What an amazing success story Sykpe has been! Sold twice now in multi-million dollar deals.
And, as I discovered in March last year when I caught the lift to the top of Katarinahissen in Stockholm, they don’t waste money.
I got off at the wrong floor and discovered the Skype HQ which, as you can see, has a letterbox sign put together “on the cheap” using sticky-tape.
“Oh, it’s two-thirty, it must be time for a nap”, I thought to myself a couple of hours ago. On a Monday? Yes, because it’s Day 1 of my “stay-cation”.
The last time I had a “stay-cation”, this blog tells me was almost exactly five years ago. Before that, and ever since, my time off from work has always involved some kind of travel, whether it be home to Lismore, to other parts of Australia, or overseas. Last year, I visited both Sweden and Spain. So far, I have no exotic travel plans for this year.
But a couple of weeks ago, I found myself feeling quite tired, and at times, a little grumpy with my colleagues. So, realising this, I asked the boss for a week off, to hang out at home, do things I like to do, and generally re-charge my batteries.
So far today, I’ve been out for a morning coffee, saw a movie, went to the art-gallery, did some of my own painting (art, not the house) dialed in briefly for an important meeting (so much for taking a proper break), and had the nap.
I knew very little about “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” prior to booking my ticket. It’s just that I had a movie voucher which expired today, and it was the only thing at George Street Cinemas which looked even vaguely interesting, and which I hadn’t already scene, and so I booked it “on spec”.
Arriving at the cinema I was amazed to discover I was, literally, the only person in the movie. After sixteen minutes of ads, the film finally commenced. About fifteen minutes later, someone else entered the cinema.
It was a lovely film, with elements of romance and intrigue, set on the island of Guernsey which, I hadn’t previously known, was occupied by Germany during World War II. Highly recommended.
Also today, I visited the Art Gallery of NSW, where the Sydney Biennale is underway, offering up a couple of interesting works I really liked, including a terrific video piece by a Finnish artist.
And there’s also a new work by a Maori artist, portraying Captain Cook in stainless steel.
And yes, I did some painting of my own. I’m not a particularly good artist, and everything I do, I keep well and truly hidden away. However, I enjoy painting, and that’s what I plan to keep doing over the next few days, as I enjoy my “well earned break”, as they so often say in the media.
The shop windows at Hurlstone Park aren’t as glamorous as the ones we have in Surry Hills, that’s for sure.
In Surry Hills, we have the fashion shops, the cafes, the “Melbourne-style” small bars, and the bakeries where you spend as much time in the queue as they do in parts of the former Soviet Union.
But in Hurlstone Park, there’s no such glamour. Instead, they have toilets.
The difference between the two suburbs became obvious again to me today as we walked back from the Maccas on the corner of New Canterbury Road to the home of The Best Judge.
Along with Grant, I’m helping him de-clutter his life at the moment, ahead of moving houses.
As previously described, it’s a big job. But it’s also a fun job, made all the more fun by being able to sit around with a couple of good mates as we go through a life and make some sense of it. We have plastic crates labelled “personal memorabilia”, “travel stuff”, etc, in which to divide things, and along the way you find the odd gem such as an old school report or a photograph you never new existed. There are lots of laughs to be had.
Every day we break for lunch at the nearby Maccas which is probably a blog entry (or a Phd) in itself. I’ve become a fan of the Angus meal, in case you’ve wondered.
To and from Maccas, we look into the shop windows. In addition to the previously mentioned “toilet shop”, there’s a hair dresser that offers to straighten your hair permanently and there’s a shop which sells a range of religious iconography. Strictly speaking, I think it’s an Orthodox Church shop (with the Greek and Australian flags in the window), though it bears a strong resemblance to the “Catholic Shop” that I grew up with in Lismore.
But, as previously mentioned, as a child I was always told if you couldn’t make it to a Catholic Church, an Orthodox Church was far preferred over a protestant one. I’ve been explaining this to my protestant friends who find the shop very amusing to say the least.
On arriving home I hit the couch pretty solidly. I’m working quite hard at the moment in lots of different ways, and I’m pretty bloody exhausted most nights when I come home.
A good night’s sleep and I’ll be back again tomorrow, and looking forward to a little more window shopping in Hurlstone Park.
I woke in the middle of the night recently with a vivid memory: a radio feature I produced back in 1992. I was hosting the ABC Radio Morning Show in Wagga Wagga at the time.
Nearby, Gundagai was hosting a celebration marking the 50th anniversary of a late-night visit by wartime Prime Minister John Curtin to a local cafe.
I recall the event clearly—it drew a huge national media contingent, and Deputy Prime Minister Brian Howe was in attendance.
Here’s the report I filed for the national radio program “The World Today,” courtesy of the ABC Radio Archives.
Richard Palfreyman: And finally, Gundagai is about as Australian as any town can get, home to the dog on the tucker box and the subject of a much-loved song. But Gundagai is also home to another legend: the night when a wartime Prime Minister stopped off for a midnight meal. Last night, more than 100 people celebrated the 50th anniversary of that event, including the Deputy Prime Minister, Brian Howe. James O’Brien takes up the story of how a legend was celebrated.
James O’Brien: The legend began one cold August night in 1942, when there was a strange knock at the door of Gundagai’s Niagara Cafe. The co-owners at the time were Jack and Vic Castrisson. They were surprised to discover that it was, in fact, the Prime Minister, John Curtin.
Jack or Vic Castrisson: Just closing up, midnight, and we saw Mr. Curtin at the door, with two or three other ministers. So we went and opened the door, let them in, took them in the kitchen, made them a meal. We sat them down, they had their meal and thanked us very much.
James O’Brien: As they left, I heard they also made a bit of a promise to you.
Jack or Vic Castrisson: Yeah, he mentioned something about the tea, you know, not enough tea.
James O’Brien: Is that because of the war?
Jack or Vic Castrisson: Yeah, yeah, it was rationed. We might have signed to one of the other ministers and we got £100 instead of £28. And that was good, you know, that was a big help to us.
James O’Brien: Fifty years later, another famous politician made his way to the same cafe, this time the Deputy Prime Minister, Brian Howe. But the tune this time was somewhat different to 1942. And this time, too, the menu was much different.
Jack or Vic Castrisson (maybe someone else): It’s moussaka, roast, this is meat, it’s Greek style. And Greek salad and Spanakopita, pie, cheese pie, feta. Greek sweet, you can see the fish over there, oh, oh, look at the beauty.
James O’Brien: More than 100 people crammed into this small cafe in this very famous Australian town, including newspapers, radio stations, and TV crews from four different networks. All of them wanting to know why Brian Howe, the Deputy Prime Minister, would take time out from this year’s budget to celebrate something which happened 50 years ago. But it soon became obvious as memories of Labour past came flooding forth.
Brian Howe: Well, I think they achieved the foundations of modern Australia. They’re essentially people that stood between the 1930s, which was a terrible time, where Australia had no industrial economy. And what they helped to do was to create a capacity to fight militarily. But that required the sinews of an industrial economy. And post-war Australia benefited from what they achieved, you know, right through to the ’70s.
James O’Brien: So what you’re doing now, is that building upon what they did? Or are you pushing new ground as well?
Brian Howe: Well, I think just as they were very innovative and creative. You think of the public service at the time. It was made of very young people who went on to lead the public service for many years. And I think now we’re involved in a new situation. We’re creating the foundations of a very different economy, building, if you like, a new model. If Chifley was responsible for the Holden, we’ve got to be responsible for a rather more sophisticated vehicle these days that’s able to compete internationally and to help Australia earn its way in a pretty tough world.
James O’Brien: Has the election of Paul Keating as Prime Minister led to a regeneration for the Labour Party?
Brian Howe: Well, I think Paul Keating is as Curtin was. He’s a tough man and he has a tough, great capacity to carry through what he seeks to achieve.
James O’Brien: As a member of the Labour Party’s left, would you class that as a move back to the left?
Brian Howe: Well, I think it’s certainly been a year in which people see the Labour Party in progressive terms. I think that there’s real enthusiasm for One Nation. I think there’ll be some enthusiasm for the Budget. And it’s important, I think, every now and then to strike a chord, as we did in the Niagara tonight. People had a sense of what it is that makes Labour, Labour.
Richard Palfreyman: And James O’Brien compiled that report, ending today’s program. I’m Richard Palfreyman, inviting you to join me and the team again tomorrow, lunchtime, for another 60 minutes of the latest news and current affairs on The World Today.
The last few days have been good fun. I spent Sunday with Sue – Yum Cha at Bodhi, a walk around Darling Harbour – which was great, although I did manage to get chapped lips, as the wind was quite strong. My lips are still sore now (Tuesday), which I’ve been treating with Cold Sore Cream. I spent Monday night with Kate and Penny, having dinner at Barbecue King, and enjoying my favourite Peking Duck.
But the highlight, without doubt is something that’s happened to Yvette.
Having seen a report on ABBAMAIL, Björn and Benny were autographing copies of “Chess på svenska” at the Åhléns department store in Stockholm, I asked Yvette if she would see if she could get me an autographed CD. Once I had confirmed which particular, Åhléns department store it was, she said “No worries”, that she would be happy to line up, but would have to take her friend, Mikaela (who is moving to Australia) with her for moral support.
Anyway… sometime during last night (when I was sound asleep) Yvette called and left a message on my answer machine to say she had gone to the wrong store, had missed out etc, or something like that and that she was really sorry.
Of course, she hadn’t. She’s managed to get me a signed CD, and have some photographs taken with Bjorn and Benny. She’s been texting friends all day saying “I’ve met Bjorn and Benny” etc.
She said about 120 people were in the queue for autographs and that by and large people were moved through in an orderly fashion.
Except for her. She said, “It was my one big chance, there’s no way I was going to be shuffled through”. She also said she had her mobile phone ready for either one of them to have a chat with me. What a great friend. D’oh! I was asleep! She said Benny, in particular, was very nice and chatted with her about being from Australia. And no, his hands didn’t shake (in ABBAFAN circles, it’s widely believed Benny has a drinking problem).
But what about the CD itself?
Swedish newspaper, Aftonbladet, has given it the “thumbs up”. According to Reviewer, Jens Peterson, The director Lars Rudolfsson has adapted the English language version.
He has deleted and rearranged, Björn and Benny have written new songs. I liked the first album very much when it was released in the fall of 1984 and later I saw the concert versions and the musical which had it’s world premiere in 1986. I like “Chess” in Swedish just as much. There’s a difference between now and then. Then “Chess” was recorded as an album at first, then performed on stage. Then Björn & Benny still had ABBA in their blood when they produced, now Benny Andersson’s sound is a bit closer to “Kristina från Duvemåla”.
What did Yvette think of the experience? She writes:
So I strode up to Benny and said Hi I’m from Australia and it’s a great pleasure to meet you and we shook hands. Now, I don’t know if it’s just because he’s nice or he’d had a few beers but we had a big chat about what I was doing in Sweden, where I was working, how I liked it, that I’d better watch out for the cold winter, that he’s heard great reports about my infamous Dancing Queen karaoke performances (well not really the last bit) etc etc. It was tops! He seems really lovely.
Anyway, the next few days will be great fun, I’m sure, as Penny is staying with me.
We had an argument over wheelchair parking with a man today at Maroubra.
I don’t have one of those stickers to put on car windows yet. I need to go to a doctor and get some paperwork from home. But today we used wheelchair parking spots for brief drop-offs and pickups, while my friends parked elsewhere.
But on seeing us in one of the spots at the beach, the man in question started abusing us. His wife was in a wheelchair; they already had a spot, and he was wanting to use the space we were already in to get her back into the car.
We tried to explain we were not able-bodied people abusing the disability spaces, but he didn’t seem to understand or didn’t seem to want to listen.
In one of those classic ‘don’t back down moments,’ he failed to acknowledge we were telling the truth when I emerged from the vehicle, got into the wheelchair, and my friend drove away to another spot.
My other interactions with people in wheelchairs have been a lot more positive.
“As I’ve been traveling around, I’ve become far more conscious of people in wheelchairs than I was a few months ago,” I told my friends.
As we sat and waited for the fish and chips to be ready, two people in wheelchairs rode by. “Hello, how are you going?” we said to each other, smiling. I noticed one of them was double below-the-knee amputee, but mostly I noticed they were really enjoying themselves being out and about, having a great time down by the ocean.
Later we had a lovely jokey interaction with a couple who, like the first, were getting ready to get back in their vehicle.
My future with a prosthesis means I’ll be spending less time out and about in a chair, but there will still be times when I’ll need to get around in one. Anticipated occasions include long-distance trips, when I’m feeling tired, or when the prosthesis doesn’t fit or work properly.
Today was a further insight into the times when that might need to be the case, and the kind of things I might need to consider.
We went to Maroubra today for a couple of reasons, including that it seemed quite wheelchair friendly. There is a long flat promenade that’s relatively smooth, there seems to be ample wheelchair access, and it was nowhere near as busy as somewhere like Coogee. At the surf club, you can asks for a “beach wheelchair” (large, wide tyres), which they provide free of charge.
We went there for some fresh air (out of the hospital), some good conversation, and (ostensibly) fish and chips.
Fish and chips doesn’r sound good for diabetics, does it? Even though the shop ‘Barnacles’ at Maroubra doesn’t have wheelchair entry, I was able to see the menu from outside and order through my friends who could go into the shop. My friends had some battered fish and potato scallops, and I opted for some baby octopus and a salad. They also had grilled fish (which is also diabetes-friendly). All of our meals were excellent, and I would definitely go back there.
Conscious of my diabetes, I ‘snuck’ a couple of chips and even had a single beverage named after a former Prime Minister.
Later we went to an ice cream shop at the nearby East Gardens shopping center which had something called ‘diabetic ice cream.’ Research tells me it’s sugar-free, or at least low-sugar. They only had two flavors advertised as ‘diabetic ice cream,’ and I chose the chocolate one. I can’t remember the name of the ice cream shop, but it was on the top level of the shopping center, near the outdoor car park.
When I got back to the hospital, the nurse tested my blood sugar levels, and they were right on track. “You’re getting to know your body”, she remarked.
I’m pretty sure these small amounts of ‘leave pass’ are aiding the rehabilitation process. I’m so incredibly grateful my friends today, and others who’ve taken me out for a spin over the last few weeks.
“The guy in my room hasn’t had a single visitor in the week we’ve been together”, I told my friends today. Other people I’ve spoken to in the hospital have been here for periods of four and five months. By the time I get home, I will have been here for three months. I feel so incredibly lucky to have been able to get out and about, thanks to them.
“Just so you know, let there be no doubt, people really love you” my friend said today. We both almost cried.
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Companies I’ve worked for have paid for giant flashy signs. This impresses me much more.
I should have added the background photograph for this blog was taken from Katarinahissen in Stockholm which is the same building where the Skype offices are located.
I love this about you James, you notice the small things that others would miss.
Sometimes I notice too much.