パース日本祭り ２０１４ イントロ - Japan Festival 2014.....

The clash of swords and the swish of kimonos could be heard in the city yesterday as Forrest Place was host to this years Japan Festival.  From the serious display of Kendo by the WA Kendo Renmei to the highly colourful and dare I say slightly bizarre 'Anime cosplay' event, a couple of the 'characters' below.....

I enjoy seeing the beautiful kimonos, the ladies wear them so well, especially as the weather is very  warm right now.....

... but my very favourite thing is seeing the young children in their adorable little kimonos....

If you're wondering what these little ones above are gazing at so wistfully and wishing they weren't in their best togs.. it's the water fountain, who wouldn't want to be running around in there on a hot day, I must admit I walked pretty close a few times myself  :) It was a hectic day, catch up time today.. hope your weekend is going well, take care.....

La Belle Époque sizzles in Perth.....

On Thursday evening we entered the gates of 'The Pleasure Garden' once more.. oh la! it was a hot night in Perth in more ways than one :) We were there to watch the ladies of  La Belle Epoque perform in the WA Spiegeltent, and as it was a 'no photos' kind of gig you'll have to take my word that it was fabulous, it was nice for a change to relax and enjoy the show. The spiegeltent itself is an amazing venue, you really do get that feeling of stepping into a bygone era... I apologise for the quality of the photos but with lights flashing everywhere inside and out it was tres tricky!
 

Although there were no photos during the show the cast were more than happy to mingle and pose after the show and yes, I was up to my old 'photo-napping' tricks again :)

Walking back to the car after the show it was so good to see the cafes and restaurants around Perth and Northbridge overflowing with people having either just come from or going to a Fringe or Perth Festival event.. February and March may be the hottest months in Perth but there's more than enough going on to take your mind off the weather :) Happy weekend, take care.... p.s. I see a couple of tables free in Positano, meet you there for Fringe next year oui!
 

Sacrilege in the city.....!

This sight may look 'vaguely ' familiar to you but I bet you didn't expect to see it 'pop' up in Perth. I did say vaguely and I did say pop.. literally :) Created by English artist Jeremy Deller the inflatable interactive sculpture Sacrilege is in the Supreme Court Gardens as part of the Perth Festival. This ancient shrine replica of Stonehenge is a 'bouncy castle'.. some might say sacrilege, I say it's all good fun.. the chap below certainly had an excellent time :) If you have a quick look at the installation here in Olympic Park London you'll see that the weather conditions couldn't possibly be more different, it was 37C (maybe more, definitely not less) here yesterday, so hot that the plastic had to be hosed down with cold water between sessions!

We arrived a little early and watched with amusement as the pumps started up.. each part of the 'formation' began to rise slowly, and then boing .. straight up.. funny! There will be no rituals in the moonlight around these nightly deflated rocks :) We were in the city last night to see another Fringe World gig, La belle Epoque.. ooo! la! la! tell you about it tomorrow.. This week has zipped by for me, how about you? Have a good Friday, take care.....

Southern Elephant Seal.. a surprising visitor!

Isn't he a handsome fella! I was just about out the door yesterday morning heading into the city to take some shots of  'Stonehenge'.. no kidding, will show you tomorrow.. when I had a call from my sister, thanks L, to say there was an unexpected visitor on Sorrento Beach five minutes from home. A quick detour and there he was.. all 2000 kg of him! Coming ashore for a bit of R & R after a hunting expedition in the colder waters of the sub-antarctic islands little did he realise the amount of interest he would generate. It was all very calm and quiet early in the morning, with the local TV stations setting up to record his every flibber flabber, believe me he flibbered and flabbered, as he made his way down closer to the waters edge.. did I mention that it was 37C yesterday, didn't seem to bother him as he rolled and flipped sand over himself...

That's quite a derriere..suddenly I don't feel so bad about my extra five kg :)

There I was snapping away when I realised there was a barrage of cameras facing me.. I'd better not be on the news :)

Sleep while you can Monsieur Seal.. you are going to be the 'star' attraction when Perthites finish work....

Naturally Aimee wanted to have a peek when she finished work but we were too late, just look at that crowd, there wasn't any point in even trying.  I took this shot from way over at the marina. It did worry me a bit to see him so closely surrounded as these huge seals have very big teeth and can get aggressive if they feel threatened.. ah well if you don't listen to the warnings etc. Btw yes, the sky and the water were that blue! Have a fab Thursday, take care and stay safe.....p.s. he is in excellent health, just exhausted..

April's Manor.....

As I stepped off the escalators yesterday at Karrinyup my local shopping centre there before me was the grandest dollhouse, every little person's dream! Built and donated to raise money for Cystic Fibrosis WA by Adrienne and Rob Hartley, family friends of 12 year old April who, although she has cystic fibrosis, ably assisted with much of the decorating of  April's Manor (check out the details). Most of the home & contents were sourced from Europe and the USA.. from the grand central staircase, parquet flooring, exquisitely furnished rooms to the chandelier made from Swarovski crystals and the parterre garden this was a true labour of love. I think I may have to borrow one of my young 'great' nieces or nephews to take along so I can justifiably oooh! and aaah! with gusto :) Happy Wednesday, take care and stay safe.....

Would you do it..?

Would you leap onto a kite board totally relying on the wind to skim you across the water out of reach of whatever may be lurking underneath the waves? Or jump in a kayak and paddle out to sea not knowing what could nudge you from below? I'm darn tootin' sure I wouldn't :) Behind the wind surfer above I counted eleven container ships waiting in Gage Roads to come into Fremantle Harbour.. the land mass behind is Rottnest Island....

I took the above and below shots using my 300 zoom, pulling it in to catch this sweet scenario on the beach below. It would seem not all dogs love the beach.. to be fair it was pretty cool (28C) and windy on Sunday! This dear little dog.. look at the size of it :) was not happy.. luckily her 'dad' was keeping an eye on her, he scooped her up in one hand and carried her the rest of the way, too cute! Hope your week has started well, I'm hoping for a quiet 'catch up' day today, take care.....

Black & White, no way....!

At least not often through the eyes of one of my favourite WA artists Anya Brock.. remember the budgies. We've been spending a lot of time in the city lately so decided for a change to head down to Fremantle only a 30 minute drive down the coast road from Perth. I knew this mural (worth enlarging) was on South Terrace, a long stretch of road, so we parked pretty much half way down and turned right, up towards the Cappuccino Strip (virtual tour)..WRONG! turns out we should have turned left.. isn't it always the way.. still, after eating a croissant for breakfast I needed the exercise :)

The young couple above tried to rush past but were happy to pose when I asked them to stop.. love the Pink Floyd 'Another Hole in the Wall' dress :)  So many quirky cafes in Fremantle, Ootong and Lincoln one of the most popular if the reviews are anything to go by, I can vouch for the café au lait! Hope you had or are having a good weekend, take care and stay safe.. p.s. it was cloudy and 28C here yesterday, bliss.. but back up into the high 30's again this week!

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