the centre of my universe for some number of years now
but i sense a change is a-coming in the form of some long overdue travel
it has been about 4 months since my last significant travel experience
seems i have been hibernating over winter in a fine old part of the world
and now that the days are warming and elongating the itch has also returned
needs to be scratched or at least subdued with a bit of a wander
coming up next week to celebrate the start of spring
or actually more likely to escape the madness of the big apec-uliar gathering
there's 21 of the best the world can come up with meeting in sydney town
to talk, and backslap, and handshake, and embrace, and pose, and well...party
but there's hope they will actually make some significant progress on those party-pooping issues like
climate change, poverty, disease, species extinction, deforestation, useless and illegal wars, corruption, refugees, etc
but my prediction will be the most talked about outcome of this get together
will be the success of the massive security operation to keep the delegates safe
from all those left-wing, tree-hugging, tofu-munching, trouble-making protestors
the plan for me is to observe from a distance as i head north to wet and wild queensland
tonight as is often the case i was out on king street in newtown and decided prior to departure
i should be like a tourist in my own back yard and see the place through such eyes
having seen a bit of the world my feeling is that newtown is a fine example of how the world should and could be
for there is amazing diversity in all things human and all beautifully balanced
most days i walk up and down the main strip of king street between city and enmore roads
and in that one kilometre or so are many fine shops and restaurants including
the green palace thai vegetarian with a bainmarie of mouth-watering dishes on offer
the north indian diner with it's always consistently good curries
the happy chef with a staggering array of chinese dishes - try the salt and pepper fish
lucky's pizzeria with it's genuine old-world italian decor, food and service
macro new to town and offering a fine selection of organic foods and ingredients
so music, fish music and hum music which between them have a vast array of cds and dvds on offer
better read than dead has all the new books that the many second-hand bookshops would not have yet
the dendy theatre has 4 cinemas offering the latest left of centre films
the vanguard offers great live music having just won nsw entertainment venue of the year
there's the marlborough hotel, the newtown hotel, the coopers arms for liquid refreshment
there are banks, atms, a post office, hardware shops, a medical centre, a gym
and clothing shops, health food shops, jewellers, and quite a few doors
leading to upstairs shops that only adults are invited into
there's a police station of which i have intimate first-hand knowledge
and all these places staffed by friendly, happy people (yes even the police station)
significantly they are mainly owner-operator businesses - hardly a chain store in sight
i'm told the golden arches came to town but had to leave due to lack of customers
the thing i love most about newtown is the people you encounter on any given night or day
sydney university is the northern neighbour of king street
so you would always expect to see many young people of varying ethnic backgrounds
then mix in the strong gay and lesbian sub-culture that exists here
and the street people, beggars and buskers that always politely welcome a coin or 2
there are older people who presumably have lived most of their lives here
and any number of backpackers and tourists armed with their lonely planet guides
weekend nights sees the lads in their cars and the girls in their party buses
but there is never any violence, aggression, intimidation, thuggery
or single-eyed, alcohol-fuelled, sport-based or other in-your-face nationalism
and you are welcome to have a protest, gather signatures, hand out brochures, support a cause
i get the feeling this place knew about and had embraced tolerance and understanding
well before there was a want or need to invent the m-c term to define it
ah newtown - i'm gonna miss you when i'm gone
