Brunswick tango

Like most inner suburbs of Melbourne, Brunswick is embroidered with lanes and cul de sacs. While Sydney Road is a relentless flow of noisy metal, the lanes that spring from it can foster quite particular milieus.

I walk through this lane twice a day. It doesn't seem to have a name. It takes me past the back of a glazier and Greek cake shop. I see evidence of damage that has been occurring to premises around Brunswick, needing replacement. And I am struck by a heady cloud of vanilla as I pass by the confectioners. Quite often, there is business going on here, as strange men do backyard deals.

Then I encounter the Baptist Church. At night, there is usually a Tai Kwon Do lesson going on inside, with half a dozen men in cotton jackets striking severe poses. Around the corner, there's a light that goes on automatically as you pass. It spotlights a corner that must be a favourite spot for relief. Sometimes, there's a strange package there with what look like electrical tools. This is one of the very few vantage spots just off Sydney Road where someone can conceal themselves.

Then it's on to the road itself, to join the normal flow of people and cars.

Is it a tango? Well, there's no dance, nor hint of romance. But it does feel like a trick played against the street, or at least the space where this might happen.

The intensity of tango seems so remote from a liveable city like Melbourne, it's appearance might seem to be left to the strange dank corners of the city.