Juliette J Davis
  • Love Writings
  • Moments
  • Mayhem in Melbourne
  • Stories
  • Blog Pieces
Juliette J Davis

Writer

  • Love Writings
  • Moments
  • Mayhem in Melbourne
  • Stories
  • Blog Pieces

Latest Posts

Blog PiecesMayhem in MelbourneStories

Real Estate – how to lose a friend – Part 2

by admin April 9, 2021

I hope you enjoyed part 1.  Ralph was one of the people who made being a property manager a joy.

Ralph has vacated and Lauren came with me to do the final bond inspection. There’s been a shuffle around in the office and she’s going to manage the property now. I’m glad. I want to remember it as Ralph’s home.

We walked into a dull box-like space with yellowing, off-white walls and an exhausted carpet. The curtains have gone and the Venetians are pulled up to give a view of the driveway from the lounge. The passing traffic is now on view from the bedrooms. The kitchen and bathroom are dark.  The place is dreary, almost as if it’s exhausted.

Wyatt, our favourite cleaner has been, so there’s the smell of cleaning products. The magic’s gone and I wished Lauren had seen it when Ralph lived there.

The landlord, who has a position in a church is known as The Rev in the office.  He insisted we arrange inspections before Ralph moved out. I was dubious. What tenant or anyone for that matter could look at Ralph’s exotic and sophisticated world and picture the shell that would be left after that world was packed up and transported ‘Further East’.

Ralph insisted he was present. He lit a couple of candles and played his jazz softly during the opens.

When the tenants walked in their mouths fell open.

‘WOW!  This is great.’ There was a bucket load of ‘Wows’.

To bring them back to earth I’d say, ‘Try to think what it would be like without the furniture and the rugs. Imagine it with your furniture’. I’m not sure anyone heard me or if they did, saw their furniture and not Ralph’s.

One thing that was admired greatly was the picture of the city view. I was waiting for Ralph to say he bought it at IKEA. He said little during the inspections except to confirm he was taking everything with him.

After the first WOW I could see that no one liked the curtains, much.  Ralph’s taste isn’t everyone’s taste. Ralph confirmed he was taking all the furnishings.

I wondered how the curtains would fit into his new place. He had insisted several times that I should visit. I was looking forward to it. I was eager to check out what ambience he thought was appropriate for ‘Further East’. More sky? More light? More sun? I wnted our friendship to continue.

When he handed in the keys he gave me a stylish leather document case with a very discrete company logo on one corner – very in keeping with his taste.

The unit Lauren and I stood in now was bleak and shabby. I wanted Ralph back to laugh and joke.

There were some dark shadows against the ceiling in the corners of the lounge and the main bedroom. Wyatt had told Lauren this was mould.  He said he tried to wash it off with something like a window washer. He’d forgotten his ladder! This was not one of his finer moments.  How did he expect to clean the bathroom fan and the light fittings without a ladder? It was hard to know what effect a window washer would have on mould. None was my guess.

Lauren took photos but it’s difficult to take photos of a dark shadow. The wall doesn’t co-operate, or try to adjust its angle so it is easy to capture. Empty units don’t have things to stand on, and short of hoisting each other up we didn’t have much luck recording these dark marks to look like mould. It was just a dark shadow from where we stood on the dreary carpet. Lauren took Wyatt’s word that it was mould.

We headed back to the office. After a couple of minutes in the car Lauren gets a call from The Rev. She mentions Wyatt thought there was mould. Mould is a word I mention as little as possible. I think Lauren has made a mistake bringing it up. I don’t say so but I wondered what The Rev’s take on it will be. He decided to pick up the keys and look for himself. This is a bad sign.

Once The Rev heard ‘mould’ he ran with it. He knew the dark shadows  were mould the moment he saw them. He asked Lauren to get a quote to have rooms painted and to take the cost from Ralph’s bond.  He believed that as Ralph had lived there he was responsible for the mould and the other marks he noticed.

Things began to deteriorate. Lauren arranged for the painters to quote then spoke to Ralph. He refused to have money taken from his bond. He was short and sharp with Lauren. Then he rang me. His charm was threaded with ice. “Lauren tells me the Landlord wants me to have the place painted. I’m not doing it,” His voice was firm, “The walls needed painting when I moved in. I’ve got the condition report and I’ve checked it. ‘Some wear marks’ is written for all the paint work. What you really meant was ‘many marks on the walls ‘. I’ve been there for three years and there is no way I’m paying to have the place painted because there’s a dark shadow near the ceiling that could be mould.’ His voice takes on an incredulous note, ‘What  nonsense! It’s perfectly reasonable to expect more wear marks after three years. I could have told him it needed painting when I moved in but I didn’t really care at the time”

How do I proceed with this? He’s my friend.   After a pause I say,‘ Lauren is only following the Landlord’s instructions. That’s what he has asked us to do.”  I want to say, ‘You are right to be angry,’ but I don’t. I represent the landlord however much I disagree with him.

“You or Lauren can tell this landlord I want my full bond refunded. If he’s not happy with that he can take me to VCAT.” Ralph rings off. No friendly chat.

Experience tells me that VCAT will not judge in The Rev’s favour. They believe that after five years or so the owners should expect to re-paint or re-carpet.

Lauren rings The Rev to say she will get the quote but Ralph is refusing to pay and did he want us to follow through and book a hearing at VCAT?

“Ring him again,” says The Rev, “He’ll be bluffing.”

Ralph rings me again to make himself crystal clear. He will attend any hearing at VCAT that is demanding money from his bond and he will fight it. He can’t believe that we are doing this to him after he has been such a good tenant. As he said ‘you doing it’ I was sure he meant me not we but I don’t have an answer. He went on.

“Three years, I’ve been there and no problems for you or your landlord. He’s been lucky. There’s a lot I could’ve complained about. So what’s his problem? Tell him to get a life.” And he’s gone. I’ve never heard Ralph like this.

I could have told him ‘greed’ was the problem. Greed can hide around corners and in crevasses and I meet it often as it creeps out and gets in the way of common sense.

I picture Ralph with his charm and friendly smile winning the VCAT member over and having us tossed out with the suggestion we’re wasting everyone’s time. The Rev may try to harness some charm from God but God’s charm, after it has come through the medium of The Rev, won’t be a match for Ralph’s.

Lauren, after several stressful phone calls, was able to persuade The Rev not to continue with his demands for a paint job. Finding out he would be up for a fee for someone from our office to attend the VCAT hearing and learning he may not get anything from the bond for the paint job made him less keen to go ahead.

Lauren report the call to me, ‘He’s not going to pay to have it painted himself. We’re not to bother with the quote. He’s decided it doesn’t look too bad. He also said, and Lauren who is a good mimic puts on of pompous voice that exactly captures The Rev, ‘The new tenant won’t notice. It’s a guy isn’t? There you go. Guys don’t notice that sort of thing”. I wondered if he was referring to himself and I think again that mentioning mould was a mistake.

I’m glad the new tenant will be Lauren’s problem. I’ve been cheated out of a friendship. I can’t bring myself to ring Ralph to explain or apologize or just to say ‘Hello. How’s it going?’ I think I’m ashamed.  I haven’t seem Ralph again.

More of the high and lows at Caruthers Real Estate can be found in my book Mayhem in Melbourne.

 

 

 

April 9, 2021 0 comment
Blog PiecesMayhem in MelbourneStories

Real Estate – How to Lose a Friend

by admin March 31, 2021

I have been browsing my book Mayhem in Melbourne – Behind-the-scenes at Caruthers Real Estate. COVID has given me time to do this.

It’s about my life as a Residential Property Manager, the people I worked with, the ups and downs and the fun.  I’ve been re-visiting some of my favourite characters.  It is fantastic to meet up with them again so I have taken them out of the pages to spend time with them.  These characters are a composite of people I worked with but now with their new identities they are friends I know under their new names and personalities.

Take Ralph for example. He is one of my favourites. He rented an un-renovated two bedroom, downstairs unit in an old apartment block.  The rent was cheap but higher than it should have been because of the area.   We had developed a friendship but it went very wrong when he vacated.

He rang to say he was moving. He was always energetic, chatty and friendly but in this phone call he was lit up.

‘I’m moving. I’ve bought my own place.’ His excitement was catching but I also felt a small fission of sadness.

‘Mum’s always saying I should do this. She says don’t pay rent and make someone else rich. So I’ve taken the plunge.’

‘Wow I say,’ inadequately. I didn’t know he was thinking of buying and I was a bit shocked he hadn’t told me.

‘Yeah! I’ve done it but it’s a bit scary, really’

‘Where did you buy?’

He named a place then said, ‘You know where it is? Further east from here. It’s a two bedroom town house…only a couple of years old…great bathroom and kitchen’

‘That’ll be a change,’ I say trying to find the right words.

‘No bath though. I rather like that old bath. A good place to soak on a cold winter’s night.’

This made me remember that there was no heating in his rented unit. He must’ve supplied his own. He chatted on.

‘It’s a bit further out of course but it’s near a shopping strip and there is a good cafe. I went there after the auction. I was shaking. I needed coffee, badly. It was good coffee.  So that’s okay.’

‘Congratulations,’ I said a bit belatedly. In the real estate world we are always saying congratulations. A bit silly I think but I keep saying it. I say it to Ralph as I feel a gap opening in my life.

‘Yeah. Thanks. It’s a great feeling but scary. I woke up in the middle of the night on Saturday really worried. All sorts thoughts went through my head. What happens if there’s something wrong with it that I didn’t notice? What happens if there is a lot of maintenance?  I’m at the top of my budget, not much spare cash. I couldn’t sleep’

‘Buyers’ Remorse.’ I said. ‘Lots of people feel like that. That’s why it’s got a name. Buyers’ Remorse. Regretting what you’ve done and a feeling you may’ve been swindled. Sort of panicking. It happened to me after I bought my place.’

‘Yeah – a bit like that’. Ralph sound relieved. ‘It was the worry about the money and the maintenance and being afraid I’d been suckered in. I drove over on Sunday and looked at it. There was the For Sale sign with a big ‘Sold’ on it. I took a selfie beside the board. I made sure I got myself right in front for the sold sticker. I didn’t do that on Saturday. Then I walked up and down the street and had coffee in the cafe. I was excited then. It was as if I was already living there and part of it all. Now I feel it is the best thing I’ve ever done. Forget Buyers’ Remorse.’

While he talked I visualized the last time I was in his unit. He liked to be there for an inspection so we arranged it for the end of the day.

When I arrived, he would be brewing coffee.

His interior styling made this nothing-unit into something else. It was one of those old places that still have pelmets and curtain rods in place. He’d put curtains over the white plastic slim-line venetians that were supplied. His curtains in the lounge were deep red, almost burgundy, with a bright green pattern. They looked a bit exotic against the yellowing off-white walls and his pictures added to the exotic vibe.

He had a couple of large pictures, one with a scene of a lake at dawn and the other was a skyscape of a large city, probably New York but I wasn’t sure. I think I have seen one like it in IKEA. It took up the back wall of the lounge. I visited many times and for some reason I never asked where he got it. It just never came up.

A large black and white cow skin hid some of the tired carpet and half a dozen lamps glowed. Perhaps these were from IKEA too but the effect was about as far away from Scandinavian as you could get and light years away from this dull 1970’s concrete block in Melbourne.

One of the bedrooms was set up as a study with a lot of dark wood and more of the same curtains. The other bedroom had the windows closed off with gun-metal grey curtains. A king sized bed took up most the floor space. It always thought it was a miracle that he got that bed through the door.

After I had wandered through and checked everything was still as immaculate as it was at the last inspection, he poured coffee and I sank into his squashy leather couch and we chatted. He was always interesting.

He travelled a lot for business and told interesting and funny anecdotes.  I felt we clicked as people.

I imagined when he got home after a long plane ride the flat was like his cave. To my knowledge he didn’t ever open the curtains or the venetians. Strangely it didn’t smell stuffy or shut up so he must have aired it sometimes. Having it so closed up was a recipe for mould but it never smelt mouldy. It smelt of freshly brewed coffee and the sofa gave off a light and pleasant leather smell. It was hard for me to leave, to heave myself out of the deep squishy sofa and into the old grey concrete foyer and head off down the grey, cracked, concrete driveway and into reality.

I will miss him and these visits. I had hoped to follow up his invitation to visit him in his new place – the place that was’ further east’. That was all put on hold as our relationship went into a downward spiral.

Keep tuned for Part 2 of ‘Real Estate E How to Lose a Friend’

 

 

 

March 31, 2021 0 comment
Blog PiecesLove WritingsOpinion

New word added our dictionary – UooUoos are out there to be discovered.

by admin February 4, 2021

UooUoo is a new word for me and these beautiful UooUoo animals are new to me too – it is pronounced You You.

This is a chance for me to introduce you to a new word and of course a new animal.  It is always fun to find a new word. Not that I think I will find many uses for ooUooU

UooUoo in Prahran

Remember the Pushmi-Pullyu  ( pronounced  push-me-pull-you) from  the Dr Doolittle books by Hugh Lofting.  I always loved that word and as a child walked around reciting it but like ooUooU it was hard to find places to use it.

 

A ooUooU to brighten a grey day.

There are one hundred of these fun sculptures scattered throughout laneways, streets, parks, beaches and public spaces across Melbourne and Geelong.

Designed and created by Alexander Knox a UooUoo is an imaginary Australian creature.  It is the shape of a loosely drawn combination of a wombat and a dugong.  The base colour is white and the beautiful designs and patters have been produced by various Australian artists.

This one found its way to South Yarra.

I love the way Melbourne can bring colour and joy and FUN into our lives.

ooUooUs have been produced to celebrate the 150th year of the Royal Children’s Hospital.

A few years ago the City had beautifully painted pianos scattered about for anyone to play see here. Like the ooUooU it was an event to lift our spirits.

I found these three ooUooUs around Prahran and South Yarra.  I believe there are a couple in the Bourke Street Mall and along the St Kilda/Port Melbourne foreshore. I haven’t seen those ones yet but I plan to check them out.  It is fun trying to spot one.

One hundred UooUoos will be dotted around. This is their official web site.

REMEMBER –

If you would like a copy of my book ‘Mayhem in Melbourne – Behind the Scenes at Caruthers Real Estate –

I still have a couple of my giveaways left. Please email me on davisjuliettej@gmail.com. Let me have your address and I’ll mail a copy to you.

Talk to you soon

Juliette

 

February 4, 2021 0 comment
Blog PiecesLove WritingsMomentsStories

Riding the 78 Tram from St Kilda to Richmond

by admin January 14, 2021

**   This is part two of me taking you for a ride along this tram route.**

Walking is my go to exercise especially now that COVID has made its home with us. A favourite walk is from St Kilda along Chapel Street into Richmond alongside the tram tracks.

Last Sunday when I got to Swan Street I was hot and sticky and feeling the effects of the distance.  Coles is good place to pick up a few groceries.  I did that and scrambled onto the 78 tram as it trundled towards my home and a reviving coffee.

The crowd on the journey from Swan Street to Toorak Road were mainly young people talking loudly  – possibly the breakfast crowd who trammed it to the trendy cafes instead of paying the ridiculously high parking fees charged by the Yarra Council.  Most of them got off at Toorak Road where other people pushed on with their shopping trolleys.  Some who had physical difficulty with the high step had to be helped to board.  All were seated when a smartly dressed woman in blue cut-off jeans, printed shirt and feet clad in up to the minute lace-less canvas shoes leaped on just before the doors finally closed.

She looked familiar.  She looked like someone I had worked with a few years ago.  Her eyes glided over me and moved on.  She chose a seat further down the tram where a loud conversation was in progress.  She changed that seat to one opposite me.  I knew who she was.  I was sure of it.  Perhaps a little Botox but it was definitely the accounts assistant I had worked with a few years ago.  I smiled at her.  Her face didn’t move.  She stared past me.

“Hi” I said.  Not a muscle moved and her eyes slid over me to stare out the window.

I knew it was Gloria and I could see her problem.  I was hot and sweaty from my fast walking.  My hair was a mess under my blue cap and it was a day I hadn’t bothered to apply make-up.  I looked like any one of the odd and strange people who rode that tram – the sort of person who tries to strike up a conversation so they can harangue you with their favourite topic.

I fitted into the demographic of those who travel that route.  Gloria got off at Prahran Central without me saying her name.   It didn’t seem important to be acknowledged and it is just possible that she didn’t recognise me.  It is also possible that she never actually looks at anyone on that tram -always being careful not to make eye contact.

When I got home I studied myself in the mirror.  I didn’t look too bad but I couldn’t get away from the fact that last Sunday I was an undesirable and therefore invisible on the 78 tram. I brewed some coffee – strong.

****************

 

Scaloppini

This beautiful  scaloppini or golden squash as it is sometimes called was given to me by a neighbour who is blown away by his success at growing them this year.

Beautiful is the word for it. There is no mark on its golden yellow skin and the green stalk tones perfectly. I photographed it and treated it like an exotic flower with pride of place on my coffee table.  It couldn’t last and I couldn’t watch it wither away. I cooked it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

January 14, 2021 0 comment
Blog PiecesCOVID-19Love WritingsUncategorized

Tidings of Joy and well being

by admin December 25, 2020

Happy Christmas and congratulations for surviving 2020. 

This has been a unique year with so many struggles for so many people.  In fact I’m sure there isn’t a person in the world that hasn’t been affected by COVID in some way. Here in Melbourne we are still remembering the devastating bush fires that were raging at this time last year. The fires gobbled up many homes and there are people still waiting to get into their new homes. People died too.

With all this in mind have the very best Christmas that you can.  Don’t worry about all that plastic that can be found in varying amounts in sea food. Loll around eat up and enjoy.  We have ingested and inhaled many things in our lives and we are still here.  Our body is a wonderful mechanism and it will cope with a bit of plastic in an oyster. However limited your festive season please enjoy. Remember it is good to alive.

Love from my family to yours

Juliette

 

 

December 25, 2020 0 comment
Blog PiecesLove WritingsMomentsOpinionUncategorized

Riding Melbourne tram route 78- it is a unique experience

by admin December 21, 2020

Life is always interesting on this tram route – never dull moment as they say…

 

Route 78 – an old tram waiting for an up-grade

Last week when I was traveling  from South Yarra to Prahran on the 78 tram the only free seat was opposite a dark skinned older man.  He had a swollen eye but it didn’t look like a the result of a punch up.  It looked more as if it was suppose to be that way.  He sat very still and stared straight ahead.  I gazed passed him and out the window.  No eye contact is my go to position on this tram.

Two impeccably dressed young women were across the aisle checking their phones.  At the back of the tram a group of school boys shouted and joked and pushed each other around.

After about 5 minutes the man opposite me began to twitch and jerk his legs; he scratched his head and then the back of one of his hands, then the other.  He jumped up and pulled the bell cord and charged for the exit. I felt lucky my shins had been spared the attentions of a twitching and kicking leg.

He danced around at the door but didn’t get off at the next stop.  At the following one he made a last minute decision and shoved passed a young man in a dirty pink cap who was getting on.  As the tram pulled away I saw my seat companion punch a large blue plastic rubbish bin.  It wobbled and he got ready to give it second punch but the tram moved on and I lost sight of him.

Pink cap asked the two girls where they were getting off.  They ignored him. After his second demand to know this they got up, pulled the bell and moved to the door chatting about where they would buy some bread.  He gave them advice.

“The best bakery is in Carlisle Street.  It’s Russian.”

They didn’t even look his way.  It was as if he hadn’t spoken.

“I’m telling you if you want bread that’s where to go. It’s the best.”

They got off without a glance in his direction.  It was as if he was invisible.

He swung round in his seat and addressed us all.

“You can’t tell some people. They never listen. You just can’t tell them.”

Friends and colleagues have discussed the 78 tram with me.

“I’d never get that tram.”  And they tell  lurid stories of the times they did catch it.  These anecdotes usually concern, people who don’t appear to have washing faculties available at their residence.

Or, it maybe they like the over-powering smell that emanates from them and don’t want to lose it. You can never tell on the 78 tram. I ride this tram about twice a week and every journey is different.

Six W Class trams on route 78

These lovely old W Class Trams used work the route. When six trundled along together it was something of a last hurrah
They have been replaced by something newer but not so charming.

December 21, 2020 0 comment
Blog PiecesCOVID-19Mayhem in MelbourneMomentsUncategorized

Melbourne is opening up.

by admin October 23, 2020

The lockdown door has opened a crack with more light coming through on November 1st. 

With this new life seeping towards us we have another Melbourne spring-style day. Cold wind and now in the late afternoon the sun is out and the wind lessened.

To Celebrate I have poured a gin and tonic in one of the beautiful glasses I inherited from my mum.  The gin turned up when I was cleaning out a cupboard.  Not much left which is perhaps why I forgot about it but enough to celebrate.  The crystal is sparkling in the sun and the slice of lemon (home grow) floating in it is a clear yellow. If there was enough of it I could drink gin all night.

 

I have two lunch dates for the week of the 1st of November.  I talk to these people on a regular basis but they are outside my 5 kms zone, now extended to 25 kilometres. It is ridiculous how exciting that feels. I’m like a teenager looking forward to a date with a special guy.

 

As I wait for life to begin again I have thought of more good things about lockdown.

 

Reading

I read some of my grandmother’s favourites that come from my mother’s book case.

*Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Recently this has been a T V series so good to read the original.

*Books by L M Montgomery,   Anne of Green Gables, Anne of the Islands and  Rilla of Ingleside. Rilla is one of Anne’s daughters and this book is full of vivid descriptions of the lives of the women who live in a small Canadian village during the First World War.

*I read some Georgette Heyer, too that I found at the back of a book shelf.  If you want to read her try These Old Shades – great fun. She writes amazing dialogue. It makes the story vibrate. When you read her think about the dialogue and how she captures you with it.

Then there is music

The whole of the Internet is there to explore  –

*Try folk singer Mary Gauthier.  I found her recently. She lives in Nashville- just the right place for her music.

Weirdly, I have a sense of achievement – I stuck to the rules, everyone one I know stuck to the rules and we have beaten this virus. Or am I speaking too soon? Optimism is in the air but perhaps the virus is lurking behind a door waiting for a chance to appear again.  We still must follow the rules.

*

This is a year of roses in Melbourne. Literally.  My street is full of them and my side fence is covered Red and White blooms.  I wonder if it the lack of petrol fumes that they like. Our streets have been quiet. Another benefit from the lock down.

A fence of roses.

 

October 23, 2020 0 comment
Blog PiecesCOVID-19Love WritingsMoments

MELBOURNE IN THE TIME OF COVID

by admin October 17, 2020

I’ve been missing for a while – it is the dreaded virus.

COVID-19 lock down in Melbourne and my creativity is locked down with it.

I settle into my chair and I have nothing to write. I wander around the house. I make a cup of tea. I check my emails again and again. I find something on YouTube to listen to. I go for my daily walk. I sit at my computer again. It’s no good there is nothing there. My creativity has died.

Are you the same?

What’s been your ‘go-to-thing’ to lift you spirits during these COVID days of lockdown and the pandemic?

Melbourne, so the news tells us, has the hardest lockdown than anywhere else in the world. It has certainly gone on longer than anywhere else in the world.

For you reading this somewhere else in the world and watching your number of cases rise as winter approaches do you envy Melbourne? Our cases have got down to single figures.  All this sacrifice we have made has worked.

Bless Premier Daniel Andrews who’s in charge of this long and frustrating period of our lives.  We had only two new cases of the virus yesterday.

Sunday  is  when he will release his foot from the break peddle and let some light shine in.  As spring moves into summer we will be out and about boosting the economy.  I am hoping that Dan’s never giving up and staying staunch against some bitter and very nasty criticism will go down as a model for the way to handle and squash the virus for any future pandemic. I hope he has made this a COVID free city

Great moments during lockdown

Empty Supermarket car parks

Rushing out the door when the sun shines.

Meeting a friend in the park – not so good for cafes where once we met up.

Walking – the joy of our own neighbourhood  where we are confined.

Spring is busting out all over and our neighbourhood gardens are ‘lifters of our spirits’ as we watch them wake up from winter.

These wonderful orange roses have a wonderful sent – quite intoxicating. I wish I knew its name.

 

October 17, 2020 0 comment
Blog PiecesLove WritingsOpinion

Walking in the time of COVID-19

by admin July 28, 2020

I wrote this on the Sunday I heard about all Melburnians having to wear a mask when they left the house. I live in central Melbourne.  I thought about how my life under COVID-19 had changed.

I came up with one huge positive.  I wrote about it…….

*************************************************

 

In one way Covid-19 has played into my hands. I have re-learned the love of walking. Once this love took me into the wilds where I slogged for hours through bush to finally lunch by a freezing river or even spend the night in a communal hut with others who also wanted to ‘get away from it all’.

It is a long time since I indulged in the sort of walking New Zealanders call tramping. We would grab a government map of an area and set off to explore the New Zealand bush. Explore was the word we used and it’s an important sounding word. While we explored we often planned to spend the night in a distant hut.

New Zealand bush – paths for tramping

The exertion of getting to this almost in-accessible hut lead to exhaustion and possibly a sound if uncomfortable sleep for those who wanted to re-energize for the next day’s trip down the mountain and back home.

But often the night was shared with numerous others who were also exploring.  Their chatter, which would be described later around a water cooler as ‘having a bit of a yak with a few of the blokes that pitched up’, their snores, farts, and the banging around as people stumble out to relieve themselves, put us very much into the middle of humanity. Of course there were people who loved these long nights of yakking around a wood burning stove, with smell of wet socks drying, smelly feet and the numerous and unlikely yarns. It was part of the joy of tramping.

I was reminded of those days when I watched the movie The Way where the pilgrims pitched up in hostelries with rooms full of bunks. The Camino’s not for me I thought and immediately booked with a friend to walk in the Luberon area of France. Besides the charm of Provence and the pleasure of actually walking the allure was the transport of our luggage and three to four star accommodation at the end of each day.

Since France I have done very little walking for pleasure.  COVID-19 has changed that. My active job is no more and I am, like everyone else, confined to the house. This has re-acquainted me with a friend who also sees walking as the main component in her fitness regime.  We walk for several hours around flat suburban streets.   We drive to our meeting place and strike out.

This week we walked around Elwood and into Brighton and then back along the foreshore admiring those beautiful houses that have entrances onto the beach. We peered into gardens and discussed the plants and the lay-out and we talked.  We talk about anything that comes into our head. You could say we yak.  This week we walked rather far into Brighton because the way back became a slog and we panted as we yakked. Proving we have some way to go with our fitness.

We had parked our cars in the lovely strip along the middle of Broadway in Elwood where there are no parking restrictions.  The Turtle cafe is at the end of Broadway and we arrived there gasping and leaned against a pole and ordered coffee. As it is no longer possible to drink in a cafe we collapsed on my car and sipped.

Perhaps it would have been healthier walking through dense bush, stumbling over exposed tree roots while we coped with the undulating terrain. There would be no traffic and no car fumes and more bird song.  But in the time of COVID-19 these suburban walks are a joy and I look forward to the next one.

Sea gulls at St Kilda Beach

 

 

July 28, 2020 0 comment
Blog PiecesMayhem in MelbourneUncategorized

Getting your book out there.

by admin July 20, 2020

Hi there

This is a quick update of my progress with the Onlinebookclub. A couple of posts ago I complained that although I’d signed up and paid my money with a promotion that said they would buy a book and it hadn’t happened.  In fact nothing had happened.

  • I have to give them their due they have now bought a kindle copy.
  • I have had some email correspondence with a real person – a lovely lady called Sarah.
  • No reviews yet.
  • I’m not sure what I paid for because it looks as if I have to pay more if I want it be featured as the book of the day. I have to clarify this.
  • I’m still don’t know how anyone would find my book.
  • I’m beginning to feel I’ve been suckered! I’ll reserve this thought until I can confirm some of my confusions –
  • I’ll keep you up-dated.

Mayhem in Melbourne- Behind-the–scenes at Caruthers Real Estate.

Check it out and buy it from Amazon or Barnes and Noble. You won’t find it hidden away in the Onlinebookclub – let me know if you do. I can’t find it there.

Barnes and Noble

 

July 20, 2020 0 comment
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4

About Me

About Me

Juliette Davis

Hi I’m a New Zealander living in Melbourne. Once this great city put out tentacles and seduced me I was caught. I’ve lived here ever since. I wrote about the city in Melbourneplaces.com . I’m a residential property manager - someone who leases a property to you and manages your tenancy for the owner – that means I’m the meat in the sandwich. When something goes wrong it can easily be seen by the two pieces of bread on either side to be my fault. It’s a life that opens the door on funny, sad, angry and heart warming stories and money. I’m using it all to write a fictional book about life in a Real Estate office. I blog about the writing journey.

Recent Posts

  • Real Estate – how to lose a friend – Part 2
  • Real Estate – How to Lose a Friend
  • New word added our dictionary – UooUoos are out there to be discovered.
  • Riding the 78 Tram from St Kilda to Richmond
  • Tidings of Joy and well being

Categories

  • Blog Pieces
  • COVID-19
  • Love Writings
  • Mayhem in Melbourne
  • Moments
  • Opinion
  • Stories
  • Uncategorized

Archives

  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • October 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019

Recent Comments

  • Magpies - Juliette J Davis on Covid-19 Brain Function

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  • WordPress.org

Back To Top