Monthly Archives: May 2015

Crown Street Mall — Tutti in Piazza

Posted on by

When I posted some pictures of Saturday in Crown Street Mall on 25th May KVD commented: “And by the way – not many people about when you took these latest pics.” I replied: “Yes, many of the traders at the eastern end of the Mall are finding business hard. There are more people in the area between Church and Keira Streets, near the new GPT building.”

Even more so yesterday when I took these in the Mall between Keira Street and Church Street.

P5301175

P5301176

P5301177

Despite it being a rather grey day…

Of course there was something happening:

Crown Street Mall will be hosting the 17th annual ‘Tutti in Piazza’ a showcase of Italian talent and displays to entertain shoppers and celebrate Italian culture as a celebration of Italian Week. Crown Street Mall will be turned into an Italian Piazza on Saturday the 4th of June from 9:00am – 4:00pm. There will be the opportunity for people to sample authentic food prepared by the local Italo-Australian Association originating from the various regions of Italy…

Meanwhile it’s the end of the month again

There have been fewer visitors than in April, but more views. The most viewed posts/pages in May have been:

  1. Home page / Archives 798 views in May 2015
  2. Outnumbered, Merlin, and other recently seen TV 52
  3. Anzac Girls last night on ABC 38
  4. More on fifteen years of blogging 23
  5. SBS on Struggle Street 21
  6. All my posts 17
  7. Tom Thumb Lagoon 16
  8. Poverty porn? Not really, but uncomfortable at times… 15
  9. Saturday in The Gong: Mall 14
  10. Friday Australian poem #NS1— John Le Gay Brereton (1871 – 1933) 13
  11. William made it–or I wouldn’t be blogging, would I? 12
  12. Another lunch at City Diggers and Struggle Street again 10
  13. Random Friday memory: 1 – John Mystery, my brother, Illawong 10
  14. And on ABC3… 10
  15. To Struggle Street via Mount Keira Road and City Diggers 9

Gymea lily, escarpment, Stroganoff.

Posted on by

Photos from yesterday.

P5291173

Doryanthes excelsa, known as Gymea Lily, is a flowering plant indigenous to the coastal areas of New South Wales near Sydney. This one is in Mount Keira Road. The flower spike can be up to 6 metres high.

P5291174

That view from my window yesterday afternoon – Mount Kembla on the left.

P5291172

Lunch at Diggers: beef Stroganoff.

Random Friday memory 14 – Gymea 1965

Posted on by

PB180380

Gymea Station 2011 – see Back from The Shire

The 1960s was a time of great change and expansion in NSW schools. 1961 – Wyndham Scheme introduced – Four years of High School for School Certificate, further two years for Higher School Certificate. Many new schools were built.

article142315720-4-001

In 1965 I was in my Dip Ed year at Sydney Teachers College. (The poet Peter Skrzynecki was also there, but enrolled in a Primary Teaching course; I didn’t ever meet him.)

fotosketcher-chs002

Me in 1968—not much changed from 1965, but teaching at Cronulla High School.

See also In The Shire and living to tell the tale…

At the beginning of 1965 I underwent my first teaching practice in a secondary school: Gymea High. Nowadays it is a Technology High School, but in 1965 it was a Wyndham Scheme Coeducational Comprehensive, only up to Third Year (Year 9) as it had begun in 1963. Through my Sutherland church/Sunday School activities I already knew a few of the students there.

281447_239196492777572_8302840_n

Gymea High School

I was so nervous on the first day! I remember walking from Gymea Station and then walking around the school several times until I summoned the courage to step inside.  The Head of English, Len Bladwell, soon put me at my ease and the experience there turned out to be really good.

I do recall that a fellow trainee doing the Junior Secondary two year training course and hence only about 18 or 19 was one day frog-marched to the Deputy Principal by a rather fierce Mistress of Girls for pushing in at the canteen line at lunch time. She had thought he was a school student and merely being insolent when he claimed to be a teacher!

In mid 1965 I had another practicum at Cronulla High, eventually leading to appointment there from 1966. In third term 1965 my last prac was at Caringbah High – well worth another memory post in itself.