Victory Parade - Tascott #2 & 3 - Brisbane Water Walk #5

Victory Parade - Tascott #2
Last Friday morning was torture. Hot and sticky as hell with the clouds promising and promising and promising to rain. But at the end of my walk there was a bit of breeze and that was a relief.

The walk was short. One street. At Noonan Point Brisbane Water Drive curves down the hill and off towards Woy Woy. Just at the end of the curve there's a path down to Victory Parade. It's actually called Victory Parade. Don't know if it was named after the victory of World War I or II. Probably I, judging by the age of the oldest houses on it.

There were the usual brash new houses as there are everywhere there's a view but only a couple and only three or four seventies places. At one end there was a pleasant little white board cottage. 1900s. Frangipani, lavender and some other low bushes. Halfway along the street was another white house. Bungalow sized but I can't remember if it was bungalow style. It was circa 1900 or 1910 and also pleasant. There were, according to my notebook, "dozens egs c1900 w & w/out additions". All I remember of it right now is that it was older and nicer than I expected it to be and the faint scent of jasmine came to me from the fence-line along Brisbane Water Drive.

After my walk I tottered into the electical shop and bought a new fan. My faithful old one had finally carked it. I'd turned it on in the bedroom the night before so I could sleep that night and nada. Argh.

Tortured - Tascott #2
It was a beautiful cool weekend. A storm on Saturday and plenty of rain then low dark clouds all day yesterday. So cool after last week. But last night was a bit warm. Not a good sign.

But this morning wasn't too bad. I was driven to the teetering edge of insanity by three fucking million fucking flies but it wasn't as hot as it could've been. Friday I was dripping with sweat, today I was just hot and bothered.

There was a lovely house on Murrumbooee Road. A 1900s cottage, classic white clapboard. A thirties or forties addition on the front left corner and an addition on the right side I couldn't date due to the flyscreened veranda in the way. On the front of the cottage was an unusual addition. A big portico, high-roofed and foursquare. It looked fairly recent, maybe no more than ten years old. It was unusual but harmonised well with the rest of the house. The garden was old and beautiful. Jasmine along the fence, a big tree, maybe paperbark, plenty of low glossy bushes. Very nice.

There were a decent amount of dogs in today's streets. Where there's a lot of very new houses you get bugger-all dogs and cats. A silent malamute poked its face between the palings of its gate and stared at me wistfully. Further along a lazy german shephard barked at me without even sitting up.

The air was perfumed again with the scent of jasmine. I've seen a lot of it lately and its in full flower now. There were some beautifully perfumed roses too but you have to stick your nose in them to get the scent when the sun's not on them. Deep pink grevillea lounged and flowed over someone's garage and a fifteen foot tall magnolia grandiflora had been planted on a street corner. That'll have to come up in a few years I think. They put out huge surface roots like the Moreton Bay fig if I remember right.

On the library computer again and that's all I've got time for today.