five years ago is still five years ago but not for long

So yes five years ago I was still working on those pictures most of which frankly I am pretty pleased with. There's one I am a bit regretful about but I'll cope. I liked, though I can't really recall the reason for, the toad spawn motif I seemed to use a lot of then. 

Neither of these beautiful boys are with us anymore, sadly. But they had really great lives, no doubt about it. 

the paperback

A few days ago I said I didn't know how old The Paperback was, only that it had remained more or less unchanged (obviously not in terms of stock) since my childhood. Well, I think it dates from the early 70s, and was definitely in existence in 1972. I know that because of this ad, from the 22 April 1972, in the Age, p. 13.

I see being late night was a thing even then. That is late for a shop even now, imagine what it was like in 1972. Its lateness is so important to me that some time in the last year I noticed - either on social media or a sign on the door, I can't remember - that it was going to be closed in the evening for a couple of days, and I felt anxious about that lol. 

five years ago

I genuinely am not self-obsessed, ask anyone, or at least I hide it from myself if I am by finding myself interesting as a phenomenon. But by accident I have a lot of ways to find out what I was doing on any given day in the last, let's say, 9 years because that's how far back my phone photos go, and a little more vaguely twenty years I can refer to this blog and even further back I have appointments diaries that go back to the mid-90s. Ridiculous really, I have no reason to keep those things in particular and will probably chuck them sometime soon.

Anyway I can tell you what I was doing five years ago - I was 'reading' this book, in a language I can't read. 

This was in pursuit of completing the book Community Green, which was published in, um, 2024. I had visited Käpylä, which is a small WWI-era suburb of Tampere, and I went through a lot of hoops to get a copy of this history by an author who was either dead or resistant to being contacted by someone in Australia who only spoke English. But I worked with the information I had. 

I was also in that week reading Peter Blazey's excellent book on Henry Bolte, probably the best political biography published in Australia, at least until Judith Brett came on the scene. 

I suppose I photographed this section of the book because it mentions Bolte's lack of interest in 'the implications of urban development' and the 'country member' joke, of course. No wonder Bolte h-a-t-e-d this book. 

I don't remember exactly when I moved to where I live now, but there are some pictures of the cats from five years ago where the backgrounds suggest that I had recently moved in, certainly it looks massively different and there's furniture etc which I don't even really remember, and certainly isn't around anymore. Here's Nancy looking like a 90s metal video. 

At this time I was also doing the pictures for Shane and Duncan's poetry book. I'm surprised, I thought this was much more than five years ago but there you go. The more or less finished version is here.

Five years ago I guess I was reading Sally Rooney's book before last (?). 

I can't remember why I accepted Tegar's friend request but the friendship didn't last. 

Seems five years ago I was looking at my formative picture books. 

Or at least some picture books I owned, because I completely don't remember this one from childhood:

This one I definitely do

I completely don't recall this but I really feel it could be useful for something. Like maybe some sort of lonely hearts site. Maybe I should tell my friend Tegar. 

75 years ago

What's insane is that I was looking for - and found - something else entirely in the Melbourne Age for 12 October 1951* and I found this, and then realised it's from exactly 75 years ago. Nothing much more to say about it. Probably didn't happen, though. More likely it's a drawing. 

*p. 8

have i told you lately how much I love...

...this building in Little Bourke St? It so reminds me of buildings I have seen in Hong Kong and on my one venture into the middle east. I am very into it* and would love to know the thinking behind it at the time and whether it was controversial when built. I suppose that would not be impossible to find out. 

It is totally unlike any other building near it except, I suppose, in height. 

Anyway someone's probably done a fucking coffee table book about it that I just haven't seen, I don't know. 

I'll tell you another thing I love in Melbourne's CBD and that's The Paperback. Yeah, in part it's because it's one of the things from my childhood that really essentially hasn't changed, ever, in my experience. I have no idea how old it is as an establishment. But I think it's amazing. 

In Melbourne we're all, books and coffee, books and coffee, books and coffee, so I don't know why anyone ever goes anywhere else but inbetween The Paperback and Pellegrini's. 

Later, I'll tell you why I was in the city today.

*Pretty sure I have never actually been in to that shop but I should go

another quick maribyrnong trip

So today was a quick trip to the Maribyrnong, but only because I wanted to go to Poynton's (I've never been there before) to get some potting mix and a big pot, but crikey, the big pots were ugly and expensive, so I didn't get a big pot I just made do. Now I have way too much potting mix but whatever. Maybe I should get some more plants. I also went to this:

A record fair at Northcote Theatre which to be honest got me riled up a bit, sorry, I know what a cliche I am but there was just way too much Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac for sale and I cbf. I wanted to get Laura a copy of Abba's album The Visitors but I couldn't find any and I also wasn't sure whether Abba counted as '70s pop' or '80s pop' or 'Female', presumably they are not 'Male'. There was one stall which was totally random about whether it categorised solo artists by first or last name, maybe they had their reasons but that bugged me, let's be honest, the whole thing bugged me. One positive was that I sold my copy of Hex Enduction Hour at Eddy's stall, apparently for way cheaper than I might conceivably have sold it but as I said to Eddy and Guy, I should have taken it into the street and smashed it I feel so much better not having that racist bullshit in the house. I know what you're going to say - I still have my copy of Don Juan's Reckless Daughter in the original sleeve but, well, perhaps there's a difference between a song about how much someone hates seeing black people on tv and a picture of someone pretending to be a black person because they like black people. But I admit both positions are entitled and it's troublesome and I'm going to work on how I feel about it. 

Have you been to this place? It's the Uniting Church op shop in High Street Northcote and it's freakin' amazing. 

Go!!! 

 

churchill today

I ran a tour of Churchill with Open House Latrobe today, I was pretty pleased with how it went, good attendees and I learned a lot, as I knew I would. Above is not Churchill, it's a building in Morwell which surely was once a theatre, and now is or was the Amber Lounge, whatever that is or was. I was in Morwell for 40 minutes between getting off the train and getting on the bus, and I enjoyed myself. It is Oktoberfest in Morwell today. Also, they have an NQR. Can you believe that? 

I guess it no longer has a Bright-a-Print though. 

This is a monument in Churchill which I hadn't seen before. I thought it was actually depicting actual people but no it isn't. It's vague in all kinds of ways. If you can't read the plaque it says 'This service memorial is dedicated to the people of Churchill who have served their country and community in times of war, natural disaster and crisis. The sculptor, Paul Jesse, has included a colourful and optimistic side to the sculpture, representing home, family, community and the future. The dark side represents the calamities that have challenged our nation or locality. The spirals of mosaics represent our service people, moving between community and calamity, representing a flow of thoughts, love, fear, concern and dreams.'

Back of the Hazelwood shopping centre. I found out today why it is called that - because the Churchill shopping centre is adjacent, it's a big supermarket and a Reject shop. 

Nice bit of the Federation University campus. 

Once we set off on the tour, we saw this highlight, a cat in a trailer. It was surprised to see us. 

You are not allowed to call this the cigar. It is the Churchill Town Symbol. 

This is me leaving Morwell to come back home. I was very pleased by how the whole thing went (maybe I said that) I am very tired now.