JAN 17
WE came home a different way, and it felt like it made a
bit of a difference. Virtually the Hume Highway all the way this time, instead
of crossing the Snowy Mountains. The weather, this time, was the dominant
factor. Melbourne had had a terrible period of 40 + degrees, and we were
heading towards the final day of it. It was also hot in NSW. So a hot, hot car
full of hot, hot people, much hotter than New York on the day of Tom Buchanan
and Gatsby’s showdown. We looked out for spot fires on the sides of the road
for the final hour or so. The radio informed us that there were bushfires not
far to the west of us, towards Lancefield. We were. Fortunately, a day early. At
the same time, the next day, much of the Hume Highway on the outskirts of Melbourne
was closed because of fiery paddocks.
The other role the weather played was not long after our
arrival, home. I went to Brunswick to get something to eat and the sky was
nasty, aggressive, spitting. It rained huge, heavy drops, and the thunder
roared. Like Gil, in the lamentable Midnight in Paris, I felt the urge to walk
slowly along Sydney Road, in the rain. It was lovely.
Predictably, the one thing I enjoyed the most about the
return journey home, besides the cold drink in Albury, and the rest at the
Tucker Box in Gundagai, was a final tour of Braidwood in the morning. I filmed
sections of the main street this time, instead of taking photos, and behind a
wooden door, just down from Freya’s parents’ café, is a little lane that Danny wanders
down a couple of times in the film. It leads to Freya’s house, and was an
additional serendipitous discovery. We also visited the town 30 kilometres away
that features the old train station, where Danny says goodbye to Freya for the
final time. It is in a little town called Bungendore. The train station fits
the period and mood of the film beautifully.
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