Miracle of miracles….we, together with all of our luggage arrive in New York on time and incident free! “Home” here is the old Villard mansion on Madison Avenue, now as it has been for many years, the New York Palace hotel. We know when we’re close by all the police concrete blocks already lining Madison Avenue and E 50th Street adjacent to the hotel, ready to be set in place when the UN General Assembly gets underway in the coming days. The hotel is a favourite resting place for high level foreign dignitaries in town for the big annual meeting. “Home” for them as it was for me 20 some years ago when (while visiting Kelso just around the corner on Park Avenue) I stayed there so often that the hotel presented me with “thank you” gifts! Not this time though. Check-in was lengthy and chaotic. Don’t they know who I am….or at least who I was!!

Or perhaps it is just that there are bigger name celebrities in house. On our first morning we share an elevator ride with Venus Williams and then find ourselves at breakfast on an adjacent table to Serena. I guess that explains everything!

This visit to the Big Apple coincides with the final stages of the US Open in Flushing. We have tickets for the second men’s semi-final between local hero Frances Tiafoe and the “next big thing in men’s tennis”, the 19 year old Spaniard, Carlos Alcaraz. We make our way out to Flushing on the very crowded subway (certainly not the “Liz Line”) and fight our way through the massive crowds towards Arthur Ashe Stadium where the match is due to get underway at 7 PM. Lucky there were big crowds to push us along as there is not a sign anywhere or any direction to the stadium’s entrance. The stadium’s gates are locked until around 6:50 and when opened the crowd (and us) surge forward. Brilliant crowd management, but at least there are police around armed with military grade weapons to keep us all safe - assuming that is we’re not trampled to death by the crowd!

The exciting match runs to five sets and doesn’t wrap up until well after midnight. Ignoring an intensely partisan crowd (and Michelle Obama) cheering for Tiafoe, Alcaraz goes on to win and establish himself as the favourite to take the title (which he duly does two days later) and become the next tennis superstar. We sure got our money’s worth! The subway journey back to Manhattan is free - with so many people trying to get to the train, the NY Transit Authority gives up on trying to collect fares.

By the following evening, we’ve recovered enough to head to the “Great White Way” to see the stage version of Baz Luhrmann’s “Moulin Rouge”. What a mind-blowing production! I’m not a big fan of Broadway musicals, but if they were all like this, I could be convinced to change my mind! We love it so much in fact that we booked to see the show again in Sydney at the end of October….

The six nights in our New York “home” ended with another visit to the “Great White Way” to see the very versatile and talented Hugh Jackman in a revival of the classic early ‘60’s musical, The Music Man. The staging of this production had been much delayed and interrupted by the pandemic and the lead producer was forced to step down following accusations of bullying and inappropriate behaviour! When the show did finally get underway it was panned by the critics and failed to win even a single Emmy. But what do the critics know? The show is the hottest ticket on Broadway and in its first eight months or so had been seen by some 450,000 people and grossed some $110 million. It will close at the end of 2022 when Hugh Jackman and co-star Sutton Foster move on; the producers having decided the the show is made by these two who could not be easily replaced. Our view: ignore the critics, the ecstatic audience is right on!!