Quiet days...
Oct. 22nd, 2011 04:49 pmThursday evening took the bus out to my mother's place, at Evandale, for a quiet couple of days.
The bus stops opposite the police station. The police guy was out in the street with two young men, one of whom was upset and shouting. Impossible to hear what he was actually saying, except for every second word which was fuck. Then they got to pushing and shoving. I could still hear him once I got over to mother's house. Meanwhile she'd gone up to the shops and stopped to watch the proceedings on her way home. She says, the bus driver was out in the street watching, then reinforcements (two police cars) arrived, arrested the young guy and his friend bolted.
Also, she says, overnight one of the shops was broken into. Much discussion about both of these the next day.
Friday morning, Sunrise (7's breakfast show) dropped by. They're running some happiest town competition They set up in the main street and at 6.30 filmed the crowd that had gathered and a guy doing something on a bike. I think. I only caught the tail end of it. Then everyone wandered off, and talked, and hung around the shops, and the Rotary guys cooked up sausages and bacon/egg sandwich for whoever wanted them. Then at 8.30, the crowd gathered again, but this time there was a handful of penny farthing riders (including my brother who'd only ridden one for the first time two nights before) and a bunch of kids on bikes. After half-an-hour of people getting into position and then finding a better position, and crowding onto the road, and then finding a new position because the people on the road were in the way and the garbage truck trying to get through... the young presenter guy hopped on a penny farthing and rode down the main street, with the others following and the kids following them. Then the Rotary guys handed out more sausages in bread, and everyone went home.
Friday midday, Mother and I went down the Nile to paint the graves. When I was a kid, mum used to take her mother to the Nile cemetery to take care of her parents and grandparents. Now Mother does it on her own. Friday she took down the last of the gravel to cover the ground, put some fresh flowers in the vases and painted the fence. I did the little bit of weeding that needed doing, replaced the water in the vases and then went down the road to find the river, glare at long grass (I promised I wouldn't go into any places that might have snakes) and take photos. Also did some painting, mostly of the fiddly bits with the head of plantain.
Saturday morning, we went to a couple of school fairs in the city (Norwood & St Leonards). St Leonards, of course, used to be "our" school fair. I bought a couple of LPs (I seem to be getting a collection of 40s music for some reason) and a couple of videos, and a jigsaw that hadn't been opened.
Then met Sister and Erin in town, it being Erin's birthday and she was clothes shopping with a friend, and followed them around for a bit, including checking out Halloween costumes.
Then come home.
Have a lot of photos too.
The bus stops opposite the police station. The police guy was out in the street with two young men, one of whom was upset and shouting. Impossible to hear what he was actually saying, except for every second word which was fuck. Then they got to pushing and shoving. I could still hear him once I got over to mother's house. Meanwhile she'd gone up to the shops and stopped to watch the proceedings on her way home. She says, the bus driver was out in the street watching, then reinforcements (two police cars) arrived, arrested the young guy and his friend bolted.
Also, she says, overnight one of the shops was broken into. Much discussion about both of these the next day.
Friday morning, Sunrise (7's breakfast show) dropped by. They're running some happiest town competition They set up in the main street and at 6.30 filmed the crowd that had gathered and a guy doing something on a bike. I think. I only caught the tail end of it. Then everyone wandered off, and talked, and hung around the shops, and the Rotary guys cooked up sausages and bacon/egg sandwich for whoever wanted them. Then at 8.30, the crowd gathered again, but this time there was a handful of penny farthing riders (including my brother who'd only ridden one for the first time two nights before) and a bunch of kids on bikes. After half-an-hour of people getting into position and then finding a better position, and crowding onto the road, and then finding a new position because the people on the road were in the way and the garbage truck trying to get through... the young presenter guy hopped on a penny farthing and rode down the main street, with the others following and the kids following them. Then the Rotary guys handed out more sausages in bread, and everyone went home.
Friday midday, Mother and I went down the Nile to paint the graves. When I was a kid, mum used to take her mother to the Nile cemetery to take care of her parents and grandparents. Now Mother does it on her own. Friday she took down the last of the gravel to cover the ground, put some fresh flowers in the vases and painted the fence. I did the little bit of weeding that needed doing, replaced the water in the vases and then went down the road to find the river, glare at long grass (I promised I wouldn't go into any places that might have snakes) and take photos. Also did some painting, mostly of the fiddly bits with the head of plantain.
Saturday morning, we went to a couple of school fairs in the city (Norwood & St Leonards). St Leonards, of course, used to be "our" school fair. I bought a couple of LPs (I seem to be getting a collection of 40s music for some reason) and a couple of videos, and a jigsaw that hadn't been opened.
Then met Sister and Erin in town, it being Erin's birthday and she was clothes shopping with a friend, and followed them around for a bit, including checking out Halloween costumes.
Then come home.
Have a lot of photos too.
