Buying plants in the Dandenongs

There were a couple of gaps in the garden, so we headed off on the Monday of the long weekend to see if we could find anything suitable.    I admit that sometimes we go to the mega-nursery down the road or even to Bunnings, but this time we thought that we ought to combine it with a trip to the Dandenongs.   Things were pretty crowded:  it seems that that we weren't the only people who thought an outing to the Dandenongs was a good way to spend the day! 

Just the last remnants of colour

The last of the autumn colour was still visible, and off the main tourist trail, we found a place to eat, as well as a nearly adjoining plant nursery.   Loaded with more plants than we intended, we stopped for a walk at Grants reserve in Sherbrooke forest.  There were lots of people in the vicinity of the carpark, but surprisingly few on the walking trails.

Walking in Sherbrooke forest

Hard rubbish

Although the local Council conducts hard waste collections every few months, it seems many people can't wait.   Discarded items litter our nature strips.   The matter was raised at the ward meeting a while back, but the Council kinda shrugs its collective shoulders and says there's little they can do unless someone is "caught in the act".   In the meantime, eventually they come around to pick it up.   

One small step might be a little more publicity about the legitimate disposal options that are available.

Bundoora Park

We were out that side of Melbourne and realised that we were not far from Bundoora Park.  I was vaguely awareness of its existence, but had never been there.  The area has a bit of history (at one stage, it was the Victoria Police stud and stables and later it was the location of a psychiatric hospital), but it has now been developed into what is described as Melbourne's "most diverse park".    Indeed, it seems to have something for everyone:   wetlands, open spaces, picnic areas, a golf course, a wildlife reserve, an "urban farm" and a "heritage village".    The last 3 areas require an admission fee, but as it was getting on in the day and there was a need for a coffee and then a walk to the Bundoora Homestead to be undertaken, we saved the enclosed areas for another day.

Wetlands

Bundoora Homestead

I don't think Bundoora Homestead is actually part of the park, but it is adjacent to it.  The homestead is apparently administered by La Trobe University, whereas the park is administered by the local council.    The sign at the Homestead stated that it was supposed to be open at the time we visited, but it wasn't!   







By the time we'd walked to the Homestead and looked around the exterior and returned, it was nearly dark.   So a return visit is called for, because there's a lot we didn't see.

Shopping Centre works

Target moved out of the local shopping centre at the end of last December, which didn't please some of the locals.    DJs haven't yet opened in the space.   No doubt a different demographic will be pleased when that occurs.   

In the meantime, the owners (AMP) are taking advantage of the limbo time to undertake a whole lot of renovations to the travelators and the facade.   These works seem to have been dragging on for weeks, especially the travelators.  There's a sign explaining that the travelators have been in service for many years and need to be re-built.   This seems understandable, but just what was wrong with the facade eludes me

It's all pretty annoying, and must be impacting on the smaller businesses (no doubt Woolworths have done a deal of some sort with AMP).

 

Ringing & Riding at the Airport

I've been aware of the "Ring & Ride" facility at the Melbourne Airport, but I hadn't used it (as a driver) until this week.     The idea is that you get 20 minutes free parking to wait for an arriving passenger, who then goes to the relatively new passenger pick-up zone and gives the driver a ring.  The driver then leaves the holding facility and collects the passenger in the pick-up zone.

It all works quite well, although on the day I was there, there was only one other car in the holding area - but numerous cars in the actual pick up zone.    I wonder if a lot of people just go to the pick-up zone and wait (running the risk of exceeding the time limit)?

An aspect that slightly confused me is that the holding area is within the long-term car park, and you have to take a ticket to gain entry.   The machine only spits out one sort of ticket, and I was a little apprehensive that I'd missed getting a "Ring & Ride" ticket.    However, there were no problems, as a special ticket is not required.

If you exceed the 20 minute free quota, but you're out within an 40 minutes, the charge is $2 (or $4 for an hour).  After that, you have to pay normal long-term rates if you're still waiting without having made the effort to go around the block (although you would probably have died of boredom in the holding area if you were there for that long!)

Another, perhaps minor, issue is that the location of the pick-up zone isn't intuitive for arriving passengers.  They need to know that they need to follow the signs and cross both the taxi and bus lanes to get to it.

Bleak ...and deserted

Annie

We went to see Babirra's production of Annie.   At the time we booked, the series was nearly sold out and we managed to get tickets only when an extra performance was scheduled.  And, no wonder, this performance was right up there to the same high standard as the previous one we saw. Hello Dolly.
To add to the challenges, Annie includes in the cast Annie herself who appears to have been played by a young teenager (actually, it seems there are two Annies, who presumably share the 9 performances), 8 other orphans, at least one of whom appeared to be only 11 or 12 years old (no nights off for any of these, it appears), and Sandy the dog who won everyone's heart.

At times the rendition seemed to be a little "shrill", but apart from this, we were impressed with the singing, the choreography and the orchestra, and we certainly enjoyed the night. 

The Blood Detective

The Blood Detective links a number of brutal modern crimes to series of grisly murders in 1879 and the wrongful conviction then of an innocent man.  As the earlier crimes are mimicked, the book turns to a suspense novel with the police racing against time when they discern the pattern and are able to predict the next murder.  Dan Waddell's book works genealogy and London urban history into the tracking of the serial killer and gives us a fascinating look at doing genealogical research in London.

The plot is pretty far-fetched (not that that's unusual, I suppose), and I found the gore and torture a bit overdone (but apparently that's expected these days).   There's hardly any tension between the police and the genealogist and only a little between the police themselves, which is a welcome relief from the pattern often found in modern crime writing.   

Perhaps the references to archives and documents get a little tedious, but since the book is aimed, at least in part, at those who are interested in this area, presumably this all has to be there.  While there are some references to missing information and the like, I did wonder, however, if research in this area is always quite as effective as it is portrayed to be (or is it that the British records really are good?)

A bit different to a lot of modern crime writing, and interesting reading.

Southbank

There are many occasion when I don't agree with Bruce Guthrie, but recently in the Sunday Age he addressed the issue of the speed at which many (but certainly not all) cyclists travel along Southbank Promenade.  The article's heading concerned a different matter and there was a bit of anti-Doyle rant (both of which I will pass over), but he stated  that there's a bike speed limit of 10 kph for cyclists along this strip and that it seems to be regularly exceeded.  

Looking across the river when eating at Southgate in the evening

At times, we eat at the outside tables next to the Promenade, and I have certainly thought to myself that the mix of heavy pedestrian traffic and bikes travelling at speeds of way more than 10 kph in this area is surely a recipe for trouble.

Vilification

I won't enter the controversy as to whether a 13 year old girl ought to be sanctioned for the use of the word "ape", or comment on whether the AFL's response to such matters depends on whether you're Eddie McGuire or only a mere mortal.  I recognise the political imperative for the AFL to toe the line in such matters.    However, I do wait with interest for the day when they take a stand against the vilification of umpires - and in particular the amount of obscene language used in this regard at football matches.

One Man, Two Guvnors

The full house at the Playhouse obviously enjoyed One Man, Two Guvnors .....but is it a play?   Perhaps "circus" or "pantomime" might be equally apt descriptions.   The blurb describes it as a "unique, laugh-out-loud mix of satire, songs, slapstick and sparkling one-liners".    Yeah, maybe.....

The British cast of 17 (11 main roles and an ensemble of 6) plus a band of 4 don't miss a beat in a well choreographed, fast moving production, the band was terrific and the humour didn't overdo the slapstick (my tolerance of  this is limited).   There is some audience interaction (although not as much as it seems at first, when one of the selected "members" of the audience turns out to have been planted).


Not exactly "comic perfection" (this quote is attributed to the Daily Telegraph), but certainly, all in all, an enjoyable night, watching something a little different from MTC's usual offerings.