Decided today to take a photo of each of Richmond’s pubs. Earlier in the week I’d seen a collection of photographs of English pub signs somewhere on the web, and I remembered how Jo and I had challenged each other to name all the current Richmond pubs — 17 I think — or was it 27… Vaguely starting from nearest home and spiralling outwards:

• 1. the Bridge Hotel: Closest to home, just up the end of the street.
• 2. the Royal Oak: Flashing lights and poker machines, home of the Richmond Tigers AFL.
• 3. the Spreadeagle: Good food, Guinness on tap, a large hot fire in the winter.
• 4. the Dover Hotel Richmond (the DHR): A quiet and friendly kind of place.
• 5. the Royston: Always reminds me of Walter Burley Griffin or Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture. Circumstance keeps conspiring to prevent me ever getting inside for a beer.
• 6. the Grand: Second closest to home, recently changed hands and there seemed to be some funny business with the opening hours during the changeover.
• 7. the Rising Sun: Smoky
• 8. the Cherry Tree: Out of the way, rarely visited.
• 9. the Great Britain (the GB): One of the first few I ever visited because it was an easy walk from the train
• 10. the Prince Alfred (PA’s): You used to be able to wheel a bike straight into the beer garden, then it was renovated and the garden closed over.
• 11. the Vine: Flashing lights and poker machines, studiously avoided.
• 12. the Swan: A quiet place for a drink during the day, bouncers on the door and yobs inside on Friday and Saturday nights. The old drive-through bottle shop is now a sunny room full of trestle tables.
• 13. the Vaucluse: More poker machines and old men watching the dogs and ponies on the TV screens.
• 14. Central Club Hotel: Used to have quite a live music scene, complete with legendary Christmas shows by Weddings, Parties, Anything. In the last few years it seems to only have heavy metal bands for music.
• 15. the Richmond Club: …
• 16. the Nash (National): up on Victoria street, on the border with Abbotsford. Seems to be making a name for itself with local bands.
• 17. the London: a newly renovated beer garden and rebuilt bistro.
• 18. All Nations: Famous Melbourne-wide for their food, a cosy old place out of the way near the towering ugliness of the housing commission flats.
• 19. the Kingston: Another up-market eating place.
• 15. Prince of Wales: …
• 16. Earl of Lincoln: …
• 17. Mountain View: …
• 18. Cricketers Arms: Right on Punt road, packed after any match at the MCG.
• 19. the Corner Hotel: a corner-piece of the independent music scene.
• 20. the Depot: Friday night drinks, cover bands and queues to get in.
• 21. D.T.s — previously the Batchelor and Spinsters: Does it count still as a pub?
• 22. Spargo’s: I guess it doesn’t count either, but the bar and restaurant are what was the old Town Hall hotel.
• 23. the Sydenham — now the Richmond Tavern: I had to resort to reading through the Melways for this one, never knew it was there!
• 24. the Royal: Another one that I thought had closed. Established 1848, I hope it makes it to 2048!

A possible favourite would have to be the Loyal Studley, sadly it isn’t a pub anymore, I’ve no idea when it closed, but the building is still there and the sign on the wall.

Off this evening to the Famous Spiegeltent for an early show, time to see the Blackeyed Susans. The venue was packed, the queues were long, the seats were hard but the show was good. Ran into Cos and David while we were hanging around waiting for the — very late — appearance of Jo’s sister and friend — they turned up just as the show started. Bad mood gave way to good as the Susan’s played their way through a range of songs, from very old to material off the latest album — Shangri-La — the one that’s been sitting in the CD player since I unwrapped it for my birthday.