Moving to new places is hard, it takes a good few months to get yourself established, find your way as it were. But at some point, you do start to settle in, find your sense of place. Going to Spain it took me a good three months to find somewhere I was comfortable just to sit and write, have a few wines, and not feel like the preverbal fish out of water. Coming to Lorne, it didn’t take as long.
That’s because I discovered the Lorne Bowls Club – well, not discovered so much, more like my car has been parked at its fence since I arrived. Anyway, it didn’t take long to realise this place is where many of the locals gather. It’s quite famous apparently, according to a very dear friend who was instrumental in saving the Coorparoo Bowls Club from developers. But I digress.
The staffing crisis in the hospitality industry has been compounded by that nasty little virus that has kept borders closed and students and backpackers out. Resulting in staff shortages that have seen many local businesses unable to open. So much for checking out the local venues! This industry is hurting, badly.
The thing about a crisis is that you get to see the best of people and the worst of people. Covid-19 isn’t a tragedy in the same way as the Christchurch earthquake or any of the many Australian bush fires, it has however equally bought out the best and worst of us. I’m not going to focus on the later because they don’t deserve my time.
I want to acknowledge and thank the student army for their work in Christchurch, the Rural Fire Brigades’ that battled the bush fires and the businessmen and women who worked within the closed borders to keep staff employed and businesses running. Those people that consistently demonstrate the human in humanity.
As for Covid-19, it has challenged many businesses, unfortunately shut many down. In a beachside resort that should thrive and prosper the impact is plain to see. Restaurants don’t open most days, staffing shortages are commonplace but yet I find somewhere that feels like home. And that is a testament to the people that work hard to make you feel welcome and the ones that don’t need to because they are by nature good humans.
And that dear readers is why the Lorne Bowls Club is the best little bowls club outside of Coorparoo.
Oh, and they are a pretty good bowls team, so I’m told.