Early last month I was making the most of a brief lunchtime walk through City Square here in Melbourne, when I fixed my radar on a person walking several metres in front of me. She was in her late fifties - oh, all right, maybe she was in her early sixties but not a day older. She was striding purposefully through the summer crowds. And she caught my attention because of what she was wearing.
So I went into overdrive, zig-zagging between shoppers, tourists, lunchtime office workers and children on school excursions. I wanted a picture of the back of the woman's bright red T-shirt. Not just because it was emblazoned with the world Melbourne, but because the black strap of her bag went diagonally through the letters spelling out the name of this city.
I found myself within range and took two or three quick shots. Then, as she stopped for a traffic light, I took another that was a better frame. At the intersection, I finally caught up with her and fessed up, with a big grin, that I'd just photographed her without her knowledge. She was very sporting and when I showed her the images, she gave me her approval.
As you can see clearly in this shot (above) the corporate logo is Me!bourne with an exclamation mark instead of the L. I asked if she and others in the distinctive uniform were part of a new city initiative designed to help tourists and Christmas shoppers unused to the layout of the city. She said with a smile that it isn't a new role and that she and several others have been in the service for a few seasons, as part of the Melbourne Ambassadors programme.
It's all part of the wonderful Australian hospitality. If you're lost, they'll give you the finger. No, no, not THAT finger. They'll point you in the right direction.
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