There’s a problem with the laneway near home which has caused me a lot of grief. It’s the laneway I’ve walked through at least twice a day for the last twenty-five years. At first, there was a problem with people pissing in the laneway. More recently, there was a problem with litter. At the centre of … Continue reading The Laneway Solution
Author: James O'Brien
Born: Lismore / Widjabul Wia-Bal - Bundjalung
Live : Sydney / Gadigal - Eora
Also : Brisbane, Bourke, Renmark, Wagga, Perth
Pronouns : He/him/his.
“The Entertainment Quarter has always been a dog”, a colleague commented today when I told her about my experiences having a drink, and trying to get a meal last night. Around most areas of Sydney, you can get a pretty standard domestic beer in the range of $7.00-$8.00. At my local pub, the standard price … Continue reading How much should you pay for a schooner?
“You’re in early today” one of my colleagues commented to me this morning. “Not that early”, I told him, telling him that in the last eighteen months or so (during COVID), I’ve gotten into a fairly good routine of waking early, doing a few hours of work, and then taking a break for a morning … Continue reading The Daily Commute
As a child, we had a mulberry tree in the backyard. It was not as good as the mulberry tree that Aunty Joanie had, though. Her tree was always full of large plentiful berries, whereas ours were never as good. Ours were more sour, and smaller. Or at least that’s how I remember them fifty … Continue reading Mulberries, not Cherries
“What’s it like being back in the office?”, my friend asked me at the pub this afternoon. “It’s exhausting”, I told him. He looked at me a little sceptically. He’s a tradie and, aside from a few weeks in lockdown, has been working all the way through COVID. I'm well aware of the privilege I've … Continue reading Freshly Ironed Shirt
"You're so dodgy" my friend said to me when I told her how I'd once jumped the queue to get into the Marigold in Sydney's Chinatown. "If you go up the escalator, there's a goods lift which takes you to the kitchen area, and you just walk through", I told her. We were on the … Continue reading The Longest Queue