Sleeping Rough

It’s 8.30 am and I’m pushing my grandson down South Terrace in Fremantle, just up from the station. Already I have passed 3 sleepers. Huddled in doorways, in alleys , emerging from the night sleep and blinking in the morning light, or blankets pulled over heads. Some have left their posse to start their day, leaving a bundle tied up on the ground in the shadows. Others are pushing a shopping trolley down the mall. Towards the toilets maybe, or to sit on the benches placed in straight lines under trees .

Left their bundle to get some coffee ?

Small gatherings of people are in the square, coming out of the Civic Centre or simply meeting up and walking through arm in arm, chatting.

I think , what would happen if we just let those ‘ homeless’ to sleep in the corners of our street , with maybe blankets available,opening toilets early , maybe having a place where coffee is available ? Would we have more rough sleepers than we do now ?

Just as I was thinking , well there’s a general quite happy atmosphere around the square, people meeting and greeting, sitting quietly on benches or walking on, there was a loud yell from a guy striding across.Several very loud shouts and a lot of gesturing and swearing. It seemed his noise was not directed at anyone. It was just an angry cry against the universe,

I walked on with my grandson still asleep in his pusher. A few other people gathered around the angry one and the morning peace became just noise and a series of exchanges across the square .

I have just finished Alan Carter’s Heaven Sent, a novel which is set in Fremantle and revolves around homelessness and the problem of dealing with people fairly and responsibly.( Incidentally a good crime novel with his likeable main character, Detective Cato Kwong)

The book did make me think, yet again, about how I would live in the street, how I would survive. I also recognised that the street people contribute to Fremantle some of its character, it’s colour and difference. But. ….

Such a pity that homeless people can’t be just a version of myself , minus the money and possessions I have. Why can’t they be more like me. The yelling and swearing of that guy threw me.

West Australian sat 29 Oct

Yes , it could , I concede. Homelessness could happen to me . But I have to say , because that’s what I think, the possibility is low.

The pervading narrative of homelessness is ‘ it can happen to anyone’, alongside the lumping of all street sleepers into the category of helplessness . Probably some people do belong there. But the other side of the coin is the resourcefulness, the strength of a community, the caring for each other.

Packed up

I sound like I believe ‘ the poor are always with us’. Not so. I just believe that the it can happen to anyone/collective responsibility narrative is better than “ get them away from here”, but ….words make us feel better.

Cruising : QE2 here we come !when I’ve packed

So it’s actually more difficult / stressful/ annoying getting stuff together for a 8 day cruise in local waters than it is to prepare for a 6 week walk, here or overseas.

For the latter the parameters are clear, it’s weight all the way as it’s going to be on your back . Walking trousers. A couple of t shirts, long sleeved shirt, slip ons to change into , undies, gortex jacket and thermal top plus all the paraphernalia of sun cream/ feet cream/ moisturisers . Hat. Maybe some vitamins and a small first aid pack and a book or tablet . Mobile phone.

For the cruise there’s the addition of makeup, more shoes, more undies, more clothes. Shoes to walk in, shoes to dance in, shoes to run in ( to counterbalance the food) , clothes for formal wear – dance evenings, dinner- proper active wear for the gym and strolling around deck looking cool, shorts that don’t show my bum or the fat on the top of my legs, it may be warm enough to wear them. Leggings for the cold, warm jacket for evenings , a warmer jacket for the very cold, tights to wear with skirt or dress, etc etc . Laptop. A couple of books.

In the end a high probability that half those dresses, shoes, skirts and tops will not be worn, I haven’t worn high heels for at least 2 years . I can’t remember when I last wore a dress . So right now I’m wondering :why ? Why am I travelling on a cruise ship and why am I taking all this gear ?

Last pack ! Ready to go

I’ll answer that tomorrow. Today I’m just boarding the QE2 and departing Fremantle for Sydney

QE 2 waiting for me

Gym Resolutions

My favourite ( only ) gym

No it’s not what you think ; resolving to get to the gym regularly.

My resolutions relate to how I conduct myself in the gym.

I will not make ‘ old people noises’ while lifting weights, getting on and off the elliptical, speeding up on machines. In fact I will not make those noises at all.

What noises ? you ask. Sighs, breathing heavily, expelling air with a loud Phewww or huhhhh. Farting, even quietly.

I will not swear as I try for a heavier weight, put one down after a set, nearly miss the step getting off a machine, or trip over the weight I have left on the floor ( things have moved on in twenty years as most gyms now are nice places. Anyway it’s not acceptable for an older woman to use an expletive especially the F word ).

I will not roll my eyes at someone , usually female, creeping along on the stepper at a snails pace while talking at a hundred miles an hour.

I will not feel resentment, gradually rising to anger, towards someone , usually male colonising 2 bits of equipment. They place their towel on one and sit on the other, for ages .

I have to admit that some of these small annoyances are a result of NOT getting to the gym regularly enough. It’s called projection . The noises one is because I’m getting tired of someone alongside me asking “ are you alright”? as I breathe as one is supposed to breathe lifting , or saying encouragingly “ that’s right, you’ve got it”. It’s because I’m older and a woman . Men of any age can groan and yell and sweat and fart , but they are exercising good and hard .

No noises . Look how well I’m moving !

But despite the above, I recommend gym work. For strength, and getting rid of the petty stresses of our lives. Sometimes aggression. Mostly quiet people here, intent on getting on with things. So go along. Just don’t make too many old people noises if you’re an older woman .

Off to Rottnest:Birthday,and Birthdays Remembered

The guys on this ferry just took this late passenger on board 2 minutes before the boat left, with no warnings about leaving it too late, not having a ticket , or getting a move on. Someone carried my bag and someone else wheeled my bike down the runway . I then bought my ticket as the boat left the quay.OK, not many others on board late Saturday afternoon, but every time I have got onto SeaLink there has been the same courteous and cheerful service.

Go SeaLink

As reading anything brings on nausea, blogging it is.

I am going over to join a friend for her birthday tomorrow. Coincidentally today is my father’s birthday;he would have been 97 today. A few days later is my aunt Pauline birthday . She died recently .Both have been important loves and supports in my life. So I guess it’s good to pause and wish them Happy Birthday too. Also to stop stressing on this late summery afternoon. I’m on the way to Rottnest for a Birthday.

Happy Birthday

Is it birthday weather for you, dear soul

Is it fine your way ?

C.Day Lewis( 1904-1972) Birthday Poem for Thomas Hardy

What did You See Today ?

This morning really early. On my way for a swim at the beach . Weather sunny, 11 deg instead of 5 , so have to brave the elements and swim.

First as I was crossing after the cafe near the beach I was overtaken by two bikes. A little dog was firmly strapped into a baby doggy seat fixed onto the handlebars.First time I’ve seen a dog in a baby seat.

Doggy baby seat spot , but this pic later in the day. It’s warmed up

After my plunge into the still cold water I stood drying myself, balancing precariously on one leg to put shorts back on and checking the effect of the swim movement on my left shoulder ( a long story of injury). I noticed two old people walking towards the sea. I often this last year stare at people who look old, to work out how I might look as age progresses. I noticed them because they moved cautiously, their upper bodies curved in a smooth question mark. Their respective straw baskets, each draped over an arm, contained neatly folded towels and other unidentifiable clothing.

They made their way to the front, carefully placed baskets side by side and started off walking along the beach.

I finished staring at people and silently berating my injuries, past and future, and noticed the couple returning. They’re not swimming ? Surely not? They’re very old.

Yes .They are swimming. They pulled various garments over their heads, unstrapped sandals , folded clothes carefully and moved gingerly to the sea.

I wish I’d had my phone with me to capture that image of the two figures hand in hand wading into the deep. He seemed less sturdy than her and she held his hand as they navigated the uneven sea floor. However, once deep enough to swim he turned on his back and displayed a powerful back stroke, whilst she paddled a hesitant side stroke. He kept on turning to check she was above water.

10 minutes and out they came. Hand in hand . They dressed systematically and moved towards the boardwalk off the beach, hands still linked.

But this isn’t the end of my sightings today. Tonight I went to the Fremantle Art Gallery for the opening of Tania Ferrier’s ‘Popcorn’, an energetic exposition/ rebuttal/celebration of women’s strength and energy,

Dismembered body parts from Playboy
Her ‘Angry Underwear’ from the eighties

I cannot go into the complexities of Popcorn, visit and see for yourself. But the vibrant and bold images displayed somehow complement the slow, pale, image of the couple on the beach. And some of them, in their dismembered shape and absurdity, resemble pictorially the little dog sitting straight up, strapped in to his baby seat.

As I read them anyway. All three things somehow relate: life can be lived in a myriad ways. It’s the intention to be and to experience that’s the key.

What did you see today ?