At a table in the sun outside Montrose Bistro, sits a group of mates. This is the
Sometimes Club, an irregular meeting of comrades who have served with the New
Zealand, Australian and British armies and the French Foreign Legion in conflicts
from Northern Ireland, to Vietnam, to Mali; all have found homes and peace in
Auckland.
As Montrose is a regular haunt for two of them, so do the others periodically make
their way from Mission Bay, Mt Eden, Glenfield, Parnell and Whangaparaoa to grab
this spot of sunshine in Mairangi Bay.
They are a mixed bag of military expertise – three are highly-trained parachute
soldiers (one spending three years with The Red Devils, the British Army parachute
display team), one was a Special Ops soldier or Tunnel Rat in the Vietnam war and
one took part in the first and only bayonet change done by New Zealand infantry in
that same arena, and another did a combat parachute drop into Mali with the French
Foreign Legion. And, Lest We Forget, one has published a book about his time in the
Vietnam War.
The eleven friends – five women and two men – started the Sometimes Club about
six years ago and have enjoyed their shared experiences ever since. Not only do
they reminisce on their wartime experiences but also discuss current events as well
as art, books and history.
