Worth the uphill climb

And you never know 'til you reach the top if it was worth the uphill climb

And you never know 'til you reach the top

The next morning Matt was up and out early to go to work. I was pleased that I didn’t have any pressing engagements to be up for. I didn’t feel hung-over but I certainly knew that I had had a few drinks the previous night. I snoozed for a while. My rumbling stomach finally prompted me into action. Had it not been for the sudden wave of hunger I could possibly have stayed in bed for the whole day. Sometimes it just has to be done. Having got myself ready I headed out and had a little wander round, finally settling on a nice looking café with some tables outside in the sun. I settled myself in for a leisurely brunch. It was nice to have the time to sit and actually enjoy the food and the people watching.

Matt had suggested that if I wanted to see a show I could meet him later in the day at work and watch Miriam Margolyes do a one-woman show about Dickens’ women. Having been travelling for nearly 9 months and in Australia for the last two I felt like I was in the need of doing something a little cultural so I decided I would take him up on the offer. I headed from Matt’s place to the theatre having checked the public transport route beforehand. As I waited on the platform at Kings Cross I played my favourite game, Spot the Gay. Not literally of course, I don’t carry around packets of those little sticky dots to put on people who I think are friends of Dorothy, although that could be a fun twist to the game. There were plenty of potential candidates to spot on the platform and it passed the time until my train arrived. I got on & found myself a seat.

One of the guys I had mentally stuck a little spot on got on the train too. He stayed near the doors but was in my line of sight. He looked over and smiled. My spot was in the right place. I smiled back, not wanting to appear rude. He kept smiling and staring and I began to feel a little uncomfortable, deciding the best thing to do was to look out of the window for a little while. I turned back after a minute or so and he was still looking my way. He smiled again and winked at me as the train was pulling in to the next station.  He got off the train but I could see him loitering on the platform. I stayed where I was. As the doors closed and the train started to pull out of the station he winked at me again. I still had it! Ego boosted by the attention I continued the rest of the journey to meet Matt with a smile on my face.

I chatted with Matt for a while until the start of the show. I think I was one of the few people under 50 in attendance. The show itself was pretty interesting, brought to life by a great performance from Miriam. A one-woman show must be a lot of hard work. It also made me realise how little of Dickens I had actually read. We had read “Great Expectations” at school but with a mixed ability class progress through the book had not always been the quickest. I don’t think we ever finished the book before the exams either, our teacher opting to show us the film version so we knew how it ended. The English class had also been the only time I had ever been sent out of a school lesson. We had been reading A Midsummer Night’s Dream and I had got a fit of the giggles at the stage direction “Enter Bottom with a candle”. When the teacher had asked me what was so amusing I had been unable to answer and unable to control my laughter so I was sent outside for ten minutes to compose myself.  The evening was rounded off with dinner with Matt and a fairly early night.

If it was worth the uphill climb

The next morning I was up fairly late and went out to get coffee and some food, Matt having already gone to work. For my birthday and Christmas my sister and Mother had given me the money to book myself on to a Sydney Harbour Bridge climb. I pottered about for a while before making my way down to the harbour and the bridge. I was feeling a little apprehensive as I waited with my fellow climbers for our climb. I had no problem with heights but I was worried about the breathalyser test I would have to take beforehand. I had avoided alcohol all day but I was concerned that after eight months of near continuous drinking that my breath was probably about 15% proof and I would fail the test. I was first up for the breathalyser so I had the entire group all watching as I blew into the machine, waiting for the alarm to buzz. I prayed silently for a miracle and someone heard my prayers. No alarm or beeping noise indicating I was a lush. I was sober enough to climb.

We donned the fetching overalls and our safety harnesses before having the safety talk from our guide. She took us through a few basics and we listened via the headsets that we had been provided with. It meant that we would all be able to hear her instructions during the climb. We were soon heading out onto the bridge, securely attached to the cable running alongside the walkway. I knew that I would be limited to having conversations with the people immediately in front and behind me for the next couple of hours so I lined up next to the people who looked the chattiest. I lined up behind two girls on holiday from Atlanta and had a couple from Perth just behind me. I chatted to the two girls in front who had only arrived in Sydney that morning. They had the soft Southern accent that brought memories of my time in the States and I filled them in on my travels and what I had seen when in Atlanta. Conversation flowed until we reached the part where we had to start climbing up and then most of the group fell into silence.

  

The climb was worth it. The views over Sydney from the top of the bridge were amazing. I couldn’t help but burst into a little Dirty Dancing number, singing “Now I’ve had the Climb of My Life”.  My fellow climbers didn’t seem that impressed by my singing but tied on to the bridge as we were they had nowhere to go. There was a bit of time at the top to get our breath back and watch the sun set as we had our photos taken. We all posed for a group photo before everyone had a few individual shots taken. Our guide also took a few smaller group photos, getting people to pose with their families or friends. After the two girls from Atlanta had their photos taken it was my turn. I walked to the spot where people had been standing for photos and the guide asked who was in my group. I said I was alone and she kindly repeated it, broadcasting it to the headsets of everyone else in the group. I felt my cheeks flush as people in the group turned to look at me, Billy No Mates. The couple from Perth said I could join them in their photo. I politely declined.

After the sun had set we navigated our way safely back down the bridge, unhooking ourselves from the safety harness and returning all our kit. Having changed back into normal clothes I went to see the photos that had been taken up on the bridge. Looking at them I decided I really needed to learn how to do a fake photo smile so I didn’t end up with photos that would not look out of place on the rogue’s gallery on Crimewatch or leave me looking like I was suffering from some sort of facial paralysis. I picked a couple of the least worst ones and headed back to Matt’s. The first thing I did when I arrived back at his was pour myself a nice big glass of wine.

“And you never know 'til you reach the top if it was worth the uphill climb” 
Lyrics from There’s a Fine, Fine Line from the musical Avenue Q