Month: September 2011

Melbourne Suburbs

Posted on by Jo Rittey

Why is it that some Melbourne suburbs are just so tricky to pronounce? It is like a trap for freshies. If it wasn’t bad enough that my way of saying six, fish and dance is a prime target for derision, now I have to walk the knife edge of suburb pronunciation.

Malvern: said Mullvin
Reservoir: said Reservor…and if you pronounce it the ‘fancy way’ IN Reservoir, then you take your life in your hands, apparently
Lalor: said Lawlore
Jan Juc: said Jan Juck…although that one I can kind of see, it’s just my own desire to French it up…
Sandringham: I want to say Sandringhim, but the ham is very much pronounced like the deli meat at the end

And then there are some just plain funny names and it you’d live there just for the name: Balaclava, Big Pat’s Creek, Launching Pad, Sasafras, Bunyip, The Basin and HMAS Cerberus, which is a naval base, but has its own postcode and 833 men to 342 women…can it really be a suburb?

I feel pretty happy with my Suburb. Easy to pronounce and with a certain amount of class.

Exchange

Posted on by Jo Rittey

In the giving and receiving of life, there are moments of happy exchange. People put out ‘hard rubbish’ on the side of the road here, so things they don’t want that either get picked up by the council or by other people who see it as treasure. Someone had put some things out on the street in front of my building, so I put a couple of baskets down there I didn’t want. Not much later they were gone and it made me feel good knowing someone had a use for them. Then round the corner from me, someone had put out a set of drawers. A bit battered, but totally useable. Perfect for the spare room.

Jerry’s Milk Bar

Posted on by Jo Rittey

Jerry’s is just down the road from me and I’m not really sure why I hadn’t got there before now, but today was the day. I remember Jerry’s from when Dave lived on Broadway years ago. Today I walked down to St Kilda and on the way there, Jerry’s was awash with cycles and pink lycra so I kept on walking. On the way back, pink had been replaced with more melbournian tones of grey and black which was much more me. I sat in the window with coffee and OJ as it started to rain.

Baklava

Posted on by Jo Rittey

Determined to put last week’s crazy cooking class to use, I made baklava.

Totally worth the money, that class. And it has just occurred to me that I can now add temporary pastry chef for Lezzet Turkish Restaurant to my CV.

South Melbourne

Posted on by Jo Rittey

Just 2 km from the city, and on my side of the city, South Melbourne is home to the South Melbourne Markets, South Melbourne Football Club, apparently Australia’s most successful football club in history (pretty bold claim), television production studios and formerly the home of John Reid “Gentleman Jack” McGowan, an Australian boxing champion who lived in South Melbourne in the 19th century. It is Melbourne’s oldest suburban areas and famous for its well-preserved Victorian era streetscapes. 
It is also the home of  Named after Ali ibn Umar al-Shadili, who was a 14th century mystic considered the patron saint of the coffee port of Mocha (in Yemen). Perfect for those who love coffee, the approach to St Ali is part of the pilgrimage. Down a side street with walls are covered with art, St Ali is a warehouse treasure trove. There is a mind-boggling range of coffee beans from all over the work. You can sample the nuances of flavour as you would a wine menu. Being a little overwhelmed and surrounded by hipsters, I stammered out a safe bet order…flat white. 
 

 Good coffee.

Two Market Morning

Posted on by Jo Rittey

What could be better than walking down along the seaside under blue sky and warm sun to a market?…
St Kilda’s Farmer’s Market 
…walking back through leafy streets and along the canal to a second market!! 

 The Elwood Community market.

Flowers, flamenco dancers, a huge framed photographic tribute to Michael Jackson. You name it, the ECM has it. And strawberries…that really taste like strawberries. A big mouthful of big flavour.