Shift Report Pt.1

I kicked off the shift yesterday with a loathsome fare. One those fares where the passenger jumps in and urgently announces, ‘Airport please ! I’ve got to be there in 20 minutes !’ Though sorely tempted to jauntily respond, ‘Good for you toots !’, I buttoned my lip and floored it.

Of course she sat up front and refused to chat, just to keep the pressure on. Despite boarding at Darling Harbour’s Convention Centre she suggested we take the Airport tunnel. I declined, explaining we’d lose 15 minutes crawling across town and proceeded to exit via Redfern. One traffic jam and two near misses later we arrived at the Airport in 25 minutes. Somewhat relieved and pleased with my effort she did the right thing on alighting, thanking me profusely and leaving a modest tip.

My intention was to then head back to the City rather than join a jammed cab paddock at the Airport. The five o’clock news, or was it six..., announced a peace deal had just been brokered at Maroubra beach between representatives of the local Bra Boys and ethnic gangs. This reminded me of an overnight email I'd received from a French media rep, requesting contact details for the Bra Boys. So I detoured via Maroubra Beach.

Arriving at the beach the first group I spotted was a half dozen Bra Boys, hanging outside a unit block. Wearing only board shorts they’re an easy mob to identify, with large distinctive tattoos adorning various parts of the body. Not your common garden variety tattoos, easily removed later when one grows out of the novelty, but ornate, authoritative tattoos often consisting of text done in classical script. One guy had a 25 mm wide script tattoo along the length of his spine. Ouch.

Pulling up, I approached the group. They were aged in their early to late thirties, heavily tanned with impressive physiques. If nothing else, the surfing lifestyle endows one with a certain vitality and fitness. As we nodded mutual acknowledgments I addressed them, ‘Any of you guys interested in talking to a French journalist about the trouble here ?’. A fella bouncing a toddler on his knee responded first, ‘Nah mate, it's really got nothing to do with us. We don’t know why it got to this, you know...’. ‘Sounds like you’re pretty much over it’, I offered. ‘Yeah, we want nothing to do with it'. Another fella piped up, ‘Anyway, we’re sick of the media, you can’t trust them’. ‘Yeah’, another said, ‘you give an interview and they chop stuff out and twist it around and make you look like ratbags. Fuck the media’. ‘Yeah, I understand’, I told them. ‘No worries then, I’ll let 'em know’.

With that I left to take some daylight snaps of the classic Aussie beach. There’s no better spot to watch the surfers than at the north end of the beach (click image). That done, I headed off, noting a half dozen cops on foot and a few vehicles patrolling the beachfront. All very relaxed and peaceful in keeping with Maroubra’s normal disposition on a summers afternoon. Or any beach for that matter.

(Remainder of shift report later)

Comments

[Lost Budgie]

Hello Adrian

We're happy to hear that things might be settling down a bit now. A few of my Canadian and American blogging friends have also been linking to your posts - not without a personal interest either as one of the group has a daughter heading to Australia in February on a working/travel visa.

Good luck and keep us all informed. Funny thing about the 'net - we think of you as a friend now and are concerned for your safety.

But as I told Mrs. Lost Budgie, Adrian sounds like he's been around a bit, so no worries.

Cheers,

Lost Budgie
Toronto Canada

[adrian]

Thanks LB, whilst it's quietening down around the beaches, things are hotting up elsewhere - see UPDATE 2 on previous post.

Yeah, I've been around and was born here, so I'm pretty comfortable with all Aussies, old and new. Anyway, thanks for the sentiments and glad you enjoy the blog. Cheers, A.

[Croweater]

I remember seeing pictures in the media of jai etc and wannabe toughie lebs from the Comancheros at some peace deal along with some weird beard - the lebs looked cheerful. Of course the deal is for Maroubra to be left alone and the LEbs can do waht they like with Cornulla. Well Bra boys there is a little tactic called divide and conquer.

[Simon]

The most nauseating image of this whole episode has been these 2 groups of disgusting thugs proclaiming a peace deal and congratulating each other on their racial inclusiveness.

These are our new role models.

[Umar]

I wish I could have seen this bog a few days ago when I was writing on this topic. I drive a taxi in the states myself.

[Carl]

"Divide and conquer" - our language often leads our behaviuor. This is the language of war.