Sherwood Diary: first days in Adelaide

We have been very busy and today at about 1.00 p.m. we decided we’d had enough and came home to a quiet afternoon in the van. Yesterday morning we went into town and researched things to see and got our concession cards for travelling on public transport. We’ve ended up with two options, a little card that gives us free transport between 9.00 a.m. and 3.00 p.m., as in Perth, and a Metro card which allows for concession travel for other times. This seems necessary as we will sometimes be travelling in the early morning or later in the day to concerts, etc.

With the Metro Card we have to pay, but if we use it during the ‘free travel time’ it still uses the money we put on it, about $13, so we must remember to use the other card for those times.

I managed to find a black blouse, which will be needed for the performance of The Sourceror next week. Black is the default colour for choristers at a concert and it seems strange that I didn’t think of it before we left Perth. Anyway, I’ve found something for $50, not too bad. The opera will happen in concert style, we don’t get to dress up in costumes unfortunately. As there are over a hundred of us they would have had to borrow them from G&S societies all over Australia.

Then we went home for a bit of a rest before heading out on the tram again for the first rehearsal. We bought some food which we ate at the tram stop sitting on a bench. We had rolls heated up and mine turned out to be very messy, thank goodness for hand sanitizer which does a fairly good job of getting rid of grease and smells. When we arrived in town we found that we had just missed the bus to the rehearsal venue and they run half hourly, so we caught an Uber, our first for this trip.

The rehearsal itself was very well run. Most of the choirs have been practicing for a few weeks and I was fortunate to stand next to someone with a strong voice to guide me, as well as having the music of course. We enjoyed it, but it was very tiring indeed and we were glad to finish. It ran from 7.00 to 9.30 p.m. with a short break.

I ordered an Uber for our trip back and apart from a slight hiccup as I didn’t realise that he had driven into the parking area, rather than waiting out on the street. However he was very nice and friendly and I added a little extra to our standard tip to try to make up for the waiting. He was, if anything, over friendly, offering to have his wife cook us an evening meal which he would deliver, not for money, just for hospitality. Being Aussies we were just a bit cautious, but I really think he was just wanting to take care of us.

Both Uber drivers had Toyota Camry hybrids, which makes a lot of sense as they need a car that is economical to run. They are also a comfortable ride. I’ve used Uber before, but not for years, but the app remembered me and even has my ride history in it! So much of our lives can be taken over in this way.

This morning we were meeting some friends for breakfast and had to get up and ready to leave by 8.30 a.m. We caught the tram to town and then a bus out to the cafe. It was very nice to catch up with them and made it worthwhile. We walked back to the city afterwards, but when Stephen said he’d had enough and wanted to go home to rest I could only agree wholeheartedly.

I went out a little while ago to get some food for our tea, a salad and a mango chicken dish that we can have with rice or some of the lovely bread I bought.

I haven’t taken many photos yet, so just a few here.