I’ve written off to the managers of the Arintji café and Federation Square to ask them what the hell they are on about, the following made bugger all sense at the time — just another example of the mindless rules that seem to be increasing all the time, generally waved off with the all-powerful word “security” wafted over them to ward off evil spirits. I wonder what bizarre explanation they’ll be able to offer.
Jo and I sat down for a late lunch and a beer at one of the cafés in Federation Square. We heard that Mountain Goat Hightail Ale was available, so ordered two and a few snacks.
The beers duly arrived, two bottles, and since its such a flavoursome beer we asked for glasses, the better to savour the smells and tastes. The conversation became somewat Dada-esque:
“Can we have glasses for the beers please?”
“We can’t bring glasses outside”
“What about those glasses of wine, that glass of water, and these beers in glass bottles?”
“Sorry, but we’re not allowed to give you glasses outside.”
“That is ridiculous, you’ve already given us glass bottles, and you’ve given those people glass glasses. What do you do with wine?”
“Those are the rules, they have told us we can’t bring glasses outside.”
“Look, the beer tastes much better from a glass, surely we can drink it from glasses.”
“OK, but security will tell us off if they see them!”
So there you have it, straight from the Stalinist Russia school of rules and security. No rationale, no explanation. These are the rules and they are policing them.
We did get our glasses, and the Goat tasted much better for it; we also received forks in a glass with the snacks! At eight bucks a bottle, I’m sure Arintji can afford to pay for the extra washing up, and I shall wait with bated breath for their responses to my letter of enquiry….
From now on I think I’ll stick to drinking goat from the tap, somewhere pleasant like at the brewery or the GB in Richmond where it costs half as much!
