Taking the plunge

"To plunge into water, to move one's whole body in its wild and graceful beauty, to twist about in its pure depths, this is for me a delight only comparable to love." - Paul Valéry

Autumn bloom

It's autumn and that means my camellia sasanqua starts to bloom.

Stretching out

A  long week, so I went for a swim on the way home today. Bexley Pool. As I lay on my towel in the late afternoon sun to dry off, I was reading a favourite book, Haunts of The Black masseur: the Swimmer as Hero, by Charles Sprawson.

He tells us that in ancient Rome, swimming was associated with sensuality and, eventually, as Emperors built ever more luxurious pools and baths, decadence. The Christian church filled the sea with imaginary monsters.

For Pliny the mermaid was a exciting proof of nature's diversity, her song an irresistible celestial harmony.

For the medieval church her siren song became the lure of fleshly pleasures to be feared and avoided by the godly. Swimming, like sexual pleasure, came to be associated with the devil and was almost suppressed during the domination of Europe by Christianity. Not until the beginning of the 19th century was its popularity revived.

Long morning shadows

After the deluge, beautiful sunshine, and long morning autumnal shadows

The umbrella office.

It's a rainy Monday. Lucky there's an unoccupied office at the moment.

Rose Seidler house

Designed by architect Harry Seidler for his parents Rose and Max, built between 1948 and 1950.

In the 1950s and 1960s, many such houses were built in suburban areas. Unlike today's huge McMansions, they were often small, fuctional, with clean lines. Love it, or hate it, it is an example of an era, and I suspect that this one won't survive much longer - many have already been demolished to make way for the larger houses demanded today. This house in Arncliffe was probably part of the movement. As far as I know, this house is the only example of the type of 1960s modernist architecture in my area.

From the water

Such a cliche.....so beautiful. Available to anyone for the price of a ferry ticket.

Blandville

This public housing block on Victoria Road at Gladesville is quite famous for its name! The sign got stolen some time ago: read here. There was a 2007 award winning  documentary about its residents which you can view here.  This article explains how it got its name (named after the first private doctor in the colony, ex-convict Dr William Bland)

Girls at the beach

100th International Women's Day

March 8th was the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day. Today in Sydney was the annual march. It was the best turnout for years. Above: my colleagues Maxine and Kathy.