ballina

So a couple of days ago my mother and I flew to Ballina to visit her cousin to get some materials for a book I will one day write. But not for a while because I have other projects on the boil before then. Two planes to Ballina. That was actually fairly painless, particularly because we were fully prepped to have problems with inclement weather etc, etc, etc. 

The important grounding exercise on arrival was to visit op shops and this we did immediately. They weren't that amazing but it had to be done. In both the op shops we visited on the first day, hilariously, there were intensely drawn-out conversations between the woman behind the counter and the woman buying stuff. In both cases the women buying things were retired middle class people with a lot to say. In both cases they fussed over the money - the form of it, not the amount, so that in one instance thirty something dollars was paid in $1 coins. It was madness. 

I am sure (am I?) that not all of Ballina is an architectural letdown but I didn't see anything that exciting. 

Really, it could have been any country(-ish) town anywhere in Australia - actually as I said to my mother, it could be Greensborough. 

Nice bird outside the airbnb we stayed in. 

Can you believe this. 

Beach thing. Beach-ish. Actually I think this is a cove or perhaps an inlet. 

Nothing need be said. 

The next day it was back to the op shops. There are many of them. They all had something going for them. 

I really enjoyed this tea towel. All these kids are no doubt approaching 30 and complaining about how they are getting old. 

I can't even remember why I took this photograph (though it includes one of the op shops, a great one) but I do remember why I put it in this post - because it existed. 

I am just non-plussed about what stands in for print media these days. I mean I bet Australians are reading more now - probably 3 or 4 times more - than they were in (say) 2002. But they're not reading magazines. So what nonplusses me is the kinds of things that still do make it into print. Rolling Stone is the one that foxes me the most. 

This is flying out of Sydney. I mean, whatever. 

Very quickly - I don't think we were even out of metropolitan Sydney - it got very cloudy and stayed that way till we got to Melbourne. 

So ultimate feelings about northern NSW? Well, firstly, the trip was very successful I would say, and I think I got what I needed. Secondly, I am sure Ballina has secret pleasures and treasures (aside from the op shops) but these didn't necessarily reveal themselves straight away. Thirdly, my mother is an entirely agreeable travelling companion, though I guess I knew that already. Fourthly, travelling is a palaver and the older I get the more of a hassle it becomes. Yes, yes there are compensations and there are much worse ways to spend your time/money but I'm completely rooted today. But I almost always am on Friday.