Put that light out!!
Last night was Earth Hour, when almost 4,000 towns & cities around the world switched off their lights for an hour to accentuate the importance of dealing with climate change. Not in Newtown they didn't.
When 8.30pm came around, I switched off the tv at the powerpoint, turned off my lights, grabbed a torch & went for a walk. I didn't expect the lights in the hallways of my apartment building to be dimmed, but I was very disappointed to find my favourite little park so brightly lit you could sit & read, and the neighbouring streets with every streetlight lit. This part of Newtown is run by Sydney City Council, ardent supporters of, & some say originators of Earth Hour, which started in Sydney only 2 years ago, so I expected street lights to be dimmed or alternative ones switched off.
Newtown has gone ever further upmarket in the 18 months since I left, and many of the big old Victorian houses have been renovated. Large chandeliers are obviously a designer decor must-have, combined with an absence of curtains, judging from the numbers of dazzling chandeliers I saw. Being a warm evening, people also had doors and windows open, and in many cases it looked as if they were celebrating Earth hour by turning all their lights on, rather than off!
Carrying my unnecessary torch, I felt like a World War 2 air raid warden, & was tempted to hammer on people's doors, shouting "Put that light out!!"
Turned into King Street, and there it was - Saturday night in full swing & full blaze. It had all it's usual delights - live music: a guy in a tuxedo singing Sinatra, a saxophonist, a drummer, all playing separately, crowds promenading up & down, cafes & restaurants awash with chatter and laughter, the odd beggar & even odder derro - but last night it didn't fill me with delight, but instead, intense disappointment. If anything, King St was more glittering than it had been on the first Earth Hour. In the end, I counted three cafes in the space of eight blocks trading by candlelight - 2 Thai & one pizza bar, and Gloria Jean's had its lights down & tealights on the tables, so I gave it half a tick.
It was the dear old Marlie
that restored my hope. They had turned their sign off, & somehow had organised to have the street light outside the front bar turned off as well. The bar was busy,as usual, but in an unnatural state of dimness.
I hope that next March 28, many other businesses on Newtown's 'eat street' will follow the Marlie's example, and put that light out!!
When 8.30pm came around, I switched off the tv at the powerpoint, turned off my lights, grabbed a torch & went for a walk. I didn't expect the lights in the hallways of my apartment building to be dimmed, but I was very disappointed to find my favourite little park so brightly lit you could sit & read, and the neighbouring streets with every streetlight lit. This part of Newtown is run by Sydney City Council, ardent supporters of, & some say originators of Earth Hour, which started in Sydney only 2 years ago, so I expected street lights to be dimmed or alternative ones switched off.
Newtown has gone ever further upmarket in the 18 months since I left, and many of the big old Victorian houses have been renovated. Large chandeliers are obviously a designer decor must-have, combined with an absence of curtains, judging from the numbers of dazzling chandeliers I saw. Being a warm evening, people also had doors and windows open, and in many cases it looked as if they were celebrating Earth hour by turning all their lights on, rather than off!
Carrying my unnecessary torch, I felt like a World War 2 air raid warden, & was tempted to hammer on people's doors, shouting "Put that light out!!"
Turned into King Street, and there it was - Saturday night in full swing & full blaze. It had all it's usual delights - live music: a guy in a tuxedo singing Sinatra, a saxophonist, a drummer, all playing separately, crowds promenading up & down, cafes & restaurants awash with chatter and laughter, the odd beggar & even odder derro - but last night it didn't fill me with delight, but instead, intense disappointment. If anything, King St was more glittering than it had been on the first Earth Hour. In the end, I counted three cafes in the space of eight blocks trading by candlelight - 2 Thai & one pizza bar, and Gloria Jean's had its lights down & tealights on the tables, so I gave it half a tick.
It was the dear old Marlie
that restored my hope. They had turned their sign off, & somehow had organised to have the street light outside the front bar turned off as well. The bar was busy,as usual, but in an unnatural state of dimness.
I hope that next March 28, many other businesses on Newtown's 'eat street' will follow the Marlie's example, and put that light out!!