Missing a tram

My intention was to catch the number 12 tram to South Melbourne. I had just missed one and the next scheduled was about ten minutes later. I walked along a side street to the next tram stop, instead of just waiting. It was quite rewarding. 

From a distance, the exterior of these two houses in this photo looked like painted bluestone. Much of inner Melbourne is built in bluestone, including many, many cobbled lanes. What we call bluestone is basalt rock, or lava rock if you like, formed many thousands of years ago when Australia had active volcanoes. It is a very strong and tough rock.

But hey, this is fake bluestone. It's just a facing material that looks like bluestone...not very much upon closer inspection. Frankly, the houses looked ridiculous. 

Modern housing is nicely integrated into older housing streets. 

It appears ivy has been let to get out of control. Never let your Ivy roam freely. She will get into to trouble and cause you trouble. 

Not a complete plant takeover, but getting close. What a huge home for some rich ****er. 

The new St Kilda Pier

The iconic St Kilda Pier was closed for a couple of years as a new pier was built. To walk on St Kilda Pier is a must do for all tourists who visit Melbourne. 

I was waiting for a good weather day to take a slow stroll out along the new pier, and looking forward to coffee and cake and the pier kiosk. It was more a cafe the last time I visited. My memories of the pier amused me, because the afternoon I last walked the pier, so too did Ray with his workmate and disability clients. Neither of use knew what the other was doing.

Then with our friend, the former Friend in Japan, we walked the pier and saw penguins among the rocks, and for the first time, a bloke standing on a surfboard and paddling around.  

Enough

Here are some photos from my visit. I left the tram at The Esplanade, formerly known as the Upper Esplanade and walked towards the footbridge over Jacka Boulevard, formerly known as the Lower Esplanade.

I am approaching the footbridge. 

Looking back at the Esplanade Hotel, The Espy.

And down to Jacka Boulevard. 

Covid could be blamed, but I think this kiosk closed down before Covid.

I captured a moment with Jacka Boulevard being empty of cars. What are those blotches on the wall? 

There was some finishing up work happening here.

Boat masts feature.

The pier begins in timber.

These two photos look luscious to me. Embiggen them.

The pier is now half concrete and half timber.

An outlying jetty, maybe for fishing or just checking your phone. 

A brand new pier and there is already obvious corrosion.

The St Kilda Pier Kiosk.

I peered inside and it was totally empty of anything. The pier was busy enough but it was a perfect winter's day. While in summer months the kiosk could make a killing, it is not enough to cover the winter losses. 

A nice outdoor seating area. There is also seating on the rooftop. 

The pier now goes on much further.

Oh, a swimmer, when the water is very cold and there will be much shrinkage. 

Those blotches I mentioned earlier are long time closed vaults. They are so close to the road now, they would be dangerous. But isn't the artwork just wonderful. I'm glad I made the effort to visit the new pier. 

A gay entrepreneur

I would guess it was in the 1980s Ken Payne opened a gay club called Mandate in Carlisle Street, St Kilda. It was very successful until it wasn't. It was formerly called Sweethearts but I am not sure if Payne owned the business then. I don't know why it closed. It could have been noise issues for local residents. Yes, yours truly attended a number of times. 

One New Year's Eve I locked the car keys in the boot of the car, so we just left the car there overnight...well, it was morning by then. The next day, somewhat hungover, I caught the 377 bus, my first time on a public bus with air conditioning, to retrieve the car. It was a hot day and the air conditioning was very effective, as it roared away. I must have used a 69 or 79 tram for the last kilometre, or maybe I walked.

Payne kept hearing older gay men lamenting the loss of Mandate and so thought a massive development in St Kilda Road, St Kilda would be successful. Called Precinct 3182, the post code,  it certainly was on opening night. I remember seeing my still current doctor there. Within one area, there was an old train carriage. Bit by bit, it closed down. All those who lamented the loss of Mandate were not regular customers. The pub lasted longer and it was a really nice place. I learnt to play pinball with some skill (I'll be back) and we had great fun times. Ray picked up a crop duster pilot one evening. A couple of straight guys rented a house opposite us in Balaclava and they would go there for a drink at times, and they were fun. Once with our Brother Friends we won a trivia quiz. I have nice memories of the venue, but eventually it closed too. 

I am unable to find a photo of the gay entrepreneur Ken Payne online but among my trinkets, I did find these dog tags that were given out on opening night. 

The grumpy coffee roaster

We lived for about ten years in a Victorian workers cottage in the suburb Balaclava. One of my favourite memories is sitting in our lovely brick paved courtyard some warm evenings, safely ensconced by ivy, ficus, wisteria, bougainvillea and a large birch tree. We would play backgammon while having a sip or two of Scotch. Once the internet arrived, things changed. Nevertheless, I remember the time so well and so fondly. 

When we moved to Balaclava, there was a men's clothing store, a hardware store and many other useful businesses. There were only two places to buy a cup of coffee. Now there are a myriad of cafes but no men's clothing or hardware store. 

We would make coffee at home, using freshly ground beans from the local coffee shop where coffee beans were roasted on site. At a guess, I think it was owned by Russian Jews, Balaclava being within the Bagel Belt. It took years of buying freshly ground coffee for the usual server, who was an older woman who I guess was Russian, to get a smile from her. Maybe you know the coffee roasters Hels? 

It literally took years but eventually I could get a half smile from her by putting on my brightest face and a big wide smile with effusive thanks, she with a slight upturning of her lips.

As JB mentioned in a blog post, smiling is not a natural thing for some cultures. 

Lordy, the place has modernised into Coffee Company, with a very slick website. Russian o rperhaps Polish woman would be long gone I guess. 

Call me a cynic

City of Melbourne took a vote on calling for a ceasefire in Palestine, motion lost. I am not sure it is within the remit of the City of Melbourne to take a stand on such a complex matter. As I have indicated, I have sympathy for Israel and the Hamas attack and abductions were terrible but I have a very firm view on the matter of the mass killing of innocent citizens. There were some protestors at the Town Hall, some nastiness and the public gallery at Town Hall was full. Lord Mayor Capp was on leave when the vote was taken. 

Lord Mayor Capp and Acting Lord Mayor Reece.

The vote was down to the line, with the Acting Lord Mayor Nicholas Reece casting a deciding vote for the negative.

This seems to be catching. I think Wednesday night my local council, City of Port Phillip, voted to turn over a lot of inhouse services for the old and those who need help to the private sector. Something like 45 staff who do cleaning, showering, transporting etc, will be made redundant. Guess who was on leave for the vote? Yep, Mayor Heather Cunsolo. 

I believe acting and former Mayor Louise Crawford cast her vote for the council to rid itself of care for the elderly and needy. She argued the case well on the radio. It seems new standards and a widening of care dictated by the Federal Government cannot be met by ratepayers without receiving  a significant increase in Federal funding. 

Divisive Day

Well, I am supposed to  say Happy Australia Day I guess, but I really don't feel like it. The day no longer instills any pride in me for my country on the day I may have once quietly be very glad to be born in. It has become such a divisive day, I just don't want to hear any more about it. 

Without doubt it needs to be moved to a day that's agreeable to most of our indigenous population To those who will never accept a celebration of the day, I don't blame you. It was an invasion, the general mistreatment, the massacres, yes, I know all about it but it was quite a long time ago now and now I can only say, tough titties. We are here and we don't belong anywhere else.

I am certainly not going to speak to my jingoistic Tradie Brother today. He may well be hosting a barbeque to celebrate, where people will drink too much. 

Thankfully I've only heard of two of the deplorables on the radio, and the second one was a conservative politician, declaring we are the greatest country in world. The former who said the same may be ignorant and needs to travel more to see what the rest of the world does better than we in Australia do, and the politician was just being a politician.

Happy Republic Day to India.

Meanwhile in Melbourne some have made there displeasure at the day of 'celebrations known by public vandalism.

Queen Vicky's visage must have been extra grumpy looking after she was spray painted with metaphorical blood. 

It was quite an achievement to chop down Captain Cook at the ankles with an angle grinder, even if they had the wrong culprit. Blame Governor Phillip of the Colony of New South Wales who led the First Fleet from England with ships full of Prisoners of His/Her Majesty.

And as one wag described it on Twitter, what could be more Australian on Australian Day than being passed out and flat on your face in a public park   

Would you like a little Aussie music on this day? There are a few I could choose from but this'll do. 

Nearly there

If you are near my time zone, it will be the eve of Christmas as you read this. If you're not, you probably should be tucked up in bed or thinking about it at least. It's time for some Christmas cheer that doesn't come in a bottle with some Christmas themed photos I've taken. I haven't been out and about too much of late on my own, but I plan to resume roaming the city in the New Year.

Acland Street, St Kilda.

Prahran Square.

Melbourne Town Hall for the next few.

Above the masses queuing to see the Myer Christmas. While we did see the Bluey animatronics display with our Friend from Japan, when we took Jo, the queue time would have been a couple of hours, so she didn't get to see it this year. I didn't think that much of the display myself. 

 

Oh yes, there is a religious connection to Christmas.

Federation Square.

Darls, it's a tram on a tv screen. There is no point in waving to the passengers.

Now a few from home.

Annual Christmas party across the road, not as big as in the past. This year the wait staff were all in pink full length aprons.

R's Christmas cake. It has had a weekly brandy feeding since it was made Cake fringe seem impossible to find now, so he had to make do.

He ummed ahhed about putting the tree up, as he has for the last couple of years but two weeks before Christmas, up it went.

Frosty would be thirty plus years old, as are most of our decorations. A tea candle is placed inside him and the light comes our of the star openings. We don't want smoked walls so we don't light him up every night.

We were a bit overwhelmed with flowers when Mother died, and none have reappeared since. R stopped buying the weekly flowers. I've not mentioned the matter. I think it may be grief related. R's three sisters sent this bunch for Christmas.

The light bulbs were painted? by Ex Sis in Law many years ago.

The reindeer were back but the volume had been turned down this year, so I didn't find them as good.

And how could we not celebrate without Kim Wilde, a little the worse for wear and her brother on a train, concluding with Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree.

We will be away for a week or so, staying in a seaside cottage near Sister's. It's going to be a rather different Christmas this year without someone who I have spent every Christmas dinner with for all of my life.

Merry Christmas and Season's Greetings to you all.