During the covid lockdowns (all 263 days of them ?), we were under certain restrictions. One of which we could only travel 5km of our home.

This started a new habit of mine to take excursions in my local area and in so doing, I discovered new parks, places of interest, history, shops, artworks and so much more. It opens your eyes to take in your local area with renewed interest and curiosity.

This morning I decided to head to Glenferrie Road Hawthorn without realising there’s massive construction works on the tramlines. It’s noisy and dusty. Nearby is Swinburne University so I duck in there through a quieter sidewalk near the tram line and end up in a world of students. Although there aren’t any. It’s quiet.

Hardly anyone about.

It’s a ghost town.

I strike a conversation with the cafe owner near the library (where I ate my breakfast) and he asks me if I’m a student here.

I laugh. I tell him my story of exploring our neighbourhoods and taking an interest in what’s around. I tell him even though I have worked with Swinburne University, I’ve never actually wandered through the buildings and campus outside. He seemed enthusiastic with the idea and even offered a place for me to sit where it was quieter and warmer.

I continued my walk and saw that there was the University book store on level 2 in one of the buildings. They had a big second hand book sale and the man who was behind the counter (and who looked my age) got my attention.

“Leave those books in your hand here on the counter while you peruse the store,” he says to me.

I thank him and put them down on the counter.

“There’s more books in the back to look at if you have time!”

I laugh.

“I have all the time in the world!” I respond and extending my arms out for effect. He chuckles and goes back to what he was doing.

I then spent half an hour on the bookstore floor trawling through boxes of books. There was no one else in the back of store except for me making noises and uttering under my breath with some of the titles.

Afterwards a stop to Wondoflex which is Melbourne’s wool shop heaven on earth. Every Friday, they secretly open the “back area” of the basement where all discontinued yarn is and I spent more time perusing the shelves there. When I ascend back into the light, I chat with the ladies knitting around a table. A little bit of banter is always welcome. I love the idea that you can rock up to a shop filled with yarns, sit by the fire and have a chat with others who come in from the cold looking for their next knitting project.

Small journeys like this near my home and into my community where people gather and where you can have a bit of a chat with strangers gives me some life again.

(What I noticed: lots of shops closed or for lease; an increase in shops now becoming places such as petsonalised gyms, yoga, Pilates, art studios, dressmaking lessons, cafes…. Wouldnt it be great if I had a space where I could run knitting and book clubs – a third space drop in centre for crafty and bookish pursuits – and to be a community manager for that!)