It has now been 2 weeks since the fire. A lot has happened, but in short, the two of us continue to be doing well.
Our time line is as follows:
Friday Nov 8th : Fire –
Sat Nov 9th : We inspect damage (total loss) and decide to leave for Sydney (to Bruce’s sister’s house) as there is nothing we can usefully do.
We headed down the Pacific Highway, and all the way there was heavy smoke. We knew that the highway was closed further south, so rather than embarking on long a roundabout trip, we decided to stop at about 3:30pm- at Nambucca Heads for the night. Hearing our story (people asked where we were heading?) We got a discount on our room, and later the lady’s husband turned up with beer .
This was my first real encounter with the kindness of strangers, a theme that is now evident on a regular basis.
Sunday Nov 10th : We drove the rest of the way to Sydney, but the highway was still closed and the detour took us through the back blocks, including winding dirt roads and single lane bridges. It was quite an excursion and we wonder just how anyone could have managed it if they did not have GoogleMaps as there was no signage at all. The remaining 5 hour trip became a 7 hour trip but we arrived safely in Sydney on Sunday evening.
Arriving in Sydney at Helen and Bob’s place was wonderful. They made us feel super welcome (at this point they thought maybe we were coming to stay… long term), and they had rearranged their house to make us comfy.
Monday Nov 11th to Monday 19th: SYDNEY
Our week in Sydney was interesting.
We tried to take it easy, sleeping in and setting ourselves small tasks that mostly involved shopping and doing business things.
A few highlights
Tuesday:
Clearly I ventured out into the shops sooner than I should have, or at least, I should not have started at the location I visited. The Macquarie Centre, near Bruce’s dad’s old folks home, is an enormous modern mall, and I thought it was smart to go somewhere like Target to get some basic items. It became clear to me, as I found myself aimlessly walking around the store, that I was a little less focused than usual. I decided I should just grab some undies and go, but when I arrived at the checkout, I looked down as the lady was scanning stuff and noted that I had 3 different sizes – hmmm... seems I’d forgotten to look for size. I asked the lady to stop scanning and tried to explain my foolishness, and in doing to found myself telling her about our situation. For the first time since the fire, I felt emotional and teary. She was very kind and the gentlemen on the door also came over. All I really remember about this conversation were two things: the kindness of them both and the gentleman saying, “Do you need anything? Do you need money? “ Seriously, I’m sure if I said yes, he would have pulled out his wallet and given me some. This of course made me even more emotional.
You would think that after this I would have the good sense to leave the mall, but I figured while I was there I could manage to go upstairs to Myers and get pair of jeans. I no longer recall what I bought, but at the check out, there was a similar situation where I was obviously dithering. This lady, asked me if I was OK and again I shared my story (apparently this is what is recommended (ie that you talk about these sorts of things if you can)) . This time the woman said, “How about I buy you a cup of tea or coffee, my treat.” I said no and she said, no, please let me buy you a cup of tea. At this stage she put her hand on mine. I didn’t want the cup of tea, so I looked her in the eye, put my other hand over hers and said something like,” Thanks so much, but the kindness of strangers is amazing and it helps. Thanks.” She finished the transaction and as I put my wallet away, she said, Now, come with me, I’m taking you to the Myer cafe just over here. At this point I decide to put myself in the hands of this kind stranger and was led to the café where tea was procured, the girls on the counter were prepped to look after me and my heroine returned to work.
It was of course the very best thing that I could have done. I stopped, drank tea (deciding that I could treat myself to sugar- something I’d given up putting in my tea about 3 months ago (–side note I had not enjoyed a cup of tea since), and regained my equanimity. After that, I decided it was time to abandon the shopping expedition and return to Bruce and his dad.
The remainder of the week passed with small shopping trips and visiting Bruce’s dad daily.
Our time line is as follows:
Friday Nov 8th : Fire –
Sat Nov 9th : We inspect damage (total loss) and decide to leave for Sydney (to Bruce’s sister’s house) as there is nothing we can usefully do.
We headed down the Pacific Highway, and all the way there was heavy smoke. We knew that the highway was closed further south, so rather than embarking on long a roundabout trip, we decided to stop at about 3:30pm- at Nambucca Heads for the night. Hearing our story (people asked where we were heading?) We got a discount on our room, and later the lady’s husband turned up with beer .
This was my first real encounter with the kindness of strangers, a theme that is now evident on a regular basis.
Sunday Nov 10th : We drove the rest of the way to Sydney, but the highway was still closed and the detour took us through the back blocks, including winding dirt roads and single lane bridges. It was quite an excursion and we wonder just how anyone could have managed it if they did not have GoogleMaps as there was no signage at all. The remaining 5 hour trip became a 7 hour trip but we arrived safely in Sydney on Sunday evening.
Arriving in Sydney at Helen and Bob’s place was wonderful. They made us feel super welcome (at this point they thought maybe we were coming to stay… long term), and they had rearranged their house to make us comfy.
Monday Nov 11th to Monday 19th: SYDNEY
Our week in Sydney was interesting.
We tried to take it easy, sleeping in and setting ourselves small tasks that mostly involved shopping and doing business things.
A few highlights
- The NSW government offered $1000 per person to anyone who lost their house. Our first ever experience with Centrelink turned out to be much better than we could have imagined. We were prioritized at the check in and were kindly helped by several people (including the manager of the operation) at the Chatswood branch to complete all the details required and the money was in our account the following day. They may not be my favourite state government, but they did this well.
Tuesday:
Clearly I ventured out into the shops sooner than I should have, or at least, I should not have started at the location I visited. The Macquarie Centre, near Bruce’s dad’s old folks home, is an enormous modern mall, and I thought it was smart to go somewhere like Target to get some basic items. It became clear to me, as I found myself aimlessly walking around the store, that I was a little less focused than usual. I decided I should just grab some undies and go, but when I arrived at the checkout, I looked down as the lady was scanning stuff and noted that I had 3 different sizes – hmmm... seems I’d forgotten to look for size. I asked the lady to stop scanning and tried to explain my foolishness, and in doing to found myself telling her about our situation. For the first time since the fire, I felt emotional and teary. She was very kind and the gentlemen on the door also came over. All I really remember about this conversation were two things: the kindness of them both and the gentleman saying, “Do you need anything? Do you need money? “ Seriously, I’m sure if I said yes, he would have pulled out his wallet and given me some. This of course made me even more emotional.
You would think that after this I would have the good sense to leave the mall, but I figured while I was there I could manage to go upstairs to Myers and get pair of jeans. I no longer recall what I bought, but at the check out, there was a similar situation where I was obviously dithering. This lady, asked me if I was OK and again I shared my story (apparently this is what is recommended (ie that you talk about these sorts of things if you can)) . This time the woman said, “How about I buy you a cup of tea or coffee, my treat.” I said no and she said, no, please let me buy you a cup of tea. At this stage she put her hand on mine. I didn’t want the cup of tea, so I looked her in the eye, put my other hand over hers and said something like,” Thanks so much, but the kindness of strangers is amazing and it helps. Thanks.” She finished the transaction and as I put my wallet away, she said, Now, come with me, I’m taking you to the Myer cafe just over here. At this point I decide to put myself in the hands of this kind stranger and was led to the café where tea was procured, the girls on the counter were prepped to look after me and my heroine returned to work.
It was of course the very best thing that I could have done. I stopped, drank tea (deciding that I could treat myself to sugar- something I’d given up putting in my tea about 3 months ago (–side note I had not enjoyed a cup of tea since), and regained my equanimity. After that, I decided it was time to abandon the shopping expedition and return to Bruce and his dad.
The remainder of the week passed with small shopping trips and visiting Bruce’s dad daily.
- We heard from a friend that one of our neighbours was in the burns unit of the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney, so we went to see him for the few days that we remained in Sydney. Again, we were reminded of our good fortune in having got out of the fire zone in time. We were also reminded of the quiet strength in people who face adversity. While he faces a long and painful recovery, his sense of humor was still evident, despite the trauma he experienced in the fire.
- Not long before the fire, we paid for a large sum of money to buy a huge steel rainwater tank. We had a signed contract and I believe they had already constructed the tank and sent it to NSW from WA. As this was no longer a priority, and because we know we would need the money, I emailed them about the possibility of cancelling the order and releasing us from the contract. I am happy to report that the good people at Heritage Tanks , kindly agreed and are in the process of returning our money. No doubt that if we rebuild we will definitely be using this business for a new tank.
- Throughout our time in Sydney, Bob and Helen looked after us. Bob, a self taught cook of extreme skill, continually presented us with elegant plates of amazing food, and Helen, despite her crazy workload managed to take care of us in many ways.
- Our Facebook page resulted in many, many offers of accommodation from around Australia and the US and we were humbled by this kindness. One offer was too good to refuse. Our old mate Zanee, who we met back in Kenmore Park in the APY Lands where we lived before we went to NYC, has a house in Beachport, South Oz. As we planned to head to Adelaide for Christmas, Beachport was a viable destination for the interim and oh boy, did we luck out.
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