Here's a bit of Aussie nostalgia for you.

[red750]

 

 

[onetrack]

When the brother and I first started earthmoving contracting in 1965, we contracted with the local Golden Fleece bulk fuel agent to supply all our fuel and lubricant needs. Petrol was 3 shillings and 4d (34c) a gallon, and diesel was exactly half that figure - 1 shilling and 8d (17c) a gallon. Golden Fleece also produced their own oils and greases, and their oil quality was outstanding - although it was rumoured that Caltex refined their oil for them.

 

We burnt up hundreds of thousands of litres of Golden Fleece diesel and petrol, and used tens of thousands of litres of their lubricating oils, and probably multiple tonnes of their greases, over the approximately 8 years we contracted with Golden Fleece.

I could almost weep now at the thousands of Golden Fleece branded containers we buried - all sizes of drums (we used drummed fuel on a sizeable scale initially), oil containers, grease pails, grease cartridges, you name it!

We even had a stack of those great Golden Fleece oil bottles and broke many of them. Where the rest went, I have no idea. I found a Golden Fleece gallon tin recently and a bloke visiting my workshop spotted it and snatched it up! - for $50!

 

One thing I have saved from that era, is 8 of the heavy old WW2, 44 gallon, galvanised fuel drums. These are becoming real collectors items today, too. Ahh, the memories of handling 44 gallon drums on a daily basis!

The Golden Fleece depot we initially bought our fuel from has long ago closed down, the storage tanks were sold off and removed, and the yard is used for the storage of a large number of (unrestored) vintage tractors, collected by another local contractor!

 

Edited September 4, 2022 by onetrack

[Jerry_Atrick]

I know this has nothing to do with autos, but this is one of my favourite pubs in London: https://www.goldenfleececity.com/

 

They do their own bitters and ales, and, well every time I go there, I fondly think of the days of Golden Fleece in Aus when I was a kid.. Nostalgia - one of the most expensive commodities on earth!

[old man emu]

When I was growing up my local servo was an AMPOL one, so like Ford -v- Holden, I was on the AMPOL side of the AMPOL -v- Golden Fleece tussle.

 

Things I remember:

1. The name of the suburb written on their big sign:  Nowadays it's impossible to know what suburb you are passing through.

 

2. The AMPOL passport - a little book that you got rubber-stamped at every different service station you visited while on a trip. Small fuel tanks + windy roads = lots of stops between Sydney and the Gold Coast. = lots of stamps.

 

While deciding not to officially sponsor an oil company, members of the NRMA's board sought investors, and on 23 March 1936, the Australian Motorists Petrol Company was incorporated in New South Wales. Uniquely, it was the first oil company in which the Australian public could buy shares.

 

The construction of the Lytton Refinery in the 1960s was an important milestone for both Ampol and Australia, as it gave the nation its first wholly owned processing facility, coming into operation in July 1965. The Lytton refinery was built at the end of a 191 miles (307 km) pipeline from the Moonie oilfield. In 2021, Lytton was one of only two oil refineries (with the Geelong Oil Refinery) remaining in Australia. Twenty years earlier, Australia had eight operating oil refineries. As they have gradually been closed by the companies that operate them, there has been concern as to whether the Australian government should act to maintain a domestic refining capability. At the beginning of 2021, the government offered one cent per litre of refined transport fuel produced in Australia provided that the refinery owner agreed to keep it operating for the duration of the program.

 

The refinery operated at a loss of $145 million in 2020. How come!!! You'd think that having the OK to operate an oil refinery would be a licence to print money.

 

[Yenn]

I like that photo of the Ampol servo. Notice the few people you can see. You wouldn't see that nowadays. I also wouldn't go to an Ampol servo now, they will think up some way to rip you off, such as as sign at the front saying unleaded $177 and the pump has $1.99 on it.

[old man emu]

That photo is of Elizabeth Street Sydney, just across the road from Central Station. Even now, not many people walk along there. Here's the current view of the same area.

[spacesailor]

It will take a while to get the offices filled again,  all the café & shops are crying for customers. 

spacesailor

[Jerry_Atrick]

I would nottouch a cbd food business with yours (unless they have residentialised the centre like Melbourne has)

[old man emu]

1 hour ago, Jerry_Atrick said:

I would nottouch a cbd food business with yours (unless they have residentialised the centre like Melbourne has)

Admittedly the past two years have been a strain on CBD food businesses, but the crowds will return. Unfortunately, Sydney does not have the cultural night life of Melbourne  located within the CBD. There is no live theatre district. The theatres are dispersed, and often simply used as a drawcard to get people into casinos and their restaurants. As a matter of fact, I doubt if you could find a restaurant in the Sydney CBD where you could "dine" as opposed to "eat". 

 

I suppose that's asign of teh cultural difference between Sydney and Melbourne. Sydney bustles to make "new money" while Melbourne basks in the benefits of "old money".

[facthunter]

I've lived and worked in Both but I reckon you can be part of Melbourne without being rich.   Nev

[red750]

2 hours ago, old man emu said:

but the crowds will return.

It may take a while. A few city workers I know (my son being one) never want to return to the city, now they have proven they can work just as well from home. Hard on the rest of the family, though. No commute, no costly petrol. No parking. Save hours, roll out of bed a few minutes before starting, particularly on a cold morning. Even team meetings conducted on Zoom.

[old man emu]

Working from home is OK provided you can set up in an area that you can define as "The Office", and be able to set "office hours". I believe that many people find that when working from home, they can get through their day's work in less than the 7-1/2 hours normally given over to being at the office. My daughter is a CFO of a large international company. Later this month she will accompany her husband to Sydney while he undergoes an orthopaedic operation. She says that on the day of the operation, and after during non-visiting hours, she will be in a hotel room working via the Internet.

 

And, if your pre-COVID routine was to get up at 6:00 am to "catch the morning train" to be in office by 9:00 am, keep doing that, but start work at 6 and get at least an hour or two in before the tumult of getting the kids off to school. If a business sets a certain number of tasks to be completed, then getting them done in a shorter time leaves the worker more time for non-work activities. It must be a boon for those with young families to have the parenting shared more. In the case of the Dad at work, Mum at home , free time allows Dad to at least pick up the kids from school, and that is an un-utilised social resource for the Dad to be able to mix with other dads while waiting for the kids to come out.

 

There is one really big drawback to working at home. It's the psychological effect of losing all that social interaction we have during our workday. Starting with the greeting to you regular bus driver to the station and including the "water cooler" conferences and interaction with the people where you buy your morning coffee or lunchtime meal.

 

 

[red750]

My son's work station is set up in the family room, directly in front of the TV, and opposite the kitchen. He works shift hours - 8.00 to 4.06, 9.00 to 5.06, 10.00 to 6.06 and 11.54 to 8.00. When it's time for him to work, TV goes off. We have to organise meals during his rostered meal breaks. Cooking when he is on the late shift has to be done quietly...(shoosh). I can watch the news in the lounge room but have to turn the volume down so I can barely hear it. I was in my bedroom this morning watching a video clip on the laptop. He came and closed the door because the volume as too loud. The dog, which must live in the house, either wrestling with the cat or barking at it, or responding to the neighbours dog, is a real problem.

[Yenn]

All this talk of working from home makes me wonder what the people who produce things in Australia do. How do you work from home if you grow our food, build houses, drive a bus or even a plane. Maybe the reason we are short of housing is that houses can't be built from home.

[facthunter]

If you drive a plane you live out of a suitcase.  Nev

[Marty_d]

10 hours ago, red750 said:

My son's work station is set up in the family room, directly in front of the TV, and opposite the kitchen. He works shift hours - 8.00 to 4.06, 9.00 to 5.06, 10.00 to 6.06 and 11.54 to 8.00. When it's time for him to work, TV goes off. We have to organise meals during his rostered meal breaks. Cooking when he is on the late shift has to be done quietly...(shoosh). I can watch the news in the lounge room but have to turn the volume down so I can barely hear it. I was in my bedroom this morning watching a video clip on the laptop. He came and closed the door because the volume as too loud. The dog, which must live in the house, either wrestling with the cat or barking at it, or responding to the neighbours dog, is a real problem.

Why don't you tell him to work from his room?

[red750]

You couldn't fit a matchbox in his room.

[old man emu]

How much rent is he paying?

[Marty_d]

I cut down a desk, it's 1500 x 450.  Fits my work laptop, keyboard/mouse, 2 full size monitors and has room left over for paperwork.  When the kids are on school holidays I move it into our bedroom, otherwise it's in a corner of the lounge.

You don't need a lot of room for a desk.  Perhaps a couple of trailer loads to the tip might clear the space!

[Jerry_Atrick]

Some wfh funnies:

 

[Jerry_Atrick]

And, I am lucky with my WFH setup:

 

[Jerry_Atrick]

Re the working from home, I am not sure about where Aus was going with it before the pandemic, but many larger banks had "seen the light" before the pandemic. The bank I was working for had us wfh 3 days/week byt the time I left, and except for client facing people, traders and their support staff, about a year after I left, it was only come in if you need to press the flesh. Almost all banking work (non client facing) is 2 days week in the office. Central London is a vibrant city with all sorts of cultural precincts. However, 1 in 7 pubs are closing, and there are many restaurants, food outlets (think lunch time places), and barbers that have now gone for good. I don't know what the commercial property vacancy rate is, but there are a a lot more office and retail for lease signs than pre-pandemic.

 

A mate of mine works for Westpac in Sydney, but he lives in Melbourne (CBD). He goes to Sydney once a month, I think. Most information workers do not need to be in the office.

 

Back over here, local pubvs are fairing better that city pubs.. My original and still local landlord when I stay in London, who has had the pub for 37 years says his buisiness is up 20% compared to pre-pandemic.

 

If Aus goes the same way, except for Melbourne, and I think Brissie, where there is a good number of residential dwellings in the city, I would not be touching CBD businesses with a barge pole.

 

|This photo was taken on Wednesday 27th July at 7:20pm on a tube at Liverpool Street station, which is one of the main financial districts. Pre-pandemic, it would be close to standing room only, and this was just before the state school holdiays started. Big difference now.

 

 

 

Edited September 7, 2022 by Jerry_Atrick

[octave]

11 hours ago, Jerry_Atrick said:

And, I am lucky with my WFH setup:

 

 

I have to admit to having "screen envy", I only have 2.

Edited September 8, 2022 by octave

[rgmwa]

11 hours ago, Jerry_Atrick said:

And, I am lucky with my WFH setup:

 

Lucky? Hah! You’ve only got one keyboard!

Edited September 8, 2022 by rgmwa

[Marty_d]

It's sad if you're a small business in the city centre - but why wouldn't you see the writing on the wall, close up and reopen in the 'burbs?

As a colleague of mine says - she still buys her coffee every morning, she just buys it from the cafe near her house on the days she works from home.  

Plus the rents would have to be cheaper than city centre.