I traveled to London with my partner Mike for our first visit and were very excited to be able to tour the staterooms of Buckingham Palace. (an opportunity only available when the Queen is in Scotland during the summer months)
That particular autumn morning in the UK also happen to be the day that the Australian Football Leagues’ championship game is played, appropriately named the Grand Final. This Aussie equivalent of the Super Bowl is a spectacle that typically brings the country to a standstill, and is always played in Melbourne at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds (MCG for short)
Due to the time difference from London to Melbourne Mike and I were able to watch some of the game from our hotel room while getting dressed for the day’s outing and were shocked to see that the Brisbane Lions were losing decisively at the hands of the Port Adelaide Power. There was intense national interest in the 2004 Grand Final as Brisbane was attempting to tie the previously unmatched record of the Collingwood Magpies (from Melbourne) of 4 successive Grand Final victories. With the news of the Lion’s impending defeat, we made our way to the Underground content in the knowledge that the Magpies achievement would remain unchallenged.
Fast forward to the queue outside Buckingham Palace on a chilly but bright Saturday morning in London. Due to heightened security procedures visitors are required to shuffle from one line to another passing through various scanning equipment. Being an avid crowd watcher, I took the opportunity to observe the sea of faces and nationalities represented behind me. And then it happened – a stout middle-aged woman with a friendly face approached to stand in line, wearing a sweater with the Collingwood Magpie logo proudly displayed.
I turned towards her, chose my words carefully in my mind and said “Excuse me, is that jumper fair dinkum”? To those who do not translate Aussie to English well, the sentence encapsulated the following questions: are you from Australia and by wearing that sweater are you a Magpie supporter?
Fortunately the woman smiled and replied, “Yes, I’m wearing my jumper as I’m missing the Grand Final back home and I don’t want Brisbane to beat the Magpies record”. Apparently her sweater possessed some mystical ability to alter the course of history…
We were delighted to have made this unlikely connection as we had just returned from a 2-year working visa in Australia and knew the MCG, the history of the Magpies and the city of Melbourne very well. Bolstered by our enthusiasm from the experience we asked, “Where do you live in Australia”?
Our new acquaintance replied, “I used to live in Melbourne, but now I live in a small town that you’ve probably never heard of”.
Undaunted Mike remarked, “We used to live in Melbourne and traveled extensively so it’s possible that we’ve heard of it. What’s the name of the town”, he asked.
Proudly she replied “Taralgon!”
It’s true that most people would have never heard of this relatively small town about 3 hours drive south east of Melbourne, but in a remarkable coincidence, we had spent Boxing Day last year in Taralgon.
Mike, barely able to contain his enthusiasm said, “Really? Taralgon? I have relatives there”.
Her curiosity piqued, the woman responded, “That’s amazing! Taralgon’s a small place, what are your relatives’ names”?
Mike replied “Betty and Wayne Kirstin”.
“You mean Glen’s parents?!” she exclaimed, without missing a beat.
In that instant, we could have been anywhere in the world but as luck would have it, we were standing outside the gates of Buckingham Palace, chatting with the Principal of the elementary school where Glen (a professional tennis player) teaches twice a week.
Introductions were quickly made and a promise to meet Marge for tea after the tour completed. Several hours later we were enchanted by the setting of a quaint local pub, reminiscing about all things Australian, and the opportunity to have made such a remarkable connection.
Marilyn Harmidarow
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