Happy Aussieversary!

Today is our first anniversary of arriving in Sydney.  I can't believe it's been a year already, but in some ways, it feels like we have been here for much longer.  We feel settled, if not yet fully established.  We have a good social circle, a flat (sorry, a unit), routines, (second) jobs.  We agreed that we would have a date night on each anniversary and discuss if we wanted to stay, but we knew months ago that we were both game for another year.  I think there are two primary reasons for that.

The first is our neighbourhood, Surry Hills.  We love it.  I am happy every day when I walk out my door onto Reservoir Street.  It's everything I want a neighbourhood to be: central, walkable, multicultural, charming, characterful, but not sanitised.  There are cocktail bars and restaurants, upscale and downscale galleries, and gays galore.  But there's also social housing, backpackers, dive bars and legal brothels.  I am happy here like I have only ever been in Chelsea and Clerkenwell.  My spirit feels uplifted walking these streets.

The second is that my greatest fear did not materialise.  Shortly before we left London, I shared this quote with my friend Mike to highlight my angst:

A melancholy lesson of advancing years is the realisation that you can’t make old friends.

- Christopher Hitchens

To which, proving he is wise as well as handsome, he responded:

"You can't make old friends" implies that deep, meaningful friendships can only be formed over time and new friends lack depth. Sweetie, I’ll take quality over quantity any day. I’ve lost so many friends over the years for various reasons: death, changing geography, changing paths, disappointments, growing up, bending with the road. Over time people change and grow. But there are new shared experiences with new people, who offer fresh perspectives, new energy. Just look at you & Larry and how you became fast friends over the shared event at the World Trade Center.  Old friends have a special place in our hearts, but the idea that we can’t make old friends overlooks the potential for meaningful connections with new people. Friendships form at any stage in life.

And he was right.  We have met a solid group of friends in our first year here.  There's not the same level of casual understanding that comes with having shared years of life with someone, but we have found some of our people, and we do not feel socially bereft.  We feel like we fit; we feel at home.  At 51, this is a blessing.

So a bonza first year.  Here's to year two!

G'day,

Shaun

Even the Fountain of Youth runs dry eventually...Sushil turned 40 last month!  We celebrated in a properly middle-aged way, renting a villa in Koh Samui, Thailand.  We had a week of good food, friends, cocktails and massages.  But very few hangovers, and even several good naps.

Cheers to the birthday boy man!

We had a few Londoners - Leslie, Craig and Johnny - join us on the island.

A highlight of the week: we had a personal chef come to the villa to make us lunch.  The som tum?  Was delish!

Sushil and Leslie worked off lunch with a vigorous game of water polo.

Contemplating life in a new decade.

Back in Sydney, Autumn has fallen on Surry Hills.

My belovéd Reservoir Street.  When Sushil and I were walking down it on 17 July last year to see the first flat on our list of viewings, I remember telling him 'This is exactly the kind of street I want to live on here.'  And that's the flat we took.

We had a long weekend in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia.  It's known for being a gentle, planned city, having the second-largest Fringe after Edinburgh, and, most importantly, having the best wine regions in Australia in its hinterland.

Napa or McLaren Vale?

Adelaide has fantastic wine bars to go with the fantastic wine - and the perfect weather for a cosy jumper and a glass of red.

Shaun H. Coley ~ Surry Hills ~ Sydney, NSW ~ Australia