Melbourne Excitement

It was hard not to get excited this Friday as in front of 100,000 spectators the Los Angeles Rams lost to the San Francisco 49ers, and without knowing the scoring system, it sounds like a score 7 to 27 is a decisive win to the 49ers. A trouncing perhaps.

This made Melburnians very happy. The US football team, the 49ers had been in Melbourne for several days before the match, acclimatising to the weather, around a cool but ok daytime average of 15/59 this week, and of course the time change. The team made itself popular by being out and about around town, spotted my many. Melbourne chalked up great respect for the team.

This contrasts with the LA Rams, who arrived the day before the game, and we never got to know them. All about hearts and minds, and don't forget that.

I suppose it was a coincidence that the match was played on 9/11, or 11/09 here, probably 8/11 in the US. Now that vile creature #47 is claiming he was carried from the site by firefighters, without any trace of evidence that anyone can find. But he is not spoiling my post. 

The match was a great spectacle for our city, although there are only guesses about what it cost our State of Victoria, AU$15 million to AU$45 million. It is, psst, commercial in confidence. I have the view that taxpayers are entitled to know. 

Sister and Bone Doctor arrived at 3pm the evening before to stay the night. They went into town to soak up the atmosphere, and returned at 5.15 for drinks and nibbles and I had invited HH up to meet them for the first time. They were super impressed to learn about her son who was an international Australian Rugby Union champion player, and her daughter's son being a worker at Hobbiton in New Zealand.

I had invited HH to join us for dinner in town but she had tickets to see the stage show musical Pretty Women with a friend. We three dined at the Swiss Club in town and soaked up the atmosphere in the city.

Next morning was an early start as they needed to be at the football venue by 9.00 and we went out for breakfast first, at around 7.30. That totally turned my normal morning upside down, and my arthritis kicked in with a vengeance. I try not to take painkillers, but I did Friday morning.

Eventually by midday I felt ready to go out again, where I visited Hosier Lane to check out the NFL murals. I'll post them Monday.

A woman boarded the tram as I did, with two young boys. She looked familiar. Here is an edited text of what I sent to HH. The woman on the tram was our neighbour for a couple of years.

I boarded the tram below to travel to the city today and a woman got on at the same stop with two young boys. She looked familiar. I thought is it or isn't it? I was guessing the age of the boys and it added up. I was going to get off at Flinders Street to take photos of the NFL murals in Hosier Lane, but they left at the Arts Centre. I made a last minute decision and jumped off too. I still wasn't 100% sure, so with her back to me I called out S. No harm if it wasn't her. She spun around and sure enough, and funny that we mentioned her the other day, it was S and her boys R and D. She has lost weight and looked pretty good. I had a chat to her for a few minutes and then the boys began to get restless, so they went off to visit the Gallery and I caught the next tram to Flinders Street. She and T are living in Mount Martha, and he is working in Emergency at I assume, F Hospital. He was at the NFL match, having caught a bus from F at 7.00 this morning and they were all staying a couple of nights in the city, perhaps nearby. Of course she didn't know about Ray's death so I filled her in but there wasn't much time to chat.  

Anyway, it was a nice little catch up.   

After the match Bone Doctor went back to Geelong Station by train, to take Jo's car home. Sister arrived back here around 5.00 and Jo is in town with friends as I type and she will come here and then Sister and Jo will drive home.

Phyllis has cooked butter chicken, rice and Kosov is heating some roti for dinner and there is enough to share with Sister. 

I suppose we all know a bit more about NFL now, and what we used to call Gridiron, has been a great success. Probably just a one off though, although we will remain 49ers supporters if we ever hear any news about them.

Photos from the evening before:

Flinders Street Station.

               

A shiny new thing

I found a new barber and the shop looked quite smart. It would be $5 more for a haircut, but I am an adventurous soul...in some areas. Alas, it is popular and was booked out.

I returned to the one I had been going to for a year or more, which wasn't bad when I first visited but it has deteriorated. I never see the same barber twice, and the last two different guys have been quite rough with their buzz cutting machines. 

As I was looking into the mirror in front of me, watching the reflection of the passing parade of pedestrians outside the salon, I spied something unusual about a passing tram. Was it our sole new operational G Class tram? 

With the reflection confusing me about direction, I did eventually work out it was travelling one more stop to the Flinders Street terminus. 

My unsatisfactory haircut finished and as I left the salon, the tram was starting off from the terminus. I can still walk briskly if a situation requires it, and so I did and caught the tram. I rode the tram to Victoria Market, and caught another tram back.

There isn't a figure available for how much a new tram costs, in this case 100 new trams bundled in with a new depot, maintenance facilities, etc. The figure for 100 new trams and the aforesaid costs is AU$1.85 billion.

So, what did I think? Just wonderful. It was smooth, quiet and felt quite luxurious. It is better insulated from the tracks, the aircon noise wasn't noticeable, the internal passenger information displays were very well thought out. The only fault I noticed was some internal panel rattle as the tram crossed other tram tracks at right angles. 

Some trivia for you, in spite of spinner Adam Chandler (I'm disappointed in you Adam) fronting a video suggesting Melbourne has had a great mix of tram lettering numbering, not really. In order from the early 20th century, we had V Class, W, X, Y, Z, A, B, C, D, E, and we skip F Class, to G Class. OK, there was an L Class thrown in too, but really, it does not need super intelligence to guess why F Class was omitted. The thing is, had Yarra Trams or Department of Transport just admitted it wanted to avoid F Class for the obvious reasons, it would have been refreshing honesty, we'd have a chuckle and move on.

Externally it is a bit weird looking, but we'll get used to it. I took these photos after I left the tram. 

For the more nerdy of you, modern trams pull a lot of electricity from the substations via the overhead wires. These trams have batteries which the tram uses to uses to even out power draws. New substations were not required for these trams. 

The Fluff

We missed Jass' birthday, and we have missed the day she found her home with us by four days. Jass' idea of a great birthday celebration would be no food for the day, just treats. We have reduced the treats because she kept nagging for them, in the way that cats do.

She is a strange cat, but perhaps not as strange as I think. While experienced with cats in past, they could come and go as they pleased through the cat door. I can't even if I remember if they slept inside. They found the radiant lounge room heater very attractive, as did our dogs, and during winter, at times they would all be curled up in front. Cats like the radiant heat and don't appreciate the overall warmth that air conditioning gives. Jass is obviously a fully indoor cat, although she can spend time on the balcony but at the moment, she finds it too cold. 

Anyway, when she arrived last year, there was no superfluous shedding of fur. This year, she is dropping huge tufts of fine and soft underbelly fur. Individual hairs float around everywhere. 

If trodden into the carpet, Rover struggles to pick it up and a manual vacuum is needed. There might be five clumps daily. 

I gather is this is a winter coat of soft underbelly fur that is shed. But isn't it curious that she didn't have such underbelly fur at the same time last year, given she was probably in a colder environment than she is here being warm for 16 hours a day, and hardly that cold for the other 8 hours.

Here is Jass displaying her soft underbelly fur, welcoming a belly rub, but at your peril. The claws and the teeth will immediately become active. You can see a bit of her fluff on the carpet on the bottom left of the photo. 

Anyway, all good and no regrets. 

Bullion Bother

The is scary, especially for US citizens. The gold was removed by secret flights in unrecorded and unidentified planes. Only a small amount was removed from Ottawa, it being collateral damage. What on Earth has that Orange McNugget done to the world?

This comes from a Substack called I ***king Love Australia. Please do not ask me what a Substack is, nor Discord. I do not know. The former requires and age check here, and Discord confuses me. I am just getting to understanding Reddit, quite a useful site but also one that should have age restrictions. Actually, I think it does.  

Experts also say the recent spike in bond yields reflects rising concerns about the immense levels of debt across the developed world and, especially, in the United States.

The American government is spending more money on servicing its US$40tn debt pile than it is on defence. In fact, net interest payments of US$1.2tn a year make it the second biggest spending item in the US budget.

Nobody thinks the Americans are about to default on their debt, but the developed world’s borrowing burden is chipping away at trust in governments’ capacity to manage their budgets, and bond investors are demanding a higher interest rate to account for that.

the Dutch Central Bank (De Nederlandsche Bank) recently finished moving 86 tonnes of gold out of North America (the US and Canada) to the Bank of England in London. [1, 2]

The operation concluded in August 2026 after several months of coordination. [1]

Why the Gold Was Relocated

Crisis Preparedness: The Dutch central bank explicitly stated the move was made to handle "increasing geopolitical unrest" and ensure the country is better prepared for severe global crises. [1, 2]
Market Liquidity: London hosts the world's largest over-the-counter gold market. Keeping the gold in the Bank of England vaults allows the Netherlands to buy, sell, or trade the bullion much faster if an economic shock happens. [1, 2]
Strategic Shift: This matches a broader trend of European nations pulling assets out of the US; France similarly removed its gold reserves from US soil earlier in the

Monday Mural

Late today, I know. Sometimes life gets in the way, in this case I was out carousing having a quiet Sunday afternoon drink with friends at a pub and then a light dinner. 

Late as it may be, I'm still joining with Sami and others for Monday Murals.

I'd better set these free from 2024. Actually, I think I may have used the large green one before. The first is rather friendly looking.

Sunday Selections

River and others post Sunday Selections. Here is my bloomin' lot this week.

There are saucepan lids for my forty year old saucepans. No need to use my best china.    

Phyllis, what have you done to my gleaming and sparkling saucepans?

Yes, just what you want to see as you open your fridge first thing in the morning. Is it Julius? 

Cats prefer running water as it won't have bacteria that still water might have. Think creek as against stale water in a puddle. 

In the living/dining area, there are fourteen seats of various varieties, yet these two often choose the floor. Kosov has had a head shave since this was taken and looks much better.

When entering my apartment, tradespeople offer to take their shoes off. I say, don't bother. It's fine. That's a polite way to act. Truth be told, just check for shoes taken off at the door as a guide, as Phyllis's and Kosov's guests did. 

Another photo of the old and the new, taken on my return trip on the 58 from the zoo.

Today I will go to town to buy some new more comfortable walking/daily shoes. Mine look ok, but they aren't comfortable even after adding an insole. Yes, I went for the cheapest. This time I won't. Later I am meeting my Indian friend who is the same age as me, and my Hairdresser Friend at a gay hotel for a Sunday afternoon drink. We may kick on for some Asian food in Victoria Street, Richmond.

I suppose I am still alive as I do keep doing things.    

Saturday Train Arithmetic

There is a ridiculous situation of the Laverton train, travelling via the Altona Loop, is only partly recognised. In some areas it is a separate train line, but often is lumped in under the Werribee train line. It needs to be a properly listed train route. I know how the line works, but god help a stranger.

Nevertheless, with a welcome change, the Sandringham train line no longer stops at its former gloomy platform with one set of escalators, sometimes switched to up, sometimes switched to down. The off peak daytime service has been increased from 15 minutes to 10 minutes, which is terrific. 

And now, instead of the above mentioned gloomy platform, the train stops at a through running normal Flinders Street platform. The train goes on to provide a twenty minute service to Williamstown, Laverton and Werribee. 

As Sir Les Patterson used to say, 'Are you with me'? Probably not. 

I really have to be in a certain mood to start checking timetables, and I am not there yet. I caught a train from Laverton via the Altona Loop travelling to Sandringham. 

Simply put, a train from one end with a ten minute service can provide a twenty minute service to two destinations at the other end, not three. I never imagined Laverton would be included, and I have no idea how it all works. I guess I will have to edjicate myself, or someone will know.