Anya Brock.. birds under the bridge.

Weather wise it was shaping up to be a dull day and then as we rounded the corner to go under the Barnfield Street underpass into Claremont, there it was.. Anya Brock's birds under the bridge, painted during Public2016 back in April. How about the red tailed black cockatoo, fabulous oui! Excellent way to colour-up an otherwise dreary location. Happy Tuesday, take care and stay safe...

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The Station.. Claremont.

Yesterday I showed the old signal cabin at the Claremont Railway Station opened in 1881, the oldest railway station buildings in Perth. Here the station itself.. below looking down from the signal cabin. The station closed in September 1979, reopening in July 1983 with buildings restored. The line was electrified in 1991 and the station cut back to a one island platform.. red roof below..

The gorgeous old restored buildings to the right are now open for lease.. perhaps a restaurant, that would be kinda cool.. any guesses as to what it would be called :)

Waiting for the Freo train to pull in and deliver you to the equally splendid heritage listed Fremantle Railway Station.. here it comes now!

... and on the other side of the platform the train going the other way to Perth is just pulling in.. the gent fussing with the ticket machine better get a move on :) Hope you had a good weekend, happy new week, take care and stay safe.. p.s. only three more sleeps till I head off to Sydney for the arrival of my second grandchild, sooo excited and so terrified (flying) at the same time :)

The Signal Cabin.. Claremont Railway Station..

While in Claremont on Thursday we called in at the Claremont Railway Station. Opened in 1881 it's the only station on the Freo line to retain it's original buildings, making them the oldest railway station buildings in Perth. I wish I had had the time to take 'public travel aficionado' Melbourne blogger Andrew to see these gorgeous old buildings, so much to see, so little time :) The old signal cabin is open for a look-see at certain times, not unfortunately when I was there. These shots were all taken within ten minutes, how the sky is so different in every one is le mystère :) Back tomorrow with the lovely old station buildings, happy Sunday, take care and stay safe...p.s. I was in no danger taking the last shot :)

Five hundred and fifty dollar reflections!

I was looking for an old mirror, I do a lot of looking.. at five hundred and fifty dollars this wasn't the one! Seen in South Perth Antiques and Collectibles. The tall conical spotty things, antiquarian description :) in the reflection were French, I should have taken more notice! I love browsing antique shops but rarely buy in case it entices me back to my wicked ways of collecting.. does not fit in with my new minimal approach :) How about you.. are you a collector, and if so what can't you resist? Bon weekend, take care and stay safe...

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Oi Oi! What have we here!

Yesterday while walking around Claremont a gentleman with a tiny burst of sunshine on his shoulder stepped out ahead of us! We stalked followed him as he crossed the road and entered a shop. He gave me the slip there for a while, think he knew I was after him :) so when I re-spotted him I braved up and asked if I could take a photo, to which he happily agreed, although I think he was a little shy. So overcome by my courage :) I forgot to ask names, but the two had been friends together for over six years. This little beauty is a South American Sun parakeet, you can see how very different its colours are to my grumpy garden breakfast guests!

Don't think I would have made a super sleuth, I suspect he knew he was being followed :) Happy Friday, take care and stay safe... p.s. I know right! A red suit and we'd have a perfect Santa!

Heritage and tagging.. no way!

I sometimes wonder if part of the thrill of tagging is the possibility of being caught, that and tagging on seemingly inaccessible spaces! Looking out over the rooftops along Hay St. towards the city centre from an upper level in the new City of Perth Library I was disappointed to see that the side of the heritage Savoy Hotel had been 'got at'.. how for heaven's sake! On the other hand as this is a view from the new library I wouldn't mind seeing a sensitive to the location mural similar to the beauty seen here in the library. Happy Thursday, take care and stay safe.. p.s. that's the Town Hall clock tower centre stage, knew it would look cool inverted:) 

 

Things we don't see!

Isn't it so easy 'not to see' as we walk around familiar places. To be fair :) the sculpture 'Age Shall Not Weary Them' by WA sculptor Greg James has only been sitting here on the  steps of the 'Fallen Soldiers Memorial' in Subiaco since last year.. created to commemorate the 2015 Anzac Centenary. The monument unveiled in 1923 'is a red brick neo-classical clock tower with white plaster embellishments and a copper conical roof. There is a single clock face with roman figures facing south-east'. It was only when I downloaded that I noticed the young lady sitting on the opposite side of the steps, I would have taken more care with the shot if I'd spotted her! Happy Wednesday, take care and stay safe. P.s. sculptures two days in a row, that doesn't happen often :)

 

Ladies and gentlemen this way please !

Detail above from one of my best-loved sculptures in Queens Gardens.. admirers of J.M. Barrie (clue) might guess which sculpture it is from the reflection to the right.. if not, the above link will reveal! I have to confess the detail shot is just a gratuitous segue into the image below, still in Queens Gardens where everything is just luuverly, even the p.c's :) Happy Tuesday, take care and stay safe...

Geometrically speaking..

 

Fatty Unicorn, Squark and Archie (love that name) are just three of the works painted earlier this year by Spanish artist Clara Fosca during Laneway Collective's 'North Perth Squishy Lane Project'. There were more geometrical 'pets of North Perth' by Clara but at the time I took these it was a little too squishy down that lane pour moi :) will definitely snap the rest next time I'm in Mount Lawley..

Hope you had/are having an excellent weekend.. happy Monday take care and stay safe... 
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View from the bottom of the tree..

Whether you like the 'tree' sculpture seen here in reflection or not, when standing in the centre on ground level it's the perfect foil for a bit of abstract fun! I thought about presenting them in b & w but the red brick of the Town Hall peeking through above and the blue sky over the David Malcolm Justice Centre next door (could you possibly get two more diverse neighbours) were not to be ignored! These were not the skies yesterday, the skies over Perth yesterday were wild.. we're talking power-outs, branches off trees wild, perfect day to rest up the knee :) Wonder what today will bring! Happy Sunday, take care and stay safe. P.s. what do you think..whale tail below?

Decadent. Delicious. Deserved..

Do we all deserve something decadently delicious now and then? Remember this! The Shingle Inn is  also where I took these shots last week.. a super spot to people watch on the terrace!  Contraire to how it may seem :) I don't spend all of my time in cafes but when I do and I spot something that appeals I click, how could I resist la petiteTour Eiffel below in La Crepe de Paris just five minutes away at Whitford City, my local shopping centre. What are you up to this weekend? The weather is looking wet and wild here in Perth, I may take the opportunity to do what I've been told and rest my knee, I fear it will never heal if I don't! Bon weekend, take care and stay safe...

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The birder...

While in Joondalup yesterday we popped over to check out the bird action on the lake. We chatted for a while with the gentleman above who informed us that he walks around the lake twice a day and knew exactly where to find all of the many bird species nesting or feeding on the lake.. someone this serious, look at the equipment, is known as a 'birder'. I'd say that what P enjoys is 'birding', not quite so serious.. and moi, well if there's a bird around that will stay still long enough for me to get a good shot I'm a happy chappy :) 

It's the first time in a while that I've been to the lake and I was quite shocked to see how low the water level was but apparently it's quite normal for this time of year after a hot summer. You can see by the marker below how deep it can get after a decent rainy period. Will come back and check it out in a few months, or maybe after the weekend :) lots of rain coming this weekend! Happy Friday, take care and stay safe... p.s. check out those grey skies, no blue skies here until Monday!

Trees on my mind!

Perth city office workers are pretty spoiled for choice if they fancy spending their lunch break outdoors. Central Park in the heart of the city on the corner of Hay and William St. is fabulous in summer and at this time of the year before the last of the autumn leaves fall as winter approaches..

... and across the way in the Hay St. Mall under the shade of the plane trees buskers entertain lunch time shoppers. If I'm more than usually obsessed :) with trees right now it's because I must make a decision soon.. this being the perfect time to plant while there's still some warmth in the soil and forthcoming winter rains. The problem is that there are too many gorgeous trees to choose from..help! Happy Thursday, take care and stay safe... p.s. maybe a Chinese tallow tree.. or a crepe myrtle or..... :)

The Antonov An-225 Mriya... the one that got away!

 "Are you sure it's coming this way grandad?' All being well it was coming this way and after climbing a hill, clambering through a fence and 'hobbling' up another hill we arrived at what was going to be a prime spot! Until! The call went up that the wind had changed and 'it' would be arriving from the north.. it was a bit like a comedy sketch as we all scrambled back down the hill, into cars and off again in search of that other perfect spot :)

The enthusiasts on the bridge were standing their ground and in retrospect perhaps we should have too because by now we were stuck in heavy traffic and getting nowhere fast with the imminent arrival of 'our reason for being there'! With less than five minutes to go we pulled off the main road.. stopped the car, jumped out just in time to see it in the very far distance! I stood my ground, I was done with the running :) you can just see, by the first power-line, my only shot of 'our reason for being there'! 

Bill kept running and with his long lens managed to catch the shot below, landing wheels down, excellent! The Antonov An-225 Mriya, built in the 1980's to transport the Buran spacecraft, mothballed for 8 years and now refurbished and back in the business of transporting oversized payloads, which is why it was touching down in Perth at 11.50am on Sunday morning, delivering a 117 tonne generator for one of the mining companies. Bill and I were among thousands of keen plane spotters eager to catch the spectacular arrival! If you are an aviation enthusiast you can see it touching down here.. and taking off pre-dawn yesterday morning on it's way to Italy here.. it's an amazing sight! Happy Wednesday, take care and stay safe...

Not so scary piranha!

When walking Perth and suburban lane-ways you never know what you might come across these days. Always a treat to find a piece by Dutch artist living in WA Amok Island.. here behind footwear and apparel boutique Highs and Lows aka Hal in Claremont.You've seen Amok's work, inspired by 'animals, nature, especially the sea' many times here and if lucky anywhere from Amsterdam, NYC and many places in-between.. even somewhere in a French forest :) Happy Tuesday, take care and stay safe...

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Love a Tree Day...

In nature nothing is perfect and everything is perfect

Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways

and they're still beautiful.. Alice Walker

It's true, the branches of the old tree above are gloriously convoluted, a sculpture of nature.. it's a little bit fabulous don't you think! I persuaded Aimee to stop working for an hour yesterday afternoon to frolic in the park and hug trees with me :) We laughed a lot, had so much fun, got many strange looks and offers to join in from passers-by.. all for the love of trees. No time this week-end to pursue my own tree but I have a feeling in my bones this is the week we will come together :) Did you know it was 'Love a Tree Day' today.. hope to see you hugging a tree sometime soon.. happy Monday, take care and stay safe...

Reflections old and new...

The reflection pool at the side of the David Malcolm Justice Centre on the left is the perfect surface to capture reflections of the heritage buildings on Barrack St.and the Town Hall to the right. The DM Justice Centre was constructed very close to the site where the 'founding of our city' ceremony was held in 1829, the sculpture here is a homage to the tree that was unfortunately 'sacrificed' during that very ceremony. Fear not lovers of real trees, and who isn't.. looking the other way, there it is.. the perfect tree for my back garden! Happy Sunday, take care and stay safe...p.s. now why didn't I hug that tree in anticipation of 'love a tree day'!

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