As they were re-setting the tables after last night’s “dinner session” a the Katoomba RSL, I noticed one of the blokes had a tape measure, and was measuring the distance between the tables. I overheard him tell a colleague about the “plain clothes inspectors” who were visiting local venues to ensure they were “Covid Safe”. As in the famous episode of “Fawlty Towers”, I wonder if he, falsely, thought I was a plain-clothed inspector!
Although everyone else had already left the room, I was still there, having arrived at a later time than most. Having enjoyed a fair bit of “steak and chips” lately, I went for the “butter chicken”. Since I lived near the corner of Crown and Cleveland Streets in Surry Hills (and am therefore spoiled when it comes to Indian food), I wasn’t expecting something anything terribly authentic. It was “average” at best.
Last night, “Katoomba RSL” was pretty popular. After dinner, I enjoyed a couple of drinks and watched a bit of footy on the TV, along with a room-full of others. It was a nice place to spend a couple of hours, and it was across the road from the motel where I was staying. I should emphasise the staff at the RSL did an awesome job checking everyone on entry and on leaving, and throughout to ensure everything was COVID-Safe.
From the look of things, they’re taking “COVID-19” pretty seriously, as you might expect for a town that’s highly reliant on the tourist industry. “Have you recently visited Victoria?”, was a question asked pretty much everywhere I visited, whether it be the hotel where I stayed to a cafe or a restaurant or a bar.
My visit to the Katoomba was one of those “spur of the moment” decisions. Four months of living and working from home, and I definitely needed some mountain air.
Overall, the town was pretty quiet, due to COVID-19, whereas winter would normally be pretty busy for them. Hopefully a few dollars from me will help the local economy.
At the suggestion of a few friends on social media I visited some bookstores and art galleries.
I also noticed there’s a terrific public art laneway, not far from Katoomba Street.
Naturally enough I visited a few tourist attractions, and have blogged about them elsewhere.
