Wednesday 5 September 2018

Prisoners of commerce

On the way back from the dermatologists' on the last day of last month I saw a group of five young men dressed in striped costumes (including striped caps) walking south on Pitt Street. They crossed King Street and entered Pitt Street Mall. With them was a young woman dressed as a policeman.

Further up in the mall three young women all wearing a light-blue denim (jeans, jackets) were dancing in a line. One of the "prisoners" waved to the women with his right arm. A man with a mobile phone was standing in front of the women, taking photos of them. There was also a group of young men dressed as commandos walking in the mall.

I ate a beef pide (a type of small, closed pizza made with flour and minced beef) I bought at the Turkish place in the food court under Myer then headed through the tunnel to the Queen Victoria Building. As I came to the top of the stairs at ground level, there was a further collection of young people entering from the street wearing strange costumes, one of which had a head attached to it that was shaped like a cow's.

On Pyrmont Bridge I heard a young man talking on his phone as he walked past me. I knew he was on the phone from the way he was talking. As he went by, I saw he wore a brown jacket. On the left sleeve there were three patches shaped like flags stitched to the leather. One was a camouflaged Canadian flag, one was an Aboriginal flag with its distinctive red and yellow and black, and one was the regular Australian flag. On the back of the jacket had been stencilled a design with gold paint. It said "Pegleg Pyrmont" in capital letters and there was an anchor incorporated in the design. I heard the man say, "and it's thirty bucks, right?"


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