Joyous Sunday

Sunday was a really joyous day. Even though the leaves have started to fall, a sign that winter is on the way, I had a really great day.

The older I get, by the way, the more I realise I’m a “warm climate” kinda guy. “That’s pretty odd for a guy who loves Sweden”, a Swedish friend told me at the pub this afternoon. But it’s true. And the older I get the more I realise that I really only like the warmer months. I love the joy that sunshine delivers. And while some friends I know say they love putting on warm clothing and staying indoors, for me it’s just hell. For me, winter means that chill that goes right through to the bones. It means sometimes having a shower or a bath to warm up. And in Sydney, it means those awful cold nights when there’s a strong wind that blows your umbrella inside out, combined with rain. Unlike Melbourne and Canberra, where they dress for winter, we just don’t have enough cold days in Sydney for it to be a part of our lives. It’s the exception not the rule. And having grown up on the North Coast, winter for me was always about finding a nice warm spot in the sun. So I spent a fair bit of the day indoors, ahead of going out for Laura’s Birthday Drinks.

Just before-hand, Damo texted me saying he was coming into town for the afternoon, and wondering if I wanted to catch-up. I invited him along to the drinks at the Green Park Hotel. Sunday’s the gay afternoon at the Green Park, by the way, causing some amusement. “Am I here for Laura’s drinks or for the gay afternoon?”, I laughed to myself at one point.

In the midst of all the rain, we spent most of the afternoon outside on the pavement with the smokers. “We’ll pretend to smoke”, I said to some of the others as we joined them.

Amongst those attending the drinks was a woman I know through work who is from Sweden. She seemed fascinated by my interest in the country, noting that she knew of a lot of people who develop a fascination with Sweden. I struggled to articulate my fascination, other than to describe the social-democratic mentality of the place. “Mentalitaten” was the word I used, describing in my terms as the “mindset” of the place. It was then she mentioned the recently screen documentary on SBS TV, which I blogged about a few months ago, as an insight into the mindset of the nation. In chatting with her, I became aware of just how excited and animated I become in talking about the place.

Later in the evening, Damo and I had dinner at Holy Cow on Cleveland Street. Even though it’s been around for a few years I’ve never eaten there before. It’s a shame I haven’t, because the food was excellent. The cottage cheese dish was a little spicy for me, but everything else was excellent. The service was also great, and I’ll definitely go back there again. It gives the famous Dhaba a real run for its money.

So despite the impending arrival of winter, Sunday was a fairly joyous day for me.