Two suits, a couple, walk by hand in hand, the wife clutching a big posey of flowers. They swing their hands as they head towards their destination – perhaps a restaurant to celebrate something, or a performance on their date night
An African mother strolls across the square with 5 kids in tow. Another one is in the pram, shielded from the sun with a blue towel. Back in the day in poor countries, families would have a large number of kids in the fight against the high mortality rate, in the hope that someone would survive to carry on the lineage. Today, in a rich country free of plaguing diseases, the children’s chances of growing up and growing old are high. It is like some people have not really adapted and continue to bring the trends of a struggling culture to a new place. Call me racist / sexist / feminist / unmotherly or just crude, but looking after 6 kids is not an easy feat in African or in a western country.
The place is full of tourists.. German, Taiwanese, Indian and Asian (and all other segments of them), Dutch, Austrian. And those are just the ones that were called out or I spotted.
Mother with child. Mother is wearing bright blue tights, bright green skin tight top and puke green jersey. Colour madness makes her stand out.
Mature chubby lady in very short dress sits down on the steps. Her friend is more sophisticatedly dressed for a night out. Friend is also better looking. Guess who gets hit on tonight.
Trams rumble past every 5 mins, often crossing each other. How many people sit in those trams and catch the eye of someone in another tram? A hello? An attraction? An “I know you” start of recognition?
Pigeon struts along my feet. Earlier there were a couple of pigeons, 1 seagull and 3 sparrows having a phat chat behind me.
Lady with auburn hair tied in a messy knot on top of her head. Skin is that porcelain type that magazines adore. Subtle red face from the sun, upturned nose.. There is something Frenchish about her looks and demeanor.
Two guys roll a large suitcase each. Tourists.
The foreign couple next to us tossed a piece of biscuit to one of the sparrows. While the sparrow was trying to swallow a bit of that biscuit, another sparrow came by and stole the piece. While the second sparrow was trying to chow down on his stolen treat, the first sparrow returned and claimed back is piece. And so this dance continues until the biscuit is finished.
Indian guy in a blow up costume arrives. Big mickey mouse shoes and a huge bobble head. Thick white skin coloured gloves. He must be boiling in there. He struggles to walk up the stairs of Fed Square. The white ladies have to assist him. He looks so despondent.. and I cant even see his face!
Jogger jogs, families photograph each other with the station or the square in the background. Aboriginal man, scruffy looking, walks across the street. In a usually busy street, he has enough space for himself and his aura.
Man with dog walking across the square for their evening walk, probably to the Botanical Gardens. The dog is a brown and black mutt, but a very regal walk and look to him.
Train station in front of us, trams dropping people off in front of the station, cabs stopping by Fed Square. Many cars constantly turning at the intersection. Occasional motor bike or scooter zooms by. Horse drawn carriages take tourists and couples through the city. Many people put their laptops and books in a backpack and cycle home. Skateboarders, runners, walkers, strollers, sitters, readers, meeters and greeters, photographers and memory capturers. Musicians, travelers, buskers and runaways. Birds, babies, boys, babes. Ice cream and slurpies and an occasional bottle of water.
This is 30 mins of Federation Square.
