Catching Up

“How old do you think Tony Sheldon is…?”, we asked each other during half-time yesterday in the latest production of “Priscilla, Queen Of The Dessert”, currently playing at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre, which I attended with my friend Sue, and her mum, visiting down from the country. It turns out he’s 62, and in remarkably good shape as a performer, playing the role of Bernadette. The other performers in the show were also very good, and in fact the whole show was excellent, being highly entertaining and engaging. It was a lovely way to spend a Saturday afternoon, followed by a drink, before my friends went off to dinner in Chinatown.

And me? I came home for an early night, and a bit of Royal Wedding watching.

On my way home, I was blown away by the number of empty shops in a row, as I was walking along Crown Street, Surry Hills. In particular, there were five empty shops next to each other in the area between Devonshire and Cleveland Streets, in what used to be long-term spaces for a restaurant, bar and hair-dressing salon. A couple of years ago, a local real estate agent posted here the area was always changing, and shops were always opening and closing. And yes, to an extent, I agree. But I think there’s also a bigger trend going on. As we move to more online shopping (including the home food delivery phenomenon), I wonder if our retail areas are keeping pace with that change. Maybe we don’t need as many “shop spaces” anymore? I don’t know. It’s just a theory that’s been going around my head lately.

Meanwhile, here’s a few lovely photographs I’ve snapped lately.