Melbourne stuff
So today we’ve had the Citylink tunnels closed due to a fatal crash, a gas leak in Malvern causing the suspension of Frankston and Dandenong trains, a big grass fire in Sunshine, and vomit-inducing fumes last night at a restaurant in Doncaster. And I heard a truckload of (non-flammable, apparently) orange bottles spilled all over ... [More]
Marita & Justine’s dog Maisie will occasionally get it into her head that she knows a complete stranger. “I know you!” she’ll think, and barrel up to them, tail wagging. “I like you! I know you! I do!” But she doesn’t. I got a similar feeling yesterday, queuing up to buy some lunch. A man ... [More]
You know, there’s a reason they’re called golf umbrellas. It doesn’t make them suited for crowded CBD footpaths. And why is it that smaller people seem to like them so much? You’d think they had less body mass that needed rain protection. Fair enough if multiple people are cowering under them I suppose. But more ... [More]
When I were a lad, my sister and I walked to primary school with our friends — at least in the upper part of primary school; I don’t recall the first few years; I assume my mum walked with us, though she’s said a friend in the same block used to occasionally drive us. But ... [More]
Was out and about on Sunday. It was Clean Up Australia Day. Not apparent that anybody was actually cleaning up, and I saw more scrap newspaper in the street than in quite some time. I know they tend to concentrate on parks and beaches and so on, and often for bigger problems than litter. All ... [More]
It’s not just about people who stand on the right hand side of escalators. There seem to be lots of pedestrians who, in high-traffic areas, manage to block things up and slow people down. Some — and it’s not just oldsters and tourists — will walk slowly in the middle of a path that fits ... [More]
Some pictures snapped in the last few days… I’ve never seen them have to explain what Happy Hour is before Pah, I’m not even going to try Hands up who remembers Stacks of Slax from The Late Show? Alas, they’ve just closed down.
Is airconditioning turning us into wimps? We (and I’m as guilty of this as anybody) go from our sometimes-airconditioned houses in our airconditioned cars or our airconditioned trains to airconditioned offices or airconditioned shopping centres. If it’s not 20 degrees indoors, we’re complaining. If the train is not airconditioned, we’re complaining. If we have to ... [More]
A stone’s throw from the exclusive boutiques of Chapel Street, South Yarra, next to the railway line near the underpass, between a set of signalling control boxes, and sheltered by an overhead structure, is a pile of mattresses, pillows, bedclothes, and assorted objects. Occasionally you’ll see someone there, sleeping or awake, apparently as oblivious to ... [More]
Christmas was the usual combination of family, presents, and too much food. After a day or two of recovery, we headed off for the Melbourne Aquarium yesterday. So did half the city, apparently. It was crowded — perhaps too crowded to be really enjoyable, in fact. But it was spectacular, particularly the “Fish Bowl” and ... [More]
Yesterday it got to 42.1°C (that’s 108°F for those of you in the countries still using that retro measurement), before a refreshing cool change virtually halved the temperature. I was pleasantly surprised at how cool it was inside, given my house is weatherboard and has no airconditioning. At its hottest, the thermostat reported 30°C, and ... [More]
Smoke has descended on Melbourne, from the bushfires elsewhere in the state. Down in the shopping centre this morning, the haze over the street was noticeable. Marita commented on how bad it was. “Yeah”, I replied. “It’s like a mix of smoke and fog… they really should have a word for that.” Later I had ... [More]