Categories
Food'n'drink

Bentleigh’s restaurants

Zagarellis (Italian, Centre Road, Bentleigh) — Essentially over-priced for what it was: big serves of fairly ordinary (but edible) food. Companion’s dish arrived with the wrong type of pasta, and I’d have preferred smaller serves of nicer food. I hope there’s some better restaurants in Bentleigh, concealed in the sidestreets or something. At first glance  ... [More]

Categories
Home life

Period features

My house was built around about 1930-ish. Some period features that I particularly like: Most of the doorknobs are of an Art Deco style that reminds me of something out of Jeeves and Wooster every time I open a door. Most of the rooms have decorated deco ceilings. Thankfully the more recent insertion of heating  ... [More]

Categories
News and events

Halloween

There was a time in my not too distant past when the very prospect of kids Trick or Treating on Halloween would have had me angrily shouting about American cultural imperialism. Maybe I’m mellowing. This past weekend the Bentleigh Shopping Centre organised a Halloween dress-up. Many participated, including my own children (though I didn’t organise  ... [More]

Categories
Melbourne

Spotted on Friday night

Spotted on Friday night: On the tram up Bourke Street, a quietly-spoken Irish couple asking how to get to Telstra Dome. Getting off the tram, many International Rules (Australia vs Ireland) fans. Along the Bourke Street bridge, some enthusiastically doing Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi Oi Oi. Then boisterously providing a rendition of a whole chorus  ... [More]

Categories
Home life Melbourne

My new suburb

My new suburb is Bentleigh. It’s about 5 minutes further out of the city than my old stomping grounds of Glen Huntly or Carnegie, and certainly further into suburbia. It’s still in zone 1. That was a requirement when house-hunting. Mind you it’s the last station in zone 1. I’m pretty close to the station,  ... [More]

Categories
Melbourne

Exploring Port Melbourne

When one thinks of Melbourne’s inner suburbs, one might imagine gentrified streets full of yuppies sipping lattes as they admire the street furniture and watch the crowds and trams pass by. But they’re not all like that. Yesterday I journeyed into the industrial heart of Port Melbourne, to return the rental keys. Gawd knows why  ... [More]

Categories
Home life

Too late

Call today from a representative of the agent of the property I’ve just moved out of. “We’re just updating contact details for all our tenants. Are you still at…” “You know I’ve ended the lease and I’m returning the keys tomorrow, don’t you?” “Oh. … Probably not so necessary then.” … Uncomfortable pause … “Well,  ... [More]

Categories
Home life

The final move

In summary: it’s done. And I never have to move again. Which is good, because I have too much stuff, and I hate moving. The plan Possibly I was over-compensating for the last time I moved, when the movers turned up to find many as-yet unpacked boxes, and the truck headed off leaving a lot  ... [More]

Categories
Home life

Moved

I’ve moved. I’m now very tired, and have a headache. But I’ve moved. More later.

Categories
Health Home life

A day at home

Unexpected day at home today: I felt sick overnight, and didn’t sleep at all well. Possibly a repeat of my last house move. Checked the fridge to find I was out of my preferred “feeling sick” drink, lemonade. Thankfully Marita was on hand to get some from the milkbar down the street. Just as last  ... [More]

Categories
Home life Net

Dead man surfing

My home internet connection has cut out. Knowing that it takes about 5 days, on Monday I requested the ADSL connection be moved. If I’d thought about it a bit more (and taken advice from friends) I would have ordered a brand-spanking new connection from somebody else, rather than relocate my Netspace one, so there’d  ... [More]

Categories
Politics and activism PTUA transport

Trains in an instant

From MX, Melbourne’s free afternoon commuter newspaper, 19/10/2005 page 1: Trains in an instant Inga Gilchrist Trains would run every 10 minutes during peak hour on all lines under a radical plan to boost Melbourne’s public transport. The Public Transport Users Association today called for a massive lift in train frequency to ease overcrowding in  ... [More]