The Plains (2022) Movie Script

1
[Rain patters]
[Rain patters]
[Car unlocks]
[Beeps]
[Man, on radio] ...a stronger
national judicial structure,
and there developed a more independent
way of thinking for the judiciary.
So that there was training
of judges, and an idea of...
consistency across China.
And of course, at different times in
the last 30 years that's been subject to
different degrees of control
by the Communist Party.
Judges are beholden, they depend on
the Communist Party to maintain office...
- They are, and in fact...
- Totally unlike here...
[Woman, on radio] ...however Labour
leader Bill Shorten isn't convinced,
giving a vote of no confidence
at question time:
[Man 2, on radio] "If nearly
half of his own government"
"do not want him to be the
prime minister of Australia,"
"why should the rest of
Australia have to put up with him?"
Peter Dutton has
now quit cabinet,
and promises he won't try
and cause problems:
[Man 3, on radio] "I will work
every day to make sure
"the coalition is elected
at the next election,
"and I want to make sure that
I support the prime minister,
"and to make sure that we
support the government's policies".
Also making news today, a
family has been left devastated
after their son and
brother was killed
in a hit-and-run in South
Geelong early this morning.
The driver left the 32-year-old
victim for dead,
after knocking him down as he walked
home from a night out with friends.
Passers-by attempted CPR,
but he couldn't be saved.
And a couple of crooks
are still on the run
after a smash-and-grab
fail at Keysborough.
They used a car to smash
into a Lotto centre,
before trying to steal an ATM
that had no money inside.
Saints great Nick Riewoldt
surprised to hear
that Jarrad Waite
is calling it a day;
the North forward confirming Sunday's
clash with St Kilda will be his...
[Andrew] Hi Mutti, it's just me.
Mutti?
It's just me. Mutti.
It's Buschi.
It's Buschi, Mutti.
It's Buschi, Mutti, it's Buschi.
I'll call you tomorrow.
OK, bye bye.
[Rain patters]
[Rock music plays, on radio]
[Andrew] Hi hun.
[He yawns]
Just left work.
Um...
I'm on Blackburn Road.
Hmm.
Yeah, it's slow, it's wet.
Is it raining there?
Yeah.
And it's really warm.
[Indistinct speech,
on the phone]
Yeah.
I'm just getting on the free way,
just hang on...
It's gonna be slow... They're
banked up by the lights here.
How was your day?
I tried, I didn't get anywhere.
Yeah, yeah.
I'll call her tomorrow, I don't know.
Tomorrow's... You know, you know...
Oh, yeah?
Did you book the fares
and all that?
And wha--
Hm, God.
How much airfares,
how much accommodation?
And what time are we leaving, what
time are we coming back and all that?
Uh-uh.
4:05.
That's early.
Oh, OK.
Uh-uh.
OK.
Are we driving over on Sunday?
Or are we driving over on Saturday?
We're driving Sunday, Saturday
morning aren't we? Sunday morning.
Yeah.
And that's coming back though.
No, that's going over.
Yeah.
See the mums.
Yep.
And then go, but it means we
have to get away by three o'clock.
Geez.
It will be a funny
day, won't it?
Yeah, yeah.
Come back. Which is OK.
And then coming back?
And that's on... Friday.
What time are we leaving?
5... 4... 5:45?
5:35. OK.
And that's uh...
That's May, that's...
Yeah.
No.
Yeah, yeah. No, that's OK.
[Engine roar fades]
[Birds chirp]
[Locks click]
[Beeps;
Indistinct voice on radio]
[Andrew] Yeah, so like I was
saying, I dropped in after court today.
And I...
Marie was too
busy to talk to me.
I went and saw Julie.
And she was really weird.
[David] What was Marie doing?
[Andrew] Oh, Marie
was just on the phone.
She just looked at me,
and stared at me.
Um, Michelle glared at me.
I'm just gonna call my mum.
Let me get going.
I'm just gonna call my mum,
I do it every day.
And then I'll give
Cheri a quick call. OK?
So, um...
Just bear with me,
I'll do that in a second.
They expect a call from me
everyday when I start heading home.
And so... like I said,
Michelle glared at me.
And then...
And then, you know, I just left.
I thought, "Bugger that".
I'm not--
I'm not going to get
caught up in that.
[David] What did you do
to Michelle?
[Andrew] Nothing, I think...
I think she's just part
of the whole problem.
How are you and your lot going,
in your area?
It's been fine.
[David] I don't know anything
going on over there with you guys.
[Andrew] Yeah, I know.
Stay that way.
It's the best way to be.
I'll just be a few secs,
David, OK?
Sure.
Hello, Mutti?
Hello? It's Buschi.
Hi Mutti, how are you?
How are you?
Good.
Ah yeah?
Oh, good.
Um--
Good.
Good.
Yeah?
And what's the food like?
Excellent.
I'm pleased, Mutti, OK then.
Well I'm just coming
home from work.
Just a quick hello
and then I'll get going, OK?
Not for another couple of weeks.
But I will come.
I am coming soon, OK?
Alright.
And we can get some money for you
as well. I'll bring you some money, OK?
You don't need money, Mutti,
but I'll bring some money.
And you can have it in your
wallet or your purse, OK?
Alright?
Hello, are you there?
Mutti?
Yeah, I know, Mutti.
In a couple of weeks. I better
get going. I'll get going, OK?
I'll call you tomorrow. Bye bye.
My mum thinks she's in a hotel.
As long as she's happy.
Um, I'll just call Cheri, OK?
Do you mind if I put some air on, Andrew?
Yeah, sure.
Hi hun, it's just me.
I'm OK, I'm with David,
so I won't talk for long.
- "Hi David".
- [David laughs]
How are you? How is everything?
Yeah, she thought
she was in a hotel.
Which is good.
She actually knew who I was.
She was quite comfortable,
she was quite happy.
Oh, OK.
It didn't settle, no.
Just a motor vehicle accident.
There was, um...
There was just...
It just didn't settle. It wasn't
going to go anywhere.
Big insurance companies
they don't, they don't really...
They're just playing a game.
I won't talk for long, hun.
Tonight...
I've got something on
my left knee, or something.
But it's OK.
It comes and goes.
One minute it's OK, next
minute it's not. But anyway...
I, um...
When I get home, we'll eat real
quick and then we'll go, OK?
Just coming up to the
free way now, so about...
Probably...
It depends on the traffic.
Yesterday was really good.
Today might be really crap.
So...
It's saying good.
16 minutes.
So I'll-- I'll... Um...
Yeah, I reckon about an hour.
Oh, 45 minutes.
OK. Alright.
Uh, actually, it went away.
No, it did, it
really did go away.
Yeah, yeah.
I--
No, I took a
Panadeine and Disprin.
OK hun, I better go.
See you later. OK, bye bye.
- Sorry about that, David.
- That's alright.
[Andrew] I didn't see that truck
there that just came on us.
Where?
You didn't see it too,
just behind us.
My mum thought she was in a
hotel. She goes through stages.
She thinks she's
travelling Europe.
Her res care home...
Some days I call her and she's completely
out of it, and other times she's...
And then she always wants money.
Even though she doesn't spend any money.
I give her money and then it
disappears when I come back next time.
I give her a couple of hundred
every time I visit
and it's all gone by the time
I come back.
You know, they just take it.
But anyway...
That's neither here nor there.
[David] She uses the money?
No, she has no reason,
there's nothing to buy.
[David] But then why
is the money gone?
Well think about it,
what happens?
It's taken by somebody.
But if you make a complaint,
what's the point?
She feels good that she
has money in her wallet.
I mean, she's
lost all her cards...
Her ID, her driver's licence.
We left it in her purse
and it's all disappeared,
I don't know what happens.
When they get old, they hide
things and they throw things away.
It's getting worse and worse,
but you know...
Anyway.
So yeah, like I was saying,
what about you and Simon?
Simon and you aren't bothered
by what's happening at all, are you?
Simon and Marie are tight.
- Oh, yeah.
- He knows how to deal with her.
Well, it's not a question of
knowing how to deal with her,
it's basically...
if you just play the game
and let her...
[David] Well, he knows
how to play the game.
[Andrew] Well play the game...
If you just be subservient
and get rolled over.
What Marie doesn't like is
anybody who pushes back on her,
that's the problem.
I thought I'd avoid
the whole issue but...
the whole blow up will get
to me as well.
But anyway.
[David] You've got to get
out of there, Andrew.
- [Andrew] Well, you do...
- [David] It sounds like...
[Andrew] What about you?
You're happy, so...
Are you happy there?
[David] Being out here?
[Andrew] I'll leave eventually, but
at the moment it doesn't suit me.
[David] Have you ever
thought about the bar?
[Andrew] Yeah, I have.
But I've got... You know...
I only...
Look, I've got it pretty good.
I go to the court,
then I do mediations or I do
my other tutoring stuff.
I had a mediation today,
I get paid... it only went
for a couple of hours,
but I get paid for three or so.
There's no pressure.
Why would I change that?
[David] I don't know...
Get Marie out of your life?
[Andrew] Well, yeah.
But I'll leave when it suits me,
it doesn't suit me
at the moment.
What about yourself?
- [Andrew] With the bar?
- I'm thinking about it. Maybe.
[David] I'll try and sit
the exam later this year.
[Andrew] Oh yeah, in November?
[David] It's the
November exam, yeah.
[David] What year did you come?
- [Andrew] At work? When did I start?
- Yeah.
Well, they have me down as 13,
but I went away.
I've been casual
for now five years.
Some years I just
did their court work.
They've been pretty good to me.
They were before,
now it's all changed. It's a
different environment now.
[David] Hmm.
[Andrew] Look, eventually
I'm going to have to leave.
But at this stage I'll stay.
[David] Or just start
toeing the line.
[Andrew] What?
Start toeing the line.
It's not about toeing the line,
David.
It's just, it's just--
I don't know
what it is actually.
Maybe I'm part of the old guard
and I just gotta get removed.
But I enjoy the work too much.
While I still enjoy...
the court work, I'll stay.
I don't have a heavy case
load now, so I'm pretty good.
Anyway.
[Andrew] So you're in Kensington
too?
Around the corner
from us now, aren't you?
[David] Yeah, it's good.
Uh...
I kinda like it there,
it's pretty quiet.
Have you guys
been there a while?
About 21 years, a long time.
[David] Yeah, right.
[Andrew] And whereabouts
are you? What street are you on?
- I'm just off Rankins Road.
- OK.
[Andrew] That really is close.
I never see you...
in the shops or anything.
- [David] I mostly go to Flemington.
- Oh, OK.
[Andrew] Do you live
by yourself?
No, I share a place
with two friends.
- Did you know them before?
- Pardon me?
You've known them or are they
out of the book share house friends?
They were both
friends of friends.
- [David] Sorta knew them...
- [Andrew] Male or female?
- One male, one female.
- Oh, OK.
You're a bit long in the tooth
to be sharing a house still.
[They chuckle]
- Well I mean, you know...
- Thanks, Andrew.
[Andrew] But are you looking
at anything long term?
Are you with anyone?
Partnered?
[David] Um...
No, as of a month or so ago.
Oh, OK.
[Andrew] Don't ask?
[David] Yeah.
Don't ask?
[David laughs]
[David] You don't need to ask.
[Andrew] Don't ask.
[David chuckles]
[David] No.
[Andrew] Were you together long?
It wasn't too long.
It was about...
- Six or seven months or so.
- Yeah, OK.
[David] But...
Yeah.
Only six or seven.
[Andrew] Oh well.
[David] Still felt like it could
have been something.
Why is that?
[David laughs]
[Andrew] Alright. Anyway, OK.
Doing
anything on the weekend then?
[David giggles]
- Not too much planned.
- OK.
- [David] You're going away tomorrow?
- We're going away tonight.
Oh, tonight?
Yeah, yeah.
As soon as I get home.
Oh geez, look at that.
The board is orange.
- [David] Hmm.
- Great.
[Andrew] Here we go.
I wonder why it was green...
Wonder why it's 12
minutes still. That's weird.
We're miles away.
[David] Maybe it's just this
little stretch.
[Andrew] No, it just
doesn't work.
[David] It looks pretty bad.
[Andrew] So what happened?
[David] What happened with?
[Andrew] With your girlfriend,
what happened?
Can I ask? I'm just curious.
[David sighs]
Ah. Um...
- [David] Well...
- [Andrew] Did you...?
[Andrew] I always ask too many
personal questions.
No, it's alright.
It's just what I do.
[David] She ended it.
- It was about a month ago.
- Oh, OK.
[David] The frustrating thing is
we're in the same circle,
so I bump into her
every now and then.
[Andrew] You're still holding
a torch for her?
A bit? Or something?
[David] I don't know.
It's hard if you keep
seeing someone...
- [David] Regularly.
- Yeah.
[Andrew] Yeah, a clean break
is better, isn't it?
[David] Hmm.
[David] How long have you
and Cheri been together?
A long time.
Long time.
- What do you mean?
- It means a long time.
[They chuckle]
[Andrew] Many years.
[David] From high school?
[Andrew] Maybe.
Maybe not.
[David laughs]
[Andrew] Many years.
- [David] Hmm. Yeah.
- Yeah.
- [David] Did you guys have kids?
- No.
[Andrew] No, I think
it was a choice.
It was a philosophical choice.
Look, too many people
in the world already.
Seriously.
And also we had crazy sisters.
[David] Hm.
[Andrew] Uh, long story.
And also just finding
the time as well.
And I don't think either
of us regret it.
Somebody has to not have kids,
you can't all breed
like rabbits.
What's the point? Honestly?
Maybe I grew up in an area where
it just seemed pointless...
Everybody was just sort of...
All the families with
their kids, it seemed like...
It was just a never-ending
cycle of, "Why?"
You know what I mean?
[David] Hm-hm.
- [Andrew] But anyway.
- Which area?
- In Adelaide.
- Oh right, OK.
[Andrew] I wasn't... it wasn't a
fancy... It was a working-class area.
It was just... You know...
Everybody just eking
out their existence.
I don't know... Why?
What's the purpose?
But it was a different
time back then too.
I think kids are now
more of a fashion accessory.
It's OK to have kids, it's
OK to get married now too.
We weren't married
for years as well.
It seemed like such
a funny thing to do.
But now everyone
wants to get married.
[David] You guys got married?
[Andrew] We only got married
because we went overseas.
She got covered by my
health insurance in America.
Otherwise, we wouldn't
have been married.
We were both
against it in principle.
[David] It seems like less
people are getting married.
[Andrew] Oh, no.
You reckon? No.
No, people want
to get married now.
People want to get married.
Well I don't know. Your
friends, are they married?
Formally married?
[David] I don't know.
Maybe one or two.
[Andrew] I got the impression
that people now get married.
And certainly children
are much more the thing.
You can see it with all
the child centres
and the schools re-opening.
Twenty years ago they were
closing them all here in Victoria.
[David] I think the lane
is shut up ahead.
[Andrew] Oh, really?
[David] Yeah. There must
have been an accident.
[Andrew] Great.
[Andrew] Oh yeah, I see it.
[David] So you don't
regret the decision?
[Andrew] What? Which one?
To change lanes?
[David chuckles]
- [Andrew] What decision?
- The philosophical decision.
[Andrew] Oh, no, no, no. Fine.
Sometimes I think I'd be...
I haven't bought the...
I shouldn't say it. I feel like
maybe I haven't bought the...
What is it?
The box and dice and accepted
that that's what life's all about.
I'll probably be lonely
as I get older.
OK, what's happening?
Thank you.
That was close.
Interesting, wasn't it?
- [David] I wonder what happened.
- Breakdown.
- [David] You reckon?
- Maybe. We'll see.
[David] They don't have any
safety lanes any more.
[Andrew] Some smart-arse will go
all along on the inner lane
then squeeze in
at the last moment.
Yeah like that.
And like this one.
- [David] Looks like two lanes.
- Opportunist.
[Andrew] I'll be
an opportunist too.
There we go... Always find
your moment somewhere.
In you get.
[Andrew] It would be crazy if they
were doing road works at this time.
[Andrew] Oh no, it's
a broken-down truck.
[Andrew] OK, cool.
[Engine revs]
[Andrew exhales] OK.
[Engine hum fades]
[Wind blows;
Insect buzzes]
[Deep breathing]
[Andrew] The grass opens up
once you move away.
[He exhales sharply]
[Cheri] It's almost like
a crop actually.
[Andrew] It is almost.
[Cheri] I was going to say,
what is it? What grass is it?
[Andrew] I don't know.
[Insects buzz]
[He exhales sharply]
[Mechanical buzz]
[Mechanical buzz intensifies]
[Buzz fades]
[Lock clicks]
[Presenter, on radio] Yeah,
I don't know what you were
like when you were at uni Jon,
but I was not a
very good student...
I smoked far too much dope,
threw far too many Frisbees,
played too much billiards,
chased too many girls, and...
around about September
each year I thought
I better do enough work to pass.
[Jon] Exactly... Except I was
chasing boys rather than girls.
Otherwise I'd have to leave,
if I failed I'd have to leave,
and I want to keep this going
for as long as I can.
I think, for me,
this is the first time
where I've really understood
what it is to be a student.
You know this, you've interviewed
so many writers and artists...
There's always this terror that comes
when you release a new work into...
into the world. And I've been...
I've been quite terrified.
- And Wayne, my partner, said
the best thing to me, - [Flasher clicks]
because he's been through this
process over the last seven years.
It's really, you know...
If I think about it, it's much longer
in terms of the thinking about it.
So it's been distilling
in the background?
Exactly.
"And he said," You will
never lose this, right?
"What you've learnt through doing
this book will be always be there".
[Presenter] The scenario you've
portrayed, and I haven't got to the end,
but I think I know
how it ends...
Because we kind of know
what goes on, but...
The life and the times
that you recreate
are brutal and savage,
and almost dystopian.
Did you want us to strip away
the veneer of respectability in
the early days of Christianity?
[Jon] Yeah, because I think what happens
is... And it happened to me growing up...
You get this picture-postcard
version of...
I mean you get a blonde Jesus,
with blue eyes, right? That's...
Even in Bridge Road in Richmond in
1970s, that was the image of Jesus...
And I wanted to go right back,
to what this time was like and...
Yes, the book is set in
the first century, you know...
You know, the first decades
after Jesus was crucified.
But I wanted it to, if...
I hope, that it calls back and
forth between our era and then.
It's called "Damascus",
and it's called "Damascus"
because of Paul's moment
on the road to Damascus.
I was writing it over
a period where...
this country and this society
was being torn apart.
And you read the material,
you read the history.
And you read the great Jewish
writers like Josephus, you read...
You read the history of the Romans
and the Greeks, and you understand how...
terrifying it was for them
to be alive at that point.
When all these...
When Rome was...
It seemed like it
would last forever,
and it was all powerful
and it was creating these...
Terrible conditions for people
across the Mediterranean.
[Presenter] Do you
think they were terrified...
[Radio muted]
Hello, hun? Hello?
Oh hi, hun.
A little bit long.
I left a bit late today.
How about you?
How is everything?
Yeah, yeah.
[Indistinct speech on the phone]
That's really weird.
Oh, OK.
Wow... yeah, yeah.
[Engine revs]
Oh, right.
We c--
Did you have someone next to you,
cramped in, or have your own seat?
Oh, OK.
You were on the aisle though,
weren't you?
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah.
Was your sister panicking?
Or she was OK?
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, all that bullshit.
Yeah, yeah.
And my mum? You saw my mum?
Did she ask whether I was coming
over? I didn't call her today.
Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah.
Did she remember me
calling her yesterday?
And your mum?
Yeah... It's all psychological.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, yeah she--
She's in that faade mode where
she can talk automatically.
Did she know it
was her birthday?
What? Take her to Simone's
to see the new stuff?
An--
And the room you're in is OK,
everything OK there?
Yeah.
OK.
Where are you going?
The one in Jetty Road?
Yeah.
Well we know what that's like.
Oh, maybe. Maybe
in another lifetime.
Just almost.
No, no, I do, I do.
Barb called about Vu. Apparently
she's not really well.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, yeah, um...
Hang on. I've just got...
I tried to call Tom today.
This is him.
I'll call you later.
I'll talk to him and
I'll call you later.
How long are you going
to be in your room?
Oh.
OK.
I can talk a little bit longer,
he's gone.
Um...
Barb was going to go and see...
Barb was going to go
and see her tomorrow.
But basically,
she's saying how...
She texted Barb and said that...
she might not be...
She might not last the week.
He's back again. Alright, hun,
I'll go. I'll call you later.
OK
See you, OK, bye bye.
Tom? Tom?
Hi Tom. I tried to call you,
I saw you left a message.
What's up, what's happening?
They got back to us?
What do they want this time?
Yeah.
What are they saying?
How much money do they want?
What do they want?
But we agreed on a 50/50 split.
So--
Wha--
And what, they want
30 grand from us?
What? And if we don't agree,
what are they going to do?
Yeah, I know.
I am so over it... I really am,
really pissed off.
I mean--
Yeah, but it's going
to cost a fortune.
It's going to take another year.
It's been four years now...
Honestly...
On one hand I'm tempted,
on the other hand...
It's like my sister.
Everything with my sister
has been a mess.
Her whole life.
It's like she's reaching out
of the grave to grab me.
Just to make more stuff.
I don't know.
How much are they
saying they want?
I mean, what--
But 30,000 off the price
of the place,
if you split that half-half,
that's 15...
So they're 15 grand down.
We just offer them 10.
This is my mum's money.
If I had...
My mum has been in
a home for two years.
If I had had this
money two years ago...
This guy turns up out
of nowhere,
claims he's
the domestic partner.
I'm taking backwards
steps all the time.
I'm agreeing to that,
I'm agreeing to this.
Now if I give him another 10...
Then my mum dies,
and we get the money.
And as much as I like you,
that's going to cost us
20, 30, 40...
If I just offer them 10 grand.
Offer them 10 grand.
Yeah.
If you could please.
Just write to them, just say...
Make no admissions.
I did everything right...
I just got that place,
there was nothing...
There was nothing I did wrong.
Yeah, yeah.
I did everything in preparation.
I didn't know he was going
to turn up and make a claim.
Offer them 10 grand
and see what they say,
and 10 to 1 we won't...
Just to settle the whole thing.
Alright, alright.
No.
OK. Thanks, Tom.
Great. Alright.
Let me know.
Yeah, thanks, bye. See ya.
[He sighs]
[Woman, on radio] ...about
$89 per square metre, when...
it had been valued at 1600,
- and they made a 37% profit...
- Yep.
You know, the industry average
is about 20%, so...
[Man, on radio] Francis from Castlemaine
sums it up with her text message...
Do join in, 0437-931-931,
and Francis says:
"Never get between a property
developer and a quick buck".
Now William, what do you think
of this new announcement?
Ah, look Jon,
I'm... devastated actually.
I'm sure the government
has good intents,
but the way they've framed this... is
just gonna be bad for public tenants.
In what way, what
happens to you?
Well for us it means, apart...
We'll have to move away
for a number of years and
it's going to destroy
a pretty good community
that we've managed to develop.
Sure, it's neglected. But...
a lot of different races, with a
lot of different people with...
[Andrew] What about
your day today?
You ended up going
to the Family Court?
[David] No, not today.
Office day.
I had to see a client and...
draft some documents.
I don't know.
Why did you choose law?
So late?
[Andrew] Oh, because, because...
I don't know. Why did you?
[David] Yeah, I don't know.
[Andrew] You did it straight
from school, didn't you?
[David] Yeah...
[Andrew] Did you do
anything in between?
Nah, I didn't...
Did you have years
off or anything?
I had a year off...
But you're a little bit older
than the normal graduate.
How long have you been out?
I've been out about three years.
[Andrew] So what did you do
in between?
You're 31...
So you would have
come out at 28.
But you should
have come out at 24.
So where are the
missing five years?
[Andrew] Four years.
The degree,
I took it a bit slower.
Then I had a year off before,
and took a bit of time off
before work.
[Andrew] What did you do
in the year off?
I lived overseas.
Whereabouts?
A little bit in London
and a bit in the States.
Whereabouts in America?
You were in the States,
weren't you?
Yeah, a couple of years.
- [Andrew] But whereabouts?
- New York.
That's nice.
Did you live on Manhattan,
or what did you do?
No, in Brooklyn.
Did you work?
Yeah, but it was just bar work.
[David] Where were you?
A place called Riverside,
near Los Angeles.
[Andrew] That was
back in the '90s.
[David] What were you doing?
I was a scientist.
[David] Is there
a university there?
Yeah,
the University of California.
- Lecturing?
- No, research.
[Andrew] Your mum's something,
or your dad's something, isn't he?
- A bit like your dad, I guess.
- [David] He is, yeah.
Well they're both academics.
[David] How was that?
It was OK, although Cheri
didn't like living over there.
Was she working over there?
She tried to get some work.
They're a little bit anal
over there.
They really are.
She had a visa through my visa.
There's a long story
of why it didn't work.
Maybe she didn't try
hard enough. I don't know.
It's still a touchy
subject with us.
It just didn't work for us.
And I think we
were both homesick.
There's no place
like home, David.
- How long were you there for?
- I was there for two years.
But I spent a good
year of that by myself.
Why?
Cheri had a good job.
She kept going and coming back.
Working, and then flying back.
And I was...
I was stuck there of course,
so I just would work.
I'd come home occasionally
for short holidays.
She had options to
come back and work.
[David] What was she doing?
[Andrew] At that stage what
was she doing?
I think she was... Um...
Marketing and publicity
and all that sorta stuff.
I think she was...
She was doing that with...
arts companies and so on.
She was doing really well.
- Is she still doing that?
- No, no.
Things have gone a
little bit odd, or different.
Off on another tangent.
She got not well a while back.
- Oh, really?
- Yeah.
She's OK now, but you know...
[David] OK.
[Andrew] Yeah.
She likes to think of herself
as retired now.
But I think she's probably
looking for something to engage.
I don't know.
- [David] In the same area?
- No, all that's passed.
[Andrew] When you
fall out of something,
you don't get
back into it that quickly.
You're only as good as...
yesterday's wrapper.
You know what it's like.
Especially when you get older,
it's hard to get back in.
The younger, prettier
things come in...
Especially in that field.
Marketing, publicity.
It's all about...
It's all about
what you look like.
And the world has changed too.
You've got social media, and...
Facebook. The whole bunch.
I mean we're talking...
It was a different
world back then.
And I don't think Cheri
is that driven to re...
Re...
re-train... I don't think she's
really that overwhelmed with...
So there's... Get a little bit more
money, for what? You know...
[Andrew] But we all know
there are reasons why we work.
It's a social interaction,
as much as anything else.
Or the desire to do something
vaguely worthwhile.
I mean I sometimes wonder why...
It's different for
me as it is for you.
I came to this work
much later than you.
Already I had a life behind me.
On one hand I can
say I can enjoy it more.
On the other hand I've left
my run to wherever I'm going
to too late.
You got a whole...
You can do...
You've got so much potential,
in what you do.
[Andrew continues]
You shouldn't be trapped here.
Go to the bar. Do different
things. You'll be fine.
Don't get caught
up in the rubbish.
Stay single,
stay away from the women.
Relationships are
not easy, David.
No relationship is easy.
You have to work at it.
And it can go so quickly.
[Traffic hum fades]
My goodness me.
You can't capture that.
[Cheri] It's not in focus.
[Birds chirp]
[Lock clicks]
[Andrew sighs]
[David] Smells so nice and new.
[Andrew] Nice new car.
I only got it last week.
Same car, different colour.
[Andrew sighs]
Why'd you upgrade?
We do so many kilometres.
[Radio presenter speaks,
indistinct]
We tend to rattle
them into the ground.
It's better to replace
every two years.
By the time we do depreciation,
and all of that.
And driving a non-rattly car.
Even if we spend a lot of money
on a fancy car,
and kept it for five years,
about the same money,
but it would be falling apart
by the time...
by the time we traded it in.
- It just works out.
- Was the red your choice?
No, not my first choice.
I prefer a grey or a black.
But you know, they had two...
But we have manuals so...
They had a blue and a red
manual in Australia.
Can you believe that?
And...
So we went for the red,
which is a pretty common
car if you look around.
In fact, there's
a red car there.
They're about one in
every eight, I reckon.
There's another red car over
there, so they're a popular car.
Not that that's a
reason to buy it.
- We're pretty happy with it.
- [David] Not one in every eight.
I reckon it's one
in every eight.
[Andrew] You have a look.
I'll just call my mum, as usual.
And then we'll...
Ah yeah, sure.
[Andrew] He cramped himself
up not to let us in.
He waved, what
was that wave for?
She's not looking at me.
Thank you.
And there's another red car,
David, just came up behind.
Lots of red cars.
I'll just get my mum.
Hi, this is Andrew Rakowski,
I'm calling my mum, Inge.
Oh.
Is she OK?
If she's OK.
What... She fell out of bed?
OK.
Has the doctor seen her?
Alright. OK.
If I can speak to her
that would be great, thanks.
Hi Mutti, how are
you? I hear you fell?
And how are you?
I'll...
Next week, Mutti.
I'll probably be there...
End of next week.
No, no. But I saw you last week.
So every two weeks.
[Radio presenter continues,
indistinct]
OK, Mutti. Alright.
OK, alright. Bye bye.
- My mum fell.
- Is she alright?
Yeah, but she didn't really
want to talk to me.
She's fallen a lot lately.
They, I don't know...
Oh well, there's
nothing I can do.
Hi hun, it's just me.
OK. My mum just
fell, but she's OK.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, very briefly, she didn't
really want to talk to me.
Yeah, nah she's fine.
I'm OK, how are you?
Did Monique turn up?
And is everything going OK?
OK. Alright. Um...
The usual stuff.
Any interesting
discussions or anything?
Not yet, no.
I've got David with me,
I won't...
I'm just giving
David a lift home.
Alright.
In a little bit.
OK, bye hun. See you later.
[Andrew sighs]
[Andrew] Cool. Done.
My sister-in-law
has just come over.
Because of what happened
the last couple of weeks.
We've got her for five days.
[David] How is Cheri doing?
She's OK. Cheri is fine.
She gets a bit
teary, but she's fine.
The sister's going
to be interesting...
It's going to be interesting
having her...
Does she come to see
you guys often?
Never.
The last time was
about eight years ago.
Then she went home and cried
because we weren't
looking after her, to her mum.
Completely different now
with the mum gone.
Mum dominated the sister.
And I think the sister is now
looking for someone to replace...
She's been texting
Cheri like crazy.
You've got to
feel sorry for her.
Her mum was
a pretty dominant lady.
Cheri's mum?
Oh yeah. She had both daughters
under control.
She had everybody under control,
including me.
Well I mean, you know...
Her mum was... she
was a strange lady.
She just was...
She had to control everything.
And it was always competitive.
She was competitive
with her daughters
and she was competitive
with anyone, including me.
[David] What do you mean?
Everything you said,
there was a competition in it.
You had to either... You had
two choices, you could fight it.
And try to...
Try to win that little
bout of conversation.
Or you went silent and gave up
and just let her have the floor.
I ended up being quiet.
My reputation was the
silent one. I used to be silent.
Because I used to stand there...
There was no point in talking.
And I love to talk, but
there was no point in talking.
[David] Ah.
That went on for 20 years,
that's how it's always been.
She was just dominant.
- [David] Did you get along though?
- Me?
[David] Yeah, outside of that?
The last five or ten years,
I think I did.
Once Cheri got
ill and everything...
I don't think she had
a good experience with men.
Who knows?
It was just one of those...
You had to let her
have her space.
And yet she was the nicest,
meekest, sweetest little old lady
to outsiders.
And it was quite
telling at the service.
Both daughters wanted to include
a fairly...
If you listened very carefully to
the eulogy you would have heard...
They said she was "this"
to the outside world
and it sometimes was difficult
to the people closest to her.
Tells you a lot...
- Cheri said that?
- Her sister did the eulogy.
Anyway, we've got
her now until Sunday.
Hopefully she goes back, because
if she doesn't I'll move out.
What are you going
to do with her?
Nothing really.
Home cooked meals,
nothing too fancy.
She'll freak if she has to...
She'll think we're teaching her
if we drag her anywhere...
It always has
happened in the past.
I've learnt not to fight it,
just let it happen.
And I said to Cheri,
I'll remind her,
any time I sense that
she's getting in a competition,
I'll say something about an
albatross and she'll back off.
We've got a code word.
[David laughs]
So I say, "I saw an albatross
today" or something like that.
Seriously, we talked about it
last night. We have our strategy.
We keep it all calm
and nice and pleasant.
[Andrew] But anyway.
[David] What does the code
word do though?
It reminds Cheri that she's...
unknowingly engaged
in the competition,
the debate, winning the floor
in the verbal argument.
[David] So she's the same
as Cheri's mum?
I guess so. Yeah.
You learn from your
parents, don't you?
Cheri said then to me,
"Am I like that?" And I said:
"You've been with me long enough
to get rid of bad habits".
And I think. I mean...
We've been together,
so she has...
We all adjust ourselves as well.
- Cheri's not like that any more?
- No.
They're different.
Are you like your
brothers and sisters?
- We all must be similar.
- [David] Hmm...
Horror to think I'm like
my sister,
but I guess I must
be in some way.
But we do take
after our parents.
Maybe Cheri is
more like her dad.
Maybe her sister is
more like her mum.
I can really tell I'm like my
mum. My mum was talkative.
Talkative...
And then she'd lose interest
and move on to something else,
and I tend to do that too.
But anyway.
[David] And your dad
wasn't like that?
My dad has been dead for
so long, I can't remember.
I don't know what
my dad was like really.
It's a terrible thing to say, but I
don't know what my dad was like.
[David] How old were you?
He died 25 years ago.
He was 51 when he had me,
so he died when he was 84.
So he died old... I always just
remember him as an old guy.
[David] So he was a fair bit
older than your mum?
Oh, yeah... Not that old.
Not... She wasn't a...
He wasn't a cradle snatcher.
I think she was
15 years younger.
Which is not a lot really.
- [David] Had he had a family?
- No.
Well he had the war
and all that.
He was in a prisoner
of war camp.
They met after the war.
He was getting on, and she
was a young hospital physio.
When he broke his leg
going skiing in the alps,
before they chucked
him out of Germany.
You know, all those stories
from those European...
The war shook it all up, and all
these people were left displaced.
You know...
My parents were lucky,
they came out of the whole thing
relatively unscathed.
Well my mum lost
a lot of her family,
my dad's family
lost everything in...
in Poland.
They were vaguely wealthy
and they lost everything.
But lots of other people
came out of it mentally scarred.
Losing every
member of the family.
It's just terrible. Anyway...
[David] So maybe your sister
took after your dad?
No, my sister had anxiety.
And she developed... anorexia.
When she was 12, 13.
And then it developed
into bulimic tendencies.
But it was basically anxiety,
which was never diagnosed.
Anxiety has become a real thing
in the last...
There's a red car!
Not a very nice red.
And that's an Audi too.
This is a much nicer
red, a deeper red.
- [David] Your red or the Audi?
- Our red. That's a sickly red.
I'd have to agree.
- Yeah?
- Yeah.
Yeah, I've been feeling
pretty anxious...
Because of...?
[David] I don't know,
just work stuff. Breakup.
Well work's not doing either
of us any good at the moment.
[David] But you didn't have it,
just your sister?
Huh?
[David] You've never had
an issue with it?
I wouldn't say I've never
had an issue with it.
I had OCD.
- [David] Right.
- When I was a kid.
That's another story.
I used to check lights,
and gas fittings and gates,
and power switches.
And my favourite
number is three.
- [David] What is that...
- Don't worry.
[Andrew] What's your anxiety?
How does it manifest?
- I don't know.
- Not sleeping?
- Heart palpitations?
- [David] Waking up early.
[Andrew] Well... yeah.
I have people close to me
who have anxiety.
Meaning... Yeah...
It's the fear of dying
from the heart attack...
that you're about to have?
Is that the sort of stuff?
[David] My anxiety?
- No, is it?
- I'm not sure.
[Andrew] Well the funny thing
was, my sister before she died,
she went to the
heart specialist.
And Cheri and I...
I was a bit mocking.
Well not mocking...
Not to her face.
I didn't have
much contact with her.
But I was like, "Oh, yeah..."
And then she ends up dying.
Maybe from the heart, maybe not.
I mean... I don't know. I feel
terrible when I say all that.
But it's... Maybe we
live in an anxious world.
Maybe everybody suffers from
anxiety, of one sort or another.
[David] Hmm.
[Andrew] Yeah.
The contrast between what our life
should be and what life's really like.
Look around, it's
all just crazy really.
The commute, the work hours,
the pressures.
Ah, green car! Now green
isn't popular apparently.
- That's what they say anyway.
- Yeah.
[David] I think there's a
reason for that.
[Andrew] Well we've
had two green cars,
in our many
two-yearly swap overs.
[Andrew] You're going
away on Wednesday,
aren't you, in a couple days?
Yeah, I can't wait.
You're going to Berlin
or some place?
Yep.
[David] It will be good to step
back and get away for a little while.
- How long for?
- Three weeks.
[Andrew] And why Berlin?
I have friends over there.
[David] Have you been to Berlin?
Years ago, when
it was still divided.
[David] But no family there?
No, I've got German family
in Dsseldorf. I've got...
When I went over,
my German grandmother,
my mum's mother,
was still alive.
And she was in her late-80s.
Nutty as a fruitcake.
She was... she was...
Every time I...
I was there for a weekend and
every time I dropped in to her home
she was completely pissed.
But she was OK.
It was funny, when
I went to Berlin,
it was me and a friend, I was
travelling with a male friend.
And we teamed up
with a young American girl.
And we went across
Checkpoint Charlie,
and you do all that
money exchange stuff.
Rather than do all the sites
around the tower.
What's that? Where the
central television tower is?
- [David] Oh, Alexanderplatz.
- Yeah, there were some hotels.
And we had to blow all our
East German Deutschmarks
before we went back to the West.
But we did wander out.
And there was a real moment...
One of those moments that stays
with you your whole life?
Just a scene that imprints on
your mind, for whatever reason.
We were standing at the corner,
looking at the grim buildings.
And it was really grim.
That Soviet style...
Apartment blocks and everything.
There was...
I remember looking around,
there was this little old German
"omi"... Grandmother.
Same as my grandmother,
on the other side of the border.
And she was just watching us.
I remember our eyes caught,
there was some
moment of something.
It was just like she was
looking at us...
And I was thinking,
"That poor lady".
She went through the First
World War, the Second World War.
By that stage it was 1980
some time, so she had...
almost 35 years of
Soviet oppression.
And there we were
in our Western clothes
and our backpacks.
There was a real difference
between the young people there.
They looked really daggy,
that Soviet dagginess.
You know, you can still sorta...
Are you familiar with that?
They just were daggy basically.
From the West you were
much more modern,
Adidas shoes and all that stuff.
- [Andrew] Anyway.
- You just looked at her?
- [David] It was just looking?
- Yeah, it was just a moment.
I was 21, 22, 23.
And why I had a moment
of contact with this...
80-something year old
grey-haired German woman.
Maybe I read too much into it,
but anyway, I don't know...
It's just one of those moments
that I always remember with Berlin.
It's the only thing I really
remember about being in Berlin.
But anyway.
I would love to go
back one day but...
No holidays for a while now.
Well with my mum still...
So dinner tonight with
Cheri's sister?
Yeah, keep it really nice
and simple.
Chicken pie.
Tomorrow, roast lamb.
Nothing foreign,
nothing challenging.
She wouldn't eat it otherwise.
And she'd think it's a plot by
either me or Cheri to...
to convert her.
She'd wake up in the morning...
She'd wake up in the morning a
different person or something...
[David] What do you mean?
I don't know why
those people are so...
They like what they like and
they don't want to be challenged.
And again, it's that whole
competitive thing.
If you're trying to
flog off something
that they're not familiar with,
and they consume
it or eat it or do it,
then in essence, you've won.
Do you know what I mean?
You've got to win the
floor on each issue.
So... It's just not
worth the battle.
We talked about it and decided
we're going to keep it
real simple.
I know it sounds
horrible what I say,
but we've been there before,
she was really upset, when we...
I got into trouble for trying to
make her eat prawns or something...
Then she said she was allergic,
and I said:
"No, because you've already
had them, and...
"Just because you don't..." I
don't know, people get hysterical.
Anyway.
[Andrew] You're in the office
tomorrow then?
- [Andrew] Just tidying up?
- Yeah, tidy things up.
[David] Can't wait.
Are you looking for a little
holiday romance?
[David] Uh...
I guess I'll be open to...
whatever comes my way.
[David] I need to
take a step back,
have a break from Melbourne.
[Andrew] I understand
that completely.
[Andrew] I have to say,
the two weeks I was away,
the whole thing
with Cheri's mum.
I-- I mean...
Even though what was happening
was tragic, or sad,
it was still good to be
away from this environment.
From work, from Marie,
from the whole stupidity
of the whole thing.
[David] Hmm.
[David] Well I guess you weren't
particularly close to Cheri's mum.
I've known her for
many years, but look...
Dementia is a cruel,
cruel disease.
She had an odd form of dementia.
Where she couldn't...
My mum's dementia,
she can't remember who she is,
but she remembers what she is.
Meaning she can go to the toilet,
she can eat, she can sit in the chair.
Cheri's mum had
a form of dementia
where she just
forgot what she was.
She remembered who she was.
Meaning, "I'm so and so".
And, "That's my daughter",
and so on.
And, "You're my
daughter's husband".
But she couldn't remember,
for instance, how to eat.
How to go to the toilet.
Think of how cruel
that is. Not only...
She was forgetting things, but she
also knew she wasn't remembering
how to do things that she knew
she should have done.
Her life became...
Her life became
horrible actually.
- [David] There was an awareness?
- I reckon, yeah.
She was aware she couldn't,
and she should have.
I remember about five, six,
seven weeks ago, we took her out.
I was in Adelaide.
And she couldn't work out
how to get into a car.
How to sit in a car. Think about
it, we do it quite seamlessly.
We position ourselves,
we lower ourselves with our...
our bodies, we lift our legs in,
and so on.
And she couldn't
remember how to do it.
And to try to explain it... It was
like, really sad to watch Cheri
try to understand it, what we do,
and then try to explain it to her mum.
It was just terrible.
And she was a
pretty competent...
individual, until this hit her.
So in many ways I was just
sitting there thinking, "Look..."
You know.
My mum on the other hand
is fine. She's got dementia,
but she's happy where she is.
She's comfortable where she is.
Alright, maybe she doesn't...
Maybe her memory is like, about
20 seconds...
If you say something,
she'll just repeat it.
She's on a short loop.
But she's still happy,
she'll smile, she'll laugh.
Maybe I'm making excuses for
why I don't go back more often.
Because I think they're looking
after her, I think she's happy.
But, um...
[David] But she's falling down.
Well, yeah I mean... Obviously
things are changing as well.
Look I don't know how long my
mum's got, I'm now thinking...
how quickly it happened
to Cheri's mum.
[David] Yeah.
- [Andrew] But what do I do?
- That seemed to happen so quickly.
Yeah, it did.
But what do I do, go
over and live, and what?
Wait and sit and watch?
What benefit is it...
Oh, bugger.
[Andrew] What do we want,
we want...
- [David] I reckon one over.
- Nah, I think we're stuck.
[David] OK.
Nothing we can do.
What benefit is it I sit there,
and spend my life sitting there,
to make her happier?
If I'm out of her life,
she's...
She's occupied, watches "Andre
Areer", or whatever his name is...
On TV, they have it on all
the time, or Elvis Presley.
And she sits there
and she seems quite happy.
When I'm there it's just a
reminder of things gone and lost.
Again, maybe I'm just making
myself feel better.
Your parents are young aren't
they, they're quite young?
- Mid-60s.
- Oh yeah, they've got a long way to go.
My mum's 95, I mean she's not...
She's... you know...
[Andrew] I mean I don't even
know whether my mum remembers
whether I'm there.
I can say I've been there
and she'll go, "Oh, OK".
I mean... it sounds
cruel doesn't it?
[David] But when you speak to
her on the phone, she knows it's you?
Yeah, and when I'm there
she knows it's me.
But she doesn't remember
when she last spoke to me
or when I was last there.
I mean she thinks...
For a long while with my sister, she
used to say, "Where's Jacqueline?"
And I'd say, "She passed away.
She died".
And then I'd be sitting there
while she said, "Died..."
And we'd have to go through
the whole thing again.
And then she'd cry,
and I'd just sit there.
So now I all say is, "She
came and say you last week",
or, "She's coming on Saturday".
Makes her happy.
And then she'll say, "Have you
spoken to her?" And I'll say, "Oh, yeah".
So my sister's actually going to
visit my mum more often than I am.
In my mum's mind. I guess... Is
that far from reality, you know?
[Andrew] Who are you
flying with?
- Qatar.
- Oh, OK, via Doha?
- Just economy?
- [David] Yeah.
[Interviewee, on radio] ...the
reality is we've got major issues
with climate
change across the board.
Temperatures rising, drought
which is a consequence of this.
We've got a whole range
of things going on,
yet he talks about
bringing in a lump of coal.
We've got Adani out there, that
moved their capital base offshore,
to the Caribbean, so we've got to
question their ethics and morality.
He's got no idea what's going on.
We're gonna be facing massive drought,
massive consequences, irrigation
problems, farmers going bankrupt,
and he's just sitting there
talking about being "leader".
He's more concerned about
himself than the country.
[Presenter] You can't shut down
coal overnight though, can you?
There's too many people
who depend on it, too many...
I mean there's
billions of dollars,
there's thousands of jobs
and billions of exports.
[Interviewee] But we had people in
this country who have led in the past,
who have actually
developed things
and moved things along
and invested in the future.
Scott's living in past technology,
he's not prepared to invest in Australia.
If you look at the reality, you've
got changes in technology,
you could go solar for a lot of
this, move to battery back-ups.
We could look at the hydrogen technology
that's coming out around the place.
This country's got so much potential,
provided we had some leadership
that could actually deal with that
and start to re-structure our industry.
[Presenter] But what do you do about the
people who lose their jobs? I mean we just
shut down the car industry.
[Interviewee] I'm not
suggesting we do it rapidly,
but I'm suggesting we need
a progressive policy.
The Kyoto Protocol
and us meeting our targets
is a load of rubbish with him.
He thinks we're going to meet
our targets, we're not,
we're way behind and going
backwards rapidly, he's denying that...
[Presenter] Well, I mean, if
you make these sorts of changes,
and I agree with you,
the rest of the world,
by and large has moved on,
while Australia is, you know...
we're becoming
a bit of an outlier...
China's still opening
up new coal mines,
India's still dependent on coal,
we supply it, it creates wealth,
it creates prosperity, it props up
your super fund probably, Leslie, so...
You know, we've got to take all
of that into account, don't we?
[Interviewee] We do
have to take it into account,
but it takes a bit of time and effort
to put some of that
structure in place.
If you spend some time and
effort on the forward planning,
like we've had with previous
people and previous prime ministers
who have thought about these things
with a greater depth of understanding,
then actually end up with getting
a solution that runs for the country.
And we need someone who can
lead and develop a bipartisan approach
so it won't be just one
government doing it.
It's not going to be a quick
change but we do need that change
and we've got a government at the
moment that seems to be more concerned
about their own investments
than what the future holds.
But the reality is that our future
is dependent on our climate
and our climate needs
to be managed effectively,
and it doesn't matter
whether it's Australia or not,
we need to step up to the mark.
We've batted above our weight
in a lot of other industries,
why can't we take the forefront
lead in this issue
and start to talk about it
openly around the world?
Our neighbours will be drowning from
the consequences of climate change,
Fiji and the islands offshore,
and yet we're sitting here,
exporting a commodity,
where we're going to need
to provide them with aid...
This is not appropriate.
This requires leadership
and a humanitarian approach. He
prophecises to be a Christian,
but he doesn't appear to have a
very Christian attitude to other people.
[Presenter] Good to get your views on
it, Leslie, and thank you for your call.
Next up Gillian from Hawthorn.
Good afternoon, Gillian.
Hi Jon, hi.
Now coal, yes or no?
And should we be persisting
with our current mix of climate policies
and energy policies for Australia?
[Gillian] Well... I just think,
Jon, and it's really upsetting me,
I just think that...
It's really upsetting
that politicians think that they know
better than scientists all the time.
I feel like we're at a
stage now, where the...
the knowledge that scientists
have accrued is just being rebuked
and not being taken seriously,
and that concerns me...
[Gillian continues, indistinct]
[Traffic hum fades]
[Andrew laughs]
[Andrew] Ta,
you're very good to me.
[Cheri] Hmm.
- But I can't see what I'm doing.
- [Cheri] Oh, sorry.
[She blows]
- [Andrew] Go away, go away.
- [Cheri laughs]
Go away.
[Insects buzz]
[Wind blows]
[Cheri, in the distance] There's
lots of monarch butterflies as well.
[Insects buzz intensifies]
[Andrew blows]
[Cheri, in the distance] A big emu or
something has walked through here.
- [Cheri] There are lots of emu tracks.
- Yeah?
[Cheri, in the distance] Isn't
that amazing? From the rain,
everywhere you walk
there's little native violets.
[Andrew] I'll have
a look in a minute.
[Cheri] If you focus your
eye on it, the whole ground
is just little purple
dots everywhere.
[Lock clicks]
[Woman, on radio] ...one hour, stuck
in traffic, and allowing an extra hour...
I have to allow an
extra hour, or two,
because if there is even one small
bumper-to-bumper tail end collision,
no one's hurt...
That blocks a lane, that means we
can sit then for another two hours.
- That is not fun.
- [Man, on radio] No it's not, not at all.
Fiona, I've got a full board of calls, I
better get a wriggle on, 1300-931-931,
and more texts, 0437-931-931.
"Shirley in the western suburbs says:
"I'm sick of hearing about the inner city,
"all they ever do is talk
about themselves,"
"have they any idea
what it's like out this way?"
Larry, good afternoon.
Hello Jon, yes good afternoon,
thanks for taking my call.
Yeah, I'm interested in this...
Hi, can I have
Banksia Ward please?
Thank you.
Hi, can I speak to my mum,
Inga Rakowski, room 32, please.
I'm her son.
OK, thanks.
Yeah, hi.
Yeah, yeah.
[Woman on the phone, indistinct]
How has she been
today, how was she?
Is she... Yeah, I know.
Is she feeling... Is
she better today?
OK.
Yeah, don't wake her, that's
fine. I'll try again tomorrow.
If you could let her know her
son called, that would be great.
Alright, thanks a lot.
Bye bye, see ya.
Hi hun, it's just me.
I'm OK, where were you?
Oh, OK.
My mum's still not any better,
she was asleep, so I didn't
get a chance to talk to her.
So that, yeah...
Nah, I got the usual stuff
about her being old and so on...
It's probably good
we're going next week.
I'll be able to drop
in or something.
How are you?
Free way seems to be OK,
40 minutes or so.
But how was your
day, stuff like that?
Alright, OK.
OK, bye bye, see you.
[Traffic hum fades]
[Lock clicks;
Flasher clicks]
[Andrew] Are you
taking time off before?
Yeah, took Monday, Tuesday
and Wednesday off next week.
- Can you just take that over there?
- [David] Sure.
[Andrew] But you've done a lot
of study beforehand haven't you?
Yeah, the last couple months.
[Andrew] Didn't take
any time off though.
[Andrew] Do you
reckon you'll pass?
I don't know, I hope so, I don't
want to do that study again.
[Man on radio, indistinct]
[Andrew sighs]
I've just gotta...
I've just gotta get some petrol.
We're going to Adelaide tonight,
on the way to Adelaide anyway.
- [David] Tonight?
- Yeah, my mum's not too good.
She stopped
eating, taking fluids.
So we want to go over.
- [David] She stopped today?
- No, about two days ago.
[David] And what
are they saying?
Well they say about five, six,
seven days if she doesn't pick up.
They don't last that long.
They don't take fluids, and that
is what probably does them in.
Dehydration and
that sort of stuff.
So we're going to go to Horsham,
and stay the night and then go on.
We'll drive about four hours
tonight when we get home.
[David] You guys have a place
in Horsham?
Yeah, I've mentioned it before.
We bought it to go to Adelaide,
that's what we're using it for.
We went so often for the mums.
We'd go halfway... I'll just
go to the petrol station here.
It's nice,
turned out to be more of what
we enjoy than going to Adelaide.
It's a house on a fair
bit of land,
we lease out the land
to a farmer.
- So it's not in Horsham town?
- No, it's outside.
About halfway
between here and there.
- Between here and Adelaide?
- [Andrew] Adelaide, yeah.
It's about a four hours' drive,
so it's a fair old way.
I've just got to get petrol.
[David] How much land is there?
About a thousand acres,
it's quite nice.
I've got some videos,
if you want to have a look.
I took a video the other day...
Get my iPad out of my bag.
Open up to Photos, go to Videos.
Let's just have a quick look.
There's nothing on it that...
Here we are.
Um... No, don't go there...
Where are Videos? Videos.
There's Videos.
Which one did I do last week?
That one,
have a look at that one.
You can have a look at a few
other things if you want,
I'll just get some petrol.
[Andrew, on video]
Whatcha doing?
[Cheri, on video]
I'm picking roses.
- What are you doing?
- Just taking a video.
- And why are you doing that?
- Because I can.
[Andrew]
They're lovely this year.
[Cheri] I'm trying to work out
which ones to take home.
Take some smelly ones.
- Huh?
- Ones that have nice smell.
[Fly buzzes in video;
Andrew blows]
[Andrew] Flies are really bad.
[Cheri] The flies are terrible.
[Cheri] A lot of these are
already past their use-by date.
Well no, you know, but by
the time you get them home...
They'll be... They'll be...
[Andrew] - Which ones?
RSL ones. But already
their buds...
I could take those
buds I suppose.
[Water pours, on video]
- [Andrew] Are you coming?
- [Cheri] I'm coming.
[Cheri] They said that
they are... right.
In your mum's mind,
she's dreamt, or whatever,
that you've said you're coming,
and no matter how many times
you, me, the nurses, staff...
[Cheri] No one can tell my mum
that she's not seeing things.
She's right, and
we're all wrong.
Even the fact that
we're all saying,
"No, there's no people
climbing up poles".
"She won't even
rationalise that,"
"Maybe there is
something wrong with me,"
"Because everybody's saying"
there's no people
climbing up poles,
"so maybe I am seeing things".
She can't even do that.
Oh you've got all this on tape,
me ranting, have you?
[Andrew] No it's good because
I'll listen to it and I'll think about
how difficult it was, and how we
went over and over
to justify everything,
you know, the
feeling of distress.
I don't know.
It's just crap.
Careful here, tread in
the middle here, OK?
Don't tread on the edge.
Tread here.
I almost flicked myself up.
Where my foot is.
You can tread on the edge there,
and then tread there,
you'll be right.
And you've done it,
you've trodden exactly
where I said don't tread.
Which one you looking at?
- How does, how do you do it?
- Oh, god.
That's all my mum's stuff,
after she went into the home.
That's in the shed up there.
- Oh end it, end it, end it.
- [David laughs]
I'll show you my mum.
Ah, which one...
This one, you'll see her here.
[Andrew, on video] No, I'm not
particularly interested.
She's in the home there. You
can hear "Areer", "Andre Areer",
they all sit in front of that.
It's revolting.
Almost a stereotype, a clich.
She's speaking German.
- [David] You understand German?
- Yeah, yeah.
[David] What's she saying?
"Are you sleeping
here?", "No".
"Where are you sleeping?"
[Andrew, on video] I'm
flying back now, soon.
We're flying back in a minute.
We're going home today, yeah.
[Andrew] "Do you
live in Adelaide?"
Yeah, so, you know.
That shed's now full
of my sister's gear.
Cause you know my sister...
[David] Which shed?
The shed up there
you saw it before.
There's a photo of my sister's
place too there.
Where abouts is it?
Let me have a look, David.
Which one is it?
I think it's taken...
Here we are, take
a look at that one.
This was taken after
I'd cleaned it out.
Took out all the cupboards.
It was a mess.
That was her kitchen, I took out
everything that had rotted out.
Because I...
She passed away, at that spot.
And I took this in
order protect myself.
Because I knew the other guy
might say I'd done too much.
But all I did was clean it out.
But in the end they said
that I had vandalised it
and I had to pay ten grand.
Can you believe it?
Completely ridiculous.
[David] This state is what
you found it in?
No, I had cleaned
it out, ready to...
Look at it, it's fine.
What happened there?
But I wasn't going to argue,
there's no point in arguing that stuff.
[Andrew] Anyway, put it away.
So that's it,
so hopefully she'll...
Who knows what will happen?
It's probably not going
to be great, but we'll see.
[David] What's not
going to be great?
My mum, I don't reckon
she'll go beyond...
Beyond another week or so.
Which is a pity,
but I guess it's...
- [David] Giving Cheri a call?
- No.
She knows I'm coming home,
I said that you were
catching a lift.
She's fine, she's
just getting ready.
She's at work actually, she won't
get home... What time is it? 5:18.
She won't get home for another
half an hour anyway.
She got some work, which was...
- Which was good.
- Yeah, that's great.
[David] How long, just
temporary stuff?
Yeah, just three days a week.
With a local arts company.
A friend of hers,
remembered her from...
five, six, seven, eight,
don't know how many years.
Is this where I go?
I don't go this way normally.
- No, next one.
- [David] Yeah, I reckon Forster.
It's good, it's been good
for her. She's really...
She's a bit more cheerful,
I think it's good.
Work's good.
Gives you a focus,
takes your mind
off of other stuff.
These are my sister's. Bolls,
I found them in her stuff.
Aren't they fancy?
Most expensive pair of
sunglasses I've ever owned.
- [David] Are they women's sunnies?
- Are they? I don't know.
I'm told they make
me look very European.
[Andrew] You like them?
[David] Yeah, not bad.
[Andrew] They probably are female
sunnies, but male, female, I don't know.
- [Andrew] Are they?
- I don't know.
Now you've got me worried.
So yeah, so, uh...
[Andrew] I imagine it's going
to be an interesting week ahead.
And I don't mean "interesting"
in a good way.
[David] Cheri's
taking time off work?
Yeah, it's only part-time, so
she can shift around her days.
And she'll fly back maybe, I don't know,
we haven't really thought through it.
We don't really know...
We'll go over...
We'll get there tomorrow afternoon,
we'll be able to judge it pretty quickly.
If she starts eating,
it will be all OK.
And be delayed for another
month, or week, or year, or whatever.
I've squared it up
with Marie, she's fine.
With that sort of stuff
she's pretty good.
[David] What do you do, what's the land
like? I couldn't tell on those videos.
Flat.
[David] What's growing?
That video was pea.
They grow pea. It's a bit short
because it's been a dry season.
- [David] But who grows the pea?
- The farmer, we lease it out.
He grows pea, he
grows barley, lupins.
[Andrew] What else
does he grow? Lentils.
Chickpea.
The one time he grew chickpea,
we had a bad season.
All very weather dependent.
[David] He doesn't
live there though?
No, he lives in town.
He's an old guy.
He's got a few things wrong with
him, it's amazing he just keeps going.
But he's got a bloke,
he's got his son-in-law,
they run a little
farming business.
And we're just
one of their plots.
[David] Yeah, it looked nice.
- [Andrew] Should come up one day.
- Yeah.
How long does it take
you guys to get there?
Four hours.
Take about four hours.
Does Cheri do
any of the driving?
No... Well yeah, look...
No I'll probably drive, she...
I like to drive.
I like to drive in the city,
I like to drive...
I just like to drive.
[David] This car has
cruise control, yeah?
Yeah, yeah.
[Andrew] Come on,
I don't like traffic.
What's holding us up?
I'm a bit impatient, I just
don't want to be delayed today.
[Andrew] What are you going to
do if you don't pass the exam?
I don't know, it's starting to
get a little funny with Marie.
I really hope I pass, Andrew.
And if not?
I might have to start
looking for something else.
I don't reckon I've
got long there too.
[Andrew] I need to shake things
up, I can't just keep doing this
day in, day out.
Pointless.
God the traffic's terrible,
isn't it? I saw 25 minutes.
Oh, dear.
- [David] 25 to... Kings Way?
- To Kings Way, yeah.
Let alone up over the Bolte.
[Andrew] You can have a look
at more if you want.
Where's the iPad,
did you put it back in my bag?
You can have a look at more if you want.
I don't mind, I mean there's nothing...
I tend to not take people,
I tend to take things.
Landscapes, the photos, I don't
know whether there's anything there.
Have a look, you'll see
there's some stuff.
Oh that's videos. There's
some drone shots there too.
Got a drone,
which I mentioned a while back.
They're pretty cool.
- [David] More of your mum.
- Yeah, more of my mum, yeah.
What's that one?
That's the lake.
That's a boring one.
What's that one?
That's the garden,
you can see Cheri there.
Where is she? Is she there?
[Andrew, on video]
Stand up, hun.
She won't appreciate that.
- Just say hello to the video.
- [Cheri] Hi, video.
[Andrew] Look at me.
[Cheri] Hang on, I can't get up
and down that easily.
[Andrew] OK, I'm just gonna
go walk to the drive.
[Cheri] My stool's cool, but when I have
to kneel for a while and then get up...
[Andrew, on video] The ground
is really wet.
[Andrew] That would have
been a year ago or so.
The flies are out,
so wasn't this year.
There's our old car.
Probably two years ago.
Three maybe.
Turn the sound down, I don't
like the sound of my voice.
I don't mind watching it,
I don't want to hear me.
That's the driveway.
See that's barley.
- [David] That's barley?
- Yeah, that's barley.
That's looking down the drive.
- [David] Yeah, looks beautiful.
- Yeah, it's lovely.
The drive's 800
metres, so it's nice.
[David] Is the lake
out that way?
The lake is on the other side
of those trees.
And it's big, a big lake.
It's dry, wet, dry.
At the moment it's dry.
Two, three years ago it
was full. Not full, two-thirds.
There might be one with
water in it. Go have a look.
Just look for one with water
in it, and that will be it.
Again, turn the sound down,
I don't want to hear myself.
There's some photos, go to the photos.
There's quite a few photos of the place.
[David] Why'd you guys drive so
much, why didn't you fly between them?
[Andrew] If I had an aeroplane?
No, between Adelaide
and Melbourne.
[Andrew] Given that
we can stay there,
it kind of breaks it up.
I mean...
It sounds a little bit bad
that we're getting some
enjoyment out of it all, but...
It will be nice to
get there tonight,
it will be nice to wake-up
tomorrow morning,
It will be nice to have
breakfast and then go.
It's just making a good
thing out of a bad situation.
We have flown a lot, I was a
gold member there for a while.
But it costs a heap of money.
Oh, that one.
There's me and my mum,
there we are. On the beach.
[David] In Adelaide?
That was about two,
three years ago...
Look for water, that's the lake.
Go for one that
looks like the ocean.
- [David] I don't want to distract you.
- No.
- [David] These ones?
- Yeah, that's the lake.
It's like being at the beach.
You wouldn't know.
And now, you can
just drive out on it.
We drove out on
it the other day.
In fact if you go to the videos,
there's one of the drone of it.
Go to the videos,
there's a drone one of the lake,
probably about three weeks ago.
If you want, I mean
you don't have to.
I think I saw it.
It's got a shadow of the drone.
[David] Oh, this most
recent one, down here?
[Mechanical buzz on video]
[David] Oh, wow.
[Andrew] Yeah, I went up,
just had a look.
In a minute I'll
pan up and around.
[Robotic female voice]
Maximum flight altitude reached.
[Andrew, on video]
Alright, I'm 500 metres now.
[Andrew] It's amazing those things,
they can do... They're fully automated.
You know the Mars thing
that just landed the other day?
And they're all going on
about how it goes.
But really, drones
do it all the time.
They're all programmed
to do all sorts of things.
I guess the thing
with the Mars thing,
is whether everything's still
working, after six months in space.
Do you know what I mean?
That thing will go, where it takes
off, to the nearest centimetre.
If you just press a button, it'll do
everything you want, automatically.
Technology's just amazing.
That's our place there, you can
see it expanding across there.
And it goes back a little bit.
- [David] It's so flat.
- Yeah.
[Andrew] Well it's all that
sort of, plains.
Very rich, alluvial soil.
[David] Oh, there's the
lake, bit of water.
- [Andrew] Is there?
- Isn't that water?
Nah, that's not water, you'll
see the river, to the left.
But anyway.
[Beep]
What happens is, when it runs
out of battery it'll start beeping,
and no matter what you do,
it just lands.
The big danger with those things
is that they run out battery
and just fall out of the sky.
Which has almost happened once.
If it can't maintain
its location with the wind.
But anyway.
I'm sorry to hear about
your mum, Andrew.
It's OK.
It's probably for the best.
Her life quality's pretty crap.
She's not happy, I mean...
What do you do?
[David] What did she do?
Well, she was a physio.
But she helped my dad,
in his business.
And he was a vet.
So she was his...
Sidekick.
Back in those days it wasn't all
this... green gowns with the face masks,
and the machine that goes "ping",
all this sort of stuff like a hospital.
It was pretty rudimentary.
People just treating animals...
It's just gone crazy now.
[David] What do you mean?
Now you go to a vet,
well you don't have pets,
but you go to a vet now you're going to
pay as much for the pet as you are for...
for a human being.
And they'll give chemo,
and they'll do this and do that.
It's all just... You know.
It's all just milking it,
my dad would have said,
if he detected cancer or something,
because cancer's nothing new.
He would have just said,
"Dog's not in pain?
Still eating?", yes,
"Still wagging tail?", yes.
"Well until that stops
"enjoy the puppy or the dog.
"And then when it gets bad,
we'll put her down humanely,
"and gently and you can all
grieve together". But now...
Who was it? Our next-door
neighbours have just paid $5,000.
Somebody we know paid
over $5,000, for their dog,
because it had
some sort of cancer.
$5,000, and it will die anyway,
it will die in three months' time,
or half a years' time. It's just crazy.
They see you coming.
It's gone out of
proportion to what it is.
I shouldn't say that.
- [David] What did she do at the vet?
- Well, there's a lot to do.
Places now probably
have receptions, nurses,
assistants, you name it.
It was just her and my dad.
She did all the...
Reception, nurse, assistant.
Cleaner probably, who knows.
Me and my sister as well,
my sister and I.
I always used to
get the tail end,
figuratively and literally.
Which wasn't great, because
when you do anything to a dog
without anaesthetic they tend
to let loose of their bowels.
Me and dog shit
are fairly closely familiar.
And my dad was...
He was a hard taskmaster,
he wasn't an easy guy to get
along with when he was at work.
I mean he was good, but
everybody at work gets a bit tense.
It was pretty tough
for my mum, I think.
I know after he died she really relaxed
and started to enjoy life a little bit.
Which was good for her.
The last 20 years at least, 25
years, have been quite good for her.
Until about three years ago.
Damn.
Only bad thing is I haven't
seen my mum for a while.
I just neglected to go lately.
She just seemed like
she was going to live forever.
They get to a point and you
think, they're not gonna go,
they're just going to
be around, you know.
So I sort of dropped back
a little bit from going over.
Which I regret a little bit.
She wasn't really aware...
You could see in that clip...
She wasn't aware of who I was.
[David] She spoke English?
- No, she spoke German.
- [David] I know, but in life.
Yeah, she spoke English,
she spoke quite good actually.
My dad never did.
It was his mark,
of how he approached everything.
Sort of like, "Bugger
you I'll speak as I want".
But my mum was quite good.
But when people get old they tend
to revert back to their native tongue.
[David] What was she like?
What do you mean, what was
she like? She was my mum.
Never know what my mum's like.
No one, we never know what our
mums are like, or our dads are like.
We never know them
as human beings.
We just adopt their
views and opinions,
and never understand why.
What about your parents,
they still kicking?
They would be, wouldn't they.
They're not here are they?
[David] In Canberra.
[David] There's a distinct
theme in your photos.
Yeah?
- [Andrew] Not people?
- No, the bush.
Don't look at any ones with Cheri,
she'll kill me if you've looked at them.
[David chuckles]
I think the place gives me a lot
of pleasure. It was such a...
- We were so lucky to...
- [David] Are they your sheep?
Huh, which one?
- [David] Are they sheep?
- Yeah, they're sheep.
Ah, there's my sister, hang on,
there you go, that's my sister.
[David] Yeah right.
- That's your sister?
- Yeah, yeah.
And there's my mum and dad
down the bottom.
I sent that to a friend,
after she passed away.
I sent that as a little thing
to her friends.
- [David] That's you and her?
- That's me and her with my dad.
They're all dead now, just me.
That's great, hey?
That one, there.
[David] Were you
and your sister close?
- [David] Is that you?
- Yeah, that's me.
Don't I come across as that good
looking chap any more?
[David] Oh, my god.
- Why? What's the matter?
- [David] Is that you?
Yeah, that's me,
that's a funny one, that one.
[David laughs]
Yeah, I had long hair.
That actually was probably
only in the '90s, mid-'90s.
Oh, early-'90s.
Do you mind if I put
my sunglasses on?
My mum was pretty good.
First time to Melbourne... She
used to take us as kids to Melbourne.
I remember that was our first...
Really our first and only
holidays as kids.
We used to always go... She used
to always stay the best places.
My poor old dad was always
back home battling away.
Now he was pretty old you see,
so my mum would, she was funny...
She spent money a bit wildly.
We'd always go
to the best hotel.
We went to Florentine Grossi,
before it was...
it was the Florentine, back
in the day. I remember...
- It was real ritzy.
- [David] Is it still there?
- It's now called Flossi.
- [David] Grossi?
It's now owned by that guy.
But it's the old Florentine.
Melbourne's full of those old places,
that have been here since year dot.
You know, 40, 50 years,
40 years, 30 years.
Vlados, you know that one?
And what's the one...
The one in Toorak?
There are a whole bunch of them.
[Andrew] Do you go out much?
[David] Never down that way.
To Toorak.
[Andrew] Do you go out
to dinner much?
- [David] I guess, every now and then.
- Gourmet dinner?
- [David] Is Grossi gourmet?
- Oh, yeah. That's one of the...
So your mum would
take you there?
[Andrew] She'd take us
everywhere.
What she couldn't do
with my dad in Adelaide,
she'd then do with
us in Melbourne.
Oh, yeah.
It was great.
We stayed at the Southern Cross,
which is in Exhibition Street.
I love Exhibition Street, I'd go
that way but I don't want to delay.
To me, that's Melbourne,
Exhibition Street.
You go up that rise off the rail
yards. And the trees, and the cars...
I've just got that image
from when I was...
I must have been 10. And we were
at the Southern Cross Hotel.
Who stayed there?
I think The Beatles, or Mick Jagger
stayed there back in '63 or something.
[David] It's not there now
is it?
Nah, it's gone.
It replaced a beautiful old
Victorian building,
I remember looking at pictures
of the old building it replaced.
And now it's gone and I think it's
just an office block or something.
That's my memories of Melbourne.
We used to always train over...
[David] They knocked it down?
Oh yeah, it's all gone.
We used to train over on the
sleepers, that was fun, a lot of fun.
All gone.
My mum was pretty good that way.
What is the speed I didn't look?
[Andrew] 60? Or was it 80?
It must have been 60.
I've been done here before.
[David] I don't think you'll
be going faster than 60.
No.
[David] It's 80.
[Andrew] I just hope it's not
long and drawn out for her.
[Traffic hum fades]
[Lock clicks]
[Andrew] So she
came into the office.
And she stood there
while I was doing some work.
Ta.
She stood there with her arms
folded, looking at me. And I sorta said...
I was feeling really
uncomfortable at that stage.
[David] Was anyone else
in there with you?
No.
I said, "I feel like you're
bullying me, I feel intimidated".
And she sort of said,
"If you can't work with me..."
She just went on that
whole thing about...
If I can't...
If she can't talk to me directly,
then there's no working relationship.
And I just said,
"Well, I feel uncomfortable".
And she said, "We'll need to
talk about this seriously further on",
and then she just left.
I don't know.
Anyway, we'll see what happens.
[David] Hm.
[Andrew] How long have I got
there I don't know, but anyway.
At the moment all is happy,
happy as Larry I guess.
And what about yourself?
You're leaving Friday aren't ya?
Friday's your last day isn't it?
[David] Friday's last day.
But I'll be in the city
the next two days.
Cool.
And then what,
after Friday what happens then?
[David] The course starts
next Wednesday,
for two months, and
then that's it, I'll be out,
practising.
[Andrew] Excited?
[David] Are you gonna
give Cheri a call?
Nah, you're here.
She's at work anyway.
Did I tell you she got work?
Part-time work.
And now she's
about to see her boss.
The boss thinks she's great, so
they're going to offer her more work.
I don't know.
She always gets headhunted.
I think every job she's ever got
she's been headhunted.
I've never been headhunted.
I don't know whether she'll
take it or not, we'll see.
I don't know whether I want her
to, but it's got nothing to do with me.
If she's happy with it, I
think it's better that she does.
She's been far happier, lately.
Rather than being at home. I've
really noticed a big change.
Sitting at home worrying
about the miseries of life.
It's no good for anyone.
No good for me.
Anyway, we'll see.
[David] Is it going
to be full-time?
I hope not. I think she'll
go crazy if it's full-time.
I hope not, for us. I don't
want her to work full-time.
What's the point? At the end
of the day, what's the point?
Life just becomes a grind of waking
up, going to work, coming home.
It's like the hamster wheel.
[David] What's she
going to be doing?
- [Andrew] What's she going to be doing?
- Yeah.
Just what she does.
You know, that admin,
management type stuff.
She'll get paid more
money, everything.
It's typical Cheri, but that's
good, all good, everything good.
[Andrew] OK. Oopsie-daisy.
[David] Are you going
to report Marie?
Nah, I'm not going to, I'm gonna
leave that's what I'm going to do.
[Andrew] I'll do like you,
go to the bar.
Don't know whether
I have it in me though.
Do you think this water will be any good,
sitting in the hot car? It's a bit warm.
[David] I reckon, as I've
said Andrew, it would suit you,
or you could start
your own firm.
[Andrew] Yeah, yeah, I could.
I'll see, I don't know.
I'll wait and see.
Right now, I just want a quiet life. I
just don't really want a lot of hassle.
I don't want too many
clients hassling me.
That's the good thing
about what you're doing...
You'll be impartial...
The taxi rank...
At court advocate.
You deal with the
client and walk away.
That aspect of the
work I quite like.
But with carrying their problems,
sometimes it just wears you down.
As you know.
So I won't be giving
you a lift any more, hey?
Not that I do that
often, but still.
[David] Can't say I'm going
to miss being out here though.
[Andrew] Lunches
are better out here.
The city's pretty
bland, lunch-wise.
It's expensive, put it that way.
Where you get
great food out here.
At good, reasonable prices.
Anyway.
See how it goes.
[Andrew] So, what else have
you got to tell me?
Still doing the Tinder thing?
[David] Hmm... Ah...
Reluctantly.
- [Andrew] Reluctantly?
- Yeah.
I thought you were with someone.
A few dates.
I'm not really sure
if I should keep it going or...
to end it now. I don't
think I'm really feeling it.
I don't think that's how I want
to meet someone, Andrew.
- [Andrew] What, Tinder?
- Yeah.
[Andrew] How else
should you meet 'em?
[David] I don't know.
It seems to take
something out of it.
[Andrew] Like what?
Well most people meet at work, or
most people meet at... you know...
Most people meet at something
they do mutually together.
Tinder's just being on the
internet. How different is it really?
The bar or something...
Do people meet at bars, and
continue on to have relationships?
Short things, but relationships?
I don't know.
I've got no real
experience in that.
[David] Where did you guys meet?
We've been together
since year dot.
20, 30, 40 years, maybe.
At uni, we sat together
in the class.
- You met at uni?
- Yeah, yeah.
[Andrew] Friends.
- [David] Uni in Adelaide?
- Yeah.
We went out for a little bit,
then we had a big argument
and I didn't talk to her for
about three or four years.
We saw each other around,
sat next to each other
at a seminar, or a movie,
or something that was on campus. I
remember that, we both remember that.
And after graduation,
we had a graduation party
and a mutual friend...
They rocked up to my place,
I was still living at home.
I think I was... Yeah, I was
living at home at that stage.
- How old would you have been?
- [Andrew] I was 21, 22.
And they pull up in the car,
friends picking up everybody...
And they said get in the back,
and who's sitting there but Cheri.
She looks at me and I'm looking at
her, I'm thinking, "This is interesting".
Cause like I said, we'd been
together for about three, four months,
back three years earlier,
four years earlier, I think.
And from then on we
haven't looked back.
So... it's kinda funny.
And I often wonder whether
the guy who picked us up knew.
Cheri says she never said
anything,
she said she'd always
had a thing for me.
I was always aware of her
being around,
we passed each other
around the area.
We kinda had... She slapped
my face actually, way back.
- At the end of the three months?
- Yeah.
We were at a party, and it
ended with her slapping my face.
- Then I didn't talk to...
- [David] What did you do?
It was nothing really,
it was one of those silly
parties when you're young.
Oh, you know. I don't know,
I can't remember.
It was so many years ago.
That's how it's been.
It was just meant
to be I suppose.
[David] You didn't try
to get her back?
Nah, it was pride,
and all sorts of things.
Also you're young,
and you've got a life,
and you want to
do other things...
We've been together, we've been
living together for probably,
I don't know, how many years...
For a while we weren't, for
many years we weren't actually,
for five or six or seven.
And then we moved in together.
And I've been away for about
three years in total, interstate,
and did the overseas trip.
I lived in America for a
couple years, she came over...
We've been apart probably,
in total, about three years.
Were you with anyone else
in the three-year gap?
No. Oh, you know,
the usual stuff, but nothing...
Nothing... No relationships
of any note, put it that way.
[David] What about
before you met?
Again it was the...
vigour of youth.
But again, nothing serious.
And there wasn't any... I don't
know about... Was it meant to be?
I don't know. Who knows.
I think it was friendship,
it was really solid,
we really... clicked.
Like the yin and yang, or the
Lego pieces fitting together.
Sorta like that.
It felt very comfortable,
the friendship aspect.
Of course, there's always
the sexual tension.
All that sort of stuff.
And then it just felt so right,
I suppose.
[David] That's crazy, one
serious relationship.
That's life.
[David] You've never had
your heart broken?
Or broken someone else's heart?
That's all another story.
Anyway...
Let's just enjoy
the drive, David.
[David laughs]
What's that story?
[Andrew] Let's just enjoy
the drive, here we are...
It's 33, the cool change
has come through.
[David] You were always sure?
[Andrew] What do you mean,
I was never sure,
I don't think
anyone is ever sure.
If it works it works,
and if doesn't work,
you're not together.
Cheri would tell you I've broken
her heart many times.
Yeah, I don't know.
I must say, I mean we've
been together... Three years...
I mean, being alone, nup...
It just felt right,
still feels right.
But you've gotta work
at it, David, you really do.
It's like a little flame,
flickers back and forward,
the wind blows
on it, it rains...
If it goes out,
I'd hate to think.
Then it just wouldn't work.
Gotta have the little flame.
Sometimes it roars.
Sometimes it's just like a
little pilot light in a heater.
You think, "Oh, it's
going to get blown out".
[David] Have you heard
the song "Cheree"?
[Andrew] No, who's it by?
A modern song, contemporary?
- [David] It's from the '70s.
- Oh, '70s.
I may have heard it, not
that horrible screeching one?
[David] Hang on, I'll
see if I can find it for you.
[David] You have an iPhone, why don't
you talk to Cheri on your iPhone on this?
[Andrew] Got Bluetooth too.
[David] Yeah, but you always
use your headphones.
[Andrew] Because every
time I talk on Bluetooth on this
she says, "What, what, what?"
So I just find that if I...
I use the earphones it's really
clear and concise,
and she doesn't go,
"What, what, what?"
I'm trying to wean
her onto Bluetooth.
Alright, so what
are we listening to?
It's a band I like,
from New York.
[Music plays - "Cheree"
by Suicide]
Cheree, Cheree
Oh, baby
Oh, baby
I love you
[David] You never heard this?
Cheree, Cheree
My comic book fantasy
Oh, I love you
Cheree, Cheree
Shut the door, baby
Oh, I love you
Oh, come play with me
Oh, baby
Oh, baby
I love you
I love you baby
I love you
Cheree, Cheree
Cheree, Cheree
My black leather lady
I love you
I love you
Oh, I want you, baby
Oh, I want you, baby
[Music fades]
[Andrew] Yeah, it's been
a long time.
Relationships are good,
I guess, I don't know
if something happened,
I don't know whether I'd
go into another relationship.
Maybe I'd just live a single
life at the end of the day,
I don't know.
- [David] What do you mean?
- Oh, I don't know...
Why would I get tangled up
again? It's different for you.
[David] Do you mean if you
were to do it again?
[Andrew] No, if anything
were to happen to her now.
[David] Oh, OK.
[Andrew] She says I wouldn't
last five seconds.
[David] Without her?
[Andrew] No, she
thinks I'd be fine,
she thinks somebody would
come along and hook me,
and sorta, you know...
pull me into the vacuum
of their lives.
And I'd be, I'd be trapped.
And she reckons I'd last
alone five seconds.
I've gone on about,
if I was by myself...
But she says,
"You wouldn't last".
Some woman would suck me in,
I'd be gone.
Don't think I would be,
I say, "Nup, nup".
I think I'd relish
the independent life.
Move into a hotel,
join a men's club,
walk with a cane.
Just sorta be free.
But...
It's one of our jokes actually.
[Lock clicks]
[Man, on radio] ...and a
man was watching YouTube,
or a television show or something,
just staring at his screen.
The woman was on Facebook,
or texting or something,
and the child was just sitting
there looking bored.
Yeah, I just thought...
I wish I'd had the guts to
actually make a movie of it...
and post it, I think it would
have gone viral.
- [Presenter] On your phone?
- Yes, on my phone...
[Presenter] You would have used your phone
to film these people on their phones,
and that's where it's eating
itself, the culture is eating itself.
Stephen from Berwick there,
kicking off our discussion today.
Annie from Melton, are you
addicted to your mobile phone, Annie?
I have to admit that I am,
it's with me pretty much 24/7.
[Presenter] And what do you do
about it, if you're aware of it,
does that trigger a response?
[Annie] Well I've been looking
for self-help groups,
but I can't seem to find someone
to have a decent face-to-face
conversation, so I...
[Presenter] No, that's
probably on the phone.
[Annie] I think... I've
retired from work
and I've felt a little bit
socially alienated.
I've taken to reading books
on my phone, and...
I certainly, you
know, am aware of...
of the fact that it is a poor replacement
for friendship, in some ways...
[Presenter] Sorry, are you telling us
you phone has become your best friend?
Well, look as I say,
it's with me 24/7, and...
You know, I read books...
As much as I know...
Hi hun, how are you?
I'm OK, where abouts are ya?
It's OK.
Nothing, nothing much, same old.
It was OK, interesting,
worth going, I guess.
What about yourself?
Did you just leave now?
OK.
Yeah, no I'm fine.
It's fine, everything's fine.
OK.
No, that's OK. Alright.
OK, hun. Alright.
Yeah, sure that's fine.
Alright, when are you
going to get home?
I don't know, probably the same.
OK hun.
OK, alright.
See ya.
See ya.
[Traffic hum fades]