Democratic responsibility to hold an opinion

(Photos: Helen Carey Ireland, Melbourne)
























Melbourne Punk Commute!!! - a counter culture cycle protest & ride from Federation Square to Parliament House, exercising our responsibility to participate in democracy...

There were:

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* * * * * * * *30 BIKE SHARE BIKES & ANORS
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* * * * * * * *34 ACTIVE PUNK COMMUTERS
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* * * * * * * *FED SQUARE PUNK COMMUTE SUPPORTERS++
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* * * * * * * *SPEECHES++
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* * * * * * * *1 HECKLER
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* * * * * * * *MEDIA & RADIO & TV INTERVIEWS
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* * * * * * * *NO POLICE
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* * * * * * * *NO BOOKINGS
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* * * * * * * *NO ARRESTS
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* * * * * * * *BRUNETTI DE-BRIEFING

...& notwithstanding the fact that only a handful of places in the world have made bicycle helmets compulsory and that the countries who lowered cyclist injury did so by preferring instead to improve the cycling environment, we still received the usual specious & predictable comparisons to 'climate change deniers' from the journos...but it was good to see them there anyway!!!

- & great to have a heckler as well!!! - now we really have 'street cred'!!!!

Melbourne Punk Commute - TOMORROW

...our voice, our concern, our ride

...see you then...

(with bells on!!!)

Starship 'Bicycle-Helmet' Enterprise

The Question:

"To what extent has Australian bicycle helmet policy been commercially driven?"

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The Answer:

"100%"

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Whilst "wear-me-bicycle-helmet-safety-promotion" purportedly set out to pursue safety, in reality it pursued (& continues to pursue) its own interests & never the public's!

Essentially the public's best interests were negotiated into oblivion for the benefit of bicycle helmet policy contractors.

Melbourne Punk Commute - MEDIA RELEASE

(Photos: Chapel Street, South Yarra)


Bells, bicycles & BIKE-SHARE!

Q. Why has the latter flopped in Melbourne?

...in a nutshell...

A. Bicycle helmet law!

Ignore shrill protestations trotted out by car clubs & bicycle clubs!!! - this is the reason...

...& Australians are not happy!

This Saturday 30th July 2011, 'Punk Commuters' are taking to the Melbourne streets to peacefully protest about our crippling helmet regulation.

Starting at Federation Square (12:30pm sharp), the bicycle plan is to cycle in a peaceful 'protesterly' manner along most of Swanston Street, along the Bourke Street Mall & then up the rest of Bourke Street to Parliament House and the Treasury Building.

There'll be megaphones & speeches, & of course there'll be plenty of 'ringing of bells' peacefully.

Finally the Bike-share bikes are going to get the love they deserve ♥ ♥ ♥

...& needless to mention, everyone will decide their hat-wear options!

Our democracy, our rules - let's get Australian politicians to 'once-again' recognise cyclists' right to choose whether we helmet or not!!

...& let's give Melbourne Bike-Share a chance!

Rottnest Island 1984

FIRST & FOREMOST: YAY!!!!

Our Cadel + l’avenue des Champs-Élysées + 'Advance Australia Fair' = super super stuff!!

BRAVO, MONSIEUR EVANS!!!!! WAY TO GO!!!! BRILLIANT!!! YAY!!!!

...& jeez now I can stop being a possum & try sleeping at night again!!!...

...& put the 'family albums' away!!!!!!!!!!!

But before I do either of those...

...here's a somewhat fuzzy snap of perfectly 'legal' cycling Australians (one well into 2nd trimester with baby no.1!!) cycling perfectly 'legally' in Australia - the good old days!

Memories today

(Photos: my parents - Wallington, England, February 1959)


Sometimes numbers collide into anniversaries giving pause for thought.

As our baby no.4 approaches '21' it has occurred to me that my parents were '21' in this wedding photo, and that I was '21' when, 30 years ago today, my father drowned in the North Atlantic ocean after ejecting from his RAF Jaguar, and that in 5 days time it will be 30 years since I attended a wedding at St Paul's Cathedral in order to sing at the marriage of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales and Lady Dianna Spencer, before I sang at my father's funeral 2 days later.

So many memories & so many decades...

...it's a privilege to be here to remember

Melbourne Punk Commute - latest update

Diary update!!!

Saturday 30th July 2011 - 12:30pm till 2:00pm...

On your bikes!! - here's some new info on our 'peaceful assembly' ride!

So...after we meet at Melbourne's Federation Square, our 'man-on-the-ground-in-Melbourne' has planned that we 'make our way along a route that takes in most of Swanston Street, the Bourke Street mall and then up the rest of Bourke Street to Parliament House and the Treasury Building'.

Excitingly, our 'man-on-the-ground-in-Melbourne' goes on to report that this particular journey will give us 'maximum exposure in the CBD, especially when we ring our bells like crazy'!!!

- needless to mention there'll be some chatting on our megaphone too!!

Our democracy, our rules - our heads, our choice!!!