Mr Whippy everyday?

Here, ｔhe sounds on the street, in restaurants, on train platforms, etcetera, are all quite strange or unexpected. If you close your eyes at a pedestrian crossing, you might think you are inside a pinball parlour. In Gusto, the 24-hour local chain restaurant, birds chirp when you open the front door, and when you are ready to order pressing your table-side button drives a big ding-dong out of the PA system. I'm always expecting an oversized flat-headed man to appear at my table, "You rang?"

Back at the apartment, the interesting sounds include those directly through our paper-thin walls.

What's that, you wanted to sleep in? Oh sorry, I usually only snore when I'm drunk.

But my absolute favourite is the ritual melodies cranked out of the nearby school's giant PA system. Every morning I hear the tune and I'm hoping mum has some spare change so I can drop down the 8 floors and walk out to Mr Whippy's van...