GARDEN PALACE BOOK UPDATE #12

Many cinemas these days are pretty standard and basic but there was a time when movie houses had tremendous architecture and interior design.

The Garden Palace where my book is set has three major functions theatre, film, and outdoor performances.

Apart from the Palace Theatre which is the largest venue, there is the Cinema Palace which is a twin level movie house that screens retrospective films of an evening. Whilst its design is not as garish as this picture, it does have some very unique features that depict the era when the original Garden Palace stood proudly in the eastern end of Sydney City in the late 19th Century.

In the current chapter I have been editing, the characters have been spending a bit of time in the Cinema as they show a short documentary film in there as part of the Garden Palace tour.

I reported last week that the chapter should be completed by this blog and sadly that is not so. There seems to be obstacles at every turn, but its not just that, the Garden Palace is growing.

I seem to not take that into account so when i see there is only 2 pages left to edit, I forget that this is turning into 4-6 pages of story.

In the original version there was 12 chapters plus a prologue and with Nana Sakata's illustrations the book was just over 200 pages long.

This version also has 12 chapters plus the prologue but as yet we don't have any sketches, however the page count so far for the first 4 chapters plus the prologue has already surpassed 100 even without the drawings. On top of that, the chapters get bigger as the book progresses so who knows what length this is going to blow out to.

With the current delays, the online publish date is now back to January 31st 2014.

This date allows for proof reading and edits for the current first draft, a second draft, and a final edit plus all illustrations.

Stay tuned

J G S

GRIPE OF THE WEEK #12 - NOISE

STOP THE NOISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is so hard to get a moments peace living in a city with the amount of noise we continually put up with and try to block out.

The majority of commuters do everything they can to block noise out on their way in to town, the ear plugs and music is the most common and successful way.

But how did it come to this? The people playing music without headphones on trains? The mobile phone becoming overused on the bus?  Loud boisterous kids not being taught to speak politely in public and growing up to be loud mouthed morons? Strange how the trains are getting more quiet and yet the bogans are getting louder!

If you are lucky enough to live on a main road like me, you'd expect the windows would be double glazed right? Not so. The average car is not too bad its usually just a hum, but then there's the super cars with noise that vibrates floors and walls, not to mention the doof doof fully sick sound systems rattling the glass. Plus theres those bloody motorcycles! Who the hell allowed those noise levels to not be banned. Oh that's right, the law enforcers are scared witless of the bikies, we can't restrict them in anyway or find yourself deep sea diving with cement flippers.

Trucks are even worse and its not jut the motors and the engines, its the bloody brakes as they screech to a halt at traffic lights because the boofheads are driving too fast to slow up properly. Throw into all of this the sirens and the motorists blasting their horns at each other for getting in their way or being typically stupid once behind the wheel. The noise is just thumping at our temples.

And my delightful neighbours upstairs, what real estate agent would give a 3 bedroom top floor two storey unit to 6 uni students? That's right, a dodgy one with dollar sign glasses and no consideration for the neighbours. Who would put a kitchen above a bedroom? Now if you guessed right about the non-double glazed windows, you would also understand why the floor is so thin you can hear them talking through it, and that they approved a fully carpet less flooring system. So every tap, every drop of a pin, every step, every drawer and door can be heard like it was in the room underneath, my lounge room! So imagine what its like when these uni students decide to host a quiet drinking session throughout the early morning hours. Noise Noise Noise. So I call the police and they use their siren.

But as my neighbours real estate agent and the strata manager told me, I need to understand I live in an apartment complex. Thank god they told me, I had NO idea.

But why move in to the unit when I could see how busy the road was you might ask? ... .... ....
Good question. *cough.  25 weeks to go and counting! (175 nights!)

But there's also barking dogs, cyclists ring their bells, reversing trucks, jackhammers, music, whacky people ranting, annoying charity workers being super sweet to get your attention, doors slamming, horns blowing, lifts rattling, espresso machines frothing, ... oh i like that one, ... and people squawking on their phones ENOUGH!!!!

Stop the insanity and shut the flack up!

Let's escape to the park, sit cross legged on a blanket and centre ourselves till we are at peace with the world, under a beautiful big tree listening to nature... bloody annoying birds!

Laugh it off before you go nuts.

J G S

December 15th 2015

The Sydney Monorail blew into this fine city for the Australian Bicentenary in 1988 as part of the creation of the Darling Harbour precinct to link it to the city.

The Monorail operated in a single loop in an anti clockwise direction and stopped at 8 stations - 

HARBOURSIDE - CONVENTION - PADDY'S MARKET - CHINATOWN - 
WORLD SQUARE -  GALLERIES VICTORIA - CITY CENTRE - DARLING PARK

It took 12 minutes to make the complete circuit and 4 trains were on the circuit at any time, 2 spare were kept in the Maintenance and Control Facility in Pyrmont and each train had seven carriages and could seat 48 people.

For the technical nerds out there here's the former mechanics of the monorail...

The track was a steel box girder of 94 centimetres width, raised at a minimum height of 5.5 metres from ground level on steel columns 20 to 40 metres apart. The minimum curve radius was 20 metres and the maximum gradient was 4.4% uphill and 6.5% downhill.

Power was supplied at 500 V AC to power the train, via a sheathed conductor below the running plate of the track. A control rail was also provided for train control, and a generator to clear trains from the track in emergencies. The train control and maintenance facility was located between Convention and Paddy's Market stations, where a traverser moved trains in and out of service.

Each station stop took 40 seconds, including the time to decelerate, board passengers, and accelerate again.  It was originally intended for the system to operate automatically, but after a number of breakdowns soon after opening, it was decided to retain drivers, who occupied the first car of each train. The monorail trains ran on rubber wheels, and each seven car train had six 37 kilowatts (50 hp) traction motors, permitting a normal operating speed of 33 km/h. The doors of each car were automatic, and the floor level was self-adjusting via an automatic suspension system. Each train was 32.12 metres long, 2.06 metres wide, and 2.6 metres high

.

There was a collision of two trains at Darling Park station in 2010 that, apart from injuring 4 people, saw Train 1 housed permanently in the Facility centre. It collided with Train 4 which still continued afterwards as it's damaged last carriage was swapped with Train 1's last carriage. It still had the #1 on it too.

Sadly, many felt the Monorail was useless and expensive and it's ridership was mostly tourists and eventually this  led to the  decommission of the entire network. The NSW government purchased the Monorail to close it and remove it from the city and it closed 30th June 2013. 

Stage One of the demolition commenced in August 2013 and removed the following: - 

• 3.6km of steel track
• Convention, Galleries Victoria and City Centre stations
• the columns that support the track and station structures
• the concrete bases of the columns
• the maintenance facility on Darling Drive
• redundant electrical and other servicing infrastructure such as wiring and substations
• ticketing, signage and other equipment associated with the stations and Monorail network.
• structural features on Pyrmont Bridge will also be re-instated.

I  miss the familiar sight of the Monorail but hopefully the new light rail extension will be a more comprehensive transport system for the city. The bus network is disgusting so we need help badly.

James

January 7th 2016

Currently listed as my #3 most read blog - Paddy's Market seems to be getting a lot of attention lately.

Paddy's Market has been in Sydney for over 150 years located on the ground floor level of what is known now as Market City in the southern end of Chinatown.

The origin of the name is unknown, but is believed to have come from Liverpool, England. In the 1870s, a similar operation had been set up in the back alleys of the Irish area of Liverpool which was known as Sydney's Paddy's Markets. 

In the late 1960s it was decided to move the markets away from Haymarket to a new site at Flemington, further west. 

Sydney's Paddy's Markets had become "a feature of Sydney life", so it was decided to include a new Sydney's Paddy's Markets in a new complex, which opened in 1975. With the construction of the Sydney Entertainment Centre in 1979, the no.6 building in Haymarket was demolished and the markets moved into the no.1 & no.2 buildings.

Today Paddy's Market is more like a traditional flea market, specialising in cheap imported clothes, gift ware and also has a small section for fresh fruit, vegetables and seafood. Sydney's Paddy's Markets Haymarket site also sells souvenirs which makes it popular with tourists.

Take a stroll down to Haymarket and be sure to check out the speciality shops upstairs in the new Market City Mall and sample the great food in the Asian Food Court upstairs. 

J G S

TOPICAL SOAPBOX MONDAY #12

Pell apology insincere, abuse victims say

If you ever needed proof that religion is a sham then here is your poster boy, George Pell.
Priest and Archbishops, and whatever other fancy title you want to call yourself in order to wear a pretty hat, are looked up to as "Holy" men of the cloth and they actually hold revered positions in many societies. But so many of them were monsters who ruined many kids lives forever and the bastards all got away with it. They are all now in heaven - their version of heaven.

This man pictured above has been repeatedly named as a person who covered up the actions of priests and admitted to paying off families for their silence to protect the church and his mates, yet he sat there and said swore never ever covered up anything.

So folks not only do priests form a cesspool of violent rapists, they are bona fide timeless liars and to this day they choose to save themselves over their parish or congregation and they continue to this day to cover their arses.

This man is a dinosaur and he should resign, he has blood on his hands and yet he will deny it to the bitter end. Is this liar a man to look up to? If this is God's disciple on earth why are you interested in such a God?

I believe good people do find a heaven, this man's heaven is no place to seek eternity, it's full of monsters and those who turned a blind eye and spun a lie to save a dirty mate.

The Catholic Church is worse than any corrupt business as not only do they harbour greed and self interest they deliberately hurt innocent children and they back each other up with lies.

You would find more holiness in a prison.


Checking the Headlines.....

SHOCKING STORIES

Chinese Spies Steal ASIO blueprints
SECRET and highly sensitive blueprints outlining the layout of Australia's top spy agency's new headquarters have been stolen by Chinese hackers

I'm shocked Australia didn't take this as a compliment.


Gillard Backs The Dragon Queen
Prime Minister Julia Gillard says she is an avid Game Of Thrones fan.

I'm shocked because I thought she was supporting Julie Bishop for a second.


Man's 9-year Zombie Nightmare
Man with rare Cotard's "Walking Corpse" syndrome is cured of thinking he is a zombie.

I'm shocked he has managed to lead the federal Liberal party at the same time!



NO SURPRISE STORIES

Gai Waterhouse Found Guilty

Racing NSW stewards have found Gai Waterhouse guilty on two charges.

No surprise, guilty about the horse, guilty of giving birth to Tom


Charlie Sheen To Work Under Birth Name
For new film the actor is working under is birth name Carlos Estevez

No surprise his name was mud for a while


Church Says It Needs More Exorcists
The Catholic archdiocese in Madrid says it needs more Exorcists to help its faithful cope with the Devil.

No surprise the Devil seems to be rife within the establishment these days.


Be good out there

J G S

SUNDAY NRL REVIEW - ROUND 11

The Gold Coast Titans were the big winners this week when they topped a very ordinary Parramatta Eels 42-4.

In what was a weekend of upsets again many games were close at half time but blew out in the second half.

The round kicked off with two Sydney games on Friday at Leichhardt Oval and ANZ Stadium. The Tigers faced a huge uphill battle against the Cowboys in torrential rain and managed to steal their first win in 8 weeks with a try in the corner to edge out the Cowboys 22-20.

Meanwhile I was out at ANZ for the huge blockbuster between the Bulldogs and the Broncos. On a sunny Sunday afternoon this game would attract over 25,000 people even though the visitors are from interstate. But as it was a night game, on very cold Autumn evening, the crowds did not come. I got there at 630pm, an hour before the game and grabbed coffee for Mum and I, and even though the ground opened an hour and a quarter before my arrival, I was the Barista's first customer. 

There's usually a last minute influx of people just before kickoff but it didn't happen this time. For the first time since becoming a member there were less people than memberships out there. 

Only eleven thousand people turned up for it, very disappointing. Football has always been a winter sport, maybe not always at night, but it's not even winter yet. Toughen up people and have a think of how hard it is to play in those conditions without the usual home ground support.

The best part was the Bulldogs players really turned up and they dominated the Broncos from start to finish. It was a great bounce back after last week humiliation with the Knights as they turned around a 36 point loss into a 10 point win 24-14. 

Ben Barba is showing more spark with every game and Aiden Tolman and James Graham are leading the forwards with Eastwood, Kasiano and Pritchard not far behind. 

Still in 10th Place on the ladder but if they play like this every week then we really will give that top 4 a shake.

Saturday saw the shock 19-0 victory by the Panthers over the Dragons, and the Sea Eagles just edging out the Raiders 16-10. Then in the big top 4 encounter, The Storm clawed their way back into the winners circle holding off a less than best Roosters 26-18 and moving into second place.

Apart from the Titans victory, Sunday also saw the upset of the round when the last placed Warriors beat the Knights 28-12 in a second half blitz. The Knights really have no consistency this year.

The round winds up tomorrow when the first placed Rabbitohs take on the Sharks. A win will see the Bunnies kick ahead 3 points clear of the pack. 

They announced the NSW team tonight for the origin series and it was extremely disappointing to see who was chosen to represent the state. Far too many players were selected by name and not form and its pretty disgusting to see the likes of Hayne and Farrah in the side. The Morris brothers are in there and they simply are not good enough at the moment. Brett Morris has only just returned from injury and Josh is having a poor season so far. I think the first game will be a shocker. But then with a coach like Laurie Daley what should we expect. He hasn't exactly had a coaching career to speak of and yet he gets a job like this. Ridiculous and no wonder QLD has won it several time in a row.

This is the last NRL REVIEW for Sundays as it will be moving to Mondays from Round 12 onwards.

Next Sunday will be by second Blog Report to examine the figures and stats of the last 6 weeks of viewers.

Have a good week.

J G S

TV TALK #11 - MY FAMILY SERIES FINALE SEASON 11

SERIES FINALE SEASON ELEVEN

And so we come to the final season of MY FAMILY series eleven and whilst there's still lots of laughs to enjoy there is no build to the finale at all, the last episode simply being called Darts All Folks.

There were several plot lines that could have nicely served as the final episode and if truth be told there was a lot of changes to the broadcast schedule in the final years and the season finale was an episode originally scheduled to be on air 3 months earlier. So in terms of broadcasting, the official series finale was Episode 120 "A Night Out"even though this was not the final episode made.

In series 11, Kenzo is just starting to get get interesting, cute, and funny in this series so it is a shame for Taylor Marshall's sake that the series ended here. But all the kids had moved out and Susan hadn't convinced Ben to take in anymore strays and their marriage had been completely tested by the end of the series. There was simply no more room to move without going over old ground.

There were 9 episodes in the final series however the broadcast saw several episodes from season 10 carried forward into the same broadcast year as season 11. Keeping in mind they were both filmed in one year then split for the broadcast.

Ben still works for Cavitex and really pushes the envelope with the management, Susan does the same in her Art Gallery job. Michael is out of work and Janey still works for the public health system however she does land a different job in the first episode.

It would have been great seeing some of the old cast come back for the last season but they all had well and truly moved on, although Susans mother Grace both returns and moves on in the one episode. :-)

So without further procrastination lets list the final episodes in order of broadcast.

Episode #112 "Labour Pains"
Ben decides to lead his union members against the management of Cavitex then finds himself offered the role of head of Human resources within the company. Feeling betrayed his ex-colleagues are fuming but Ben does a betrayal of the management instead.

Episode #113 "Accussin' Susan"
After working back late at the gallery with a younger male colleague, Susan finds herself accused of sexual harassment the following morning. She tries everything to get the man to withdraw his complaint and even enlists the help of Janey.

Episode #114 "Germs of Endearment"
This is another one of those disastrous holiday episodes for the Harpers as Ben and Susan end up quarantined in a Spanish airport as theres a suspect viral strain detected on their plane. I am never a fan of the disaster episodes.

Episode #115 "Relationship Happens"
So Michael is dating guys and his latest breakup ex wants to remain friends with Janey, but eventually Janey realises why she shouldn't. Ben and Susan go to a Yoga retreat and they get kicked out when they laugh through a meditation.

Episode #116 "Facebooked"
Susan gets forced on to Facebook by Janey to get her friend count up and is re-uinted with an old school beau. Ben is away and so she meets up with him and he asks her a favour, to deliver a parcel to a friend. Susan is then arrested for drug dealing and discovers the truth about her ex-bf.

Episode #117 "A Decent Proposal"
This episode marks the death of Grace Riggs, Susan's mother who featured in many episodes of My Family as the drunk-before-noon lush. Michael is keen on a guy at the funeral parlour and tells him that he is dying to get his attentions. Susan's long lot father offers her two million pounds to divorce Ben, but when he dies on the sofa they discover he never had the money.

Episode #118 "Darts All Folks"
Susan gets a French guru who subliminally sells her products to nickel and dime her. Meanwhile Ben gets into the local Pub darts team before being dumped for a woman. Roger's team snaps Ben up and they go into training to bet the team that dumped Ben. Susan's guru turns out to be a huge fraud.

Episode #119 "Susan For A Bruisin'"
Susan wants to look her best for an upcoming school re-union she has been asked to speak at and Ben offers her a new treatment they have be given at the Dental surgery called Cavitox. Eventually she gives in to try it and result is scary, but not as scary as the rest of her former classmates.

Episode #120 "A Night Out"
The majority of the Harpers are out for the night, Susan and Janey go on a hens night, Michael is going out somewhere too and Roger is on a blind date with a girl he met on the internet. Ben is watching Kenzo who manages to lock him out of the house and do what he likes.


It's a shame that such a brilliant comedy series seemed to limp out on such a messy schedule with no build up or fanfare to herald its conclusion and no closure in the writing.

Some episodes are sheer classics however and some brilliant quotes will forever remain. But I think it's departure from the screens is best summed up by Ben.


Ben: 

I am not having people witness my life. It's bad enough that I have to see it.

For a final sample of My Family I have included the episode that farewelled Grace Riggs. 

EPISODE 117 A Decent Proposal

I hope you have enjoyed sharing the Eleven years of My Family with me.

Next week to wrap it all up will be a summary of the entire series and a ranking of best ever episodes.

J G S

GARDEN PALACE UPDATE #11

It was slow progress on the book this week as there was not as much time available to me to work on it.

However I have managed to get Chapter 4 within a few pages of being completed in the current rewrite.

With an easier work load next week I do believe it will be off to the editors by next week blog.

This chapter contains the mysterious Greenroom Cafeteria fiasco when the kitchens are turned upside down and the surly young female cashier is pushed over the edge when she encounters the vandal.

The old Tour Guide Mary also shares some secrets of the past and the Manager of the cafeteria introduces the mysterious existence of what he calls The Garden Palace Devil.

But he says very little about it as he is under the watchful eye of new Security Guard Terry Knight.

Our hero Max desperately wants to know more and persuades the manager to catch up after work in the pub.

But this provides a tremendous distraction to his training and soon enough its pretty clear Max is struggling to keep up with the standard expected of him, and passing the training is anything but guaranteed.

The good news is that its the last day of tour training but the bad news is that Max has to get through it and avoid the attentions of the entire management team who are conducting spot checks on random mock tours.

Enter Frieda and Quarraalia

Stay tuned,

J G S

GRIPE OF THE WEEK #11 - SHOCK VALUE

This week, what's ticking me off the most is the way people feel the need to use shock value to make their point in this world.

It's narcissistic and its attention grabbing for 15 seconds of fame to fill some empty void of mediocrity.

But it's use is widespread from evil actions like we saw today in London when hacking someone to death on the street to promote an out dated fringed view of a religion became the norm. Really?

Well this action caused another immense knee jerk reaction of shock value in the media all over the world.

Television stations grappled to be the first to show on screen the blood stained knife wielding hands of these animals who butchered this innocent man. Some censored the hands because they were deemed too graphic, but they still wanted to get that footage out there. Did we need to see this to understand the horror of this act? I think we have plenty of words in the English language to describe it comprehensively.

But then people on Facebook felt the need to publish the uncensored images on Facebook to shock their friends and to be the 'first' to share this topical footage. This also occurred during the Boston bombing when some felt the need to remind us how real terrorism is. I think most people know how horrific blowing peoples legs off is when this is reported without the need to see the half mangled limbs dangling off the wheelchairs. Even if these people thought we needed to know how horrific this action really is, surely we should have the choice as to whether we want to see these images without them being plastered all over our news feeds.

And what about nudity? It's all over film and television and whilst I'm not a prude and enjoy admiring a nice figure as much as anybody else, shouldn't I deserve the right to choose when I want to see private parts splashed across my TV or laptop? Do we really need to see pubic hair to know the woman is completely naked in the shower in a movie or can we safely assume that's what one usually does under the shower? Do we really need to see a thrusting naked bottom to know that the characters are real and not just actors faking it? Shock value sells movie tickets as much as newspapers and religions. As one famous Hollywood actor once said "Congratulations to the actress who won an Oscar for simulating sex on the screen."

I am tired of this world wide trend of shock and awe and the sooner we stop buying into the rubber-necking that these ridiculous tactics cause, the sooner we can actually get a sense of what happiness there actually can be in the world, and not have our minds scarred by the harsh reality.

Some people can't avoid this harsh reality when they have it forced on them in real life and I do feel for these people that have to battle it for the rest of their lives. It is not easy to say the least. But even these people would never wish exposure to gruesome events on anyone so why not try and protect the world from potential post traumatic stress situations.

Shock value that would impress me would be the resignation of Tony Abbott from the Leader of the Opposition.

It would be a shock, but oh what value it would provide :-)

J G S

WEDNESDAY HISTORY #11 - SYDNEY FERRIES

Sydney Ferries, the NSW Government Department of Transport agency has been operating Ferry services on Sydney Harbour and its related waterways since 1875.

However, Sydney Ferries can chase its roots all the way back to the First Fleet in 1789 when a ferry service operated between Sydney Cove and Parramatta farming settlement.

The first ferry was called the Rose Hill Packet and it was built by convicts and powered by sails and oars. The one-way trip to Parramatta usually took one week to complete. That's some commute!

As time progressed rowboat ferrymen set up small operations to transport people from either side of the harbour. Then in 1861 the North Shore Ferry Company was established becoming the first commercially operated ferry service. In 1899 ferry services integrated into Sydney Ferries limited becoming the worlds largest ferry operator.

When the Sydney Harbour Bridge was built and business dropped by more than half, the NSW Government agreed to take over Sydney Ferries Limited in 1951. Then in 2004 Sydney Ferries Corporation was formed out of the State Transit Authority.

There have been a few accidents involving Sydney Ferries over the years with some fatalities.
In January 2007 the Dawn Fraser crashed into a dinghy killing one man however it was later that year in March 2007 when the worst Ferry crash occurred directly underneath the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The Harbour Cat Pam Burridge collided with a private vessel the Merinda which did not have the required amount of navigating lights and did not keep a proper lookout. Four people were killed in the accident.

With such focus on the ferries that year Premier Morris Iemma appointed Bret Walker to undertake an Inquiry into the operation of the ferries. His report was quite scathing of the management and ordered an urgent replacement of all of the current vessels as well as handing the operations over to the private sector.

Whilst a private operator took over the high speed jet cat service in 2009, the NSW Government decided to keep the operations with Sydney Ferries in 2010.

It is reported that over 14 million people ride the ferries every year.

The major highlight of the Australia Day festivities is the Ferryathon regatta where the ferries race on Sydney Harbour.

Get a day tripper and cruise cheaply to all the destinations within the inner harbour or afar. Catch the Manly ferry and sway side to side as you pass the 'heads' or get the river cat all the way to Parramatta. Don't worry, it only takes one hour, not one week!  :-)

The best way to see Sydney today as it has throughout Sydney's young history.

J G S

December 17th 2015

To mark the anniversary of the Sydney Siege, I am revisiting my blog about the history of Martin Place. The Lindt cafe has made the area recognised as a terrorist site now but looking back at the below picture, it's clear that the former thoroughfare was a very busy part of the Sydney CBD.

MARTIN PLACE, SYDNEY c1900

Moore Street as it was first known, became Martin Place in 1891, named after Sir James Martin, Premier of New South Wales and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of NSW.

The Sydney GPO Post Office was the first signature building on the site being opened in stages from 1866-1891 and was designed by Colonial architect James Barnett. It now holds the address of Number 1 Martin Place.

Number 2 Martin Place was built in the same era as Number 1 and is known as the Bank of Australasia Building. In 1951 the Bank of Australasia merged with ANZ.

In 1907, Number 4 Martin Place was built and is called Challis House, bought originally by the University of Sydney and still part of its property portfolio.

In 1916 these buildings were dwarfed by the 12 storey high Commonwealth Bank Building on the corner of Pitt Street. this was the first skyscraper in Australia, built for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the country's central bank at the time.

In 1927, stonemasons working on the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge built the Cenotaph which lies between the GPO Building and Challis House, out of Moruya granite. This serves as the centrepiece of Sydney's Anzac Day Dawn Service, which commemorates those who served in WWI and subsequent conflicts.

But in the second half of the twentieth century however, Martin Place changed radically.




Right up until the 1960s, traffic flowed up and down the hill that Martin Place lies.

We even used to have these green and yellow Double Decker buses!






Then in 1971, Martin Place was completely closed to traffic and it metamorphosed into the cascading plaza as we know it today.





Soon after came the controversial MLC Centre construction in 1977, which saw the demolition of several historical buildings.




Designed by Harry Siedler, it was the tallest reinforced concrete office building in the world upon its opening and at that time, it was the tallest building in the world outside of North America!


Ironically it now houses the US Consulate :-)







Other buildings famously adorn Martin Place such as the Reserve Bank of Australia building, Henry Davis York building, State Savings Bank building, and the Colonial building which houses Channel Seven's news desk and Morning television studios.

Martin Place even received it's own city underground railway station as part of the Bondi Junction line that opened in 1979 and lies between Town Hall and Kings Cross Station.

Today Martin Place is a very popular meeting place and holds significant yearly events in addition to the Anzac Day commemorations. Outdoor concerts are often held in the amphitheatre and every November the enormous Christmas Tree is erected in the centre of Martin Place.

The Occupy Sydney protest has been maintaining a presence since 15th October 2011 and has the support of the current Lord Mayor. Look it up if you want to know what it's about :-)

But with all the upgrades of Martin Place, its charm is still the large collection of neo-classical buildings which have been transformed into cafes and hotels to provide a leisurely use of this picturesque part of Sydney.

Take your time exploring Martin Place but pick your time wisely as it is a very busy pedestrian hub.

Enjoy the history, the charm and the coffee.

J G S

TOPICAL SOAPBOX MONDAY #11

RUDD DECLARES SUPPORT FOR SAME SEX MARRIAGE

God bless him, he doesn't get much press these days and Julia is actually doing some good work now that he has been clawed off her main arteries. So what can our buddy Kevin O Seven do to top the PM from his dull little back bench? Gay Marriage!!!

Now whilst I am in favour of marriage equality, do we want it to be passed because it's right and is supported in the legislation or because it's become a political football?

No matter what happens in September it is very difficult to imagine Kevin Rudd having any further impact to the level that he once enjoyed because when you look back on his cameo as PM he turned into a total nob in a very short time.

Kevin is a great celebrity though, people like him because of how he talks, his dorky dad trying to be cool persona, and his excellent talent in communicating. But he was a terrible Prime Minister on the nuts and bolts running of the country. He is a mere diplomat that knows how to impress and make poignant public announcements to perfection. But he was not a good leader and this is why he crashed and burned from within the party and why he has failed to return to the job.

He pissed off too many people within, and they don't forget that stuff and they clearly don't want it back.

But good on him for being the limelight magnet that he is because he might just give marriage equality that extra push it needs to get heard effectively. But unless Abbott gets off that lame excuse he keeps squawking about denying a conscience vote in his party, the motion will never pass and the discrimination will continue.

Surprisingly this week an old YouTube clip came back into vogue when heterosexual people were interviewed in the street and asked a simple question that explains the truth about sexuality.
"When did you choose to be straight?" If you are heterosexual, ask yourself now. Your answer is the same for any sexual orientation.



SHOCKING HEADLINES

ELTHAM HAIRDRESSER REFUSES TO SERVE BREASTFEEDING MUM
A mother was humiliated after hairdresser walked away when she began breastfeeding
Shocking that mothers continue to think they can just just whip it out coz baby is hungry. If you care that much about the feeding time of your baby, consider that when making lifestyle choices.

"BETTER LATE THAN NEVER" - ARCHBISHOP DENIS HART
Melbourne's Archbishop responds to slow reaction to stop pedophile priests.
Shocking because the bastard smiled after saying it too - total disgrace to the human race.

WILLS & KATE, QUEEN ARE AUSTRALIA'S MOST TRUSTED ROYALS
Australia's next monarch Price Charles is only 11th on the list of trusted royals.
Shocking someone got paid to run a ridiculous poll like this one.


NO_SURPRISE STORIES

LAUREN EAGLE FINED FOR NORTHIES DRAMA
Lauren Eagle hand-cuffed and taken to Cronulla Police station - fined $550
No surprise, on TV this woman comes across as arrogant and rude very unlikable.

TONY ABBOTT'S CHIEF OF STAFF CAUGHT DRINK DRIVING
Tony Abbott's Chief of Staff Peta Credlin caught drink driving after Budget Reply
No surprise, the poor girl works for Tony Abbott and they must be all on something to support that big eared ass-hat.

DIGITAL GAMBLING RISKY FOR TEENS
Teenagers who play simulated digital gambling games could become problem gamblers
No shit!

J G S

TV TALK #10 - MY FAMILY SEASON 10

MY FAMILY SERIES TEN

The last two seasons of My Family were made back to back in the one year and split to form Series Ten  and Series Eleven.

The main element of comedy that jumps out of Series Ten is the vast amount of physical comedy. Hilarious scene's fill the season and most particular is the scene where Ben and Susan manage to get a DNA sample of newcomer Craig from a bread stick at the dinner table.

Some fantastic guest stars feature in this series beginning with Penelope Wilton playing an assessor of people with disabilities Rosemary.




Most of you remember Penelope from Downton Abby and you will certainly enjoy her portrayal as the passionate advocate for the disabled in the episode Wheelie Ben.




Two new characters are introduced in this series but they don't figure all that regularly. They replace Alfie who has moved on and Roger Bailey only appears in the second half of the season. The two new characters are both love interests for Janey and Michael.



An Australian comes knocking on the door as he is the son of a friend of Ben's many years ago. His name is Craig and he is played by British actor Ben Uttley.

Whilst Ben's Australian Accent is a bit over the top, he certainly nails it better than most manage to. He captures the larikin side of Australian men and carries off the himbo charm quite nicely.

He wins the heart of Janey with his good looks, hot body, and devoted interest to be who she wants.



The major character development in Series Ten is the writers have chosen to make youngest Son Michael gay. After years of chasing girls, kissing girls, dating girls, believing he got a girlfriend pregnant, and going at great lengths to get "some" with a girl, it is very hard to accept that just because he has a shorter than short haircut and wears tight T-shirts to show he has started going to the gym, he is suddenly gay. And he is not just gay, he has a boyfriend - enter the new character.



Michael's new boyfriend is Scott Marsh, funnily enough he looks pretty stereotypical of a young gay man. He is played by British actor Nathan Brine.

We actually meet Scott Marsh's father before we meet him as Ben happens to out him, and Scott and Michael have a relationship that is best described as boring. They apparently break up in one episode but suddenly they are back together and their story lines are as interesting as that. It would have been far more interesting to see what life could be like for Michael as a gay man, not just couple him up instantly


So after reading a lot of exposition already I should present the episodes for you :-)

Episode #102 Wheelie Ben
Ben gets cheques in the mail for being disabled but when he tries to give them back they wont accept that he isn't disabled. When the Assessor comes to the house to inspect it, she misinterprets how the family treat him and invests in his treatment with a motorised wheel chair. Penelope Wilton stars.



Episode #103 The Son'll Come Out
Michael comes home drunk and confesses to Ben that he is gay. When Ben tells Susan she does not take it too well. She is fine that he is gay but angry and upset he chose Ben to come out to. Meanwhile Ben outs Michael's boyfriend to his father.  Zoe Wanamaker's funniest moments ever in this episode.


Episode #104 Desperately Stalking Susan
Susan's neighbour is obsessed with her and builds a shrine in her honour. When Ben gets on to it he tries to bring him down but instead Susan and Ben end up tied to a chair and their captor is strutting around in one of Susan's dresses.






Episode #105 The Melbourne Identity
Craig Willoughby arrives and informs them that his Mum is an old friend of Ben's. It turns out that Ben and his mother were more than just friends. Janey is immediately smitten with Craig and dates him and this is when Ben and Susan seek to obtain his DNA to see if Craig is actually Ben's son.




Episode #106 He's Just Not That Into Ben
When Ben goes to a gay bar to retrieve Michael's phone he is annoyed that not one person hit on him. He goes back again with Michael and still no one shows interest in him, that is until one man follows him home which then of course freaks Ben out.



Episode #107 Slammertime
Ben thinks he has the place to himself for the weekend but the police take him down to the station on suspicion he mugged a lady. He is put in a line up and is selected as the mugger. He meets two criminals who then pay him a visit at home when he is let out. Ben loses the house and his identity.




Episode #108 Ben Behaving Badly
Janey asks Ben to look after a home-care patient who is not allowed to leave the house. Naturally Ben is fooled into taking him out and after a series of adventures he continually gets outsmarted by the old man. A highlight is a performance of Mr Bojangles by Robert Lindsay as Ben.



Episode #109 Harper Vs Harper
Ben and Susan begin arguing over many things when their bed breaks and they end up separating and driving their children and Roger completely nuts. In the end they make them get back together so that they can get their own lives in order.


Episode #110 Janey's Choice
Janey gets proposals from both Craig Willoughby and Kenzo's father Mark. She doesn't know who to choose and Ben and Susan promote the one they prefer. Roger also decides to propose with full Mexican band and costume. She turns them all down and so Craig asks her to simply be his girlfriend.



Episode #111 Mary Christmas
In the last ever double episode Christmas special we see two stories back to back. The Christmas story is the first episode and it finally looks like they are having a happy Christmas and in the second episode Susan attempts to top neighbour Mr Casey's New Years Eve party with Ainsley Harriot catering.



For a sample of Series Ten I have chosen Michael's coming out episode

EPISODE #103 - The Son'll Come Out

Enjoy more My Family

J G S

GARDEN PALACE BOOK UPDATE #10

After completing the new draft for Chapter Three last week it has been a very productive 7 days for Chapter Four this week.

In fact I can report I have completed half of Chapter Four already, it helped not having to change an awful lot of the story but some significant alterations were required.

After Max's training group's successful running of the preview performance in the Palace Theatre, the next day it is back to business and back in training for the final Tour training day.

Apart from Max having to scrape through to pass that major element of training, he encounters a mysterious event in the Greenroom Cafeteria that catches his imagination.

Enlisting his closest colleagues they decide to go the the manager of the Cafeteria to try and squeeze the details out of him.

It is in this Chapter that we begin to see the true horror of our villain and the measures he goes to in order to silence those who challenge him.

In an extraordinary training session, Max manages to persuade the tour trainer Mary into divulging the truth about the Garden Palace Devil.

It soon becomes clear to Max that the Devil is not the real villain in the building.

Chapter Four also marks the turning point in the book where we leave off the introduction of the building and the characters and the intrigue and set forth on the journey that this has set up.

After being very disinterested in the lame Garden Palace ghost story Max is forced to learn for the tour, he is extremely interested in the legend of the Garden Palace Devil, for the story not only seems interesting and intriguing to Max, he begins to understand the Devil is still within the Garden Palace walls.

Stay tuned.

GRIPE OF THE WEEK #10 - GREED

I have had enough of the greed that exists in this country and this so-called class warfare that's being coined by the rich sods of our society.

Greed is what pushes this country towards a right-wing political party and the polls in this country reflect that greed in bucket loads.

No one wants to pay for anything that might benefit someone other than themselves.

Businesses want more profits so they want a right-wing government that will lower their taxes. Will they lower their prices? I think not.

The right wing political party want to stop the boats. Why? Don't we want to help refugees? If you want to stop the boats you don't want to help those who really need it. The right thing to do is to set up a better way for refugees to access our country. We have no reason not to offer refuge to these people, we just want to stop them getting killed in the process and then having to become prisoners because we can't just let them in. But don't be greedy and think shutting them out is the answer.

Everyone wants a beautiful world to live in, but no one wants to pay for it. The air is free? Bullshit. The air in Asia is choking it's inhabitants. Do we want to get like that before we stop the greed? The right wing political party are going to remove the price on carbon. No more Carbon Tax! The companies will rejoice not having to pay the Carbon Tax, but will they lower their prices? I think not!

Superannuation had a change when the highest bracket was lowered from $250,000pa to $100,000pa. It affected around 10-15% of our population, yet this are the more powerful percentage of our population and they were outraged about having to pay more taxes on their well greased retirement fund. Greedy bastards don't care there are many millions of Australians who will struggle through life and through old age on abut 25% of what they earn. Stop the Greed!

Wake up Australia! Don't turn this country into a dog eat dog southern version of America where its every man for himself. The Aussie way is about helping your mate and looking after each other. What happened to that? Surely its not just footballers and other sportsmen that carry this image of Australia.

Stop pushing people aside, stop fighting for that seat, stop grabbing the last item on the shelf. Stop the right wing fat cats getting control of this country.

Stop the Greed.

J G S

WEDNESDAY HISTORY #10 - REDFERN

REDFERN STATION 1920

Redfern is 3kms from the centre of Sydney on the fringe of the CBD outskirts.

Redfern Station was originally known as Eveleigh Station when Sydney's original railway terminus was situated in Cleveland Paddocks which extended from Cleveland Street to Devonshire Street. The name was changed when Central Station was built further north on the site of the Devonshire Street Cemetery and Eveleigh was retained for the name of the railway workshops. The remains of Cleveland Paddocks became Prince Alfred Park.

Redfern is named after William Redfern, a surgeon granted 100 acres of land in the area in 1817 by Lachlan Macquarie. A country house was built surrounded by flower and kitchen gardens. His neighbours were Captain Cleveland and John Baptist. Cleveland was an officer of the 73rd regiment and Baptist ran a nursery and seed business. Cleveland House was built by Captain Cleveland during this time as well.

The people of Redfern define this area as it is renowned for its Aboriginal population in the vicinity known as The Block as well as the migrants who shaped the urban area and continue to populate it. In the late 1800s many of the businessmen in the area were from Syria and as the immigrants arrived in Australia many made Redfern their first home.


The Block however is an area bounded by Eveleigh, Caroline, Louis and Vine Streets. The area is important to the Aboriginal Community and the Aboriginal Housing Company purchased houses on the Block to provide housing to the Aboriginal community.




On 17 January 1908 at Redfern Town Hall the South Sydney club was formed to compete in the first season of the New South Wales Rugby Football League Premiership (NRL). Known as the Rabbitohs they still hold an integral role in the area and promote a positive array of role models for the youth on the streets of Redfern. They also represent the tenacity of the area after being relegated for a period, the people power got South Sydney back into the National Rugby League competition, which today is a competition they currently lead in 2013.

Redfern riots began on 14 February 2004, at the end of Eveleigh Street outside Redfern station, sparked by the death of Thomas 'TJ' Hickey. The teenager, riding on his bicycle, was allegedly being chased by a police vehicle, which led to his impalement on a fence. Members of his family were then reported to have started grieving for TJ around Eveleigh Street with a crowd gathering commiserating with the family. Fliers were distributed blaming police for TJ's death. The police closed the Eveleigh Street entrance to the railway station, but youths in the crowd became violent, throwing bricks and bottles; this escalated into a riot. A subsequent inquest found that although the police were following Hickey, they had not caused the accident, a verdict that caused controversy in Redfern's Aboriginal community. The riots sparked fresh debate into the welfare of Australian Aborigines and the response of the police to those living in the Redfern area.

Today, Redfern is subject to extensive redevelopment plans by the state government, to increase the population and reduce the concentration of poverty in the suburb and neighbouring Waterloo. It is my current suburb of residence and I actually reside on the street named after Captain Cleveland. I walk up and down Eveleigh street on a daily basis and find it is still a very strong mix of people, much renovation is currently occurring, and it is as safe as any street in Sydney at any time day or night. There is a   derelict parking station at the top of Eveleigh Street which is home to over 24 stray cats.

You can feel the history of Redfern but it certainly has changed in the nearly 200 years of its existence.

Come and see for yourself

J G S