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Wine
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2020-03-31
HIST30060 Lockdown #1: Activities and Alcohol
On 31 March 2022, the first lockdown was initiated in both Melbourne and Sydney. I was in Sydney at the time, having arrived a few days prior from Melbourne as border restrictions were starting to be introduced. I am slightly ashamed to say, now, that I really enjoyed this first lockdown. I hadn't lived at home since 2018, and it was a unique experience to enjoy time together that wouldn't have normally happened. We've always been pretty close, but the lockdown forced an intimacy that we'd never had before (it helped that my teenage brother was required to be at home and boredom had driven him to start having conversations with us again). I think mum and dad were consciously trying to keep lockdown interesting, and soon a weekly cocktail night (with a required lounge formal dress code), bi-weekly painting lessons via zoom and daily yoga with mum, nightly music sessions with dad, lego competitions with the old dusty lego sets, and weekend family walks were introduced. I had never done so much exercise in my life, and yet I had never consumed as much alcohol, either. Even when I lived in a flatshare as an eighteen-year-old. Alcohol quickly became a problem for me, one that I have yet to fully address although I have started to cut down. The taste of wine became associated with fun times with the people I loved, so of course, I loved it. And when the lockdown eventually lifted, I returned to Melbourne nearly friendless (having left before I got the chance to settle in and with little opportunity to meet new people), a cheap bottle of pinot grigio and I became good - if slightly toxic - friends. -
2021-09-07
Rolling with the pandemic
This year, I completed an intensive subject called Wines of the World at university. It was postponed many times due to restrictions, and the subject coordinators eventually decided that they would have to host the course entirely online. A key component of the subject was wine tasting, and this photo shows how this was made possible at home. Wine tastings in sous vide bags were posted to each student's house, a quite exciting and novel experience. This photo thus reflects how educators have had to be flexible around restrictions, and come up with new ways to facilitate learning. -
2020-11-05
A Thriving Glass Factory, Melbourne
The glass factory is in the middle of Spotswood, a suburb close to central Melbourne. The factory produces glass containers for many products including baby food, vegemite, beer, wine, jam, and kombucha. They have been very busy this year, thanks to panic buying. One staff member stated that production had been high since March 2020, just like it was in Christmas 2019, the peak season for glass production. Glass bottles are made around Australia as they are quite difficult to transport, so they cannot be outsourced to overseas manufacturers. This facility has around 100 staff. In these images you can see some staff having a break out the front of the business. They are wearing masks in accordance with Victorian (state) laws. In the other image you can also see that the workplace is taking temperature checks to reduce the risk of virus transmission. 37°49'49.5"S 144°53'30.5"E HIST30060