Old School

This week I have mostly been taking a trip down memory lane with Mr Foo the cabbie. Actually it only happened once, but it was a very interesting trip. It turns out he grew up in the area we now live and let me tell you there have been some changes in the Orchard area since 1958. The place we live in now used to be the forest where he would catch spiders, the subway station at Orchard used to be a Jewish cemetery, the school near to our local drinking holes on Emarald Hill was a hostipal and a Japanese admin centre in the war, and apparently there is an umarked Japanese Soldier's grave still there to this day. He used to live on Emerald Hill when there was a weird law that long term tenants became dual owners of a property if they stayed there long enough. Unfortunately for him he didn't, it isn't a cheap place to live now, and long gone are the days when he used to have evening picnics on the park that is now the school.
Talking of trips down memory lane and remembering the glory days, this week I also had the misfortune to meet Greg Matthews. By his own admission he is Australian cricket legend and all round good guy. He was shipped out to help the Reuters team win their annual 6 a side cricket competition, but it wasn't entirely clear in what capacity. If drinking heavily, regaling anyone who would listen with personal feats of cricket heroism while all the time busting moves on any female he saw, were part of his brief with Reuters then he did his job magnificently. I think I added more value to the team by cooking sausages for free beer.
Later in the evening he turned to marriage councellor as he berated me for not marrying Reidy and went further to annoy the crap out of me at the BQ Bar. When asked if I was happy, I told him I was, mostly because I didn't have to pretend I wasn't something I am not and hang out with celebrities thinking I am one. He was a little upset after that and was whinging to his mate that he was going to change managers. No idea what that had to do with anything, but I wish him well, especially as he turns 50 this year and he sounded really happy about that.
Funnily enough we did make up and was due to the efforts of another girl in the bar who clearly under the influence of a day's worth of beer in the sun told me she would like to make love to me and Reidy. After I stopped laughing I told her she would have to check with Reidy, so over she goes and starts rubbing Reidy's arm and staring cross eyed into her eyes. Reidy looked at her like she had gone mad, and Greggy, now my best friend quickly forgot his sage like advice on the joys of being married and starts nudging me saying "You're in there with 2 chicks mate."
At that point we were saved by an unassisted fall, the drunk girl fell heavily to the floor, we took it as our cue to leave. Old GM thought she actually fell rather sexily to the floor and took at his cue to pull out the old charm.