MELBOURNE VISIT 1

I'm assuming that my brief visit to Melbourne from 9 to 12 January will be one of many because there are aspects of the city that I can't live without. Mind you, it was the weekend of weather that I can live without. 44 degrees with blustery winds when the plane touched down on Friday 9 January. The air was ochre and dusty as we flew over the Victorian landscape that was alight in many places. By Saturday, the temperature was down to 26 and on Sunday it was 19 degrees with some rain. A classic example of Melbourne's every-changing climate.

Amongst the things that I miss and the things that I managed to do this time:

1. Friends

Although they are always at the end of a phone, a Whatsapp post, a text, it's always great to see people face to face. Staying with Glenda and David in Brunswick, meant that I could celebrate his birthday, catch up with Loretta, have great meals at their place, cocktails at Shabooh Shoobah, dinner with Pam and Kath, and generally enjoy the ambience of my old neighbourhood. It was fascinating to drive past the Pink House and see the changes so far: trees and shrubs gone from the front garden and replaced by a vege garden. 

Loretta, Glenda & David


Pam, me & Kath

I also caught up with John over the other side of the city and helped (with Sebastian's advice) solve his communication problems. You couldn't possibly call me a compter whiz but I can solve some basic issues and when it comes to old-fashioned answering machines, as long as there's an instruction book, I'm fine.

2. Market

Pure Pies
Susan and I would regularly go to the Coburg Farmers Market and our favourite stalls that we haven't been able to replace in Perth were the orchard where mum makes the world's best raspberry and plum jam and the Pure Pie folk who make (obviously) great pies but also fabulous cheese sticks. I now have enough jam to last me for the next couple of years and it was a pleasure to introduce Glenda and David to the market and to the cheese sticks.

3. Alterations

With many items of clothes, I need alterations. Sleeves shortened. Legs slimmed. Necks refined. And the Pins and Needles ladies in Sydney Rd, Coburg were wonderful and affordable. Since coming to Perth, the only place we've been able to get clothes changed cost an arm and leg. More, in some cases, than the clothes themselves. So I bought a post bag, addressed it to myself and took three pairs of trousers with me to Melbourne to be fixed. The ladies, who miraculously remembered my name, were thrilled to see me and did the changes on the same day for a third of the price. Clearly I'm not going to fly to Melbourne everytime I need some sewing work done but it's good to know they are there and willing to help.

4. Glasses

Although there are some interesting glasses shops in Perth, none of them compare to Scoogles. Susan and I have regularly spent a fortune there buying striking frames. Joise Redmond, the owner, must smile with delight when she sees us walking through the door - and this weekend was no different. I lashed out again but you'll have to wait to see the result until they have lenses.

5. Culture

Given the timing, there were no new MTC or Malthouse shows to be seen but I did get to a women's photography exhibition and a Vivienne Westwood/Rei Kasabura fashion exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria. As I'm probably mentioned before, I don't like the physicality of the gallery but both shows had some highlights such as the work of Olive Cotton and some glorious dresses made of tafetta.

A Vivienne Westwood Tartan

And the reason I was in Melbourne was cultural. A performing arts company that I've worked with before asked if I could faciliate another planning session with their Board. It's rather expensive to fly me to Melbourne but I like the company, admire their work, and had run out of raspberry and plum jam so I waived my fee in exchange for an airfare. Given the recent debacle of the actions of the Adelaide Festival Board in cancelling a Palestinian-Australian writer for reasons of "social cohesion", it was good to see a hard working board who know their strengths and weaknesses and know when to ask for help.

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