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I may wax lyrical every chance that i can get about ol country england and la france, but deep, deep down i do have a bit of a soft spot for australia. the hot summers may not be entirely to my taste, but that cool rush of salt that hits you right in the nose when you make it onto campbell parade, the un-fussy cuisine that usually extends to (unshelled) prawns and lemon and ice cold water, the deep sense of patriotism, and then subsequently state-ism that australians feel in regards to their sport, which i've never understood but find hopelessly endearing, looking out the window from school and seeing white sails of the opera house curving lyrically towards the arched sea.
i know that i probably won't live here in the future, but there is some attachment to the home country within me. And the more i get older the more i see that it's not just because i was born and raised here. There are some elements of australian culture that i love with all my heart. Open-ness. Honesty. Loyalty (god, how many times have we australians been fed the 'mateship' line in regards to australian soldiers at gallipoli). Creativity (i personally feel that the australian fashion, music and film industry is one of the more innovative and daring at the moment. Labels like Bowie, Mad Cortes, Theresa Rawsthorne are all making waves in australia, so in other words barely making ripples in the wade pool every where else, with their takes on both stylish staples and glamorous event clothes).
But it's that quirky, anything is possible quality that sydney has sometimes that makes you fall in love again and again. How you can walk down the same street in surry hills every day and still find new boutique shops, little cafes and restaurants, and then also find florists where they bunch wildflowers together haphazardly and lusithanias with daisies, you can find shops that sell only cowboy boots, hundreds of pairs of them, and vintage shops where christian dior 1950s dresses are hung up right along with target separates from the 80s.
It's that magical element that i suppose all locals feel about their home cities, but i think is enhanced with sydney's natural charm and enthusiasm for life. The bright jewel tones of the sea that entice and enthrall, the historical quarter of the rocks where some of the oldest buildings, harking all the way back to the 1800s, can be found. And i love that about australia, that our history is so small, but we have done some incredible things, been involved in some crazy schemes. We may not have castles, or wrecks, or ruins. But we do have the glitz and glamour of the modern. And, besides, there is an artificially made ruin plain with fake ionic columns and roman style monuments that are laughable at first, but then they just make you want to give australia a big hug. We try so hard sometimes, and that is worth something, right?
I had one of those magical sydney moments today. i was just walking through circular quay on my way back to the bus stop after visiting the taxation office, boring as all hell applying for a tax file number, when i was stopped dead in my tracks by music. Toe-tapping jazzy beats that were making me want to light a cigarette and do the charlston across the wharf. I looked around wildly for the source of the sound, and in front of the museum of contemporary art i saw a piano, a lone piano, with a few people crowded around, and a person sitting down at it tapping his fingers away.
I had heard about these, the sydney festival is currently on, and one of their schemes was to plant pianos all around the CBD, a free form of entertainment, allowing everyone to be a musical performer during the festival, not just the grace jones' among us. But until today i had never actually see one. And it was so lovely! I thought the idea was definitely very cute, and so magical and straight out of a movie, but thought it couldn't work in real life. Would the busy people of sydney, running to and fro from job to home to night life to home to job (and the vicious circle continues) really want to stop to listen to an everyday, and lets face it, probably amateur pianist? Would they want to stop and play themselves?
Sometimes life, and australia, surprises you. I watched the people surround the piano, tapping their feet, whooping appreciatively, clicking in time, and then, i noticed, forming a queue behind the current pianist to take a turn. After the melodic and very good jazz there were a few rusty pianists playing the entertaining and chopsticks respectively. After them there was a few bars of a chopin song i've definitely heard before, but whose name escapes me. I wanted to have a go, my piano is limited to a fairly murderous version of dario marianelli's 'dawn' from the movie pride and prejudice (think keira knightley playing it in the movie). I wouldn't want to inflict that upon anyone.
But although i didn't get the chance to play, it was enough just to stop rushing about, and in the middle of the frantic city, in circular quay no less, to listen to some soothing music. For once in my life i felt like i had stepped into some sofia coppola movie, or amelie, if she magically made a sequel set in australia. Jazzy beats, a soft breeze rustling skirts and hair ever so lightly, clear skies and big, happy dreams.
It's memories like these that mean i still call australia home.
for now.
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For those wanting to see or play on the lone pianos, here is a list of locations around sydney CBD and parramatta;
- Australia Square - 264 George Street Sydney
- Centennial Park - Paper Bark Grove Roberts Road, Centennial Park
- Charles Street Wharf - Charles Street, Parramatta
- Church Street Mall - Church Street, Parramatta
- Circular Quay, out front of MCA - West Circular Quay, Sydney
- Darcy Street - Darcy Street Parramatta
- Glebe Library - 186 Glebe Point Road, Glebe
- Harry's Café de Wheels - Cowper Wharf Road, Woolloomooloo
- Illustrated Man Tattoo Parlour - 228A Elizabeth St Surry Hills
- Lennox Bridge Bus Stop - Church St Parramatta
- Manly Ferry
- Market City (outside) Cnr Hay and Thomas Sts Haymarket
- Macquarie Street - 119a Macquarie Street, Parramatta
- Opera House Monumental Steps - Bennelong Point, Circular Quay
- Oxford Square - Cnr Oxford and Burton Sts, Darlinghurst
- Parramatta Swimming Centre - O'Connell Street, Parramatta
- Parramatta PCYC - 12 Hassall St, Parramatta
- Peace Park - Cnr Myrtle and Pine Sts, Chippendale
- Phillip Park - College St, Sydney
- Prince Alfred Park - Cnr Church and Victoria Sts, Parramatta
- Queen Victoria Building Square - Cnr George and Druitt Sts Sydney
- Redfern Community Centre - 29-53 Hugo Street, Redfern
- Salon Noir - 251 Church Street Parramatta
- Sydney Hospital and Sydney Eye Hospital - 8 Macquarie St Sydney
- Taylor Square - Bourke St, Darlinghurst
- Victoria Park Pool - City Road, Camperdown
- Wayside Chapel - 29 Hughes St, Potts Point
- Wynyard - Bus Stops Stand J York St, Sydney
- Yefsi Café - 140 Church St Parramatta
- 420 George St Project - 420 George St Sydney
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