Pitt Street

One morning not long ago there was a garage sale in the Buddhist Centre in Pitt Street, just off Lygon Street. As well as buying a great vintage blouse there, I also had the chance to observe this fascinating little street. On the corner there is an old fashioned hardware store, then a few industrial buildings of different eras.

Windows on Weston

Recently I called in at Northcity4 studios in Weston Street. Inside a former factory or warehouse, with its translucent roof and exposed beams, there is a wonderful studio space for a number of artists and craftspeople. Looking at their window, now transformed into an art work, it occurs to me, why do so few of the windows on this stretch of Weston serve their original purpose of looking in or looking out? As it is, one can do neither with many of them. Some are boarded over, some are painted over. But they are all intriguing.

The light in winter: Mirabella

It has been a long winter in Melbourne this year, and even though we are almost at the end of August, the blossom month, it still feels like winter. “It’s a miserable day” is Vince’s assessment of the climate, both meteorological and psychological. But then again, he lived for many years in the tropics.

I like to look for bright spots even in the darkest days.  The many varieties of wattle blaze their beautiful yellow in gardens, reserves, parks and along the Eastern Freeway as I drive to work every day.. Surely the great spirits of nature fashioned them so as to counteract the greyness of Melbourne.

And then, there is Mirabella.

Who is Emily George?

There is a little street off Lygon Street in East Brunswick and off this street there is a little lane. A little dilapidated sign indicates it is called Emily George Lane. It is a picturesque laneway, not that I have walked down to the end yet. The sign is affixed to an old Victorian terrace house, painted a bright yellow. On the other side of the laneway entrance is a brick wall with a large array of street art.

Blak Dot Gallery

A few months ago I was showing Olga some of my favourite places on Lygon Street East Brunswick.  We had not seen each other for some time and were talking non-stop, catching up with news of our families. Olga was telling me about her daughter in law who was considering doing post-graduate work on the relationship between members of the indigenous community in Melbourne and very recently arrived immigrants. And then a strange thing happened....

Retail Therapy

Yesterday I was feeling quite blue so I went for a walk around my usual circuit: Lygon Street to Glenlyon or further and then through the back streets. However, I was prompted to take not only my camera but also my entire purse, including credit card. Walking staunchly past the icecream shop without stopping for consolation, I headed for Paul’s bookshop. Resisting the urge to buy a $10 copy of “The German Spirit” by Watson, I headed further north past the bright lights of Mirabella showrooms.

Lygon Street bookshops

“What can one do with old encyclopedias?” I asked Paul, proprietor of the Red Wheelbarrow bookshop. He confirmed my fears that they go to pulp. It seems such a waste: all that stored carbon in the paper and all that accumulated knowledge and information in the contents. Not to mention the historical snapshot that some of the writing styles and biases capture. In the end, an old set of Britannica became the stumps that ensured that my furniture stored in the garage of my old house did not get waterlogged when water came through the garage after a heavy downpour. Their sheer physical bulk was their only remaining use.

Glew Street recycling

I happened to have my camera when I came across this most recent example of Brunswick style recycling. The grand old armchair had clearly seen better days. There were alarming bulges in the seat, and the wood, although solid, was battered. The attached sign read: “Free to good home. Speculation for accumulation. Invest a few dollars and then resell at a profit.” Obviously, the message had resonated: a young man was already loading it into his truck, with help from the former owner. “It went like that”, said the older man, clicking his fingers.

Lygon Street East Brunswick shopping precinct: Gelobar

Amarena, Anguria, Malaga, Torrone, Fragola, Lampone…. These are not exotic destinations, but just some of the flavours of the icecream available at the Gelobar on Lygon Street. I like to call in there when I go for a walk, and just get a kiddy cone for $2. I still haven’t worked my way through even half of the varieties. On a hot day, there are queues waiting to buy the delicious gelati, and the tables on the sidewalk and in the cool interior are packed. In the colder months, the beautifully crafted cakes are probably more popular. They are a feast for the eyes as well as the tastebuds. Their website is also a feast.

Nicholson Street

It is Christmas Day Mass in Our Lady Help of Christians church on Nicholson Street. This church celebrated its centenary earlier in 2011, and its story is very interesting and you can read about it on their website. The most striking feature of the church is certainly the golden statue on top of the church tower, of Our Lady holding her child. She faces East, towards the sunrise and looks down over busy Nicholson Street, which, along with Sydney Road, is one of the grand routes leading into the city of Melbourne.

I have a recollection of being told that my father lived in a room of a house somewhere on Nicholson Street. That was in 1948, when he and my mother arrived in Australia from Czechoslovakia as displaced persons. After a short time in the Bathurst migrant reception centre, they were brought to Melbourne to work off their 2 year bond to the Chifley government which had opened its doors to this wave of Europe’s “tired”, its “huddled masses”.