On a Wednesday evening at 111 Princess Avenue, you’ll hear the hallways of the 3rd floor chattering with laughter as the Railyard Internship Cohort revels at the sight of Intern Edwy throwing his pool stick around an amenity room with a certain lack of finesse. Love you Edwy.

We made a friend this summer. His name is “Bo Wong” – Ball King, more formally known as Dennis. The name suits him; Dennis is a king.

Also a former blues musician, you’ll rarely see Dennis without a pair of tinted sunglasses “bo wong”and a crisp shirt. We can all learn a thing or two from the way he carries himself. Leaning purposefully against the table, we’re sure he’ll be waiting for us to slope into the lounge ready to be annihilated at a game of pool at 5pm sharp. It doesn’t get any easier to accept defeat if you’re wondering.

I’m proud to say I’m a flourishing member of “Pool School” that Dennis crafted early 2015 after meeting the Dossier staff and Railyard interns during Railyard’s audacious Hello Neighbour initiative. Flourishing might be an overstatement, but who’s to know because you haven’t seen me in practice.

I’ll admit though, I can navigate a pool table like never before thanks to the Wednesday evenings we’re lucky enough to spend over at the Alexander Community.

Funny, because whether intended or not, the lessons Dennis sends in our direction can be applicable to more than a round of 9 ball. Example: “Shoot with authority.” Sure, you’ll need that for your pool game, but it’s transferrable to the client presentations, communication strategies and branding that we’ve been completing since May. We’ve all been trying to build upon the sense of ownership, authority, and accountability we each have for the work we complete. You catch yourself applying rules of the game to rules of your own work sat behind a desk. There’s a wisdom within Dennis that I respect.

I can list as many tips and tricks of the game for you here as you would like, but number one, that’s cheating, and I’ll give you the same advice Dennis gave to me. “Books Liam. You’ll learn more than I can ever tell you by picking up a book from the shelf and reading.” He also told me never to bet money on my game but that’s beside the point.

I almost feel pressure to represent Dennis in the best light whilst writing this blog post. He’s Railyards hidden treasure and I know each of the interns this year are pushing the thought of graduating pool school to the back of their minds. As our time with Dossier comes to an end, I’ll be heading out to Vienna, Hugh and Edwy back to school, and Winnie home to family in Shanghai. Hopefully, if Dennis and Dossier will have me, I’ll be able to stop by for a game in the new year once home.

Bo Wong, thank you for spicing up my Wednesdays you beauty! The end of August is not good bye.

- Liam.