Lisa and Mark have invited me, Paddy and Vicky to their South Bank apartment for the Riverfire festival. They have a balcony overlooking the South Bank park, the river, and the Brisbane CBD on the other side. It's a great vantage point from which to see the promised fireworks extravaganza, and the rectum-clenchingly named "dump & burn" - two air force jets dumping burning fuel as they fly by.
We arrive at a decent time and introductions are made. More importantly, beers are opened. We've brought the normal barbecue currency in Australia - a large esky full of ice & booze. Out on the balcony we leave it next to a couple of other similar eskies (next to one of the biggest barbecues I've ever seen, but commonplace by Australian standards) - it's going to be a good night!
I meet Paul and Dawn - Lisa's former neighbours from Nottingham. They've just arrived in Brisbane, having done a bit of travelling around the country. They're settling in Brisbane - Paul starting a new job in a few weeks time. Paul is a gregarious scouser - a staunch Liverpool fan and almost an additional host. (Paul and Dawn are staying temporarily with Mark and Lisa, until they get their accommodation sorted out.) Dawn is quieter initially, but fun-loving in her own right, once she opens up.
I meet Bill who is a manager where Lisa works. Lisa thinks he might want to talk to me about a possible job, which will be both good and bad - it would be good to hear about work, but I prefer to keep social occasions social. But it seems Bill feels the same - we talk a lot during the evening, and none of it is about work. Bill loves his sport, and especially his cricket. I'm out of my depth with cricket, but Paddy knows his stuff. So it's football, cricket, some rugby and some Aussie rules.
Straining obstinately with a belligerant screw-top, I eventually concede defeat and grip the bottle top using my shirt tail, and it finally opens. Then I see the marks of the struggle on my hand - I've scored a graceful cut along my thumb, palm, and finger. I try to regard it as a badge of manliness, rather than stubbornness. It's not bleeding badly, so I ignore it heroically the rest of the night.
The evening is spent mingling, drinking, eating verious food that Lisa has made with her own fair hands. It turns out she's a good cook - something I never knew. Then, the main event - Riverfire itself. The dump and burn is visually impressive but we're just far enough away for it to lose its deafening awe. The fireworks themselves are spectacular, and go on for a long time. They even finish with fireworks that explode into red love-heart shapes. Being a bloke, I have no emotional reaction, but I'm impressed that a firework can be made to explode into a shape like that, and I wonder how it's done.
At the end of the evening, we say our farewells and stroll to the taxi rank. It's a warm night and it's been a good night. I'll pick up the esky tomorrow morning, and bring Lisa some floweres.
