As we caught the L90 bus to Collaroy today, we travelled through the federal electorates of Warringah and Mackellar. Both have been safe Liberal seats for many years, but for possibly the first time, Warringah (held by Tony Abbott) could vote next weekend for an Independent, Zali Steggall. I suspect a mate of mine who was at lunch today, who is a life-long ardent Liberal and Tony Abbott supporter, is changing his vote this time, though he hasn’t explicitly said so.
As I looked out the bus window there were political posters everywhere. There were vehicles with candidates faces on them driving up and down the road. There were people wearing political t-shirts. There was one house with three posters for one of the candidates in their front yard.
In contrast, there were only posters for the incumbent Liberal candidate for Mackellar.
With only a week until the federal election it was a fascinating bus trip, as we made our way to a beachside club at Collaroy to celebrate a friends birthday.
Closer to home, I had my own brief personal encounter with politics (aside from work which is lots of election-related activity right now) this week. Most nights I sit at home and watch TV/listen to the radio, but this has been quite a “social” week for me with a few functions happening. On Tuesday night, I went to the launch of https://50secrets.com.au/, a fundraiser for the Bourke Street Primary School, and also a terrific document about the history of my ‘hood. My friend, and co-collaborator on Surry Hills & Valleys, Karina Kreminski and her husband, Armen Gakavian were also there, along with Tanya, Clover, and all of the others who only need a first name introduction.
It’s actually been a reasonably busy “social” time since in the last few weeks. Of course, I’ve already posted about the “live radio” events I’ve attended, but I’ve also attended some exhibitions, including The Bald Archy for 2019, some of the exhibitions associated with the “Head On” photo festival, and an exhibition opening at Manly Art Gallery.
