Newtown
I’ve been in Australia 5 days. Seems like it’s time for a film, right?
I selected the most recent offering from the director of Ratcatcher, and then discovered the theater was located in one of the ‘burbs.
Now, Sydney has several transporation options, which include Monorail (useless), LightRail (only for western suburbs), CityRail (think Metra), ferries, and buses. This theater was in Newtown, so only CityRail and buses were feasible. For me, that’s no choice at all. I really dislike the whole “ring for your stop” process, predicated as it is upon knowing where your stop is. I find the predictable nature of trains much more appealing.
So I bought my CityRail ticket from a lovely little kiosk, inserted it into the gate, and was promptly inside Sydney Central. There were plenty of platforms, replete with screens to tell you all about each train: where it stopped, how many cars it had, when it was arriving, leaving, etc.
Thing was, the monitor for my particular line was dark. I stared at it for awhile before I realized that a flyer a foot or so down announced that track work meant all traffic was being shunted to, you guessed it: buses.
And that is how I got to see not only my first film in Australia, but also my first bus with a complete cash register strapped right in.
Oh, and also my first man wearing a carabiner as an earring. And my first lesbian couple (quickly followed by my second and third.) And my first “socialism is not anarchism” flyer…
Turns out Newtown is quite an interesting little place.