Ivy

Ivy Street and Lane, Darlington on Sunday, 8 November 2020

First I walk along Ivy Street which has mainly Victorian terraces and big, old eucalyptus trees.

This suburb still seems to have the Council waste collection day for household items which the neighbouring Redfern has not to my great regret. I am tempted to take a discarded little footstool with me. I am also tempted to bring some of my own unwanted household goods here. But I resist both temptations.

Across Abercrombie Street, Ivy Street is dominated by the large warehouse which used to have offices and now flats. I had an encounter with this part of Ivy Street, when I did my ‘Night Cruise’ project, photographing the building through raindrops on the windshield of my car.

Ivy Lane is divided by Lawson and Abercrombie Street, merging here with the Glengarry Castle Hotel at the corner. People walk slowly, getting coffee from the shops, stopping for a chat. The area feels like a secluded neighbourhood this Sunday afternoon. Not like the busy thoroughfare it is during the week between Redfern Station and the nearby university.

Empty

Rose Street, Darlington on Friday, 1 May 2020

In both my old street directories from 1996 and 2007, there is a Rose Street at the University of Sydney campus, near the Swimming Pool between Darlington and Abercrombie Street. It’s not there anymore as hard as I try to find even a tiny trace of it. I remember the street from the past, as I’ve sometimes looked for a parking spot there. I believe there were wire mesh fences and low buildings which could have housed maintenance workshops. Now the recently built Business School takes up the whole space from Abercrombie Street to Darlington Lane.

It is Friday at about 1 pm on a sunny, windy day. The streets and places are empty apart from a few people who are most likely students living on the University campus. One young man carries a box of beer in his arms while he's riding at high speed on his skateboard. This earns the admiration of two youngsters who are passing by, and mine as well. These three are the only people I see. There are hardly any cars. Normally this area teams with people and cars queue up at the pedestrian crossings where you rarely have a moment without people traversing.

Laundry is drying in a backyard in Darlington Lane. I find this strangely reassuring.