Wednesday 1st January 2020 - I Had A Merry Christmas But Not So Happy New Year's Eve

Apologies for not blogging for the last few weeks - I have been very busy working most days except for the 3 public holidays.

Wednesday 25th December 2019 -Christmas Day
I spent sleeping in catching up on all the sleep I missed chilling put watching the Food Channel ( until unit IB came knocking on my door around noon thinking I had received a better offer for Christmas Day - of course I hadn't I just was trying to sleep in and advised him I'll knock on his door when I'm ready which was around 1.30 pm - I had a lot to do on my 2 days off) and had a light buffet style lunch with Unit 1B. I didn't have much time to plan a proper hot lunch therefore grabbed what I could find from the supermarkets at the last minute and placed it on my only black plate as I don't have a serving board or platter. A few black grapes some smoked salmon slices baby cucumbers mini gourmet tomatos herbed goats cheese and some taco flavoured corn chips was what I managed to russel up for the 2 of us on Christmas day. Unit 1B was also prepared and arranged several containers filled with hard and soft cheeses, 2 types of crackers and some cabanosi ( so 70s!) out on the table under the shade in the tiny back courtyard of the apartment block. This is where we sat down for a snack and a chat on Christmas day. It was so hot and there were so many flies around. Unfortunately I don't eat cabanosi or soft cheeses due to lactose intolerance and a non deli meats diet but I did eat his cracked pepper crackers to go with my little plate of food. We don't drink so my single bottle of cider is again saved for another day. I sipped on mineral water instead and Unit 1B BYOed his own non aslcoholic drinks. A quick exchange of gifts ( I gave unit 1B a nice Christmas card and a Guzman key float) and I received a box of Lindt chocolates ( yep more chocolate for Christmas). End of a rare Christmas day in Sydney for me.

Sorry my blog just crashed again and I lost a whole paragraph of this blog. So I summerise - above Xmas tree in my studio apartment Christmas Day - First time in 25 years I have been able to have one complete with all my ornaments collected over the past 25 years, snowflake lights from Target, a unopened can of artifical snow, a leftover Monopoly Xmas cracker,  my stuffed bilby and possum hiding in the tree, the stuffed reindeer I had forgotten about found hiding in the Xmas tree box which used to sing Xmas carols until I cut its vocal chords one year, the White Christmas tester Glasshouse candle I won this Xmas in a raffle, packets of chocolates I received for Xmas and the Annabel Trends Australian made Santa Sack which I used as a tree skirt then later to store my dismantled Xmas tree and Xmas ornaments away in.

My Xmas tree lit up at night

my contribution to Christmas day snack and chat with Unit 1B

Thursday 26th December 2019 
Boxing Day
First thing on my list to do was to immediately take my Christmas tree down with all its ornaments - Christmas is well and truly over for me as I am not overseas for Christmas this year. Boxing Day means sales so off I went to Macquarie Shopping Centre to BAG A BARGAIN or two! Yes I purchased a few things - a memory foam matress topper which am not 100% satisfied with but it is comfy and a tacky red glittery star tree topper because I never had one and could not find one that fit my tree - this one looks as if it will fit perfectly and 1 other Xmas ornament ( another cheaper Santas key) . End of my 2 days off back to work tomorrow.

Tuesday 31st December 2019
NYE
There was great controversy over whether or not to cancelled this year's NYE fireworks display in Sydney due to the severe bushfires around Australia's Eastern and Southern coastal states. I had purchased a ticket the day before to my most convenient paid vantage point ie Bradfield Park  in terms of public transport (which unfortunately turned out to be a not so convenient paid vantage point - read on) to view the fireworks for the very first time in 25 years.

There were plenty of tickets still for sale however by NYE the vantage point was sold out to a 22000 capacity probably because people were still waiting until NYE to find out whether the fireworks will be cancelled at the last minute. I didn't really care if they did or didn't go ahead as long as the funds from the ticket sales collected by the council went to help in some way towards the bush fires.

Apologies again the blog site is crashing more and more - now even after an incomplete sentence.

I continue.

I requested to leave work a little earlier around 4.30 pm instead of staying until normal closing time of 5.30 pm to allow me time to get some groceries and change before making my way to Bradfield Park.

I was so tired by now I had a quick snooze before catching the bus across the road to North Sydney where all buses terminated and trains stopped. Milsons Point Station was closed due to the crowds therefore you had to walk about 15 minutes from North Sydney Station to Bradfield Park located at Milsons Point.

It was getting dark and I was walking along and spotted a huge pile of horse shit right in the middle of the road left by the mounted police  - not only did it stink , it would certainly be a tripping hazard for the thousands of people heading down to see the fireworks.

I continue with why my night was not so enjoyable and why I left after the 9 pm fireworks. The only way to write about what I witnessed and happened is to copy and past my complaint to North Sydney Council requesting a refund for the event. The council refused to provide me with a refund and did not accept any responsibility of police actions that night.


"I am a very angry Northshore resident.

It is my first time in Sydney over the Christmas and NY period and my first visit to Bradfield Park for the NYE fireworks. 

I cannot believe local residents have to pay to get into a park which is free and I did not expect to be verbally abused by police when I had done nothing wrong. 

All was fine for the 9 pm fireworks but when I was sitting patiently waiting for the midnight fireworks the police told a group of us who had been sitting there for hours to move. A few stayed and others moved. I stood up but did not move from my spot but when I sat down again was told to move and asked why I sat down again where I was by the police.

I decided enough was enough I paid to be there and did not do anything wrong. It was my spot and therefore the police had no right to ask us to leave. The police told us to squash up more or move as we were block the clearway. What clearway? there were more people behind us that were actually blocking the clearway by not continuing to keep walking along the clearway.I was not obstructing the clearway where I was sitting neither were the people seated around me.

I was so upset I did not stay for the midnight fireworks but went straight home which took me forever. 

I would like an apology and a full refund. 

I actually texted my cousin who was somewhere around Bradfield Park and told her I was going home and what had happened. I mentioned the incident to a security guard as well. 

If there are clearways these areas should be clearly marked and the flow of people traffic clearly marked as well. None of this was present.

I would appreciate it if soeone would respond to my complaint straight after new year."

"Thank you for taking the time to tell us about your experience on NYE. This was the first time we ticketed Bradfield Park and while crowd behaviour was significantly better than in previous years, there are things we can change to improve the event.

NSW Police are responsible for crowd safety on NYE and Council cannot comment on Police decisions made on the night. However, we recognise that access corridors did get blocked as people moved into position to view the midnight fireworks and we will look at what we can do to define clearer pathways for next year so that this does not happen again. Unfortunately we are not able to offer you a refund.

I am sorry that you did not have an enjoyable experience and felt the need to leave before the midnight fireworks. Had you returned to Customer Service we could have directed you to a less crowded area in the park with excellent views.

Your comments will be included in a summary of the event which will be reported to Council.

Kind regards"

"views weren't even good where I was. What I witnessed that night was absolutely disgraceful and unfair to those who had bern seated where they were. I witnessed a single elderly Asian man seated behind me who had done nothing wrong abused by a police officer. I witness a husband separated from his wife and family interrogated  by a police officer as to why he was separated from his family and not allowing him back to join her where she was seated below - maybe he had to go to the toliet or get food for his family and I witnessed a father who obviously left his family to get food but was not allowed to return to them ask complete strangers to pass his food down to where they were sitting  as he was unable to return to them to avid being abused by a police officer before I coped abuse by a police officer not once but twice to move from where I was sitting and waiting patiently to watch the midnight fireworks after the 9 pm fireworks. I wasn't going to move I did nothing wrong and paid to sit where I was there was no clearway and why should  crowds to people who arrived much later then meet be allowed to push in and get a better vantage point in front of me. 

Absolutely disgraceful you didn't need police there it is not their job to tell people to move or squish up. You had heaps od security guards there who could have crowd controlled better and I had no problem with them being there.  They did a great job with the scanning of tickets issuing wrist bands checking bags and directing people. All the police did was dump a whole shit load literally in the middle of Alfred Street which people trod in and stank out the entire top of the venue.

ABSOLUTELY DISGRACEFUL. No refund I will make sure my complaint is posted all over social media. The family seated in front of me may have obeyed police to get up and move after hours of sitting in the position they were in but I wasn't going to only to be verbally abused by a police ofgicer who was obviously power hungry."

I was so disappointed and upset I deleted the photos I took and posted on Facebook as soon as I arrived home the next day as it took me ages to get home.

Saturday 15th - Sunday 16th December 2019 - A Free Ride on Sydney's New Light Rail L2

Pedestrians still crossing as a tram is approaching in the distance.

Billions of dollars over budget and possibly a decade behind schedule, Sydney finally opens part 2 of it's light rail or tram line.

Part 1 of Sydney's light rail system has been in operation for a few years now replacing the old above ground monorail system around Darling Harbour and the Sydney CBD which was pulled down completely and ran for a few years alonside the Sydney's initial light rail system L1 between Central Station and extending out to Dulwich Hill.

Part 2 of Sydney's light rail system L2  which opened to the public today took far longer to complete , way over budget and has caused countless pedestrian and traffic incidences to date during its testing phase,  it travels at an average top speed of approximately 11 minutes per km according to my calculations - it could be slower may get faster who knows. It is so slow you could walk from Circular Quay to Randwick Hospital in less time or better still catch the bus.

Interior of "tram" carriage note the route and passenger capacity seated 48 and standing 185

Town Hall Station George Street

Moore Park Station

Pedestrian warning signs ignored

light rail means cuts to bus services along this main route - bus verses light rail which is faster?

Circular Quay Station Terminus 

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner - Great views of Randwick Racecourse behind a fence

Most of the comments I have read about it have been negative and relate to the number of traffic and pedestrian incidences caused by the light rail, the total waste of tax payer's money which could have been spent elsewhere for more pressing problems such as drought relief around Australia , the huge amount of money it went over budget and the very lengthy delay to finally open it to the public as well as various other things such as passenger capacity of light rail verses buses, the speed of the light rail verses buses and what hapoens if?? etc etc.

Travel is free over this opening weekend but like the now not so new driverless Metroline part 1 between Chatswood and Tarrawong train stations, the real test of the new light rail system L2 starts on Monday a little over a week before Christmas with it first real run of full fare paying loads of passengers between Central and Randwick Hospital.

It advertised that the lightrail opened to the public at 11 am today but when I arrived a little after 10 am , loads of passengers had already been on the lightrail. Here's an account of my experience on lightrail .

1. Boarded Wynyard
Alighted Circular Quay
It is only 1 stop to Circular Quay however half way there the lightrail had to stop for 10 minutes due to pedestrian traffic. You could not get off and walk you were locked in the "tram" until you reached Circular Quay.

2. Boarded Circular Quay
Alighted Randwick Hospital
To get a ride on the lightrail you had to weave your way around several set of barricades then wait another minimum of 10 minutes before you could even board a "tram". It was meant to take 50 minutes for the journey - it took much longer then that due to traffic near Randwick. The lightrail only seemed to speed up a little near Randwick Race Course. Oh dear you would not want to get off at Surry Hills Station at night as it is located in a housing commission area - wait the light rail doesn't operate at night.

3. Boarded Randwick Hospital
Alighted Town Hall
I was wondering whether I would get to the Vegan Markets at EQ  before it closed today but decided not to alight at Moore Park Station as it was already 12 noon by the time I arrived and had not had lunch yet therefore decided to either alight at Chinatown or Town Hall to get a bite to eat. I ended up getting off at Town Hall instead of stopping at Haymarket or Chinatown Stations to go shopping at Paddys Markets @ Market City and get something to eat. Alighting at Town Hall I walked to my favourite eateries The Little Fish Shoppe and Luneburger.

I have to point out a few issues with the trams.

1. I am confused as to which side you are suppose to alight the tram from. There are doors on both sides just like the Metrotrains however unlike the Metrotrains, there is no announcement of which side the doors will open on. There is a very brief display of an arrow on arrival/departure station screens which pops up on the screen but it is nowhere as clearly displayed as on the Metrotrains. This will be confusing since there are multiple lines and platforms leaving/arriving to/from Circular Quay.

2. This was annoying. A couple was standing in front of the doors in front of me and the tram was approaching Town Hall Station. I said excuse me I am getting out here and they responded with so are we and would not move. The tram stopped and because they made no attempt to press green flashing button to open the doors I reach my hand past them and pressed it - it was flashing green red by the time I pressed it. I overheard the couple in front of me mumble to each other that they did not know they had to press the button to open the doors. I would have missed my stop if I had not pressed the button. It was unclear how long the tram stopped at each station for as you could not see anything when the tram is packed with people and there is no clear announcements of when the doors are closing and the tram is about to depart unlike the Metrotrains and established L1.

Can't wait to take a ride on part 3 of the lightrail L3 when it is scheduled to open early next year!?!? between Circular Quay and Kingsford Juniors

( refer Youtube for videos uploaded)

Saturday 7th - Monday 9th December 2019 - Matsuri Japan Festival Darling Harbour, Queen Victoria Markets, The Big Design Market & Gingerbread Village

Saturday
Before catching another overnight XPT Sydney to Melbourne, it is a very quick visit to the annual Matsuri Japan Festival at Tumberlong Park Darling Harbour. So crowded, this is a 1 day festival from 11.30 am - 7.30 pm today. Rating 8/10 wish I had more time to spend there - quite a fun family festival.

Everything Japanese is available - live entertainment including a kpop type performances centre stage,  food stalls, dress ups, music, silent disco, tea ceremony, origami, flower arranging, tourism and travel to Japan information booths - huge queues for everything especially the food stalls. Some busier then others. Those that weren't busy heavily reduced their dishes to upto 50% off.

I opted for ( bad choice) chicken teriyaki gyozas - I requested half half chicken/vegetable - sorry no can do. They were $10 for 5 pieces - tasteless and burnt! I can make them better - sauce and chilli did not make them any better. Rating 3/10. Should have gone for the yuzu chicken and salad or hero salmon or chicken with rice and salad dish.

The lane to the light rail was closed off so I walked to the next lightrail stop at Paddy's Markets. I board the light rail bound for Central Station and wait for the overnight XPT train to Melbourne.

The train is fully booked - same seat as last weekend C12. I had such a good sleep until a couple boarded at Wagga bound for Albury. The swearing cursing and arguments that went on between them woke me up and continued throughout the night. All I could hear was the female shouting to her male travelling companion "SHUT UP!" over and over again and the swearing and mumbling then when it became too loud and they started kicking my seat from behind I had to get up and tell them " Excuse me but people are trying to sleep!". A train officer pops out and asks them if there was a problem and the female asks the train officer to remove her male travelling companion. The train officer escorts him out to another car - no more kicking the back of my seat. The female remains in tears. I try to get back to sleep - such disgraceful behaviour in first class, I may as well travel in Economy class!

Sunday
Arrive in Melbourne at Southern Cross Station - 2 minutes late! Is that a record for the overnight XPT Sydney to Melbourne!?

First thing was to head to the Travellers Aid office for a shower. It used to cost $7 for a shower which includes a small bar of soap and a full sized towel now it costs $10. I take my time with my shower but do not use the towel provided just the soap bar.

After my shower I was able to store my wheelie bag with travellers aid as I just used their services. This saved me a full days storage in one of the station's not 100% reliable pay lockers ( I would hate to get my luggage stuck in one of these lockers on a day trip to Melbourne).

First stop breakfast - a breakfast wrap at Hungry Jacks as I walk to the Queen Victoria Markets. I had not intended to visit the Queen Victoria Markets but did so because it was 1. Early and The Big Design Market was not open until around 10am and I only intended to spend a few hours there not a full day which was plenty of time to look around. 2. The markets were on my way to The Big Design Market so why not. 3. I needed more food.

I purchased a few goodies at the markets to bring back to Sydney with me. No souvenirs only 1 bunch of shallots 1 bunch of corriander 1 kg of large Bacchus Marsh strawberries and some carrots . I also purchased a tub of quail eggs as they were larger then the Sydney ones and about half the price. I probably purchased other fresh produce but I forgotten what they were.

Sorry the blog site crashed yet again and I have to rewrite what I lost. I therefore continue a few words at a time - another incomplete blog.

I now make my way to the part of the market that is the "deli" section after walking through the fresh produce sections of the markets ie fish poultry and meats ,  fruit and vegetable, nuts honey and eggs , foods trucks and stalls. If you get lost around the markets retrace your steps by finding your favourite food truck or stall - eg the freshly made hole in the wall  dounut truck which always attracts a long queue of customers and which emits a strong aroma of fried batter which can you can smell meters away. No donuts for me I only like dark chocolate coated custard filled churros ( yes Melbourne's Spanish style donuts).

The 'deli' section of the Queen Victoria Markets is a must visit, located in a building next to one of the  main fresh produce areas, it is a collection of original market stalls selling almost everything . Entering this section of the markets is taking a step back in time and around Christmas when the decorations are up , it feels as if you are walking through a small European village except without the snow. You could easily spend a few hours in this building slowly strolling amongst the large selection of cheeses , cold cut meats, charcuterie, loafs of bread, bottles of wine, Christmas and non Christmas cakes pies and puddings, antipasto, sauces, dips, spreads, dried herbs and spices, fruit and nuts, cans and tins of edible products - the list goes on and with some curious products too.

Then there are the food stalls - Yep I was still hungry and in search of a good sausage on a roll. I had spotted people eating some sausages on a roll with what looked like onion and asked where they got them from - I could not quite make out what the guy was telling me in his thick accent and it sounded like " Black Forest". I went search but could not find any store with that name but realised he was saying " Bratwurst" when I found the stall ( and a queue of people) in the corner selling the sausages on rolls he was eating. "Black Forest" - "Bratwurst" same country. I ordered a chicken and mushroom sausage on a roll ( as I don't like pork)  and what I thought was onion was actually sauerkraut- how unAustralian! I scoffed it down - it was delicious - must have been the curry chutney tomato sauce they put on it as there was no mushroom in the sausage and I didn't like the sauerkraut much . The sausage wasn't the best but I could have had another one - so hungry!

Onto find some other things I could take back to Sydney with me tonight. My bag was getting heavy and full - I should have just taken my wheelie back with me instead of leaving it in day storage at the Travellers Aid office. I purchased a round loaf of dark rye bread, a tub of mascarpone cheese pesto and sundried tomato dip and some speckulaas ( a German spice mix I use in my gingerbread and Christmas puddings).

Onto my next destination down the road along LaTrobe The Big Design Market but not without stumbling across a small handmade Christmas market tucked away in an old hall along the way. Curious I walked in and had a quick look - only 1 stall caught my eye. No purchases.

Next stop was why I came down to Melbourne for The Big Design Market at The Royal Exhibition Hall Carlton Gardens.

I probably took more photos of the gardens and exhibition building then I did of the market stalls and their products inside The Big Design Market. Carlton Gardens is so beautiful in the Spring and into Summer, they are worth taking a walk around even when the there is nothing on at The Exhibition Building. Only Melbourne can make graffiti look good in a garden!


I didn't buy much but did take lots of photos and was more interested in spending my time making badges for myself and as gifts for a $1 each then anything else. I ended up making 3 badges - so much fun all you had to do was use your imagination to create them. So glad I carry a black marker around with me! it made my artwork stand out on my badges more.

I could have spent an entire day at these markets but a few hours was enough for me to see everything there. I did not need to eat or drink anything there as I had just had food although I was very tempted to - the queues were too long. I keep moving onto my next stop which I had to find first.

My final stop was The Gingerbread Village someone had told me about by Epicure at St Collins Lane. The 30 minute wait in the queue to see it was worth the wait. Only photos (hundreds of them) can describe this display. I must have taken almost a hundred photos on my phone from every angle of the Gingerbread Village display - entry was a gold coin donation to raise money for the childrens hospital. Rating 9/10 - equally as good as the Myer Christmas windows!

(Refer Facebook for photos and stats of The Gingerbread Village)

I make my way back by tram to Southern Cross Station but not without stopping off to get yet another lot of snacks a sushi roll with chicken lettuce and cucumber in it and a dark chocolate custard filled churros! I scoff both down before picking up my wheelie bag from the Travellers Aid office and waiting for the overnight XPT train back to Sydney. 6 pm and the shops at Spencer Street Outlet are now closed so no time for more shopping. I was going to do a general shop at Coles so I did not have to do it when I returned home but could not be bothered.

At 7.50 pm I board car B seat 02 first class same seat. There is no one next to me so I try to sleep. I was woken by a rather demanding and disrepectful mother with 2 children (with so much luggage the children could not even carry on board their own) who boarded the train at Albury in the middle of the night. The train officer initially assisted them with their luggage onto the luggage racks but it looked as if she gave up and left them to find and load the rest of their luggage onto the luggage rack which was quite full. I hope they didn't damage anyone else's luggage as the amount of banging they made was enough to wake the entire car up. The mother's seat was B01 ie next to me window seat and her 2 kids were allocated seats behind her. Now the rudeness of this woman starts to show. She tells me that the seat I was sitting in was hers. I told her straight out that no it wasn't as I had boarded in Melbourne and had had my ticket checked by the train officer already and that her seat was the window seat next to mine. She told her kids that the seats behind her were theirs. The family continues to make quite a bit of noise whilst I try to fall asleep again. The train officer comes around to check passengers' tickets that just boarded including the woman and her 2 kids tickets. She kicks up a fuss about how she requested seats to face each other so she could face her kids but was sternly told by the train officer that she could only have seats facing each other if she booked 4 seats and she had only booked 3 seats. END OF STORY!

I go back to sleep but was unable to sleep as well as my last trip. We arrive in Sydney about 5 minutes late I think - who cares anymore - no more stopping off straight home. Work tomorrow.

Definitely no more adventures next weekend ( except for trying to get a ride on the opening weekend of the new light rail from Circular Quay to Randwick) - no more days off until Christmas and Boxing Day which I have absolutely no plans for this year. My 2nd Christmas in Australia in over 25 years - how am I going to cope with the Australian Summer heat!!!!!!

I wish A Very Merry Christmas & A Happy New Year to all the readers of my blogs around the world.

This year because I am working every day up until Christmas day I think I'll be having KFC and 711 - no time to cook this year. This goes very well with my tacky Christmas card theme this year!