Sunday, June 28, 2026

Sunday Selections

I'm linking to River for Sunday Selections, and joining with others.

These dawn photos are interesting for this reason. The first was taken at 6.54 and 23 seconds.


I swung the lens maybe 15 degrees to the north and zoomed in and this one was taken at 6.54 and 49 seconds, 31 seconds apart. It looks like a totally different sky.


A three wicked candle. Things come and go into the highrise. 


The tall building on the corner of Toorak Road and Chapel St is on the site of a former tramway cable engine house, with the cables running under road pulling along the trams running on Toorak Road and Chapel Streets. The building, Capitol Grand LK Tower, even when almost enveloped by fog, still dominates. The Capitol name comes for the business that took over the building after cable trams were replaced by electric trams, Capitol Bakery, and remained so into my younger years. It then became Johnny Rockets, a kind of American diner specialising in burgers. It was also used for Gayskate, gay guys gathering to roller skate around a track. AFIK, no funny business happened when gay men were on skates.


Two unidentified dinosaurs have attacked dear Pteranodon. 


"Kosov, why have you kept sweet potato peels?"
"You will see, Onnnndrew".
He fried them and they were a delicious snack. 


At the corner of Carlisle and Acland Street, I remember the days when this was a corner milk bar, then a sex shop, selling adult toys and such paraphernalia, with a sex on premises venue upstairs, for men only I suppose. After a long period of closure, the building has been very nicely renovated and is now what I would call an Australiana shop. 

I could tease you with some words about its former use as a SOPV and my experience with the building, but it wasn't related to the upstairs goings on. When the shop was empty, the area at its rear with room for a couple of cars to park, was a mess. With a large double gate open, I stepped in for a sticky beak. As I walked out a belligerent woman, without taking a breath told me as owner of the property, I ought to be ashamed of myself for allowing such a mess of junk and rubbish to accumulate and being exposed to the street. My character is that I think of all the clever and smart arse answers later, but gee I wish I was guilty as accused and owned the building worth a million dollars plus.


HH's daughter grew these chillies on her small farm, and I believe they are called Habanero chilli, possibly the hottest in the world. There is the obvious question as to why she grew chilli that she could never use, and why give them to HH? Perhaps they were meant for Phyllis and Kosov. HH gave dire warnings about using gloves when preparing them, and to stand under the range hood fan to extract the fumes. 


While I was waiting for Perl to be serviced last week I took a rather long walk for me, and among the high rise buildings, factories, offices and commercial buildings, I came across this electricity substation. How great that it is kept, and for all I know, is still functional.


The little tower atop is cute. Somewhere on this wall is a door. It does still seem to be a working building, with modern signage. But can this substation deal with the vast electricity demand in the area? 


It seems not. Around the corner, this is where the magic happens.

25 comments:

  1. Lovely photos, Andrew. The fried sweet potato peels sounds delicious!

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  2. I know a thing or two about hot peppers thanks to my husband (my family suffers bland and unadventurous tastes - lol). A few years ago he and I learned that the scorpion chili is higher on the Scoville heat scale than habanero.

    I've neither grown nor cooked with the scorpion. But sparing use of the Scotch bonnet (aka habanero) is great in various dishes. My favorite is an Internet hot sauce recipe my husband found decades ago called Inner Beauty.

    https://www.food.com/recipe/copycat-inner-beauty-hot-sauce-60998

    I'm glad to see it's still around online. Yum... Be well!

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    1. Great Darla, thank you. I've printed out the sauce recipe, and it could be frozen to use at any time.

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  3. I have never heard of fried sweet potato peel snacks, but that is one of the joys of not being forced into a monoculture. Go Kosov!

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    1. Hels, I am pleased there are alternatives to a lamb chop, mashed potato and peas, the food my mother prepared for her family.

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  4. When my inlaws first came to Australia in the 50s my father in law worked at capitol bakery even on a ... gasp ... Sunday when sunday baking was illegal!
    We used to live in Robe St around 50 years ago and from memory that whole area was about sex and kerb crawling and all sorts of shenanigans. I was a mere innocent, I hasten to add.

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    1. How cool Merlot, and I am only just learning this about your husband's father. I am sure you picked up some Robe Street skills to use in future times should you face desperation.

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  5. You are lucky to have the boys cook interesting meals. Both my son in laws love chilli but we can't stand he heat so when they cook they put chilli on the table to add as you wish.

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    1. Diane, I like a moderate level of chilli, and it is not quite the same if your just add chilli at the table. Your sons' in law are kind to their in law parents.

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  6. The little substation is cute and maybe now it is a storage area for tools and such. I like Australiana shops, we have one in Rundle Mall, it's a souvenir shop for tourists and I sometimes go in and check a few labels to see if any are Made In somewhere else. I haven't checked in a while.
    My oldest son would love those chillies, the younger son too, but he doesn't buy them with the twins always wanting to taste anything new.

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    1. Ok River. I wasn't aware of the Australiana chain shop. I didn't grow up with chillies and I doubt you did, so it's great that your sons have embraced them.
      I have no idea what is electric substations now, and your thoughts are quite feasible.

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    2. Probably not actually Australiana, I will have to check on that next time I am in the city.

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  7. I went to a Mexican restaurant Friday night. I had Chile relleno, which was wonderfully spicy. The margarita was wonderful to wash it down. That being sad, I don't understand the attraction of scorpion peppers or ghost peppers, etc. They are so hot that the flavor is lost in the heat.

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    1. Debby, they should be a part of or compliment the meal, not overpower it. I agree with you about the use of chilli. I like chilli but not too hot.

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  8. The morning sky, what a delight and it's so different at another angle.
    I've seen a lot of people using skins in their food, they say it's the most nutritious part.

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    1. Margaret, charred potato skins sell for a good price, when they are normally discarded, and you would remember when lamb shanks were given to you by a butcher as food for a dog.

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  9. Like the first photo of the sunrise. Living where you do, you have a very different view of the world from most. I don't do chillies so I wouldn't be going any where near that bag. You are very lucky to have the opportunity of experiencing different foods provided by the boys.

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    1. Quite so about the boys, Fun60. And to note, I have educated them about food too. One meal last week was a lasagne with pancakes as a substitute for pasta, and finally after me telling them, pasta sauce must have tomato paste and perhaps some tinned tomatoes.

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  10. Thanks for the glimpse into your world.

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  11. A "sticky beak"? Now there's a phrase I had to look up!

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  12. Fried sweet potato sounds good, Andrew.

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  13. I never thought of frying the peels, I must try it, could probably do the same with squash and butternut, have a great week.

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  14. A big city always looks more glamourous at night.

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