Blog 494
Perth
We feel as though we have just got off the merry-go-round and we get back on to fly to Perth to support our youngest daughter treat Perth to the Celestial Festival. Carly puts together packages for readers of the books by Sarah Maas presenting a themed festival in a gothic setting so they can all dress up and “play” in the make-believe world – Yes, a masked ball! Hundreds of young and not so young people dress up and travel to each festival around Australia and Kerry is the dressmaker.
This adventure started Thursday morning with travelling by early morning flight to Perth and settling into our hotel the Europe in Murray St. Our plans would be shaped by the demands of the festival. Carly and her family were travelling on a later flight and staying at the QT Hotel; a little classier than the European. Kerry has relatives here just outside of Perth and we had plans to catch up with her cousin Ken and his wife Yena and a more distant relative Zenith.
We dropped into our hotel and left our luggage and then went exploring to find out what was around us. Murray St mall was 2 blocks down Murray St., Town Hall, where the festival would be held was nearby the mall and St Georges Tce. and the docks area was nearby. The architecture of the pre-Federation period, the statuary, and street furniture particularly at St Martins Centre was impressive. We had dinner with Carly and family at the Beef and Wine Company in St Georges Tce. and wandered through nighttime Perth. Some of our photos are below.
Photos – the Bell Tower by night, St Martins Centre
Kerry caught up with Carly regarding organisation for Saturday after which we caught the train to Yanchep, 56 klms north of Perth and part of the city of Wanneroo. Last time we were in Perth (quite a few years ago) the rail finished at Joondalup. The extension has been designed to allow the trains to travel at 130 klms per hr + or so we were told by a proud Rail worker, possibly a driver also catching the train to Yanchep.
The rail station is large and modern with 900 parking bays for residents travelling south. It seems someone has put some thought into the future of the rail line. Kerry’s stepbrother’s stepdaughter Zenith lives all the way out here. Zenith, her sister, and her mother and stepfather (Kerry’s stepbrother) had lived with us for a short time in Holland Park in Brisbane. So having determined that they were not related in anyway, we had remained friends with Zenith. We chatted with Zenith who is a proud owner of 2 French Bulldogs about “family”. We decided we would go to the beach for lunch. Zentih drove us to a beach side café with a terrific outlook over the beach and obviously popular even mid-week. We passed one couple coming back from the beach. Now g-string bikinis are now common place but for me, I find them unflattering on many girls who wear them and this girl was a point in question. However, there was a “knight” on a push bike riding hard to catch up with her. He called out “you have left your swimsuit on the beach” to the g-string bikini girl. We don’t know what happened after that, but he was closing in on her quickly. At least lunch was nice and we had a superb lookout at the view not just the girls.
Photos
We finished up at Yanchep after visiting the bottle shop to buy a bottle of whisky. Years ago, Kerry’s uncle Barry Ashworth, now deceased, and I developed a “partnership” – when we were together in person or by phone, we would have a drink of a single malt whisky. After Barry passed, Kerry’s cousin and Barry’s son Ken carried on the partnership. As we were catching up with Ken on Sunday, I purchased a 12-yr old bottle of Ardbeg single malt from the fair isle of Isla. We visited Isla some years ago and I had a fondness for the island’s whisky.
We travelled with Zenith to the rail station where we bid her goodbye and climbed aboard to return to Perth. That night we took a walk amongst the lights of Perth.
Saturday was the night of the festival and most of the day was taken up with a walk in the streets and then the festival in the evening at Town Hall. Our walk took us to the gardens of the Supreme Court of WA where a few pieces of bronze depict bits of the history of WA and some obscure pieces such as the pen nib bronzes depicting the rulings of the Courts I suppose. From there we went to the bell tower and the locks of love amassed on the wire fences to the statues in the parkland, the green bridges connecting bits and pieces then St Martins Place and its walk through a small piece of WA history from the Dutch to the English to the colony then the state and federation.
Photos: Trinity Arcade, Percy Button bronze, explorer and politician Alexander Forrest statue, the Old Supreme Court building now a museum of early law enforcement in WA, various statues in Stirling Gardens
We ended up at Perth’s oldest colonial structure – the original Court house. It is located between Stirling Gardens and Supreme Court Gardens, off Barrack Street, adjacent to the Supreme Court building. It is a single-storey cream rendered building, with a wooden shingle roof. Completed in 1836, it is the city’s oldest surviving public building. The Old Court House currently houses the Old Court House Law Museum, operated by the Law Society of Western Australia, which focuses on the history of the law, legal issues and the legal profession in Western Australia.
We returned to the hotel to rest and then Kerry met with Carly and her band for preparation for the festival. What happens at the festival stays on Facebook, so I won’t bore you with all that. I was surprised to bump into Ken’s son Arden who had come to help Carly with knocking down and packing up all her gear.
Sunday was a day of rest for everyone but us. Ken and his wife Yena arrived to take us on a tour to Cottesloe Beach, and I presented him with the whisky. A broad smile decorated his face. So, we enjoyed a grand tour to Cottesloe and onto the beach with Ken giving us his version of history of Perth. The Sculpture by the Sea Exhibition was celebrating its 21st anniversary and Sunday was the 2nd last day. On arriving at the beach, Ken dropped Kerry, Yena and me off and went on a safari to find a carpark. Kerry bought the guidebook in readiness of Ken’s return and then we waited. Ken found a park some 800m away. Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe is a premier free outdoor art exhibition held annually on Perth’s iconic Cottesloe Beach, Western Australia. The 21st exhibition featured over 70 sculptures from local and international artists along the sea wall, sand, and grassed areas.
Photos of some artistic pieces in St Georges Tce on the way to Cottesloe Beach and the Sculptures by the Sea.
We strolled through the exhibition for a couple of hours until we could feel a thirst coming on. No chance of sitting quietly looking at the sea so we moved onto our lunch destination and enjoyed the quiet and the refreshing drinks. Ken continued our tour dropping us back at the Europe Hotel just on dusk. Ken and Yena are a happy couple which is great to see and good company.
Monday morning and our return to Brisbane. Now we had 2 extra suitcases courtesy of Celestial Events. Part of the reason for our trip was to help bring the props back to Brisbane. The flight was on time but not without a hitch as we were turned around due to a fault in the plane. Finally picked up the car at the terminal in Brisbane. We couldn’t find it for some time and between the airline delay and finding the car we had to pay a late fee of $60 which I recovered from the airline. Back to normal. Next trip is to New Zealand South Island to experience a real winter! Get ready for “THE REITREES EXPLORE THE SOUTH ISLAND”
glendon1954 