Unwrapping South Perth

I gave the markets last weekend a miss (Perth Upmarket and Made on the Left), and saved my enthusiasm for the Unwrapped market in South Perth last Sunday. It did not disappoint!

E dropped by after work and we walked down to the market. C lasted about five stalls before he decided that it was more exciting to go and buy potatoes and E and I kept going. Have I mentioned how much fun it is to go shopping with my sister? For the record it is excellent fun!

Angelo Street in South Perth was transformed into a bustling market place, and the clothing stores that we went into were jam packed with people. The market was part of the South Perth Fiesta, and there was a stage set up with fashion parades and entertainment.

It was great to see lots of interesting stalls that we had not seen before. There were familiar wares and new bits and pieces! We both found pieces to inspire us. I have a new blouse by TipToe, we both have greeting cards by Elbie Sparks and E has a tote from Sideline. We were also inspired by Truso and many more of the stall holders.

The next market is coming soon at the Angove Street Festival on the 10th April in North Perth.

Updating Perth!

The state government today announced the latest plan for the Perth waterfront. They have been talking about doing something for years. The previous government's grandiose plans included an island in the shape of a swan. Thankfully that has been toned down somewhat! There is still an island but it seems to be more rabbit shaped, and the site of the development is conveniently located next to a train station, bus station and also ferry terminal.

There will be hotels, promenades, bars and cafes and it will hopefully help to reenergise our city.

For more photos and information see The West or the ABC.

Image

A show fit for royalty

Last Monday on the public holiday C, E and I went to the Perth Royal Show! Last time I went was the day that the Eagles lost the AFL grand final to the Swans (it was nice and quiet that day) and E hadn't been since uni so we were keen to check out the action.

We were a fairly sedate group. We wandered through most of the exhibitions, tried the free samples at the WA Pavilion and Dairy Pavilion. We ended up buying one showbag between the three of us and C and E went on a ride whilst I looked after the bags.

It was large dogs on show the day that we went. E and I were both slightly disappointed as we wanted to see the toy dogs! Still, we admired the Rottweilers, Samoyeds and Dobermanns that we saw.

Sleeping ducky. The poultry shed was quite loud with many roosters and it had its own distinct aroma.

Man making honeycomb at the Whistlers stall. Yum!

Croatia was the featured country. They imported this icecream from Croatia especially for the Royal Show!!

For some reason the animals all had their backs to the crowds. Maybe they were trying to tell us something.

High flying exploits. If you look really close the rider in mid-air is horizontal on his bike!

I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay...

The crowds in sideshow alley. Mad.

E and C on the ride. You have to zoom in closely but they are there. At the front.

A crafty crocheted farmyard. E pointed out that the scale was all wrong but I did not think that it mattered too much.

PTA Poetry

There are various of these little poetry gems currently adorning our public transport. They are very clever although I resserve my judgement on how effective they are. Humpty himself has been seen running for the bus!

Mary had a little iPod
Mary had her iPod up as loud as it would go.
And every song that Mary played she thought we all did know.
The noise was unrelenting and it made the people frown.
Oh how we wish that Mary would just turn the damn thing down.

Urban Orchard

A few weeks ago I was intrigued to discover the Urban Orchard in the Perth Cultural Centre.

An unused area outside the Art Gallery has been transformed into a garden! There are beds with all sorts of edible plants, vegetables and herbs, and many fruit trees as well.

This seems like a great concept, showing people how easy it is to grow their own edible plants and also to provide fresh produce. I hope that it does catch on and that people make use of the facility.

I wish that my office was close by, as this would be a peaceful place to eat lunch during the workday.

Sunday markets

Last Sunday E and I went to the Perth Upmarket and the Unwrapped Market. Two different markets, and both interesting in their own way! The Perth Upmarket is now held at the University of Western Australia. Whenever I go there I am reminded of how lovely the grounds and the buildings are. I spent a few years at uni and you take it for granted as a student. The only times we went into Winthrop Hall were for exams or graduation so it makes a difference to see it all decked out with stalls and people and happy moments.

The Unwrapped Market is held in conjunction with the Perth Fashion Festival. Every year I say to myself that I am going to attend a fashion event or two, and invariably I never get around to it. Maybe next year!

It was a beautiful day for a market, and the warmth and sunshine of Unwrapped was a lovely contrast to the cold indoors of the Upmarket.

After we had satisfied our thirst for markets we wandered into Northbridge in search of lunch. I realised that I have no idea what this tower is for, and what building it used to belong to. It looks a little lonely standing tall by itself.

Lazy Sunday

I had no hockey this weekend, no real commitments and suggested to Chad that we get out on the water for some fish and chips! Elissa has also never been on his boat and she joined us on our journey.

Elissa and I met Chad at the South Perth boat ramp. His boat currently lives at his parents’ house (around 25km from home) and we are looking forward to building our house and being able to have it live with us. So much more convenient!

We loaded up with an esky full of salad and drinks and set off down the river. It is such a gorgeous trip, and you see the houses along the river banks. We like to ogle the houses and try to figure out what suburb we are wandering past.

Perth from the water.

Leaving the city in our wake.

E commented that I have been posting too many unflattering photos of her, so here is a picture of me that she took!

Skipper hard at work!

To get out into the ocean you pass through Fremantle Harbour and the interesting cargo ships and vessels. I love the cranes and industrial feel. It never ceases to amuse me that the residents in the posh development of ?? complain that the port is noisy. Logic to me says that if you purchase a property next to a 24 hour port then you are likely to hear noise all times of the day. It doesn’t matter how much you pay for it, the noise will still be there.

Our maritime museum is rather different, don’t you think?

We tie up at Kailis and eat their fish and chips. They are happy for people to use their facility as long as you purchase from them and we are happy to oblige.

Yum. Fish and chips. I went the grilled variety and we brought our own salad.

Excusion over. Back to the real world.

Perth City Link Road Show

I was intrigued to see a scale model of the Perth City Link on display at the bottom of the building I work in. Sinking the railway line and linking Perth and Northbridge has been talked about for as long as I can remember, and it was interesting to see what the latest concept is.

I was somewhat disappointed by the lack of open space in the model, but I guess it is conceptual at this stage. It would be great to be able to bring the two areas together in the first place and hopefully there will be some good open spaces.

For those who do not know the city, Perth and Northbridge are currently separated by a railway line, train station and bus station and there are limited points at which to cross. It is all rather grotty and uninspiring, and not the safest feeling to be walking through at certain times of the day. It would be great to have some options and make the trek into Northbridge for dim sum during work hours more direct and pleasant!

Futher information on current plans are here.

A city without cars

This lecture next Wednesday 4th August organised by Engineers Australia considers the concept of making Perth’s CBD a pedestrian only zone!

Personally I think it would be a grand idea, I have often commented on the concept, and wished we had less cars in the city.

I really do not understand why so many of our previously one way streets have been made two way, it congests the traffic even further and is a lot less convenient for pedestrians who now have to wait for cars to cease in two directions!

I would prefer it if they restricted streets in Perth for cars rather than making them more accessible.

So many people already work in the city. There are many pedestrians around and it would be great to make it easier and safer to get around on foot. I commute usually by public transport, sometimes I get a lift and occasionally I will ride my bicycle.


Image here

Public transport

I have long been fascinated by the London Tube map. It attempts to make sense of the Underground, and handy to figure out how to get around in the city. I even bought a version of it from the Tate Modern, although it is still in the poster tube I carried home from London, back in January 2004.

The train network here in Perth has been represented in a similar style. The ferries have been added in as well as the bus that goes to the airport to try and make our system look more impressive. It just seems to emphasise how limited our trains are! So much scope for improvement.

I am looking forward to the day we get more train lines, and maybe light rail, and I could have a local map worthy of my wall!

PS I commute to work by bus. So I do use public tranpsort!!
Image here

Cold!

It is cold here in Perth at the moment. I know that is it winter, but it seems unusually cold! We have set a record for having eleven nights in a row with a minimum under 5C. Eep!

Unfortunately is is also a bit chilly during the day and at 2pm I am sitting on the couch wearing my beanie and 80% down jacket with three layers of merino wool underneath. (See picture for beanie and jacket.)

Winthrop Hall

The University of Western Australia has some lovely buildings. Most recognisable is Winthrop Hall, the venue for the Perth Upmarket today. Wouldn't you know it, I took photos of the insides and the back and the Reflection Pond but not the front, iconic view!

As a student, the only time we ever used Winthrop Hall (and the Undercroft) was at exam time! I passed all of my exams so the memories are not too bad. I can recall however sliding off one of the marbled steps onto my backside after an exam that was preceded by an all night study cram session. Ahh, those were the days!





PS UWA also has some unlovely buildings, including the Engineering building that I always thought looked like a giant block of toilets. Who said engineers were soulless?

Tourist information - Perth

For those of you who are not familiar with Perth - and also those who are - I love the spin this video gives to our city.

I have to report that, unfortunately, our "revolving prison" has been dismantled. I am not entirely sure what they did with all of the "prisoners" but there you have it!

Oh, and the public transport being "on the hour, every hour" is sadly true for non peak times from many suburbs. One of the reasons why I moved to live within 6km of the city!

The video is by the same duo who created "Hello, It's Freo". I posted about this previously as inspiration for my bridesmaids.

Winter is coming...

It is raining. And cold.
Photo taken approximately five hours after this one.