Not pictured: Addster

No-showed my work Christmas beano for the third time in 11 years. On the first occasion, it was a matter of hardly knowing anyone and the folks I did know inviting me to a rebel gathering (at Harry's Singapore Chilli Crab Restaurant in Surry Hills). When next I piked out it was due to me being too hung-over from the prev eve to so much as glance at a beer. (There may have been exotic dancing involved.) This latest absence was a result of the 24-hour bus strike and the subsequent cab shortage. There's no train line to my area and it's an hour-long walk at a brisk pace from the city - a journey I didn't fancy making in the cold, wet night with a skinful.