I remember the peace and quiet of albert park lake when I was young – a place where kids and families went for special outings, friends met for picnics to catch up, lovers strolled around the lake...
originally occupied by the tribes of the Kulin nation, and significant as a place of corroboree, european 'settlement' in 1835 soon changed lives and landscape. called south park by the 'settlers', it was renamed albert park in 1862 after the death of vickie's consort bertie (yep, that'd be queen victoria & albert - and nah, no respect for the monarchy here!!!), and 'boasted' 385 hectares of parkland, with the lake being created from a lagoon between 1880 and 1890 – unfortunately the site has been further whittled away by so-called progress – it’s now 225 hectares (and no doubt still shrinking!!!)
Albert Park lagoon
according to Parks Victoria "... Albert Park Reserve is one of Australia’s premier recreational parks. The constant motion of walkers, joggers, cyclists, yachts and rowers are all part of the Albert Park scene." they omit to say these leisurely activities are impossible on grand prix weekend - then it becomes a petrol-heads' paradise - a 'boys own' convention - the noisiest place on earth!!!!
yeah, the peace has been shattered here in st Kilda this weekend… I’m surprised my eardrums aren’t ruptured - my head is definitely thumping (ibuprofen was a must to have on hand) - fumes are a problem too because my eyes have been stinging and breathing isn't too easy either (asthma!!!) – how does everyone else unfortunate enough to live close to the 'grand prix racing track' cope? What about all the poor animals, domestic and wild – how do they perceive this totally unnatural cacophony – lucky my old girl is deaf (although she is distressed when the jets fly over – the pitch and vibration seem to affect her!!!)... me boy has spent a lot of time huddling under the table - he's stayed inside voluntarily, hasn't even wanted to be out until his curfew – I’m glad because there’s been a lot of aggressive sounding people, lots of abusive shouting – far too many idiots around - booze and rev-heads - it's time to take the toys away from the boys!!
go on new south wales – please outbid victoria for it – or south australia, please 'reclaim' it – let's get rid of this noise pollutant from our doorsteps - there're certainly no environmental constraints associated with this event!!! – the residents of port phillip shouldn't have to put up with it any longer - it's been an unwanted nuisance here for 15 long, noisy years!!! it's a constant assault on the senses – even public transport is affected – too bad if you’re elderly, infirm or just a public transport user in general... if you're not one of the minority who enjoys cars, toxic fumes, deafening noise and dickheads it's probably wise to think about going away on holidays at this time for the next 3 years (yep, that's right, it's here for another 3 fucking years!!!) and keep your fingers crossed that victoria ditches it after that!!!
on that note i need to go and have some more ibuprofen - the noise is intense at the moment - but before i go...
it's me mum's birthday on tuesday - she'll be 81 so i thought i'd upload some photos of her from the 40s... time to 'preserve' a photographic record of her life before the old black and white photos have disintegrated...
(she's the one on the right in both of these)
(and no, that's not a brooch - that's a hole eaten through the photo!!!)
these were taken in the mid - late 40s when judy was between 16 and 19...
1 comment:
I played hockey on the lake for many years. the grand pricks is horrible the sooner we get rid the better.
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