Across the Border: Detritus: St James Railway Station: People

It has been cold and rainy in Sydney in the past fortnight and many of my friends have been feeling down about their lives. Most of my friends are just like me: we have jobs, clean sheets on our beds, food in the cupboard, beer in the fridge and can even buy one new frock each month. 

It's easy to remind my friends of all that they have when they are down, but it doesn't mean that it lifts their spirits. Sometimes the black cloud or black dog, or just the blackness, blankets all hope. 

I have learnt to embrace those dark moments, because I have realised there is no lightness without black, no winning without losing and no depth in the personality of the eternally happy. 

I am also reminded each week of just how fortunate I am when I walk through the underground tunnels that lead to St James Railway Station.

Every winter - every year - the tunnel becomes a home for a group of young men in their 20s. 

When it's raining they read alone or huddle close together and play cards or songs on a guitar. But when there's a blue sky, they leave their beds and belongings in the tunnel to make the most of the sun. 

When I passed through on a cloudy day last week, one young man was sitting alone on a milk crate playing guitar and singing Roxy Music's More Than This.
His enchanted voice followed me all the way to the train and I couldn't help but sing along and feel elated. And I couldn't help but feel sad that this sweet young man who has so little could give me so much happiness.

So if you are feeling miserable and are losing hope, just remember there are people worse off than you. Remember all that you have and all that you are. Learn to relish the down times for they make the good times so much more beautiful. When you crawl under your clean sheets each night in your bed under a roof, remember that there are people sleeping rough on dirty sheets placed on a cold, hard ground, resting their heads on old pillows. And it's a very fine line between the two of us. Grab hold of life and all its ups and downs and don't let it go.

And if you see or hear that bright young singer in the tunnel of St James, stop and listen, and please give him a gold coin and a warm smile for me. 

Or if you want to make a bigger donation to help others through the cold winter and the darkest of days, visit these websites to see how you can help.

*

Matthew Talbot Homeless Services

The Wayside Chapel

Rough Edges

Lifeline

Darlinghurst: Public Transport: Village to Village Bus

If you have been reading My Darling Darlinghurst for a while, you may know about my passion for the 311 Bus; that wonder on wheels that glides through the suburb like a phantom. Sometimes you see it, sometimes you don't, sometimes you can hail it, but most of the time it never appears and you are left wondering if the 311 ever existed at all. 

But while I love the 311 Mystery Bus, recently a new people-mover has been vying for my patronage. The Village to Village Bus runs through the neighbourhood on Thursdays and Fridays. It begins its route down at the Mary Macdonald Activity Centre on Bourke Street, Woolloomooloo and then moves up through Kings Cross, Darlinghurst and on to Central Station and Redfern.

So it traverses much the same route as the 311 but unlike the 311, the Village to Village Bus costs absolutely nothing for a ride. Yes, it's hard to believe, but some things in life are still free. 

So now, at the end of the week while going to work, instead of seeing this:

I see this:

It's a much cosier ride and the driver is really chatty. Because it is a small bus, whenever I catch it, I feel like I am part of some weird church group or school student going off on a day trip to the museum. It definitely has that community bus vibe about it. The bus takes the community route too, stopping at St Vincent's Hospital:

The Village to Village Bus first began spinning its wheels through the streets of Sydney in 2007, with a limited route between Redfern, the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital on the outskirts of Newtown, and inner city Glebe. 

It is run by the South Sydney Community Transport group and funded by the City of Sydney council as a means for residents without cars to connect to shops, health care and other services. 

The Woolloomooloo to Redfern service, which I catch, was established in 2008 and last year they extended the route to include Onslow and Billyard avenues in Elizabeth Bay. 

The council committed a further grant of $36,000 in the last budget to keep the service going. But I imagine they won't continue the funding unless people catch it, so if you happen to see it cruising along, make sure you flag it down and go for a free ride. 

*

Village to Village Bus

Every Thursday and Friday

Woolloomooloo to Redfern

*

TIMETABLE 

(use the times as a guide to the stops in between)

TRIP ONE:

8am: Mary Macdonald Activity Centre 

8.15am: St Vincent's Hospital

8.45am: Poets Corner, Redfern

TRIP TWO:

9.45am: Mary Macdonald Activity Centre

10am: St Vincent's Hospital

10.30am: Poets Corner, Redfern

TRIP THREE:

11.30am: Mary Macdonald Activity Centre 

11.45am: St Vincent's Hospital

12.15pm: Poets Corner, Redfern

TRIP FOUR:

1.30pm: Mary Macdonald Activity Centre 

1.45pm: St Vincent's Hospital

2.15pm: Poets Corner, Redfern

TRIP FIVE:

3.15pm: Mary Macdonald Activity Centre 

3.30pm: St Vincent's Hospital

4pm: Poets Corner, Redfern

*

The Village to Village bus stops at most of the usual bus stops.

There are also four trips in the reverse direction. 

Timetables are available from the bus and from the council's website here.

*

www.ssct.org.au

Darlinghurst: Public Transport: The 311 Bus

A small part of my week is taken up by scenes such as this:

And this:

And this:

It may not look like the greatest place to be, but while I'm seated there, looking at the backs of people's heads, I couldn't be happier, because I have just managed to catch the 311 Bus. And that's no easy feat.

The 311 Bus - or the 311 Mystery Bus as it is known to dozens of Darlinghurst's residents who spend a great deal of time waiting at the bus stop for the ride that never arrives - is a vehicle that inspires mixed emotions.

When it fails to show up, or arrives early so that I miss it, I curse the damn thing and then fork out $10 for the cab to work.

But when it arrives on time - and the driver actually sees me and pulls over - I just love that bus.

Then there are the other times when I'm in no need of public transport and I see the 311 waiting impatiently at the lights, rearing to go:

Or just storming past in a blaze of blue paint and petrol fumes:

It is during these moments that I feel compelled to turn to the person nearest to me and say, ''Look! There's the 311!''

Such is its phantom-like allure.

The 311 route could not be more efficient. It begins its journey down at the loop in Elizabeth Bay, chugs up Greenknowe Avenue, cruises along Macleay Street, hoons along Victoria Street and tears down Oxford and Elizabeth streets along the edge of the CBD to Central Station.

From my bus stop on Victoria Street, it takes me only 10 minutes to arrive at work on the 311.

There's also a 311 Doppelganger bus that begins its route at the Elizabeth Bay loop and ends at Circular Quay, near Sydney Harbour, but that doesn't service Darlinghurst residents.

Darlinghurst instead has the 389 Bus from Bondi Junction in Sydney's eastern suburbs, which happens to pass along Burton Street and down through Little Italy (in the Darlinghurst Valley or Flats) on its way to the Quay. It is a bus that isn't purely devoted to the suburb and I only use it when I need to go to David Jones department store, because it stops right outside the door on Elizabeth Street.

There's also an army of buses that plough along Oxford Street on their way to and from other places, but I am not interested in those itinerants.

To catch the 311 it is useful to have one of these:

You can buy the TravelTen ticket at most convenience stores in the area and for $16 you can take ten rides on the 311 that would normally cost $20 if you were paying by cash.

The alternative commute to Central Station from Darlinghurst is by train, which departs from nearby Kings Cross, but that costs $3.20 for a one-way trip.

There is also this bus:

But it costs $30, cruises around the city endlessly and is designed for tourists.

The other thing I love about catching the 311 is the curious people, overheard conversations and occasionally interesting graffiti that can be found inside its hallowed interior.

I have seen some strange commuters, usually nervous-looking middle-aged men, who hop on the bus at Taylor Square and then alight at Whitlam Square, a journey of about 500m that would be more efficiently traversed on foot. These people are not elderly, generally look healthy and I often wonder about their motivation. Perhaps, like me, they just simply love being on the 311.

I also spent one trip listening in to a conversation between two women in which I received a detailed account of one's mental health history and whether or not she was presently going through a manic period. Judging by the tone and volume of her voice, I gave her a positive diagnosis.

Then yesterday, while luxuriating in the sun on the 311, I spotted this collectable sticker on the back of a seat:

Here's a close-up:

The caption reads: Disappointment, Number 4 in a Series.

I wonder if the man in the photograph is standing at a bus stop somewhere in Darlinghurst, still waiting for the 311.