Too often, lunch breaks are a rushed affair, with food taken back to desks and shovelled into mouths so we can return to work as quickly as possible. With the arrival of the metro, we thought there couldn’t be a better time to test the speedy system and get in some lunchtime adventures. Thanks to the shortened travel times, we donated blood, went for a swim, visited a gallery and even met some penguins.
Ricky Blank at Lifeblood. Credit: Nikki Short Victoria Cross to Gadigal After years of political toing and froing, construction and setbacks, the new beating heart of Sydney has opened, and I’m about to pump out half a litre of my own blood within the hour – roughly 8 per cent of my total. It’s 11.
07am and Victoria Cross station, located a stone’s throw away from the Herald’s newsroom, is the departure lounge for my journey. Down the lengthy crystal-clean escalators, people are admiring the interior of the stations – like tourists in their own city. How’s the ride? Clean, fast, efficient, effortless – all things you want in the middle of your working day.
Ricky Blank leaves Lifeblood following his donation. Credit: Nikki Short After a quick stroll from Gadigal, I arrived at the Red Cross blood donation centre. The staff were smiling and accommodating, the snack table filled to the brim, and the needle found my vein immediately.
Fifteen minutes in the chair, squeezing a red foam ball that assists in circulating the blood, and the donation was over. The needle .