We had pre-drinks at my house before heading into the city for New Year’s Eve. We were supposed to be meeting up with friends at Darling Harbour. Early 1990s, long before mobile phones, we were very optimistic indeed. Jonno, Neil and I caught the train to Town Hall station and made our way down through the crowd.
As we squeezed our way through the horde of revellers on the Pyrmont Bridge, the impossibility of finding our friends set in. After the bridge we turned the stairs near the Virgin Megastore down to the pier level. No sooner had we pressed our way through the throng near The Craig nightclub, did Neil and I realise we had lost Jonno. In those days, if you don’t have a designated meeting spot, you will not meet again tonight.
Sometime after that the countdown kicks in and everyone cheers and carries on. We get to hug and kiss a bunch of random elated women and then things continue as usual.
After that, I remember Neil and I over the other side; what is now Cockle Bay Wharf. It was an asphalt foundation with carnival rides on it back then. After a few head spins, we made our way back to the main side.
The funny thing about that night was how we lost Jonno and never found the group we were supposed to meet up with, yet I kept running into people I knew. I felt kind of popular.
As we approached the junction near the Convention centre, Neil wanted to head back towards The Craig. For no apparent reason I suggested we head the other way towards Chinatown.
Not far along, as we passed under the bridge we ran into more people I knew – wow, I have so many friends!
This is a large group and they don’t look friendly. They block our way and one of them steps out and asks, “got any gold?”. He checks my cheap carved necklace and is unimpressed.
I say hello to “%^$&*”, a guy I went to school with. He looks puzzled. I can see his much larger brother standing behind looking just as confused.
Someone, maybe my initial interrogator, asks, “you know this guy?”
I respond “yeah”
“What’s his name?”
“%^$&*”
“How do you know him?”
“I remember him from school”
“Remember this?”
He steps forward and launches an elbow into my jaw. I only need to stumble a couple of feet before plunging into the fountain running along the centre of the promenade. I will always be grateful for this temporary embarrassment because I reckon it prevented a ruthless kicking. Instead, they must have laughed and walked away.
Although to me at the time it was all a dream. I recall sitting on the floor underwater feeling very peaceful. A hand reached down and pulled me up. It was Neil of course. The bandits had moved on looking for their next targets. So, I wasn’t as popular as I thought.
My only other memory is Neil and I sitting at Town Hall station waiting for the train home trying to dry cigarettes with a lighter. Yeah, I was holding the smokes.
Anyway. Not drowning or getting a kicking seems like a nice way to see in the new year.
Leave a Reply