* jazzyhands *

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::15.1.05:: Great Philosophical Debates of Our Time

At my new temp job yesterday they were discussing which is the better nightclub at Crown. If I need to tell you why that is wrong then you'll just never get it.

One thing they agreed on - the Mercury Lounge is just too grungey and awful. Think I should invite my co-workers out for a night at the Espy or the Tote?



Oh, I just realised you might not get that because you don't live in Melbourne in which case ignore the above.

Comments:

 

I would have suggested taking them to "The Club" if it was still around, or better still "The Retreat" before it got a face lift.

 

 

I don't think they could handle that.

 

 

The George in St kilda is terribly civilised now. All wine drinkers. But as a lowdown dive it was hard to beat. The only thing that got you thrown out was falling asleep at the tables, but if you flaked out on the floor it was okay because then they thought you were dead. The barman was a pickpocket, a brawler, and a receiver of stolen goods. But aside from all that, their policy of watering down the beer was a good one, at least it made sure you didn't get drunk too quick.

 

 

Yeah the Prince of Wales used to be pretty much like that too. Dunno what its like now, cos I was BANNED FOR LIFE but I think it's pretty wanky.

 

 

The Prince of Wales is now a massive yuppie joint where the females dress up way too much for the type of club it is. i felt horribly uncomfortable there, or maybe under dressed. i try to stay away from the place at all costs.

 

 

oh that last comment was by me... bronwyn @ beeep.net

 

 

I passed by the Prince a few years ago, it seemed very much a display burg. There was even some posturing going on out the front. In its earler life (pre yuppie 1980's) its murky insides had some strange nooks and crannies; one little alcove had just a table and two chairs. Very quaint.
There was also a section known as "the poofter's bar". And maybe I'm wrong, but I'd reckon this was the first openly gay haunt in Melbourne. In those days of course, St kilda was a haven. Everyone welcome, no one surprised.

 

 

The anti-colonialist yuppies make a lot of noise about 'dispossesion'. The big joke is they do a good job of it themselves. Their invasion of St kilda expelled hundreds of down and outs, including a significant number of the mentally ill - who had nowhere else to find cheap digs - and more importantly, a rough and ready community they could fit into. In the early 1980's St kilda had dozens of huge rooming houses, all cheap. Now there are none. Gentrification is a lot more subtle than the old colonialism, but the results are the same.

 

 

Got to admit, RH, I agree with you 100%. Most of those old rooming houses are premium inner city apartments now and the old residents are living on the street.

Then there are the yuppies that move in and complain about the hookers. If they don't like it, why did they move to St Kilda in the first place?

Pretty similar to the ones that move to Yarraville then complain about the trucks!

 

 

Bronwyn... yeah every time my sister and I drive past the Prince and see the wankers sitting outside we are glad we've been banned!

 

 

It's funny, but a lot of the old crowd were shunted off to dying country towns; poker machine towns, like Moe and Morwell. But there's still cases in St kilda (and other inner areas) where welfare workers counsel the homeless whilst living sumptuously in their old digs.
When yuppies invade a rundown area their complaints begin immediately. They want it all cleaned up; changed to suit themselves. The cheap shops disappear, along with the cheap rents. And petty crime - having been the norm for so long - becomes an outrage.

 

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