The Trad Pad: Melbourne Shopping Festival

Revival

A message from Brigid ....

I have been a blogger since 2005. At the height of my blogging busy-ness, I had "a small stable" of blogs on different topics: social and political commentary; desert spirituality; food; waste and ....

A few years ago I called time and ceased blogging altogether - although there was an occasional post. I had called it quits. I am an aged woman these days with a couple of serious illnesses. I am not allowed to drive. I am no longer active in organisations. I think it fair to say that I am housebound. I am active on Facebook, although I am not there as often as once I was. I have decided to embark on a re-entry into the blogging world ... beginning with The Trad Pad and, possibly, a return to my food blog, Oz Tucker. I have always used a lot of photographs on my blogs ... and I miss not being out and about with my camera.

The Trad Pad has been my blog for the lovely things of life. The controversial or political has seldom intruded. Occasionally, the spiritual has found its way in, but I kept spirituality for the blog, Desert. I don't yet know if I will revive that. I will stick pretty much to food and the lovely things of life. If I have some regularity with those two categories, I feel that I will be doing well. I hope that, with this blog new friendships can be formed and old friendships renewed; new lovelies discovered; new reflections can enter into the meaning of modern life. I would love to hear from you - particularly if you have suggestions for new topics to enter into the conversation. So, it is a new year. Let's see what it has in store, what it can bring to us. And I hope that those who share the spirit of The Trad Pad can spread the message of a world of beauty, the creativity of humanity, and the joys of simplicity and tradition. ~~~ February, 2017

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Melbourne Shopping Festival

Miss Eagle is gobsmacked. Who ever heard the like - a shopping festival!

Miss Eagle realises that there are many temples distributed around Australian cities dedicated to the gods and icons of Consumerism - but a festival! What does this mean? Does it mean that Consumerism, as a free-standing religion, will now establish its own religious calendar instead of converting the feasts of the Christian calendar for its own ends? Will the Melbourne Shopping Festival become the Hajj of Consumerism with Melbourne its Mecca? Will Melbourne business offer indulgences of huge percentages off in the same way that indulgences were sold once upon a time?

Miss Eagle thinks that one of the attractions for the powers-that-be in Melbourne is that a shopping festival could be run concurrently with at least one other major event on the Melbourne calendar. Perhaps there can even be more than one shopping festival fitted into the calendar. Shopping Festival and Grand Prix! Shopping Festival and AFL Grand Final! Shopping Festival and Melbourne Cup! You see juggling the circuses of Melbourne has become a game of increasing difficulty. This year the Grand Prix and the Commonwealth Games were jostling one another in a packed calendar.

Talk about Bread and Circuses!

Now Miss Eagle cannot say how many bakeries Melbourne has but this city - which boasts that it is the sporting capital of Australia - is well set up for circuses. There are more sporting arenas within walking distance of the CBD than in any other city in the country: the MCG, Olympic Park, Rod Laver and Vodaphone Arena, Telstra Dome, Albert Park with Flemington Racetrack being only a short cab or train ride away. And we won't go into the subject of theatres and public places and spaces like Federation Square.

One thing, though, that Miss Eagle wants to know. If there is to be a Melbourne Shopping Festival how will the Opp Shop clientele such as Miss Eagle and Gina be catered for? Or will we have to establish our own Fringe Festival?