The Carriage Held But Just Ourselves

I've started a new blog over the road at wordpress (blogger is great, I just thought I'd try something different). It's a bit more personal than Marrickvillia... so please come to visit at http://thecarriageheldbutjustourselves.wordpress.com/, I'd love to see you. Marrickvillia is almost an old lady now in blog-years: she is out to pasture but I will visit her often -- in fact, there is a review of a new book set in Marrickville on my stovetop as I type...

If anyone would like to write something for Marrickvillia please feel free: reviews, commentary, politics, festivals, found objects, crime, culture, transport, food -- anything -- so long as it's about Marrickville, obviously.

See you around the layers of webbiness...

mj

Australia Day in Enmore Park

Planes roaring overhead, a band with a woman lead singer doing Jimmy Barnes covers, people dancing with kids and babies, everyone with their picnic rugs, and dogs galore. Bats flapping powerfully against the breeze. Then the fireworks. It's quite a small park, and only about 50 square metres were cordoned off for the pyrotechnicians. Chrysanthemums, crackles, wagon wheels and strobes were bursting right above our heads and were incredibly close. There was no music while they were going off, which was wonderful because for the first time since I was a kid I could really hear them. They crack and crackle, screech, fizz and bang. Some sound like massive sparklers, others like surf breaking. Silver streaks wheezed their way upwards before turning into delicate stars.

David from Mount Druitt and Daniel from Marrickville

Boss, a Bull Mastiff cross Great Dane, and Beukannan, both from Marrickville

Dougall, a Boston Terrier, and Glen, both from Newtown

Sophia and Prince
"This is our local park, he's never seen so many people at his local park!"


Andrew and Grant, and their beloved Lily.


Gyoza and Sergei
"He's called Gyoza because he has ears like Japanese dumplings"


Leonie, Sunnai and Booty from Newtown


Bridge Andrews with Oscar and Bosie


Max and Marie


Mary and Lily.
Lily is half Papillon, half Chihuahua; she belongs to Mary's granddaughter Amy.


Standing, from left to right: J-me, Josh & Jika. Sitting, from left to right: Alex & Jermaine.
They all go to Marrickville High.


Margo and Sam from Enmore.


Glen Moss of Petersham and Charles Guarroch of Penrith.
They work for Marrickville Council.


Denny Burgess from Newtown

All the bests

By Meredith

The best Christmas post I've read so far is at Eddy Currents. Justine is a beautiful writer, a swimming teacher, and a book seller from the South of London. Her blog deserves more readers so please go and have a look.

The best one year old boy I've been spending time with:

The best New Year's Eve resolution ever (because it's achievable so long as I don't lose my job): buy good quality, nice underwear, when I need it (ie don't wait until all the elastic is gone and bits of body are wandering free).

The best day on holidays so far: in the city of Melbourne with my mum, including lunch at Ca De Vin, one of the many Italian-inspired cafes that pop up in the laneways and arcades that web the CBD.

The best bargain: we had a wander through all the little shops in Degraves St where I got a HUGE bargain at Shag. Imagine finding a Chloe jacket that you love, and it fits you perfectly, and, because it's a sample, it's only $195.00, but then, for some crazy reason, it's reduced in the post-Christmas sale to $15.00!! The excitement was almost more than I could bear.

The best sales purchase overall though, is these gold shoes - they're for my dear friend Tracy's wedding where I'll be bridesmaid; I'll wear them with a long vintage apricot beaded dress (the bride is wearing tangerine).

The best plan to get Christmas cake:

lie quite still, pretending to be asleep, but crawl slowly towards the fruity, nutty goodness;

get excitingly close before you're discovered & told off. Oh well.

hols about to start

By Meredith

Oh my dears,
It hasn't been such a big bloggy year as last year was, but goodness me I've been busy with other things. I'm resolved to be a better blogger in 2009. So, updates!

The menagerie: Stryker the horse has a new friend; we're very relieved as he was such a loner and we were worried he was miserable. Horses are sociable creatures, and I read a while ago that there is a law in, I think, Sweden, that you're not allowed to keep only one horse - it always had to have at least one friend. The ratties are lovely critters with soft fur and twitching whiskers and dear little fingers... they continue to delight. The cat, Led, tells us each morning, loudly, how hard her life is. We sympathise. The pug dog, Sailor, is getting old and losing teeth but is still very fit. She's thin for a pug, thanks to the brutal diet regime I keep her on.

The daughter: she did brilliantly in the HSC - she probably wouldn't want me to put the actual mark here but let's just say that not many people in the state got a higher score and she was in the newspaper. We're so proud!

Work: The CV's "forthcoming" section is bulging with no less than seven new pieces of my writing coming out in 2008, which I'm pretty pleased about. They range from my book, to refereed journal articles, to more arty pieces, to encyclopaedia entries. I also finished this year, with my wonderful friend Cressida Heyes, an edited anthology of feminist responses to cosmetic surgery. That's off being reviewed by two publishing houses at the moment - fingers crossed for it, it was so much work! Teaching was invigorating and exhausting simultaneously, and as usual I have learned much from my students.

Christmas: I have had a very enjoyable time choosing presents for friends and family. People are getting things like Italian conversation classes, little original art works, jewellery, things purchased at Gallery Serpentine (you'll just have to guess what) and lots and lots of books. I don't buy everything at the last minute, rather I collect stuff through the year, not necessarily with anyone in mind, and put it in my "present cupboard" (this is a big bag in the spare room wardrobe). Then, as Christmas draws near, I get it all out to see what I've got - aha! that book about window dressing will do nicely for my ex sister in law who is a visual merchandiser; that gorgeous Italian cookbook will suit a hard-to-buy-for couple, and I even have someone in mind for the (good quality) knock-off white leather "Chanel" wallet.

Of course I have most fun buying for the kids. Most of them are getting books, stickers, packets of tattoos, etc, but my little five year old nephew will receive a doctor's kit. In a little red case came plastic syringes, a thermometer, ear-examining thingos and a stethoscope. I've added in bandaids, rolls of bandages, "pills" (tic tacs), a tube of aloe vera gel, and a bottle of "medicine" (decanted Ribena). I hope he will be able to cure me of all my ills on Christmas day.

Oh God, I left the blog on the bus!

Not really, I've just been horribly busy. The end of semester rushed at me like a monster. Luckily my students were a ridiculously talented bunch and their final projects made everything worthwhile. Ruby finished her HSC exams on Thursday. She was incredibly well prepared but it was still quite stressful. I made endless cups of soy hot chocolate for her & helped a little with English preparation, but I'm useless with anything like Biology. Now she has schoolies and her year twelve formal coming up...

Toby the rat is all better. His foot will always be deformed but all the infection is gone and the skin has grown back. He lost weight while he was injured and his brother Billy is now nearly twice his size. We get Toby out on his own and feed him chocolate and nuts so he can get his strength back.

We're having a party! It will be on election night and the theme is "Don's Party" (although I hope the election outcome will be different to the one in the play). People have to come dressed in "Australian suburbia, 1969", hehehe. I'm searching for a crimplene pants suit for myself and a body-shirt for Richard. Fingers crossed there will be good reason to pop the champagne. Go Maxine! Go Julia!

Ratty wounded on escapade

Toby contemplates the cost of his adventures.

On Thursday night we let the ratties out for their evening run. Toby, the more adventurous of the two (Billy is a woos and spends his "running" time hiding under the couch) discovered a hole under the stove. Down he went, under the house, and didn't return. Eventually we had to go to bed, and just left a macadamia nut under the stove to entice him back. It worked! He came trotting out holding it proudly like a basketball. So, all was well until last night, when we noticed that one of his back feet was lacerated, perhaps crushed (sob) and had blown up hugely. There's redness and pus and it's not pretty. Off to the emergency vet, a delightful young woman who told us she loves rats and said "Right, Mr Piggy, we'll have to confiscate that" when he licked the lubricant off the thermometer that had been taking his temperature you-know-where. So, $145 later and armed with a bottle of antibiotics, and under strict instructions that he is to rest(!) here we are trying to get his infection down so he won't lose the foot. "What if we just amputated the foot now?" I asked, but no, the philosophy with animals, as with people, seems to be save it if you can.

Important tidbits

Semester is two weeks long now and my classes have almost settled into their final shapes & demographics (students tend to sample or surf elective subjects in the first few weeks to decide what suits them). One of my classes is 90% international students and most of them are from China's big cities. Without resorting to stereotypes, these are not the Chinese students of old: quiet, anxious and with terrible English. They're very urbane, cool, outspoken, stylish, have great English and they're not afraid to question me. Obviously China is changing... Shanghai is on my list of places to go before I die.

I had a great salad yesterday in Newtown - forgot to take camera so no photo - but it was baby spinach, fresh beetroot, fresh peas, mint, fetta and yoghurt. The dressing was, I think, olive oil mixed with that pomegranate syrup you can get from Middle Eastern shops and some balsamic vinegar. The whole thing was purple, green & white: very feminist.

I am 41 and should know better but I was seduced yesterday, post salad, into buying a dress fashioned in the new silhouette. Fashionistas will know exactly what I mean. It has no waist and is balloonish. It ends just above my knees. At least it's black. What I really like about it is that it has nice pockets - comfortable slits either side of my belly button - but this is perhaps not the best reason to buy a dress. There is a risk that in it I will look like a fat little ten year old (from behind only of course).

Today we visit the lovely Stryker, who missed out on our company and bag of carrots last week because Ruby's boyfriend was bitten by a poisonous snake (one of his pets, yes really). Ruby spent most of the weekend in hospital with him keeping a bedside vigil as he was pumped full of morphine. I didn't know that one in five people goes into anaphylactic shock after being given anti-venom, so doctors try not to give it - luckily he didn't need it but he was pretty sick. Anyway, the poor kid is now back home but has lost his sense of smell, perhaps permanently.

I got a first list of corrections from the editor who is working on my book manuscript. He's a blogger! in Glasgow. The corrections were all wonderful - it is just brilliant having someone read your stuff so closely.

My magnolia tree is almost in full bloom - this morning I cut a small branch off & put it in a vase on the mantelpiece, then I made a posy of lavender & rosemary for my round red vase, then I felt all exhausted by my domestic goddessness.

Special Beings

I've been overseas for a few weeks, and I'll probably blog about that soon... but for now I'm thinking about celebrities, stars, and what makes certain beings special. There have been two particular living beings calling for my time, energy and organisational skills lately - one horse and one human.

Ruby & Stryker this morning

Ruby's horse, Stryker, has lived in Queensland with friends of ours for ages. But we decided recently to bring him closer to home so Ruby can see more of him. He's a 17 year old Quarterhorse cross Arab (actually I must admit I know nothing about horses and have no idea what that means, but doesn't it sound nice?). He is a very gentle creature. We found a lovely ajistment for him in Dapto, just an hour's drive away. He's got 60 lush acres to munch upon and about 15 other horses of various shapes and sizes to share the space with. Stryker is always bottom of the horsie pecking order and is sometimes a bit bullied by the others. He was really happy this morning to get some feed and a few pats and half a big jar of golden syrup. Ruby decided not to groom him as the wind was quite biting and she was worried he'd get cold if we took his rug off.

The human is Orlan, who is giving her public lecture tomorrow evening (don't miss it!). Although we've been having lots of email and phone contact to sort out accommodation, travel, translators etc. I only met her in the flesh for the first time today. She is deeply serious and very much the star. Her latest project will be for many her most controversial ever - I'm not going to write about it until I understand it better. The lunch, at Aqua, high above the North Sydney pool, was lovely - I had pink champagne and stuffed zucchini flowers.

Susan Cohn, Raphael Cuir, Meredith Jones, Orlan & Judy Annear at lunchtime

Easter Sunday

It's a clear still Autumn day in Marrickville - indeed so mild and lovely that I feel some hope for our poor warming planet. Richard's been working hard on the vegie patch the last month or so - paving & planting & staking. What a star. I can take no credit. The patch seems to be on a bit of a rollercoaster and I suspect I could chart its level of order and productivity over the past year in inverse proportions to my own.

Here it was, racked & ruined, in February.

Last September it looked pretty good.

And in August it was just a baby.

Today it looks like this:















Can you see our little cat, Led Zeppelin? We'll sneak up on her...















Hello?















She is not amused.

Hoot Hoot

Jill, over at Ruby St, has this morning spotted (and photographed) a boobook owl in Marrickville. This is really amazing as Marrickville is very polluted & noisy. We are close to the Cooks River though, so perhaps it has come from one of the parks there. Or perhaps it has left its habitat because of the drought? Seeing an owl, albeit on someone's blog, makes me both happy and anxious. Happy because I love owls, even more than I love hippos or dragonflies. If I had to get a tattoo, it would be of an owl. Anxious because I think, what the hell is an owl doing around here? Is it in some sort of distress? Perhaps there are birdy people out there in blogland who have a better idea of why it might have landed in Marrickville.

Empty Space

There's something very comforting about a spare room, don't you think? It's a place of possibility, a room unencumbered by the demands of lounging or sleeping, dining or cooking, washing, working, or even getting from one place to another, like the hallway. Since Hugh went back to live in the country I've reclaimed our spare room. I don't like to fill it up much - its appeal is in its emptiness. Teenagers crash there, my friend Zoe spends the occasional city-night, and I've set up a craft table. I've been going into the spare room lately to zone-out when there's too much going on in my brain. Like today, trying to write a piece about death & memory for Sarsaparilla, I wandered in and did this with the scissors & some glue. It's a card for Ruby, who's 17 tomorrow.

mashing pumpkin

You know that saying "you can't choose your family, but you can choose your friends"? I have a pretty wonderful family anyway, but now that my friends Julia & Helen are part of it it's even better. Here is the super-bouncy, chubby-thighed & (almost) ever-smiling Griff, in Sydney with his mothers & his Richard. He doesn't like our CD collection but is fond of our bed and Sailor, whose cheeks have been grabbed and whiskers pulled (she's being very patient). His favourite fancy face is the rhinocerous, which I'm still trying to capture. I'm enjoying the every-minuteness of having a baby in the house - no time for introspection: too busy playing, laughing, mushing pumpkin & canoodling. I've managed to avoid all the pooey nappies so far.

Merry Christmas

I'm in Melbourne, visiting family and friends over Christmas. It is very hot and dry. The city is overhung with smoke - vast tracts of bush are on fire. Most of the news coverage about the fires is about property, property, property. But I wonder about the critters getting roasted - there must be thousands of them. Wombats in their burrows. Koalas in their treetops. This morning, eyes sore from not enough sleep (it's SO hot!), I lay on my parents' couch and asked my brother, who was sitting at the table reading The Age, "What's happening in the world". Here's what he told me:

A Japanese guy went into hibernation. He got caught on a cold mountaintop, all his organs shut down... he stayed like that for 27 days... but then he thawed out.

That copper who killed the Aboriginal man isn't going to be charged with murder. He broke the man's ribs and pulverised his liver so that it stopped working, but there's not enough evidence to charge him with murder.

Two teenaged girls killed their friend and put her in a wheelie bin.

Happy holidays.
Happy holidays.

Bloggo Troppo Nomino

Over at Club Troppo they're calling for nominations for the blogosphere's best essay-style posts of 2006, to be republished on Online Opinion. The posts have to be between 500 & 1800 words. I've nominated three of my favourites: Ampersand Duck's Gathering Strength, Laura's My Day! Starring Cat! + Many Foods! from Sorrow at Sills Bend and Crazy Brave's Austrayan Values: a sense of bollocks.

And I've self-nominated some of my stuff from Sarsaparilla: Viva La Muff; Dancing Shoes and Caesar Salad.

Dero Dog in with Poets

I've just received in the post a copy of Famous Reporter #34. Ralph Wessman, one of the editors of this Tasmanian literary magazine, emailed me a while back to ask if he could reprint Dero Dog in it. They've done a nice job of printing and arranging the photos. If you didn't keep on reading my posts on him you may not know that Dero Dog was eventually euthanised by the RSPCA.

I've been away, spending a few days at Mollymook with my dear friend Zoe, post the annual cultural studies association conference which this year was in Canberra. I'd convened a panel on Container Technologies, one of the areas of cultural/technological analysis that I'm interested in (and working on an edited collection about). My paper, about handbags, femininity and globalisation, was well-received and a lot of fun to write & present. I like that at many of my conference presentations members of the audience laugh... it is more flattering than you might think!

The sea at Mollymook was clear & not too cold. In the evenings - I tell a lie, usually from about 12.20pm onwards - the gin flowed, there were many girly chats & I started to read Clare Clarke's excellent The Great Stink, highly recommended by my mother who certainly knows a good book. I haven't finished it yet, but am very much hoping that the mongrel champion rat-killer dog Lady will be reunited with her beloved human Tom by the end. Their imminent parting is beautifully written, as finely calibrated as any tragic romance:

"There was a dark hole inside his chest that had already started to open. He knew it would make him dizzy when he stood up. So he stayed where he was, his knees ablaze with cramp, his arms wrapped around the dog. His hundred-guinea girl. The tears dropped on to the black velvet of her broken ear and quivered there, bright as diamonds."

I didn't take Sailor on the trip but we were accompanied by Zoe's very personable companion Toby, a rather distinguished-looking and intelligent miniature black poodle.



I returned home last night, after a week away in total, and noticed that Sailor seems to have lost some more of her wrinkles. This is what happens to pugs as they age - their face-folds reduce - the opposite of humans.



I liked this stanza of John Bird's "The Fence Rider, 1950 Australia", in Famous Reporter:

"southern cross -
sharing the universe
with dog"

My world is more like

"middle age -
sharing the old couch
with pug"

Pet Blog

"A blog is like a pet rock. You promise to always cherish and nurture it, and then you do not." This is a quote from David over at Lorraine Crescent. Anyway I've been thinking a bit (usually at about 4am when I can't sleep) about changing the focus of Marrickvillia slightly... so I can cherish and nurture it a bit more. The girly swot in me doesn't like not doing things properly and sometimes I just don't have time to do what I want on Marrickvillia by way of photos of places in Marrickville and interviews with people.

So I figure, it's my blog, and I live in Marrickville, so why not write about myself? I know there's nothing radical about that, actually it's what everyone does on their blogs! I am my own biggest resource, and I don't have to go out and interview myself to write something, so you can expect more about me from now on - including the two teenagers (daughter and nephew), all the pets, having had cancer, my gorgeous husband of nearly 2 years, my writing & research interests, my work at UTS, my clothes, what I'm having for dinner, my 10 month old godson (who is my husband's biological son and the child of our dear dear friends in London), my headaches, my garden, etc etc...

What's on my mind at the moment - I'm cross that Hugh's skateboard has been stolen. He left it on the front verandah. I forget that he's a country kid and we need to actually tell him stuff like "don't leave things on the verandah". Anyway it's gone now, along with the 2 phones, the ipod and numerous small amounts of cash that he's had stolen this year, mostly from out of his bag at school. Maddening!! The other thing on my mind - I did a word count for my book yesterday (it's a cultural analysis of cosmetic surgery) and realised I need to cut 13,000 words out of it. It's currently 103,000 and has to be 90,000 before I send it to the publisher next week. How to do this I'm not quite sure. Remove all adjectives? Delete entire sections? We will see, and back to it I now trundle...

Update - Various

Ok, I know I've been neglecting Marrickvillia a little lately. But I have a good excuse - the manuscript for my book about cosmetic surgery is due in on December 1 (actually I'm aiming for the end of next week) . So, a few updates, without photos I'm afraid.

Hugh recovered well physically from the attack but did suffer some anxiety about seeing the kids wot done it on the street. I can't write the details here but let's just say that one of them was picked up by the police and after a lengthy process "has been brought to Justice". There was also a completely unexpected and spontaneous apology - I think that was what finally put Hugh's mind at rest. We took him to a martial arts class & he did seem to be into it, but then wasn't keen to go back. I don't think the vocalising and bowing were really him. We thought a skateboard would give him a bit of speed and confidence in the streets of Marrickville so my brother sent him skateboard wheels (and something called a truck?) and we took him to Fox Studios to get the board (it's called a deck)... It was interesting for me to witness the very blokey business of choosing the design (some of them are amazing works of art).

Vegie patch - lettuces have gone to seed, cabbages got attacked by snails (the insides are still ok) and we have tomatoes galore. We put in a "Black Russian" which will be beautiful I think. Corm and sunflowers should be tall soon.

Beer!! The second batch was a huge success and we're planning the 3rd.

Chooks!! We're on a waiting list for 2 chooks and a portable chook house. This is necessary for protein as Ruby and I no longer eat meat or bought eggs (I wrote about it at Sarsaparilla).

Fish!! The sad and lonely goldfish has a friend at last. They swim about next to each other.

Ratties!! Getting tamer by the day. They come out of their penthouse & sit in my hands. Their long delicate whiskers twiddle around all the time. They have lovely round dark eyes.

Sailor!! Snoring.

Farewell Dero Dog

The RSPCA rang this morning to tell me that Dero Dog has been assessed "not suitable for adoption" as he's shown signs of aggression. He will be put down today. I feel sad about that and will think of him all day. But I'm happy that he's been given antibiotics, pain medication and a warm place to sleep for the past few weeks. Perhaps he wouldn't agree? Maybe he'd rather be free and alive. When I put it that way there's really no question, is there?

The RSPCA is really wonderful. The people there did their best to find his owners - via a breeder's tattoo inside one of his ears - but with no luck. They spent a lot of money on medication and housing for an ancient dog that they knew would probably end up being euthanised. And they kept in touch with me and were very understanding about my feelings that they told me have a name - "rescuer's bond".

Good Dog.

Doggy Update

The German Shepherd we found wandering the streets of South Marrickville on the weekend is still alive, being cared for at the RSPCA. I've been ringing them each day and this morning spoke to a vet. She told me he's been prescribed antibiotics and pain relief and is doing well. Apparently his only serious health complaint is arthritis. He's not happy though - she said he's been agressive and "resenting handling". Although he wasn't microchipped they did find a tattoo on his ear indicating his breeder. So they've written to the breeder to find out who he was sold to - they might be able to locate his owner that way. I spoke to the vet about the possibility of adopting him if an owner can't be found. She said that I'd have to understand he will need ongoing medication for his arthritis, which will cost a bit (this in addition to the $220 adoption fee), but that I'd also have to be certain he wouldn't be a danger to the teenagers or Sailor. The RSPCA would also have to be satisfied that he wasn't too agressive before allowing him to be adopted - there's still a chance they will make a decision to euthanise him. They're giving it until 6 November to locate the owner.

Dero Dog

I set off yesterday to the Tempe Tip, otherwise known as the huge Salvation Army op-shop off the Princes Highway, planning to do a "Shop of the Week". But the daughter called as I arrived saying that she'd found a sick-looking stray dog on Illawarra Rd., so this is the blog you're getting instead.















The dog was a medium sized German Shepherd, very grizzled, thin, wolfish. He didn't look vicious but we kept our distance just in case, following him from the Liquorland down Warren Rd for a few blocks. A nice woman from Dulwich Hill & her young daughter came with us. Ruby then enticed him with a hastily purchased muffin & I slipped a lead over his neck. I thought it might be hard to get him in the car, but as soon as the back door opened he heaved himself in enthusiastically, then curled up and went to sleep!



His ears were all encrusted, his mouth raw with ulcers, his haunches covered in sores.


We drove to the RSPCA in Yagoona, only about a 20 minute trip, and signed him in. He was pretty reluctant to leave the car, poor old fella. He wasn't microchipped and the people at the desk said he looked like he'd been "out on his own" for quite a while. I rang this morning & he's still being assessed... it's likely he'll be put down, especially if he has some degenerative thing that Shepherds get where their back half slowly becomes paralysed. If he isn't euthanised, am I thinking of bringing him home to sleep out his old age? Yes. Is this sensible, financially or practically? No.