“Bloody weather! What do you think?”, was the text message I sent out to the three friends I’d organised to spend the day with on the annual “Mardi Gras History Walk” and “Fair Day”. Two out of three responded in the affirmative, hopeful the weather would clear. The third, however, responded initially with “Would it be bad to stay in bed?”. I was on his side for a fair while, and then peer group pressure got the better of me.… Read the rest “Fair Day”
You know you’re starting to get old when you begin to hear yourself say things like, “Oh yes, I remember when that happened” and… “Oh that used to be so-and-so the dry-cleaner, before they tore it down to make way for the high-rise”. I found myself both thinking and saying similar things today during a Mardi Gras History Walk.
It’s not the first time I’ve been on one, of course. Last year’s walk focussed on Kings Cross and Darlinghurst during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, including the very first Mardi Gras.… Read the rest “Living History”
I went on the Mardi Gras History Walk today, organised annually by the Sisters Of Perpetual Indulgence. This year’s walk focussed on the historical association of gays and lesbians with Darlinghurst and Kings Cross, dating back to the establishment of boarding houses and apartments in the area the 1920s.
For those who could afford it, apartments and boarding houses allowed gays and lesbians of the time the opportunity to live somewhere other than with their parents.… Read the rest “Mardi Gras History Walk”