in complete contrast to newtown is my adopted home of avalon, on the northern beaches of the peninsula that sticks out from the mainland, surrounded by ocean on one side with their magnificent beaches and pristine landscapes, while on the other is pittwater, gentle little bay where all manner of sailing vessels traverse on their journeys but most just bob up and down moored permanently as playthings of the rich and glamorous. 
now avalon has changed dramatically over the years, it used to be a magickal place, like real magick, i'm pretty sure aboriginal people would classify it as a sacred space, the energy there is incredible, it's a sort of healthy version of what byron bay aspires to be, without the pretensions. it's powerfully healing the further north you travel from avalon, through to whale beach, and then palm beach where you come to the lighthouse. 
i used to clamber up that lighthouse everyday, having lived everywhere in that little area, my son and i spend a lot of time wandering along that coastal area, rock hopping, swimming and lighthouse adventuring, it was a magnificent backdrop for playing. 
i'd even spend hours in a float tank at palm beach, very intense sessions, being consumed by some friendly void but let's face it palm beach is defined by the people who live there and in them old days the people were amazing, yeah they were either very wealthy or struggling passengers like me, the thing is, you could never tell one from the other, there was no distinctions, the class war didn't exist. i was friends with some of the wealthiest people in australia, successful artists, their children, film directors, writers and a host of creative folk whom had opened up their lives and homes to folks like me.  
madame lash was one that springs to mind, a misunderstood person if ever there was one, she was so far ahead of her time, a brilliant mind, a talented artist and a very lovely lady. she hosted some pretty wild parties up at her place and always made me feel very welcome, once when i was homeless she let me stay, although i had to sleep in a dungeon, she even invited me for xmas dinner on many occasions and i assisted her form a new political party, the extra dimensionalists party, which stood against fred nile.
lash is a very well read woman, germanic lineage and capable of holding incredible conversations on any subject especially herself.
there were other personalities 'francis firebrace' the aboriginal artist and story teller whom also adopted me as a brother and gave me great insight into aboriginal australia, he was a great malcontent but always positive.
the beaches had its share of personalities, cults like the 'pod people' filtering trough the thin veneer of respectability, there was a something very californian about this stretch of geography, everyone open to new ideas of consciousness, and mind expansion, no wonder i felt so at peace here.
the one thing about the beaches that always filled me with wonder and replenished me each morning was the light. this place had its own light, bouncing from the waters across the villages, cafes, the small bakeries and bowling greens, the light was alive. i'd often surf in the mornings and be amazed at the water, so fresh and clean, waves breaking like perfect sculptures as a handful of us would be there, out with the dolphins as the rising sun came over the horizon.
night times to, a big old moon over the ocean, that chronoglide skyway across the water, stars filling the heavens, yeah avalon, whale beach and palmy have a special place in my heart.
but like all things change came, fast and unrelenting, real estate vampyres exploiting the area, the inner city cashed up idiots with to much money and no imagination moved in, no longer was it a place you would go out to get some milk, return home four days later, no it was now a place where if you have bare feet in the supermarket they pour scorn at you. if you didn't drive a black lexus you were excluded from the table. i began to loathe what was happening to this area, a lot of people just moved away, eventually i did, as i watched shops going under as the greedy landlords upped the rent. sydney suffers from a kind of soul eating ego disease these days, that cannot be denied, but none the less it has a natural beauty and grace and it is represented no less, than in the beaches.
i always said, 'no matter where you go, if you are a child of avalon, you will always carry avalon in your heart.' 
yeah there's a little van morrison in everyone.