More Golden Moments On Our Travels (2)

More Golden Moments On Our Travels (2)

Brisbane

We spent every day with Uncle John, enjoying our time with him.

That first day, Monday, 25 March, Wendy produced some Hot Cross Buns from Waitress, and one of the nurses on the ward recognised them immediately!

"I lived in England for a while," she told us, "and I used to get those from Waitrose, too!"

She brought us a plate, a knife and butter, and we prepared one for Uncle John - Wendy knows how much he loves these buns, because when she was with him earlier this month, she took several packets with her! - and he really tucked in.

Uncle John and Waitrose Hot Cross Buns!

Uncle John and Wendy

We didn't want to encroach with any other visitors Uncle John might have, and by mid-afternoon, when he had had his lunch, he was ready for a sleep. We promised we'd be back again, first thing in the morning.

Wendy said she wanted to show me some of the places she always went to when she was with Uncle John, and we decided we would do something each day, so we could tell Uncle John where we had been, and share the sight-seeing with him.

Wendy said, "Let's go to Forest Lake - we'll have dinner at Sizzlers, which Uncle John loves."

Wendy at Forest Lake Hotel

Wendy is never knowingly without wheels!

I could also see why Uncle John enjoys eating there; Wendy had a steak, I had fish and chips, with the crunchiest, crispiest chips I've had in a long time. The Manager and waitress both remembered Wendy and Uncle John having meals in the restaurant, and were sorry to hear he was ill.

When Uncle John lived in Forest Lake, it was so convenient for him; he could walk from his unit to the shopping area, to Coles and Woolworths, and Target for other things like furnishings and clothes. Whilst we were looking round Target, we bought Uncle John another pair of pyjamas, and Wendy saw a heart cushion, covered in sequins, that took her fancy; we got that, and a throw for her sofa.

After that, we parked up by the lake, and walked down to the water's edge; all the ducks, coots, and a black swan came up, clearly hoping for a few titbits! We decided next time we'd return with some bread to feed them.

We were still catching up on a bit of jet lag, and it was nice to get back to the apartment for supper.

The following day, Tuesday, found Uncle John quite tired; we all thought the excitement from yesterday probably had something to do with it. We stayed chatting all morning; Wendy bought him a copy of the Courier Mail, and a banana - he loves bananas - and he has always loved having a newspaper! but after lunch, he was ready for an afternoon sleep.

Uncle John mentioned his watch was still not wearable - Wendy remembered that a few weeks ago she had tried to fix the strap for him, but it's a metal one, and she could not get it to fasten around his wrist. We took the watch with us, and said we'd do our best to get it fixed; if it couldn't be mended, we would buy a new strap for him.

Using the wonders of modern science on her mobile phone, Wendy found a watch repairer a few minutes' drive from the hospital. We handed it over, and the man said he'd do his best. Ten minutes later, he was back, with the metal strap fixed! The length of the metal strap had simply not been long enough for Uncle John to put it round his wrist and close the clasp properly; now, everything had been eased and adjusted, and it worked perfectly. Whilst the watchmaker was talking to us, I detected another accent overlaying the semi-Australian English one, and asked him where he came from? It turned out he was from near Aachen, so we spent a pleasant five minutes chatting away in German. I never miss the chance for some practice, and it just shows what a small world it is.

Wendy then showed me round all the shops in the centre of Brisbane. I had an extravagant moment - having seen an outfit in a dress shop near McDonalds, I went in and tried it on. It fitted perfectly, so I bought it. Hey ho. I need something new for my next performance, or when we go to The Ritz!

We had an idea that Uncle John might want to write to us at some point, and we searched for a packet of notelets. These did not seem to be available, so we settled for a small writing pad and envelopes; Wendy got two sheets and an envelope weighed at the Post Office, and bought stamps to cover the postage for half a dozen letters back to us in England.

Wendy prepared chicken for our dinner; after a little rest, she said as it was a fine evening, we could drive to Mount Coot-tha, which has panoramic views over the city. She has taken Uncle John up there  many times, and it would be good if I could say how much I enjoyed it, too! It's really beautiful and a lovely place to go after the heat of the day.

View from Mount Coot-tha
26 March 2019

Still feeling energetic, Wendy suggested we drive back to town and go for a ride on the Brisbane Wheel - a great idea! We arrived at a time when there were hardly any other passengers; it was so quiet, we had five rotations. That trip was a great end to a good evening.

We also got in touch with Jane and Stuart, our dear friends from South Africa, who now live about 1 1/2 hours' drive from Brisbane. We arranged to visit them on Thursday evening, which was something more to look forward to!