The Headmaster's Office

I was walking past Sydney Grammar School one night after dark, and saw into this office, which may be the Principal's office (and that's a plant outside displaying its fronds). It brought back a memory of a time I was in the principal's office at high school. I think I entered the principal's office once in my six years there, and can remember being terrified. It was something fairly innocuous - an interview about future "career plans" I think, but you were made to stand, trembling, in front of her, and account for yourself. That school liked to pretend that most of its female-only students were "destined for the professions", which in the early 1970s, for most girls, meant nursing and teaching. The occasional few entered the more hallowed disciplines of the law and medicine.

It was limiting. Thank goodness girls have more options nowadays.

Did you ever find yourself in the principal's office, and what was it for?

Vale Alan Waddell

Very sad news arrived yesterday. Alan Waddell, aged 94, who has been such an inspiration to many died at 3am yesterday morning. Alan had been in poor health for a few months. In 2002, after his wife of 60 years died, Alan took up walking, and set himself the task of walking every street in Sydney's 232 suburbs. His adventures have been resorded on his website Walk Sydney Streets, with the help of his sons John and Graham. In an interview Alan said: "I know that Marj wouldn’t have wanted me to just sit around and give up on life, so I started walking some nearby streets and it grew from there.”

Walk Sydney Streets will be maintained into the future by his family, as a backlog of photos is posted; it is sure to bring many more delights.

Farewell, Alan - you brought fun and whimsy, a wicked sense of humour, and a sense of old-fashioned, priceless wonderment into many hearts, including mine. I never met Alan face to face, but I always had hope that one day our paths would cross in real life as well as the cyberworld. His memory will come with me as I pursue my own projects on foot around this city we share such a love of. My condolences to Alan's family who are part of the universal family of the blogosphere.

The Sydney Morning heral tribute to Alan can be found here.

Thankyou to John for permission to use the photos from Alan's site

Bus stop

Perhaps the seat at the bus stop wasn't quite comfortable enough?

Weekend

What were my son and his friends doing in my boy's bedroom last night?

Watching a DVD on his portable player! (The grown ups had the TV glued on the Olympics.)

Milk Crates

....stacked on the footpath outside St Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Arncliffe, opposite Arncliffe Park.

Wrap, and Rap, With Love

Wrap With Love is a not for profit organisation motivating the knitters of Australia to make beautiful, colourful wraps (blankets) to send to people wherever they may be cold. They have sent 157,000 Wraps to people in over 75 countries. From their Sydney warehouse , over forty non-denominational and non-political aid agencies distribute them to those in greatest need. They have no annual membership fee and rely on an Australia-wide network of caring volunteers to knit, transport and assemble Wraps.

Every year Sydney radio station ABC 702 holds a "knit-in" at its studios in Ultimo. The whole huge atrium is taken up with people (99% women) knitting and crotcheting together the thousands of squares. And having lots of fun, laughing, chatting and enjoying each others' company, as you can see! This year it was held on Monday 1 August. I would have shown you it then, but it was theme day. My friend Maureen from the gym and I both knit, and are plannign to go along as knitters next year.

Part of the entertainment was a percussion duo, Aurora Percussion. They had the knitters percussing with their needles, and singing along with their Rap (For Love).

I managed to take a video of the end of the rap.

Boardroom

I was driving home a couple of nights ago, and was behind a truck with this display on the back. Boardroom is a brothel and escort services agency.

It reminded me of this report which suggested that business boomed - up 20%- during the recent Cathollic World Youth Week. It was suggested media and other support personnel associated with the even were responsible for the increase in trade. Many brothels offered a 10% discount to pilgrims.

Prostitution is legal in New South Wales and other parts of Australia there are different laws in each state). Brothels are usually in commercial or industrial areas. There are all sorts of conditions which must be met for licencing. Street prostitution is also legal in NSW unless in, near or within view of a dwelling, school or church. Clients and sex workers can also be prosecuted for taking part in an act of prostitution in or within view of a public place.

Sex workers have been very proactive in anti-HIV/AIDS campaigns and there is virtually no infections through legal prostitution.

Sadly, there have been some cases of women being brought in to Australia as sex slaves to work in brothels. There have also been prosecutions of rogue brothel owners.

Bread and Circuses

The circus has been in my suburb, at one of my local parks. It's been winter school holidays and families were flocking there on Sunday morning when I was out and about. Christians and Lions - that's what was keeping Sydney interested this week, and having both arrived together, it's time for both to depart as school goes back for third term.

I do like circuses - ones without animals, like Cirque du Soleil, or Circus Oz - and would never go to this one. My mother refused to take me to the Moscow Circus when it toured in the 1960s, because of the treatment of bears. I whinged to her for ages, but she patiently explained her position, and stayed resolute. I guess her values stuck with me. These lions in that small cage make me feel quite sad.

What do you think about the circus? Do you go?

Handbag

Last night I went to the Australian Ballet at the Opera House. It was a superb production of Swan Lake, reconceived by Graham Murphy, Janet Vernon and Kristian Fredrikson, choreographed by Graham Murphy. Watch out for this production later in the year if you are in Paris or Manchester.

This handbag was carried by another ballet patron, and it made us laugh! Its owner was enjoying herself too.

Spider threatens city!

A spider in the bush looks like it's hanging over this apartment block!

No, this tricycle isn't on the pavement, and I haven't tilted the camera; it's actually suspended on the wall of a factory called AFCO All Metal Work. It's the same building outside which yesterday's chair was positioned. So, imagine looking up at it - do you feel a little dizzy?

Chiaroscuro

Light and shadow....late afternoon.

Oxford St, Darlinghurst

Gardening

Many people enjoy a spot of gardening on a sunny autumn day. This fellow was digging at Sopranos restaurant in Elizabeth St, Surry Hills.

Meanwhile, we've had a beautifully warm, sunny Sunday. When the shadows came over my garden, we all went out and pulled up weeds and did a bit of a tidy-up. Even the cat "helped"by pouncing on hands every so often.

"Illegal" photo

Oh, how we suffer for our art! These chairs caused me to be tapped on the shoulder by security and told to put my camera away.

They are a very ordinary setting in the lobby of an office building in the city (The Gateway at Circular Quay). I thought they looked pretty snazzy and lined up a shot. Just as I was about to press the button some beefy bloke in a security uniform informed me that is is "forbidden" to take photos in the foyer of a building thousands of people pass through every day. "Why?". Silence. I don't think they were protecting the design from copyright, just more mad overkill in "these security conscious times".

I heard a bloke on radio yesterday sayign some goon had stopped him taking photos from the walkway of the Harbour Bridge - a perfectly legal activity, undertaken by thousands of tourists every day!

I pressed the button, said "See the bomb didn't go off" and went on my way.

Chewing gum

Did you ever stick your chewing gum under a school desk? I was working in a school today, and note it's still as prevalent as when i was at school.

Can't anybody spell any more?

I know it's confusing when we have metres and meters in Australian English, but I do get annoyed when professionally made signs are misspelled (or misspelt; the Macquarie Dictionary tells me both are correct!)

There's a Barbie girl who's lost her thongs, Sandringham

Lunar eclipse

8:07 pm

8:46 pm

These photos are a bit lame, cos I don't have the right equipment. But I wanted to record the fact that tonight we witnessed a total eclipse of the moon.

Oh well, maybe watch Bonnie Tyler and a Total Eclipse of the Heart instead?