Age Newspaper Report on Storms in 1925

Roads quickly flooded , traffic ground to a standstill and shopping centres , cinemas and sporting arenas where deluged with lashings of rain and hail stones.

Those munters out shopping were possibly oblivious to the chaos all around them until it became  time to leave the store.

Buckets of water were pouring down the front of the windows of the new shopping  complex I was in , torrents cascading through light fittings and electric doors unopenable and shops computers all failing .

The get away car normally parked in the underground car park was mercifully parked in the street. Despite rapidly rising , swirling floodwaters , doors were opened and shopping flung in .The only casualty in the hasty departure was a thong that floated away on the rushing torrent.

A terrifying ordeal began as a path was forged through the rapidly flooded roads which were quickly becoming impassable . Parked cars were becoming submerged and inner city streets were unusable. A circuitous route was employed  and a safe  arrival home was managed by using all the non damaged and unaffected roads.

raining cats and rabbits?

It was an unnerving experience . One that truly tested the tenaciousness of even the most sturdy munter.

Melbourne Storm

red party shoes

Sarah Jessica Parker cocktail Frock

Its finally here . Christmas , that time of year when we can release all our shopping demons and literally ” shop til we drop”. Purchases fly through our fingers with great ease oiled by credit card , eftpos and hard cash .Groaning shopping trolleys , tired Bing Crosby White Christmas lullabies and gaudy decorations all feature at most retail outlets. Even a quick trip to the barn like hardware warehouse elicits a consumers   paradise / nightmare with trolleys laden with chook poo fertiliser , tinkling  wind chimes , marble pavers and all manner of garden torture instruments (torture for those feckless enough to receive them as a well intentioned gift ). Great Christmas BBQ plans with         pungent poo fumes , exploding new BBQ , gleaming new outdoor settings all reduced to a blazing heat too hot to sit outside or a  soggy mass in Melbourne’s unpredictable weather .

Matters really come to a head as all the retail catalogues , merchandising and frantic advertising   exhorts us to spend spend spend because  shock horror only 4 days left and you haven’t finished your shopping ! Oh horror well dive into this cornucopia of heavenly delights sneakily disguised as Christmas presents.

If you survive the fight for the last car spot at XX shopping centre , Aunty Beryls lipstick marks on your cheeks , Uncle Barry’s drunken rendition of Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer , maxed out credit cards, lashings of unhealthy and largely unpalatable food , too much booze and unwanted gifts get ready to shop til you drop in the Boxing Day Sales .

The dawning realization that you paid too much   , too often and were ripped off completely may cloud the day.Whoever said ” consumerism is an anaesthetic for the brain ” was right on the money . Bah humbug .Cheers