Up Belgrave way
Jan. 13th, 2010 06:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
darren_stranger.
For the third-last day of my holidays, i decided to go up to Belgrave for the day (or half day, while Elaine was working).
Instead of heading up toward the bush, as i did before New Year, this time i started off following the walking track by the train line back toward Tecoma and Upwey. Just out of Belgrave, i suddenly found myself in a cool rainforesty glade filled with ferns and ivy (an invasive weed, i know, but nice to look at) and the sound of kookaburras laughing in the trees. Already it was looking like a good plan. Just near there was a side track that led down a gully under a railway bridge, with a little creek burbling over rocks at the base, then led to a residential street with a really sleepy, village-like feel to it. The vibe of the place was somehow refreshing, though in a way it's a bit of a shame to finally know what's there behind what always looked like virgin forest from the train window. Back in the gully, i clambered up a semi-track to the base of the railway bridge, where there was a concrete block to sit on which offered a great view of the gully, though the collection of syringes and spoons tucked in a corner spoiled the charm a little.
Further along the track i reached Tecoma station (much closer than i thought, only fifteen minutes' stroll, adjusting for detours) and from there i wandered into Upwey. Along one street there was a narrow winding creek that cut between some houses and formed the edge of someone's front yard, tumbling over rocks underneath the bridge that was their driveway. Again it was refreshing to just stand and listen to the burbling creek, imagining having it as part of my own front yard, before strolling on into Upwey proper. I'd never been into there before, and it was like visiting some country town. After an hour or so of walking i was starting to get tired, so i took a train back to Belgrave and went to the Earthly Pleasures cafe for a cup of tea and some raisin toast. While i was relaxing there, taking in the garden, fountain, crumbling balustrades and ivy, a Nick Cave song came on the cd player, an acoustic version of City of Refuge that i have at home somewhere on some cd from the '90s, and it suddenly took me back to that time and the 'alternative' years. Some crusty/feral folk hanging out there, the first of that tribe i've seen in ages, also helped recall that time and headspace. It was nice to identify with that imagery again, especially as i've been aware lately that a lot of the Buddhist/philosophical stuff and related post-gothic interests have been starting to replace one restrictive self-image with another, instead of opening up more possibilities, and to recall that those two spheres of interest are not really so separate or incompatible. It was probably good timing to get a small taste of another part of me as a reminder not to get narrow focussed.
That said, tomorrow i plan to head into the city to check out the art gallery, particularly the Greek, Egyptian and Asian sections, then maybe visit the Fo Guang Shan place for a little lunch and buddha-gazing. Perhaps i might remember to do it without squeezing myself into a box.
For the third-last day of my holidays, i decided to go up to Belgrave for the day (or half day, while Elaine was working).
Instead of heading up toward the bush, as i did before New Year, this time i started off following the walking track by the train line back toward Tecoma and Upwey. Just out of Belgrave, i suddenly found myself in a cool rainforesty glade filled with ferns and ivy (an invasive weed, i know, but nice to look at) and the sound of kookaburras laughing in the trees. Already it was looking like a good plan. Just near there was a side track that led down a gully under a railway bridge, with a little creek burbling over rocks at the base, then led to a residential street with a really sleepy, village-like feel to it. The vibe of the place was somehow refreshing, though in a way it's a bit of a shame to finally know what's there behind what always looked like virgin forest from the train window. Back in the gully, i clambered up a semi-track to the base of the railway bridge, where there was a concrete block to sit on which offered a great view of the gully, though the collection of syringes and spoons tucked in a corner spoiled the charm a little.
Further along the track i reached Tecoma station (much closer than i thought, only fifteen minutes' stroll, adjusting for detours) and from there i wandered into Upwey. Along one street there was a narrow winding creek that cut between some houses and formed the edge of someone's front yard, tumbling over rocks underneath the bridge that was their driveway. Again it was refreshing to just stand and listen to the burbling creek, imagining having it as part of my own front yard, before strolling on into Upwey proper. I'd never been into there before, and it was like visiting some country town. After an hour or so of walking i was starting to get tired, so i took a train back to Belgrave and went to the Earthly Pleasures cafe for a cup of tea and some raisin toast. While i was relaxing there, taking in the garden, fountain, crumbling balustrades and ivy, a Nick Cave song came on the cd player, an acoustic version of City of Refuge that i have at home somewhere on some cd from the '90s, and it suddenly took me back to that time and the 'alternative' years. Some crusty/feral folk hanging out there, the first of that tribe i've seen in ages, also helped recall that time and headspace. It was nice to identify with that imagery again, especially as i've been aware lately that a lot of the Buddhist/philosophical stuff and related post-gothic interests have been starting to replace one restrictive self-image with another, instead of opening up more possibilities, and to recall that those two spheres of interest are not really so separate or incompatible. It was probably good timing to get a small taste of another part of me as a reminder not to get narrow focussed.
That said, tomorrow i plan to head into the city to check out the art gallery, particularly the Greek, Egyptian and Asian sections, then maybe visit the Fo Guang Shan place for a little lunch and buddha-gazing. Perhaps i might remember to do it without squeezing myself into a box.
