March 6, 2020
Gliding Through Water
By Indiana Hansen
Journalism student Zahrah Ahmad has recently rediscovered her love for swimming endless laps of freestyle in a chlorinated pool.
After a five-to-six-year hiatus, Ahmad squeezes in a visit to Melbourne Aquatic Centre whenever she can catch a break from university and part-time work.
Ahmad is, as she told me, lucky to make it to the pool once every fortnight. While this doesn’t sound like a lot, it’s enough for her sanity, as she said. ‘“It [the public pool environment] helps me block things out,” she told me.
The pool is a place Ahmad can truly relax. She temporarily taps out of the whirlwind of work waiting to be done.
Swimming is – as she said “gliding through water”. This gives her a sense of inner peace and calmness, helping Ahmad find balance in her busy life.
Ahmad’s love for swimming extends beyond feeling “weightless”. She admits to liking the smell of chlorine and soundtrack of children screaming.
Student Zahrah Ahmad at RMIT University, 2020.
March 13, 2020
In Solidarity
By Indiana Hansen
The three of us are at Graham street’s 109 tram-stop. Two men and I. One in corporate dressing, one in casual. It’s a quiet Melbourne morning. Until an abrupt racket of traffic drives over the nearby bridge.
The three of us are no longer alone – although the arrival of more people does not bring chatter.
An approaching tram on the other side of the tracks interrupts the swift shuffling of trees.
Ding, ding…
The tram stops before dinging off under the bridge and leaving us in our own company again.
One guy to my left sniffles. I note the somewhat senseless smell. This is particularly fortunate considering I’m standing next to a public rubbish bin.
We are now 20. Everyone stands in solidarity along the fence line. Or sits in one of the two green tattered shelters.
Soon the wait is over, the tram stop is left deserted.
April 14, 2020
Documentary Evidence of Unprecedented Times
By Indiana Hansen
These unprecedented times have apparently called for unprecedented local council meetings.
The last City of Port Phillip ‘Ordinary Council Meeting’ was cancelled. Cancelled because of the pandemic.
Prior to this cancellation, there was a ‘Special Meeting of Council’ held on Wednesday March 25 at Port Melbourne’s Town Hall.
Before the meeting, there was a vote to “exclude in-person attendance of members of the public”.
The motion was carried out unanimously.
While it was instead available on the Council’s website and Facebook page, this in-person exclusion is a sign of the times.
Over the last couple of weeks, all public and social gatherings across the state (and country, and world) have been cancelled.
‘Unprecedented’ is the most overused word of 2020 and the minutes of this meeting will help future historians begin to breakdown how and why this could be.
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