I awoke at a quarter past seven and arose twenty-five minutes later, on this dull, overcast morning, to have breakfast on my own after having disagreed with Tiki over whether I should attend the final round of the Australian Open at Kensington tomorrow. We mended our differences before nine o’clock and once she had dried my hair we left at a quarter past ten. I sped towards town in the ‘Galant’. That is, until I almost received my just desserts when I ever so nearly ran into the rear of a VW ‘Kombi’, as I stared at a sports car that was passing in the opposite direction.
Once the car occupied a space in the parking station next to her Majesty’s Theatre, I discovered that I had failed to properly close the car’s bonnet when I had checked the oil, in the garage at home. We walked to Cambergs corner store where I didn’t even have to explain about the letter we had received inviting us to chose our free Christmas gift.
A ‘rough diamond’ pointed out that we could choose between a wooden carving of an elephant and its calf and another that depicted small elephants which stood one on top of the other. We selected the latter, which we were informed was valued at four dollars and ninety-nine cents.
We walked to the cinema in the Pitt Centre which, as the name suggests, is on Pitt Street. There, we purchased two tickets, at three dollars and twenty-five cents per ticket, in order that we might view the movie, “Smokey and the Bandit”, from two o’clock. The film stars Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jerry Reed and Jackie Gleason.
Just a few doors from the cinema we located a crowded McDonald’s and, at a quarter to twelve, I ordered two Fillet-o-fish burgers and a chocolate thick shake for myself and a Fillet-o-fish burger, a Junior burger and a chocolate thick shake for Tiki, at a total cost of three dollars and forty-five cents.
Having consumed lunch, we walked on until we reached the Opera House. I had been trifling with the idea of purchasing four tickets so that we, in addition to Tiki’s parents, might attend a concert by the singer, Kamahl, next month. However, I was told that the tickets for it were not on sale there and was, therefore, given the name of Camini Promotions along with a relevant telephone number.
We returned to Circular Quay and when I dialled the number from a public telephone box I was informed that all of the unsold tickets had been sent to the Opera House last night. As we didn’t feel like walking back to the Opera House, we returned to Pitt Street and located a T.A.B., in which the woman behind the counter instructed me on how to fill out a new card that would allow me to place a bet on the trifecta, to be held on this afternoon’s meeting in Sydney.
It was twenty-five past one by the time we reached the cinema. As “Smokey and the Bandit” bore an ‘M’ rating — fifteen years and over — we were amazed to see so many young children in the audience. We sat in the back row of what would be the equivalent of the front stalls of some years ago. Our seats were comfortable and afforded us with plenty of leg room.
Films on dancing and singing by people of different nations, in Wales, and the sport of orienteering in the United States were screened prior to intermission. After the main feature we walked to the Hoyts Cinema Centre on George Street, in order to use its toilets, before we crossed to the Parisienne Pussycat Restaurant where we splurged eighty cents each on a cappuccino.
Upon our return to the parking station we paid the bill of two dollars and sixty cents. I parked the car at the rear of the Wentworth Hotel and, again, we embarked on a walk to the Opera House; only to be informed that the tickets to Kamahl’s concert were not being placed on sale until Monday.
On the way back to the car we passed retarded men as they boarded a bus marked ‘New Haven’, and saw two policemen drag a man, who appeared to be intoxicated, out of a paddy-waggon and up the steps of the police station while he remained on his knees. Knees, which appeared to contact every one of the steps during his ascent.
Two of the three horses we included in this afternoon’s trifecta: “Little Ben” and “Bye Shayne” were unplaced — the latter actually fell — whilst the other, “Leonotis”, finished third.
Tiki drove home by half past six and in spite of all the walking we had already done, in town, we departed at half past seven to jog and walk through Gymea and Miranda. It was difficult for us to comprehend the number of young teenagers who were walking aimlessly about the streets. Others were congregated outside the Miranda Hotel.