Our Winter Escape 2011: June 6 ... Perth

Well, it’s been another great weekend – a long one here in WA. On Saturday morning Morg had an appointment in Northbridge at a Speed Dating Brunch, so Garry and I went in to do some exploring. We parked beside Russel Square and walked the length of James St. Of a morning this is a very quiet area but it is the epicentre of Perth’s night life. It had a very Asian influence even though it is the base of Greek culture in Perth. We ended up in The Cultural Centre again but, as we were walking towards the Art Gallery, I was looking at a particularly impressive old building when we noticed it was the Perth Institute of Contemporary Art and it had a free exhibition on, the Hatched National Graduate Show 2011. This was a collection of the best young artists from around Australia as judged by a series of panels, so what an amazing surprise it was to find a piece of film animation there done by Tom Savins from Tenterfield, titled “Locomotor Ataxia”. We have little appreciation or understanding of such an art form but it was certainly a wonderful achievement for him, and this was definitely a “six degrees of separation” moment!


Still shots from "Locomotor Ataxia"

After another yummy coffee we spent some more time in the gallery looking at works we had missed the other day. We got to have our first good look at an Ian Fairweather (the hermit from Bribie Island) painting, and it was impressive. He lived such an unusual and rich life, and this is reflected in his art. By now it was about 1pm and the day had clouded over and was quite cool so we settled for an afternoon of shopping at Garden City.

"Mother and Child" - Ian Fairweather

On Sunday, I started with the markets as usual, but I did not buy anything this week despite the many temptations. It will already be quite a test on Tuesday when I have to pack the van! Following this we all drove to Bicton Park, and while Morgan went for her run, Garry and I chose to walk to the left from the park toward Fremantle. It was lovely with good views of the river all the way. As it was another perfect day we headed north for a late picnic lunch of fish and chips at Cottesloe Beach. It was a very pleasant way to spend a few hours as there was no wind and the water looked beautiful. Garry regretted not bringing his swimmers and I regretted not having my camera!

Today we decided to have a last look at Fremantle. After another late start, as they all are with Morgan, we parked and walked around any street that looked interesting. Town was busy with lots of people out enjoying the sunshine and the holiday, and we were entertained by some talented street performers. Eventually we stopped for a coffee and crepe before going on a general drive around to look at some of the many old buildings and houses. We also found Monument Hill and the views were excellent.