book city

OK so I can't find confirmation of this but I am 100% certain from experience that the building on the north-west corner of Rathdown and Victoria Sts, which has been derelict for a long time, was once a branch of Chris Randle's Book City. In fact, I am pretty certain I even went in there more than once. That said, I was surprised that Book City went under in 1984, I thought it was much later than that. Here's an article from the Age 30 April 1984 p. 5 if you want some background:

It was a shortlived project but seemed to have been very successful until it wasn't. There's another article in the same paper, from 23 October 1982, which says that Randle's policy is if staff talk to customers about a book, they will get fired. 

Anyway, it didn't work. I don't know if Randle built this building, probably not, it was used for other things after 1984 anyway. Here is is today:

I'm guessing it doesn't have much longer to go. 

back at the yrnong

That's what you call the Maribyrnong, isn't it? When you feel casual affection for it? the Yrnong? Well anyway boring as we are, Perry and I went back to the same place as we had gone the day before, that is, yesterday to ramble across a little more of the general area. It was just for fun. 

It was raining, that's part of my umbrella above, but it wasn't heavy and we were fine. I am intrigued by these flats which I might have mused on previously, I suspect yes I have. I haven't seen them from the street access side and should go and look sometime. They dominate here but I am sure they are pretty nice to live in, or at least, to look out from. 

Explain this to me please:

A big boy is allowed to walk without the lead on if he promises to be good (even if he doesn't, even if he isn't). He didn't, but he was. 

Big houses looking out over the Yrnong from the north side. 

It stopped raining while we were walking, I lost something - the clip-on treat dispenser. I lose these periodically, it's not like car keys. 

dick smith's forbidden ideas

Once upon a time, something like this was so OUT THERE that I kept it as proof of a strange madness that no-one would believe if I told them. 

nobody home

Perry and I went to Avondale Heights again this morning, same as the other day but no loss of car key, mainly because I wanted to see if that dog was there again, but no. 

Perry certainly remembered the place and was hopeful once we got there but as I said - no.

I let Perry off the lead briefly and was interested to note that, when he's on the lead he wants to charge ahead of me, or at least, lead the way but when he's not, he wants to walk a considerable distance behind. I wonder if this is his herding instinct. 

When I lost the car key last week and had to walk to Tottenham Station, I had checked with mapsonmyphone how to get across the river and it did not tell me there was a crossing actually very close to where we were - it just told me about two reasonably distant footbridges. Well, I don't blame mapsonmyphone, there's probably a lawsuit just waiting to happen when dodderers try to get across the river by these means, though I would have done it. 

This was a good place for Perry to get a drink from the refreshing waters of the Maribyrnong and then we went back. It will be hot day today and it was already warming up at 8ish. 

helmi reborn

I wish I understood what had changed about Helmi's life that she went one day from being the kind of cat who hides in small spaces for 24 hours at a time, to the kind of cat who lives her life entirely in public, as far as I'm aware never hiding from anyone or anything and being completely visible. I am reminded of an elderly man (well he seemed elderly thirty years ago, perhaps he was the age I am now) who seemed entirely delightful to all and sundry but I had it on good authority from a few sources that before his stroke he was an aggressive, hostile jerk. Helmi is still that to Nancy and Perry, but even then, she is perfectly happy to be in their presence and only lashes out (not literally) when one of them gets in her face or sniffs her back,* something by the way she is always doing to them. What does it mean? What if one day she just gets sick of fame and goes back under the bed forever more? 

She also will quite often sit next to me and purr for no reason (aside from what I assume is the reason, that she is sitting next to me). 

*I mean, sniffs her back. I mean, sniffs the back of her. 

tree bag

north coburg sojourn

Perry and I went to the record player fixing place and the rug wash place yesterday. The rug wash place is in North Coburg and a few minutes' drive further north is where Back Creek hits Merri Creek. But there are factories all around, almost completely backing up to the creek valley edge, but with a little bit of open space where people have put in unofficial tables and benches, like this:

and this:

Also these two nicely placed chairs:

Walking along the creek:

I think this is under construction not destruction or delapidation but not sure:

More unofficial benches - this is out the back of someone's house. 

This too:

Then we hung out at the creek, which was really nice.