"All children, except one, grow up."

"... children know such a lot now,

they soon don't believe in fairies

and every time a child says 'I don't believe in fairies'

there is a fairy somewhere that falls down dead,"  J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan..

After talking with a friend who had read an article in the newspaper, yes he is one of the remaining few who still reads the paper every morning.. I like to if I have time, do you? The story was about a couple of features in Queens Gardens that he thought might interest me and you also.The first is now my current favourite sculpture in the city. A replica of the Peter Pan sculpture in Kensington Gardens in London produced by George Frampton the sculptor himself and autographed by J.M. Barrie.. presented to the children of WA in 1927 by the Rotary Club, très belle pressie! The details are exquisite as is the park itself.. will show you a bit more tomorrow and leave the 'other' feature for the weekend.. bit of a tease :)

I'll sign off with these words of wisdom from PP..

'the moment you doubt whether you can fly,

you cease for ever to be able to do it'

Happy Thursday, take care and stay safe.....p.s. a big merci beaucoup to my paper reading friend :)

Third time unlucky?

They say lightning never strikes twice in the same spot.. not true. Last week while walking through Hyde Park in Sydney after a horrendously humid day the heavens opened.. thunder, lightning the works! Lightning struck one of the tall buildings close to the park with such a loud crack that it made everyone shriek, or.. it might have been just me :) The very same thing happened here in Perth on Monday when we were out and about in the city. Three unlucky people felt the caress of an angry mother nature, thankfully they survived to tell the tale! Understandably no-one was game enough to take the boats out along the south shore of the river that morning.. blue skies ever since though! Happy Wednesday, take care and stay safe.. p.s. next storm we have I'm staying indoors, no point in chancing my luck a third time!

The Eleventh Hour..

Remembrance Day ceremonies will be held around the world today in memory of the signing of the armistice ending hostilities in western Europe, signed at 11am on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, the official end to WW1 came with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles six months later. It was originally suggested there be a five minute silence to pay respect to the soldiers killed during this horrendous war, then two minutes and now it seems the most we can spare is one and if not actually at a service it's noticeable how many don't even observe this. It worries me that 'lest we forget' is losing it's significance amidst the horrors of today and we are forgetting.. what do you think? Gosh I'm a cheery chappie today :) makes you think though oui! Happy Tuesday, take care..

There and Back Again!

Back safe and sound! Maybe it is true what they say about flying being the safest way to travel? Positive steps achieved with two of my phobias, that only leaves about twenty or so to go :) I know the shot above won't fool Sydney-siders but it kind of looks like I'm doing the Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb don't you think! If you click the link you'll see what we actually climbed was the south eastern bridge pylon, 292 ft high, just short of the top of the arch by 148ft but feels a lot safer being enclosed and not out in the elements, not quite ready for that.. yet! Brilliant views all around. While in the tower we watched a short video which included fabulous black & white photos of the bridge when under construction back in the early 1900's, an awesome achievement.

For the first time we were in Sydney at the right time to see Sculpture by the Sea on Bondi Beach.. a brilliant setting for pieces ranging all the way through from the breaching whale carved out of driftwood to the sculpture made up of Gran's old crystal glass-ware! I recognized some of the pieces here..here and here from the same event held on Cottesloe Beach, an equally fabulous backdrop earlier this year.. did I mention it was hot.. and humid!

When I saw their work here in Highgate I was super keen to visit the studio of Gillie & Marc while in Sydney, I wasn't disappointed, what a tremendously talented duo they are.. a bit of a love story going on there :) If they hadn't been so darned heavy a 'lost dog' would have come back to Perth with moi :)

One of my favourite views, the breakfast was pretty good too!

The didgeridoo player and his friend!

The plant 'waterer'.. this one I just liked.. it was a hot and humid day, did I already mention that :) this chap had the pleasurable task of keeping the plants and the ladies in the cafes around The Rocks area cool.. maybe not the ladies :)

St. Mary's Cathedral, not too shabby a backdrop for wedding photo's.. we went inside for the first time this trip, no photo's allowed unfortunately..  

Sydney has many wonderful attractions but winning hands down by far is the delightful 'poupon' below :) Back to Perth business tomorrow, there's been a lot going on since I've been away.. as always! Looking forward to catching up and seeing what's been going on in your part of the world, be patient with me, I'll get there :) Happy Monday, take care and stay safe..

Still on the subject of flying :)

I took this shot at around 6.30am yesterday morning as the Rainbow Lorikeets flew in for breakfast and as I'll be flying off to Sydney before breakfast tomorrow morning I thought I'd take this opportunity to say au revoir until the 10th. While I'm totally terrified at the prospect of flying, the thought of spending time with my granddaughter is sooo exciting I can't wait! I'm not taking my laptop or my iPad.. just looking forward to lots of cuddle/play time no technology involved :) So take care of yourselves, stay safe and à bientôt! P.s. Looking forward to seeing you also Dave and Courtney :)

Flying is scary whichever way you do it!

 

Halloween is not the big deal over here as it is in other parts of the world, so a sight like this is much more uncommon than it would be in the US. Here's my question.. does 'texting while flying witch' usually come dressed in high heeled leather boots and studded gloves, or has this stylish hag been jzeushed? I'm guessing the latter :) Meanwhile my son flew in yesterday for a few days from Sydney in the more conventional way (still eeek!). Happy new week, take care and stay safe.. p.s. slasher Jack was present also, it seems some do take Halloween seriously, give me a pumpkin any day!

Bottlebrushes en masse!

I didn't get out and about with my camera at all yesterday so I thought you might like to see what I look at while writing the blog, this and the 'rustic' birdbath you've seen here. Pull it in and see all those vibrant red flowers and you can see why they're called Bottlebrushes :) The parrots love this tree and do they make a mess.. I'll say they do, but I still love it when they fly in! What do you look at while you're preparing your posts? Hope that you are enjoying your weekend, bit cloudy and a few showers here in Perth, nice! Take care and stay safe.. p.s. these trees are used a lot for roadside planting and look amazing en masse when they're flowering towards the end of summer and all through spring.