Melbourne – Hospitality

My good friend Helen Brown has friends, Monica and Bill, who live in Melbourne and she gave me their e mail address and instructions to get in touch with them. I sent an e mail to Monica to introduce myself and I got a reply straight back saying that they would love to meet me and would I like to come to dinner? They live in Blackburn, a suburb of Melbourne and I join the commuters on the early evening train to get there. Bill and his little dog meet me at the station and we drive the short distance to their house, a 1960s bungalow, where Monica is waiting. Delicious smells come from the kitchen and over a glass of cold white wine we swap stories of how we each know Helen.  Teaching is the common link. Monica did a teacher exchange and taught for a year at the same school as Helen in Sheffield in 1990. Helen and I shared the same class at Newton Ferrers Primary towards the end of the 90s.

While we chat, Bill drifts in and out, cooking the meat for dinner on the barbecue on the deck outside the lounge window. We move into the dining room for dinner. We have a delicious home-made pumpkin soup, followed by the barbecued mea,t with roasted vegetables and salad, washed down with lovely red wine. Dessert is fresh fruit salad, ice-cream and cream so thick it could almost be clotted. We talk about all sorts of things: our mutual friend; their memories of their time in England; my travels; their plans to visit Spain on their motorbike; things Australian….

After dinner we move back to the sofas in the lounge and we have several attempts to take a timed photograph of the 3 of us and the dog, who doesn’t want to co-operate, having been woken from his bed. The wine is to blame for how difficult I find it to capture the scene.  Bill suggests it is time for him to retire to bed  - he is the only one having to go to work in the morning. Monica drives me back into the city and drops me right at my hostel.

It has been a lovely evening for me and I feel overwhelmed by their kindness, friendliness and generosity by welcoming me into their home. I know that Helen will be pleased that we got together. I hope that I will be able to return the favour if they come to England again.

In the morning I have a small hang over.

Me, Monica and Bill