Psychedelic memories.....

It was a gorgeous Sunday afternoon in Perth, just perfect for strolling and shopping. I like to think that even though by some standards Perth might be considered a small city  at the back of beyond, that we do have a our fair share of stylish young people as per example above. I'm very sure I had a similar psychedelic dress back in the  70's.....Ah! good times..!!

Artrage.....

Artrage Inc. ( Artrage) on the corner of Milligan and Roe St. in Northbridge is a  complex that is made up of Artrage, The Bakery and Fringe World, between them they run a huge everyday program of live music, theatre and art productions. It started off as the Festival Fringe society in 1983 and has grown from there.  Artrage is sponsored by the Dept of Culture and the Arts, Lottery West and also Western Power (Western Power and Artrage). Thousands of artists have entertained tens of thousands of visitors to Perth over the years. So all in all it is a pretty amazing space, plus the 'graffiti art' on the outside walls is fabulous!

Mistaken identity.....!

Funny story.... A few weeks ago I went to the Zoo to see about doing some volunteering work. We were taken around in a small group by a docent (volunteer) of much experience,  having been there for ten years.  She had many amusing anecdotes to tell, the one that sticks in my mind is the one about the  father standing with his son  complaining that it was  'a little bit sad that this zoo didn't have a mud pool for the hippo to roll about in' .  They were standing looking at a rhino at the time, probably this big bad boy above.  She quietly said 'isn't it good that the rhinoceros has  clean water to drink and trees to scratch his back on'. Thankfully the little boy was  absorbed in the sight, so dad was saved the embarrassment of not knowing his hippos from his rhinos!! Haha! I would like to say 'oh well anyone can make a mistake' but hey.. come on!!!   p.s. just so you're sure this was not a tall tale, we don't actually have any hippos at our zoo.

Two of a kind.....!

This lighthouse located on the North Mole in Fremantle has been in operation since 1906, it's light is visible for 11 miles and it indicates the entrance at the western most point of the Harbour. The 15m tower is made of cast iron and is painted red. The great thing is that there is a pair of them.... an identical lighthouse ( well apart from the fact that it's painted green) sits on the South Mole (South Mole Lighthouse) they are apparently the only two lighthouses left of this design  anywhere. I think they are a really attractive couple and more than make up for the dismal edifice that is Parliament House!

It's all about the sky.....

Because it ain't about the building (excuse my bad English!!). Which is not really fair I guess as I haven't given you a full front on view of Parliament House . Let me explain a little, when it was decided to build Parliament House on the hill overlooking St. Georges Terrace (knocking down the old army barracks for the view of the terrace, which was foiled anyway because they had to leave the Barracks Arch in tact, see a few posts back) an Australia wide competition was held to pick the design, all were ignored and the design went to the Public Works Department!! Well that says it all moi thinks!! Still the pollies have to gather somewhere so this building might be quite fitting after all!! I did rather like the sky though, hope you do too!   p.s. I'm sure there will be a lovely image of Parliament House somewhere on Google.

Last of the birds....

Birds of Paradise that is!! This amazingly exotic looking plant (about Bird of Paradise) is native to South Africa, but it is pretty easy to grow here in Perth,  similar climate I believe.  The season for them is coming to an  end, we will next see them re-appear fresh in September, Spring time that is. Really looking forward to the Spring Festival in Kings Park, the photo opportunities there are endless.

Buggy ride in the Swan Valley..

A while ago, my daughter (above), sisters and nieces (an all female affair) decided to see the Valley (Swan Valley) from a completely different viewpoint. We organized a buggy ride (Buggy ride in the Swan Valley ) it was so much fun, sad to say I cannot remember the beautiful Clydesdale horse's name, lets call him Clive (?) took it all in his stride, not the slightest bit agitated by the cars whizzing by as we clopped along the road.  We stopped at a winery to sample local olive oils, jams and pickles and of course wine! Then on to Oggie's Ice Cream for a bit of the sweet stuff! Last stop and most interesting was All Saints Church(All Saints Church) the oldest Church in WA. I like looking around cemeteries, but this one was  really sad, so many children died at a very early age in those days, can imagine it would have been an extremely harsh place to settle. Thankfully they were men and women of the hardy type and persevered!