Second breakfast, old signs, under the bridge

Luke and I went to Yarraville in the inner west today. We had lunch (or, more accurately, second breakfast, which is becoming quite a habit for us) just near the Sun Theatre. The section of road in front of the cinema has been laid with pretend grass, which is dotted with colourful deck chairs and outdoor chairs and tables. I think every suburb should have a lawnstreet. 

After second breakfast, we wandered about with our cameras. There were quite a few old signs. 

 There are several signs here. It looks like it has been
 a chemist for many years

 Robur Tea maybe? 

 Engineering Patternmaker

Lots of engineers in Yarraville

Plumber and sewerage

Before heading home we stopped near the Westgate Bridge and went for a walk. As we walked under the bridge, I got Under the Bridge by the Red Hot Chili Peppers stuck in my head. 

(Bonus Australian flag for Australia Day)

  

This snake amuses me. It looks too cute

 Egret slouching in a shrub

 The Stony Creek Backwash walkway

 A cormorant resting on the skeleton of an old boat

The same cormorant followed us, apparently eager

 to pose for more photos

 Big Bird was here

 Very big ship on the way to the docks

 No, it didn't hit the bridge

Yet another coincidence

This morning I went to the video store (yes, we still hire movies) to borrow Pride and Prejudice, the BBC version with Colin Firth and that scene. I haven't seen it and decided I should after Luke's mother and sister waxed lyrical about it on Thursday night. Luke's mum all but swooned as she described Colin Firth emerging from the water in his wet shirt. Teehee.  I don't understand why women go weak at the knees over Colin Firth. I think he's an English ponce, so perhaps watching him in Pride and Prejudice will help me to understand.   

Anyway, the coincidence: the video store guy had a TV on the counter and there was a quiz show on. I didn't hear the quiz master ask the question, but the answer was....PRIDE AND PREJUDICE!!! 

Movie, deluge, new music

There was a torrential downpour in Melbourne last night. It was ace. I've mentioned before how much I like the novelty of freak weather (part of me even enjoys extremes of heat and cold too, which is a bit weird).  I don't like to see people's property damaged, of course, but I do get a kick out of seeing intersections submerged and plumes of water spraying into the air as cars go by.

Corner of St Kilda Road and Linlithgow Avenue.  There's a kerb,

gutter and footpath under there

I was at a Southbank restaurant with my friend Luke when the deluge started. Within a few minutes the restaurant staff had to move diners out of the covered balcony area because the floor was covered in several centimetres of water, and then use brooms to disperse the little lake. When we left the restaurant, Luke spotted these funny little clouds in the city. We took photos and when we looked back half a minute later, they'd completely vanished.

We then went to see True Grit at the art deco Sun Theatre in Yarraville. I'd never been there before and had wanted to go for a while. It is indeed a lovely old cinema, although I was disappointed we were in the Davis cinema and not the more evocatively named Trocadero or La Scala. Oh well. The Davis is very aesthetically pleasing with the red, rose-patterned backlit panels down either side. (Check out the couches and the red lady triptych in the La Scala though!)

I've never been to Yarraville before either.  I've lived in the eastern, south-eastern and northern suburbs, but never the west and I rarely have cause to go there. Although it was dark and the rain curtailed our wandering, I liked what I saw of Ballarat Street. The bookshop at the Sun Theatre is pretty ace too (but I'm not allowed to buy more books until I get through the pile on my bedside table).

This week's musical find

I saw a poster at Melbourne Central today for an upcoming show by a UK singer/songwriter called Gabby Young. I'd never heard of her, but something about her look piqued my curiosity. I looked her up online when I got home and...well, she's great.  She has an amazing voice. I love the theatrical, old-timey circus look of this video  - and the fast beat and big brass of the song.  She's in Melbourne in a few weeks. I must go.