Since we don’t live by politix alone (I sincerely hope), what did people get up to this weekend? Join in, share some tales, regulars and lurkers all!
I’m visiting Adelaide at the moment - down here for my sister’s wedding yesterday. We took a road trip to the Clare Valley on Friday and stopped at the excellent Jesuit Sevenhill winery, yesterday was the wedding and the reception and today’s been lazy!
St Aloysius Church by *phenomenologist on deviantART
Fruit of the vine by *phenomenologist on deviantART
Institute by *phenomenologist on deviantART
Room with a view I by *phenomenologist on deviantART
Room with a view II by *phenomenologist on deviantART
Click through on the photos and then select “full view” to see a larger version.
Updated the post with some photos of my trip.
Mark, the McLaren Vale is very nice - not far from Adelaide, as are the Adelaide Hills. Did you go to Strathalbyn? It’s one of the old Sth Australian towns and has beautiful nice buildings.
From the few times I’ve been to Adelaide, it feels like a small regional city - a little like Brisbane 20-25 years ago.
Pass congrats to your sister, Mark.
I must say I like South Australia much more than I like its capital. Kangaroo Island is one of my fave spots in Oz. Plus that German town just north of Adelaide, and the Wine districts, and the megafauna areas…
I’m writing this while waiting for my Sunday afternoon breakfast in a cafe just near the Bristol Harbour. It’s relaly quite a lovely Sunday afternoon here in England. The sun is out but there is a littl bit of a chill in the air. The whole town seems to be in lazy Sunday mode after last night’s Rugby World Cup final. If my night was anything like the average Bristolian night out (which I’m guessing it was) there are a lot of heads which have opted for a gentle day.
I plan to spend the rest of my afternoon hanging around by the harbour trying to do very little….
Mark *clears throat*. Might I remind you this is Adelaide you’re talking about.
I lived there for a period, and it was the most dead-boring place I have ever encountered - and this includes time living in Bathurst in regional NSW.
Anyway, after my Adelaide encounter I thought Kings Cross would be an absolutely brilliant idea.
It most certainly wasn’t.
On Saturday I took a new Chinese student, Ms So, around Matsue and showed her the important places. She doesn’t speak Japanese yet so I thought it might be wise to give her an English language explanation of the important areas of Matsue. Then on Sunday morning I went to see my NZ friends for a rugby-watching brunch. The food was interesting, at least. After that I went to watch the festival marking the 400-and-something anniversary of the founding of modern Matsue. This involves lots of drunk people dragging floats around the centre of town, but it took too long to start so I went home early. This evening I wandered out to the farmlands to try and record the singing insects, but I think I was too late. I took photos of fields at night instead.
By which I mean:
“Oh, is that a syringe on the footstep of this charming Victorian pied-a-tier, into which I’m about to move my treasures after fleeing from across the Hay Plain? This may not be the bohemian paradise I had imagined.
“And, oh fuck, I don’t do poetry.”
Sacha, we went to the Clare Valley and didn’t see McLaren Vale. There are some nice old towns with beautiful buildings there and on the way - I liked Gawler and Auburn. I was a bit underwhelmed by the Barossa - a bit too tourist trappy. But I’d like to come back and see more of the country some time.
Mark, if you ever go travelling in SA you should head north of the Gawler Line. Lot’s of really creepy, weird, ghosty places.
Saturday, morning, caught up on e-mails. Blogged on LP. Spent most of the day writing a review of Bruce Pascoe’s ‘Convincing Ground’. About 3/4 finished.Sat. Night, watched 10 News,then ABC - New Tricks, The Bill, Sideshow - one of the better ones I thought and Foyles War. Sunday, replied to e-mails, did a bit of blogging, fiddled around a little with draft of book review, had a relaxing day reading articles on economy and society in 18C. England in ‘A Companion to 18C. Britain’. Late afternoon watched TV. Watched the Worm on Channel 9, S.W.A.T. , read a bit more on 18C. Blogged.
Sunday arvo update - I’m now sitting in the sun by the harbour at a cafe with a brilliant view and which has wireless. I may never work in my office again. This place reminds me a lot of the Watt bar in New Farm Park back in Brisneyland.
Oh, and I’m listening to PJ Harvey’s “Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea” which I think is perfect listening for lazy Sunday arvos (and also for late night drunken tube riding in London).
Also visited a church and two exceptionally ugly brothels, but have only dealt with the church so far.
http://perthworst.wordpress.com/
Actually mick, it’s perfect listening anytime.
Can I also put you onto Tilly and the Wall (they’re pretty inconsistent, but ‘Night of the Living Dead’ is perfect iPod fodder. Play loud), and New Young Pony Club?
I was so enthralled by the idea of a Howstello-KRudd debate that I spent my Sunday hacking a tree stump out of a garden bed.
BTW, The Worm (and I don’t mean Howstello) won the debate by a huge margin…
On the way back from Clare Valley, we called in to Kapunda, which my Dad left in either 1912 or 1914, I forget which. I can kinda see why he did. We found two dead Bahnisches in the graveyard. I’m sure there were more there hiding somewhere.
On Sunday arvo we did a short run to Mt Lofty, threw a rock on Alexander Downer’s roof, and back via Belair while Mark was resting (we couldn’t raise him!) Didn’t have time for Hahndorf or Strathalbyn. Our young bloke was impressed with the notion of cycling up Mt Lofty (he does twice around the Mt Coot-tha circuit for a bit of a doddle.) I’d like to go back to have a decent look at the Mt Lofty Botanical Gardens. They’re huge, very attractive but steep!
I lived in Belair for a while in the 60s. We made the mistake of calling in to Glenelg to fill in time. Slighly less interesting than inside the airport terminal!
We saw the end of the debate and the endless analysis on the plane. Something to prevent you from sleeping when you are nearly comatose and not very comfortable.
70% yard work, 20% at the Powerhouse for a few ales and listen to Halfway, 10% other stuff. PLus sleeping and reading blogs and the other other stuff I left out.
The first outing of the summer saw the mighty TMCC 8th grade side record a crushing outright victory. As the illustrious leader said team, I spent Sunday basking in the glow of victory.
Mark, the best way to see the Barossa is in a vintage Merc with a local who knows the wineries to visit.
Learnt how to make proper sourdough bread, watched a friend make their own wedding invites on cult home screenprinter ‘gocco’, and cooked lashings of meat.
Back to Brisbane today!
Ever had one of those weekends where a minor tidy-up turns into a major reconstruction/reorganisation? Spent the sunday moving computers, re-routing telephone and network connections under the house, trying to sort the alcove-cum-nursery into a slightly more pleasant place for the baby. Much more pleasant now.
Neighbour two doors down, recently returned from Paris brought over her new Serge Gainsbourg double CD as we finished tidying up. Mmmm, the initials BB!, a cold beer and some nice company made up for all the trips under the house trying to find wiring.
Lefty E @11.42pm on the 21st:
ANYWHERE is much more appealing than the capital, some examples:
Victoria, NSW, Qld, WA, NT, Canada, Germany, England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Denmark, Lithuania, Turkey, USA, Japan, Malaysia, etc…..
CK @11.51pm of the 21st:
There are no boring places, only boring people. Period.
Spent the weekend on the road. In amongst sport on the wirless I gleaned that a federal election has been called.
See you and raise you one spit on John Howard’s Wollstonecraft lawn (about time I did an anniversary spit, as the first was in 1997)