Good bus

This is a bus. This is a good bus, as it is an electric bus, charged overnight at the depot, and it has degenerative regenerative braking, that recharges its batteries when it is in service.

See the orange at the front of the bus roof? I understand that is where the batteries sit.  

I have ridden a couple of route 604 electric buses and one 603. They are excellent, and any doubt I had about there being enough power for aircon in very hot weather was dispelled. They are cool inside, quiet inside and out.

When we moved here we had three bus routes from Brighton via Prahran pass by, with a stop conveniently in front of our building. Although I do prefer trams in general, the tram from Prahran was often busy, and even busier now, so we would often catch a bus to or from Prahran, especially in warm weather as they were all air conditioned. 

Bus routes were rationalised and the buses then terminated at the Alfred Hospital, still a little useful to get home if there was a tram problem, as it was one stop to walk to St Kilda Road and catch a tram from there. 

Bus routes were again rationalised and I now have the 604 passing by, but it is a short walk from stops in either direction for me, the Anzac Station terminus or Slater Street. I've used it a few times. 

Today, because I could, I caught the 603 eclectic bus from the corner of Toorak and Williams Road to Burnley. The driver greeted me, I was the sole passenger, and I had a brief chat to her before I alighted at the terminus to find out if bus drivers like the new electric buses, and she was passionate in her praise for them. They are nice from a passenger perspective too, without the engine racket and diesel fumes of what will soon enough be, not a normal bus. A happy bus driver makes for a better bus trip. 

I believe in a few months, all our state's new buses must be electric. 

Happy Valentines Day

I was given a card, a single red rose and a letter opener (long story) this morning by my tenants. 

I dedicate this to Phyllis and Kosov. Young love is wonderful to observe. 

Friday funnies

Let's go for broke with the first one. If you are already clutching at your pearl necklace after the first, don't read on. 

Numerous Crocs were spread around Sister's home. I tried them and I hated them. They reminded me of the plastic sandals of my childhood. Stick to your Crocs John Gray of Wales. I'm not having a bar of them. 

How I wish his number was just 6 and not 16.

The rest of the Sunday

Ex Sis in Law invited me to visit their new rented home she and her husband have just moved into. I drove the fifty minutes Sunday afternoon, after the train trip, to a very new area of what is at times referred to as Crimebourne.

It is a  large house four bedroom house for two people but they know the owner well and she invited them to take on the home at a generous rental offer.

It is a nice enough home, with central heating, evaporative cooling and a decently sized roof top bank of solar panels.

I had heard about housing in new estates (it was new as my sat nav showed me driving in paddocks) and the minimal sized blocks of land they are built upon, but I hadn't actually seen one until now. I was shocked.

I took some light fruit cake from a new store I found called AhlDie but Ex Sis in Law's husband had baked scones, delicious with lashings of cream and jam. Best of all, the scones were already spread, hence saving dropped jam and cream from my shaky hands, while holding a knife.  

Oldest Niece, her husband and their three turned up. It was nice to see everyone. The three children were gathered in the small front room watching tv as I left. They all gave me a hug, and the youngest boy who has just began school said to me, "I am sorry you have lost your friend". Well, that came out of the blue. I don't think he will remember Ray well, but his older sisters certainly will. He was at Ray's memorial.

I sent a message to his mother and his grandmother once home about what he said, and I made his grandmother cry. Ray was such an important part of the family, and it was always Andrew and Ray, rather than us individually. 

It will be Valentines Day on Friday, and I asked Phyllis if he and Kosov were doing something special. Apparently Kosov has a secret plan.  Sometimes Ray I and I went out for a meal on the eve of the day but mostly we just exchanged cards, his to me always with a nice heart shaped chocolate stuck to the envelope. I will miss the chocolate on Valentines Day this year. 

Here are a few photos I took of the garden at Ex Sis in Laws new home. The owner has spent a bomb on exotic plants, and they will really need lots of watering.

The Australian back yard used to be a place of a lawn, fruit trees, a vegetable plot, maybe a dog kennel and heaps of space for children to play games. Now, two metres of land from the back of the house to the fence. 

Beautifully scented roses. along with a stunning hibiscus not really visible. 

A mix of roses and rhododendrons.

 Azaleas and rhodies  along this side of the house. 

"Are you cooking for me tonight Phyllis?" "Yes, Andrew". A salad would have been nice with it, but I did have a salad sandwich today. 

Tuesday Tait Train Travel

Way back in January I booked a ticket to travel on a special tour organised by Steamrail Victoria. It wasn't a steam train, that are better viewed rather than ridden on, but an old Melbourne electric suburban train, of the type I had ridden on many times when I was young.

The train was to leave Newport Workshops and heritage train storage on Sunday, to arrive at Flinders Street Station at 10.37. The train failed to proceed in a punctual manner from Newport and arrived at FSS at 11.15. I managed to pass the time by eating half a sandwich I had brought along.

My acquaintance from the Gold Coast had boarded the train at Newport and set up his camera to record the trip in the front carriage. However, to me it looked like there was a mass of people to board the front carriage, so I chose the last carriage. As it was, the train was longer than train fans expected and the front carriage did not get overloaded. My carriage had a seated load of people.

Some of the carriages that make up the train set are motor carriages, and some are trailer carriages. I correctly guessed the last carriage would be a motor carriage. 

The train trip was fabulous. I loved it. The train was rough, very noisy, roaring through the tunnel under the M1 Motorway. It reached 75km/h, say 47m/ph. I received a phone call that briefly took my attention away. The seats had no ergonomic features at all but were so well padded and comfortable. I never realised how much of the Glen Waverley train line is raised, and once leaving Jordanville, the train began to climb a hill, what railway people would call a bank. The electric motors roared away but failed to keep the train up to a good pace. It then had to slow as being a not stopping train, it had caught up to a normal stopping all stations train in front. 

I had to be elsewhere the afternoon, and so after a brief chat to my acquaintance who filmed the trip, I caught the next suburban train back to the city. The train being so late had killed my plan of having brunch in Glen Waverley.

I wrote more about the Tait trains back here. I only took two photos on this trip. I just sat back and enjoyed the experience.

Monday Mural

With Sami and others for Monday Mural. 

Sister aims to swim in every Victorian public swimming. She ticked a couple more off this summer and posted mural photos at two different pools on Brag Book. 

The home front

I had planned a Sunday Selections, but instead you can read my little venting rant, or not. 

I took on one tenant last year and it was great. Phyllis is smart, artistic, a good instinctive cook, funny, well groomed, helpful, adaptable and observant of how I did things at home. Then his friend who quickly became his loving partner arrived, staying occasionally, then more frequently. I put limits on how often he could stay initially, but once Phyllis returned to see his family in India in late November, things changed.

I don't know if it was a misunderstanding or not, but the day Phyllis left, I asked Kosov if he wanted to stay. In my mind I meant that one night, but I wasn't so specific in what I said. Kosov just stayed on, without paying rent, with Phyllis paying $20 a week for storage.

Since Phyllis returned from India, he has been paying his usual rent, but Kosov is not paying. He was still paying rent where he was supposed to live until his lease expired now. From Monday the rent will increase by half to cover both of them. 

Truth be told, Kosov could stay here for nothing. He is a very sincere person, whereas Phyllis instinctively knows the ways of the world and how to work situations. I think he now knows this old queen has been around the traps and is not stupid enough to be manipulated, unless it suits me. 

I guess I mentioned my damaged spare bedroom wall, caused by the friend of Phyllis, Miss Capital City of Peru, by spinning on my old spinny desk chair before it went out for roadside collection. A couple of weeks ago, Phyllis confessed to that me he thinks he damaged the wall. Hmm, I was immediately suspicious, and rightly so.

Sure enough, about five days later I received a message from Miss Capital City of Peru to ask if she could stay for a couple of nights when she returned to Australia. I replied, ah yes, Phyllis set me up for this. Yes, you can stay two nights. 

Sometimes Phyllis and Kosov do my head in with their noise, mostly when they are cooking. The range hood fan is on, music is coming from Phyllis' phone, with another phone on speaker while one of them is talking on the phone to relative, and between each other, they switch and mix up Tamil and English talk. This is fortunately brief and I can tolerate that. Often it is food being cooked for me too. 

Miss Capital City of Peru asked me tonight if she could stay, paying rent, until the 20th of this month, two weeks in total. I said, I am sorry but no. I am very sorry and it is nothing against you personally, but the answer is no. 

A third person living here would do my head in. I would be overwhelmed.

She took it with good grace, ok Andrew. Phyllis just told me I should ask.

I am not a fucking half way house for stray overseas students. 

Tonight I gave Phyllis another lecture, for putting me in the position of seeming like an arsehole for not letting Miss Capital City of Peru to stay. The weather is not so cold now, should she have to sleep on the streets. 

There will be no more overnight student guests. 

In other news, I have a new great nephew, albeit a bit distant. Born to the daughter of the husband of my brother's ex wife. Surely the family must stop growing soon. It costs me a bomb at Christmas and birthdays.

Ex Sis in Law has just moved home, and I will visit her later today.