The 11th Hour Save

On Saturday I posted a blog that I had written from the heart.  As soon as I posted it, I began to think of all the things that I wished I had said, and hoped that I had done justice with my words.  Then I began to get a bit overwhelmed by the support that both my blog and my local recieved.  Currently there have been over 360 views of my blog.  It has been forwarded to all manner of people and I hope that they are reading it and thinking about the decisions that are currently being made.

So here is the news.  THE CASTLE BATTERSEA HAS BEEN SAVED FOR NOW.

On Saturday after much primping and preening, I arrived at The Castle a bit early to help set up.  We put on a party play list to try and lift our spirits and began getting the bar ready.  It was going to be the staff’s last shift together and my last time helping them out.  They were serving sandwiches and pork pies just like at a real wake, as well as a BBQ and a pig on a spit.  I buttered bread and handed out sammies.  There were drink specials as well, it was gearing up to be an amazing send off for this lovely lady.

The Blackboard

There was debate for a while as to what to write on the blackboard by the bar.  My fav and vote was for ‘Drink it dry, bitches’.  We settled on ‘The Castle Wake, Lets drink it dry’ and in the small print ‘Holy Sheet let’s get wasted.’ 

 

There was an air of defeat and sadness amongst the customers.  Many of them were dressed formally and there were hugs and good wishes all round.

At about 5 Jayson Norris, who used to play at the pub on a monthly basis, opened up the music for the evening.  It was like old times, dancing to his original ‘Window’ and reminiscing with friends about times that had gone by in the pub.  Nostalgia was setting in.

Jayson was followed by the Buffallo Twins.  They really got the party going as the pub began to fill.  Halfway through their set, Aaron took the microphone and the mood in the pub dropped.  The pub was really closing and here was the final announcement.  Aaron started by thanking his lovely Cate, Dale Ingram who has worked tirelessly to save The Castle, and everyone who loved and patronised the pub.  Then came the bombshell.  ‘The Castle Battersea was supposed to be closing today’… a rustle went through the crowd.  Did he say supposed too?  Then Aaron announced that The Castle Battersea was to stay open.  The pub exploded.  It was like NZ had won the World Cup all over again.  There were tears (mainly mine), there were cheers, there were hugs and lots of jumping up and down.  My good friend Roxy was sobbing with delight and relief, we hugged for a long time.   Some of the patrons had to approach Aaron shamefaced and say,’ I’m sorry we thought that you were closing, so we carved our names in the table! ‘  Hahahaha that is now a piece of history at The Castle.

It turns out that the development company have decided to let Cate and Aaron stay until they have sorted out the planning application further.  It could be until about September.  The details are still a little sketchy.  From what I understand they are still looking to change The Castle considerably.  There will be a consultation event next week to be held in the pub (umm rubbing salt in the wound anyone?) on the 12^th of June.  Get down everyone and tell them that you want your pub to remain as is and where is.  Will we really be able to have live music in the pub if there are flats upstairs?  Fools.

Me and my veil

So after this announcement the party turned into a Reprieve party.  And party we did.  It’s been a long time since I have danced so much.  I boogied until my feet fell off.  Brooke Supple saw us out, she sung us through to the end of the night and did a great job.   She was her smiley, bubbly self and we all went nuts.  The patrons were in a great mood, there was a queue for the bar for the rest of the night.  The pub had to close at midnight, but everyone was in a party mood.  It took ages to clear out and for us to clear up.  Sometime around 1am I had a nap on the couch.  I felt a bit like a broken doll.  I was sore from working hard and can only imagine what the real staff were feeling. 

I guess what really needs reiterating, is that this was an 11^th hour save.  This was not a sham to get people in the door.  The staff have already found new jobs, although you might see their faces for a little while here and there helping out as Cate and Aaron scramble to hire new people.  And of course they will be there but on the other side of the bar for a change in the future.  The reasons the pub needed to close for this week range from restocking as they had run down the food and drink stocks, maintenance, and all of the administration that goes with closing a business and then reopening it.  I can’t really speak for Cate and Aaron, but I am quite sure that they are delighted.  I know that they are working hard to get ready to reopen tomorrow night.  I also know that they have the backing of their friends, their families and the local community.  Last night as I was leaving their place for dinner, I bumped into a few of the regulars, who were wandering aimlessly, who told me they did not really know where to get their Staroparmen now that The Castle had closed.  They were looking forward to the reopening tomorrow and I will be looking forward to seeing them there.

So my 11^th hour save came through, just like the movies.  It is only a temporary save, but we can still keep fighting for a permanent save.  I would like to thank Cate and Aaron for their friendship and their tireless work to save their pub for both themselves and the locals.  Also thanks to Dale for her work in saving this pub.  I will see you tomorrow night for a pint and celebration.  Yay!

A very sad goodbye

This has taken me a while to write.  I wanted to get it just right and also I cried a lot whilst getting this one out.

Today we say the public goodbye to a place that we have fought hard to defend.  Today my good friends Cate and Aaron are holding a wake for their pub, at their pub.  You see unlike the movies where the little guys eventually win, The Castle Battersea closes its doors to the public for the last time on Saturday night/Sunday morning.  I am mourning for this place.  I guess I always thought that something would work out and that the pub and its landlords would get a reprieve.  That there would be an 11^th hour moment where it was all going to be ok.  Sadly this is not the case.

This place is much more than just bricks and mortar, it’s a home, a community, a meeting place and well one of my favourite places in the world.  I have told the story about walking into that place for the first time 100 times over.  The people in this pub made me feel me feel at home.  In this pub there are endless hugs, sing a longs, laughter and never ending fun.  And camaraderie, we have all sung ‘You better be home soon’ together countless times, we have celebrated Waitangi Day, ANZAC Day, Australia Day and pretty much any other day that is an excuse for a party together.  I have danced the night away to many a different act, I have sung my heart out and I have taken any excuse to party.  I have acted out the words to Torn and performed many other interpretative dances there.  I have found my London family among the walls of this pub, as well as many good friends, a chiropractor and a few crushes.  This pub has given me a London that is so important to me that I cannot comprehend a London without it.

We have been through a lot in this pub my London family and I.  Cate and Aaron put on a fundraiser for the Christchurch earthquake, and it was upstairs in their flat where Cate, Caz and I cried after seeing the news footage of this event.  The fundraiser was a mammoth event with live music, a kapahaka group and lots and lots of alcohol.  I have shaken the fund raising bucket there on more than one occasion and raised funds for everything from Christchurch to Breast Cancer.   I watched all of the Rugby World Cup 2011 NZ matches in this pub.  I wore black with pride and cried with joy and relief in their back garden in front of a big screen when we won.  It was a tense time with hugs and jumping up and down all around.

I have baked more than I care to think about for this pub.  I made a batch of biscuits one day for a birthday, and the rest is history.  They were so well loved that I got talked into making 400 more for the Homelands festival, they sold well and we ate way too many, but it was a fun time.  I have made endless cakes – my lemon drizzle cake has been renamed vajizzle cake due an unfortunate look.  I have baked birthday cakes and when one of my fav people had a leaving party I made coconut ice and ginger crunch, neither of which I particularly like but went down well.

The Royal Wedding was a surprise to us all, the pub ran out of food, certain beers and most disturbingly vodka.  I washed just about every glass they owned and was rewarded with love and  few free beers.  I love the feeling of we are all in this together that this pub and its staff have.  We all have each others backs and I know that if I am ever in need these guys will step up.

I have taken just about everyone I know in London to this oasis.  My parents visited there the day that they arrived in London.  Jetlagged and excited, they met my favourite Londoners over a few drinks, some live music and a banoffee pie that I had made.  It was a Sunday night and I was in for a long one, you see here we live the life of students.

The bar staff past and present have become my good friends.  I walk into the pub and am greeted with hugs and smiles.  We all go out together, we party together and we celebrate together.   I have laughed and laughed and laughed with these people.  They love me despite and because of my own version of crazy.  They think that I am hilarious.  And they love my smile.  In fact they love it that I am pretty much always smiling, Aaron told my parents on first meeting them that I was a keeper and that made me smile more. We are family and we are grieving for what we are about to lose.

So you might be thinking, why in the world is this heaven closing its doors.  Sadly, it’s not by choice.  A development company bought the land that this pub sits on and they would like to knock it down to build flats.  When they put in their planning application, we fought back with 750+ objections and they got the message loud and clear, Battersea wants its pub, not more flats.  The campaign was so successful, that the company decided that it would be in their interests to kick Cate and Aaron out before their lease was up and board up the pub rather than have people cling to what they love.  Oh and they told them on the first anniversary of the Christchurch earthquake.  Cheers guys you really know how to kick someone when they are down.  Recently the application was withdrawn due to there being a strong likelihood that it would be rejected.  Despite this Cate and Aaron still have to leave and our beloved pub will be boarded up and stand empty, whilst the company waits for the furore to die down. 

 

I know that this does not mean that we cannot go somewhere else and be the family that we have become.  I know that life goes on and that we are all so close that we will be together no matter what.  But this was our place, it has been a constant in my life when many other things were not.  The people will disperse somewhat, they will go to other pubs and we will not have this meeting place anymore.  I am sure that I have not done this place justice here, but you get the idea, I love it here.

So today, I will be dressed in my number one blacks (I have a veil!), and I will drink to a place that means the world to me.  I will party with the people who mean the world to me.  I am sure that there will be tears.  I know that there will be laughs, but most of all there will be us.

ANZAC Cove

Another gorgeous day dawned in Turkey, we were leaving Kusadasi today and heading to Bergama today via Pergamon.  Pergamon is an ancient citadel up high on a hill.  And none of us were really in the mood.

As we boarded the bus we were all a little tired, hung over and at that point in the tour when we could use a day off to relax.  But onwards we went, there was not much choice.  Two of the guys on our tour had gotten tattoos the night before.  One had the Turkish flag on his leg and the other had a map of Aussie and a tiny NZ on his shoulder.  Both of them were regretting their decisions pretty much straight away, and we were all having a pretty hearty laugh at their expense. 

 

We pulled up to Pergamon and headed up the huge hill by cable car.  There was a beautiful view from up there and the ruins were very beautiful.  Again I am blown away by the age and the amount of what is left here.  After about an hour up here, we head to our hotel.  We are all roasting and a bit sad to find out that the pool has not yet been filled and that we are about a 45min walk out of the town.  A group of us grab a taxi and head in anyway, with warnings from Alp that they are conservative here, so to cover up. 

 

It turns out that it is a public holiday that day, Children’s Day.  After some shopping and bit of lunch, we come across a concert of kids singing, we stop and have a look, much to the amusement of the locals.  We decided that the day was nice and we could all use the exercise, so we walk back to our hotel where we all have a snooze.  We are all conscious that we are going to be up for about 48 hours come waking up tomorrow.

We ate an included dinner, which was actually really nice, and then we turn in at about 9pm with a get up time of 5am.

The next day is a bit overcast, we get up early and we are all pretty excited.  ANZAC cove is on the agenda today.  This is what we have all come for.  We board the bus with our packs that will have to last us for two days and there is an air of waiting.  We watch a documentary about Gallipoli.  I find it hard going and have tears in my eyes, which I don’t let fall.  I am trying not to get too emotional too early.  We have a brief stop at Troy.  I am excited about Troy, I love ancient myths and legends and have studied the story of Troy from the beginning to past it with the Aenid.  Sadly for Troy, its scheduled on the same day as ANZAC cove and after three days of going to ruins, we are a bit over it.  There is not much at Troy, a German archaeologist took a lot of it away, and displayed it in the museum in Berlin.  Also when he was doing this and unearthing marble etc, he encouraged the local people to take these materials away and reuse them.  What is there is well preserved and interesting.

After an hour or so there, we jump on the bus and head to our last stop.  We stop for the ferry to Cannakkle, where we head to the supermarket and stock up on the all of the food and drink that we will need for the next three meals.  And some BK for lunch.  We are loaded down and the reality begins to sink in.  We are off to ANZAC.  The ferry is uneventful, but then the waiting begins.  We get our bus number and then we are stuck on the bus for about an hour and half before we are allowed to head up to the cove.  We play some fun games like truth and lies, we hold up notes to the other buses, we laugh at people who are trying to find a bush to go for a wee, which we can all see.  Finally we are up off to the cove.

We get off the bus and head towards the entrance to the site.  We have to que to go through the bag check.  There is now a strict no alcohol rule at the celebrations.  We are given arm bands and in we go. 

 

My first thought is, what a beautiful place for such a horrid history.  It’s a lot smaller than I thought.  The beach and the foreshore before you are faced with mountains is about the size of two tennis courts.  There are grandstands erected, there are large screens, and of course there are the trenches and the seawall.  We find a space to lay out our sleeping bags.  We are prepared for the cold.  We sit and watch the sun go down, whilst eating our dinner of hummus and bread with cheese.  Once its dark the proceedings begin.  NZ are hosting this year.  We listen to an ANZAC army band play and sing the songs of yesteryear, we watch documentaries and some interviews with ANZACS.  I sleep for about two or three hours.  I am toasty warm in my sleeping bag and am glad that I didn’t put my thermal on before going to sleep.  We are lucky this year as its unusually warm.  All I can think is, below me, there is a soldier buried in an unmarked grave, and that I am here at the same time they were, this is the weather that they had, this is the views that they had, just marred by war.  At midnight its announced that its now the 25^th of April and there is a message from John Key.  I finally feel ok to start crying.  It’s pretty moving.  The history here is almost suffocating.  The sky is clear, you can see the stars and the moon.  During the night a sailboat comes into the cove, but it’s gone by morning.  During the night, there is a symphony, where they turn off all the lights so that you can see the stars clearer.  This symphony is a work in progress.  It will be finished for the 100^th anniversary.  It has been contributed too by Turkish, Australian’s and New Zealander’s.

At about 5am we get up and pack up our gear and head down to the beach for the dawn service.  It’s pretty moving, I quietly cry through most of it.  It’s very moving to hear the letters from the front read out.  We have our photos taken at the wall when it’s over and then begin the trek to Chunuk Bair.

This quote from Mustafa Ataturk gets me every time.  It epitomises the situation and the day that we are here for.

‘Heroes who shed their blood and lost their lives! You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.’

The trek is about 8kms in total.  And it’s pretty much straight up hill.  So at 6.30am with very little sleep I am not really that enthusiastic about this.  But as I walk it, I think, well I am carrying a day pack, not a full military pack.  I am walking in peace, there is no one shooting me, and I remember the statistic that for every yard gained, 3 men died.  It makes me feel a little sick to think of these men, none of whom wanted to kill each other, giving up their lives for our freedom.  I am grateful that in my lifetime my country has not been to war.

I pass Lone Pine, where the Aussies are having their service, and head past the Turkish memorial, and finally make it to Chunuk Bair.  We are early enough to have seats on the grandstand, with a little shade.  We are all hot and sticky.  We watch the Aussie service on the big screen, whilst chatting to those around us.  Our service begins with a Karakia and a number of officials are present including Julia Gillard and our Minister of Veterans Affairs Nathan Guy.

Again there is not a dry eye in the house when a letter from a soldier is read aloud.  He lies in an unmarked grave somewhere there.  He is apologising to his wife if he was ever short with her, or worked too hard and was not around but that he did it for her and the kids.  It’s a hard thing to hear and the stories of what these men went through make me so grateful for the life that I lead.

After the service we all head back to the bus for a long wait and a ride back to Istanbul.  It’s been a very emotional day and we have been out in the sun for a long time. Even I am searching for shade.  I am cried out for now.  I think that it’s all gone very well and that everyone involved in the organisation should be commended.  Our adventure is coming to an end.

The continuing adventures of a blonde in Turkey

So the day dawned sunny and we were facing a 13hr bus ride to Kusadasi, via Bursa.  We were all dressed in super comfy clothes – leggings and jandals were the order of the day.  We were up early and after a small hiccup with the water (for some reason it was not turned on??) we were ready and rearing to go.  Due to a small mishap we were given a brand new bus and we were off.

I was pretty tired and looking forward to a snooze on the bus and some quality time with my ipod.  Our first stop was the ferry.  This was doubling as our first toilet stop.  I will admit that it had never occurred to me that there were going to be Asian style toilets in Turkey.  I had not really given it much thought.  So my first ever encounter with a squat toilet was on a ferry.  And I was busting to go.  So this self confessed princess got in there and did it.  It was not something that I want to repeat often, and that was the first and last time that I had done it to date.  Its harder for girls, we have to ensure that we don’t pee on ourselves.  Which I was happy to say that I did not.

As we pulled into Bursa which was to be our lunch stop, Alp our local guide cheerfully told us that the famous Ulu Camii Mosque which dates back to the 14th century, had burnt down the week before.  Gutted.  So we took a wander through the bazar and decided that we were going to be typical tourists and have McD’s for lunch.  It was quick and delicious, complete with McFlurry.  We sprinted back to the bus amidst a downpour to the warm safety of our bus.  It was on to Kusadasi.

We were quite lucky, when we arrived in Kusadasi, it was sunny and hot.  And our hotel was amazing.  Big rooms with balconies and a massive pool.  After being cooped up all day we were ready for a night out and some drinks.  We started by ordering cocktails by the pool.  I was just so hot that I was grateful for a cider.  However, I was not allowed it in a pint glass as normal, no no, I as a lady had to drink it out of a champagne flute.  Classy and hilarious.  The bar guys were again hopeless flirts. 

After dinner, and a gorgeous sunset, we walked the 45mins into the waterfront city.  It was a nice walk, warm outside and it was hard not to be enchanted by the sea right in your eyesight.  Its something that I miss in London, being so close to the sea.  We were lead to a bar called Kitty O’Sheas.  It was one of the girls birthdays so we were ordering cheap cocktails and getting ready to ensure that she had a great night.  Billy our guide bought her a cake and the night began to get a bit messy.  Jemma one of my new found friends jokingly (I think) wondered aloud if we could dance on the bar.  The words had barely left her lips and the bar staff were clearing it off and encouraging her up there.  This started a trend.  I believe that all of our tour at one stage or other were up there shaking it for all they had.  We were given T-shirts for free – with crazy slogans like ‘They say I was in Kusadasi but I don’t remember’ or ‘Kitty’s Crazy Chicks’.  I still have mine as a souvenir.  The staff there were all male and we were treated to a strip tease when the song ‘I like the way you move’ came on.  Hilarious.  We headed out just after midnight, and bartered for our taxi, Sam and I were in the hatchback boot, but I was glad not to walk the 45mins back uphill.

The next morning dawned a stunner as well.  And we were off to Ephesus.  I was excited as I love a good ruin and this is somewhere that I had heard about all of my life.  Many of our party were either too ill to get up, hungover, or just a bit jaded that morning.  It was hot even at 10am.  Sunscreen was needed and there was little shade.  A hangover would have been miserable.  We explored the ruins, there was a lot there, more than I expected.  Again I was surprised by the landscape, I really expected it to be like the desert, arid and dusty, but it was lush and green.  There were a few interesting things that happened there.  Our guide Alp told us about how he has a cat called David Gilmour and we saw photos of him.  He has an ID card.  This came up as all through Turkey there are manky cats and dogs that live on the street.  An Asian tour group were going mad over them and having their photos taken with them.  Ewwww.

One of our group who was young and very hung over stated that he didn’t get the big deal about a bunch of stones.  We advised him to skip the rest of Europe.  Another asked why the Black Sea was Black.  We were unsure why this was coming up at Ephesus.  Apparently there had been some confusion and he thought that we had been there on our cruise the day before.  Ummm no.  Nowhere near it.  But thanks for that!

I had Pooh Bear on one of these stones, when a middle aged Japanese man came past and got very excited about Pooh San.  He took a photo of him too, and then had his photo taken with him.  He was very sweet.

Pooh Bear at Ephesus

Again my mind was blown by the age of these structures and what was left.  We saw long drop’s complete with seats, we saw clay pipes, we saw fountains and prisons and tablets.  It was all a bit much for so early in the day and in that heat.  So we headed into the seafront area for lunch.  In what we were to realise was typical Turkey style, we ordered lunch and after an hour it still was showing no sign of showing up, so we cancelled our orders and headed out to explore.

 

Sunset from Kusadasi hotel

After a wander and a McFlurry, we headed back to the hotel, to laze by the pool.  Kusadasi is a nice little town, it’s a bit more relaxed given that it’s a resort town, you can wear shorts and singlets and the people don’t really mind.  The seaside is lovely and there are a few bazars there.  They are not too keen on haggling but stuff is cheap enough.  We decided to have a room party before heading out that night.  We got some chips and dip as well as vodka and lemonade.  It was a close call when we mistook Raki for Vodka, the shop keeper kindly helped us out.  Raki is made from the same stuff as absinthe apparently.  After my last experience on absinthe and seeing my friends spew on that in Amsterdam, I was in no hurry to get into that.  Once we had our supplies we lay by the pool for a while.  The sun was lovely, but not lovely enough for me to swim.  A bunch of us did, but I was content having a chat and a drink by the pool.  After a quick shower we were snacking and drinking and having photos with the amazing sunset before catching the bus back into town and back to Kitty’s.

This night in town, it got loose very quickly.  Our tour had the bar to ourselves that night.  There were three busloads of us there.  At 9pm, it’s way too early to see frank and beans of a man you don’t know up on a podium.  It’s far too early to be touched up by the male toilet attendant as well.  I was pretty warm and feeling a bit shit, so we sat outside in the cool and chatted to our guides and some of the other groups.  Then is when the fun began.  One of the younger members of our group (18 years) was dared to get EFES the beer brand tattooed on his butt.  Conveniently there was a piercing and tattoo parlour next to the bar.  We managed to talk him out of it, but a few of the group got piercings whilst we were there.  Again we bailed at about midnight, and had a kebab heading home, it was after they had been devoured that we found out that they were lamb intestine, but they looked good.  One of the girls drunkenly nudged a cat with her foot, which had us all in stitches. 

The next day was another early start – heading to Bergama and an early night before the big ANZAC oddessy.