Brisbane's Future Stars

Our local school put on a great singing and instrumental concert the other night. The programme included "Whistle While You Work" sung by the junior choir (age 5-8), The Turtles' "Happy Together" sung by the senior choir (age 9-12) and a smoking rendition of Deep Purple's "Smoke On The Water" by the senior band (also age 9-12). Rock On!

Deck the Malls

Aargh! Where did the year go? Christmas decorations up in Queen Street Mall already!

Riverside Boardwalk

Great view, flat as a pancake and excellent for riding your bike on.

Saturday Morning Shopping, Queen Street

At The Top of Mount Coot-tha

Sunday Night at the Ferry Stop Skywatch

I can't believe it's never occured to me before but the ferry stop pontoon near my house gives an excellent uninterrupted view of the sky. Here was Sunday's sky at 6:07pm.

Check out other skies around the world posted today at Skywatch Friday.

Spray Painted Deity

Spotted in a vacant block in West End recently.

Story Bridge Walkers

If you happen to be in Brisbane, I recommend walking along the Story Bridge walkway. You can do the Climb which is fun and informative but a bit time consuming and expensive and you can't take your own pictures. The walkway underneath is free and has views which rival those of the paying walkers above.

See a view from the east side of the bridge here.
See what's west of the bridge here (taken from Bowen Terrace).

Shiny New CityCycles

Brisbane's public bike-hire service is just over a month old. I haven't seen too many folks riding around in them yet.

Purple Rain

I had to get you a shot of the purple jacaranda blossoms that are all over Brisbane right now, falling from the trees in flurries covering pavements, cars, gardens and everything else in the surrounding area.

Mountain Bike Police

If those pesky criminals head for the hills, Brisbane's boys in blue (or purple) have got it covered. I like those little trainer socks. That thing with the red button attached to the helmet on the left is the siren.

Advanced Australian Fayre

Last night I went out to dinner at Tukka in West End with 3 salivating carnivores who couldn't wait to tuck into the speciality of the restaurant: native Australian animals. Kangaroo, crocodile, buffalo and possum all featured extensively as did some less offensive bush-tucker stuff like mountain pepperberry and bush tomatoes. My friends all raved about it. I found it a bit difficult to get my head around but was pleasantly surprised by the taste - and the ambience and service were great.

Smoky Sunrise Skywatch

I'm on the ridiculously early shift at work at the moment meaning I have been awake for a whole week of sunrises. You have to be quick, though. It's somewhere between about 4:45 and 4:55 and I have forgotten to get to a window every day except Monday. So here's Monday's which, as you can see, was splendid.

Part of the Skywatch Friday gang.

Trick Or Treat dilemma

The number of trick-or-treaters is definately on the up in Brisbane. I think it's great fun and the kids have a ball dressing up, visiting houses they know and coming away with stacks of goodies. It's all good clean fun. But if I may be a bit bah-humbug here for a minute... where are the tricks? These kids just wander around getting treats for nothing and they don't know any different. What's the point? Growing up in London, I didn't have a huge experience with trick or treat but I do remember that on your rounds you were supposed to be armed with half a dozen eggs and a roll of toilet paper. "Trick or Treat" is supposed to be a threat, isn't it?

Being a responsible parent, I am somewhat torn here.

Racing Colours

I should have taken my own advice with the each-way bet on Maluckyday (it ran 2nd) but like a fool went for the red hot favourite So You Think on the nose (3rd).

It was a glorious day here yesterday - warm and sunny with a gentle cooling breeze. The perfect weather for racing. I'm all for moving the Melbourne Cup up to Brisbane. The horses, the jockeys' silks, the posh frocks and the everything else racing looks so much better in the sunshine. Here's a shot I dug out from last December during a race meeting at Doomben to illustrate.

Place Your Bets!



Today at 2.00pm, Brisbane time, all around Australia people will stop what they're doing for the biggest horse-race/excuse to skive off work of the year: the Melbourne Cup. They've rigged up a betting shop in the middle of one of the busiest shopping precincts in the city and all are welcome to have a flutter. Restaurants have special menus, bars have special deals, clothes shops have special lines and you can't move for fascinators... it's all about this race taking place 1500kms away.

If you believe all the pundits, this year it's a one horse race: So You Think is going to romp it home. My tip for an each-way bet is Maluckyday. No reason other than I like the name. And if you win, you can say "Itsa Maluckyday!"

November Theme Day: Public Transportation

Here's one of our CityFerries. Alongside our CityCat service which has bigger, faster boats, these wee things chug around the river happily stopping at smaller destinations.

It's the first of the month which means it's the City Daily Photo community's theme day. This month, as you can see, is public transportation. To see how others interpreted the theme, click on the link below.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants

Aqualoop at Wet'n'Wild

The idea is you climb up to the top of the steps (which is a lot higher when you're up there) and step into a clear, upright tube. You cross your ankles, cross your arms over your chest and then... well then the floor disappears and you freefall with such velocity (up to 60km per hour) that it powers you around a loop and you get spat out the bottom. I wasn't planning on getting stuck but I came to an abrupt halt somewhere towards the end of the uphill section thanks to the pair of shorts I was wearing that were a bit too flappy I was told later. It took a second or two for me to realise what had just happened as most of my vital organs were still trying to catch up with the rest of me. Then the panic set in as I had visions of rescuers in cherry-pickers... or the next person down the tube flying feet-first into my head at full speed. I had to spend a minute or two hoisting myself uphill inside a smooth slippery tube which is hard, let me tell you. Eventually I regained momentum and plopped out the bottom where I was deafened with howls of laughter.

Again, again!

Work In Progress

I suppose it's not strictly a Brisbane photo as I took it in India when I was there in August... but the little hand belongs to a Brisbane resident who might one day grow up to be an artist... just like her Grandmother.

Blues and Blooms Skywatch

Followers of this blog might notice I've got a thing for Jacaranda trees. Every October Brisbane is spray-painted with these purple splodges everywhere.

Enjoy your weekend!

For other skies around the world, visit Skywatch Friday.

CBD Living

With space at a premium in the Central Business District, apartment living (with increasing levels of luxury) is the way to go. Prices start at around A$ half a mil for an old place with 2 bedrooms rising to several million for a penthouse overlooking the river. Views over the river are fab given Brisbane City Council's penchant for fireworks... however you do open yourself up to nosey photographers snapping away at your balcony from the CityCat. Yes you..relaxing on your sun-lounger with your magazine.

Mobile Philosophy

 Here's one of those Wicked Campervans driving around South Brisbane. Pretty eye-catching!

Checking out the cliffs at Kangaroo Point from the CityCat

 I love these beautiful cliffs that define Kangaroo Point. You can climb them, abseil them, picnic in the park along the top, cycle or walk along the bottom or ride by them on a boat. They are so wild looking - like they don't belong in the middle of a city.

Bomb Dive!!!!!

The forecasts were for a late storm so we took advantage of the unexpected late afternoon sun:
Bomb dive competition!

Xpress Inconvenience

A car almost ploughed into our local shop yesterday, taking out the awning, the phone box and the bin. I don't think there was anyone in the phonebox at the time.

Knots and Tangles

Looking up at the amazing aerial root systems of a Moreton Bay Fig tree. This one is in New Farm Park but they are found all over Brisbane. I love them. They provide something to eat for our large fruit-bat population and fantastic shelter and shade for the human population. The canopy is huge and dense and the spreading limbs can be a mass of tangles or gnarly and twisted like the veins on an aged pair of hands.  

Here's a photo I posted of the trunk.

Here's one of the canopy

So... going back to my roots (yeah)... and I couldn't decide which one was most representative.... so here's all three. Click on a photo for an enlargement and have a great weekend. It's going to be 27 degrees and sunny here in Brisbane - perfect weather to get out and about. I'll be at work in a darkened room. Aargh! 

Kangaroo Point Jacarandas

I make no apology for milking the Jacarandas In Bloom thing. There will be more purple on this page before the season's out if I have anything to do with it.

Walk This Way

This wooden walkway weaves its way through the huge aerial roots of Moreton Bay Fig trees in New Farm Park. You can make a secret hide-out in the circular chambers that the roots create and you can climb up them and onto the main branches of the trees. Excellent fun!

Getting some colour at New Farm Park

Cloudland

Here we are at Cloudland on Ann Street in Fortitude Valley.

I just can't do this place justice with my camera skills. It's a 24 hour venue that goes from being a cafe and bistro during the day to a full-on nightclub at night. It has grass on the stairs, a waterfall, plants growing everywhere, a retractable glass roof, seating pods suspended from chains 3 stories up, fancy themed booths individually decked out - including one with a double bed and a mountain of cushions and another with a peacock theme. Even the toilets are worth a visit - all space age and mirrored so much you bump into yourself. The designer is Nick Brunner from Melbourne who also designed the Press Club and Family - other venues in The Valley. You can visit the Cloudland Website for more.

Cloudland has a long and meaningful history with long-term Brisbane residents - everyone remembers it and you can read more about that in tff's excellent blog here.

Free Hugs on King George Square

Like I was saying...

 You could kit out your house with some of the stuff people throw away.

Kerbside Collection Weekend

About once a year, the local council drive a big truck around and collect any old furniture and junk you don't want. All you have to do is leave it by the side of the road. So for about a week it's a bit like a free trash and treasure.

Paint It Blue Skywatch

OK, I admit I bumped the saturation up a bit lot. We haven't seen much in the way of blue skies recently so I'm milking this sunset taken on Wednesday from under Merivale Bridge for all the drama I can get. It was the first clear bit of sky I'd seen in ages.

For other (probably more natural looking) skies from around the world today, visit Skywatch Friday.

Vive La Revolution!

I just got my daughter's bike fixed at Bicyle Revolution. As well as repairs, they will custom-build a recycled or refurbished bike for you. Out the back are the skeletal remains of hundreds of orphaned bikes, waiting to be spruced up, powder coated and assembled together as a recycled cycle for a proud new owner.

Decisions, decisions...

Perusing the menu at Jackpot Noodles.

Soaked

Brisbane is having its wettest spring in years. There's been some flooding around town and some overflowing creeks. People are grumbling. Why is it so cold? (19 degrees celcius can be cold). Where is the sun?

I guess when you have sunshine in abundance like you do here normally you become a bit spoiled. The plants in the garden are going great guns, though. And there's probably some very smug ducks around.

Piñata Mayhem

Emptying the remains of a piñata, tumbling sweet treats and little toys into a salivating pack of under tens is a risky job. It's every man, woman and child for themselves. You get in and get out as quickly as you can and hope that someone remembered to put the big stick in a safe place.

Riverside activity (and inactivity).

Laying Carpet

The beginnings of a thick mauve carpet that is about to be laid all over Brisbane thanks to October's blooming Jacaranda trees. If you are a university student here, the saying goes that if you haven't started revising for the end of the year exams by the time the Jacaranda trees are in bloom.... you're in trouble!
When I was in Crete a couple of years ago, I noticed blooming Jacarandas in late May. Do you have them where you are? If so... when do they bloom?

Here's a proper photo of a blossoming Jacaranda tree taken last year.

Sinking Like A Stone

The sunset on Tuesday evening in Brizzie was a cracker. I had to work fast, though - the sky was changing by the second. By the time I put my camera back in its case there was hardly any orange left - just muted purples and dusky pinks.

Check out other skies around the world at Skywatch Friday.

The Slab

Barely a year old, this is the new King George Square in all it's uninviting, concrete glory. In the middle of summer when people in the city need a break from the searing heat and maybe a bit of shade, they might want to avoid this place where temperatures get up to 50 degrees celcius. Ouch!

Canteen Blues

The view from the Channel Ten canteen at the top of Mount Coot-tha looking east and slightly north towards the Port of Brisbane, Moreton Bay and the faint blue haze of Moreton Island on the left.

Get that "Emo" look

Watch the birdie!

My extensive research (5 mins on Google) tells me that this is a Pale Headed Rosella. Please let me know if I am wrong! 

This one was spotted scoffing flowers in Grange in the northern suburbs a couple of weeks ago. 

Burnett Lane - make-under special!

Well after months of anticipation, the all new fashionable Burnett Lane is open for business. I reckon it's more of a make-under than a make-over. The only difference I can see is that the lane has a pretty pattern on the pavement. Not that I'm complaining. I liked it fine the way it was/is. They've stuck a few chairs and tables out there for people to relax on and throughout the month of October there is going to be lunchtime entertainment.

Crossing Elizabeth Street By the GPO

October Theme Day: Graffiti

This is a wall near my house on a vacant lot that has been repeatedly spray-painted by local graffiti artists. I love that technicolour grout between the bricks and the contrasting textures of the bricks themselves.

Today's post is part of the City Daily Photo community's monthly theme day. The theme is Graffiti.
Click here to view thumbnails for all participants