Melbourne stuff
We were minding our own business, as Marita and I walked across Flinders Street from the station on Friday night, to go shopping for a present for my nephew Leo’s first birthday. As we passed Young & Jackson’s on the corner, suddenly there was a man in a bright orange shirt pulling on my arm. ... [More]
There was a teenager on the train, last Thursday night, sitting somewhere behind me. He was asking someone — probably his mother, which stop they were going to… was it the end of the line… where did the train go to after that? These questions answered, he kept talking, to the strangers around him on ... [More]
Some people who wear uniforms (or other specialised clothing for work) are very obvious. The presence of police and other emergency service workers always makes me wonder what’s wrong. Other uniforms are less obvious. Someone called Elly Lukas apparently runs a beauty school. There seems to be no end of girls with their hair tied ... [More]
Lunchtime Monday… maybe something burnt in the Australia on Collins Food Court? I once asked a mate in the CFA about city fire calls. He said that though most are false alarms, they (obviously) take every one seriously, invariably sending multiple units screaming through the streets.
Dear sir and madam, Welcome to our city. I could make a remark about thumbs that are sore, but that probably wouldn’t be polite. Please enjoy your stay.
It’s days like these that you begin to appreciate why some people go and spend thousands installing and running home airconditioning. Yikes. I suppose we should be grateful it didn’t quite reach the forecast 43°, but stopped short on a mere 42.4°C (108.3°F) instead. I spent some time today listening to the bushfire updates on ... [More]
A huge crowd for the demonstration against the Federal Government’s industrial relations reform package in the city today. Work commitments meant I couldn’t join in, but I did pass nearby and saw all the people. This is the crowd outside Flinders Street Station at 9:50am, as snapped by the Omni webcam. In the nearby arcades, ... [More]
Remembrance Day at Flinders Street Station, 11am this morning. Two police stop the traffic. The crowd stops moving, and grows silent. A bugler plays The Last Post. A minute’s silence. Then the Rouse. A simple, yet moving commemoration for the war dead. Update 11/11/2013 — Revised pics, and fixed video.
Spotted on Friday night: On the tram up Bourke Street, a quietly-spoken Irish couple asking how to get to Telstra Dome. Getting off the tram, many International Rules (Australia vs Ireland) fans. Along the Bourke Street bridge, some enthusiastically doing Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi. Then boisterously providing a rendition of a whole chorus ... [More]
My new suburb is Bentleigh. It’s about 5 minutes further out of the city than my old stomping grounds of Glen Huntly or Carnegie, and certainly further into suburbia. It’s still in zone 1. That was a requirement when house-hunting. Mind you it’s the last station in zone 1. I’m pretty close to the station, ... [More]
When one thinks of Melbourne’s inner suburbs, one might imagine gentrified streets full of yuppies sipping lattes as they admire the street furniture and watch the crowds and trams pass by. But they’re not all like that. Yesterday I journeyed into the industrial heart of Port Melbourne, to return the rental keys. Gawd knows why ... [More]