Mister Brisbane: Change of plan
Special New Year's edition with some news about this newsletter
We made it. And, although I probably said something similar this time last year, I think things will be better in the next set of 12 months than they were in the past. At the time of writing, I’ve just arrived back in Brisbane having spent an enjoyable week in Darwin, despite confusion over COVID-safe travel requirements, a rescheduling that turned a direct afternoon flight into a red-eye roundabout, and then back into daytime exercise, albeit one day earlier than planned, and a few other minor irritations, including getting caught in a tropical downpour.
If you’re wondering what I did during my Top End holiday, the answer is not a lot. I saw a few of the sights, eat and drink heartily if not healthily and, unexpectedly, caught up with a friend from a past life. Don’t ask me questions beginning with “Did you go to …” because the answer is probably No. And the reason is probably because it wasn’t open, it wasn’t practical or permissible because of COVID, or I simply didn’t get around to doing it. Next time, maybe.
As I foreshadowed in my previous newsletter, I’ll be doing things a little differently in 2022. Because I want to work on other projects in my spare time, after two years of (mostly) weekly publication, this newsletter will no longer arrive in your inbox every Tuesday at 5.30am (or thereabouts). It will still come out, at least for the foreseeable future, but on an ad hoc basis. I’ll be writing when I feel I have something to say, rather than to meet a regular deadline. I also hope to develop the Mister Brisbane brand in some other ways — and work on a few other projects that should see the light of day in a few months.
The future is, of course, unknowable. But when the calendar flips over from December 31 to January 1, it reminds us that time waits for nobody. All opportunities have an expiry date. If there are things you want to do, you can’t keep putting them off forever.
SIGN OF THE TIMES
I thought of some businesses in Brisbane when I saw this sign outside the Old Admiralty venue on Darwin’s Esplanade. I recalled how the old La Boite theatre in Sexton Street, Petrie Terrace implored people to “think of the neighbours” as they left the premises, and I thought of the battles that several music venues had when residents of newly constructed residences started complaining about the noise that had been going on long. long before they arrived. Obviously, these Darwiners are holding their ground.
SWEET TREAT
Possibly the best sweet thing I’ve ever eaten on a plane: this lime cake served during my Qantas flight from Brisbane to Darwin was exceptional. That is all.