Bit of a brute!!

I've been thinking a lot about architecture lately and while the loved and restored buildings of the late 18 early 1900's are visually and emotionally more pleasing to the eye and the soul what if the world was deprived of the imagination of architects like Canadian born architect Frank Gehry. Oh la, incroyable! As far as I know Sydney's Chau Chak Wing Building is the only Gehry in Australia, I'm sure we would make M. Gehry very welcome in Perth :)   

 While the Telstra Exchange building on Wellington St. constructed in 1975/78 in the brutalist design which sees heavy use of concrete is not a favourite it is 'purpose built to the requirements needed to regulate and maintain the internal temperature of the building'. As much as I love heritage buildings, and you know I do :) a street composed of multiple architectural designs surely has to be more interesting oui! I missed the open house here last year, hope it's on the list this year, I'd like to see what's behind this stern exterior :) Happy Thursday, take care and stay safe... p.s. in no way am I comparing this to a Frank Gehry creation :)

  

Ear-muff weather, an almost catastrophe & faith restored!

 In the city on Monday to buy a new coat.. it was time, I haven't had a new coat since I went to Paris years ago, it's not such a priority here in Perth :) The good news is that I found the perfect coat in one of my fav shops, Dangerfield. The catastrophe was when, after lunch and almost back to the car I realized my wallet wasn't in my bag! Mad panic rush back to the lunch venue, big busy spot, to find a young man sitting where I had sat. He had handed it in to one of the staff, who had passed it along more than once until it eventually arrived in-tact downstairs at reception. As crazy as this world is right now, I like to believe there are more honest people than not.. just to clarify, when I say people, that doesn't include most people of the political persuasion :)

 I took these two shots yesterday afternoon at Hillarys Boat Harbour.. not how you usually see it oui! Seagulls below cavorting in a huge puddle in the car-park! Hope the skies are blue for you today, happy Wednesday, take care and stay safe... p.s. my knee didn't appreciate the mad dash on Monday, back to square one :)

 

'Flying Australian things' ...

Two of my favourite Perth artists side by side! Spotted in a carpark in Coogee Street Mount Hawthorn alongside many other artists (show you more next Monday) the theme being 'flying Australian things'. The 'wom-bat' painted by surf, skate and street artist Fieldey, aspiring artists out there see her in action on Fieldey TV Art & Tutorials here.  The wom-bat, as elusive as the now extinct Tasmanian Tiger which fell foul of the most dangerous predator the world has known.. man!

  

The beautifully coloured Rosella (parrot) painted by Brenton See. Inspired by David Attenborough's documentaries Brenton's work, a combination of animals and geometric shapes, tells the story of the unpredictable relationship between nature and man in this, I want to say dodgy :) but will say insecure world! Hope you had/are still having a good weekend, happy Monday, take care and stay safe...

See more Monday murals from around the world here..

'Twas a perfect day to eat fish & chips by the sea!

I never would have guessed when I first opened my eyes yesterday morning that it could transform into such a wonderful winters day. The heavens were grey and beaucoup de pluie was falling :) but a few hours later the clouds gave way to a pale blue sky and a perfect 16C day. We stopped in at Kailis Trigg Beach kiosk for lunch, 'twas a perfect day to eat fish and chips by the sea! The long glass window of Kailis restaurant is perfect for reflections, 'the double trouble' below is as close as I'll ever get to a selfie :) Happy Sunday, hope you're having a good weekend, take care and stay safe...

 Visit James to see more Weekend Reflections...

Espresso Yourself...

So I did.. and whats more I plan to do it again :) I'm going to take as many photos as I can this weekend to keep the blog going next week and rest up before I see the knee surgeon the following week, it's never too late to do the 'sensible' thing :) What are you up to this weekend.. enjoy! Take care and most of all stay safe...

Reminders of the past...

It was so good to see that in the restoration of the old Guildford Hotel so many features from the original hotel have remained. On two levels the upstairs floor is a combination of comfy leather chairs and sofas around a roaring original old fire, tres joli in winter oui! Also seating for eating :) out on the balcony and a large reception room for weddings and other functions..

 Looking down from upstairs you can see that the original old corner fireplaces are still there, albeit minus the rest of the floor! Amazing to see the charred remains of what was once the second floor.. maybe I should have kept these next three shots for the July 'looking down' CDP theme day subject :)

The main eating area on the ground floor is rustically (?)  charming...

The original spiral staircase and a glimpse of the belvedere.. Loved the little touches like the sink basin still attached to the wall there in the corner middle shot below. A beautiful and much in keeping with the heritage history of the hotel restoration.. I'm quite sure I will find lots of lovely details each time I visit.. Happy Friday, take care and stay safe...

'A short stumble to the station'..

Yesterday we had lunch in the newly restored Guildford Hotel.The heritage listed Guildford landmark built in 1886, just across from the railway station hence the title.. after many a few ales a 'short stumble to the station', love it :) The hotel was all but destroyed in what was described as a 'suspicious' fire in 2008. The shell below was all that remained..  

Reopening last month after a beautifully 'sensitive to it's history' restoration, complete with belvedere, originally added in a 1915 restoration, the Guildford Hotel is once again the hub of the Guildford community..

 I'll show you some inside details tomorrow but suffice to say the original black and white shots of the hotel c1920 (guessing here) were one of my favourite features. One of these days I'm going to have a whole week of shooting in black and white.. if only the world wasn't so fabulously colourful :) Happy Thursday, take care and stay safe...

Winter Solstice...the shortest day!

 Yesterday was the Winter Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere.. here in Perth the sun rose over the city at 7.17am and set gloriously over the Indian Ocean at 5.20pm giving us 10 hours 3minutes and 26 seconds of daylight.. blue skies and a crisp 16C. By next Monday the days will be getting longer minute by minute. Happy Summer Solstice to all in the Northern Hemisphere, take care and stay safe, especially if you venture near a 'stone circle' :) p.s. you may notice Elizabeth Quay is missing from the foreshore above:) I confess I took the shot a few years ago on Anzac Day in Kings Park..

Today will be.. GREAT!

Do you ever have one of those days when you sleep through your alarm and it sort of sets the tone for the rest of the day so that by midday you wish you'd taken it as a sign that maybe you should have just rolled over and stayed in bed :) Then as you go about your day you unexpectedly come across a sight that makes you smile, makes you realise how very lucky you are in this crazy world just to be waking up in a warm bed with a roof over your head.. 

This colourful, happy and positive mural found in the underpass into Claremont was painted during Public2016 by Perth based artist, letterer, graphic designer and illustrator Matthew Wong aka I Am the Wong.  Merci beaucoup Monsieur Wong for making me see that although it had a dodgy start, it really was a great day! Happy Tuesday, take care and stay safe...

See more Monday Murals from around the world here...

...

Edith Cowan.. social campaigner.

It was almost impossible from yesterday's reflections to guess that they were university related :) Building 1 of the Joondalup campus at Edith Cowan University is strikingly dramatic and as much as I would like to relate a little more about what inspired the architectural design I could find nada, niente, zilch! Very frustrating! Whenever I drive past along Joondalup Drive I see the spine of spires rising and think armadillo. Behind the steel structures, softened by a lining of beautiful wood, to the left the Chancellery building and to the right the art gallery 

Joondalup campus is one of three ECU campuses in WA, named after Edith Cowan, advocator of women's rights and the first woman to be elected to an Australian parliament in 1920.. here beautifully etched into the glass above the stadium below. If any Perthites out there can fill in the architectural details I would be thrilled.. Hope you've had/are having a good weekend, happy Monday, take care and stay safe...

Lofty reflections...

Yesterday was the perfect Perth winter day, the skies were blue and the weather a crisp 17C, parfait! I've wanted to stop and take a shot of the architecture above every time I pass but always seem to be in a rush. Yesterday I made time but here's the thing, I'm going to leave you to guess what it might be and will show more tomorrow, believe me when I say it really is an astounding sight! Oh ok, I'll straighten it up for you.. there, did that help :)  Happy Sunday, take care and stay safe...

Visit James here to see reflections from around the world

When in doubt.. wear red!

I'm sure I've used that title before! Believe it or not.. would I fib :) I snapped these only a few hours after yesterday's misty morning shots. Arriving home the sky was clear blue, photo untouched, and the Chinese Tallow tree in my front garden was blushing shamelessly! Could it be that the tree I've been searching for has been here under my nez all along! Apparently the Chinese Tallow is considered a pest in some parts of the world, I really can't imagine why, it's a delightful, deciduous tree and quite popular here. I love having deciduous trees in the garden, sometimes it's the only way to tell it actually is winter in Perth's moderate climate :) Hope you have a wonderful weekend, take care and stay safe...

'Encumbered by the morning mist'..

"...careful the morning lest it wake from slumber the city 

half-encumbered by the morning mist..." John Geddes.

After a 7.05am appointment earlier this week.. peak traffic time on the freeway meant I had to set off just after 6am (see last shot) and even then I juuuust made it :) The reward for my before sun-up jaunt was a stop in at Kings Park on the way home in time to enjoy the spectacle of low clouds swirling through and around the tops of the city skyscrapers. Early morning is the best don't you think! Happy Friday, take care and stay safe... P.s. bit different from last two colourful posts :)

'Vivid' glimpses of my favourite bridge...

The arrival of our grandson last week coincided with the annual Sydney event 'Vivid', a fantastical light show extravaganza and although the Opera House and Harbour Bridge are the divas of the show it was an illuminating experience to walk through the cathedral of lights below, an experience 'shared' with thousands of others walking in the same direction.. there was no stopping to compose a shot, it was a case of camera up, click and hope for the best :)

So many people.. can you imagine how many images were floating around the hemisphere via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter etc. I lost count of the number of people taking selfies :)

Over on the far side of the harbour below the Museum of Contemporary Art appropriately dripping with illusionary paint..

To end my Sydney sojourn on a tasty note a stroll along to the Bourke Street Bakery, well let's be honest.. there was more than one visit :) always on the top ten best bakery list I don't think I've ever passed by when there wasn't a queue. Back to Perth goings-on tomorrow, happy Thursday, take care and stay safe... p.s. bear with me while I catch up!