Apprentice At That Stage Where He Thinks Enjoying A Carton With The 50 Year Old Brickies Is Cool

TRACEY BENDINGER | Society | Contact

Six months ago, if you had told apprentice carpenter Henry Smithfield (18) that he’d be cracking open a cold one with a twice divorced 50-year-old bricklayer on a Wednesday afternoon and actually enjoying himself, he would have said you were clinically insane.

However, this afternoon as Smithfield and his fellow tradies gather around their trailers after a hard day of moving bricks from one pile to another pile, that is exactly what’s unfolding.

Speaking on the phone with The Advocate in an excited whisper, Smithfield shares how “fucking sick” it all is.

“Dude, Ronnie is a legend. He drinks like an 18 year old”

“Ha ha and he says the trick to being a good drinker is to just never stop. That is all time!!” Smithfield added.

It’s understood that Smithfield recently left his family’s fine wool sheep farm and moved into Betoota to start his apprenticeship, where he was immediately taken under the wing of Ronnie (50) who was delighted to split a carton with someone who thought his chronic drinking was cool, and not a ‘self-destructive crutch’ like his ex-wife, Cassandra, claimed.

When asked how he feels about having his drinking stamina compared to that of an 18-year-old who only just discovered shelving is a double entendre, Ronnie didn’t seem too fussed.

“It’s cute that they think they can drink”

“But I was grogging when he was still a little sperm headbutting his dad’s ballsack”

“So he’s got a way to go before he makes it to the big leagues.”

“Burp.”

More to come.