Linden Lane and Clare Street, Surry Hills on Sunday, 15 November 2020

Linden Lane goes from Bourke to Flinders Street and features some newish apartment buildings. A demolition site further down is obscured by a high wooden fence. A spray-painted inscription tells me ‘You see nothing’. And that is true. But the view back to Bourke Street is quite nice in the late afternoon light.

Clare Street is more like a back alley than a street. One side is new the other old. In the corner, several windows display large fashion photos. On the other side are an orange door and a dumped bicycle which matches the colour. The old side is dominated by the back of a very dark and sombre-looking brick building from the 20s or 30s. The windows are rather whimsically placed. There is graffiti a bit further along which matches the blue rubbish bins and higher up is a painting of a man with blue eyes in a white face looking maliciously sideways onto whoever passes this lane. At the very end is the side wall of the Flinders Hotel. It looks as if it’s closed for good, but a yellowish light is shining in a small window.