Posted on by Debbie

Melbourne fun – Musings on a Monday

Welcome to my weekly Monday Musings – a summary of things going on in my world and the world at large.

Last week I mentioned Cyclone Debbie (quite a bit), well I’m pleased to say she is now an ex-tropical cyclone.  I’ll stop taking it personally now that I’m an ex!

A few funfilled days:

I had a fantastic visit to Melbourne during the week and packed a huge amount of fun into a few short days.  Way back in the early days of my forced early retirement (Redundancy) in January, my sister messaged me about a few up and coming events I might like to do.  These were promptly added to the calendar and looked forward to with anticipation.  I have already been to Melbourne for a few days to one of these planned events and this week saw me on the way south for the next adventure.

I drove the 6 hours to Melbourne and our first stop, once I’d collected my sister from work, was a funky cafe/bar in Fitzroy (see photo above).  The place was full of interesting chairs, banquettes, murals, plants hanging from the ceiling and it had a great vibe.  We didn’t indulge in the happy hour cocktails or eats but instead enjoyed a catch-up chat over a cleansing soda and lime.

The Waifs

Our next scheduled event was The Waifs 25th anniversary concert in Hammer Hall in Melbourne on Thursday night.  I managed to fill in my day with walks around the city taking in the many buskers, shops and people.  I love people watching!  I took a great shot of a city building with the sky reflected in the windows and wrote a 52 word story, called The Break,  as part of a writing challenge, highlighting the differences in my city break to my usual rural setting.

We met up after work and indulged in a spot of Afternoon Tea (with capitals) in a delightful Tea Salon.  I had an orange and date scone with house-made orange marmalade and cream(!). Unfortunately I’d scoffed it down before I thought to take a photo.  I did get a lovely photo of my sister drinking tea.

We had a delicious dinner at the aptly name Hairy Little Sista before heading to the concert.  I must admit to not knowing all that many songs by The Waifs but my favourite song is London Still – one reason is it reminds me of my daughter who lives in UK  and the lyrics seem to fit us.  The Waifs are a folksy-rock band and have a beautiful raw sound.  They have just released a 25th anniversary album called Ironbark which they performed on the night along with their favourites from their time together.  The band is made up of sisters Donna and Vicky and Josh Cunningham.  It was a fantastic night of Aussie entertainment.

I wonder if you can pick up my accent on the phone
When I call across the country, when I call across the world
I see you in my kitchen, I picture you now
As you toast to your small town and you drink the happy hour
I’m in London still
I’m in London still
I’m in London still

Movies, Japanese, Church, Greek cafe and a Comedy act

Friday morning we set off for a local suburban movie theatre for the 10.30am session of Hidden Figures. We had heard good reports on this movie but didn’t really know what to expect.  It was amazingly good, probably one of the best movies I’ve seen in ages and on par with Lion which I recently raved about.  It did seem a bit decadent to be going to the movies at 10.30am on a Friday morning, but hey, we had a big day planned!  We had Japanese for lunch then back into the city for some window shopping and a photographic session.  In a church no less!  The afternoon light was amazing.  These are just some samples from my iPhone but you get the idea!

  • church, wedding, afternoon light

After walking the streets of Melbourne and with some time to kill we went to a Greek bakery and refueled ourselves with pistachio baklava and Turkish Delight. Yum!! I also had the unpleasant experience of overhearing a couple on their first Tinder date.  They were in the booth behind me and were talking quite loudly so it wasn’t as if I was eavesdropping….ugh!!!!  If there is anyway you can un-hear things one you’ve heard them, I’d like to know.  O.M.G it was awful, excruciating and embarrassing 😦

I’m happy to say that the comedy show was a real hoot though with many laughs and cringe-worthy moments as the comedian Luke McGregor is well known for his nervous, anxious, almost embarrassed to be there delivery style.  Phew what a day!

The best adventure was to happen the next day but I will leave that for a separate post!

Blogging

I’ve had a busy week with blogging, having joined a few Facebook groups and getting to know the rules and expectations.  Are you involved in anything like this?  It’s all new for me and I generally enjoy interaction but life takes precedence. I enjoyed participating in the weekly Share Your World post and submitted some photos of Uluru for the weekly photo challenge topic of Dense.

General

Our clocks have gone back an hour now with the end of Daylight Saving so the days are lighter in the mornings and darkness descends that little bit earlier in the evenings.  So far the weather is holding at a pleasant daytime temperature but the chill in the air is evident.

I’m still maintaining my daily activity with running, walking or cycling on the agenda. I’m feeling good!  Today I caught up with my work colleagues for lunch and we all enjoyed hearing everyone’s updates.  It’s the one thing I miss about going to work every day, seeing my friends and chatting, discussing things and staying on top of the news. We are trying to have regular lunches to stay in touch.  We were a close knit team for many years, more friends than work colleagues, and these friendships are vital to me.

I’m now home for a few days then off on my next adventure to see my youngest daughter and my parents while my husband walks the Kokoda Track for the 7th time!  That’s a subject for a whole new post too 🙂  Life is never dull!

Mondays are for musing and mulling over the week so feel free to join me. What have you been up to?

Deb 🙂

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55 Replies to “Melbourne fun – Musings on a Monday”

  1. Oh Deb, your life is far more exciting than mine at the moment! It all sounds absolutely fantastic, from the Waifs to the scones and the lattes and the comedy. Glad you enjoyed our beautiful city. Great write up. xo

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    1. Thanks so much Miriam, it certainly is fun at the moment! I’ve still got to write up the boat experience yet 🙂 The Waifs were great, I’m so glad we got to see them and I appreciate you seeing the all those years ago. They are great Aussie musicians.

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  3. I love your weekend in Melbourne with your sister. Sounds like a great variety of activities and such fun. I’m dragging my feet this Monday morning as will be starting a work week all too soon. Your retirement sounds lovely and I like the way you are staying in touch with former coworkers.

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    1. Thanks so much Molly. It’s important to stay i touch as we have shared so much together. I think the fact that we all finished together makes it easier for me to cope with. As the manager no-one has been left behind so to speak 🙂 I love the ability to go away and have so much fun!

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      1. I got laid off a little over a year ago and it was quite an experience. Our entire office was laid off and we shared a lot through the process. Almost all of us went on to new jobs – only two retired. I wanted to but health insurance beckoned me back to the work place. I will be joining the ranks of retired soon though. I love the thought of a free schedule!

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  5. For some reason, today is the first time I thought about Austrailia leaving Daylight Savings time as we’re entering it. I’m so looking forward to it being warm again, that’s my overriding thought.

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    1. Thanks Su, it is a completely different life but I’m adapting quite well! It was such a fun visit with my sister and her husband, we always make the most of our adventures. All good on the other side of the ditch?

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      1. And Melbourne is such a great place to have fun!!!! We’re all recovering from having flu, and in the Big T’s case, also a very whirlwind trip to the UK last week. The remnants of your namesake cyclone have just turned up here, and it looks like we’re going to get a soaking over the next couple of days. Hope you’re getting some autumn sunshine 🙂

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  10. What a fabulous day, Debbie. We too, loved the movie. I’m going to go a google The Waifs now as I’m not aware of them but have heard other great reviews in the past few days.

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    1. I’m so glad you enjoyed the movie too, it was so interesting and I said to my sister ‘why haven’t we heard of these wonderful women before??’ I hope you found out some info about The Waifs, they have a really interesting sound and I enjoyed seeing them live! Hope all is going well with you 🙂

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        1. Random is good Ruth! We’ll be in Tassie late May and we are looking forward to some bike riding and sightseeing after attending a family wedding. Glad all is settling down again for you.

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    1. Hi Donna, thanks for your comment and for visiting with me. I am certainly not sitting around moping that’s for sure! It’s just a matter of getting out there and doing things isn’t it?

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  13. I love Melbourne Debbie but haven’t been for a number of years so a trip is on the menu. I enjoyed reading about all you did and how lovely to share with your sister. Being retired certainly has it’s perks doesn’t it as we can schedule in little getaways whenever we want to really. Have a great week!
    Sue from Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond

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    1. Yes retirement certainly has its perks Sue. I’m off to Brisbane later this week for some time with my daughter so I’m definitely not sitting still very long! The more I go to Melbourne the more I love the city, there’s always so much to do and its so easy to get around. Thanks for visiting with me!

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  15. Love your post Debbie, I’m actually off to see Hidden Figures tomorrow with a girlfriend. Also going to look up the Waifs on the internet & check them out. It’s sounds like you & your husband are staying very fit & healthy. Well done. My husband has trekked the Kokoda Track once, but for your husband to be back for the 7th time, he must really love the experience! Looking forward to reading about the other adventure you had in Melbourne. Glad you love our home town of Melbourne. 🙂

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    1. I’m sure you’ll enjoy the movie, I’d love to know your thoughts once you’ve seen it! My husband takes high school students from our home town over the track every two years and loves it. He helps prepare them with their training along with the other leaders and gets so much pleasure from seeing them grow in confidence during the this time. Once they return they are different kids as they’ve achieved so much. I really must write a post about it soon 🙂

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  16. Well I can see why you love The Waif’s!!!! Great voices & great music. They are fantastic. Wish I had of discovered them years ago, thank you for sharing them in your blog post Debbie, I’ll really enjoy listening to their music now. Tracey 🙂

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  17. Follow up on your visit to see “Hidden Fiigures” Lis and I went and saw it today, we both absolutely loved it, great story, great recreation of the time period of 1961, very well done, & a good line-up of actors. For a film that goes for 2hrs 7 min, the time just flew by. I especially loved Katherine’s tirade after returning from the toilet. Each of those ladies were very inspirational. 🙂

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    1. I’m glad you enjoyed it too. It was so inspiring and what they had to endure was amazing. It’s a shame we haven’t heard of these special ladies before now. I agree it was a true reflection of that time. I loved their outfits! Thanks for the follow up. 😊

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  18. Hard to fathom tha happening; but as Tracey and I commented after the film, if we’d been bought up there in those times we probably would have acted the same as the white lady in the library – you do as you are taught ☹️But what inspiring women; to go after what they wanted and believed in. Loved it!
    Lis

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  19. Pingback: Melbourne Adventure – Deb's World

    1. Yes I think I’ll become the pinup girl for retirement!! If anyone wants to use my services for the ad they know where to find me, except I’m not home all that often these days!! Having a ball 🙂

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  24. Pingback: Share Your World – April 3 2017 – Deb's World

  25. There is a Van Gogh and the Seasons exhibition in NGV if you are interested to add it to your weekly list If you would like a preview, I’ve got a review on my latest blog and a small video on that too. 🙂

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