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Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Glebe shooting

I've struggled to write something clear and positive about this.

Underbelly 2 screens on Monday nights. We try and get the children well away before it starts at 8.30. About 8.20 last Monday as one daughter was getting out of the bath I heard a series of five or six small explosions. Fireworks or possibly some minor act of vandalism I thought. A little later there was some shouting outside and the other daughter went out on to the front porch to look but wanting to avoid attracting attention I urged her back inside.

Much later I realised that a large noisy engine or generator had been running for some time and looked out the front to see a police truck turning into the street. I noticed that Police Line tape had been stretched across the street and across the laneway at the back of the house. Summat's up I thought.

The next morning the online Sydney Morning Herald had a brief report of a knee-capping in the laneway. The more sensationalist online Daily Telegraph report relishes the drama. There was, perhaps, a party to celebrate the release from prison of the 25 year old target. The comments section of the Telegraph added nothing productive to the situation.

I hope but don't expect that something positive will happen as a result.

This article in The Glebe of March 5 sums up the situation but doesn't seem outcome focussed:
http://glebe.whereilive.com.au/news/story/living-in-nightmare-street/

8 comments:

Fifi Colston said...

Underbelly started tonight. I have an issue with the opening scene- not the nudity of Terry, but the fact that he was painting with 'Jo Sonja's Folk Art Colour'. This programme is clearly a fiction and gross exaggeration full of historical innacuracies. Jo Sonya's colours were not invented before the mid 90's. Liquitex would be closer to the truth. No wonder there are knee cappings going on in the vicinity- artists raging no doubt...

Fresh Local said...

You're not the first to point out historical inaccuracies. It seems artistic license can go too far. People I e-know draw my attention to heated and vicious debate on art blogs in NZ. Seems there's some dispute over postmodernism - whether it was a significant art movement or a momentary glitch. Phew!

In the local conflict I think it may have been something less theoretical.

Martin Edmond said...

Don't know if it's relevant but I once watched some cops pistol whip a kid of 14 or 15 over the bonnet of a car just back of your place. Until then I thought the phrase 'pistol whip' was metaphorical.

Fresh Local said...

The kids whipped may be the parents of the kids getting whipped now. The people who lived in your old place until a week or so ago used to buy their gear from the bloke whose bro-in-law was shot.

Fifi Colston said...

good lord- you mean to tell me that dealing in acrylics isn't the main vice going on in your neck of the woods? I'm shocked. Mind you I did see an nasty incident with a round sable one time. You don't want to mess with dirty ferrules I can tell you.

Fresh Local said...

Not sure about the spelling but a lot of the local kids are ferrule. Didn't Dave Cowie suggest a good long soaking with just the tips of the bristles in water?

Nest time I go out I'll ask people to show me their bristles - probably get some kind of reaction.

[c0ve] Chopper said...

Another drive by tonight - this time I had the police on the phone before the shots rang out.

I live on Bellevue street and a silver WRX which I have observed several times before and am very familar with - slowed up; fired off 5 shots from what sounded like a 9mm and proceeded to floor it out of bellevue and down lyndhurst.

Such a lovely street to live in.

Fresh Local said...

Apart from the usual mildly antisocial acts than happen in any street most of the dodgy goings on are connected with a single address.

The tenants are the "victims" in the recent shootings.