Posted on 02/03/2016 5:26:26 PM PST by naturalman1975
IN 1999, Sydney was at its peak. The Olympic Games were imminent and there was unbridled optimism that Sydney was about to emerge as an international city as the millennium approached.
Internationally, Sydney was renowned as an incredibly fun place to live; the entertainment was world class, with great restaurants and venues to visit at any time of night.
Something pernicious has happened in the 17 years since, and Sydney has not just regressed into a ghost town, but there is an undercurrent of something much more sinister in the way the city is being run.
As I write this in 2016, not a day goes by without the press reporting of yet another bar, club, hotel, restaurant or venue closing.
Walk up Bayswater Rd, Oxford St or the 'Golden Mile' in Kings Cross and club after club is closed; not just after 1.30am, but permanently.
A few months ago the perennial Flinders bar in Darlinghurst closed. Then the century-old Exchange Hotel shut down, which held six venues including the Phoenix, live music hall Spectrum, and the upstairs pool hall Q-Bar. Following that, the evergreen Goldfish bar in Kings Cross. Then Soho.
Every week, another venue or restaurant closes. The soul of the city has been destroyed.
Kings Cross, in particular, has been decimated so badly that it will never, ever, come back as an entertainment precinct. Hugo's Lounge closing, which was the swankiest bar in Sydney for 15 years and voted Australia's best nightclub five years running, was the final nail in the coffin for the area.
The venue also housed the 130-seat Hugo's Pizza, which had not just won Best Pizza Restaurant in Australia at the Australian Restaurant & Catering Awards, but was also named the World's Best Pizza in the American Pizza Challenge in New York.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.com.au ...
Control freak politicians destroy cities... that might be the problem with Sydney.
Good article. Thanks for posting. Shame to see the thread get hijacked.
The end of nightlife is taking place all over the Western world. Here in the states I've seen countless clubs shutter over time. Many factors are to blame. Tougher DUI laws, smoking bans, increasingly punitive penalties for drinking age violations. Most important though I believe are changing social mores towards alcohol consumption. For example, 20 years ago one could show up to work in the morning with a hangover. Today, this is much less tolerated.
Can’t tell you how impressed I am with your detective abilities. Don.
I think you will be the next Sherlock Holmes.
Keep up the terrific sleuthing, Don.
I’m not the only one watching, noob. I rarely even take note of such things. So while I may have been mistaken this time, I’m still running a .660+ at tripping across DU plants.
BTW, there’s a thing called a sarchasm. it’s the difference between a genuinely sarcastic comment, and a failed attempt.
Sherlock Don will get to the bottom of things.
Never worry, never fear
Marvin Stinson the wise is here.
_ _ _
my freepmail to you since you're avoiding responding:
"...'anger diatribe'?" I wasn't angry. In my lengthy post about constable Don, I was casually using sarcasm to refer to constable don as a sneaky scumbag, which just happens to be the case, yes, huh...... ;) And btw, why did you refer to our fellow freeper marvin as being a noob? Tell me, what is a noob? what does noob mean? (oh, and if I can't casually communicate here after this post, we won't have to wonder why, lol)
Impatient much? Holy moley dude. I’m just about to leave for work, notice someone FReepmailed me, responded within 5 minutes of its being sent, and I’m “avoiding”?
Take a chill pill. Not everyone sits at their ‘puter 24/7/365. Some of us have lives, jobs, etc.
G_d bless.
Ditto for Adelaide
A “noob” is a goofy term for anyone newer to FR than the poster himself, the one using the term, in order to play one-up on someone else. It’s silly, and only useful when someone new arrives who is too big for their britches. LOL!
You take your fresh mouthed guy here. You can click his name at the bottom of his comment to you, and his “page” pops up. All “pages” identify the “start date” of each FR poster. This one came, in August, 2000, I believe.
Sure hope that helps you and that you are feeling better rested from the medical hike you endure earlier.
I’d like the pleasure of also being able to - just “leave”.
So, we’re going to leave it at this, huh, okie dokie and I look forward to posting more funnies sometime about our pal Constable DonW and his escapades throughout freepland. ;)
Thank you for your post and the warm regards friend.
[and btw, I wasn't even going to wait 20 seconds before posting my #67 here, don't want others to be 'surprised' if they ever get accosted in the middle of posting/out of the blue] ---
I do apologize for all the commotion in the middle of your fine thread here, and I'll be back a bit later to ask you just a few more questions as to why Sydney is becoming a ghost town. Perhaps there is a way for all cities in Australia to learn from this.
Thanks for your sober reply about this series of events. From the comments at the cited article, I envisioned crowds of drunken rowdies blocking the streets and raising hell until sunrise.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.