I’d been reading this article about the proposal to narrow a section of Mountain Highway through Bayswater when the level crossing is removed — from 3 lanes in each direction down to 2. Bayswater state Liberal MP Heidi Victoria has submitted the petition against the plans to State Parliament and urged the Government to intervene. ... [More]
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Another in my series of photos from ten years ago. The Nicholas Building in Swanston Street. Glorious, and fortunately (unlike some of its neighbours) not to be demolished for the metro rail tunnel. The T&G building on Collins Street. Apparently T&G stood for Temperance And General, an insurance company that amalgamated with National Mutual in ... [More]
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A day in Maldon
A day (and night) in the countryside began by heading out of Melbourne in the car. I learnt a lesson on the way, somewhere near Sunshine: if you’re going to try and overtake (well, “undertake”) a truck on the left from a standing start, be at the front of the queue at the lights AND ... [More]
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A week in Singapore
In a couple of months I’m going to Singapore for a week, for my cousin’s wedding. Any recommendations? Things to see and do? (The wedding itself is on Sentosa Island, at one of the resorts.) It’s been ages since I’ve been overseas. What’s the best way to organise mobile/data coverage? What’s the shopping like? Is ... [More]
Another in my series of old photos from ten years ago… One night while driving across town I decided to snap some pictures around the docks. It was only after I stopped the car and took a few photos that I realised how dodgy it probably looked. A panoramic view along Spencer Street, outside Southern ... [More]
I used to love The Bill, way back when it was a cop show with a sense of realism, rather than a full-on soapie. The episodes I enjoyed the most, season 4 (from 1988) are currently airing on the ABC, in the middle of the day (around 3pm, and again the next morning around 5am). ... [More]
If ever you want to see what the priorities really are, look at the resources they’re given. At this tram stop — Bourke/Spencer Street westbound — the few in cars have clearly been prioritised over the many in trams. While passengers are squashed into a narrow pathway, motor vehicles (if any turn up) are given ... [More]
Star Wars episode seven is officially out today on DVD and Blu-ray, but I managed to buy it yesterday — some shops with a name starting with Big and ending in W jumped the gun, as did some with the initials J and B, apparently, though the large W establishment is selling it for $23 ... [More]
Let’s see if I can go a whole week without writing a blog post about level crossings. Video shops are dead. For a while there was one (or more) in every suburb. Where I live now in Bentleigh there were at least two. Even Glenhuntly, where I lived in the late-90s, had two. They were ... [More]
It used to be that the fashionable bridge for high vehicles to crash into was the Spencer/Flinders Street rail overpass — eleven hits in five years. But it’s been usurped by the Montague Street tram bridge. At lunchtime on Tuesday I went down to have a look. Certainly no shortage of warnings signs. In this ... [More]
We survived! Ten days of bustitution is over… well, almost. Just to be clear — because some of the information is either vague, misleading or missing: The Frankston line is running again, including to Bentleigh station. Bentleigh station will close for demolition and rebuilding in June. But Mckinnon and Ormond stations are closed and demolished. ... [More]
(Yeah nah I didn’t really damage the car with my sneaker. Apparently it was damaged in a collision on Wednesday night, and left at the scene, presumably for later towing. Hopefully nobody was hurt.)