Gentle Bedlam in the Botty-G

One summer night in Hobart, four young hooligans went looking for trouble.
It was the day after New Years Eve, some people know it as New Years day, and they’d, all four, had to work the night before. Tonight they’d enjoyed a few bottles of wine at the Taste of Tasmania and, after being kicked out of the harbour side venue at closing time, they hadn’t had enough. So they decided the best thing to do would be to enjoy a hot tub and more wine at Trudy’s house.

But when they got there the spa was bare. Apparently, Trudy’s brother had a private spa party the night before and somehow a small article of clothing became stuck in the bubble filter so the spa had to be drained. And so the four had none.

Still focussed on the continuation of the evening- the troupe of hooligans began wandering. Their wandering carried them across the road to the 24 hour bottle shop where they picked up a carton filled with cassie dee cans, and they continued walking. It was strange, and unheard of, but the first thing they came upon in their wandering was a high stone fence. They stepped back, in wonderment. “Corrr…” Jody breathed. “The Botanical Gardens.”
Without a word they began to climb. Thy passed the carton carefully between them as they clambered up the stone and over the spikes.

When they were all inside they looked around, dusting off their hands. And they breathed in deeply the sweet, sweet smell of well-loved lawns, open tulips and multiple water features.
“Here,” Chris said simply as he pointed to a patch of grass just inside the gate. And they set down their beers and set off on a tour of the gardens. They gave themselves a guided viewing of the Chinese garden, the duck pond and the bird avery. In wonderment, they breathed fresh, horticultured air and sipped their beer and revelled in the first hours of this new year.
Trudy and Jody were up a tree when the police came. The girls heard two voices, lower and louder than their mates. So they hugged the trunk and Jody shut her eyes tightly to make sure that they weren’t seen. She didn’t open them again until she heard voices directly below.
“How ya goin’ there ladies?”
The police officer was shining a torch directly in their eyes.
“Good thanks,” Trudy responded cheerfully. “Will you be wanting us to leave now?”
“Nah, I don’t think so.”
“We do intend to sleep here tonight,” Trudy went on.
“Alright then. Have a good night ladies.”
Trudy and Jody were silent, disbelieving, until the officers and their torch light faded into the distance. Then, giggling, they tumbled out of the tree and ran up the hill to meet the boys.

When it was time for bed they rinsed their teeth with one last beer and snuggled together on the gentle slope of the lawn. They woke, with their noses buried in each other’s armpits, to a shower of water sprung up from the sprkinler system embedded in the grass. Golf carts hummed around the paths as workers waved on their way to unlock the gates. It was time for the public to come in. So the four young hooligans picked up their empty cans and trundled back out to the jungle of life.