Off to the big smoke

VERANDA TALK: Dr Airdre Grant’s weekly column.

VERANDA TALK: Dr Airdre Grant recently visited “the Big Smoke” in Sydney.

MY companion and I boarded the Rex plane to Sydney.

The flight attendant cheerfully made sure everyone was seated and ready.

There was a small kerfuffle as a young man came pushing up from the rear of the plane.

“Are we in Lismore?” he said as he bustled past the boarding passengers.

As he rushed down the stairs, everyone clapped.

Goodbye! our flight attendant called from the door. Cheerio!

And so we began our journey, away from the overwhelming heat of Lismore to the smoky city.

We stopped at Grafton for 40 minutes where the good folks who run the airport had thoughtfully left games and puzzles out for restless passengers.

We began a complicated jigsaw. I looked around at others playing various games.

What a good idea.

Then onwards we flew to the big smoke.

Chinatown at nine on a Sunday night was buzzing.

Families, babies, bicycle deliveries, queues for Emperors puffs (custard bun things) people walking up and down, eating, talking, milling around shouting.

My companion said, we’re not in Lismore, Toto.

We went back to our tiny rooms in a hotel impossibly shoehorned into the packed city landscape.

The new trams glided by. A giant Christmas tree dominated Martin Place.

The hugely and generously successful Buy from the Bush market had just finished there.

After work so we decided to see the Opera House, and the David Jones window Christmas decorations.

Maybe I decided.

Anyway, they were absolutely delightful, clever and gorgeous.

We did a quick circuit in David Jones, (Really quick, maybe less than a minute. We were not the kind of women who shop in glamorous DJs. But we did admire how very flash and sparkly it was).

Then came the best of all.

We walked through glorious Hyde Park and a look at the newly refurbished War Memorial.

Some folks object to such monuments on all kinds of pacifist and budgetary lines but me, but I hold respect for those who fought and died, even as everything about war seems so wrong. The War Memorial is a triumph of serene, thoughtful architecture.

It is sombre and very dignified. There is a section where is there a small handful of dirt from every place that sent people to war. (I checked, Lismore is there).

And another section has dirt from famous battle fields. And in the park is an outstanding sculpture, for indigenous soldiers.

The whole thing is significant and elegant.

Going to see it is a moving experience.

We saw a group of Japanese tourists there and thought, how time changes everything.

Then we happily took a taxi out to the airport and prepared to fly back to hot and unrushed Lismore.

Away from the big smoke with its dirty skies.

The city fascinates but now it was time to go be back in our little town with its gorgeous clever Christmas tree and prepare for the slow, lovely time of family and friends relaxing and enjoying Christmas.

Have a good time everyone and a Happy New Year everyone.

May it be rainy.

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