Tuesday was a bit queer. My appointment for an MRI scan was at the strange time of 5.50pm. The Alfred Centre was very quiet but it was clear MRI scans were happening for a couple of others. The thirty minute scan is not pleasant but I was out of the hospital before 7.00. I picked up pizza for dinner on the way home. Once again The Alf did well for me at no charge.
Wednesday this week was my chosen day for a longish public transport trip, so I visited Coburg. After a tram to Melbourne Flinders Street Station, my intended train at 11.32 was cancelled and it was twenty minutes before the next train. I would have thought off peak, train services would be quite reliable, and there not be cancelled trains. I left the station and returned in time for the 11.52. If you just missed the 11.12, it would be a long wait for the 11.52. Train services in a city of 5 million people should be every 15 minutes, at least. Ten minutes, excellent.
The main street of Coburg is Sydney Road, once the only main road from Melbourne to Sydney, and at the top end is the mega busy with traffic and noisy Bell Street.
I found a shop where I bought a doner kebab which I ate at an outside table, while watching the passing parade of Greeks, Italians, Turks and others from the Middle East. The kebab was stunningly delicious and too large for me to finish. I got close. The bag your meal will come in has check marks for your preferences to be ticked.
I then walked around a corner into the traffic closed Victoria Street, where so many people were sitting, eating, drinking and lounging about in the bright winter sunshine.
The law that says smoking is forbidden at outdoor dining tables was ignored. A number of Middle Eastern women could be seen smoking too. I sat at an outdoor table where there were signs on the table that smoking was forbidden and smoked, enjoyed a cup of coffee.
I knew the time of train to return home and slowly wandered back to the almost new station.
It was a pleasant outing, and to be among people and environs that I would not normally meet where I live.
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Very hedonistic. Kebab, smoking, and pavement coffee with strangers. How life should be lived at our age.
ReplyDeleteNo hookahs though JayCee.
DeleteThat was unexpected and very nice. You're wise to just enjoy without being annoyed about the trains.
ReplyDeleteBoud, luckily I had no where to be at a certain time.
DeleteI never realized you smoked!
ReplyDeleteDebby, I only smoked second hand smoke. I think the cafe where I sat would not have tolerated smoking.
DeleteSeems you were mindfully enjoying that Kebabs and observing the surrounding
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy the kebab, Roentare. It has been years since I had one.
DeleteSounds like a perfectly lovely day, even with the MRI!
ReplyDeleteIt was very nice, thanks Bob.
DeleteI have an MRI on Tuesday. Being claustrophobic and noise averse I loathe them.
ReplyDeleteThe rest of your day sounds good.
EC, they will no doubt get better in time, but that is no help to us at the moment. One surgeon told me they give them an incredible amount of detail.
DeleteDid you already have a cigarette on you, or did you bum it off someone?
ReplyDeleteI didn't smoke, nor did I do any bumming.
DeleteHopefully the MRI doesn't find anything - unless it was looking for something important like a brain.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine a smoking ban being successful in an area like Coburg!!
Merlot, or perhaps looking for a soul. It is monitoring something they weren't sure about 12 months ago when I had the last MRI.
DeleteBecause there are so few MRI machines they have appointments going into the night, sometimes 10:30pm. You are brave going for adventures into different suburbs . Good for you to be getting out and about.
ReplyDeleteDiane, I think you have that right. They must cost an awful lot of money. Getting out about is what I do. Thanks.
DeleteI had one on my kidneys at 10.30 at night. A horrific hour in the hospital with every information desk shut down and me and my friend wandering all the halls looking for another sign when the" imaging unit" turned out to be closed. Eventually we were directed to an X-rays, etc. unit which felt like 2 more miles of halls. Clinic Tales. Not for the faint of heart.
ReplyDeleteXO
WWW
WWW, I can imagine. While I have come to know the hospital I attend reasonably well, which isn't a great thing, I did struggle earlier trying to find the right place to be.
DeleteA very nice day out. I remember liking those Donor Kebabs when I still had all my teeth, the kids loved them too. Trains can sometimes be "iffy" here too, depending on what might be happening on the line. The electrified Adelaid to Gawler train seems to be affected far too often in my opinion, so I'm glad I don't live out that way, although there are buses too.
ReplyDeleteRiver, your trains should be much more reliable as the lines are so separated, so if one train fails, it won't have the huge knock on effect. Pity about your tram to Glenelg shutting down for so long, well most of it.
DeleteIt obviously a really nice day out, even with the little hiccup at the train station.
ReplyDeleteYes, it was.
DeleteSmoking in a clearly marked non-smoking food area is disgusting.
ReplyDeleteIn this state, every smoker knows he/she MUST keep a minimum of 4 metres from the outdoor dining area of a restaurant or coffee shop. I personally would extend the 4 ms to more eg 25 ms because the wind blows smoke onto diners' food and clothes.
Hels, it up to councils to enforce. Cafe owners are a bit caught because they know they will drive customers away if they insist on no smoking. It would take them all to strictly enforce the law, with the help of council.
DeleteIf the transport had been on time you would not have had the opportunity for people-watching in an unfamiliar location. Silver linings . . .
ReplyDeleteNot really JB. My experience was at my destination, not where the train did not front up.
DeleteTransport tourism I think, it is annoying trains not keeping to time. We have a buses problem, the transport system in England is terrible. But then everyone wants to use their cars.
ReplyDeleteThelma, from my three visits to England, your public transport worked well for us, including Newcastle buses. But I don't have the daily experience. Your public transport is absurdly expensive.
DeleteHope the result of your MRI is all good.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised people were smoking and shouldn't have been, I would have been gasping for breath.
Margaret, maybe it was the wind direction, but I never really smelt the smoke. The last MRI scan, they said we've picked up something in your pancreas. They didn't think it was of concern but wanted to monitor it, hence this MRI. I have to return next week to be told?
DeleteI always like your accounts of Melbourne because it has a connection to my wife's family - relatives who moved around 1900 - and wonder how recognisable it still is.
ReplyDeleteTasker, email to me whatever information you have to andrewhighriser1 at gmail.com I will see what I can find out. There are some good resources here. I am very interested in what area they moved to here.
DeleteI have had MRIs at off hours, late at night. They seem to be busy.
ReplyDeleteTP, it seems strange. Is it because of the cost of the machines, that they need to be worked intensively, I wonder.
DeleteMRIs are at weird times here too. I once took John (he needs drugs to do one) for one at 6 AM on a Sunday!! I'm still totally pi$$ed about our train being 3 hours late last Monday!
ReplyDeleteJackie, 6am Sunday is unacceptable to me, as is a three hour late train.
DeleteI love getting out for individual exploring now and then!
ReplyDeleteSteve, as we know by your reports.
DeleteA pleasant day in interesting surroundings is always a treat, Andrew. The heat has been keeping me in but I'm getting ready for some exploring as the summer ends.
ReplyDeletePat, yes, it will soon be cooling down for you. Our daffodils are in full bloom now.
DeleteI know someone getting an MRI this Sunday. I said I didn't think that was ever done on Sundays. But I think you're right, about maximizing their use, since there are few and they cost a fortune. More patients more money to pay them off. But they sure are loud. I think I had one once a long time ago. I can't remember it much. That sounds like a pleasant day. We are about to have another heat wave.
ReplyDeleteStrayer, I wonder why they need to be loud. I don't understand such things, although I heard a man was killed by the magnetic force of one when he, as staff, had a metal chain around his neck.
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