going out to healesville

I went to visit Pip in Healesville today. For the first time I actually looked at a map before I set off and realised there were much better ways to get to H'ville than the Lilydale-Coldstream way that I was used to. I took the Western Ring Road to Greensborough then went via Diamond Creek, Yarra er Glen or whatever it's called and then into Healesville. En route I made a couple of stops, both more or less at op shops though a fruit shop was also involved. At the Diamond Creek op shop (highly recommended) I picked up a jacket and a jumper and a 7" ep by a group called John Brown, from 1978. The ep is called Worthless Nights. Extraordinary. Not very good. The drive through the Christmas Hills is however remarkable and great. It was pretty drizzly but very green and reminded me a lot of my drive through the Scottish lowlands in the middle of last year.

Pip was in good spirits and I gave him his speaking clock thing which he left at our house ages ago and also a Roky Erikson compilation. He has cable tv but he is really in need of the internet. We had lunch at the Healesville Hotel. We had a good chat. He made me, I mean asked me to, SMS Greg and ask him if he would teach Pip about algorithms. We also called Simon Grounds about recording Pip's next album but Simon (or whosever number I rang) wasn't there and hasn't called back.

I had one beer with Pip before leaving and driving back felt if not drunk, I couldn't have been drunk, just a little weird anyway. So I stopped in Yarra Thing and had a coffee. After that I had a long drive directly into the sun. Most unpleasant. Got back and watched South Park and Drawn Together. DT is so swept up in its own delight at how parodic it is, it makes me feel awkward but I kind of like it at the same time.

In the car I listened to Mum Smokes, Russell Morris, Paul McCartney (the new album and McCartney) and The Nice.