Monday Mural

Sami posts a Monday Mural, as I mostly do, along with others.

Have I not shown this mural before? It doesn't seem like it and the photo was taken three years ago, with the work by Mike Makatron. I love it.

I'm not moving

Just to note about Friday Funnies, suicide is not funny, and I expect the late Sue who was a volunteer at the suicide prevention telephone service Life Line, would not have approved of of the post at all. Nor is it now funny to make fun of people with strong phobias. But having said that, I did think they were funny.

Diagonally across the intersection below me, The Muse apartment building is close to completion. I really like the interior finishes, which look restrained and classy, rather than opulent and gauche. Check out some interior photos here.

It seems to be only 3 and 4 bedroom apartments, and seems to be 1 bath room per bedroom, and 3 car parking spaces per apartment. At least one three bedroom apartment has four bathrooms! This so goes against the City of Melbourne's quest to reduce car parking spaces in buildings, or ban them altogether. 

There is no doubt it is a lavish building. Just the expense of the external landscaping is mind blowing. There are only 40 odd apartments in such a huge pair of buildings. That doesn't sound like increasing the population near public transport hubs, another current government ideal. 

A neighbour told me the 3 bedroom apartments, some even have 4 bathrooms for 3 bedrooms, are smaller in size than ours, that is my own 3 bedroom apartment. 

Prices start at AU$4.1 million, US$2.8, €2.48, GB£2.1, and for a penthouse around AU$10 million. Where does this filthy wealth come from?

But oh, the two car park exits. They will take forever to get anywhere. From the Toorak Road exit to travel in the opposite direction along Toorak Road will take five to ten minutes. To travel towards the city from the St Kilda Road exit will take just as long, as they move from the service road to the centre lanes, and then u turn at traffic lights. In a location where there is good public transport, trams will be a much better option for a local trip, but of course rich people despise public transport used by the great unwashed.

Here are a few photos, the first of the exterior I've already shown you.

This being of what was unveiled last week, taken from my cheap seats balcony. Two pools with a different colours. It could be wall and floors of the pool are different colours, but I'd like to think one is fresh water pool and one is a salt water pool. Or maybe one is for laps and one is for leisure, and grand child friendly. 

Lovely birch trees, and there are a lot of water features nearby, yet to flow.

I should know the name of these trees are. AI told me the wrong address of the property and was not helpful with tree identification. I am now thinking they may be golden ash. Nice.

This is not the main entrance, the main being in St Kilda Road, and much grander than the Toorak Road entrance, along with being set back from the street. I could have taken a photo of the main entrance but I would expect a guard to appear if I stepped across a threshold. 

I am not sure of the purpose of this small area.

From Toorak Road looking down to the main entrance and foyer.

Bad Bunnings

In blog posts I refer to it as the big green shed. In reality it's the Bunnings hardware chain. It has pretty well killed small local hardware stores because the sheer number of products it has in its very large stores.

There is no problem visiting Bunnings if you are in a motor car, but if you visit Bunnings in West Footscray by foot, it is dreadful. I visited the store yesterday by train for the second time, the store being right next to West Footscray Station. I stopped off at Footscray for a bite to eat and coffee. 

The store is easier to visit by public transport than my local Bunnings in Port Melbourne. Last visit to the store, I ended up walking through the underground carpark to enter the store. This time, I was determined to find the main entrance. I did find an entrance from street level, but as I walked towards the sensor triggered electric doors, as I guessed they did not open.

The only way to enter was via the carpark. There weren't any indicators to pedestrians of where to enter the building. I looked at where people were moving in the vast carpark and worked out that those very distant figures were headed to the entrance, with a travelator to take you up to the store. 

As I said, the car  park is vast and was far from full, so cars travel very fast in the carpark. There aren't marked walkways for pedestrians.

The store has a railway station across the street, three bus routes with a stop near the station and there is lots of housing nearby, yet without a pedestrian entrance.

To not have a pedestrian street entrance is a disgrace, let alone one near passing public transport stops and the station and I am not sure how this was allowed. Did the local council, City of Maribyrnong,  approve of this when the Bunnings store plan was presented?

Happy fourth of July to my US readers.

Friday Funnies

I found these funny and maybe you will too. 

If you are a regular public transport user of rail, you will know the nightmare of rail replacement buses. It's the conclusion of this short one that makes it brutally funny.

This longer one made me laugh too.

LGBTIQ

There are some things in the world I am not meant to understand. 

I am now up to Q in LGBTIQ. Q really keeps you guessing about someone, which I kind of like. If they are male, are they available to guys? Yes, I know more letters have been added. I saw the following on BBC, so it must be true. 

I don't understand a male transitioning to female and he/she has become a lesbian. Isn't that a full circle? I suppose if you pull it apart, he was a straight man who wanted to be a woman, and now he is a she, she still has the desires she always had as a straight man, that is for women. I'm pleased to have clarified that for you all.

It was so much simpler when it was just girls doing what they do together and guys doing what they do. 

Perl is out and about

Last week Phyllis asked if he could take Perl to a party in Box Hill. He hasn't asked to use the car for over a week aside from one trip to Aldi to buy bulk cat food and cat litter, so cautiously I said yes, where are going and what time will you return.

They met up with friends in South Yarra for a meal, returned here (I quickly turned on the full living area lamps to impress, but not the overhead lights), and they were here for an hour. The friends are a couple, she of Indian heritage and he of Asian heritage. Translating for English people, she is Asian and he is Chinese, except he isn't from China.

From my computer chair, I at times chipped in with a witty remark, as best as 68 year old can do with twenty year old's. 

They piled into Perl and off they went. I am pleased I have the front and rear dashcam. I looked at it today to watch what happened when my car went into for new car service, one month later after purchase. Jeez, all the motor mechanic staff are Indian. When you think about restricting immigration, be very careful what you wish for. Didn't we learn that post Covid when there were no staff for cafes, shops and other businesses? 

I don't like Perl being out late at night, and I've warned Phyllis and Kosov that if there is incident and they are under threat from a road rager, to not put the car into Park whereby the doors will unlock, but into Neutral and apply the electric handbrake.

The next time I drove Perl, all floors were covered in sand. Phyllis or Kosov, or both, will take the Dyson V7 Tiger with its short attachment to vacuum the car floors. I wonder where they went that was so sandy? Not my business. 

Later: Phyllis worked today, Tuesday all day at one job and asked if he could take Perl. It is a decent walk from the train station, and it was wet, so I said yes. Later he messaged me to say he was going to work at his other job, so the car is out for ages today, 10am to midnight. 

I am lunching with HH later today after she returned from New Zealand, and she may want to go somewhere that is easiest by car, so I checked and yes, the sand has been vacuumed out. 

The cult of celebrity

As I observe from afar:

It is funny that all I can remember about former PM John Major is that he tucked his shirt tails into his underwear. Former English PM Boris Johnston had lots of charisma, until he became too absurd and too broken. He had taken over from the rather dull May, solid and dependable but hardly exciting. Former PM Cameron dressed smartly and had something about him, rather like former PM Blair.  Nowt to say about the Truss disaster. The exotic Sunak was not a rich old white bloke but a younger rich brown bloke. I struggle to remember anything he did.

Then came Sir Keef Stammer, with a landslide victory, which was not won but by a decisive rejection of the governing Tory party. Sir Keir was not inspirational, and while not Scottish, he came across as a dour leader, without any charisma whatsoever, perhaps like Gordon Brown. He speaks with a posh accent, and I don't really know how this goes down with those who don't speak thus, but it must be a disconnect. But I can't remember leading political figure in the UK with a regional accent.

I really don't think anyone would be electable in Australia now if they spoke was such an accent. It is too loaded with wealth and privilege. 

Sir Keir, I'm sure a decent and honourable person, who did get some some good legislation through to improve the lives of the English citizens. But no one could say he was inspirational. If only he attacked the rich...practically and verbally, which is what a Labour leader should do. 

Which brings us to his replacement, Andy Burnham who does seem to be inspirational, with good political credentials. I've yet to hear him speak, so that will be something interesting. Burnham picks up the huge majority of parliamentary seats from Starmer's Labour Party, and he really must take advantage of this to improve the lives of the average English citizen in an obviously public manner. A bleeding heart about immigrants will not cut to the chase. The loud citizens of England have made this clear, and I think it goes deeper.

This is rather like Australia. Most people know we need immigration to sustain our country, but it needs to be very controlled. The perfect example was immediately post Covid when there weren't enough workers in the country to staff businesses, and then there was a flood of migrants. In my opinion, too many refugees from one country doesn't work. Take in refugees from all over the world but not huge numbers from one country. Apparently assimilate is a bad word, so I suggest less numbers from one part of the world with a careful monitoring of numbers, will mean better integration into Australia.