Orange Flowers in Cathedral Square

The council gardeners have planted a sea of orange flowers in the square opposite St. John's Cathedral - oooh lovely!

Rip and Roll

 This is the poster that has been in the news here recently.

It's a campaign by the Queensland Association for Healthy Communities to promote safe sex among gay men (you can just make out the red-wrapped condom that the guy is holding on the bottom left). After plenty of coverage all over Brisbane, the Advertising Standards Bureau received so many complaints that Adshel had to pull the plug on the whole campaign. Then there was the counter attack: people were up in arms. There was a rally outside Adshel. After an investigation, it was found that the complaints all came from members of the Australian Christian Lobby. Infact it had been an orchestrated campaign deliberately giving the impression that they were from the wider population and weren't linked in any way. So the ban was overturned and now all the posters are back and you can see them all over the place.

Which is good cos I reckon it's a great shot.

And the ACL gets a big eye roll from me.

Red Scooter at St. John's Cathedral

Church Dangles Enticing Carrot:

Places of Worship

Side by side, Christ Church and Suncorp Stadium.

The little memorial garden that I featured a couple of days ago is just behind this church.

Rest And Play

The site of the Suncorp Stadium (or Lang Park as it is also known), " The Home of Rugby League", is built on a big old graveyard. The little Anglican church is still in use and sits in the shadow of the enormous venue. The memorial garden with grave stones in it stands right next to the stadium with big plate glass windows walling one side of the garden and offering a view of the seats inside. It's a strange combination...

Sing, Choir of Angels!

This is part of the beautiful carved Choir section in St. John's Cathedral.
Have a happy and musical Christmas!

Mary Steps Out

It's 100 years since Mary MacKillop died and to celebrate, there was a re-enactment performance in City Hall on Sunday. She arrived in an old Cobb and Co. coach and stepped out into the King George Square sunshine.
Did you know she's on her way to being Australia's first saint? Read all about her saintly ways here.
Thanks to MaryAnne Bland for the photo.

An angel in the choir

This is one of many beautiful carved angels attached to the choir stalls in St. John's Cathedral in the city. This one is about a foot high.

Traffic Stopping Art (number 30)

To compliment yesterday's post, here's the nearby traffic signal box.

I'm off for a few days - posting will hopefully continue till I'm back

Baptist Tabernacle

This is the Baptist Tabernacle in Wickham Terrace. It's a big imposing church built about 150 years ago by architect Richard Gailey who seemed to have a bit of a Protestant work ethic...er despite being a Baptist. If you are interested in the buildings in Brisbane that Gailey has left behind, this post in Your Brisbane: Past and Present is well worth a look. I was after a shot from inside of the big glass window but it was closed. Still, the outside's not too shabby. Particularly with that fetching red trim!
(That other building in the background is a hint at Queensland's more common colonial architecture)

I'm off for a few days - posting will hopefully continue till I'm back

St. Stephen's Cathedral and Chapel

The Cathedral is on the left and the Chapel is on the right. The Chapel is the oldest church in Queensland with the first mass offered on the 12th of May, 1850.



Posting magically continues despite me being on me hols. Back in late June.

The Vatican vs South Brisbane

This is St. Mary's Catholic Church in South Brisbane, one of the most popular churches in Brisbane with a flock of 800. It is well known for its "rebel" priest Father Peter Kennedy. Many of his practices have been frowned upon by the Vatican including his wording of The Lord's Prayer ("Our MotherFather who art in heaven") and his political outspokenness (one example was the big banner outside the church last year demanding David Hicks be returned to Australia from Guantanamo Bay). His church recognises the land it is on as Aboriginal and has strong ties with the Aboriginal community in the area. Read an interview about it here. This is definitely not on as far as The Vatican are concerned and they have been threatening action for a while. A couple of days ago the Archbishop of Brisbane told the priest unless he tended his resignation, he would be fired as parish priest on 21st of February.

A Feast For the Eyes

Here's one of the windows in St. Stephen's Cathedral which adjoins the chapel in yesterday's post. It's a much grander church and the windows are really stunning. It was a job getting a variety of shots as all but one window were open because it was really hot. There are maybe another 9 like this plus 4 much bigger ones higher up towards the roof. I find it unbelievable that all this glass was shipped from Ireland, England, France and Germany in the nineteenth century. Can you imagine being responsible for this lot... months on a boat swaying side to side.... and every time there were storm clouds on the horizon...? It would be enough to give you a heart condition!

If you like this window, you might like to check out Marc's post from January 6th in Amsterdam Daily Photo. Thanks for the tips Marc!

Blessed Mary

This picture was taken at the back of St. Stephen's Chapel on Elizabeth Street which is the oldest church in Queensland. The sculpture is of Mary MacKillop . It's a powerful, rough depiction carved out of untreated wood and it takes up most of the little room it's in - not like the smooth, perfectly detailed art works you usually see in churches made out of marble. Sunday marked the 100th anniversary of her death and they had a bit of a do in the cathedral next to the chapel. It turns out she's been beatified and now well on the way to becoming Australia's first saint. Bless her!