Now I'm able to recall that special weekend without starting to get sniffy again I write down what I still have in mind. The feelings I had during those days are still very vivid and colourful, but details already escape me.
So we were arriving somewhat early in Sassafras, but everything went so smooth with finding it, and getting some flowers for Jenny, that we were there an hour too soon. Took me some shouting to get their attention as they were deeply in conversation with a friend who came around.
My god, have I been nervous. Grumpy old man, he said. The guy coming towards me smiling from one ear to the other couldn't be it. No way. But then, must be. Did we get the right house number?
Rob and Jenny took us in so affectionately that is was almost like coming home, or visiting close relatives that you really like but haven't seen for ages. After showing us to our room ( a dream of a room... ) and introducing us to Percy and Charlie, the abessinians that run their household, they took us for a walk around the neighbourhood. Very soon I realised that both walking at their speed and talking at the same time was something I was not capable of. Panting and sweating, I arrived in the "town centre" of Sassafras. Blink and it's gone. Sweet, but swarming with weekend tourists enjoying the fresh mountain air. We had a tasty ice cream and walked back to the house, were we spend the rest of the day talking, listening to music, admiring the immense music collection Rob has piled up in his study, more music , more talking, a wonderful dinner and according wines going with it, more talking, fondling Percy ( I think Charlie didn't like us that much ), until we couldn't keep our eyes open any longer and had to go to bed.
It is quite rare to find someone that you feel so comfortable with so soon. But sometimes magic happens and it just goes 'click' and everything slides into place.
Rob was so generous as to let me use his computer and, as my sleeping pattern was still a bit odd, I woke up at 5.30am and used the time to update this blog and have a look at how the forum was doing. Fighting with my camera, loading up the pics, had the effect that I didn't get very far with it. So when Rob finally woke up, I was far from being finished, but happily made way for him to check his e-mails as I was a bit fed up with all the technical difficulties. There would be more opportunities. Or so I thought.
After breakfast Rob and Jenny took us to Healesville to a sanctuary. What a nice place that was. Albeit we were in a bit of an unseemly hurry because we wanted to have lunch before going to Melbourne to see a bit of the city prior to the Eric Bogle gig that was on the agenda for the evening,
Like the dingos, Tasmanian devils, lyrebirds, platypus, the birds of prey show. The rest of the park has to wait till we return to Victoria the next time. 
When we had finished lunch Rob printed us a map (for reasons unknown to mankind there was no such thing in the car) how to get to Melbourne from the Dandenongs and especially to Brunswick, where the Bogle gig was to happen.
Magra, the wedgetailed eagle that
almost got me
It was not Rob's impeccable sense of direction that made us loose our way within half an hour but sure enough we got lost. Only after some wild right-left-right turns we finally found the highway we should have stayed on right from the start; sad enough this long way round took so much time that the museum we wanted to visit was closed by the time we got there. So we just had a look around the city centre, the river, Parliament buildings before going back to Brunswick to have a quick dinner and to see Eric Bogle. Review elsewhere.
Going back to the Dandenongs surprisingly was a piece of cake then, only a 45min drive and we were back home again. Just minutes after midnight.
The next morning I was already waking up with a lump in my throat. Jenny is just as bad in saying goodbye as me and I was glad at the time that she had to go to a class quite early so parting from her would not be so tearful. So it was 'just' Rob who saw me melting in tears.
That was an odd day, I felt like disintegrating.
Sure enough it was only when we almost had left melbourne behind us that I remembered all the things I had wanted to say or ask, like if he had a recording of Dave Burland doing "Daleman's Litany" or which Bert Jansch album he liked best or.......
There's no other way, we have to get really rich and return to Sassafras and spent some more time there then. Plus write down all the things that so easily escape my memory.
Damn brain, never works properly.
No comments:
Post a Comment