THE TIP SHOP opens at 10 am every Thursday. By 9.50 am there’s a line at the gate at least ten people deep. There’s the old couple who resell whatever they find here on Facebook Marketplace; the man who wears thongs year-round, no matter the weather; the retired tradies who know their way through a bucket of screws and a row of rusted tools. Elbow to elbow they wait, each hoping to be the first across the line. Restless thoroughbreds at the starting gate. And there’s Dad, tall, standing to one side with his hands in his pockets. Already looking over everyone’s heads to see what’s in the yard.

It’s not even open yet and I’m already late. I squeeze into the last car park and walk over.