Much to the pleasure of my animal familiars, who are always ready to be up and running about, today started earlier than usual. Put it down to a sleepless concern about the state of the economy. (Yes, really.) It is 7.15 AM and I find myself in one of my occasional weekend haunts, C&B Café on Block Place, having an early breakfast. C&B is great for people watching, and Block Place supplies a steady stream of passers-by. I was the first patron of the day, and having despatched some eggs and a coffee I am settling in for an hour of writing before heading off to the day job.

I love the city when it is still dark, and the trucks are making their early deliveries. A strange spell sits over cities in the very early morning, and it is somehow exhilarating to wander about before even the earliest cafés are open. You can own the streets. Merely being up early creates its own sense of purpose, even if you have nowhere to go in particular. Of course it helps if you have spent a restful night in a warm bed; not everyone is so lucky.

As it happens I was out of the apartment half an hour before C&B opened, and I was forced to have a coffee at one of those all night places on Swanston Street. I stopped at a restaurant near LIttle Collins Street, and sat at a booth. The place has a neon Eiffel Tower over the door for some reason. The coffee was terrible, but the table did have a jukebox, so it wasn’t all bad. They also have a picture of Elvis taped to the ceiling, in case of emergencies.

People are on the move now, starting to filter past, some dropping in for coffee or breakfast. So the day begins. It is time now that I too joined the throng, tramming over to the office in Carlton for a day of harmless fun in the design world. Next writing session at lunch, four plus hours from now: much to do between now and then.