Weekend

It was a long weekend here in Australia. One of the few secular holidays we get together as a country.

Some choose to belt people up, and get into fights with police on Australia Day. Not me, I prefer the more gentler pursuits.

So my partner and I headed up to Mansfield to stay at a cottage. We left on Friday night, and got up there later on. It was the third time we've been there, too.

Many years ago, I was offered a job by the owners of the big supermarket up there. I didn't take it, as they weren't going to pay enough, but shit, it would have been different. One of the main reasons for not doing so, was that the owners wife was an American.

I've got American friends, and they are in America. Just where I like them. She was a little pushy, and if I was to make the move up there, I would have to bite my tongue a bit, and I probably couldn't have done that. So there I would have been, sacked for telling someone to get fucked, and in Mansfield with no job. Not good.

So I decided against it.

We were in Mansfield for a while. I drank too much, having knocked off a slag of Crown Lager in the time up there, so that's not good. But it does go to prove my theory that Crownies don't give you a hangover. I drank 10 in one sitting, and although I was a little hazy, I didn't feel as though someone had shat in my mouth, and hit me with a floor board.

We relaxed, which was what we needed. There are two cabins where we are, and the couple next door were rarely sighted. (Being the friendly person I am, I wanted to invite them over for a beer, but I wasn't allowed.) We on the other hand, were quite comfortable sitting in the hammock chairs for a goodly part of the weekend.

As I've written here before, I have a portable radio that has clocked up about 100,000 kilometres, as I used to take it everywhere when I drove. I have also taken it to most places in Australia with me, and also to Seoul last year. There is nothing worse for me, than being in a hotel, where the only music available is through the TV – that really shits me.

So I took it with me. We listened to some Sam Baker and Richard Hawley on Friday night, some Billy Bragg, Steve Earle and a mixture of songs on Saturday night, and then on Sunday morning used it to listen to the cavalcade of whimsy that comes out of Mansfield FM. Shirley J won all the competitions for your info. Lots of country on that station, and not the cool country, but big hat country.

I went to the butchers and got meat for a BBQ on the Sunday night, which was really decent meat, as it was country meat. We went to the local Chinese restaurant (Ying Ging!) on Saturday night, and it was shithouse. Yuk. The food came in metal bowls, and no plates were offered, so you had to eat out of the bowls – how common. I've had a lot of things in my mouth over my life, and of the things that you would want to swallow, that meal wasn't one.

My partner was leaving a tip ($5) and I cracked it and said it wasn't worth a $5 tip, to which I was told to shut up, and 'let's just get out'. Fair enough.

So we relaxed, took a trip to Eildon (the lake is up from the last time I was up there in December/January 06-07), to Jameson (nice pale ale at the brewery), and fuck all else. I almost finished my book, and was going to start on my Mojo magazine, but didn't get the time. I was relaxed, and didn't get the time to fit anything else in, as I was booked up.

Having said all that, I thoroughly enjoyed myself.