I was a late bloomer to driving. A very, very late bloomer. In fact, there is an infinite number of lifts that i owe to friends and parents of friends as a result of me going through almost my entire big drinking years without my license.
As a result of this, i was a man when i paid for driving lessons. A man who had an idea of what was right, what was wrong and what is decent in the world. I bought a ten pack of driving lessons and was probably about half way through with an eccentric, somewhat irritating instructor. I think you have to be a bit of crazy to be a driving instructor though so i gave him the benefit of the doubt. He told me more about his life than i needed to know and, on one informative lesson, he went so far as to use a metaphor which sat so terribly uncomfortably with me that i was numb with shock. I wish i had have stepped out of the car that day. Stuck my head through the window and said "Sorry, i don't want to spend time with a bigot." Perhaps i was too taken aback. Perhaps too naive and shy. Either way, he was telling me that no matter what happens when driving, if we are careful and say sorry, there will not be any problems because there is nothing wrong with saying sorry, Except, he said, "except when they told my kids that they had to say sorry to those *indigenous Australians*." He used a different, unnecessary, offensive term.
For me, this is just blinded bigotry, selfishness and a refusal to admit the atrocities of the past. An apology costs the least but means the most to a lot of these people. Our government apologised for a previous government who were wrong. it is simple as that.
Australia's treatment of their indigenous is something which is know throughout the world and something which, surprisingly, i have been interrogated about overseas. I appreciated this as it showed a knowledge of what had happened. And by facing this truth and history head on we are able to ensure that history does not repeat itself.
When Prime Minister Rudd apologised, unreservedly, to the Australian Indigenous in 2008, i swelled with pride. I was proud to be an Australian. I was proud to live in a country which recognised where wrong decisions had been made and was willing to cop this on the chin. It did not lead to law suits about ownership, about lost childhoods.... there was no increased economic downside. No negative social repercussions. But it recognised what had happened and helped (especially young) people to better understand the trials of the indigenous.
The fact that Sorry Day is still around today is something that buoys me a lot and something which i hope can become even more important in the future. This is a day when we recognise the wrongs of the past towards the indigenous and the mistreatment at the hands of people who believe they knew better. I guess this is it at a national level.
However, i can see the potential for Sorry Day to be an individual thing. something different for everyone but, at the same time, of great importance and relevance in a dynamic world. Something you may have done in the past that you regret, that you wish never happened. This is the day where you can recognise this, be aware of it, and make sure you do not do it again.
National Sorry Day is something Australians should be proud of. to finally stand up and say, as a nation, "we were wrong" was clearly difficult. Now that it has happened, we should try to improve and develop the relationship that everyone has with the indigenous population and help improve the mutual respect between these Australians. It was wrong, we were wrong, and we can never make it right. But if we stop pretending that it was okay because of prior beliefs, it may assist in moving forward at a greater rate and developing more trust and cohesion towards a group that continues to struggle in modern day Australia.
Friday, 23 May 2014
Monday, 5 May 2014
On the Darlinghurst Road 1 : Cocktail Challenge - The Hazy Rose
It is completely impossible to ignore the shopfronts and reviews of cocktail bars less than a stone's throw from our apartment. We cannot leave the house without passing enough restaurants and bars so that we would not have to leave our street and could have different experiences every night of the week.
Finally we decided enough was enough and we would just immerse ourselves in the martini glass of life on Stanley Street and make a concerted effort to get to as many of the Cocktail Bars as we could. Week one was a venue which we can almost see from our lounge room window, The Hazy Rose. Let me preface this before i get into our take on the Bar. We love a drink. We love something new and we love sharing this. We are not experts on alcohol, bar scene or service. We just know what we like. And we like most everything!
We had a twenty minute wait at Bar Reggio for our pizza dinner and decided to use this time efficiently and drop in on a cocktail bar which was very well regarded online. The reviews for an area so rich in diversity when it comes to bars were astounding and i was very excited to check it out. We walked upstairs, past the opera posters, and into the bar. It was a dark, agreeable atmosphere with candle lighting on mismatched tables, some lounges and booths and a haphazard bar area with more opera posters. We were welcomed by a most sweet server who sat us down with menus and gave us some time to soak in our surroundings. It is a very cool decor and the other people around looked like they were having a lot of fun. The menu had a reasonable wine and beer list but we were there for the cocktails!
We perused the options and asked the aforementioned sweet server her take. She gave two recommendations in the Duke Ellington and the Suffering Bastard. Laura went with the former and i went with something totally different in the Divinyl. The ingredients had intrigued me and I wanted to see the effect of the egg whites. We were excited as they were brought out and they looked the part, made with love. Laura's Duke Ellington was gin based with lime and orange and a prosecco finish. The prosecco was a bit dominant though and, for something which was recommended so strongly, the drink did not quite live up to the hype. On the other hand though, the Divinyl made me want to touch myself. It was vodka based with a very nice, subtle cucumber undertone and soft egg white froth on top which added an extra texture. The drink was superb and i cherished every drop. Laura definitely had order envy!
Far too quickly the time came to pick up our pizzas and we were forced to leave our haven. Our total mark was 14/20, broken up in the following way:
Ambience - 4/5. We would like to come here when there were more people and a bigger buzz. The potential for a cracking atmosphere is well and truly there.
Value - 3/5. It was quite expensive but we felt like we got value for money and the drinks were carefully put together.
Service - 4/5. We loved our server. It just took a little longer than we would have liked to get our drink and cheque. The service was warm, friendly and welcoming!
Drink - 3/5. This is split into a 2 for the Duke and 4 for the Divinyl.
Being the first place we gave a score to, we had to be careful not to be too nice but this was a seriously cool place and well worth checking out should you be around town. And if you plan on stopping in, make sure you give us a call so you we can join you!
LJR x
Finally we decided enough was enough and we would just immerse ourselves in the martini glass of life on Stanley Street and make a concerted effort to get to as many of the Cocktail Bars as we could. Week one was a venue which we can almost see from our lounge room window, The Hazy Rose. Let me preface this before i get into our take on the Bar. We love a drink. We love something new and we love sharing this. We are not experts on alcohol, bar scene or service. We just know what we like. And we like most everything!
We had a twenty minute wait at Bar Reggio for our pizza dinner and decided to use this time efficiently and drop in on a cocktail bar which was very well regarded online. The reviews for an area so rich in diversity when it comes to bars were astounding and i was very excited to check it out. We walked upstairs, past the opera posters, and into the bar. It was a dark, agreeable atmosphere with candle lighting on mismatched tables, some lounges and booths and a haphazard bar area with more opera posters. We were welcomed by a most sweet server who sat us down with menus and gave us some time to soak in our surroundings. It is a very cool decor and the other people around looked like they were having a lot of fun. The menu had a reasonable wine and beer list but we were there for the cocktails!
We perused the options and asked the aforementioned sweet server her take. She gave two recommendations in the Duke Ellington and the Suffering Bastard. Laura went with the former and i went with something totally different in the Divinyl. The ingredients had intrigued me and I wanted to see the effect of the egg whites. We were excited as they were brought out and they looked the part, made with love. Laura's Duke Ellington was gin based with lime and orange and a prosecco finish. The prosecco was a bit dominant though and, for something which was recommended so strongly, the drink did not quite live up to the hype. On the other hand though, the Divinyl made me want to touch myself. It was vodka based with a very nice, subtle cucumber undertone and soft egg white froth on top which added an extra texture. The drink was superb and i cherished every drop. Laura definitely had order envy!
Far too quickly the time came to pick up our pizzas and we were forced to leave our haven. Our total mark was 14/20, broken up in the following way:
Ambience - 4/5. We would like to come here when there were more people and a bigger buzz. The potential for a cracking atmosphere is well and truly there.
Value - 3/5. It was quite expensive but we felt like we got value for money and the drinks were carefully put together.
Service - 4/5. We loved our server. It just took a little longer than we would have liked to get our drink and cheque. The service was warm, friendly and welcoming!
Drink - 3/5. This is split into a 2 for the Duke and 4 for the Divinyl.
Being the first place we gave a score to, we had to be careful not to be too nice but this was a seriously cool place and well worth checking out should you be around town. And if you plan on stopping in, make sure you give us a call so you we can join you!
LJR x
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