Dumpster dipping in New York and beached ice in Bondi

The Sydney Morning Herald reported on a cool story today, about New Yorkers dumpster-dipping in a desperate bid to cool themselves down.

I’m not sure what it cost to get 20 minutes of regimented pool-time, but I’m finding the whole thing hard to imagine from Sydney, where I just received my highest ever electricity bill  because my heater-love is out of control this wet, windy winter!

New-York-Dumpster-Pools c/ Reuters

What is it with events people cashing in on our love of the obscure?

Don’t get me wrong – I love these things, they’re fun. But are they worth the cost and the effort?

There is now a sizable patch of yellow lawn where an ice skating rink was plonked down beside Bondi Beach a few weeks ago.

Ice Skating in Bondi 2010

Hundreds came to skate under the stars and I must admit the novelty factor was huge when they added mulled wine and a faux ski hut into the equation.

But although things were pretty from the ice, the Bondi Winter Festival was an ugly eye sore from the outside.

The next picture shows just a glimpse of the fencing (and fake bushes) that surrounded the compound. Tarps and 6-foot-erect-a-fence were all that could be seen from the outside where the commoners sat watching the waves for several weeks.

Surely, there must be a way for these things to be set up without rumbling generators and huge fences spoiling their appeal from the outside? New York looks to have done a decent job with their little converted dumpster pools.

Ugly fences at Bondi Winter Festival

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