Development behind the screen

Not Just A Number

Word sculpture by Alex Woof, Amelia Calantzis, Catriona Calantzis, Elleni Karafilis, Rebecca Luhur and Rosie Wood. It was displayed at the recent Living Laneways "Handmade" market at Rockdale.

Its creators say:

"The word sculpture began its life as a national Youth Week 2013 workshop in Rockdale City Library. Under the guidance of artist Kelly Pearce we discussed which words were meaningful to us.

AUTHENTIC, ORGANIC, INDIVIDUAL, FORTY-TWO

"We ran our words through a barcode generator and over six sessions created four panels with our words and their corresponding barcodes. Barcodes turn everything including the authentic, the organic, the individual and forty-two into a number.

"Barcodes are everywhere. They're unavoidable. They can turn everything into a number....This is our way of reclaiming those words and their meaning."

Toy

This poor little fellow looked so lonely and abandoned when I came across him on the ground. So I picked him up and put him on the picnic table, hoping he's find his way home to his owner, or be adopted into a loving new home.

Tempe Recreation Reserve

A scene of tranquility just across the AlexandriaCanal from Sydney airport.  And there goes Flight QF7 to Dallas-Fort Worth.

Welcome to Rockdale

The area of the Cooks River along the Princes Highway that marks the northern boundary of the City of Rockdale, where is adjoins Marrickville Council is pleasantly landscaped, and a popular cycleway. From here you can cycle west toward the Olympic precinct at Homebush and east towards Botany Bay.

Ryde to Botany Bay cycleway map

Uniting Church, Newtown

"Smile Please"

This lovely Japanese lady stands outside a vintage camera shop in Newtown called "Smile Please".
They have a Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/smilepleasesydneysuper8mm.

I took in my Pentax K1000 to get a new case, and walked away a very satisfied customer. Now I'm keen to use it again after many years. Have to think of a special project worthy of it.

Enmore Road

This pretty much sums up the  Enmore/Newtown vibe: cyclist (defying the law and not wearing a helmet), organic food, mural art (over-written with graffiti), dogs...missing: cafe, of which there are dozens.

Turkish (de)lights

Ferah Turkish Homewares is another of my favourite Newtown shops.

Victory & Lore

These two lovely women have started a small local business called Victory & Lore, specialising in these great prints inspired by the area in which we live.

I was really pleased to see them at the Living laneways market in Rockdale yesterday, despite the cold, blustery weather.

Knitting is the new yoga

Anyone a knitter? The Granny Square in Newtown will supply you with all you need, and even teach you how to get started. (There's a branch in Katoomba too)

My mum was a beautiful knitter - she used to knit for Paton's pattern books. She made some beautiful garments for Ben when he was a baby, all of which I've kept.

Mum taught my sister and me how to knit and I made quite a few jumpers when I was younger. Haven't knitted for years now.

Vegan ink

Newtown is such a right-on suburb, that even your tattoos can be vegan.

On a chain

Development proposal

Some, but unfortunately not all local councils require anyone lodging a development proposal to display the notice of development at the front of the property, including what it is intended to happen, and details about how to find more information and lodge objections. This is in King St, Newtown. 

Ticket collection

If I ask you to collect some tickets from the Enmore theatre, do you think you'd be able to work out from where?

The Social Outfit

Meet Jackie, CEO of an organisation called "The Social Outfit", in their shop and studio in Newtown.

The Social Outfit: "Good to Wear. Made for Good".

The organisation seeks to create opportunities for new migrants and refugees in employment and education in fashion, design and retail work.

You can see the creative studio space at the back of the retail area in the two smaller photos.

Jackie said that their presence has been warmly welcomed by everyone in the Newtown community.

I have a dream...we have the dreaming

This is the last day of NAIDOC Week. NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines' and Islanders' Day of Observance Committee.  To find out more, click here.

The Martin Luther King "I have a dream" mural was painted in August 1991 by Andrew Aiken and Juilee Pryor (with Tony Spanos), part of a group of mural artists called Unmitigated Audacity Productions.

The Aboriginal flag followed later, after several changes: see here and here.

I believe the complementary mural "we have the dreaming" mural was painted in 2011.

Chelsea and Lucy

Chelsea (left) and Lucy selling stuff at their "pop-up market" stall on a sunny corner in Newtown.

Their smiles were as sunny as the day.

Newtown, an inner suburb is a great place to spend a day just wandering around; it's full of cafes. people, interesting shops. I'm lucky to live about 15 minutes away.

Cockatoos (and an ibis)

Arncliffe Park plays hose to a large flock of cockatoos, and ibis. The cockies fly over to the 100 year olf mandarin tree in our backyard, and create an incredible mess, as they dive into the fruit for the seeds, and then drop the fruit all over the back yard...and sometimes out on the street!

Boats

Australian made

There's very little clothing and textile manufacturing left in Australia. It's wonderful to still see this iconic sign at the Koala factory in Arncliffe.

Arncliffe used to be a mix of light manufacturing and working class housing - a working class inner suburb.

Now the factories have all but disappeared as the high rise housing development has encroached. In planning circles they are called "brown fields sites." Once upon a time, the manufacturing workforce could afford to live in these inner-ring suburbs, and their jobs were located nearby, or on public transport corridors.

How long before the small industrial site is swallowed up?

Hats off to the owners of the family business, Koala, for the following statement on their website. It's a really informative website, with a short video(click here)  of their 82 year history, and a photo gallery of the whole process from designing to manufacturing (click here).

Statement by Koala: 

Australian Manufacturing Is Our Future.

We have a single-minded purpose… to keep Australian manufacturing jobs in Australia. This is our primary goal and it’s at the heart of everything we do. We believe that as long as there is a loyal market of Australian customers who value locally-made high-quality products, Koala Clothing will continue to move from strength to strength. We’re proud of the past 80 years and we’re excited about the next 80 years and beyond!

At sunset

The last rays of sun are reflected in the buildings near Central Railway at Centennial Plaza.

Protest - Bust the Budget

Yesterday, Sun 6 July, protest marches were held across Australia in cities and regional towns.
Dubbed "Bust The Budget" rallies, they are in protest at the unfair cuts being made by the federal government. Almost no institution is spared: scientific research, the public broadcaster the ABC, students, schools, hospitals, the disabled, the elderly, the poor, the sick, the homeless, asylum seekers, women suffering violence...

The only groups spared are the very wealthy and the large corporations.

I love this home made sign....someone took the time to show he cares.

(Abbott is the Prime Minister - deeply unpopular, even though only elected last September) and Hockey is the Treasurer. Hockey was photographed with his finance Minister smoking a big fat cigar on the afternoon he delivered the budget in parliament....sort of symbolic of the fat plutocrat....

Circus

The circus is in town. This is a "traditional circus", or as they bill themselves an "Animal Circus"... which is why I wouldn't be going. I love acrobats, and trapeze artists, and burlesque, and even clowns, but not animals other than humans performing tricks.

There's camels, performing monkeys, performing lions "and much more"

Would you go? Have you been to an "animal circus"? How was it? 

Mark Foys

The steps of the long-gone Mark Foys department store. It is now the Downing Centre court complex.

You could be forgiven for thinking it's a scene featuring a very elegant young woman with her child and mother in Rome.

Elegant they are, and very "modern" - they're not wearing gloves for the big trip to "town". 

The year was approx 1955. The elegant young woman (aged about 20)  is my mother-in-law, the older woman her mother, and the boy is my husband. 

I love this photo! 

Here's a blog I published in 2006 about Mark Foys

Sunny winter afternoon

Along the Cooks River at Tempe . A stand of beautiful Port Jackson fig trees.

Detail. Sydney Town Hall

Organ pipes and lighting rig, Sydney Town Hall