Monday, 23 November 2020

Sol y Sombra Spanish Dance Company - 30th Anniversary

And so here is the start of another week and another Monday blog post. How are you and yours?

We celebrated Sol y Sombra Spanish Dance Company and School of Dance's 30th anniversary on Sunday with a mini Fiesta in the courtyard of the Bunbury Art Gallery. It hardly seems like five years since I posted about their 25th Anniversary here - Ole-celebration-of-25-years-of-flamenco

Due to the Covid restrictions this year, we had a very different year of dancing with almost two terms of no dance classes. But with our 30th anniversary coming up we were determined to put on a show - albeit much smaller and with only family and a few close friends. However it still proved to be a wonderful afternoon of celebration.

Unfortunately I didn't dance due to a cold I came down with last week, but I was very happy to be able to go along and take photos (whilst socially distancing), a few of which I will share here. With the late afternoon heat in the courtyard we certainly felt like we were in Spain!

We were also treated to Gabby from the South West Opera Company singing Habanera from Carmen, Steve Hensby playing acoustic flamenco guitar and Montse and Cesar from Food with Passion South West cooking authentic Spanish paella for us. Montse teaches Spanish cooking classes, so she knows her stuff. Yum!

We would have dearly loved to have more of our supporters join in the festivities, however, it has been a tough year for everyone, and Covid restrictions meant we had to keep numbers small, and the show as low key as possible. We will be back in 2021 with more for our amazing friends and supporters. A huge THANKYOU to everyone who contributed to our Anniversary celebrations, and danced with us and supported us over the last 30 years.

Tuesday, 17 November 2020

Western Australian wheatbelt weekend

Hi everyone. I hope you are all doing ok.

We have just returned from a lovely weekend with family on a grain growing property in Bruce Rock in the central Western Australian wheatbelt.

We have a long association with the wheatbelt as both my parents were raised in the wheatbelt, and my husband has cousins in the wheatbelt. My sister's first teaching posting was to Bruce Rock and she married a farmer, and so the connection continues. I love going there, driving those wheatbelt roads through the salmon gums, walking in the paddocks, over the granite outcrops and getting back to the earth.

When our kids were young it was a great opportunity for them to run wild with their country cousins on the farm (they always seemed to know when it was mealtime), and now these all have children of their own, and so it goes on.

It is late spring here, but we still saw some wildflowers along the way - I always say that there is always something flowering in the Western Australian bush).

Clockwise from top left - Pop Flower (Glischrocaryon), yellow everlastings, unknown blur flower, Blue Leschenaultia (Lechenaultia biloba). one of the yellow pea flowers, wild Cauliflower (Verticordia eriocephala), one of the firebush family (Keraudrenia), and white everlastings (or possibly Waitzia suaveolens - fragrant waitzia)

We stopped at Lake Yealering for lunch as dark rain clouds were approaching across the salt lake. We have often stopped here. It is a good place to stop for lunch with picnic tables, shade, ablution block and playground, and a small shop across the road. There is a caravan park if you want to while away some time. Yealering - shire of Wickepin

Back on the road again it wasn't long before it started to rain and it was fairly obvious we weren't going to see any harvesting over the weekend.

This is not what the farmers want this time of year as they have to halt harvest until the grain dries out. If they get too much rain the grains start to sprout and the wheat is degraded.

However, for us visitors, we had a lovely weekend with family with plenty of get togethers, dining, walks and touring.

You can't see it in this photo, but this is 1000 acres of solar panels just south of Merredin. They also have a wind farm.

Located on former farming land, and developed by Risen Energy (Australia), it is the largest solar farm in Western Australia, with 360,000 panels which will generate enough power for approx 42,000 WA homes. You can read more about this project and see a video here: Merredin solar farm

A few pics from around the farm.

This is Leroy Brown and Blizzard - two bull calves - I think you can guess which is which.

And a few wildflowers - salmon gum (Eucalyptus salmonophloia), Granite kunzia (Kunzia pulchell, Green Mulla Mulla (Ptilotus polystachyus) and two pink and grey galahs

Too soon our weekend was over. A few more wildflowers on our way home.

Clockwise from top left - white everlastings (or possibly Waitzia suaveolens - fragrant waitzia), one of the pink feather flowers (Verticordia), not sure of the yellow one, one of the mallees, one of the red flowering gums, nuts of the Mottlecah (Eucalyptus macrocarpa), and the native hibiscus (Alyogyne hakeifolia)

Wednesday, 11 November 2020

Remembrance Day - 11 November

At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them.

On the 11the hour of the 11th day of the 11th month 1918 the guns on the Western Front in Europe fell silent after four years of war marking the Armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France.

This time became of special significance to Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, United States, Canada, Belgium, France and the Cayman Islands, when we pause at this time to remember our fallen. Not from this war but from all wars.

This year may be a little different with Covid restrictions, but we will still pause and remember them.

The red poppy became a symbol of this day. You can read more about it here.

Australian War Memorial - traditions

Remembrance Day and the red poppy @ Life Images by Jill

Red poppies - customs and ceremonies

In Flanders Fields

by John McCrae

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Monday, 9 November 2020

Painting the Wellington Dam wall mural, Western Australia

On Sunday we took a drive out through the beautiful Ferguson Valley to Wellington Dam in the Collie Hills to see the work in progress on the new HUGE mural being painted on the 367m x 34m wall face of the Wellington Dam, a surface area of more than 12,000 square metres. The mural is being created by Canberra born artist Guido Van Helton, who is renowned throughout the world for his photorealistic large scale murals. The mural is reputed to become the largest mural in the world painted by a single artist. Guido's work is amazing, you can see more of it here: https://www.guidovanhelten.com/projects

The wall will be the centrepiece of the new Collie Mural Trail which will include five additional murals, painted by five selected artists throughout the town of Collie.

The work on the wall is accessed by a mechanical swing-stage which can be raised and lowered, however will need to be dismantled to move across the wall.

For three weeks before he started on the project Guido met with people in Collie, asked about their lives, looked through their photo albums and collected photos. South West Times Press Reader

Guido Van Helton - Our WA Parks - lead artist appointed to mega mural

First we looked at the wall from the lower level. From here you can really see the scale of the work. It will be amazing to visit a few times to see the work progress.

About half way along the wall you can see where Guido has started sketches for another part of the mural. It really astounds me how these artists can work to such a large scale and get the proportions so correct, especially when he can't stand back and look.

After viewing from the bottom we went up to the lookout for another view. From here we could have a closer view of Guido working. In the pic below you can see him painting with a large paint brush. He was also working with a paint sprayer. The wall surface is prepared before the work on the actual mural begins.

It is midway between spring and summer here, so a good time to work - although it is raining here today!

In the photo below can you see the piece of paper in his left hand? This is a photo he is referring to as he works.

It truly is an amazing project and I look forward to seeing the final result in a few months, and bringing you more photos.

Fore more information on this project (if you have questions about the paint being used refer here): Collie Mural Art Project

The Wellington Dam is located within the 17,000 hectare Wellington National Park, consisting of Karri, Jarrah and Marri forests surrounding the Collie River Valley.

Built in 1933, the Wellington Dam wall formed part of the Government public works program, designed to create hundreds of jobs for people during the Great Depression of the 1930’s.

In 1990 the Wellington dam was discontinued as the primary source of potable water in the region. The State government announced in 2009 a $40 million package to upgrade the wall to today’s engineering standards. The dam wall is 34 metres high and 367 metres wide. The area is popular for recreation, walk and bike trails and camping at two designated camping areas, as well as water skiing and canoeing.

We camped at Potter's Gorge at Wellington Dam a few years ago and went bushwalking on some of the trails. It really is a fabulous place to bush camp. I would really like to do this again.

Yesterday we just sat and had morning tea in the picnic area. Lots of people had their boats out enjoying the dam. It was certainly a lovely day for it - unlike the rainy day we have here today.

And of course there always has to be wildflowers. These pea flowers were glorious.

Mega murals are an immerging trend throughout the world, on buildings, grain silos, walls, roof tops and dam walls. They add vibrancy to a town or city and encourage people to stop and look. We have lots in Australia. You can see more about them in Australia here - Australian Silo Art Trail

You can read a few of my blog posts about a few places they can be explored in Western Australia by clicking on the links here:

Rediscover street art Bunbury, Western Australia

Explore the painted silos art trail - Western Australia

Farm gate art trail, Ravensthorpe, Western Australia

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you have enjoyed seeing the start of the mega mural today. Do you have wall murals where you live? Perhaps you would like to tell us about them in your comments.

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