Tuesday, 1 April 2008
Heading out of downtown Bowen just after lunchtime, the journey to Townsville passed uneventfully, accompanied by selections from the Latin playlist on the iPod.
Once we’d booked into the Aitkenvale Motel, it was time to head off to the Lolly Shop for a couple of Campbell’s Rutherglen Tokay to use as gifts in Japan. We also needed a couple of bottles to accompany dinner at The Golfer’s bijou establishment (a Campbell’s Bobbie Burns Shiraz and a McWilliams’ Mount Pleasant Phillip).
Arriving at The Golfer’s residence, we settled back and feasted in not-quite-baronial style with our genial host, the Dalby Doylamo and Miss Behaviour - roast lamb with the usual trimmings and the obligatory mint sauce.
From the time we arrived on the doorstep until the Muscat went into circulation several hours later, the conversation covered a predictably wide range of topics from primary school cricket to overseas travel via excursions into the cooking techniques of celebrity chefs and other arcane ephemera.
Periodic telephonic interruptions allowed the Doylamo to dispense culinary tips regarding the correct ingredients for a successful batch of scones to serve at the morning tea break for the monthly board meeting of a leading Australian cultural organization.
As usual, where the Doylamo is concerned, as soon as you think you’ve heard him expound on every conceivable subject from his considerable range of expertise, he pulls another rabbit out of the hat.
No kidding. Doylie’s baking tips. Wonders will never cease.
The Bobbie Burns Shiraz was acclaimed as the wine of the night though the consensus was that the Mount Pleasant Phillip was not too shabby either.
A phone call the next morning to organize a transfer from the motel to Townsville Airport attracted background interjections of Hope the ninjas get ya!
And since you’re reading this, it should be evident that the Doylamo’s desires remained fundamentally unfulfilled.