Social meetings and Garbage cans.

A few months ago we moved to a small community of 38 town-houses all set on a meandering private ring road. The settings of the town-houses are somewhat staggered but close enough to warrant our love of ‘privacy’ with the help of either blinds or curtains. However, there are a few recalcitrants brave enough to defy the rule and blatantly allow open curtains, enabling a peek into a world of domesticity that would otherwise be kept well hidden.  Indeed, since our arrival and our Euro-inherited open curtain/blind policy there are now some cracks appearing in the maintenance of that privacy. Yesterday, I noticed an open curtain and a man sipping a glass of wine while preparing food. He was wearing a beanie.

One domestic event enabling social intercourse amongst the inhabitants of this little village named “St Henri” is during the day prior to Garbage collection. The private ring circuit does not allow for larger trucks to pass through easily, so all those familiar garbage wheelie bins have to be taken to the front of the Street. The larger bins are coloured yellow for recycling trash such as plastic and glass bottles, also all paper and carton. The smaller red bins for real garbage including those stale odiferous plastic trays that most foods are increasingly sold in, especially meat.  The garbage bins are solid and are on wheels. They also have a specific identity number on the inside of the lid synchronising bins with owners or renters and registered with the Shire. Woe those who will lose their bin. A hefty $ 160, – replacement fee will be enforced. Early in the evening, all the red coloured bins are standing at attention on the road, like those red uniformed Beef Eaters guarding a Palace. On Thursday morning, they will be empty, waiting to be strolled back again by their owners for the next week.

Our town-house is a bit at the back. This is great because it involves a much longer walk to the street with the garbage bins, allowing a greater chance to meet someone doing the same chore.  Of course, during bitter cold, wet and windy weather, not many have been keen to stop and chat so far. Most are working. Stopping with a garbage can in tow does not provide the most ideal opportunity. Even so, it is better than nothing. Most of the people here seem to be either single women or single men, many with kids. Also some, like us, are not the 9am-5pm crowd, having sold a previous house or farm, and using a six month tenancy to settle down to a more permanent abode in the future. In fact, I think most of the people here are in transit and renting. Heaven knows what marital battles have been played out or are still ongoing.

 A few weeks ago I managed to ‘jumper lead start’ a car with a flat battery. It was for a single woman with 2 kids on her way to school and work. She has now swapped to the other side of our little road to a much larger place, double story with3 bathrooms and double garage. She promised to invite us over soon. I noticed that her car that needed the jump start is  for sale. She now drives a new 4 wheel drive car, metallic grey in colour. Perhaps a marital settlement has come through. Who knows?

 We were also invited to a mid-year residents Christmas party and sausage sizzle. A nice gesture, wasn’t it? The private ring road does enable kids to play around and even though cars are driven to and from individual garages or car spaces, it feels very safe and remarkably noise free. A little boy knocked on our door and asked if that ‘boy with the bike’ could come and play outside. He remembered one of our grandsons who had played with him the previous week during school holidays.

‘St Henri’ in Moss-Vale is a nice place and as a small community, seems to be working.