Scene 1: Mick and Pam’s Living Room, Braintree, Essex: The Night Before the Flight
Pam: Now listen, Gavin, just because you’re going to Australia doesn’t mean you can forget your roots. Don’t go turning into one of those lads that drinks smoothies out of coconuts and starts calling flip-flops “thongs.”
Mick: Let him be, Pam. It’s a brilliant opportunity. Canberra’s not even near the coast. He’ll be in the bush with the kangaroos, shaping policy and saving the planet.
Gavin: It’s not like that! I’ll be studying at ANU, doing sustainable policy development. I’ve picked modules on Climate Policy, Environmental Justice, Global Governance, and International Development. I’m looking at how policies align with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals; all 17 of them! (SDG 4, SDG 13, SDG 10, SDG 16)
Pam: Seventeen? Blimey. You sure that’s not just a fancy way of saying recycling and turning off the lights?
Gavin (grinning): It’s much more than that – everything from clean energy (SDG 7) and quality education (SDG 4) to gender equality (SDG 5) and reducing inequalities (SDG 10). Honestly, it’s what got me excited about politics in the first place.
Mick (with pride): Just remember, make the most of it. Learn a lot, help people. And Gav?
Gavin: Yeah?
Mick: Please don’t try and surf.
Scene 2: Student Flat Kitchen, Canberra: Two Weeks Later
[Gavin walks into the kitchen with a reusable tote full of vegetables.]
Liv (Aussie Flatmate): Look who’s gone full zero-waste. What’s in the bag, mate?
Gavin: Pumpkin, spinach, a whole jar of bulk chickpeas. Meal prep’s serious business when you’re not living off Greggs.
Liv (laughs): You Brits and your pasties.
Gavin: Oi, don’t knock a steak bake. But yeah, I’m trying to keep it low impact. I take the bus, cycle to uni (SDG 11), joined a local co-op (SDG 12). Even got my carbon emissions tracked on an app (SDG 13).
Liv: That’s ace. You going to write about it for that Manchester blog thingy?
Gavin: Yeah, thinking of calling it “From Essex to Ethical”. Too much?
Liv: Nah. Sounds like you. Bit cheesy, very Gavin.
Gavin (mock serious): I’ll take that as a compliment.
Scene 3: Canberra City Bus, Heading to ANU – 8:15 AM
[Gavin and Liv are seated on the electric city bus. Gavin’s holding a keep-cup, looking out the window.]
Liv: You could’ve just Ubered, you know.
Gavin: Nah, figured if I’m studying sustainability, I should actually live it. Buses here are electric (SDG 11, SDG 13) and they’re expanding routes using the SDGs as a planning tool.
Liv: You’ve gone full policy nerd.
Gavin: Too right. I’ve even mapped my journey here to seven SDGs: responsible consumption (SDG 12), climate action (SDG 13), sustainable transport (SDG 11), reduced inequalities (SDG 10), clean energy (SDG 7), health and well-being (SDG 3), and partnerships for the goals (SDG 17).
Liv: Can’t believe you’ve made commuting this political.
Gavin (smiling): Everything’s political. Even the route to uni.
THE END.
