Berlin Wall Mark II

“I must take a photograph of the new Ultimo Wall”, I thought to myself as I left work this afternoon. There’s been such a transformation in what was previously a very ugly wall that I thought I should document what’s occurred because, frankly, no one else is going to bother.

But if you, like me, have a fairly regular routine to and from work every day, it’s the little things that sometime become big things in your life. For example, I can no longer bring myself to walk through the Devonshire Street tunnel. I’ve been doing that walk for 15 years now back and forward every day, and I find it all far too depressing, so these days I completely avoid the tunnel.

On the other hand, I always call in to my favourite coffee shop, Coffee Trails which does the best coffee in the whole area, as far as I’m concerned. Mostly, the staff are excellent there also.

And then, as I make my way through the tunnell, I walk past The Ultimo Wall.

The wall was erected in February last year, and I guess its purpose is to act as a safety barrier for the construction of the new student accommodation building at the University of Technology, Sydney. But as the wall is largely on the right hand side, and the accommodation is on the left, I’m not entirely sure how it’s provided much protection at all. But there again, I’m not a builder.

But what I do know is that for twelve months the wall has been as ugly as sin. In the last few days, however, it’s had a bit of a make-over. Green slogans now adorn the wall, and there are real life pot-plants to give it a bit of extra life.

I’m pretty sure that when the project is complete – which I believe includes extending the walkway down to the Ian Thorpe Swimming Pool – it’s going to be a really pleasant environment, especially when they add a few new shops to the Devonshire Street Tunnell and especially with all of that student accommodation which is sure to bring a bit of extra life to the area.

Hopefully within a few months The Ultimo Wall will disappear and life will return to normal.

The only break from routine today was calling in to that excellent Chinese BBQ Shop on Ultimo road to pick up half a kilo of BBQ pork, and into the Capital Centre Computer Shops to buy a new keyboard. The temptation to consume all of the pork while I installed my new computer was great. Tonight – TV watching and some washing.

And aside from that it’s been a fairly regular Monday.