My Monthly Chronicles: July 2025

It has been a quieter July with chilly weather and lots of boxes to unpack after painting the house had left us with less time and inclination to go out.  Which is not to say we did not get out.  Not all of these meals were great: panfried dumplings without a crisp bottom, a toastie with poorly melted cheese and an unsatisfactory soup.  But most of the food was wonderful.  You can read about the good stuff below along with some of the other outings and news during the month.  Above is a meeting of boutique baking and shopping centre food hall cuture that I discuss at the end of the post.  And you can read more about the food we have been eating In My Kitchen.

Luthers Scoops, Brunswick

We were out in the evening to see a light show in Brunswick.  It was a good opportunity to stop on the way at Luthers Scoops on Blyth Street in Brunswick to share a Rhubarb and custard piewith carrot cake ice cream.  I would have liked a bit more rhubarb but it was an excellent way to warm up on a winter's  night.

Listening to Triple J's Hottest Australian 100: The ABC's youth radio station held a vote for the Hottest Australian 100 that was played in an exciting countdown one Saturday in July.  I was sad I missed it because I thought it was on a Sunday.  But I had lots of fun seeing people's lists, dreaming of who I would vote for if I could get organised and reacting to who was in the top 100.  I can see the appeal of INX's Never Tear Us Apart that was number 1 but I was far more excited to see songs by The Church, Paul Kelly, The Go-Betweens, Missy Higgins, The Whitlams, and I really wanted The Triffids' Wide Open Road to be no 1.  So many memories and fun articles.

Around the Block Winter Screenings, Next Wave, Brunswick

We were rugged up for the Around the Block Screenings.  Four small galleries got together to organised some night light shows of artwork projected outdoors.  To launch it, they held a walking tour where the artists spoke at each venue (all clustered around the Sydney Rd and Glenlyon st intersection).  Above is a welcome at the first venue on the tour, Next Wave Gallery, 270 Sydney Rd where they also had mulled wine for sale and bowls of popcorn and pretzels to snack on.  It was a great way to see the work of local artists. 

Around the Block Winter Screenings, Michelle Guglielmo Park, Brunswick

My favourite of the four projects was showing light projects of artworks was "The Wurundjeri Seasons" project by Little Projector Compnay in Michelle Guglielmo Park at 260 Sydney Rd.  The projects were interesting with the background of a graffiti-ed brick wall. The colours and images of the changing seasons were quite mesmerising and peaceful.  It was also nice to go out and see some Indigenous art to celebrate NAIDOC week.

Around the Block Winter Screenings, BlakDot Gallery, Brunswick

Another set of Indigenous light projections was "Look to See" by April Phillips at Blak Dot Gallery,  It went for a long time (maybe hours) and we stayed for a while but it was cold and Sylvia was keen to get home.  I have only recently become aware of BlakDot gallery at 33 Saxon Street and enjoyed the opportunity to see some of their work.

Watching on the telly: Patience and Pernille I can highly recommend two series that we watched in July.  Patience is a British detective show where the main DI is assisted by a young woman with autism.  It is heartening how it finds so much positive about neurodivergence though it is a little clunky at times.  I really loved the diversity of the main characters and their relationshiips.  Pernille is a homely Norwegian drama that explores relationships across three generations with the main character (Pernille) being a regular woman with lots to celebrate in the midst of all her challenges and the woes of the world.

Barista basics course, East Brunswick

I took Sylvia to a 3 hour Barista basics course at Genovese Coffee, 51 Moreland Rd.  She loves her coffee and when a friend referred us, it sounded like a good activity for a teenager who is looking to put together a resume.  I sat through some of it and what I heard was very detailed and gave a really good basis for making coffee in a cafe.  

I could not help reflecting on how little of this I knew when I made coffees with an espresso machine in a cafe in my student days.  Fortunately it was at a time when people's expectations of coffee were low.  Unfortunately it was when it was ok to have to wear a t-shirt proclaiming "I've had a hot Italian" at the front and the brand of coffee at the back!

Queen Victoria Market Night Market, CBD

The Queen Vic Night Market is one of Melbourne's popular winter tourist attractions but, even so, I was surprised and disturbed at how crazily busy it has become.  We drove in the car from Brunswick because we were already out.  Big mistake!  It took us about 45 minutes to drive what would usually be 20 minutes.  The traffic was so slow that our car stall many times.  When we arrived, we queued to get in and then once inside, it was so full that it was hard to check out all the stalls quickly before deciding where to eat. It seemed that the only way to get any space in that crowded market was to perform as a fire eater   She was very good!  There were Christmas in July style decorations and a snow machine in one corner but I hated it being so crowded.  I could not wait to leave. 

Soup Factory, Queen Victoria Market Night Market, CBD

There was a tyranny of choice when it came to deciding where to eat.  But there was no avoiding the queues.  We were tempted by the arancini, arepas, dumplings, gozleme, and pasta.  Sylvia had her heart set on the soup in a bowl at The Soup Factory.  They had a long queue but it actually moved pretty quickly and was well managed.  I had the vegan lentil soup and Sylvia had the potato and leek.  I was not so keen on the flavours in my soup and wished I had got the potato and leek soup.  The bread rolls were too fluffy and white for my tastes and there was no way we could eat all that bread.  Though they looked pretty cute in the bread pyramid.  It was fun to have soup in a bowl because when we see them on a menu they aren't usually vegetarian. 

Geloso Gelateria, Queen Victoria Market Night Market, CBD

There were lots of tempting sweet food but I was really full from my soup in a bread bowl.  When I saw the strawberries with melted chocolate at Geloso Gelateria, I knew it was just what I needed.  Sylvia could not believe I paid $15 for the cup.  I had also looked longingly at the fruit crumbles, Dubai chocolate and Spiced Milo Bar's mocktails.  All of them were too filling for me and at least as expensive.  Th fresh fruit was lovely and I am also up for a bit of chocolate.

Creme Brulee, Queen Victoria Market Night Market, CBD

Sylvia really wanted a Son-in-Law bao.  After standing in the queue for ages, it hardly moved.  Someone told me we were in the wrong queu for sweet baos but when we moved queue we were told it was the pick up area.  Argh!  So we went to the Creme Brulee stall where they queue moved quickly.  She enjoyed her creme brulee but they were cold.  I appreciate this is a great way to get out food quickly to a crowd but it does not present the food in the best way. 

Sadie Black Cafe, Albion

We met Faye for lunch at Sadie Black Cafe at 31 Perth Avenue in a small local shopping strip.  I had Sadie's Salad with halloumi, blackened broccolini, roasted cauliflower, fava bean hummus, carrot quinoa, pomegranate dressing & cute wispy sweet potato crisps on top ($23).  Faye had a vegan version of the salad with tofu.  Sylvia had the Big Veggie Breakfast: fried eggs with mushrooms, avocado, tomato, house baked beans & potato rosti on sourdough toast. Sylvia said her eggs were done to perfection and the mushrooms were tiny.  She also loved the homemade baked beans and delicious crispy house made rostis.  We were very pleased with our choice of cafe.

Cinnabuns, Albion

While at the Albion shopping strip, we also dropped in to Cinnabuns next door at 29B Perth Avenue.  They bake interesting and decadent buns.  We took away a box with a delicious haul of blueberry scroll, cinnamon scroll and salted caramel sesame escargot for later.  We also had a browse in Mitko Deli and Cafe which we loved on a visit back in July 2024.

Listening to Richard Aitken's presentation on Gwen Jones: at the local historical society.  When Gwen Jones dies she left house stuffed with memories of her family's history and money for an historian and an archivist to make sense of it.  I loved hearing Richard telling her stories about life as a girl from Coburg travelling by ship to Europe, which he was able to recreate from the letters to and from her parents, the ship menus and friends' photos.  Such a delightful talk!

Kittens galore in Sunshine

We also went to the Sunshine Helping Hands op shop.  It was neater than previously but still fun to look through.  On the way back to the car we saw seven kitten and their mum in a front yard.  They were so cute and playful until it started to rain and most of them ran inside.  

Reading Tirra Lirra by the River.  In my final year of high school, I studied this novel by Jessica Anderson about a women returning to her home town of Brisbane after leaving town as a young women full of dreams.  We had a wonderful English teacher who made us curious.  I re-read the book every now and again because it is about living life to the full as a young woman and looking back as an older woman.  I used to read it from the young woman's perspective but now I find myself interested in how she looks back over her life.  While packing to paint, I finally found the book again and read it.  The writing is such a joy to read every time.

Pickles, Carlton North

We had lunch at Pickles milkbar which is all vegan.  I was a sucker for a special and had the Chrismas in July special with cranberry glazed fried chicken, gravy, cabbage and apple slaw and hot and sweet jam on focaccia.  Sylvia had the Sausage and Cheese: Breakfast sausage, fried tofu egg, hash brown, cheese, pickled onions, mayo and garlic butter on a toasted everything bagel.  We also had an impressive hot chocolate ganache with soy milk and and iced matcha latte.  

As I have said before, I am not really into mock meat so the huge slabs of mock chicken were a bit too much for me.  I quite liked the crispy cranberry glazed edges but would much have preferred tofu to mock meat.  Sylvie loved her sausage and cheese bagel.  The soy hot chocolate was the big hit for me.  It was intensely chocolate flavoured with lots of foam on top in a cute Pickles branded mug!

Smith and Deli, Collingwood

It has taken us ages to get back to Smith and Deli in 107 Cambridge Street, Collingwood.  I have written this month about Smith and Deli and how it has moved from a cramped deli in Fitzroy to a spacious warehouse in Collingwood.  Here is a birds eye photo of the good food we had on our last visit: miso and butterbean soup, salad plate, the Wiggum II, gingerbread latte, iced rhubarb matcha latte and doughnut holes. 

Back Alley Bakes, Coburg North

We went to Back Alley Bakes (10 Leslie Avenue) before a trip to Northland.  The food at shopping centre food halls depresses me.  I thought I would enjoy the trip better with lunch from a favourite bakery instead. There is always so much I want to try there.  I had an amazing savoury danish with peas, zucchini, feta and mint and a Morning bun with miso caramel and crispy corn flakes.  It was nice but a lot of custard filling and not so much of the caramel and cornflakes. I haven't had the morning buns before and was surprised at all the flakiness of the buns.  Sylvia tried the Basque cheesecake.  We both loved it but it was huge and would have been great with a nice fruity sauce, though understand it is less practical for takeaway.  All so much better than the food hall.  In the top photo you can see Sylvia's sushi pack at the food hall which she was very happy with.

Northland Shopping Centre, Preston.

I am sharing these fabrics that sylvia bought from Spotlight at Northland Shopping Centre.  She has plans for crafting with them.  Pretty fabrics are as difficult to resist as pretty scrap booking papers.  I was surprised at the main Northland building was so busy as in recent months it has had a machete attack, a stolen car speeding through the walkways and nazis protesting!  Seems even this will not stop us in our quest for convenience!

In the news:

Erin Patterson was found guilty of the unimaginable crime of poisoning four of her ex-husband's family with mushrooms in Gippsland.

I was impressed to hear the new Victorian police commissioner Mike Bush on ABC radio show concern for protecting protesters in their peaceful endeavors rather than painting them as pesky activists and extremists as most of the media seems to do.

Notable deaths were the iconic Brit heavy metal personality Ozzy Osbourne, cheeky chappy Aussie cook Peter Russel Clarke who we grew up watching before the Goodies each evening, and Allan Ahlberg whose books such as Each Peach Pear Plum, Peepo and the Jolly Postman were a joy to read over and over to Sylvia when she was little.

Are you experiencing posting ennui? The New Yorker, 9 July 2025.

Is Google (AI) about to destroy the web? on BBC News, 11 June 2025.
(If you want to opt out of Google AI, check out advice at https://tenbluelinks.org/.

Shakespearean, small-town murder: why Australia became so obsessed with the Erin Patterson mushroom case, in the Conversation, 7 July 2025.

History’s booming in podcasts – but many of its academics are out of a job, in The Age, 10 July 2025.

Envoys in glass houses: Jillian Segal’s position as antisemitism spokesperson is untenable, in Nick Feik's Substack on 15 July 2025.

12 years on, are we not yet tired of cruel policies towards asylum-seekers? Pearls and Irritations, 19 July 2025.

The hunger crisis inside Gaza will affect the news you see about the war, by Matthew Doran in ABC News, 24 July 2025.