If You Can’t Beat ‘Em, Join ‘Em

By Thursday we were desperate to see some of the city sights of Melbourne, and so we opted to catch the train into town, firstly to re-visit Victoria Market, to have a longer look at all the wonderful produce and other shopping opportunities, and then to pick up on a little of the riverbank scene. Although we bought wraps at one of the delicatessen stalls we couldn’t resist another Borek, the hot Turkish pastry wraps.

There is a free circular tram route that tours the inner city and gives a commentary of the nearby places of interest as it nears each stop. It is very popular (because it’s free?) and we crammed in for half a circuit until we got back to the railway station where we got out to go on a walk by the river. We were just getting ourselves armed with information in the Tourist Information Centre, and were thinking of letting Susan know what we were up to, when the phone rang and supper was offered, to help with the disposal of the previous evening’s leftovers, and our, as yet, uneaten lunch selection would provide some variety for the menu. Refusal was not an option, but the follow-on invite to join the Maundy service at church would have left us with another very late finish.

Then two close shaves ensued! We hadn’t been long at Susan’s, after the tram ride from the city to the end of her road, just about 6 p.m. when conversation turned to what each had been doing all day. It was the trigger to remind Susan that Heidi’s dress had not been collected from the dry cleaners; and that the following day was Good Friday; and the family were decamping down south to the wedding venue; and the dry cleaners close at 6 p.m. Only the squeal of tyres hid the stream of expletives as she shot off, leaving us to contemplate the switching on of her computer to check for emails. It was fairly dark in the little computer area, and in an effort to make room for me to assist with the initial power up, the little English lady terrorist stepped slightly backwards and to one side…and almost disappeared through a hole in the floor! Susan had removed the cover to the shallow wine cellar and it was very fortunate that more injury did not occur. A triple of bruises to her back, on top of the shock of the bottom dropping out of her world, was the extent but it could have been so much worse. Where are the Health and Safety people when they are most needed? Susan returned soon after, with dress, having, armed only with a $20 note, ambushed the manager of the dry cleaners as he was trying to escape by car and forced him to re-open. Someone was obviously smiling down on us, although prepared to fire warning shots across our bows. Supper over, Susan dropped us at the tram stop outside her church and we made our way home via tram and train, despite the best efforts of the railway management to hide the whereabouts of the required platform by ceasing to provide signs before the platform was in sight. We got home, one of us battered and bruised….and collapsed into bed.