Popping many corks and kissing strangers on New Years' Eve at midnight has never really been our scene, so it was no biggie for us that Liz was working a late shift on the evening of 31 December and was back on her ward again early on New Year's Day. But I am delighted to report that our one major dread, that the park would be one raging party until the early hours (all the rules relating to the need to be quite by 2200 hours go by the wayside on NYE in caravan parks) did not become a reality. Fortunately we were surrounded by a relatively dour lot and the necessary short sleep between shifts was assured.
The beginning of 2015 marked the nearing of the end of Liz's stint at the hospital. By this stage we were both on a countdown.....our normal life was but less than a fortnight away. The WA systems of nursing and the broadly acknowledged inadequacies of the WA health system, shortcomings which are particularly evident at the Albany Hospital, were beginning to take their toll on The Matron, and I had had enough of pottering around the van on my own. Ah, but would she go out with a bang?
"Well, Liz are you having a farewell show or not?" This question hovered for a few weeks, but eventually, almost by default it seems, a gathering at the waterfront restaurant and bar 'Due South' was agreed. From that point plans for the show gained some real momentum....from the initial four starters things developed into a full blown Surgical Ward bash.
This was one occasion on which no amount of coin tossing for the driver's job would see an amicable resolution of that domestic dilemma. We were to grace the interior of an Albany cab for the first time, a very wise decision as it turned out.
Despite the fact that we arrived at the appointed hour on the designated Sunday afternoon, the troops were already in place and in good form. We had not trouble working out where they were in the rather large dining area of the restaurant....the very same in which Liz had been able to pretend she was not gazing adoringly at William McInnes some weeks previously. I don't quite know what it is about a group of nurses on a day out. There was a striking similarity of behaviour here as I had come to expect when Liz's girls in Adelaide congregated outside the work environment. No wonder nurse and coppers have always gotten on so well!
The vanguard group had managed to snare a corner table which meant that we had water views in all directions. And, as should be the case at all good shows such as this, there was much general milling about and chatter.
Liz and I had previously contemplated a night out at The Venice restaurant in York Street after drinks here.....a good idea at the time but for one small factor....we cottoned onto a very acceptable local rose (almost as good as our favourite Rockcliffe brew) and it soon become clear that the guest of honour was in for a big night. I decided that a bite was a good idea, even if it turned out to be the sloppiest seafood pizza I have ever encountered. It was like trying to eat a hot pie with sauce and not wear any of it.
And of course, as the evening progressed, it came to pass that the obligatory 'it's been sooooo good working with you' photos were posed and snapped (I wonder, does one actually 'snap' with a digital camera?)
No, good folk, don't be alarmed.....Liz and I were not embroiled in one of those 'stay as far away from me as possible' scraps.....our relative positions just happened this way. As you can see, at least I had two other men for company. The chap behind Liz is the husband of one of the ward team leaders (more of them later) whilst the guy next to me is a hospital doctor who just happens to be going out with one of the ward nurses.
I have had to be somewhat selective in this pictorial presentation. Things did go on to become wonderfully willing,
and by the time Colin, the ward manager, arrived, Liz was in full flight (as were most of us). Colin did impress me with his ability to maintain a stoic and impassive demeanour in the face of some pretty honest and decidedly unsolicited opinions about all things 'Albany Hospital Surgical Ward'.
It turned out to be one of those great fun nights and I was really pleased to see and hear Liz receiving the accolades and thanks I felt she had truly earned in her seven weeks at the hospital.
And, as invariably happens at these shows, at the end of the evening invitations were flung about with gay abandon. We did accept one. The offer of a BBQ and spa at the home of Jennifer and Charles in Bayonet Head (about a ten minute drive from our camp, which for Albany is virtually next door....this town spreads out for nearly 30 kms from one end to the other) was one we accepted with real pleasure.
After introductory drinks, and a wander around their extensive and very well maintained garden (poking around in the soil and watching things grow is one of the shortcomings of life on the road for me...a potted flat leaf parsley plant just doesn't quite make it as a real substitute), it was off to the spa for a good pre-dinner soak in the late afternoon sunlight
before Charles busied himself at the good old Weber Q
and Jen repaired indoors to see to the salad selection.
A good warm soak, a fine meal washed down with various products of grain and grape and some great yarns....this was another delightful evening. Liz's previous working arrangements had had the effect of severely curtailing our social activity. I was relishing being 'out and about' again, enjoying some good and entertaining company.
But I have to report I left Bayonet Head a changed man. Charles, an ex-navy man, suggested that I should join him in a tot (or two). "Rum has never really been my tipple, Charles." "Try this one, Pete. I'll bet you change your mind."
Thanks Charles. Another vice to be added to my collection. A trip to Dan Murphy's a couple of days later and a bottle of fine British Navy Pussers Rum now adorns our modest bar. Mind you, at $60 a bottle, this is sipping liqueur only!
We did reciprocate a week or so later. Being able to entertain in reasonable comfort irrespective of the weather is one great advantage of having set up the full annex. I decided to move away from the ubiquitous BBQ and prepare one of our specialities, an Italian bake using tomato, bacon, gnocchi and bocconcini and a few other bits and pieces. With a entree of freshly caught crumbed garfish, we sat down to a fine feast.
Charles had also been busy in the galley. We finished the meal with a delightfully tart and tasty lemon meringue pie.....and, yes, you guessed it, a tot or two of Pussers Rum!
Yet another fine night. I was starting to really get into the swing of Albany social life. But time is rolling on. Once Liz adorns the fridge door with an impossibly long list of all that has to be done before we move on, I know things are getting serious and it is time focus.
But it is not all work. This list includes the need to visit the new Anzac Centre on Mount Adelaide and the Brig Amity. No trip to Albany is complete without dong so. The adventure continues.
This was one occasion on which no amount of coin tossing for the driver's job would see an amicable resolution of that domestic dilemma. We were to grace the interior of an Albany cab for the first time, a very wise decision as it turned out.
Despite the fact that we arrived at the appointed hour on the designated Sunday afternoon, the troops were already in place and in good form. We had not trouble working out where they were in the rather large dining area of the restaurant....the very same in which Liz had been able to pretend she was not gazing adoringly at William McInnes some weeks previously. I don't quite know what it is about a group of nurses on a day out. There was a striking similarity of behaviour here as I had come to expect when Liz's girls in Adelaide congregated outside the work environment. No wonder nurse and coppers have always gotten on so well!
The vanguard group had managed to snare a corner table which meant that we had water views in all directions. And, as should be the case at all good shows such as this, there was much general milling about and chatter.
Liz and I had previously contemplated a night out at The Venice restaurant in York Street after drinks here.....a good idea at the time but for one small factor....we cottoned onto a very acceptable local rose (almost as good as our favourite Rockcliffe brew) and it soon become clear that the guest of honour was in for a big night. I decided that a bite was a good idea, even if it turned out to be the sloppiest seafood pizza I have ever encountered. It was like trying to eat a hot pie with sauce and not wear any of it.
And of course, as the evening progressed, it came to pass that the obligatory 'it's been sooooo good working with you' photos were posed and snapped (I wonder, does one actually 'snap' with a digital camera?)
No, good folk, don't be alarmed.....Liz and I were not embroiled in one of those 'stay as far away from me as possible' scraps.....our relative positions just happened this way. As you can see, at least I had two other men for company. The chap behind Liz is the husband of one of the ward team leaders (more of them later) whilst the guy next to me is a hospital doctor who just happens to be going out with one of the ward nurses.
I have had to be somewhat selective in this pictorial presentation. Things did go on to become wonderfully willing,
and by the time Colin, the ward manager, arrived, Liz was in full flight (as were most of us). Colin did impress me with his ability to maintain a stoic and impassive demeanour in the face of some pretty honest and decidedly unsolicited opinions about all things 'Albany Hospital Surgical Ward'.
It turned out to be one of those great fun nights and I was really pleased to see and hear Liz receiving the accolades and thanks I felt she had truly earned in her seven weeks at the hospital.
And, as invariably happens at these shows, at the end of the evening invitations were flung about with gay abandon. We did accept one. The offer of a BBQ and spa at the home of Jennifer and Charles in Bayonet Head (about a ten minute drive from our camp, which for Albany is virtually next door....this town spreads out for nearly 30 kms from one end to the other) was one we accepted with real pleasure.
After introductory drinks, and a wander around their extensive and very well maintained garden (poking around in the soil and watching things grow is one of the shortcomings of life on the road for me...a potted flat leaf parsley plant just doesn't quite make it as a real substitute), it was off to the spa for a good pre-dinner soak in the late afternoon sunlight
before Charles busied himself at the good old Weber Q
and Jen repaired indoors to see to the salad selection.
A good warm soak, a fine meal washed down with various products of grain and grape and some great yarns....this was another delightful evening. Liz's previous working arrangements had had the effect of severely curtailing our social activity. I was relishing being 'out and about' again, enjoying some good and entertaining company.
But I have to report I left Bayonet Head a changed man. Charles, an ex-navy man, suggested that I should join him in a tot (or two). "Rum has never really been my tipple, Charles." "Try this one, Pete. I'll bet you change your mind."
Thanks Charles. Another vice to be added to my collection. A trip to Dan Murphy's a couple of days later and a bottle of fine British Navy Pussers Rum now adorns our modest bar. Mind you, at $60 a bottle, this is sipping liqueur only!
We did reciprocate a week or so later. Being able to entertain in reasonable comfort irrespective of the weather is one great advantage of having set up the full annex. I decided to move away from the ubiquitous BBQ and prepare one of our specialities, an Italian bake using tomato, bacon, gnocchi and bocconcini and a few other bits and pieces. With a entree of freshly caught crumbed garfish, we sat down to a fine feast.
Charles had also been busy in the galley. We finished the meal with a delightfully tart and tasty lemon meringue pie.....and, yes, you guessed it, a tot or two of Pussers Rum!
Yet another fine night. I was starting to really get into the swing of Albany social life. But time is rolling on. Once Liz adorns the fridge door with an impossibly long list of all that has to be done before we move on, I know things are getting serious and it is time focus.
But it is not all work. This list includes the need to visit the new Anzac Centre on Mount Adelaide and the Brig Amity. No trip to Albany is complete without dong so. The adventure continues.
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