Theme Day ~ Cafe Chairs

 

Above: Trendy Seating
Strolling along Southbank one morning checking out the cafes, I was struck by the brilliance of these cafe chairs. A riot of colour - so colourful even on a winter's day, they add a splash of gorgeousness.

To see other them days photos click here.


Today's quote: There were around 64 chairs set up, and they had part of those indoors, but most of them were outside on the patio and under tents ~ Barbara Rollins

Holy Cow !

 

Above: Cow up a Tree
This striking and unusual art created by John Kelly was originally installed at Docklands in February 2001, and later dismantled and stored so that construction works to lower the wharf could be undertaken. It was then reinstalled in 2003.

This iconic sculpture is made of five tonnes on patinated bronze and is eight metres high. You may think the sight of a cow stuck up a tree rather curious and surreal but the absurd vision of a cow being stuck up a tree is based on reality. The inspiration comes from the Australian landscape and a water based theme. Australian floods are often violent and it is not unknown for cattle to be swept into trees whilst floods are ascending only to be stranded once they subside. The artist witnessed this occurring in the Gippsland area of Victoria.


Today's quote: I gotta go Julia, we got cows ~ Melissa in Twister

Bricks and Breeks

 

Above: Gentlemen must be Properly Attired

So readeth the sign on the wall of one of Melbourne's inner city pubs. So remember Gentil Hommes, next time you think to enter and quench your thirst with a good, cold ale, be sure your satin knee breeches fit snugly and are in accordance with your matching westkit, your frockcoat buttons polished, your kid leather shoes with low wood stack heels and embossed steel buckles in good condition and your tricorne at the correct angle.


Today's quote: Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society ~ Mark Twain.

Weekend Reflections

 

Above: Through the window glass

In a lovely old Victorian terrace in Collingwood with a pale yellow facade is Mezina Cafe. One of my favourite places to spend a Saturday afternoon indulging in good coffee people=watching while sitting under one of the outdoor umbrellas.


Today's quote: People everywhere love windows ~ Bill Gates.


Link to Weekend Reflections

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-24

 

Above: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-24

Care for a ride? Can you imagine whizzing around in this snazzy little model? Wow - not exactly the car you'd nip to the shops and back is it? But then again, think of the heads you'd turn taking this little baby to the supermarket, or better still going through one of those McDonald's drive throughs to order your burger...


The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 had a Mercedes FO108W V8 engine and was driven by Lewis Hamilton and Heikki Kovalainenin. The Australian Grand Prix that year was held on29 March (2009) at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne and was the first race of the 2009 Formula One season.


Today's quote: "The only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys" ~ my Mother.

Elephants and Parasols

 

Above: Paper Parasol

At the So Frenchy So Chic 2013 festival in the grounds of Werribee mansion, I spotted this lovely parasol. Made from paper with bamboo frame, it looks so elegant with its grey elephants gaily around the circumference sporting pink hued flowers in between.
The perfect parasol for a warm, sunny day.


Today's quote: “Of doues I haue a dainty paire Which, when you please to take the aier, About your head shall gently houer, Your cleere browe from the sunne to couer, And with their nimble wings shall fan you That neither cold nor heate shall tan you, And like umbrellas, with their feathers Sheeld you in all sorts of weathers.” ~ Michael Drayton

Black Saturday - 4th Anniversary

 

Above: Black Saturday Bushfires

Today is the fourth anniversary of the Black Saturday bushfires. On Saturday 7th February, 2009, my state, the state of Victoria burned. There had been bushfires burning but this day was the worst in Australian history with the largest loss of life - 173 people lost their life and 414 were injured due to the fires.

I remember that day clearly - early in the morning, the sun was a bright orange ball and we knew that that day would be terrible. the temperatures in Melbourne were 46.4ºC (115.52ºF) and in other areas it was 49ºC - (120.2ºF). The hot northerlies raged through my state with speeds of 80-100km. - the wind was ferocious, when I stood on my verandah it was 48º - in the shade and the wind was so hot it burnt our legs. You could hear it howling and there was a noise in the distance - a thunderous, rumbling noise - it sounded like huge jets, only there were no jets. I have never heard winds like that before, and I hoped to God I never hear them again. It was a most awful, awful sound. And it went on for hours.

Black Saturday was Victoria's darkest nightmare and the worst in our history.


Today's quote: It quickly swelled into the shape of a gigantic question mark, the middle of which was a vivid crimson, and as this thunderhead-like column billowed upward through the sky, she could see a red ball of fire at its core ~ Hiroyuki Agawa.

Luna Park

 

Above: The Entrance
Luna Park is one of the places children always wanted to go. It is an amusement park - the first built in Australia and opened to the public on 13 December 1912. There were rides, fun and hot chips and cream waffles. The biggest (and scariest) ride when I was a child was the Big Dipper - a train ride with ups and downs in a hilly, tortuous heart-stopping ride of a lifetime. You'd scream with terror as the train car rested ever so slightly at the top of a "hill" before it went crashing down at furious speed to the bottom. Then it started all over again. Sadly, the Big Dipper was demolished in 1989 in anticipation of a new large roller coaster which never eventuated.
Inside this was the Scenic Railway, similar to its big brother (the Big Dipper) but it wasn't as scary as the ups and downs were gentler. My mum would only go on this, but dad took me on the big one.

The Giggle Palace was another favourite which unfortunately was destroyed in a fire in 1982. I always loved going to Luna Park and enjoyed the River Caves, the Ghost Train, and the Rotor.

 

Today's quote: Life is like a roller coaster, it has its ups and downs...

The Westgate Bridge

 

Above: The Westgate Bridge
Spanning the Yarra River, just north of its mouth into Port Phillip, the West Gate Bridge links the inner city and Melbourne's western suburbs with the industrial suburbs in the west and with the city of Geelong which is 80kms to the south-west. With its height above the water at 58m, the main river span is 336 m, and the total length of the bridge is 2,582.6 metres.

The Collapse of the Bridge
Two years into its construction on 15 October 1970, just before 12 noon the bridge collapsed, killing 35 construction workers. Many of those who perished were on their lunch break beneath the structure in workers' huts, which were crushed by the falling span. Others were working on and inside the girder when it fell. The whole 2,000-tonne mass plummeted into the Yarra River mud with an explosion of gas, dust and mangled metal that shook buildings hundreds of metres away. Homes were spattered with flying mud. The roar of the impact, the explosion, and the fire that followed, could be clearly heard over 20 km away.

In 1972 construction resumed and the bridge was completed in 1978. After 10 years of construction, the bridge, a part of the larger West Gate Freeway, cost $202 million. The bridge opened to the public on 16 November 1978 and it was tolled until 15 November 1985. When it first opened, everybody went across it at least once just to see what it was like and to say they'd been.



Today's quote: “Let every man praise the bridge that carries him over” ~ English proverb.