The cool evenings are back on Oak Street
There's a particular afternoon each year when the heat finally lets go of Oak Street. By supper time the verandah is the best seat in town.
The afternoon the heat lets go
You can feel it before you can name it. The wind swings, the shadows lengthen early and somebody on the street says it's turned. At Gidgee House that is the signal to take the covers off the long tables on the verandah, dust the lamps and start the stock for the first pumpkin soup of the cool months.
The cool months are our busy months. Travellers heading across the plains stop to break the journey, and families come in from the stations to see friends. The dining room fills earlier, the stairs creak with more feet and Todd starts to write the name of every table into his notebook a week ahead.
Not everything about the change is practical. The first cold night of the year makes strangers friendlier, and the dining room picks up a murmur that wasn't there in summer. People linger over tea, the lamps look softer, and nobody seems in any hurry to climb the stairs.
Getting the house ready
The kitchen shifts gear
Trevor changes the menu in small steps rather than all at once. First the cold salads fade and the yabby plate shrinks; then the roast comes back every night, the corned silverside returns and the golden syrup dumplings reappear. By the time the evenings drop below comfortable, the whole card has turned from summer to winter without anyone noticing.
Upstairs gets its blankets
The casino room has no heating beyond an old fan heater, so Olivia puts out a basket of wool rugs near the roulette table. They're surprisingly popular with the poker crowd, who say they concentrate better with a rug over their knees. The brass lamps, which throw a surprising amount of warmth, are lit an hour earlier.
A word for travellers
If you're passing through, the rota page shows which nights are calmest. Tuesdays and Wednesdays suit a quick supper and a look at the tables. Weekends are livelier, and a booking is wise. Tell us you're on the road and we'll have the pot of tea on before you've parked.