Memorable moments: The British Pub Test

My friend Gavin comes from the UK, and during his younger days, he and his mates used to partake in some wild and rather disturbing pub games. One of their absolute favorites was an incredibly bizarre tradition known simply as "cock or ball."

After several pints of beer had been consumed, the game would begin. One of the lads would carefully pull a tiny, isolated piece of skin through the zipper of their trousers—sourced from either the shaft or the testicles. The remaining players then had to examine the exposed sample and make their official deduction.

Apparently, differentiating between the two under dim pub lighting is a lot harder than you might think. Whoever guessed incorrectly was penalized and had to down their drink. For Gavin and his crew, this high-stakes anatomical guessing game caused a great deal of mirth and became a staple of their nights out.

While it certainly makes for a memorable story, I am incredibly glad Gavin has long since moved on from his wilder days. It is definitely not a game I would relish participating in. When I go out for a pint, I prefer to keep my private life completely private, leaving my anatomy safely tucked away exactly where it belongs.

Memorable moments: The existential check-in

James was a wonderful hiking friend who joined us on several of our trail outings before he eventually moved back to New Zealand. He is a profoundly thoughtful chap with a deep interest in existential issues, so I always felt a strong intellectual resonance with him. He also happened to have a highly unusual hobby: several times a week, he would sit inside his broom cupboard, take a heroic dose of magic mushrooms, and attempt to tap directly into the fabric of the universe.

One night, fresh off a session in the cupboard, James came to meet Gavin, me, and a few mates at the local pub.

When he walked in, he greeted us normally but looked a little preoccupied. As the rest of the table fell into our usual loud banter and storytelling, James sat quietly, not saying much of anything, just observing the scene with a distant look in his eye.

Then, during a brief lull in the conversation, he suddenly leaned across the table toward Gavin and me. Lowering his voice to a hushed breath, he asked with total seriousness, "Guys... am I actually here?"

It became instantly clear what was happening. The dose had been so intense that he was struck by the disturbing thought that he was still sitting alone in the dark among the mops and buckets, entirely hallucinating the pub, the pints, and his friends.

Gavin and I quickly reassured him that he was, in fact, physically sitting in the pub with us. A look of great relief washed over his face, and he slowly settled back into his chair. I have never taken mushrooms myself, and listening to a grown man ask his mates for structural confirmation of his own physical existence convinced me right then and there that I probably never would.

Memorable moments: The Observatory leak

Back in Cape Town, Russell, Roger, and I had a regular, somewhat clandestine ritual: the Sex Quiz in Observatory. It was held in a private basement area of a local pub, tucked away from the more "prudish" patrons upstairs.

The highlight of the night was a round where the quizmaster would play snippets from various adult films. The challenge was simple: guess what happened next. You earned a point for a correct answer, and another if your guess was funny enough to make the room roar. To facilitate this "educational" exercise, a TV was mounted high on the basement wall.

One night, we were deep into the third snippet—a particularly explicit scene that required some creative guesswork. Suddenly, a flustered pub staff member came sprinting down the stairs, looking like he’d seen a ghost (or at least something he wasn't supposed to).

He spoke urgently to the quizmaster, who hit the "Stop" button with panicked speed.

It turned out that the pub’s technical team had forgotten one crucial detail that evening: they hadn't separated the TV feeds. Throughout the entire building—including the main bar and the quiet family restaurant upstairs—every screen was showing our "private" quiz content.

It was the ultimate reminder that in life, just when you think you’re in a private "basement" of your own making, the rest of the world might just be watching the broadcast.

Tania's birthday

We met at The Glebe Hotel to celebrate Tania's 42nd birthday. Rajesh and Srini recently returned from India and Gavin from Nepal. It was blissful to all be together again. I love this beautiful group of people so much.

Catch up with the boys

 Srini has just bought a home so it was celebration time!

And earlier this month...

Celebrating Saint Patrick's Day after tennis

Nothing tastes better than a pint of Guinness after a hot game of tennis!

 

Christian turns 40

 A fun evening reuniting with hiking friends at The Batch Brewery in Sydenham to celebrate Christian's birthday.

Gavin's birthday

We met up in a pub in Petersham to celebrate Gavin's birthday. They then went onto a Nirvana gig but I opted out. Hard rock is not really my thing and the tickets were quite expensive.

 

Heavy Metal gig with the boys

Not my preferred kind of music but a fun night out with the boys.  I was very thankful I brought ear plugs as it was decidedly loud!

Getting tiddly at the pub

Celebrating my 44th birthday with Sue at The Oaks

It was lovely to spend time with Sue as always and getting to hear all about her recent trip to Poland, The Arctic and Iceland.  The highlight food wise was the enormous apple, raspberry and rhubarb crumble.  Almost as good as mum used to make!

Catching up with Roger at The Oaks

Roger was in Sydney for business. It's always such a delight to catch up.

Weekend at Kangaroo Valley

I always enjoy Kangaroo Valley with its relaxed vibe and this weekend was no different.

Some highlights

• Driving up with lovely Jilly who I dropped off with her daughter, Mandy.
• One girl made fun of us because we were taking so long to pitch our tents. She had a special tent that she threw onto the ground and it instantly erected. Great for her. Except packing it up wasn't so easy!  Took 5 people an hour to work it out when it was time to leave!!
• Mandy taking pity on me with my tuna and giving me some of her salmon for dinner on the first night.
• A steep walk in The Morton National Park with Andrew while everyone else went kayaking.
• The extreme heat on the Saturday. We opted to escape the sun by going to the pub where I tucked into another delicious salmon steak.
• A relaxed and much cooler walk around the town in the evening.
• A short walk on Sunday with amazing cliffs and vistas over the valley.
• Taking some photos for Mandy of her house and adorable new puppy, Jessie. 
• A lovely deep chat with Jilly on the way home.

 

     

A fun evening with Roger in The Rocks

Roger was in town. Always so great to catch up with him.

Drinks with Roger

It's always great to meet up with lovely Roger.  We enjoyed a couple of beers and a nice meal.

Sue's wonderful tour of Palm Beach and the Northern Beaches

Sue took mum and Mike and I on a great tour of the beaches of Palm Beach. The weather and scenery was gorgeous. We also shared a lovely meal at the local RSL Club.