The barmaid was serving in the other bar, as the woman sauntered into the pub, And when I say sauntered, I probably mean swaggered. At a local pub where you pretty much recognise all the faces, she looked a little out of place. She didn’t look like a “local”. And she had a slightly “menacing” look about her.
As I was near the entry, I noticed she hadn’t used the QR code. When the barmaid appeared a few seconds later, she asked the woman to sign in. “I don’t have to, the laws have changed, and you can’t make me,” she said. She then went on with a bit of what-appeared-to-be a prepared speech.
Finally, the barmaid was able to convince her the changed laws did not include pubs, gyms and other “high volume” places. The woman signed in and then immediately walked out. The whole experience had the feel of some kind of prepared “protest” about it.
The barmaid and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes. “Hasn’t she heard about the prediction of 25,000 daily cases?”, the barmaid asked me.
In contrast, it seems like the population has heard about the prediction, as there were long queues for testing in the city today.
George Street testing queue
I posted this video on Twitter, and someone responded with a recommendation about the queue at the Eastern Suburbs Community College.
Darlinghurst testing queue
I have the testing trifecta requirement. 1 Hospital admission. 2. Flight to Northern NSW. 3. Visiting older family members. So the need for me to get tested is immediate. Fingers crossed.
As I listened to the situation of other nearby patients the phrase, “I’m going to Queensland” seemed to be the most common answer.
Whenever he appears in the media (as he did this week with his comments about AUKUS), I will often relate to friends and colleagues the time I had to “meet and greet” former Prime Minister, Paul Keating. Though I don’t recall the exact date, it was probably in about 2006, and I think he was coming on ABC Radio Sydney to talk about Barangaroo.
As I recall from our chat, he was curious about the appointment of Virginia Trioli to the Morning Show on ABC Radio Sydney (“Does she know anything about Sydney?”), and related a funny anecdote about appearing on the radio with Alan Jones, and told me he hated “talkback radio”.
Lots of politicians come through the doors and don’t normally require a meet and greet. But some do, especially those with a police/security presence
I also remember having to “meet and greet” Peter Costello, the former Treasurer, as well as John Howard, the former Prime Minister.
NSW Premier, Dominic Perrotet had a police presence when I met him at the reception of the ABC this week. He was coming in for an interview on the Breakfast Show on ABC Radio Sydney, in the lead-up to the NSW election.
There have been a few reports in the papers over the last few weeks about the close relationship between Perrotet and Keating, and the memory of the Keating visit came flooding back to me.
NSW Premier, Dominic Perrotet on ABC Radio Sydney
I’m back at work full-time right now, as A/Manager of ABC Radio Sydney. I worked at the station full-time many years ago, and return from time to time in a managerial role to “help out”.
As I mentioned the other week, I’m finding it quite exhausting. It’s been quite frenetic. “It’s a young man’s game”, a former colleague said to me a few years ago, noting he was finding it harder the older he got to keep up with the pace of daily radio. It’s only a short stint, though a busy one with the NSW election, the prospect of industrial action at the ABC, and an increase in COVID cases. We had six people off sick last week.
Despite the pace of things, I’m enjoying being back briefly, and being able to reconnect with some older colleagues, as well as meet some new ones. And I LOVED heading out to Parramatta this week for an outside broadcast of the Morning Show with Sarah Macdonald.
Parramatta legend, Peter Wynn on ABC Radio Sydney, with Sarah Macdonald
Outside work hours, there have been a few interesting things going on, such as attending the launch of this year’s Sydney Writer Festival.
This morning I took an early morning trip down to Circular Quay. After a COVID break, the cruise ships are back. Despite the increase in COVID cases, virtually no one is wearing a face mask on the parts of Sydney public transport I use. My experience at work tells me it’s not over yet!
Ever since the death of Dame Patricia Routledge (who passed away this week on 3 October 2025), I’ve been trying to track down a photograph I had taken with her when I interviewed her in 2001 for ABC Radio. Thanks to a wonderful colleague, I’ve finally tracked down the photograph through the Way Back Machine. There is also a link to an audio file from a file type no longer used (Real Player), so finding the actual interview might be more of a challenge!
Dame Patricia Routledge was an iconic English actress known for her versatility across stage, film, and television, though she is perhaps most beloved internationally for her role as the obsessive, social-climbing snob, Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced ‘Bouquet’), in the BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances. Personally, I much preferred her role in Hetty Wainthropp Investigates. Despite the fame of her television roles, her career was rooted in musical theatre, for which she won a Tony Award in 1968 for her performance in the Broadway musical, Darling of the Day.
Dame Patricia Routledge, ABC Radio (Australia) 2001, with me.
I remember lots of things about the interview, but one of the most delightful moments was finding an album she recorded in the 1960s. We managed to locate a copy in the ABC Sound Library and played a track for her—she couldn’t believe we actually had it! The album featured her singing “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” from The Sound of Music.
I recall the generosity of her time being extraordinary. At one point, I saw in the background a producer from another radio station looking through the studio window and tapping his watch to signal that I had gone overtime with her, but she was happy to to continue the chat.
I have thousands of hours of audio in the archives, but I haven’t been able to find the actual interview file yet. Nevertheless, having the photograph is a wonderful reminder of that special conversation. I shared the story with friends on Facebook and one rather astutely commented: “You can tick that off your bucket list.” 🤣
“That is SUCH a Swedish thing to do”, Grant commented when I returned from the men’s toilet at IKEA.
Although I’m sure you can otherwise get arrested for taking photographs in men’s toilets, my intention was honourable.
I was impressed with the “baby seat” located in the cubicle so that when a father needs to attend to nature, he has somewhere to place the baby.
The Swedes are known for their gender equity, and I guess this is just another sign of it.
It was one of those early afternoon decisions to go to IKEA. I was hanging out at home with nothing much planned. And so I rang Graeme and Grant asking if they wanted to make a trip to our favourite shopping centre.
While Graeme looked at CDs. Grant and I ate meatballs.
Baby seat in the mens toilet at IKEA, Sydney
The wait for our meal though was a little more than we expected. It was if half of Sydney had the same early afternoon realisation that it would be fun to go to IKEA and fun to go to the cafe. I estimate we were in the queue for fifteen minutes.
As we wandered around IKEA we noted that for all its Swedishness, there are some aspects of Swedish culture they don’t include. For example, the muzak is never Swedish. And for all of the prints of exotic locations around the world you can buy, there’s not one of Stockholm.
OK, so maybe the demand for a print of the archipelago may not be all that great in Sweden, and half of the rest of the world may have little idea that Stockholm even has an archipelago, I can tell you there’s three little ducks here in Sydney who would love a print of Stockholm for their wall.
I did the things I had to do – buy some glasses for work, and some light globes – and also picked up some lovely coat-hangers and then we caught the train back.
Plans for the night? Swedish homework and clothes-washing.
As much as I love my work, I also love a public holiday, and it’s been great having another day off.
I’m back in Sydney for New Year, for the first time in a few years. For the last few years, I’ve been spending New Year’s Eve in Lismore, often attending the Tropical Fruits party. While I’ve enjoyed those events, I must admit the music has changed a bit too much for my liking—it seems to be all “doof, doof, doof” without any lyrics these days! I usually find myself gravitating toward the Cabaret area, which is more my speed, but this year I didn’t feel like staying and decided to head back to Sydney instead.
I’d had a vague idea of attending the City of Sydney party at the Opera House, but I never quite got around to it. Interestingly, I discovered you can get tickets to watch the fireworks from the Cahill Expressway. A friend whose partner is in a wheelchair mentioned it to me, as they were heading there for the accessible display. While the idea of getting “down and dirty” with the massive Sydney crowds usually worries me, the Expressway vantage point seems like a great option for next year.
The highlight of my return was the flight back yesterday. We flew right past the harbour, offering a perfect view of the Opera House and the Bridge. It even passed near my office, so I could spot my building before we touched down.
Despite being back in the thick of it, I had a very quiet night. I watched a bit of the coverage on TV, listened to the radio, and was in bed early. I slept right through, save for that typical 3:00 AM wake-up call we men tend to have, and woke up feeling refreshed.
Travelling into town this morning, I’d forgotten how wonderful Sydney is at this time of year. So many people leave the city, making it surprisingly peaceful. Most shops in my area are closed, but the pubs and supermarkets are open. I ran into a friend from New Zealand who has lived here for 30 years, and we both agreed how lovely the city is when it’s this quiet. Fond memories of COVID!
My main focus is now on my overseas holiday in mid-February. I’m off to Sweden, Thailand, and the UK, so I popped into town this morning to grab a few essentials. That is my big focus for 2026 so far!
I’ve just returned home from a terrific week’s holiday on the Mornington Peninsula, south of Melbourne. I feel fully rested, have had some terrific experiences and have almost completely forgotten about work for a while (a major goal),In some respects it was a little like going home to Lismore, starting from the flight down. Not being entirely au fait with the geography of Melbourne, I booked a flight through Jetstar which flies into Avalon Airport. When my friend, Sue, told me “Avalon airport is half way to Geelong”, I thought she was just being dramatic. But no, she’s correct. And arriving there was just like arriving at Lismore airport in many ways.
We stayed at the house of a couple of Sue’s friends, Sue and Richard who were away. The house was at Frankston, overlooking Port Phillip Bay, and it was literally a 10 or 15 second walk from the back door to the beach, as this sunset photograph taken from the backstairs shows. In stark contrast to my life in inner-city Sydney, the house Sue and I were staying in was on a really quiet street, with the only noises we heard being that of the ocean and birdlife.
Consequently, we slept in most days until about 10am (or thereabouts), starting off the day with a bit of mid-morning television and breakfast ahead of some daytime wandering, shopping, eating, touring and visiting galleries.
Mornington Peninsula Sunset. We stayed at the house of a couple of Sue’s friends, Sue and Richard who were away.
The first gallery we visited was that of Marion Rozestky, an artist who specialises in painted pottery. Curiousity got the better of me, and I asked her if she was related to David Rozestky, to which she replied “I’m the mother of the artist”. I thought this was interesting, as the art group I’m part of, Hawkesbury One owns one of David Rozestky’s works. We spoke for a while about her talented children and about her own late interest in developing her artistic skills. “I still can’t draw”, she told us, “and so I guess that’s why I do dots”.
The local regional gallery, the Mornington Peninsula Regional Gallery had a very good exhibition called, Moist, featuring watercolours from the National Gallery. The exhibition featured an eclectic range of works, including Sue’s favourite, a piece called, “Curtis Dancing On E”. There was also an exhibition by Melbourne print-makers, including one called Lesbia Thorpe? “Do you reckon many children are called Lesbia, Sue?” I asked wyrly. “I’ll suggest it to Karen as she’s looking for interesting baby names at the moment”, she replied.
We also visited the McLelland Gallery, which is mostly focussed on sculpture. The garden featured a range of interesting works including some astroturf topiary, what appeared to be a toothbrush/windmill, some large glass mirrored cubes as well as some more traditional sculpture. We both really enjoyed the gallery and believe it would be worth a visit when the weather was better.
Visiting the gallery was the first sign of the local sponsorship of Dame Elisabeth Murdoch who lives closeby. Dame Elisabeth has also contributed to the new Royal Botanic Gardens (Cranbourne) which specialises in Australian plants. Our guide, Sue Galbally, told us the gardens had only recently been planted and that it would probably be two or three years before it comes into its own, since most Australian plants are reasonably fast growers (with the exception of the eucalypts).
Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne
With an emphasis on the importance of water on the Australian continent, the gardens recognise the many different biospheres, and in a very practical sense for gardens provides recommendations about various plants depending on water availability. An especially interesting aspect of the design was the use of computer modelling to help mimic the sound of flowing water in the bush, and the use of rusted steel to create the nearby escarpment. Overall, a very worthwhile experience and we would both recommend a visit.
When we weren’t out and about, we spent a fair bit of time just relaxing, eating, and watching DVDs. We watched loads of DVD’s including “My Fair Lady”, “Prick Up Your Ears”, “Ride On Stranger”, “Primary Colours”, “Frontline”, “To The Manner Born” and “Six Feet Under”. I’m not sure if the final episode of “Six Feet Under” has screened on free to air television here yet, but I have a preview DVD which we watched. It’s interesting. “A bit surreal”, as just about everyone who appears on television seems to say these days.
Mostly, we ate at home. But when we did wander out, we visited a couple of nice places including the “Flinders Bakery” (for lunch), where we enjoyed some yummy pies, as well as “The Baths” (for afternoon tea) at Sorrento, where the coffee and biscuits were good.
For as long as I’ve lived in Surry Hills, I’ve been quite intrigued by a warehouse located on Wiltshire Street. It’s remained a bit of a mystery for me. I’ve never known how many people live in there or what they do. But they’ve always held some fascination for me, as I’ve imagined a “Barbery Lane”-like living arrangement you might associate with “Tales Of The City”
They’ve held legendary laneway parties. They’ve experimented with some artwork, including a concrete television. And they’ve maintained a gorgeous “garden in tubs” which has helped decorate an otherwise unimpressive laneway.
But as I wandered this morning I noticed the garden was gone, and there was a message on the footpath that someone had stolen the television, and therefore they’ve decided to remove the garden. I think it’s really sad that some prick stole the television, and that our laneway has lost the garden. I hope the person who stole the television sees this post and returns it. It’s obviously really had an impact on the group of people in the warehouse who’ve been sharing a bit of art and love with the rest of us who live closeby for many years.The other thing which surprised me as I wandered down to Central Station was the lone anti-abortion protester on Devonshire Street. I, for one, had no idea there was an abortion clinic on Devonshire Street. Maybe there is, maybe there isn’t. I don’t know. I was also quite surprised to see a protest like this one. Maybe I need to get out more? I was completely unaware of this type of protest going on in Australia. Thirty or forty years ago you might have seen something like this, but I was a little surprised to to see it in a nearby street. It’s the kind of thing you might associate with the United States, but certainly not Australia, and not in this decade.
I was on my way to catch up with some mates who’ve recently bought an apartment together, and who are now looking to decorate. “It’s like watching you in some kind of reality tv show”, I said to them as we wandered around IKEA. Neither has really displayed much of an interest in home decoration in the past, so it was fascinating to see the transformation. I was perhaps more interested in the obvious signs of Swedish language, as I walked around and pronounced as many words as I possibly could. I was also looking at the Swedish texts on the bookshelves, which I note include a copy of a biography of the re-elected Swedish Prime Minister, Fredrik Reinfeldt called, “En av oss?” (“One Of Us”?)
We also had a bite to eat in the cafe, I signed up to be part of the “IKEA Family” (their new loyalty program), and I bought a few Swedish food items from the shop. Oddly enough, going with my friends today with a “sense of purpose” (as opposed to wandering around aimlessly) actually made the trip quite enjoyable. Curiously enough, even though we were shopping with a sense of purpose for my two mates, I ended up spending more than they did. While they measured and snapped lots of photographs of different items, they didn’t actually buy anything except for a couple of stools so they have something to sit on in their new apartment.
Swedish Texts at IKEA
As I came home this afternoon I went and had another look at the note on the concrete. I’d hoped maybe the person who stole the television had returned it. Unfortunately not.
Thankfully though, the people in the warehouse continue to share their beautiful garden wall with us.
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Stupid people trying to make a foolish point to low paid workers who don’t make the rules.
Whatever, take care man and I hope you are healing well.
I just saw it happen again. Same scenario and Facebook copy and paste references to discrimination and sovereign rights etc. The bar staff are young and English is not their first language, so this is just bullying. I supported the barman and he was grateful.
Stupid people trying to make a foolish point to low paid workers who don’t make the rules.
Whatever, take care man and I hope you are healing well.
I just saw it happen again. Same scenario and Facebook copy and paste references to discrimination and sovereign rights etc. The bar staff are young and English is not their first language, so this is just bullying. I supported the barman and he was grateful.
The barmaid was firm but fair.
yay!