The Australian actor and comedian on kayaks, love and the value of being a ‘gasper mum’
It’s just gone 9 o’clock on a moody autumn morning in the affluent Melbourne suburb of Kew, just east of the city. “I only moved here because I couldn’t afford Carlton,” says Celia Pacquola, as if to explain herself when we meet outside the 1940s clinker brick apartment she shared with her best friend.
But when the pandemic descended and lockdowns were enforced six years ago – almost to the week – the proximity to the winding, gum-lined paths of the Yarra Bend trails were a welcome balm. Originally hailing from the verdant hills of the Yarra Valley north-east of Melbourne, Pacquola imagined her city life to be “young and hip and cool” – like Carlton in the inner north. “I still don’t identify as being from Kew. But it’s where I’ve ended up. At least it’s green.” She shrugs off her ambivalence and we head off.