Collingwood man Richard John Lovett (more recently of Bundoora) burgled he whom the press are carefully describing as 'disgraced millionaire businessman' Steve Vizard's then Toorak mansion while Steve and the kids were at home slumbering. You may recall that little Stephanie V. woke up to find him rifling through her things, in her bedroom. Security cameras at the disgraced white collar feller's lair had Lovett and a mate in the mansion for 40 minutes. Remarkably, after the altercation outside with Stephanie's dad, that same evening Mr Lovett went on to burgle another house nearby. Then, in Collingwood the following day, he stabbed a man in the back, puncturing his lung, in the course of the Harmworth St liberation of a backpack, clothing, and a gold necklace in a street robbery graced by a 20cm long blade. Read the rest of this entry »
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If so, please return to its owner, or ring 000. It's 3m long. It's as thick as an arm. It escaped from a balcony at Tim Marshall's Noone St, Clifton Hill apartment on the 9th, where it had lived with another carpet python for a decade. They suspect it might be in your roof, or up a tree. The police suggest not leaving little birds outside in little cages, but the opinion on that is divergent. Tim says the snake ate well last week, so not to worry. The Hun reported that the snake is not on any medication. And this, for me, is the fascinating bit of the story. What motivated Patrick Horan to report that bit of non-news?
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The marvellous slow food market is on at the Convent today — get a rhubarb tartlett from the rhubarb lady, a strong coffee from Lentil as Anything, a loaf of bread from the bakery, and stock up on unbelievably good home made panforte for Christmas presents. But take your own plastic bags, or baskets. And there's an open day at the Convent besides, where you can go inside the buildings, check out the artists' studios, the 'wellbeing studios', and probably even the most beautiful 'cello shop in the world. Market finishes at 1 p.m., open day goes till 4 p.m. 3MBS is running tours.
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The Age has reviewed a bar that I like, the Abbotsford Convent's Handsome Steve's House of Refreshment. I never seem to get there though. This could be the prompter.
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November 17th, 2007 | Shops
There are some wonderful homeware places for the well-heeled in Abbotsford proper in addition to all the lifestyle supermarkets in Bridge Road. There's Orient Express, where you can buy Asian people's cultural heritage. There's Mondo Trasho, cool in every way, and then there's one of my favourite shops, Zelij. It's a Moroccan importer (alas, Maison de Tunisie, a lovely little place on Smith St towards Victoria St a few years ago is no more). It has beautiful Moroccan lights, bowls, Moorish tiles, tableware and cookware, and some distinctive rugs and armchairs and sofas. Also, lots of Moroccan cookbooks and books with titles like 'Moorish Style'.
Usually, Zelij's unbelievably expensive. Today though, is the last day of their warehouse clearance: there are few prices marked on anything, but presumably it's walking out the door at never to be repeated, crazy, crazy prices. The warehouse is at 25 Russell St, Abbotsford, 3067. The contrast between the wonderfully Moorish interior and the industrial brick warehouse exterior is kind of worth popping your head into, just for a gander. Basically, it's right at the southern end of Collingwood Station, near the Town Hall and the library. Russell St runs between Gipps St and Langridge St, beside the railway line, one street towards Hoddle St from the street with the Carringbush Hotel on the corner.
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Update, 18 November: Here's an article from The Age which suggests that the Channel Deepening Project may see toxic sludge disturbed by the dredging wash back up the 22 km long tidal estuary of the Yarra all the way up to Dight's Falls, bringing foul smells with it.
Original article: Well, it's not the most interesting news in the world, but apparently Dight's Falls is to be rebuilt so that it looks just the same. Apparently they're going to have a public consulation. They're going to make an even better fish ladder to help little fishies, and eels to get over the big bump. Did you know that the eels that live in the Yarra can actually get out, walk around the falls, and get back in? That's what the web says. What I'd like are some stepping stones across the top so you can walk over it safely. Anyone else?
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Very sad news. The owners of The Terminus have sold, and have bought the Yarra Glen Grand from a guy who was born in it, and whose family has been running it for 77 years. Judging by the photo of the Grand, the pair must have grown up, and done well out of The Terminus too. They should give the Healesville Hotel a run for its money. If you haven't been to the Terminus's restaurant, better go this month, as I heard that the new peoples were moving in this month. It is a splendid restaurant, and one of its dishes made it into John Lethlean's top 10 dining moments in the Melbourne Magazine recently. Previous posts about The Terminus are here. Read the rest of this entry »
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I have to say, Wellington St between Johnston St and Gertrude St is not a nice place. In fact, it's the closest to a slum I know of in Melbourne (see pic of a side street off Wellington St). At twenty to eight in the evening of Sunday 28 October 2007, a Collingwood man answered a knock on his Wellington St unit's front door. Four black-clad men shot him in the lower body. He's still alive. Sounds like a reprise of the gangland murders a bit too close to home for my liking. Read the rest of this entry »
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I do like the Panama Dining Room on Smith St. Used to be a pool hall, when the floor below was a Latin Band venue — The Stage — which used to go off, and where I had some of my best evenings. Now The Age is onto it, and here's their review. In fact, they like it so much they reviewed it again. It has that up 2 flights of stairs, you have to know about it excellence, but unlike so many such places, it is an expansive place once you get up there. There is a free pool table, and apparently on Sundays they have table tennis. They only got a sign recently. This one will be with us for a long time, like Spleen, and The Lounge, and 20 Myers Place. The photo of the Room's bar is by Ben Richards, one of the Crumpler crew whose HQ is not so far away from the Room. Here are some more of his lovely Room photos: Read the rest of this entry »
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I couldn't make the Collingwood Historical Society's annual walk yesterday, a damn shame since it was specifically about the industrial history of Abbotsford. Perhaps someone can provide me with some tidbits they learnt. The very first Abbotsford blogger, Bruce, went, and shared a smidgen on his blog.
The Lord sprayed sunshine and chirping birds on the annual fair of the Convent's Rudolph Steiner school, Sophia Mundi (pictured). The junior school is in the Convent's grounds, while the senior school remains in the Nicholson St building where I had been to previous fairs. It was a good fair, and suggested a well-run school. I took a look at the kindergarten on Abbotsford St a hop skip and a jump away, too. It's called Little Sophia Rudolph Steiner Kindergarten, and also looked good. Some good friends of mine had a Steiner education. Steiner invented biodynamic agriculture, which holds the phases of the moon as important to when to grow things, anthroposophic medicine, and Waldorf education. He was also an architect, artist, and writer who presented more lectures than Justice Michael Kirby. There are 1,000 Steiner schools around the world. Rudolph thought the Germans were pretty special, and was influenced by Goethe. My hopelessly ignorant suspicion is that though Rudolph may have been pretty cool at the time (he died in 1925) thoughtless adherence to his more curious views today may be inadvisable. The feeling I got from the school was that they had probably embraced the good and moved with the times. The location is of course to die for, and the downsides — I postulate that eurythmy may be a downside — must be seen in the context of the upsides, like access to the Convent and the Yarra and the Children's Farm.
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