Saturday, November 13, 2010

For the Love of Old Stuff

This morning I was using my Royal 200 typewriter to write a draft.
It's the late-60s one which I scored for $3, and it works perfectly.

I love the 'ting' sound which I think is somewhat cute - the similar sound to what old cash registers used to make - and the classic typography. (although I have to admit the keys are very heavy for someone like me who is used to using PC)

I bought this from one of many op-shops I find along the Melbourne tram 86 line, but you'll see more interesting places in the area, if you're like me who loves things from good old days.

There are so many shops to check out - secondhand shops, antique shops or just shops that sell things appear to be old junk (or treasure depends on the way you look at them).
When I have some time to spare I just hop in and out of those shops just for fun.

Travellig via tram is rather fun, as it runs slowly enough to take notice of things you'd often miss when you're on a train, bus or a car.
It's also better for just enjoying the outside view a bit longer - and you'll never know if you stumble into something that catches your curiosity.

First time I took the tram to the city I saw an old theatre that intrigued me with its facade still radiating the air reminiscent of its golden era.

It's Northcote Theatre.
On the ground level I saw restaurants and a cafe, where perhaps something like a dance room used to be, while the top part of the building looked pretty much empty through the tram windows. Yet I could see with my mind eyes, the boys and girls dancing (old-style) and watching films. - Maybe there are some happy ghosts dancing along to "Thriller" nowadays.

Those old derelict buildings appeal to me for a reason I can't explain well.

Many of them are milk bars.
Milk bars are something like small-size supermarkets. They sell soft drinks, junk snacks, bars of ice cream, newspapers and other daily needs. Slightly larger-scale milk bars are also called 'general stores'.
Milk bars are still around, but not as many as they used to be - people around me say.

Milk bars often remind me of a local tobacco shop or a junk snack shop I used to drop in on my way home from school when I was a kid.
I remember parents and teachers were not too happy to see us kids going into the shop with friends.

Last year when I passed by the place near my family home in Japan, I saw the shop was gone.
I can't find words to descrive how I felt.
Ah, the shop had a special spot in my heart - there are memories attached to the place.
Everyone who went to the school I did would remember the shop and probably feel the same.

It's funny that the reality that now the place doesn't exist anymore has made the memory even more special.

That's maybe why I sometimes go to the local milk bar.
All milk bars seem to have this sense of familiarity and warmth that large supermarkets don't have. It makes me nostalgic and takes me back to my childfood.


P.S.
According to the link I attached, Northcote Theatre had been restored by the previous owners, although the place no longer serves its original purpose as a theatre.
I can't wait to check this place out!

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