Anthony Malloy

Happy 11th birthday Phee.

I got a huge surprise shopping at Altona Gate today. I was walking along with Bert and Phee when I noticed a woman in front of me wearing a sport top.

Hmmmm. That Reebok logo placement looks familiar.

Hmmm. That side design looks familiar.

Hmmmmm. (By now she’s a few metres ahead and has just turned around to head downstairs on a travelator thingy).

Hey! She’s a Canucks fan and that’s a brand new practice jersey!

To get how weird this is imagine you’re a Tigers supporter and had moved to a suburb of Vancouver and noticed some walking towards you wearing a Tigers jumper.

I called out to her, pointed to the Canucks t-shirt I was wearing and she came back up to have a chat. Ends up she was just back from Vancouver and had purchased it at GM place where she caught a couple of games. She’d also purchased a game worn jersey – but not just any jersey, it was one of our captain’s, Marcus Naslund.

I’m sure the lovely shade of envy-green I have gone will wear off within a month or so.

And so all good things must pass. This may be old news to many but we hadn’t been in to Yarraville for a while so it was a bit of a shock to see Cut Paw Paw had morphed in to this.

Obviously Cut Paw Paw couldn’t resurrect itself after the year of carnage. What a shame, it was once a good place to go for a coffee and a chat. I don’t think we’ll bother with its new incarnation. It also robs a Yarraville a little of it’s character; if any more of the old style shops are turned in to these garish stores a little bit of Melbourne’s soul will be lost.

 

Blergh. That’s how I feel about our morning wake up at the moment.

For years we had the radio on 774 but a while ago Red began to grate. What once was fresh and witty had become boring, self obsessed and repetitive. I think it became too much when the expat segment overstayed its welcome by at least six months, even Red sounded bored when he wasn’t busy insulting the people he was speaking to.

We began a wander over the dial. Rae is working her way through the FM breakfast crews/mobs/cages/whatevers but I can’t stand them. The forced mega-levels of fake ‘fun’ actually make me get out of bed as soon as the radio kicks in. One morning I’d love to hear a dj say ‘god, I had a crap night. I’m just going to play a song’.

I don’t listen to local radio at all – the only stations I to listen are 6 Music (BBC 6) and Team 1040 from Vancouver for the hockey. If I’m in the car or away from a PC I have my iPod or podcasts to keep me entertained. Surely there has to be someone worth listening to from 6.15 to 7.00am. If I had my way I’d record the last hour of Chris Hawkins’ show each afternoon and have it play on the pod the next morning (the time calls would match) but Rae says that’s a little excessive.

So, any advice?

I know I’ve posted this in the baby blog but I like the picture so much I had to put it here too.

Here’s Bert in his new bed.

 One year ago today my lovely girl said “I Do” and I said “I Do” back.

Happy 1 year anniversary my love.

 

We were shopping at South Melbourne Market this morning for our weekly market shop. After calzone and coffee it was off to the fruit and veg stall.

I generally wait in the alley while Rae dives in. Today I noticed what could be a good photo so thought I’d take a snap with Rae’s phone as a reminder to bring back my camera. Snap, snap, snap. I was looking back at what I had taken when I sensed someone standing at my shoulder, trying to see the screen.

I turned around to see one of the fruiterers.

“You takin’ a photo of me?”

“No, just the iron work and beyond.”

He huffed and disappeared.

So, in honour of No Photo Man, here he is.

Next week I’ll take the camera and see if I can get a better shot.