Homesick blues

They said I would sing the homesick blues, so I always have this ticket in my pocket

They said I would sing the homesick blues 

DIY bacon sandwich

It was my penultimate full day in Sydney. Matt wasn’t at work until the afternoon so we headed out for lunch after a lazy morning. He took me to a little café just round the corner from his and we found a table outside in the morning sunshine. A waitress came to take our order. I asked her if I could just get a bacon sandwich.  They had a bacon and egg sandwich and a BLT on the menu so I figured it would be a fairly simple request even though it wasn’t technically on the menu. She said that she would have to check with the kitchen to see if they could do a bacon sandwich and headed off before I could say anything else. I looked at Matt, confused. They had bacon, they had bread, they made sandwiches but she needed to check that they could make a bacon sandwich? After a minute or so she returned saying that they “didn’t do custom made sandwiches” but I could have toast with a side order of bacon and make the sandwich myself. I laughed, thinking she was joking. She wasn’t. I was tempted to ask for an egg-free bacon and egg sandwich but thought she might spit in my food so I went along with her plan. Lunch duly arrived and I had to make my own sandwich. I muttered something about leaving myself a tip given I had to do half the work myself.

Matt headed off to work and I headed to the New South Wales art gallery. On the walk over the skies turned an ominous shade of dark grey and just before I arrived the heavens opened.  The sudden downpour meant that the gallery got very busy as people who had been sunning themselves in the park tried to find a bit of shelter.  I wandered aimlessly for a while checking out the various rooms and exhibits.  After a while I found myself studying the people more than the art.

As I sat watching the people milling around I got a message from my friend back home in London, Gail. I would be staying with her, her husband and my godchildren for a couple of days when I first landed back and she was confirming my flight details and that she would come and pick me up from the airport. I couldn’t wait to see her and the boys again. The youngest was only a couple of months old when I had gone and was now coming up to being a year old so I knew he would have changed a lot and I was excited to see them. 

I got to thinking about all the people I would soon be catching up with. I started to feel homesick, the realisation that I was missing people more than I had previously thought hitting me hard. I had a desire to get away from all the people in the gallery, their laughter and chatter seeming to get louder and louder as my mood fell. I think it was the combination of the proximity of my return home and the dark weather that contributed to me being in a very odd mood. I walked back to Matt’s, getting absolutely soaked on the way back. I felt like I needed to do something routine, something that I would do back at home so I cracked open a bottle of wine and settled on the sofa with the first season of Sex and the City from Matt’s DVD collection. It felt oddly comforting and I didn’t move from the sofa for the rest of the afternoon and evening.

So I always have this ticket in my pocket

My final day had arrived. I spent the morning sorting out my luggage and checking in for my flight to Hong Kong. I hadn’t fully unpacked my case the whole time I had been in Oz so I took the opportunity to unpack and repack everything. Seeing everything neat and tidy once more in my suitcase had a therapeutic effect. My mood from the previous day had lifted and I was ready to make the most of my last full day.  Matt and I headed out for lunch, Matt taking me to one of his favourite places knowing that I wouldn’t have to build my own sandwich. The place, Fratelli Paradiso was a little cruisy and served great coffee. Most of the tables seemed to be occupied by the gays.

My 80 Gays business cards

Late afternoon we headed out for drinks. The Sydney gay scene was absolutely heaving, as it had been the Mardi Gras Fair Day. We caught up with some of Matt’s friends at the Bank Hotel for a few drinks. There seemed to be a constant flow of people trying to get through the spot where we were stood. I chatted to several of Matt’s friends, having to explain each time who I was and all about my travels. I was thankful of my little business cards which had my website details on the back as I could just hand one of those over and tell people to check it out. I still felt a little like a magician when I got the cards out and fanned them out so people could pick one in a colour that they liked. All of Matt’s friends were really friendly and fun but it was soon time for us to head off as I had arranged to meet up with my previous Sydney hosts.

Matt and I left his friends and made our way over to the Beresford. It was another busy venue and we finally found a bit of space outside. Not long after our arrival we were joined by Dan (Number 58), his friend Kurt who had joined us on a few of our trips out and Dave and Brian (Numbers 56 and 57). After introductions were done conversations turned to my hosts swapping notes on what I was like as a houseguest.  They were all very polite about me, probably because I was stood with them. 

The guys asked me what my highlights of Sydney had been. I had had some once-in-a-lifetime experiences – seeing the fireworks on New Year’s Eve from a great spot in the Harbour and climbing the Bridge – but they were things that anyone could do. The things I thought of as the highlights were much more personal. Dave and Brian making sure I had a stocking full of presents from “Santa” on Christmas Day, meeting their friends and being welcomed to Christmas Day celebrations, Dan and his friend driving me up to the Blue Mountains and getting shouted at by the person in the house from Sylvania Waters and Matt thinking I was called Dean and organising a rooftop party for me.

After going through the highlights I was asked about the lowlights. I struggled to think of much. There was the vaguely racist man who started talking to me on the ferry over to Manly but that was about it. There was the random drunk man who wouldn’t leave me alone when I had gone with Dan to The Shift. As we talked about drunken nutters we had some sort of “Field of Dreams” moment – if you talk about them, they will come. We were interrupted mid conversation by a rather drunken guy who came up to our little group, pushed his way in and made a beeline for me. He started talking at me as though we were friends and I racked my brain to think if I knew him. During the brief conversation he got a little handsy.

I couldn’t tell whether it was his attempt at flirting or whether he was just trying to steady himself as he was swaying a little while standing next to me.  After about a minute or so he left, saying he had to go talk to his friends but he would be back. I couldn’t wait. As he walked off he turned around and winked at me. The penny finally dropped. It was the guy who had cruised me on the train a few days previously. The rest of the group all looked at me, waiting for an explanation. I went with the truth, telling them about the incident on the train but that I didn’t know the guy. Clearly he was a forgetful drunk, as he didn’t return as promised which I was rather pleased about.

The night drew to a close and I said my goodbyes and thank yous to my gays, having a bit of a group hug before we all went off our separate ways. Matt and I walked back to his stopping to pick up some food on the way home. The next morning I was up early and set about packing my case once again. The time had finally arrived to leave Australia and move on to my final stop before my brief scheduled return home. I said goodbye and thank you to Matt and headed to the airport for my flight to Hong Kong. 

“They said I would sing the homesick blues, so I always have this ticket in my pocket” 
Lyrics from Not for the life of me from the musical Thoroughly Modern Millie