You guys don’t know how good you’ve got it.
I arrived from the United Kingdom fourteen months ago. My partner, who is from Brisbane, wanted to come back home to see her family so I had to follow her. (OK, I admit, I didn’t take much persuading.)
Since then I have constantly been amazed by the place and astonished by how many Brisbanites take it for granted.
Here’s an example. I asked a friend at work what he did at the weekend. His reply was “Ah…nothing really, had a quiet one. Headed up the Sunny Coast and did a bit of surfing but there was this really annoying dolphin following my board all the time.”
I couldn’t believe this. I know people who would travel from the other end of the world just to experience what one person terms a “quiet weekend” People pay a fortune for the opportunity to see dolphins in captivity yet here you can not only see them for free but actually swim with them.
This is just the start of it.
You have one of the most amazing forms of public transport in the world. The CityCat ferry takes you the length of The Brisbane River for a mere $5.80 return AND you can jump on and off as much as you like during the day.
Whilst many Brisbanites simply see it as a way of getting from A to B, I am always impressed by the mini-adventure. Just yesterday I caught the ferry at Apollo Road and ventured down to Sydney Street for a spot of fishing (you can go fishing, in a river next to a park overlooking the city! Amazing!) On this 15 minute journey I saw a beautiful sunset over Mount Coot-tha whilst a kookaburra sang his song and the breeze from the boat cooled me down after a day of glorious sunshine. I ask you, is there a better way to travel? And there’s sharks in there you know!
It always astonishes me when people complain that Brisbane is boring. Are you kidding me? There’s always something going on!
Over the last two weekends I have celebrated Queensland’s 150th anniversary in The Botanical Gardens, watched a classic Disney movie on a blanket in a park, had my picture taken with NRL superstars, debated the future of the media at The Writers Festival and finished it all with the best firework display I have ever seen at Riverfire. And how much did I pay for all this? Not a cent.
So what delights will Brisbane throw up this weekend? Shall I feed the kangaroos at the koala sanctuary perhaps? Have a wander around the Lifestyle Market at South Bank, learn how to spin fire at Northey Street City Farm Circus Day or simply have a picnic under a jacaranda tree in New Farm Park.
I repeat you guys don’t know how good you’ve got it.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Coffee & Carrot Cake??
After a hard day at work and an early rise that morning I arrived in the city centre thinking that a latte, a cake and a read of the days newspapers was in order.
With four coffee shops within 50 yards of where I was standing, I made a random choice. I wished I didn’t.
A young girl greeted me cheerily at the counter:
“Hi Sir, Can I take your order?”
“Yes. Can I have a latte and a piece of carrot cake?”
“Carrocky?”
“No, Carrot Cake”
“Carrocky?”
“Carrot Cake”
“Hold on a second”
I waited patiently as the girl went up to another girl who was working with her. She was clearly hoping that she might be fluent in moron.
“Yes sir what were you wanting?”
“I’m just after a latte and a slice of carrot cake”
“Carrocky?”
“Carrot Cake”
“No we don’t have any”
“It’s there at the counter!!” I said pointing to what can only be described as carrot cake
“Oh. Carrot cake. Yeh no problem. Can I take a name for your order?”
“It’s Richard”
“Sorry?”
“Richard”
“I’m Sorry?”
“Richard!”
“Sorry Mitchell, It’s your accent. Which part of England are you from?”
“I’m not, I’m Scottish”
“Oh I’m so sorry!! I didn’t mean to offend you!”
“It’s OK. You didn’t offend me. It’s an easy mistake to make. It would be like me calling you a kiwi.”
“I am a kiwi”
“Well. There you go then.”
The other girl, overhearing our conversation states, “I love Dublin”
I always see this as a rather random response, after all when people tell me they are doctors, I don’t respond with “really, my mum works in car finance”
Still, I’m sure she meant well so on this occasion I opted to agree and leave it at that.
With my order finally taken, I sat down and waited for my coffee and carrot cake. After a couple of minutes the girl making the coffee shouted out my name, or rather Mitchell. I went up to grab my drink only to find what appeared to be a coffee variation on a frozen coke.
By now I felt the best approach was to cut my losses, take the muddy looking iced beverage and accept defeat. So I took the drink, sat down and continued reading my paper. The drink wasn’t as bad as it looked and was rather refreshing after being out in the sun.
About 30 seconds later, I was startled by the thud of a latte being slammed onto my table at the maximum force it is possible to place a cardboard cup onto a hard surface without it collapsing under the pressure.
“This was your order sir!”
I guiltily picked up the half drunk iced drink and offered her a swap.
“It’s no use to me now, is it?” she spitefully responded before walking away in disgust.
I felt it was time to leave so I folded up my newspaper and went on my way grateful that there are plenty of other coffee shops for Mitchell to try.
I never did get the carrocky.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
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