Melbourne Places is rolling on again after a sabbatical. I love that word, sabbatical. It conjures up so much that is mysterious. What happens during a sabbatical? What do people do? Where do they go?
I spent my twelve month’s sabbatical from my blog hanging out in Melbourne. For some of that time I worked on a book that is set in Melbourne.
“Oh!” you say, “Everyone is writing a book.” You’re right. I am always falling over people who talk about writing their memoirs. And it is said that everyone has a least one book in them. I hope I have more than one.
It is such a satisfying thing to do. When all those words are written down there is a great a feeling of achievement. I took my USB stick with all those words to Officeworks and came away with a ‘bound’ book. Not a finished book. It still needs some work but it will be finished. I hope you will be intrigued by my working title. “You’re Telling Me My Tenant’s Have Broken My Rangehood.’ It is creative non-fiction. More news to come.
A great title for a book? Yes? No?
I write this blog for fun and to share the things that catch my eye and my interest around Melbourne. This wonderful city changes, so my blog needs to change too. I will let it spread its wings to cover all aspects of living in Melbourne.
I have an up-date on Russell House. The oldest residence in Melbourne’s CBD
A lovely lady called Jackie M reported on her recent visit to the oldest house in Melbourne’s CBD. The link takes you to the post where you can read all the comments from people who have visited or knew Lola and George Russell of Russell House at some time during their long life and catch up with the latest news
Oldest residence in Melbourne’s CBD
In case you don’t want to scroll through the 19 comments to get Jackie M’s. I have copied and pasted Jackie M’s report.
Let me know if you try the scones. The home jam sounds delicious.
Here’s what Jackie M wrote,
‘As of 5 July 2016, Lola and George are still happily serving customers at Russell’s Corner Shop. I was in there today and it was simply superb! They now have a lovely and bubbly young lady chef working for them. She bakes fresh scones every day – it appears that this has become their signature menu item now. The light and fluffy scones were served with traditionally made English clotted cream and you can take your pick of their homemade jams (their chef makes everything from scratch – cream and jam included, which I thought was very impressive and yes, you can certainly taste the difference). I had the Devonshire tea with apricot jam and noticed the new menu with even a gluten-free option, which I thought was very interesting and thoughtful. I love that they are keeping with old tradition, but now cater for the modern palette and special requirements to some extent. Lola came out for a chat, but seemed very tired. I was told that George was out walking the dog. I felt like I had come to visit much-loved relatives who lived in the country, it was delightful!!
You simply cannot find this sort of country and home-cooked quality treat in the city. You can waste money at the Winsor hotel, but their scones, cream and jam are nothing like the real-deal country-style scones served at Russell’s, they’re also half the price! The tea and coffee is made the old traditional way and no frills, so if you’re looking for a fancy coffee, you won’t find it here. It’s the style of coffee you would drink if you went to visit grandma and grandpa who don’t have Starbucks-esque coffee machines. I love that this forms part of their quirk and my husband enjoyed his home-style coffee with a bit of a chuckle.
My family and I usually have to drive up to the Dandenongs for the real deal devonshire tea, so this was such a lovely surprise today. It was absolutely perfect for the freezing and wet winter weather we had today too. Will definitely be heading back for their devonshire tea, it was absolutely delicious and it was so refreshing to sit in a ‘quite’ cafe for a change. Very much a delightful step back in time.’
Getting There:- Russell House tea shop
Train: The Flagstaff Gardens station is opposite.
Trams: You can get the free city circle tram and get off at the corner of La Trobe and King Street or take any tram from Flinders Street Station along Swanston Street. Get off at La Trobe Street and either walk or take the next tram along La Trobe to King Street.
Well I am up and running again with more to share with you. Follow melbourneplaces for up-dates
