Old Owl's photos

Murray Street, Perth, WA. (Better big and on black. Please press Z.)

Happy Fence Friday, everyone. I hope your weekend is safe, enjoyable and all you hope for. This is Perth railway station. The fence is, I suppose, technically a balustrade. It borders the Horseshoe Bridge, a traffic bridge carrying the road across the station and associated railway lines from the city CBD to Northbridge, where the cultural centre, restaurants, bars and music venues are. It is an iconic structure in Perth but is also responsible for cutting the city off from its most vibrant areas. (There is an alternative route for foot traffic through the station and from which this picture was taken.) The Horseshoe Bridge also cuts the station and passengers off from the newly created Yagan Square and has thus helped in that project's demise. (I wonder whether planners and developers ever revisit the spaces they plan and develop to see the havoc they sometimes wreak? Doubt it somehow. Sorry for the rant, but if there is a hell I hope that developers are consigned to the hottest part of it.) Anyway, enjoy the fence. Big it up by pressing Z.

Art Gallery of WA (AGWA) Cafe, Perth

Happy Fence Friday, everyone. Let us hope all goes well with each of us and that we can enjoy our weekend. This is typical of the design of many pubs and hotels in country Australia, especially those built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when the pastoral lands were being cultivated and the grain crops were being established. When we stayed there in July there was a dinner and meeting for (I think) the Rotary Club, which probably included many of the town's residents. It sounded as though a good time was being had. We, on the other hand, ate a nice pub meal in the bar with maybe fifteen people there; old and young, single and couples. The hotel is currently for sale, again this is a reflection of the decline in population in Wheatbelt towns and the relative isolation of Wyalkatchem from the main highways. Press Z to see it bigger, please. It deserves to be admired for its perseverance if nothing else.

Forrest Chase, Perth, WA.

Disused station in Wyalkatchem in the Wheatbelt of WA. Grain trains still pass here during the harvest season on their way to the CBH silos nearby. The town is a small one, perhaps 500 people, and it is not a place one would visit casually, thus a railway station is considered low priority. HFF everyone. I hope your weekend is a fine and pleasant one. Please keep yourselves safe.

Bunbury Tower, Bunbury, WA.

Happy Fence Friday, everyone. I hope those in Europe have some respite from the heat, those over east in Australia have some respite from the rain, and those in WA can keep warm! Stay safe and enjoy every moment you can. This tree is a Moreton Bay Fig (Ficus macrophylla) in Murray Street in Perth which sits on the pavement and covers the road. It is very big and very beautiful.

Apartments. East Perth, WA. (Bigger is better. Please press Z.)

This blue tree is in the small town of Trayning, WA. There are a number of trees painted blue in country Western Australia which attempt to draw attention to the importance of mental health and the high number of suicides amongst farmers and young people in WA. There is a Blue Tree Project website (https://www.bluetreeproject.com.au) which explains more clearly than I can. There is also a national organisation called Beyond Blue which tries to help those with suicidal ideation and their families. We should always ask each other: “Are you OK?” and be prepared to listen to the answer.

Apartments, East Perth, WA. (Size matters. Please press Z.)

Apartments, East Perth, WA. (View big to see detail. Press Z.)

Murdoch bus station, Perth, WA.

A colourful and Happy Fence Friday to all. May your weekend be full of happiness and joy.l

Melbourne. Can't remember which area. Big is good. Please press Z.