dead cart club

Up S#!t Creek

2010-09-26T17:53:00.000-07:00

I've missed trolley spotting. We bought a car, and my usual walks past abandoned trolleys have gone by the wayside. With summer here, I plan to get walking again.

My friend Nat just mailed me a wonderful photo to give me the kick-up-the backside that I needed. Pulled from a Queensland creek replete with rust and barnacles!

the box and the bottle

2009-01-29T16:37:00.000-08:00

proudly australian

2009-01-29T16:36:00.000-08:00

how chatswood rolls

2009-01-26T22:44:00.000-08:00

apparently with a red rubber ball...

the two, the four, the six

2009-01-25T18:15:00.000-08:00

They are multipling. They have grown to four. They have hired a fifth to serve as a sentinel. I have nothing better to do. Happy Australia Day!

poster child

2009-01-25T18:12:00.000-08:00

at the door

2009-01-25T18:10:00.000-08:00

two carts, a washer and a laneway

2009-01-25T18:09:00.000-08:00

midweek (st)roll

2009-01-13T15:56:00.001-08:00

still leasing

2009-01-13T15:50:00.000-08:00

This pair of trolleys are still living it up. I took their original photos over a month ago, but I've been watching them for far longer. It looks like they've added a bedframe to their love nest.

contemporary (c)art

2009-01-13T15:48:00.000-08:00

Modern sculpture utilizing wood, aluminum and cellophane. Artist unknown.

well parked in chatswood

2009-01-12T00:47:00.000-08:00

lost in the mist

2009-01-11T11:19:00.000-08:00

I love guest spots, and this one comes from Jacqui of Life in the Dome. Jacqui's story for this wayward cart: "On way home from the pub, stopped for the munchies, passed out."

Is it me or is there only one house in this entire neighborhood? I'm pretty sure I know who's guilty this time.

weeded

2009-01-09T20:22:00.000-08:00

in the news again.

2009-01-04T10:50:00.000-08:00

Tiny little thumbnail spotted at the online Sydney Morning Herald linking to an article about rubbish. (note: still seeking a larger version and proper photo credits.)

training trolley

2009-01-03T03:44:00.000-08:00

Another great, guest shot from Victoria. Thanks Curlypops!

roll in the new year.

2008-12-31T21:26:00.001-08:00

found on google maps

2008-12-31T00:21:00.000-08:00

While seeking out the exact location of some of my carts on Google Street View. I've come across an unexpected joy. It seems one of my carts was present on the day the Googlemobile drove by and it kindly stayed put until I got my photo in.

My view:

Google's view:

You can use Google Map's to search around this cart's neighborhood. Hurrah for cart harmony!

where the carts live

2008-12-30T18:18:00.000-08:00

Someone recently asked me where I find so many carts. Many of them are surprisingly close to home, but some I've found in faraway places like Parramatta and Melbourne. I've started tagging the locations with Picasa to put a map together. A few of the early carts are missing, but I'll keep updating the map as new ones are added.

View Larger Map

Open the larger map, zoom around and have a play!

left with the bins

2008-12-30T13:23:00.000-08:00

trolleys in the news - bronte

2008-12-29T19:10:00.001-08:00

So I'm sitting on the couch flipping through a free local magazine called The Beast. It's one of those "hop topic, in-the-know, what's happening in your community" type of things that gets shoved in every mailbox within an 8km radius. It's free and often has fascinating history lessons about Bondi and the surrounding area. So I'm flipping through and the trolleys caught my eye. There is an article by Duncan Horscroft entitled Last Stop for Shopping Trolleys

Duncan points out the shopping trolley situation in the nearby Bronte bus terminus that is "growing every week." He proposes quirky solutions and makes me smile in the knowledge that I'm not alone in noticing the growing number of abandoned carts in Sydney. You can get your trolley fix at The Beast's January online edition on page 58.

crater

2008-12-29T18:33:00.000-08:00

imprisoned

2008-12-26T16:18:00.000-08:00

green cart

2008-12-23T18:34:00.000-08:00

framed, webbed and spidered

2008-12-12T21:29:00.000-08:00

two for one special

2008-12-12T21:27:00.001-08:00

curbside

2008-12-08T12:34:00.000-08:00

a cart with a story.

2008-12-07T21:13:00.000-08:00

We've got a whopper of a cart today. This one comes from Christina of a little bird told me... You'll want to have a real good look at this one. She's watched this cart for a few days before trekking out in the rain to grab a photo for us. On it's own, this would be a top notch find.

It suddenly skyrockets when we learn the whole story:
"Poor innocent shopping trolley, used and abandoned. Was someone moving house? Cleaning up? Chucking a flatmate out perhaps? There are crutches, an ironing board and washing basket, a framed photo of some girls, scales, a six pack of beer that looks untouched, a money tin and rubbish?

Hubby and I like to think it belongs to the people the next street down from where we found it. You may have heard about them on the news a few weeks ago? On a Sunday afternoon, after a few drinks, one flatmate shot the other in the leg and then drove off and was arrested in Bundaberg the next day. Maybe the crutches belong to the shot flatmate? We may never know. But there is another shopping trolley in the driveway of the shooting house at the moment... "

wide open

2008-12-03T17:01:00.000-08:00

going bush

2008-12-03T16:51:00.000-08:00

basking in the shade

2008-12-03T16:31:00.000-08:00

Spotted by CurlyPops.

binned

2008-11-29T23:24:00.000-08:00

move-in condition

2008-11-24T18:00:00.000-08:00

the cart whisperer

2008-11-20T22:18:00.000-08:00

A cart whisperer at NoMoreAbandonedCarts.

another cart fanatic.

2008-11-20T22:03:00.001-08:00

After a quick search on google, I now know that I am not alone. Aren't these shots by Morgan Hagar gorgeous. You really should go see the rest of his collection.

small cart left in nook

2008-11-20T21:58:00.001-08:00

dented carts

2008-11-19T22:48:00.000-08:00

they left their bags too

2008-11-19T13:37:00.000-08:00

carts on an overcast day

2008-11-17T03:53:00.000-08:00

early days

2008-11-13T14:19:00.001-08:00

I have a sick obsession. It's not normal. It's not healthy. When I encounter said obsession, I can't get past it. I will brew and stew on it for hours, days, months... I'm a bit ashamed to admit this, but I really need to take that first step. So here it goes...

I like abandoned shopping carts.

I love seeing shopping carts far away from their beloved stores. I obsess about how they got there. Were they lovingly pushed by a sweet old woman or were they taken on a drunken joyride by someone a few decades her junior?

The abandoned shopping cart is the f$@# off in the consumer world. We came, we shopped and then we didn't need you anymore. Tossed aside to collect hamburger wrappers and random rubbish. Waiting for the trolley man to come by and take them home.

Shopping carts can be found in the strangest places. On a recent walk, I found four abandoned in Bondi. You have go to a long way up the hill to the neighboring suburb find a store that actually uses carts.

My obsession does not stop for holidays. It gets worse. On my recent trip to Melbourne, my shopping cart photos equalled the sum of my other photos put together. They keep calling to me. Their shrill metal cry begging me to notice them.

Next time you're on the street, have a look around. If you spy one, think about how it got there. Take a picture. Let me know what it made you think about. Come obsess with me.