"Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day."
A. A. Milne
The goose, well geese were the stars of the show really. Two of them who were not at all shy, and not at all fierce either which I think is possibly unusual for geese. But then I guess this was a venue where there are lots of pickings in the way of food. If seagulls can do it, then why not geese?
The venue was the Studley Park Boathouse, one of two beautiful old boathouses on the River Yarra in inner suburban Melbourne. Just a very few - maybe five kilometres or so from here is the city proper. Not that you would know that you were in the suburbs here, as the boathouse is surrounded by acres of what can only be described as steep bushy slopes. I was told today by one of my Italian classmates, that this boathouse has been recently renovated, and it shows.
Why were we there? A pre-Christmas catch-up with old friends. Christine had booked for us in the Conservatory section - the inside bit, because this is Melbourne and you never, ever know what the weather is going to do. The English may think their climate is changeable but they should come to Melbourne which is famous for its four seasons in one day. As it happens it was a perfect day, and just a few moments inside where it was a little hot, and also noisy because of two long tables of happily conversing friends, convinced us to shift outside - right down by the river in fact. To the left of that official picture above in a covered area they called the Pergola, and even later - having consumed our mains we shifted to an empty table beside the river - where the geese came to visit and pose for photographs.
I'll come back to the ambience factor, but first of all the food. Well the food is, dare I say, ordinary, by which I really mean that the choices are not exciting - sort of pub food I suppose - schnitzel, hamburgers, Caesar salad, sandwiches, steak and chips and fish and chips - the last of which I chose. I always do at this kind of venue because I love fish and chips and I am rarely disappointed. It's a treat. So not gourmet food but OK - there was nothing really wrong with it.
The only thing I would complain about was having to order with those dratted QR codes. If we had stayed in the Conservatory we would have been waited upon, but down here it was QR code or order at the bar. Well we are old, but we don't like to look old, and so we gave it a go as you can see below - with apologies to David for obscuring his face with our table number.
Number one problem - we only got handed one paper menu - I'm guessing if we were young this too would have been done on the phone. The other David volunteered and certainly got going, but by the time it got to having to enter bankcard details and so on, he gave up and went to the bar to order - then returned with David to get some wine. Overpriced by the bottle, so it was a glass each for David number 2, Christine and I. And to be fair they were generous glasses. Sometimes you only get a tiny amount. Minor quibbles though and when you are in such good company in such a beautiful environment on such a beautiful day, you can forgive a lot. Why would you want to spoil things. After all you don't have to go back if you don't want to, and you can also complain online if you want to be really nasty. Besides there wasn't really anything to complain about. The QR problem is purely a problem for the old. And my fish and chips were pretty yummy although the tartare sauce probably came out of a bottle. The fresh salad of peas and watercress was a bit different and fresh however.
But, as I said, it's surprising how much you can forgive when the venue is so lovely, the sun is shining and you are in good company, or as Elizabeth David, rather more poetically put it:
"After all, it is summer. You are on holiday. You are in company of your own choosing. The air is clean. You can smell wild fennel and thyme, dry resinous pine needles, the sea. For my part, I ask no greater luxury. Indeed I can think of none."
The smells were of eucalyptus and it was a river, not the sea, but indeed I too can think of no greater luxury. And having moved to the outside we were able to linger as long as we wanted. I think if we had remained in the Conservatory we would have been politely moved on after our allotted 2 hours. Here by the side of the river we could stay as long as we liked, and we did indeed stay for a good three and half hours, chatting about this and that and watching the world and the river go by. Maybe if the food had been truly dreadful or the prices sky high we would have felt differently - cheated perhaps. But this venue is not aiming at the truly affluent, it is aiming at ordinary people wanting a little bit of serenity, although I imagine that in school holidays, and at weekends it might be different story. But then we also have the luxury of being on a permanent holiday, in these, the salad days of our lives, so we can choose less busy times.
A group of Asian ladies were having enormous fun practising (I think) a dance, maybe for a party of some kind. The occasional rowboat passed by, being unskilfully propelled along the river, with much laughter. The occasional kayak too.
We are so lucky. The weather was perfect - it could have been pouring with rain - but then we would have stayed in the Conservatory and watched the rain splashing beautifully and softening the colours all around. We have so many good friends with whom it is a pleasure to spend time. We can choose our day so that we avoid the crowds, and we can afford to splurge just a little on a meal out by the muddy coloured Yarra. Magic.
The geese came and went - always hopeful - but never finding anything to eat from us for by now we had moved on to just a late afternoon coffee. So I won't talk, or even think about the traffic heavy journey home. The magic of the afternoon is what counted.
"Inside the calm minds, great ideas swim serenely like the morning geese of the misty lakes!"
Mehmet Murat Ildan
Not a really relevant quote but almost and rather lovely.
"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water." Loren Eiseley
BACK THEN
October 24
2021 - Nothing
2019 - Nothing
2018 - Nice cream
2016 - The economics of chicken
A perfect day with old friends in a setting so beautiful.... and no flies. Wonderful as Rosemary records