The lycra 'set'.....

Cycling in Perth is big, according to an RAC report WA leads the nation in bike ownership with apparently a third of the population riding regularly and after seeing two big groups of 'over 55's' at separate times yesterday I'm inclined to believe it! This group above, shot through a thick plastic curtain were oblivious to the odd spot of rain, they come out in droves on weekends, and mid-week mornings Perth’s roads and cycle paths are packed with bunches of riders arriving and finishing from cafes around the metro area. It’s easy to see why cycling is so popular, we have great weather for most of the year, a fantastic network of bike paths.. which makes it a wee bit annoying when they insist on riding on the road, but the ultimate crime in my opinion, is that unless you're riding in le tour de France or the like..oh la! the lycra, c'est 'orrible! Apologies to anyone reading this wearing the aforementioned offensive clothing, but really..take it off right now haha! Looking forward to a sleep in tomorrow and then off to the city to check out a church situation, hope you have a wonderful weekend, take care and stay safe.....

High on the hill.....

I took this shot from the South Perth foreshore looking over the Swan River towards the Narrows Bridge and  Kings Park . Up on the hill you can see the tall lemon scented gum trees that line the Fraser Avenue entrance to the park, this avenue of majestic trees planted in 1938 lead up to the State War Memorial overlooking the city. The abstract image below believe it or not is the Perth city skyline through a very wet windscreen, I just liked the colours reflecting into the river. I hope you've had a good week, here's wishing you a happy Friday, take care.....

A fleeting glimpse of blue .....!

This is the view looking out from Spinnakers Cafe just across the boardwalk on the other side of Hillarys Boat Harbour (good little video). Boats pull in here to fill up with petrol before heading out past the sea wall into the great blue yonder. The weather has been a little scary the last couple of days, even though there were the occasional little bursts of blue it's been mostly grey and wet, if you pull the shot in you'll see the raindrops on the window.  As tempting as it was, we didn't have a glass of award winning cab merlot, although the sun would have been 'over the yardarm' somewhere in the world it was only 10.30am in Perth, so it was coffee all round!

The waves crashing in from the Indian Ocean were lashing against the pier that leads out to the lighthouse, I thought these two guys fishing off the rocks were chancing their luck in such rough weather, but I was pleased to see them feeding two of the many feral cats that live around the marina, poor little creatures it's horrible to think of them out when it's stormy like this.....

Then it was home and indoors just minutes before the storm broke..halleluiah I'm talking hail, thunder and lightning..the works! More of the same tomorrow and then a beautiful weekend, can't be bad oui! Happy Thursday, I hope all is well in your part of the world, take care and stay safe.....

The wild, wild West.....

Ok at some point I'm going to have to get out of the car if I want to take any shots of the crazy, wild weather Perth has been experiencing for the past two days. We've had gale force winds, hail, thunder and lightning the only thing missing is snow which is a bit of a shame. No seriously this weather is not much fun but it has brought 24/30mm of much needed rain. The first shots were taken looking down the coast towards Trigg Point and Scarborough, the last two at Hillary's Marina where you can see how much seaweed has been washed ashore onto the beach. I got soaked at least three times, note to myself never wear a skirt when taking photos in a storm, I think the patrons of the Trigg Island Cafe got a little more than they bargained for as I flew past the big glass windows back to the car in one of the sudden downpours, worrying more about my camera than where my skirt was haha!! I hope the weather is a little more 'clement' in your neck of the woods, happy Wednesday, take care.....p.s. can you believe there were kite surfers out in that weather!

A bit to do.....!

Well there we were sprinting down Franklin St. to get back to the car before the rain came down in earnest, when I pulled up short at the sight of these two very old jags in desperate need of some (understatement!) TLC, and parked on the other side of the path this slightly more presentable MG. Taking a wild guess, the home of a very keen vintage car enthusiast without much spare time on his hands. Judging by the undisturbed pile of leaves out front it's possible they've been parked here for quite some time, maybe even since the 50's haha! Leederville is one of those close to the city older suburbs that is a mix of old and newly renovated houses, you never know what you'll come across here. I hope that you find something exciting in your day today and if not..there's always tomorrow! Take care.....

Coming up.....!

This is the sculpture that I went in search of on Friday. Listed as 'unnamed' it was impossible to find out anything about it, don't you just hate that. A really interesting thing that I DID find out was that in 1989 the WA Government established a 'Percent for Art' policy, this scheme requires that one percent of the budget for the construction of any new public works over $2,000,000 be spent on public artwork and since this State Government scheme started, over 700 artworks have been created, nice one WA! As for this chap with the torch, I'm guessing he's just been down to check the sewers, but if any Perthites out there know the story, feel free to 'enlighten'. A new week beginning, let's hope it's a good one..take care and stay safe. p.s. I found something else that stopped me in my tracks on the walk back to the car, show you tomorrow.....

A church for Sunday.....!

We went to Leederville on Friday for two reasons, one to scout for a 'people watching' shot and two to check out a sculpture that I'd heard about. Walking up Oxford St. (for miles!) I caught this glimpse above through the trees and after finding and taking shots of my 'objective' (show you tomorrow) we detoured back along Franklin St. to catch a better look at St. Mary's Parish established in 1919, restored, extended  and reopened in 1938, I've heard that the windows are a delight from the inside, unfortunately the church was locked so a return trip is definitely on the cards. It started to rain (splotch marks on photo below) so the return trip was more like a sprint than a walk, exhilarating!!I hope that your weekend is going well, take care.....