With most kids going back to school this week, Andrew was blogging about the first day of school. I don’t remember much about my first day either, though I do have a photo that I believe was snapped that morning: Long-haired hippy. It was the 70s though. And I was obviously in a good mood… ... [More]
Yowzers. It’s been 7 years since I bought the house. And it’s been four years since I bought the car. At the time I bought the car, the dealer I bought it from had just paid the rego, so it’s due every August. This year it’s $696.50. Obviously because I bought the car in August, ... [More]
When I was a kid, I liked to kneel on the front seat of the (W-class) tram, looking out the front, and watching the driver, trying to figure out how it all worked. I reckon the front still gives you the best views. Back in the day I recall a control to apply the power, ... [More]
Yes, it’s true: I paid extra money to get a magazine about old video games sooner. I truly am a sucker for nostalgia. But hey, it’s the 100th issue, with a reprint of edition one as a bonus!!! PS. 8pm Saturday: Spotted today at my brother-in-law’s birthday barbecue, this tattoo of Rik’s:
Murrumbeena/Carnegie, 2003-2005 The move to Carnegie in 2003 gave me two local stations, because the house was almost equidistant between them. It was slightly closer to Murrumbeena, so I usually used that. But Carnegie had better access to shops, so that got used sometimes too. I’ve mentioned Murrumbeena already. Carnegie hasn’t changed much recently, but ... [More]
Hawthorn, 1993-95 When I finally moved out of home, it was to Hawthorn. Initially I was still working in Burwood East, and the commute was an easy tram ride, from the flat we rented which was midway between there and the city — which became useful once work moved into town. Cutting through the back ... [More]
Murrumbeena 1987-89 We moved into a flat just across the street from the Dandenong line. The noise isn’t noticeable after a week or two, apart from missing dialogue on the television when a freight train goes past. It was a short stroll (if one took the short-cut along the train line) to Murrumbeena station. By ... [More]
Balaclava, 1974-1982 We moved back to St Kilda, settling in a flat in Hotham Street where we lived for many years. Well, almost. We were in flat 7 on the ground floor, before moving upstairs to flat 11. Later on we moved around the corner onto Inkerman Street. During this time, Balaclava was our local ... [More]
Here begins a series of blog posts on every (suburban) railway station in Melbourne that’s ever been my usual. Of course it more-or-less tracks the places I’ve lived, and I’ve touched on some of this stuff in Commutes of my Youth. (Dates may not be exact.) St Kilda, 1970-71 When I was a baby, my ... [More]
One of the persistent myths is that in the “good old days”, before trains and trams had locked doors, nobody ever fell out. When the old VR ran the suburban network trains, and stations were manned and had barrier gates, trains had a lot of doors and it was never a problem. Nobody fell out ... [More]
I was telling the kids about the days when arcade games were ubiquitous. When we lived in Pine Avenue, Elwood in the early 80s, the local milkbar on Ormond Road had a Donkey Kong Junior machine, for instance. But a short bus ride away in St Kilda was video game heaven. For starters, Luna Park ... [More]
John Lennon died thirty years ago yesterday. He was as old then as I am now. It would have been the following day, thirty years ago today, when the news broke in Australia. I remember getting home from school and switching the television onto channel 9, probably to watch Skippy or The Curiosity Show. A ... [More]