Project 289 - Day 46 (Saturday 2 May, 2009) : These Gay Boys Went To Market

I have already made my profound love of malls clear (and my commitment to spending Australia out of the GFC - that's OK Kev., thank me later!), but the places I prefer to shop for one-of-a-kind fun stuff are the Markets, and in particular, Glebe Markets.

Which is where I met up with a very good friend of mine from my days at FedEx - Michelle (pictured above with me, after our delicious brunch/lunch at Badde Manners cafe) - who is funky, engaging, endless;y creative, and a delight to be with every time. She was the person who, when I came out, breathed a sigh of relief, and told me she'd been planning to give me a key one Christmas so I could open the door to the closet! She has no fear, is utterly unflappable, and absolutely the sort of honest caring friend you want in your corner for life.... oh yeah, and a great person to wander around the Markets with, as committed as I am to making sure Australia is in recession for as little time as possible.

The stalls are squashed higgledly-piggledly style into school grounds, and I visited all my favourites including the sweet and sour licorice guy (7 strips for $16 - yum!), the wacky photo guy (who puts hysterical nonsensical tag lines onto photos and then makes them into fridge magnets, postcards etc - he is one of the nicest people to talk to as well), and the funky T-shirt people. Given the sheer breadth of goods on offer, none of which you would find in a mall (I do have a love/hate relationship with the modern bastion of commerce don't I?! LOL), I did quite well only buying the licorice, a giraffe tissue-holder for my sister, and 2 fridge magnets.

Far more fun was spending time with Michelle, catching up on news, giving her a chance to meet the bf (above), and laughing like we always do. To top it all off, the weather was perfect Autumn fare, and with Michelle having to rush to a jewelery class, the bf and I were joined by our good friend Fahmi for an extended brunch (he took over Michelle's seat). All in all, a delightfully chilled, fun Autumn morning Sydney-style.