I knew this would get your attention, so let me help you lower your adrenalin level: we are leaving "Riverbend" for just a day to get my pulse checked in Sydney and to assist my oncologist with his next monthly payment on his new BMW, after which we will be back to the incomparable peace and quiet of "Riverbend".
I remember when I was still commuting from "Riverbend", and how I would delay my departure by walking around the property for just one more time, or sit quietly on the jetty for just one more time, before reluctantly and slowly driving up Sproxton Lane to hit the highway for the one-hour dash up to Canberra. I still feel the same way these days when I leave for the short shopping trip down to the Bay, and even more so when I have to leave for my regular medical appointments in Sydney.
It'll be the usual Sydney routine: an early start to drive the two hours to the railhead at Bomaderry, where Padma will spend the day with our friends in their Chinese restaurant across from the station while I board the 8.17 train, to pull into Central Station just a minute or two after 11 o'clock. A brisk walk up to Newtown for a snack at Clem's, my favourite chicken shop in King Street, before heading down Missenden Road for the 1 o'clock appointment at the Lifehouse with Professor Clark.
I should be out of there sometime after 3 o'clock to catch the train at 16.26 from Central and be back at Bomaderry at a quarter past seven. A quick Chinese meal and a quick good-bye to our Chinese friends, and we'll be on the road again and back home just in time for my nightcap with Philip Adams' 'Late Night Live' and to breathe in the incomparable peace and quiet of "Riverbend" - but I'm repeating myself, aren't I?
