Dreich day on Sydney Harbour

The plan was, rain or no rain, for Alice to have a swim in the harbourside Maccallum Pool on Cremorne Point, but it was closed. We were well compensated, though, by the glory of the views of Sydney Harbour from the North Shore, a side less known to us.

Alice drove off to look (unsuccessfully) for an alternative pool, first dropping me at nearby Cammeray, where I was meeting an old friend, Gordon, and his son, Kevin, for lunch. Gordon and I began our careers in journalism together, as copy boys, on the long-expired Edinburgh Evening Dispatch. He went on to become for many years chief reporter of the Daily Record in Glasgow; I fetched up eventually at the Canberra Times, and spent more than 20 years there, latterly as features editor.

We lost touch with each other from about 1970 until reconnecting via the Internet after we retired. Kevin, it turned out, had followed his father into journalism, and, like me, had moved to Australia, where he now runs a football magazine, both in print and online. When Gordon visits him, we get together and relive our distant past. As always, much fun and laughter today. Poor Kevin, I'm sure he must be tired of hearing the same stories over and over again. Good stories, though! :-)