stay tuned for more)
too early for a certain person!!!
I hadn't seen Frank of "doing a Joslin" fame - read here - since 1985 so we both thought it a good idea to meet up in Sydney. Either for the same reason that I no longer buy green bananas or because he's too busy in his retirement, he thought he would somehow catch up with me without agreeing on a definite date and time even though he knew that I would be travelling without a mobile phone or any other tracking device.
Well, I never saw him in Sydney on the Sunday nor on the Monday nor on the Tuesday morning when I got up at the crack of dawn - as country people do - and vacated my room at the Blues Point pub to see the sights of Sydney.
When I got home to "Riverbend" late that night, I found this email waiting for me:
|
Having got up early, walked my dog and done my morning chores, I showered and dressed in my Sunday best to venture out to track down an old friend. It was not a good traffic morning, an oversize truck once again having made a mess of the south bound lanes of the bridge with a consequent flow on of delays to traffic flows on all the feeder roads, including my chosen route to McMahons Point.
Finally, on arriving at the Blues Point Hotel I found it closed but with a side door not so much open as unlatched, as if by a careless user. So I let myself in and wandered to the top of the stairs, noticing the open office door, but protected by a locked steel framed outer door. Using my MOBILE phone I rang the hotel number, thinking that perhaps someone was around the building with one of those “walkabout” style phones in hand. But no answer, not on the first or second tries. So I left the building contemplating my next move, at which time a very expensive car pulled up and a tired man got out carrying a handful of papers and the inevitable cardboard cup of coffee. Seeing he was about to enter the hotel through one of the locked doors I approached him and enquired of your presence, about which he had absolutely no idea but directed me back to the side door and up to the office saying he would come and see if you were in fact a guest. After a leisurely 5 minutes or so he duly reappeared, the coffee having been transferred into a cup in the meantime, and consulted the Guest Register. Ah, yes, there you were, room 5. He guided me down the hall and I knocked firmly on the door thinking your previous day’s function may have extended itself and you might still be feeling the effects. No reply. Firmer knock. No reply. The hotel man, who had accompanied me in this endeavour, suggested the shower room as we could hear someone in there. A quick knock and enquiry brought a negative result. At this stage the hotel man, possibly thinking the worst, used his master key and unlocked the door to room 5. The result, a rumpled bed, used towel and the keys left for the hotel. “You’ve missed him”, the helpful hotel man said. With no immediate sign of luggage I concurred, thinking “He’s scarpered without paying the bill”. With the thought of this possibility having crossed my mind I thought it best to also depart as quickly as possible before the hotel man became fully awake after drinking his coffee and finding out a possibility may have become a fact. With the exception of being dressed in my Sunday best, all of this is true, so I am sorry I missed you and only hope your reason for leaving the hotel at such an early hour was one that gave you great enjoyment and that you had a good trip home. Frank |
Well, Frank, I did scarper without paying the bill by climbing through the toilet window ☺
Unfortunately, I had given them my personal details on arrival so the cops were already waiting for me when I got back to "Riverbend".
I am writing this from the local watchhouse. Luckily, I am sharing my cell with a couple of illegal immigrants who have free access to the internet (not to mention a host of other things denied to citizens of this country), so I can at least send you this short message ☺
Let's meet again in 2031 ! That'll give us another 28 years to make all the arrangements!
