Marion Street, Bankstown on Sunday, 6 September 2020

At one end of Marion Street is the Bankstown airport for small planes and helicopters. It has its own set of streets and street names. It is Sunday and cloudy. The airport is empty.

I was never here before, but I guess it would normally be very busy on a Sunday. There are tourist flights on offer, flying lessons and other things, but everything is shut. Some people are around, but few and far between. A couple of small planes are taking off, and a helicopter hovers above the airfield otherwise is silence.

I read on a banner that it’s the 80th birthday of the airport this year. Maybe they would have had celebrations with stalls and lots of people. It’s sad. Dark clouds are hanging over deserted buildings.

The other end of Marion Street finishes at the town centre at City Plaza. It's deserted. The centre looks as if a big child has taken pieces from different sets of building toys and placed them haphazardly here and there.

In the meantime, the sun has come out, and some trees show their first white blossoms on leafless branches. Elsewhere, I have noticed tiny buds on the plane trees. The Bankstown hotel has pretty chairs and tables under umbrellas. Two men are sitting outside. When I return from my little tour around town, there is no one.

Bankstown had COVID-19 cases recently and was declared a hot spot, so I had put off going here for this reason. But this is quite a while ago. I don’t think there is any danger in walking through the empty streets. I am not going inside to eat or drink or buy anything anywhere.

Just when you don’t want to get into contact with strangers a man stops near me. “Excuse me, my name is Bob and what is yours?”

I guess he's from an African country, but I am not informed enough to know which one. I tell him my name and he asks if I am from around here. I say, “No, actually from further away. I’m just about to return.” He thinks I’m beautiful. I thank him for his nice words and start to leave. Then he wants my telephone number, but I decline. He accepts the refusal gracefully.