Wary of being thought of as a small-town propagandist, I’ve long played down the merits of my city of birth. It’s the sort of thing I’ll leave for people from Perth (who are experts at it by the way). I haven’t done enough travel at an age where I could really assess the liveability of other places overseas. In regards to my city, I get annoyed by things I suspect all grumpy 39 year old men get irritated about: Heavy traffic and triple (or more) laned roads that have transformed some formerly minor-arterials into zones so walking-unfriendly that I don’t know how people could consider buying houses on them. Massive amounts of graffiti on shops, fences and houses themselves. Cyclists whose erratic behaviour – cutting through intersections, riding without lights an night, riding at speed through busy pedestrian zones, who curse anyone in their way. But, there’s still plenty to like. It’s easy to get around Melbourne; there’s always a zillion things going on in terms of sports, the arts and general recreation, plus new bars or shops that have opened since you went somewhere last. Now that the Commonwealth Games are 5 days away, a lot of projects are nearing completion. There’s the mysterious Sandridge Bridge 7 metre tall moving sculptures that are taunting me each day – they’re half assembled but not properly visible from my work. Designed by Lebanese artist Nadim Karam and called The Travellers, they’re going to rotate on a conveyor belt along the bridge! 
A sneak preview of a sculture taken before the bridge opens this coming Sunday. It’s a time where I hope visitors like what they see about my town, and that everything goes smoothly for the Games organisers. It’s so easy to knock specific projects, but overall the city has gained some wonderful assets that may not have been achieved otherwise – a redeveloped MCG, better sports facilities (including my local contribution – Darebin’s new Lawn Bowls facility!), a new Spencer Street Station -or is that Southern Cross Station now, lots of fresh plantings, road and footpath improvements. We should have a Games every 4 years and next time, they’ll have to fix the Flinders Street underpass and walkbridge because it’s an awful mess right now.