a picturesque rural pocket of Canberra with orchards, nurseries, paddocks and ponies. It’s across the road from the airport, quite the juxtaposition. We bought apples and quinces from an orchard, which made Mum very happy – apparently quinces are hard to come by in Sydney supermarkets and Mum loves them. Later we ate cake with our coffee at Rodney’s Nursery (all the scones were sold out by 11am apparently).

Later at home over a pasta dinner, Mum and I appreciated channel Nine’s astute programming of the Downton Abbey episode where the King and Queen came to stay, as a prelude to the Duke of Edinburgh’s televised funeral.

And now it’s Sunday and sadly, mum has left this morning, back on the Murray’s bus to Sydney. George is back to school tomorrow, and another term begins.