I’m Free Again!

Home, Ringwood North (Melbourne)

Monday, 11 May 2020

So, here I am sitting at my old desk again in Ringwood North, pecking away at my keyboard.  In some ways it feels like I’m trying to recall a dream after waking up from a 4-month sleep.  Like any dream, there are bits that are starting to fade, there are other bits that are really vivid … and for some reason I feel an urge to say … “vivid as, bro” …  could it be that part of my dream was set in New Zealand?!

Last night, when I was in the hotel room, “altered-time-dimension”, I had my regular late-night video-chat with my ol’ mate Graeme. Then I finally finished the blog over a few more coffees, making sure to eat the last of the Tim Tams, cracker biscuits, corn chips and salsa dip, oh, and cheese.  Them for some reason, I was still a bit “bouncy” at 1:00am so I started flicking the channels on the TV, making sure it wasn’t too loud. 

Trouble is, some channels have shows whose audio is pretty middle-of-the-road … particularly, say, a Shopping Channel demonstrating a … “must-have turbo, fold-away-super-delux-home-cleaning-system (ie. Vacuum cleaner) – phone now, don’t be disappointed  … etc etc”  … whereas, other channels break in with an avalanche of sound, as Bruce Willis, Rambo, or Sylvester (Stallone, not the cat)  shoots up another bunch of bad guys … which has you madly pressing the Volume DOWN arrow.

After two weeks in that room, well, actually, after one night in that room, it’s easy to see why a service like Netfix is so popular.  I held out hope that the hotel’s selection of movies might have been a deep pond from which to draw, but maybe my tastes fall outside their “target demographic”.  As for the TV??  At one point I thought I’d count how many channels there were, just for fun.  And I was determined to do it last night, but by around 2:00am this morning sleep got the better of me and I pressed the big red button on the remote control, and turned off the light.

It was the phone ringing that woke me.  It was 8:20am and this chirpy voice (definitely a Tigger) from reception introduced himself … “Hello Mr Latimer, it’s Simon from downstairs, today is your day of release, we were just wondering what time you’d like to Check Out?”   The question kind of caught me off guard.  After all, wasn’t HE supposed to be telling ME what time I was to be leaving?  “I was hoping to push for an extension”, I jokingly replied, followed a little more sensibly with …”my form says I’m here till midnight tonight”

“Does your form say that?” said Simon in surprise, as he continued  …  “… give me a few minutes, I’ll check, I’ll give you a call back”. I tried t re-direct him … “No, no, it’s OK, I can …”, but he’d already hung up.

Sure enough, five minutes later the phone rang again, “Hello, Mr Latimer, it’s Anna, one of the nurses, I believe you’re going home today, just checking whether you have any virus-related symptoms, coughing, sore throat, fevers?”   “No, all good, thanks very much” I replied.

Another five minutes and the phone rings again, it’s like a regular telephone exchange in here …  “Hello, it’s Craig, I’m the team leader downstairs, you’re free to go anytime.  It’s quiet down here at the desk now, so just let us know and we’ll send someone up.  Your wife was picking you up just down the road, is that right?”.   “Yes, she is, that sounds great, give me a few minutes, I’ll give my wife a call and get back to you”       

Wow!  I know I said I’d start packing my bag after breakfast, but this is ridiculous.  What is for breakfast, I thought as I opened the door for the second-last time?   Mmmm, a tub of sour yoghurt again??!! Glad I have just one serving of my own cereal to fall back on … or should that read, “… on which to fall back?”

Pretty soon I was on the phone to Linda … “what??, right now??,  I was expecting you home tonight, or tomorrow … I thought I had all day to clean up, the house is a mess, but that can wait, no worries, I’ll come in now!!”  … Go, Uber-Wife!! 

“No need to hurry, make it 10:30” I said, realizing that I had a bit of a job ahead of me getting everything back in my bag.  Then checking I hadn’t forgotten anything!

Before packing away my computer, there was just time for me to Post a brief “I’M GETTING OUT OF HERE” message on Facebook, as well as add a “Breaking News” addendum to last night’s blog.  And it was so lovely to see everyone’s heartfelt responses. Thank you! (see below)

Around 10:15 I was saying good buy to my room, with my bags being taken down in the lift on a hotel baggage trolley, just like I was checking out for real.  At ground level, I made my way to the first of two temporary desks near the hotel reception and provided my original Detention Notice, plus photo ID.  There was only one person ahead of me and as I made small talk with lady behind the desk, it was evident that every-one had their particular “story”, including a chap who had just left who was on his way down to Tasmania, where he’d be doing another two weeks in isolation there.

In passing, I mentioned that I really didn’t expect to get out until after midnight tonight … “not that I’m complaining” … I assured her.  “Yes, a few people have been confused by that.  But you were told your time of Checking Out yesterday, weren’t you?”, she inquired.  “No, not really,  … I got the form under my door, but there was nothing filled in under  departure-time” I replied, putting my form and ID back in my backpack.

“Oh, sorry about that”, she said … “But I bet you’re glad you’re going home now?!” she continued           

“Sure am”, I said, as I moved onto the next desk. “Do you have your Detention Notice and some photo ID please,” asked the nice lady behind desk number two. Obviously I was too quick in putting them away! “That’s OK, if she’s sighted the form,” pointing to the lady at desk one, “then that’s fine. All I need is some photo ID and a signature, then you can go”

After signing the departure register and making sure everything was where it should be (and paying nothing for all the things I didn’t buy from the empty minibar – yes!) I headed off across the hotel lobby to the entrance, just in time to stop my bag being lifted into the boot of a taxi.

“It’s OK”, I said “I’m being picked up by my wife”   

There were a few people gathered around the back of the taxi, including a couple of drivers, a few Hi-Vis-Vest-guys wearing masks and someone with a clipboard – oh, and three police standing about 30 metres away to the left, and another five or so police officers to the right … “Everyone leaves in a taxi” said one of the guys …

“Well, it’s been arranged for my wife to picking me up”, I started to explain, “I’m just going to walk a couple of hundred metres down the road to the DFO Carpark,  She’ll pick me up there”. 

“You need to be escorted” someone else chipped in, while a different bloke started explaining that different hotels have different policies.  Then, as I was obviously making to wheel-away … one of the Vest-guys said he needed to check at the desk and turned to go back through the foyer to, presumably Desk One, and/or Desk Two .  As he left, I mentioned that he should … “ask for Craig”, because he was aware of it.

Soon enough, Craig appeared, (hallelujah) but before that, I asked the guy who seemed to know so much about what was happening at the different hotels … “what’s with all the police?” … “Well”, he enthused, “apparently someone put a message on Facebook that they were going to escape, whether it was a joke or not, I don’t know, but the police are here in case there’s any trouble”.

At that point a loud thought just crossed my mind … “I JUST PUT A MESSAGE UP ON FACEBOOK ABOUT LEAVING!!” But of course, not all thoughts need to be spoken, and there’s a big difference between “escape” and “leaving” … something in the method, motive and means … and also permission. So I quickly deduced I was NOT the subject of official focus, despite the “misunderstanding” at my “fresh-air-break” two nights ago.

“Hi guys”, I said to the larger group of police, as Craig came to escort me “off the premises”.   “Happy to be going home?” called one officer … “Is that a question, or a statement?” I jokingly replied. Yep, definitely they weren’t here about MY Facebook Post. Either that, or my face-mask and nonchalant manner fooled them

Craig seemed a good bloke and I could see why he might have been made team leader; you could sense an air of commonsense about him.  As we walked the 200 metres to where I’d be meeting Linda, Craig commented on the impact of the virus around the world and brought it back to “deaths per thousand” … from memory he said Victoria was 2, Belgium was over 700 and the US in the 300s.  Just a staggering difference in numbers and you’d like to think that strict and concerted efforts on the part of our state and federal leaders – supported by an equally concerned and compliant community – has enable us all to dodge a bullet; for now at least.  

As we said good-bye, Craig … “thanked me for my cooperation” … and extended his jumper-covered elbow for what now-days, I suppose, passes as a handshake.  We then bumped elbows and said good-bye. 

Eager to see where Linda might be, I fired up the “Find My Friend App on my iPhone, otherwise known as “Stalk My Wife”, which showed that she was driving down Dudley St on the edge of the city, just a few minutes away.

It was wonderful to see Linda again.  No social distancing! Here was a person I could cuddle with immunity!

Thinking back, the last time we held each other was Saturday 14 March, when we parted company at the Milford Sound bus and ferry terminal.  Wow, just three days off two months ago.  Not that long when you say it quickly, but hasn’t a lot happened in that time.  And I’ve got a daily blog to remind me, if for whatever reason I ever forget; what still seems like a dream.

Finally arriving at our suburb of Ringwood North, followed by our road, then turning into our drive, it had the feel of arriving at a friend’s house.  Lots of things were familiar of course, but then there were differences from what I could remember – some subtle, some less-so.  After all, the last time I was here was January, admittedly, late January – the middle of Summer – but time has a habit of dimming lots of things.

Linda was naturally eager to show me all the things she’d been doing, chief amongst them, the new vegie garden and the repaired glasshouse.  There were the things that needed attention and the list of “tasks” is a very long one, but for now it was fun and satisfying, to just look and feel the familiar “vibe” of home and the “ordinary”.

As a special treat I gave Linda her Mother’s Day gift, including a blank card she might use at a future time.  Luckily she liked the socks, after all, I’d spent ages picking them out specially?!  As it turns out, Linda also reads my blog, so she was well aware that this was a “re-gifting” exercise on my part, from what I’d been given yesterday at the Pan Pacific Hotel.

After all the excitement, I ended up having an afternoon nap, (of several hours as it turned out) – just like back in Room 1214 … but the big difference now of course is that I can open that door, and the next door, and even go outside if I choose … which I don’t … but if I did, then I could.  In a word, (or three) … “I am free”.

In looking at my original NZ2020 sailing plan, the intention at the start, was to be sailing back into Westernport in around 5 days’ time, after a 113 Day adventure.   Whilst things haven’t quite worked out as plan, (major understatement there) there’s no doubt it’s been a true adventure. 

It’s become an Adventure in Two Acts, with the curtain now having come down on the First Act.  Intermission has been called, but remember to resume your seat for the start of Act Two, in around 9 months’ time, as we embark on NZ2021 – Unfinished Business.

Thank you to everyone for your interest, encouragement and support.  The support from my NZ cousins and friends has been amazing, and without them, I suspect my experience would have tipped over into the “frustrating and miserable”

It’s kind-of-sad to be signing off for the last time.  Let’s just hope and pray there’s a high degree of normality in the world, by the time the New Year comes around and the start of this adventure’s Act Two

Smooth seas, fair breeze and I’m free again

Rob Latimer

FURTHER ADVENTURE BLOGS ... I’ve received some really nice comments about ready the blog each day and being able to participate in the adventure from the comfort of an armchair. If you are looking for something new to “fill the void” during this blog’s “Intermission”, then you might like to have a look at the following “Adventure Blogs” … which I’ve prepared earlier.

The first is our sailing adventure around Tassie last year. It was to celebrate my retirement, hence the name “Freedom Sail”. It some ways it was kind of apprenticeship for the New Zealand sailing trip this year, in particular the Fiordland section.

TASMANIAN SAILING ADVENTURE 2019

SHIPS LOG – FREEDOM SAIL – AROUND TASMANIA IN 48 DAYS – 2019

The next Adventure Blog dates from 2014 and covers a trip to Iceland and England. The trip was fantastic for all the right reasons and the blog is fun to look back through, if just for the pictures – particularly of of Denmark, Norway and of course Iceland.

LATIMER EUROPEAN VACATION – 2014 

Iceland, Denmark and Norway

England