2010 may appear in hindsight to be the year that Fitzroyalty became more than a hobby for me: it became more like a mission. In looking back over the stories I have published and the events that have occurred, I realise that I have become harder in my approach and more determined to create a kind of media that is useful to the community and, in the process, exposes some of the failures of traditional media.…
Monthly archives: December 2010
Fitzroy 2010 – the year in review
This is a summary of some of the major events that happened in Fitzroy in 2010. After delays of more than a year, the market opened at the primary school. The City of Yarra made excuses for failing to properly manage the out of control businesses in the area selling cigarettes to minors.
Fitzroy was supposed to receive a community bank but the project never eventuated. Gertrude St landmark Dante’s closed. Smith St’s regular comedy event A mic in hand sadly ceased.…
nice mo
Another vintage shop, called Harry Wragg, has opened on Brunswick St. Lots of moustaches, but not much irony.
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window of the week – Dagmar Rousset on Gertrude St
The new shop Dagmar Rousset on Gertrude St has a fascinating window display!
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Fitzroy history – 11 Gertrude St
This 1958 photo shows 11 Gertrude St, when it was occupied by P. Chong, a herbalist. The building of E.J.H. MacFarlane, optician (now the home of Mattt bags) next door at 13 is partially visible on the right. The front door has had a coat of paint but otherwise it looks fundamentally unchanged. It appears to be a private residence.
Courtesy of John L. O’Brien Collection, the University of Melbourne image archive collection (UMAIC) / ID: UMA/I/6637 / photographer: John L.…
lunch at the Kew hotel
Last week some colleagues and I went to the Kew hotel for lunch. We’d been to the Skinny Dog hotel the week before (when I had forgotten my camera) and had enjoyed the good but quite expensive pub food there. In comparison, the Kew hotel has an older and less appealing interior but lower prices, though it’s not the cheapest pub meal around. At my first visit to the Skinny Dog I had very good fish and chips ($25) and, as it is my preference to order a standard or classic dish when visiting a pub for the first time to see how they do it, I ordered a basic chicken parma at the Kew ($20.50, below).…
hallucinating
On Fitzroy St between Victoria Parade and Gertrude St.
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work-life separation in the online world
The issue I have found most challenging to deal with this year has been the attempts my some cowardly critics to connect my personal life (including my hobby of writing and publishing Fitzroyalty) to my work life, presumably in an attempt to undermine my professional reputation and my employability.
These critics seem incapable or unwilling to understand that my work life and personal life are two separate things. My employer does not own me and is not required to endorse, or even be aware of, my behaviour outside the workplace.…
Fitzroy history – Gertrude St looking east
This is another interesting but ultimately not entirely successful then an now comparison. The view is of Gertrude St facing east from approximately the corner of Gertrude St and Fitzroy St. The buildings to the left and the wall pillars to the right were the only helpful reference points. The comparison again draws attention to the relatively recent trend for street trees. Does anyone with expertise in landscape architecture or urban planning know when the trend started?…