My Australian holiday
was coming to an end. Actually it was the last night I had left and
was flying out the next day on a marathon 36 hour or so journey back
to England. I was satisfied that I'd done most if not everything I
wanted to do. Most of that involved relaxing and drinking lots of
fine Australian beers. A month passed before me so quickly that the
times seemed to vanish in a single blink of my slightly ruined left
eye.
I'd spent the day
catching up on some writing at 'Café 1812', the café upstairs at
'Berkelouw Books' on Oxford St in Paddington. I feel I may have
mentioned it before but I can't remember exactly. I had visited
before and found it difficult to find any power points so only
managed to write a single post even though I needed to catch up with
loads. Again I couldn't find any so predicting this drama I charged
the battery until it was full so it would give me the full 100% of
the time to use it. I managed to finish a couple but still had plenty
more. I had a large coffee to see me through then left to start
packing my things. I packed so badly when coming out to Australia
that I had no space to take back any beers. I really wanted to take
home some mementos of the great beers I'd had on holiday but with
three jackets and a coat I had no space. Weight was not an issue, I
had simply filled my bag so that it had to be sat on to close.
It was decided, the
last meal was to be 'Sushi on Stanley'. A great value and delicious
little sushi bar on Stanley St. I'd never been but was assured that
the sushi was top quality and it was cheap as chips. The menu was
clear and simple with many combo variations. I went for a chicken
katsu curry combo, Dom had the same and ordered some deep fried
chicken pieces. I had a salmon and avocado hand roll as something
extra on the side. Nina had a sashimi combo. It was BYOB (bring your
own beer) but we arrived empty handed. We had to make to with plastic
tasting tap water, it was free and colder than room temperature.
Dom had arranged to
meet up with P-Slatez and his fiancé after we'd eaten. They were
having dumplings in the restaurant bit of The Royal Albert. Which
just so happened to be the place I had arranged to meet Dan. After we
finished eating we slowly walked up the hills to get to the flat.
Partly because it is so hilly that if you exert yourself too much you
get very tired, also because we'd eaten it was best as nobody wants
to suffer from indigestion.
I went ahead directly
to the pub, Dom and Nina went back to the flat to change or whatever.
I didn't actually know that P-Slatez was in the pub. Dom had been
messaging him and mentioned about meeting him but none of us were
privy to the information that was contained within the messages. I
could only assume that he would meet us after he'd eaten. I was being
hassled by Dan as I had told him I'd be about ten minutes and half an
hour had already elapsed.
I walked passed the
dumpling section and could have sworn that I saw P-Slatez and his
fiancé dining there. I know I mentioned it but this was before I
actually knew he was there. I thought nothing of it. Dan had just
finished the last bite of his burger when I walked into the pub.
During the week in Manly, we'd missed a Stone Brewing Co, from
California, USA, tap takeover at the Albert. I'm sure they would have
been ridiculously expensive but beers so amazing they would have been
worth the price. There were a lot of beers to chose from, I was
unsure of where to start.
Dan was sorted, he
didn't need a beer at that exact moment. I scanned the pump clips and
settled on a Porter, a very tasty porter. It had plenty of chocolate
and something sweet in it like caramel or vanilla. A bit of sugar and
a bit of spice. It was delicious. When I returned to the table I saw
P-Slatez saying hello to Dan. I went over and joined them. His Fiancé
was going home as she had an early flight the next day so I said
goodbye and good luck for the up and coming wedding which is taking
place in a couple of months. P-Slatez had a sip of my beer to see
what it was like. He liked it enough to go and buy himself one, as I
had only recently bought mine I was okay for the time being. Shortly
after that, Dan's girlfriend arrived.
She was lovely and it
was so nice to have a chance to meet her before I left. A little side
note here. A strange coincidence or something more, I don't know but
there is something that connects these people. Maybe that connection
is me, I'm like Kevin Bacon in 'The Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon' where
you name an actor/actress and within six people you will reach Kevin
Bacon, it's a certainty. Any way. This probably wont look anything
special when written but the idea of it was quite something to me
when I found it out. So... my ex girlfriend's brother is now dating a
girl who works as an accountant or something for an eyewear company.
Dan's girlfriend works at that company in one of the shops. Not a big
deal as it is quite a large company but they both do know each other.
Back in the day, the companies office was upstairs at the same store
that Dan's girlfriend works. So they know each other. A friend of
mine Dylan also knows Dan's girlfriend. They share a friendship
group. Megan, Dan's girlfriend, it seems a bit rude to constantly
refer to Megan as her or Dan's girlfriend. Megan was talking to Nina
about fashion, she is in her final year of studying at the moment and
really wants to get into the industry. Nina currently works in the
industry and a fashion label. It probably goes on some more but for
the time being that is where the connection ends here.
So when Dom and Nina
arrived, Dom got me this Double Stout that was on, it was about 9%
and really strong. So much flavour but it wasn't as well rounded or
balanced as the previous one I had. They were both great but the
weaker and sweeter of the two was easier to drink. We all conversed
with one another at some point about all sorts. It was good
occasionally sitting back and seeing everybody interacting in a
friendly and natural way. I was happy. Good beer, good company, a
strong feeling of warmth around me, at that very moment life was
perfect.
After a few strong dark
beers, I was in need of something more refreshing. With no sours on,
the barman recommended a Saison. It naturally had a slight tang to it
but was more soft and fruity than straight up sour. It wasn't perfect
but did indeed refresh my palate, leaving my mouth feeling as though
it had just been massaged and spent the last fifteen minutes in a
jacuzzi.
Night was drawing in
and the evening was almost over. I wanted to go to the Hollywood for
one last time before I went back to England. Who knows when the next
time I'll be in Australia is. Knowing Marc though and with it being
almost 11pm on a quiet evening, I had a feeling he would have shut or
wanted to close early. When we got to the door, he was standing there
with a cigarette. I thought he was joking when he said it but he said
that 'they were closed'. He said he'd already cleaned the bar area
and removed the taps. I honestly thought he was joking and so stood
for a moment looking at him, waiting for him to say, 'ah, only
joking, come on in guys'. That never happened. I think the moment
actually lasted longer in reality than I thought. Sometimes things
like that happens so quickly in reality that nobody even notices, not
a second even goes past and a whole scenario has been played out. I
thought that was the case here but after being told by Dan that I
stalled a while, it was clearly obvious to everyone that the micro
second vision had in actual fact lasted quite a few seconds, possibly
long enough for it to become awkward. I said a long goodbye to Marc,
wished him the best and left. Slightly disappointed, and embarrassed.
It was a bitter defeat and I needed another beer to make up for it.
The only place around
that was open was 'Harpoon Harry's', formerly the Macquarie and many
other names. The former home of the Sydney Brewery, one of the first
brew pubs out of the current boom, now what looks like a Spanish
themed pub/restaurant. They had actually tastefully redecorated
inside and out. It looked the part but with a smaller selection of
beer and no weekday happy hour, it was a lot quieter than it used to
be. We finished up and went our ways. Saying goodbye to Dan was like
seeing a child of mine go off to war. In the classic films where you
see the parents waving frantically as the bus drives off into the
distance, maybe they'll never see their son again. I would see Dan
again for sure, with Megan I hope. They seemed like a good couple, I
liked them together.
Fuck packing, I'll have
to do that in the morning.
A good place to read and write and eat but you need a long battery life if you plan to use an electrical device
Is this the best craft beer pub in Sydney???
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