The suburbs

It was as if we were being drawn together by some magnetic force. Joe was a bogan by day and a brute in those few fleeting moments we had shared in darkness next to the Seven-eleven around closing time.   As our lips almost touched, I could detect the faint aroma of pastizzi on his breath and I knew that this was what 'forever' looked like.   'Irma', he grunted, 'I'll treat you like a precious piece of porcelain. You're not like those other capri-panted matrons.'   Our embrace was interrupted by a large appliance meandering down a side street. It was garbage night.

MERRYLANDS (Dated 8 August 2015)    It's amazing what you miss when you're not looking. Let me explain. I had to run a few errands down at Merrylands today so I rolled out the Mazda and headed for Main Street Central. Now I'm not a frequent visitor to the shops at Merrylands as I normally only use the joint as a parking spot before catching the train to the city. But my mission was to roam around Stockland Mall and various establishments up on Merrylands Road. What immediately struck me as I walked was the huge diversity of people doing exactly the same thing as me. And there were lots of these people who looked different to me.......... in terms of attire, height, gender, skin colour and waist measurements..... maybe other defining criteria too, which I now can't think of. I must admit that I have noticed this before on my infrequent visits to Merrylands but certainly not to the extent that I witnessed today. As an aside, I don't think t...

   URBAN FILTRATION (The emotional exposition) The Sirius building situation in The Rocks is bloody dreadful. For a city that is rapidly increasing the amount of residential floor space within its boundaries and boasting about such development, it seems very odd that an already established residential complex has been tagged for demolition. The Sirius building is no small animal. It features heaps of units and some of them enjoy fabulous views over Circular Quay and beyond.   But the residents of this building aren't movers and shakers and certainly don't deserve to bask in this sought after locality. Many of these 'untouchables' attract rental assistance and are on social welfare. How dare they? The fact that some are elderly and have lived there for decades is irrelevant. The fact that they're the remnants of a town planning initiative from forty years ago that valued a diversity of punters who inhabit our fair city has been conveniently forgotten....

    GREYSTANES     Must admit that I'm still gnashing my teeth over Greystanes' poor showing in the Domain suburb ratings from last week. Surrounding hubs such as Merrylands, Blacktown and Wentworthville all ranked much higher and it certainly forces one to contemplate the old navel.   I have a few suggestions that might launch Greystanes in an upwards trajectory in any future suburban stoushes, namely,   1. Otto bins should be taken out onto the streets well before garbage collection time. None of these last minute 'bin bolts' must occur. It's a very bad 'look'. 2. There should be an immediate and indefinite moratorium on the wearing of capri pants, track suits and hoodies. 3. Cheap wine, classic rock and reality TV viewing need to become features of our ugly past.......... not the present.   However, none of these ideas should take away from the essential 'bogan' nature of our fair suburb. The washing does dry quicker he...