My Monthly Chronicles: May 2025

May brought the winds of change with the gorgeous red autumnal trees shedding the past and the temperatures plummeting into wintery weather signalling darker days ahead.  It was unsettled but as I am quite late with this reflection on outings, it seems so much easier than June's chaos of having my house painted and reading about all the political craziness in America and the Middle East that we find ourselves in today.  In Australia our Labour government was re-elected and we are watching how they will perform in a second term.  I am embracing my warm puffer jacket, gloves, scarf, wheat heat pack and winter doona.  So please enjoy the simpler days of May in this post.

Bluestone Cottage kitchen, Coburg

The above photo is of the outside kitchen in the Bluestone Cottage that is run by the Coburg Historical Society as a museum of Coburg's history.  It is open Fridays and first Sundays of the month.  The Merribek Council is working on a new office, storage and exhibition space for the society and a restoration of the cottage early next year.  While this outdoor kitchen will remain, the 20th Century kitchen will be demolished, removing a layer of history from the 1864 building.  If you want to see the building as it is currently, check out the Coburg Historical Society website for more information about visiting.

Burrito Bae, Ascot Vale

We had a shared lunch at Burrito Bae (413 Mt Alexander Rd).  We ordered a Cheese and Bean Buritto halved, the Jalapeno Poppers and Churros with cinnamon sugar and caramel sauce.  It was all very satisfying as with our last visit.  Sylvia and I enjoyed the burrito filled with beans, brown rice, vegan cheese, pico di gallo,  and vegan chipotle mayo wrapped in a flour tortilla.  We forgot to order the option that included guacamole & corn chips in the stuffing, which had been so good on our first visit.  Next time we will have it and I would return to the chocolate sauce with the churros. 

Federal Election voting

This is the Coburg Primary School where I voted on 3 May for the Federal Election.  I was shocked when I arrived mid-morning to find the queue going out the gate.  It moved a a reasonable pace.  I heard that it was quieter.  Queuing out the gate meant watching the how to vote cards being handed out - they are not allowed inside the grounds.  It was nice to chat to some of the party volunteers handing them out.  After voting I purchased at the cake stall and had my democracy (vegan) sausage.  I like the tradition of supporting local schools and organisations fundraisers at elections.

I live in a fairly left wing electorate.  This means that we have a lot of Labour and Greens giving out how to vote cards with a smattering of independents and a sole right wing Liberal National Party representative who is knows he is not one of the popular kids!  Since I have lived here it has always been a safe Labour seat.  This year it was one of the marginal seats that took days of see-sawing between Labour and Greens before an outcome was declare for Labour.  Exciting but nail-biting times!

The Peacock, South Yarra

When Sylvia saw that a  cafe in South Yarra was offering free matcha lattes with a rice bowl I was not keen but pester power won out.  So after voting and dropping in to the farmers market we drove to the other side of the river in busy traffic.  Parking was a nightmare and we had to pay more than the price of the "free" drink.  Arriving at 2pm (the cafe closed at 3pm) we were told that the one vegetarian rice bowl was sold out and they refused to give us a free matcha latte with any other dish.  I was exceedingly unimpressed.  Sylvia still wanted her matcha latte so we paid and went across the road to The Peacock cafe (68 River Street) for a late lunch.  Thank goodness they had a pleasant outdoor space and good food, albeit without the grains and greens dis that was on the online menu.  Sylvia was very happy with her vegetarian version of the Peacock big brekkie (above photo).

The Peacock II

The big brekkie was a hearty plate of eggs, multigrain toast, mushrooms, avocado, a chunky potato rosti, relish and panko crumbed sticks of halloumi.  We decided to share the brekkie, the Blueberry honeycomb hotcakes and have some fries on the side.  The menu noted that the hotcakes needed 20 minutes, which is not great when the place is closing soon but the staff were very pleasant and the courtyard was very peaceful with all the greenery.  The hotcakes were quite spectacular with lashing of blueberry compote, cream, maple syrup, fresh fruit, and shards of honeycomb.  It was all delicious but quite filling and we ended up taking home savoury and sweet leftovers.

Tiny Box, North Melbourne

I usually eat in the office but on a sunny autumn day I decided I needed a walk and found myself enjoying the North Melbourne streetscapes.  I had lunch at Tiny Box (81 Errol St).  It offered Vietnamese rolls and takeaway.  One wall was covered in a delightful mural of a Vietnamese street painted by Wesley de Wijs.  I had a tofu bahn mi with salad and hoisin sauce.  It was very nice, though I would have liked some peanuts.  Maybe they are something I needed to ask for.  With a peanut allergy in my household I appreciate that peanuts are not for everyone.  It was a nice place for a quick lunch.

Jackson Dodd, Preston

We stopped at Jackson Dodds (611 Gilbert Rd) recently for a cool drink.  Sylvi had an iced strawberry matcha and I had a peach iced tea.  They were very nice and looked very pretty in the sunlight.  You can read more about my first visit in July last year.

Tylers Milkbar, Preston

We went to our favourite Tylers Milkbar  (656 Plenty Road) for a quick lunch.  I had been looking forward to a warming baked potato on a cold day.  They were sold out.  Instead I had a cheese and coconut bacon toastie.  We shared an excellent cinnamon scroll for afters.

Mothers Day lunch, Geelong

On Mother Day, Sylvia and I headed down to Geelong to visit my mum.  We were treated to baked potatoes (yes I told her I didn't get my baked potato at Tylers and she offered to make one).  We had butter, baked beans, coleslaw and sour cream.  They were excellent.

After Mothers Day lunch, my mum took Sylvia through the back garden: the shelves of succulents, the propogating table, and the fernery.  See below photo of my mum's garden.  Then Sylvia and I had a look through the one op shop she could find open on Pakington Street on Sunday.
 

On the telly

While we have not been to the cinema in May, we have had fun watching more movies at home on TV.  Sylvia is now at an age to appreciate older movies better, even ones she has seen when younger.  I am not talking about the golden age of Hollywood but the movies I loved when younger.  Some of the ones we have watched include Muriel's Wedding, Throw Momma from the Train and Desperately Seeking Susan.  We rolled around laughing and enjoyed some intrigue.  It has been interesting to see my 16 year old daughter get to know the talents of stars such as Toni Collette, Billy Crystal and Madonna.

We have also binge watched some fascinating series on streaming services: Adolescence,  Baby Reindeer and Good American Family.  It is interesting how the latter two shows, based on true stories, start with what seem like straightforward villains (a stalker and a monster child) and then unravel the complexities.  Adolescence also explored the complexities of a legal drama.  It was most memorable for me in the way the first episode details the minutiae of what happened following an arrest for both the accused and the family.  It is both prosaic and chillingly tense.

Tylers Milkbar, Preston II

We had another quick lunch at Tylers Milkbar.  Now it is winter, they are offering soup of the day.  Sylvia had the creamed tomato soup.  It was so good I wished I had ordered it instead of a quick muffin before heading home.  Unfortunately my muffin was all I really had time for once I had spent part of the lunch driving to pick up my mobile phone that I had left behind me.  I had a bad run of leaving behind my mobile phone 3 times in a a fortnight.

Bakes and Bagels, Thornbury

On the Thornbury side of Miller Street is an unassuming branch of Bakes and Bagels (115 Miller Street), albeit with some cute street art of flowers enjoying a bagel and a cuppa on the outer wall.  Inside it is quite stylish but understated.  We stopped there for a quick lunch and were impressed.  Sylvia had an iced matcha and the Scrambled Egg, Leek and Halloumi bagel with tomato and sriracha mayonnaise.  She loved it but found it very messy.  I had a very nice cheese and spinach borek special and we shared a really good biscoff brownie.

Wild Timor, cafe Coburg

Every now and again during my regular catch ups with a friend at Wild Timor cafe (282 Sydney Rd), I am tempted by the specials .  On this occasion it was a new specials menu with katsu curry that I decided to try.  Then I was told that these specials started the next day and I was back to the old specials menu.  I was already in for something to eat so I chose the Cauliflower tacos quickly.  The fried cauli was excellent with baked corn tortillas, tomato, red onion, herbs and sour cream. 

Rose street artists market, Fitzroy

We visited the eclectic and creative Rose Street Artists Market (60 Rose Street) because Sylvia wanted to see the Moons Clayground ceramic mushrooms.  They are so gorgeous.  It is such a pleasure to wander the market talking to stall holders, being impressed by candles that look so much like pieces of fruit, and laughing at biographies of ceramic dinosaurs.  As always we bought too much but wish we could have bought so much more.

Alimentari, Fitzroy

After Rose Street Market, we had a fantastic lunch at Alimentari Deli (251 Brunswick Street).  Sylvia had the pasta special: Ricotta gnocchi with three cheese alfredo creme, thyme, roasted walnut and radicchio.  It was amazing with pillowy soft gnocchi, an amazing flavourful creamy cheese sauce and perfect garnishes.  I had the salads: Cauliflower, tahini, pinenuts, coriander, currants, chickpeas; Broccoli, green apple, red onion, raisins, toasted almonds, cider mayonnaise; and Pearl barley, pesto, feta, dill, basil, toasted almonds.  They were all amazing though Sylvia loved the barley salad and I love the cauliflower salad.

Good Daze Canteen, Fitzroy

After all those healthy salads at Alimentari, I had an amazing Dubai chocolate ice cream at Good Daze Canteen (316 Brunswick Street).  It was such beautiful creamy chocolate ice cream that went really well with the creamy, crunchy and even slightly chewy pistachio knaffeh filling.  I like my ice creams in a cone but this only came in a cup.  It was well worth the change.  Meanwhile Sylvia had a scoop of the strawberries and cream with a scoop of ceremonial grade matcha ice cream. 

In the News:

The news was dominated by the federal election in Australia as well as a death cap mushroom poisoning ("beef unwellington") murder trial, crazy goings on in American politics and the sad state of Gaza. 

The Australian election has seen many changes and challenges:  

• The Liberal party's Opposition Leader, Peter Dutton lost his seat.  Much schadenfreude ensued.
  
• The Greens party leader lost his seat.  There is much soul-searching to be done.
  
• The Liberal and National Party Coalition decided to part ways and within days were back together.
• I was really sad to see independent Zoe Daniel beaten by the Libs Tim Wilson in the seat of Goldstein in Melbourne.  She had made a great contribution to parliament.
  
• Laura Tingle at the ABC has moved from reporting on Australian politics to world affairs.  She has been a voice of reason and always has something intelligent to say.  
• We have also said farewell to Antony Green who has been the ABC's election analyst for decades and is always the one to watch in calling each election result.  
• And there has been much discussion about the strength and weaknesses of our electoral system with compulsory voting, preferential voting and the independence of the Australian Electoral Commission.

Here are some interesting articles: 

How a stage-managed vote in China shaped my first real vote in Australia's federal election, by Bang Xiao, ABC News, 1 May 2025.

'The sausage dog who terrorised Kangaroo Island for 540 days is my obsession. At last, we have an update.' in Mamamia, 8 May 2025.

Laura Tingle exits press gallery after 40 years with party shot on News Corps election irrelevance, in The Guardian on 9 May 2025.

Inside the forensic journey to unmask a deadly mushroom meal, in The Age, 15 May 2025.

Administration bars Harvard from enrolling foreign students, says thousands must transfer, in The Associated Press, 22 May 2025

Coalition's situationship has everyone baffled. Including themselves, by Amy Remeikis, Pyjama Politics substack, 23 May 2025.

Woodside's CEO and her peers need to fund Australia's climate catastrophe measures in Lucy Hamilton substack, 27 May 2025.

‘I worried I might start finding it normal. But I never did’ – what I learned as the Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent by Bethan McKernan in The Guardian, 29 May 2025.

The super tax debate is divorced from reality – and more proof that Australia’s tax system is built for the rich by Greg Jericho in The Guardian, 29 May 2025.