Très Belle.....!!

When we were heading out to the airport yesterday to pick up David we passed a bride on the way to her big day traveling in grand style. The distinctive green and white number plates belong to Belle Classic Limousines who have the most amazing range of old classics including Bentleys, Daimlers and Jaguar Mk 5's as above. Although I'm not all that bothered about cars, these beauties conjure up images of whiling away summer afternoons, sipping champagne on rolling green lawns, wearing long floaty dresses, you can see where I'm going with this, tennis, boating on the river (wearing boaters!). The name Belle is the icing on the cake, how perfect! It's been raining cats and dogs in Perth this weekend, the welcome end to a very long dry spell, I hope you had a really great weekend and are all set for another week.....

Urban Descent.....

It's not everyday that you see a group of 'super heroes', amongst them Catwoman, Batman, Zorro, The Flash, Captain America and Spider Man (hmm! yeh well I get that one!)) abseiling down the Woodside Plaza Building one of Perth's tallest city skyscrapers to raise money for The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation.....! The site of the first 'Urban Descent' (very cool name) back in November 2002 was the Allendale Square Building the idea being to encourage people from all walks of life, individuals, media, sports stars, the corporate sector to 'abseil for charity', since then over 2000 people have participated and raised over two million dollars. In 2010 Urban Descent expanded into NSW with the first 'descent' from the AMP Building on Circular Quay in October raising $2000,000 for the Sir David Martin Foundation and repeated in 2011. This year they hope to establish events in all States to raise money for charity..yay Terry Hewitt and Graham Iddles for having such a enterprising and creative idea, and yay Perth for...well just for being a great place to live.....!!

Catwoman and Batman came down together, although for some reason Batman decided to come down facing forward which made Aimee and I laugh at the thought of the office workers in the building getting the 'butt' view from their windows, it also made for a not so 'super hero' type landing, sack of potatoes comes to mind haha!

Aimee's workmate Zoe was the very gorgeous Catwoman.....!

Of course not all of the participants were super heroes, some were people just like you and me, well you maybe, not me. I can guarantee there will never be a photo of moi doing anything so INSANE!! Hope that you're having a peaceful weekend, keep safe..... 

Something going on up there.....!

There was something going on in the city yesterday afternoon that had people 'in the know' looking skywards, and passerby's looking up to see what they were looking at..let's face it if people are sitting, standing or lying down looking up there's not a one of us that would be able to resist looking to see, seriously it would only take one person looking up to get this chain reaction right!! Thanks to Aimee, we knew ahead of time what was about to occur and were ready and waiting for the action, which involved beautiful women, super heroes and danger..intrigued? To be continued, haha! Have a great Saturday, keep safe. p.s I still have a pain in the neck from looking up for so long.....!

I could do that.....!!

While sitting in a cafe on Rockeby Road in Subiaco, this guy passed by several times, I'm not sure but I think he saw my camera on the table and figured if he went past enough times I would eventually be driven to take his picture and as evidenced above..he was right, heck at one point he even waved as he whizzed by, I missed that!! When I got home I Googled 'scooter billboard advertising' and  discovered that there are a few companies in Perth that do it, Media V were the group who handled this one.  It got me thinking, not a bad way to earn a dollar in summer, check out his typically casual Aussie clobber, thongs (just to be clear, flip flops !!) and all. Here he is below coming in for another drive by, I wonder if they'd take on a 'woman of a certain age with dubious driving skills' haha! Happy Friday, I'm really serious now, where did this week go.....!

Respect...

There were over forty thousand people in Kings Park for the Anzac Day Dawn Service yesterday. It was a little surreal making our way through groups of people standing or sitting in the pre- dawn darkness silently waiting for the sun to rise and the service to begin. It's probably the only time that such a vast crowd, including babies and young children who seemed to catch the mood, remain so remarkably quiet that it's almost a little eerie, a fitting show of respect for the Anzac legend. There's something about the sound of the bugle playing the Last Post after the ceremony of laying of the wreaths that I'm sure stirs images in all of us of weary soldiers in camp at the end of the day mourning the loss of mates. The heavens above displayed  their respect in a spectacular show of colour, the above shot was taken just as the sun was appearing above the horizon and the one below not long after.....

Aimee was right there with me taking her own shots, her hair matching the sunrise perfectly....!

The Tiger Moth flyby.....

The Flame of Remembrance (The Eternal flame).....

And there will always be sailors checking out the pretty ladies.....!!

Or perhaps silently remembering the bravery of the men and women from Western Australia who were killed in action during WW1 and all subsequent conflicts who's names are listed on the inner chamber walls of the crypt under the State War Memorial . I heard the Last Post and Reveille many times through the day yesterday and own up to a lump in the throat everytime, that's just the way it is. Lest we forget.

'Stand-to' in 1915.....

Today is Anzac Day (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) here in Australia and New Zealand. A day that commemorates the men and women who died and served in military operations for their countries. The dawn service held in Kings Park where the memorial sits high overlooking the city (above) is incredibly moving and is attended by all ages ranging from the very young to surviving veterans.  So it's off to bed early tonight and up at around 4.30 am to get into the city before sun up, hope to have some images to share on Thursday, looking forward to watching the sun rising in the hills behind the city. For those of you that are interested in battles, this is how it happened..The Gallipoli Campaign as described in Wikipedia. Have a wonderful Wednesday and I'll catch up tomorrow.....!

In 1915, Australian and New Zealand soldiers formed part of an Allied expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli Peninsula, according to a plan by Winston Churchill to open the way to the Black Sea for the Allied navies. The objective was to capture Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, which was an ally of Germany during the war. The ANZAC force landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, meeting fierce resistance from the Ottoman Army commanded by Mustafa Kemal (later known as Atatürk). What had been planned as a bold strike to knock the Ottomans out of the war quickly became a stalemate, and the campaign dragged on for eight months. At the end of 1915, the Allied forces were evacuated after both sides had suffered heavy casualties and endured great hardships. The Allied casualties included 21,255 from the United Kingdom, an estimated 10,000 dead soldiers from France, 8,709 from Australia, 2,721 from New Zealand, and 1,358 from British India. News of the landing at Gallipoli made a profound impact on Australians and New Zealanders at home and 25 April quickly became the day on which they remembered the sacrifice of those who had died in war.
Though the Gallipoli campaign failed to achieve its military objectives of capturing Constantinople and knocking the Ottoman Empire out of the war, the actions of the Australian and New Zealander troops during the campaign bequeathed an intangible but powerful legacy. The creation of what became known as an "Anzac legend" became an important part of the national identity in both countries. This has shaped the way their citizens have viewed both their past and their understanding of the present.

One40william encore.....!

Last year when I first showed you 'one40william'  it was just newly completed, I shot the back view (below) and showed it in B&W for a bit of drama. When I went into the city last week as I was walking down Murray St. I could see that it looks every bit as impressive from the front and a little more 'friendly' with the blue sky above. I know it's a very big, modern building but somehow it seems to fit in quite well with the older buildings next to and around it. The Perth Subway Station is below with the entrance coming up onto Murray St. in the centre of the city, very handy when you catch the train in from the suburbs. This building has won many awards for it's environmentally friendly design and Aimee's health has definitely improved since moving there.. not sure about her bank balance, being right in amidst all the city shops and with a love of fashion doesn't bode well for her dollars and cents. I hope your week is off to a good start, the weather in Perth is perfect with a week of 25C ahead.....

Living on the edge.....!

When I was researching the nesting habits of the seagull I came across this site about some of the very strange places birds have been found nesting, but I think I have a real contender here! It's very unnerving trying to enjoy a relaxing coffee when you're confronted by a scene like this, mama (or it could be papa, who can tell) feeding the newly hatched bubs on a 'boat mooring post' in the middle of the marina for goodness sake. I can see the pros..no chance of being got at by feral cats of which there are many around this area BUT what about being surrounded by water AND being out in the open and vulnerable to the ever present threat of hawks! We really had to drink up quick and get out of there before one of us had to do a dive in rescue. Hope your Monday starts the week off in a much less risky way than this.....!!

High flier.....!

Some of the things Aimee and I see when we walk down the coast can be tres fascinating , like yesterday for instance looking up and seeing someone flying above and keep going on up, up, up into the heavens, in fact when I downloaded the images the last one made me think of Pegasus flying a touch too near to the sun. It's called 'para-motor flying' and this short video shows that depending on where you do it, the views can be spectacular..it's a little too much 'awesomeness' pour moi, but it was fun to stand, both feet on the ground and watch (you might have to click on the last one to see him disappearing into the clouds). It's a little chilly in Perth today 23C and a few showers, perfect for catching up with posts I've missed, so see you on the blogsphere, have a good day.....!

I can't think of a title.....!!!

Firstly I'd like to say thanks heaps for the 'anniversary/birthday' wishes yesterday, so very much appreciated. Secondly I'd like to point out that the above reflections taken in Pinaroo Valley Memorial  Park look a lot more calm and serene than I felt yesterday..is anyone else out there familiar with my antagonist of the day....' Error 503'!! The number of times this came up on my screen was enough to drive a sane person crazy, I decided to give it all a miss and try afresh today, here's hoping! I know for many of you it still is Friday, hope it's going well and that you're looking forward to a relaxing weekend, take care and keep safe.....p.s. I can ALWAYS think of a title, but this morning I just.....can't!!

OMG I'm one today.....!

In the words of Victor Meldrew "I don't believe it"  (too funny!) It's mindboggling to think I started PerthDailyPhoto a year ago today, is it just me, or do you think time zips past much quicker the older you get, like some sort of ironic twist of unfairness! It's been great fun, I've loved seeing and learning new things from all over the world everyday and met so many wonderful new friends. I only hope I've succeeded in doing what I started out to do and that is to show that even though Perth, known as the second most isolated city after Honolulu, has everything and more that is needed for a fantastic lifestyle! Thank you so much for your support and thank you Eric for being the inspiration and encouragement to start the blog. In my usual 'Libra' fashion (indecisive) I couldn't chose between kids having fun in the sun, or adults chilling as the day winds down, they both show the white beaches and blue ocean, but I think the second one epitomizes the boundless blue skies over fabulous Perth. Hope you have an excellent Friday, take care.....!

Road kill or OVER kill.....!

Thanks to JM from oeirasdailyphoto who after seeing my post Not a Bansky sent me a super informative link to more of Belgian artist ROA's work right here in Perth. According to the link there were some murals in West Perth, so I rang mon ami Marie who used to work in the area to see if she could help, she directed me to a very narrow alleyway off Hay St. which led out into a private car park space and there on the wall of the Mayfair multi storey car park, not one but three giant ROA's..jackpot!!. The kangaroo is definitely a victim of road kill, not sure about the emu or the other little marsupial that could be a bush rat or quokka. You can see just how enormous they are in comparison to the parked cars. Personally I thought three all on the one wall was a tad over the top, and as there are even more around Perth that I will look for, methinks Monsieur ROA had a pretty lucrative 'gig' in Perth.....!

As I was taking the photos the parking lot attendant told me there was a bit of a story attached to the paintings, they say if anyone unauthorized parks here they'll end up as roadkill and went off chuckling to himself, hmmm! he seemed so nice up until then haha! Joy, it's raining in Perth, niiiice! Hope you have a fab Thursday, special day for me tomorrow....!

Spending big at the casino.....!

That was without even placing a bet! We had a bit of an anniversary 'thing' yesterday, so P and I went for lunch at the Burswood Hotel, which is so much more than just a casino. As you come into the main lobby the first thing that you see is a magnificent mirror paneled, art deco styled structure, you can see the lifts going up and down to the hotel rooms (417 of them!) just behind and the Atrium restaurant  where we had lunch just to the left hand side....

Who can resist a mirrored reflection that makes them tall and skinny haha!

The outside pool area is pretty special....

On the way out we passed the the casino, so of course  I wanted to take a shot to show you the entrance to this 'den of iniquity', only joking, no judgement, if a person wants to gamble away their hard earned money so be it, only, as I was clicking away I was totally unaware of the door person flapping his arms and calling me to STOP! Apparently it was 'A' ok for me to take photo's everywhere else in the complex, but a big no no at the entrance to the above mentioned 'd of e'. It was only when I downloaded that I saw him there just at the beginning of his little hissy fit haha! Half way point in the week already, careful, don't blink or it'll be gone.....!