Contrasts

It’s Friday , we’ve just come out of the unthinkable ; 4 days of straight rain . It got pretty bleak ;dark mornings even darker afternoons and almost hour upon hour of precipitation without let up . This photo below is at 4pm on Wednesday night . I don’t remember such constant drizzle and rain over 96 hours in all my time in Melbourne . Sure it rained on consecutive days , but with Melbourne there were always breaks . Of course there is upside to this weather with the surf offering eerily similar conditions seen on the solid beach breaks of the Mornington Peninsula . By tomorrow (Saturday ) the temperature will rise to 23 degrees Celsius after hovering in the low teens earlier in the week . After enduring many flat spells , today it is too big to surf , again . Yes it has happened multiple times of late . Shit this does remind me of home . Not so much the beer ….

yes it’s cheap , yes it’s varied , yes there’s lot of it , yes it’s good , and did I say it’s cheap ? Shit yeah . As my taste buds have adjusted I’m shifting towards the more expensive boutique styles ,creeping into the $12 to $15 range per 6 pack .I can’t help myself , I’m a fucken beer snob , and the boutique beer is top quality . Ahh , but there are still days when you can find good beer for cheap . The sort of stuff you’d never , ever , ever get in Australia .

This pack of 6 bad boys normally go at $12 – $13 , today ….. two 6 packs for $7 … $7 fucking dollars for 12 cans of beer at 7.5% alcohol ! I was quivering at the knees when I grabbed this lot . In fact I had to throw another 6 gluten free pups in for $10 .just for safe keeping . Gotta keep the gut in order . Shit , that’s 18 boutiques for $17 ….. Oh yeah . But there’s contrasts . Just to top it off , on the way out you get a reminder that not everyone can get it cheap . As you see numerous times here , the underclass lurk in the corners . Last month I drove past ; I felt a terrible guilt as I kept driving . Today I looked at my stash and thought , “shit Howie , stop the car and give them your savings . “A family ; mum , dad , young son of about 8 and a baby were begging at the exit of the supermarket. It’s not uncommon , from time to time you see desperate families begging .The sign said they were homeless and would be grateful for anything . I gave them $5 , looked down at my beer and felt terribly guilty . It’s been cold , it’s been raining , the surfs pumping ,i’l be drinking good beer , but others …….. I don’t want to really think about what they’re doing tonight .