Parramatta - You can't go back! But surprises happen. - Thursday 15 September

Julie had not been to Westfield Parramatta for 30 years so we decided to go in for "Thursday Night Shopping".

We lasted about 10 minutes in Westfield and then went for a walk through (and beyond) Church Street Mall.

Trying to find a reasonably priced dinner in Parramatta was looking increasingly unlikely when we came across a small cafe at the end of a block.

The Mars Hill cafe tags itself as "Where thinkers drink". It is focussed on ethical business practices, supporting artists and musicians to have a performance space, fair trade and supporting people to develop relevant work skills in a supportive community environment.

Mars Hill cafe

We spoke with Mark, the manager. He described what the cafe is about and gave us the contact details for Kevin (who got it all started). We are catching up with Kevin on Saturday.

We arranged to drop off some Defend Our Water brochures and a poster advertising the St Peters protest on Sunday (18/9). We also donated two T-shirts ... one each of  "Don't frack the earth" and "Don't frack with me" for staff to wear.

It was a pleasant surprise to see an expression of "community" in the heart of the city. Maybe there is hope after all!

Cheers
Michael & Julie