Surry Hills & Valleys

01/02/2022

Very sad news that Elizabeth Burton passed away. We interviewed Elizabeth for Surry Hills and Valleys and she was featured on the Compass program that we did. She was a woman full of joy and kindness. I'll always remember her sass, generosity and grace. She was very much loved by the Surry Hills and the LGBTQI community. She leaves so many memories and a good deal of history goes with her. I do hope her memoirs get published. Sending love to her family and friends. She will be missed in our community.

15/12/2020

This week in our COVID series we feature Irena!

"What do I want in the future? When I try to think of a future, sadly I can’t envisage anything – it’s a blank. Personally, I’m taking it one day at a time and seeing how it all unfolds. I am hoping that everyone continues to do the right thing and that soon COVID becomes contained, and at least, all our state borders will reopen so we will be able to ‘safely’ move about our communities and travel within Australia. Meanwhile, I’m making the most of what is still available. Life as we have known it will never be the same. This isn’t necessarily doom and gloom – it will just be different and as a human race we will adapt and hopefully survive."

Irena Dobrijevich : Challenges and Joys; Impact on locality; How Surry Hills is changing; What I want in the future I’m sorry but I see very few joys. As a vulnerable and high-risk person over 70 y…

30/11/2020

This week in our COVID-19 series we feature Giancarlo.

"So when the world responded to the pandemic, we wanted the world to simply not leave us behind. Our experiences of the world is not the same as everyone else, because we face so many barriers to living and participating in the world around us. Despite wanting to be part of the social, political, economic and cultural life of the people around us, we often aren’t able to because the world forgets about us, segregates us, doesn’t want to be around us, and think we are a burden on them. So when the world responded to the pandemic, we wanted the world to simply not leave us behind."

Giancarlo de Vera The Coronavirus pandemic exposed how fragile our world is. For the first time, everyone on this large and diverse planet we  call home, all realised how everyday things like …

23/11/2020

This week in our Covid-19 series we have Marta!

Before I was aware of the coronavirus epidemic here in Australia, I was looking closely at the news in Europe. My family lives in Madrid, Spain. Then the virus hit the United States. My eyes were glued to the news in New York, since I have many friends and colleagues there – I lived there 23 years.

So, I was pretty anxious even before coronavirus arrived on these shores.

My partner and I decided to escape the city before it went in lock down – I was not that sure in the beginning, he kind of dragged me out. We were lucky enough to be able to move for almost 3 months up north, to Soldiers Point in Port Stephens, by the water. My anxiety disappeared. There, I discover the relaxing power of foraging the beach and bush for gum branches, of canoeing and fishing. I even caught a couple of blue crabs.

Now, back in Sydney, we are both working from home. Work is starting to pick up slowly. My desk is the dining table. My partner has giving up his office all together.

Coming back felt strange, like going back to civilisation – but a scary one, where you can’t trust others.

Some of my friends don’t give a damn about the risk of contagion, and they kiss and hug when we get together. I don’t. One of my girlfriends says with a laugh, “So what, we have to die of something, any way!” Sorry, I’m not ready to die yet.

www.Surryhillsandvalleys.com

16/11/2020

Next in our Covid-19 series is Felicity and Timur from Rustic pearl!

"The environmental impact of a shift to takeaway made us reconsider our waste management. We changed all of our takeaway packaging and disposables to be ‘compostable only’ and we implemented industrial composting into our kitchen.We experimented with our menu, taking elements of Rustic Pearl’s favourite flavours such as bay lobster and developed affordable street food such as the Mini Lobster Bun, Grilled Fish Baguette, and Plant Based Vegan Lamb Wrap to redefine our ‘new normal’. An ongoing evolution, Rustic Pearl’s pivot to Gypsy Caravan was out of survival in economic uncertainty and we continue to focus on quality street food and sustainability in all facets of our operation."

Rustic Pearl On the 16th of March 2020, Rustic Pearl changed its direction. In light of the pandemic unfolding globally and the news of many restaurants changing their operation to cater for a publ…

09/11/2020

Surry Hills & Valleys is doing a special COVID-19 series for a few weeks telling the stories of people in our neighbourhood during a time of pandemic. First up is Greg Garrett!

"When my mum told me that my aunt, who lives in NYC contracted COVID, I started paying more attention to what was going on. Weeks later, when my mum informed me that my aunt had passed away, I became fixated on listening to the news to hear death counts (particularly in the USA) but more importantly listening for signs of hope."

Telling the stories of people in our community

24/02/2020

New Surry Hills & Valleys post up!

"I think everyone’s temperament has changed because the world has changed. I really believe it takes an individual to have a life, a family to develop it, but a community to support it. I think that’s what we need in the world. I know Surry Hills is just a pocket in a massive place (the earth) but every pocket matters and every person matters."

I was born here in the early 60s on Bourke Street (just on the southside of Cleveland Street) and lived here until about 1969, I then moved to Kensington and returned here about 2012. I remember as…

30/07/2019

Today we hear from Kate!

"There’s a real sense of community in our street: we have a Christmas Party just down near “The Kirk”. It goes on until eight or nine o’clock at night. We have “The Housies” coming down. They always manage to fit in. We give them a glass of beer. If we had bought somewhere else, it might not have been the same."

Kate Moulton: principal dancer of the Australian Ballet I always wanted to live in a terrace house. When I was a little girl – in the forties and early fifties – I used to come into th…

16/07/2019

Today we feature Barbara!

When he was fifteen, my son fell from the fifteenth floor. He was lucky: he feel into the only tree in the Waterloo Building, and he survived. He’s forty years old now, he’s working, and he’s living just down the road. I cared for one lady in one building down from me. When she died, I had a bit of a rest, and came back here. I do Oz Harvest on Monday. We’ve got a quiet building with lots of elderly people. No yelling and screaming.
The centre has changed for the better since Roy, Sacha and Kira took over.

Barbara : Northcott Resident When he was fifteen, my son fell from the fifteenth floor. He was lucky: he feel into the only tree in the Waterloo Building, and he survived. He’s forty years ol…

02/07/2019

New profile up today!

"I suppose I’ve struggled with ma*****na use since the age of 11. I’ve only been clean now for two years. I think it’s got a lot to do with being here in the community and getting the support from the community. If it wasn’t for the support I got from the community, I wouldn’t be off it to be honest. I just think that I’m not interested anymore. I’ve just grown. I’ve decided I want to grow and be changed and the people that help me grow and change are the people in the community. If it wasn’t for their help, like the pop-up drug stores and stuff like that happening, I don’t think I would have ever stopped."

Kelly: Volunteer at Northcott When I first came to Surry Hills (seven years ago) I was addicted to ma*****na. I was addicted for maybe two years. Then I moved away for a year to Concord Hospital to…

10/06/2019

Surry Hills & Valleys is back for another season!

Watch this space for our first story of 2019 coming very soon 👌🌸👏🏼👏🏼🌺😎🍂

22/09/2018

Great to be part of Surry Hills Festival this year!