It was yet another early start for us this morning, as we decided not to sit and wait around all day for a phone call from the mechanic, who we are expecting at some point during the day. Instead, the dogs were going to be spending their day in the concrete jail at the reception office and ‘Kermit’ was to get a chance to stretch his rubbery, tyre like legs, while we went out to indulge in a little more retail therapy. The stress is beginning to show, so we figured a pleasant day of shopping ought to de-clutter our scattered brains a little.

After bidding the dogs an almost teary farewell, we headed into the city of Perth. It was only a short few years ago that we had never been to Perth before. Since then, we’ve been over here often enough that we know where the cheap parking is, and how to get to our favourite stores, although it was tinged with a touch of sadness today, when I found one of our regular haunts had closed its doors since we were here last year, while another two are on the way out. That’s the price of the financial downturn for you.

Nonetheless, we ambled about the malls and laneways, peeping in at a shop here and there as we went, although my wallet strangely remained unopened in my hip pocket for the entire time. On the way back to the car, we stopped in at ‘London Court’, a narrow lane of shops with an old English façade. I think we have a photo or two from here for every trip we’ve made to Perth, so we couldn’t miss a chance at getting another. ‘London Court’ may well be billed as a tourist attraction, but there are plenty of locals who wander down for a coffee and cake from one of the fancy cafes, sitting alfresco while watching the crowd slowly pass, the tourists easy to spot standing behind a camera, arms outstretched, eyes squinting at the screen as the flash fires off. To that end, we fitted right in today as tourists.

Old London in the middle of Perth.

From the centre of Perth, we drove to the nearby inner suburb of Subiaco, which is dominated by the WACA cricket stadium, which might be stimulating if you are excited by cricket, which neither Bec or I are. Therefore, we paid it scant attention and instead went to check out the boutiques along the nearby Hay Street. There was one in particular that Bec had sought out, only to find it closed for a stocktake. At least, as best as we could figure it was, considering the sign on the door was a little unclear. It was 12:10PM when we nearly bounced off the door as we tried to push it open, only to find it locked. That was when we saw the sign that stated: “…reopen at 14AM (noon)”. So what was it to be we wondered, midday or 2:00PM maybe? Considering that we were completely ignored by the busy staff within, Bec rang the number on the door, only to be told they ought to be open again at about 1:00PM. Hmm, that cleared things up for us.

To fill in time while we waited, we grabbed a bite to eat for lunch, looked through a few more stores and took a drive around the area, finding it to be a fancy, expensive looking region.

At almost 1:30PM, I dropped Bec off, back at the store she was hoping to spend some money in, only for her to find it still closed. Bec being Bec, happily banged away on the door until the staff grew tired of the continual hammering, opening the door to let her in. As it turned out, they could have stayed shut, and we could have saved some time, as Bec found nothing that took her fancy anyway. We would have always been left wondering though.

Finished in town now, we pointed ‘Kermit’ in the direction of Midland, the suburb where we had gone shopping yesterday. There were a few shops that had been too distant for Bec to walk to, so we had decided to take a look together today. While driving around a series of twisty one way thoroughfares that were successfully hampering our efforts to get into the supermarket car park, we spotted a little church hall that had flashy banners and balloons outside, while the door was being stalked by a couple of guys that could only be politicians. Of course, with the federal election fast approaching, the early voting offices have opened their doors. Not wanting to risk a penalty for not doing our civic duty or wanting to forget about it down the track, we counted our lucky stars for having tripped across this office.

Crammed within the flimsy cardboard walls of the voting booth, I unrolled the ballot paper like a town crier might unroll a sacred scroll, then spent the next 30 minutes carefully numbering the boxes on it, all 96 of them, to ensure that the animal justice party and the sex party would get my carefully considered vote. Honestly, what a joke.

Our selections made, we finally found the entrance to the supermarket, where we hustled about to collect supplies, before returning to the van. It had been a long day, and we were both close to worn out. Worn out enough that after collecting two very excited pooches from the jail cell in which they have spent the day, we all returned to the van to collapse exhaustedly onto the bed for an afternoon nap. Well, that at least was the plan, because no sooner had I switched the tele on for a bit of pre-nap entertainment, the phone rang. The mechanic we have been waiting on, was now waiting for me, at the front gate of the caravan park.

That was a good sign, as I had almost resigned myself to the fact that the surgery wouldn’t be completed until tomorrow. Surely, I figured, it wouldn’t take too long to fit the new pulleys and another new fan belt. How wrong could I be, as the hours passed by and the sun descended to bring on a chilly darkness, as the mechanic continued to toil away in an effort to make things right again. In the end, he was hampered by a lack of a special tool that was required to remove one of the pulleys, and while ‘The Beast’ is now able to run, driving great distances is still not advisable. It will now not be until tomorrow afternoon that the final tweaks can be made, when I get ‘The Beast’ to his workshop. Looks like another couple of days will be spent here in Perth as a result. 

Until next time, stay safe, have fun and don’t forget to write.