Recently I walked the length of the Capital City Trail, a 30-ish km circuit walk around the inner suburbs of Melbourne. It passess through about a dozen suburbs and links up a series of walking and cycling trails that are human-powered arterial routes. I've wanted to do this walk for years as it seemed like… Continue reading Adventure: Walking the Capital City Trail
Category: Uncategorized
Lawns
Lawns are virtue signalling of the worst kind - where the owner can't even remember what virtue is being signalled. Lawns originated in ancien regime France as a way for aristocrats to demonstrate their wealth. In a time and place where subsistence farming was the majority occupation, what better way to show off than to… Continue reading Lawns
Phillip Island
Phillip Island is nebulous and inchoate - both to itself and the hordes of visitors. A very driveable 90 minutes from Melbourne, 79 minutes of which seems to be spent getting out of Melbourne, it tries hard to be the complete holiday destination. Some days it succeeds. You arrive at Phillip Island after a brief… Continue reading Phillip Island
Melbourne Field Notes
They make a couple of Chicago- and Portland-specific versions, with localised recommendations. I like this, but I feel that Melbourne could do with a version.
Things I’ve learned after a year of lifting at home
After a year, I can wholeheartedly recommend a simple garage gym. I haven't missed having a rack of dumbbells or cable-based machines even a little bit. If I were going to add anything, it would probably be a squat rack and a bench, but I'm in no particular hurry.
Melbourne, I love you, but you’re hopeless at winter
Melbourne, we need to talk. Not about your tedious obsession with sport or your own perceived cultural superiority (whatever that is). No, we need to chat about the elephant in the room, the thing that people from other parts of Australia make fun of. Your utterly hopeless approach to winter. Stop, stop. Don't argue or… Continue reading Melbourne, I love you, but you’re hopeless at winter
Why people in cities can’t walk properly
Do you ever get frustrated with people around you in the city who don't seem to pay attention? People who can't walk? People with no apparent peripheral vision? This concept from wild navigator Tristan Gooley may illuminate this problem. "A study by the US Military found that soldiers of equal military experience did not see… Continue reading Why people in cities can’t walk properly
Oh-No Bikes
It's hard to be opposed to the idea of people cycling more, especially for ordinary urban chores. It's good for the environment, it's good for health, it's good for communities, it helps reduce dependence on cars and it's generally a virtuous thing to do. So I viewed with interest the appearance on Melbourne's streets of… Continue reading Oh-No Bikes
The day some nuns broke my heart
In the year 2000, I spent two months working on an archaeological dig in Cyprus. I spent the Millennium (the real one) on a Cypriot hilltop with good friends and bad wine, watching the fireworks 30 km away in Nicosia. I travelled throughout Spain and loved it. Barcelona to Andalucia, just magic. I took an… Continue reading The day some nuns broke my heart
Quiet
I recently spent a week in a small Victorian town. On my second day I went to the supermarket to get the week's groceries. As I climbed out of the car I fiddled with the Gordian knot of my earphones when I realised something - I didn't want to plug them in.I normally wear earphones… Continue reading Quiet
