I got back from golf between 7.30 and 8pm this evening.  I fancied Thai food and TripAdvisor showed a highly rated Thai restaurant a 10 minute walk from the house.  I’m always more than a little suspicious of TripAdvisor ratings but this looked a half decent bet, so I set off to Thai Neesia.  The restaurant didn’t have a licence but allowed BYO and there was a Bottle Shop next door.  Armed with a bottle of Watervale Riesling (a very dry style this, which matched the Thai food extremely well) I sat down and ordered stuffed chicken wings and soft shell crab.

The chicken wings were fine, without being extraordinary.  The soft shelled crab, however, was simply wonderful.  Is there any other food which, done well, can match soft shelled crab?  This came with a small sweetcorn, slices of red chilli and Thai holy basil, in a deeply unctuous soy based sauce.  On a bed of plainly steamed Jasmine rice, the end result was a dish that offered texture (the crunch of the deep fried crab contrasting with the bite of the sweetcorn and chilli pieces and the softness of the rice) and extraordinary flavours, the heat of the chilli contrasting with the sweetness of the basil and the crab meat, accentuated every so often by a piece of the crab that was intensely sea-foody and the saltiness of some of the crab and the deep soy base.

I have eaten very well today, though oddly I realise that this is the second day running where I have managed on just two meals.

Scott and I had planned to get together for golf three times.  Monday, to help me stay awake after arrival, today and Monday next week.  Originally we had intended to go to Newcastle GC (a couple of hours north of Sydney) today but there was a competition on and we weren’t keen on the slow round that would entail.  It’s reassuring that it’s not just the UK where competitive rounds are slower than they need to be.  So Newcastle is next Monday.  We considered playing at The Lakes today.  The Lakes is just a short hop from Bonnie Doon, indeed you can see a couple of its holes whilst playing BD.  It has hosted several professional tournaments, including the Australian OPen and its website proudly proclaims it to be one of Australia’s pre-eminent private clubs.  Scott had hoped that one of his contacts who has a working relationship could arrange for us to play there.  Indeed, they were happy to let us play but only in exchange for AUS $350 a head.  We’re both happy to pay for good golf but however good The Lakes is (and I’ll never know) it isn’t $350 good.  For that I’d expect one of the world’s very best courses.  So we agreed to have another knock at Bonnie Doon.

Despite the 30 hour journey and the 11 hour time difference I didn’t actually play that badly on Monday, hitting a number of very solid shots but not quite converting.  Today I just played badly.  The danger with having lessons just before at rip like this is that, sometimes, the new learning just won’t be ingrained enough and I’ll feel like my body and brain have been disconnected.  Today was one of those days.  Nonetheless a really fun afternoon ensued.

Bonnie Doon, as I mentioned before, is in the middle of a substantial re-modelling.  Architects Mike Clayton, Mike Cocking and Geoff Ogilvy (the former US Open champion) are changing the course beyond all recognition.  Previously narrow, tree lined playing corridors are being replaced with width, sandy waste areas and some thrillingly contoured greens.  Being sensible, the club has chosen to make these changes in several phases, inserting occasional additional holes during construction, so that at all times there are 18 holes in play.  The club has ground in two “paddocks”, one by the clubhouse and one across a fairly busy road.  Currently the work being done is across the road and no golf is played on that land.  Meanwhile, the course we played today features 6 or 7 of the old holes or temporary holes and the remainder are new holes.  The old holes come early in the round.  Rather confusingly holes retain the numbering they will eventually have.  That is not the sequence in which they are currently played.  Accordingly, the order of holes we played today was 1, 2, 17, 18a, 18, 18b, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 20, 16, 8 and 9.  Scott is a good 6 handicap golfer, so was giving me 6 shots.  As a result of the current order of the course, 5 of those shots were in the first 8 holes.  After those 8 holes I was 3 down and the game, such as it was, was as good as done.

Despite not playing well, it seemed to me that Bonnie Doon is turning into a very fine golf course.  It won’t be long but many of the new holes are great fun and very challenging to play.  The long par 4 10th, with its approach played over a valley, had the pin tucked in a small bowl at the back left of the green.  Scott was just through the back in two and had a wonderful but extremely testing chip to attempt to get anywhere near.  The 11th is a par 3 with a steeply sloping green.  Scott’s birdie from the back fringe was a seriously accomplished putt.  The list of challenging but fun shots goes on.  From an aesthetic point of view the sandy wastes and naturalistic bunkers are very attractive but it is the occasional and noticeable views of the city that really struck me.  All in all a course that I’d be very happy to call home.

Despite its frustrations golf must be one of the more rewarding sports to play badly.  I played badly today but had great fun because of the company.  We chewed the cud on a number of issues and, after finishing off on the wonderful short par 5 9th (only 434 metres but don’t dare miss the green) we chucked our clubs in the boot of Scott’s car and retired for a couple of beers.  If Bonnie Doon is typical of Australian golf clubs, the game here may not be quite as social an event as in the UK but there is nothing to beat sitting outside a clubhouse, with a beer as the sun sets.  We discussed families, dropping out of the rat race and which of Australia’s golf courses were unmissable (I’m delighted to report I’m not missing any) before Scott dropped me back at home.

I’m pleased to have had a second crack at Bonnie Doon.  So much of the course made more sense to me today than on my first trip round.  I had originally anticipated that this blog would contain some fairly detailed discussion of the courses I play.  That may still happen with some of the very greatest.  However, even as I have written over the past few days, it has become clear to me that what I want to record on this blog is not great detail of the golf courses I play but more my impressions of Australia, my thoughts on life as they develop and a record of some of the other stuff that I have enjoyed.

One of my wife’s favourite cook books is my Australian writer Bill Grainger.  When I discovered that his first restaurant was in Darlinghurst, the suburb of Sydney I am staying it was clear that, at some point this week, I was going to eat there.

The original plan this morning had been to play golf with Scott at 10am but the course was busy, so we decided to play this afternoon instead.  I decided, therefore, that this morning was a great opportunity to wander through Darlinghurst getting a better feel for the area and end up at Bill’s.

Darlinghurst is a lovely suburb of Sydney.  Many of the buildings have a bit of age, dating, I guess, from early last century and, since it’s walkable to the CBD, Darlinghurst seems to be populated by mostly young professionals.  Scott had recommended Darlinghurst as a place to stay for its cafes and restaurants and slightly edgy feel and that was spot on the money.  Coffee shops, bars and restaurants abound but it retains a residential and distinctive feel.

Some typical (and one atypical) Darlinghurst buildings

It is also very green, with many trees lining the streets, which are relatively wide and airy.

Bill’s was in a pleasant but relatively non-descript street corner building, with no great show.  Indeed, I walked past before realising I had reached my destination.  Inside it was light and airy and, at 10.30 in the morning, reasonably full.  I ordered the “Full Aussie” an espresso and a smoothie.  On arrival the breakfast (which consisted of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, tomato, mushrooms and toast didn’t look anything out of the ordinary.  Except that the scrambled eggs were a uniform shade of pale yellow and formed a firm slurry, reminiscent of polenta.  As I ate, however, it became apparent that this was, in fact, a very good breakfast indeed.  The tomato had been roasted with a hint of cumin, the mushrooms cooked with miso and dill, the sausage was a pork sausage but with chilli and fennel giving it a hint of spice.  The toast was an excellent sourdough and the bacon a tangle of very good lightly smoked middle bacon.  The smoothie mixed berries with coconut yoghurt.  Oh, and a side of avocado salsa worked perfectly with the bacon.  The whole ensemble was simply delicious.  Not the cheapest breakfast I’ll ever eat but filling enough (and late enough) to serve as brunch.  Highly recommended.

Bill’s Website, for those interested

One of the things I’ve spent some time doing this Summer past has been re-assessing my priorities.  It had become clear to me that over the years I had lost sight of the things that really mattered and started to live by a set of values that weren’t really mine.  Worse, whilst I still judged other people by a set of values I’m very happy with (integrity, honesty, decency) I had started to judge myself by standards I might expect others, who did not share those values, to judge me by.  I had placed too much emphasis on material wealth, status in society and intellect.

As I have re-assessed those values, I have also been struck by how those around me have reacted to my circumstances.  As I mentioned in the introductory post to this blog, some friends have been fantastic, offering genuine support and concern, making real efforts to stay in touch and check how I was.  Others have disappeared without trace.  Most strikingly of all has been the support I have received from my family.  Despite this being a stressful time for all of us, they have been supportive and caring and the boys have demonstrated a level of maturity that isn’t always apparent.  I have been extremely proud to be a husband and father to my wife and sons.

Yesterday at Manly was a really lovely day.  The weather was perfect, the scenery astonishing, the town itself a revelation.  I have long been able to really enjoy exploring foreign places alone and really enjoy the experience and I’m loving being here.  Being alone gives you the opportunity to explore in a different way and the need for a firm plan just disappears.  It’s easier, too, to make conversation and enjoy the company of strangers when travelling on your own.  That said, as I stood at Fairfax Outlooks and marvelled at the views of the harbour and city in the distance it occurred to me that the only way the experience could be improved upon would be to share it with my wife.  It also occurred that, as the boys set off to university and leave home over the next few years, we will have more time to enjoy adventures like yesterday together.  The knowledge that that is something we can look forward to makes me very happy.