Back in Sydney

I’ve never seen Ballina Airport as busy as it was yesterday. Generally, I can turn up at security and be through within a couple of minutes. But yesterday, there was a lengthy queue, and inside the lounge was crowded.

Though I generally arrive well ahead of time, I caught up with a colleague from Sydney who is about to commence work at the local ABC Radio station in Lismore. It’s not like she’s a blow-in, having grown up in nearby Grafton, and she’ll be staying with her aunt at a nearby village.… Read the rest “Back in Sydney”

Sydney Sights

I noticed there was a lengthy queue outside Messina, on Crown Street, Surry Hills today.

I had just been to the post office and was looking for somewhere to grab a bite to eat. Despite my hunger, I stopped to take a photograph.

In Sydney, if there’s a queue, it must be good. On weekend evenings, you’ll often see a queue but never like this one. And never on a Wednesday, and never at lunchtime. I was intrigued.… Read the rest “Sydney Sights”

The Longest Queue

“You’re so dodgy” my friend said to me when I told her how I’d once jumped the queue to get into the Marigold in Sydney’s Chinatown. “If you go up the escalator, there’s a goods lift which takes you to the kitchen area, and you just walk through”, I told her.

We were on the verge of taking it, as we waited for close to an hour to get in for our 10 am booking. There was some kind of weird arrangement where you joined the queue if you’d made a phone booking but could go straight to the top of the queue if you’d made an online booking.… Read the rest “The Longest Queue”

Why you should get up early

If you live in Sydney, or you’re visiting Sydney, here’s why you should get up early and visit Circular Quay.

Circular Quay offers the harbour, the bridge, the Opera House and so much more.

And if you don’t especially like crowds, you can always get up early (before dawn) and head down. Aside from a few eager photographers and a handful of people exercising, there’s no one around.

“Sunsets are for crowds, sunrises are for individuals”, a friend commented.… Read the rest “Why you should get up early”