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laura_seabrook) wrote2008-12-06 05:02 pm
laura_seabrook) wrote2008-12-06 05:02 pm
Perth Trip Update
Thursday
...I caught up with Stephen on Thursday and went to a couple of art galleries. Felt exhausted by the time I got home. Slept well that night.
Friday
Mum and I went shopping in the morning. Gwen, who lives up the road from her, took us (they regularly go shopping on Friday) in her car. We went down to Midland gate and though I enjoyed shopping with Mum, we were both exhausted and feeling sick by the end of this. Mum bough me some shoes, and I bought her a sandwich knife.
Late that day I went out to Wattle Grove where I visited Ray and Alethea Raspa. I had dinner with them and their now grown up children Hannah and Owen. Alethea's lost a lot of weight recently but the fact she's now diabetic might account for that. The last time I visited them was back in 2001 and that was at another location. I remember their dog Yonja (sp) who was just a pup back then, but who's greying a bit now. I was good to talk with both of them. I was able to show my Pegasus video and discover why I couldn't show it on my mum's DVD (a large scratch). Alethea and I talked until late, after which she gave me a lift home.
Saturday (today)
This morning mum slept in after taking a sleeping tablet the night before. Her leg is all inflamed and quite painful at the moment. It's been that way for opver two weeks and she's seeing the G.P. this coming Wednesday. I spent the morning finishing watching ANDROMEDA (sort of an odd ending) and fixing a number of mum's windchimes. Her back neighbour phoned and offered to take me to the airport Monday night with her son, who's also flying to the Eastern States. Not only thatm, but she'll drive my mum to the G.P. on Wednesday as well. My mother has good neighbours I think. :)
This afternoon after lunch I went to Fremantle. Rather than just catching the train straight down (it usuallayy runs all the way from Midland via Perth to Fremantle) I went to Perth and then went via the "underground" and the Mandurah train line to Bull Creek, were I caught a bus to Fremantle. They were still building this line last time I was here and I was curious to see what it was like.
They call it an "underground" but there are only tow stops - Perth and Esplanade - before the line goes out via the interchange and down the Kwinana Freeway. This mirrors the Jondalup line which follows the Mitchell Freeway (and in fact now runs to the Esplanade). OK, it does run underground, but two stops! I find this amusing because back in primary school I did a study about whether an underground was feasible for Perth. My research showed that the entire CBD was built over swamp land and that a full city circle would just be too costly. So, two stops, and they "you're out" of the city - golly! ;)
Went to the markets at Fremantle and though I wa extremely tempted to buy a pink flamingo whirlygig, I merely bought a Market shopping bag for $1. However, I alsoi went to Cicerella's and bought some chips and a coke to eat in the park next to it. My family used to do this a lot when I was child and I have fond memories of sitting there watching flocks of seagulls go mad over spare chips. I think nostalga must warp memories because the chips and scallop I bought there today seemed miniscule and tasteless - still good for feeding seagulls though. I did that and took photos, and some Japanes tourists took a photo of me doing that.
Otherwise, Fremantle is still the tourist trap it became. Some things are gone, others changed and developed, just like the rest of the Perth. The CBD seems to have a war on Cinemas. Out of the 11 that were running in the CBD when I left Perth for good in 1996, only one is still operating. One got turned into a Woollies, another into a bridal shop, others into who knows what (office space?) and one, Cinema City had the arcade it was in torn down just to be certain it was gone! I havbe it on authority that the remaining cinema is also used as a shooting gallery - sigh.
Tommorow and Monday
Sunday morning my brother Vaughan is picking us up and taking us to the cemetary that dad's buried in. This'll be the first time I've been there since the funeral over two years ago. Later we'll go to his place and have a look at the new annex they're building for his daughter Mythanwy. I'm pleased to be able to catch up with Vaghaun, Lorraine and Myth on this trip. In the afternoon Thelma is coming over for as natter. Usually she and Mum go to SwapMeet on Sundays but with her leg the way it is mum's not really up to it.
Monday my uncle Allen is coming over for lunch. He has diabetes as well and is councelling a session athat the clinic to do so. Allen introduced me to musicals and the like, and I'm hoping to get him to watch the 1982 stage version of Sweeney Tood that I brought over with me. He may not stay that long enough, but if that's the acse I'll watch it with mum.
I'm taking plenty of photos this trip, but won't be able to upload any until I get home. That''l be sometime on Tuesday. The plan gets in at Sydney domestic about 7am. The trip's only 4 hours long, but this time I'm going to stock up on snacks and drinks before I get to the airport. Also, I might see if I can pay $9.90 cash for the tv on the trip home. I should probably just sleep, buty suspect that will be hard to do.
I probably won't be able to post more about the trip until after this, as I shant be near an Internet access point until then.
...I caught up with Stephen on Thursday and went to a couple of art galleries. Felt exhausted by the time I got home. Slept well that night.
Friday
Mum and I went shopping in the morning. Gwen, who lives up the road from her, took us (they regularly go shopping on Friday) in her car. We went down to Midland gate and though I enjoyed shopping with Mum, we were both exhausted and feeling sick by the end of this. Mum bough me some shoes, and I bought her a sandwich knife.
Late that day I went out to Wattle Grove where I visited Ray and Alethea Raspa. I had dinner with them and their now grown up children Hannah and Owen. Alethea's lost a lot of weight recently but the fact she's now diabetic might account for that. The last time I visited them was back in 2001 and that was at another location. I remember their dog Yonja (sp) who was just a pup back then, but who's greying a bit now. I was good to talk with both of them. I was able to show my Pegasus video and discover why I couldn't show it on my mum's DVD (a large scratch). Alethea and I talked until late, after which she gave me a lift home.
Saturday (today)
This morning mum slept in after taking a sleeping tablet the night before. Her leg is all inflamed and quite painful at the moment. It's been that way for opver two weeks and she's seeing the G.P. this coming Wednesday. I spent the morning finishing watching ANDROMEDA (sort of an odd ending) and fixing a number of mum's windchimes. Her back neighbour phoned and offered to take me to the airport Monday night with her son, who's also flying to the Eastern States. Not only thatm, but she'll drive my mum to the G.P. on Wednesday as well. My mother has good neighbours I think. :)
This afternoon after lunch I went to Fremantle. Rather than just catching the train straight down (it usuallayy runs all the way from Midland via Perth to Fremantle) I went to Perth and then went via the "underground" and the Mandurah train line to Bull Creek, were I caught a bus to Fremantle. They were still building this line last time I was here and I was curious to see what it was like.
They call it an "underground" but there are only tow stops - Perth and Esplanade - before the line goes out via the interchange and down the Kwinana Freeway. This mirrors the Jondalup line which follows the Mitchell Freeway (and in fact now runs to the Esplanade). OK, it does run underground, but two stops! I find this amusing because back in primary school I did a study about whether an underground was feasible for Perth. My research showed that the entire CBD was built over swamp land and that a full city circle would just be too costly. So, two stops, and they "you're out" of the city - golly! ;)
Went to the markets at Fremantle and though I wa extremely tempted to buy a pink flamingo whirlygig, I merely bought a Market shopping bag for $1. However, I alsoi went to Cicerella's and bought some chips and a coke to eat in the park next to it. My family used to do this a lot when I was child and I have fond memories of sitting there watching flocks of seagulls go mad over spare chips. I think nostalga must warp memories because the chips and scallop I bought there today seemed miniscule and tasteless - still good for feeding seagulls though. I did that and took photos, and some Japanes tourists took a photo of me doing that.
Otherwise, Fremantle is still the tourist trap it became. Some things are gone, others changed and developed, just like the rest of the Perth. The CBD seems to have a war on Cinemas. Out of the 11 that were running in the CBD when I left Perth for good in 1996, only one is still operating. One got turned into a Woollies, another into a bridal shop, others into who knows what (office space?) and one, Cinema City had the arcade it was in torn down just to be certain it was gone! I havbe it on authority that the remaining cinema is also used as a shooting gallery - sigh.
Tommorow and Monday
Sunday morning my brother Vaughan is picking us up and taking us to the cemetary that dad's buried in. This'll be the first time I've been there since the funeral over two years ago. Later we'll go to his place and have a look at the new annex they're building for his daughter Mythanwy. I'm pleased to be able to catch up with Vaghaun, Lorraine and Myth on this trip. In the afternoon Thelma is coming over for as natter. Usually she and Mum go to SwapMeet on Sundays but with her leg the way it is mum's not really up to it.
Monday my uncle Allen is coming over for lunch. He has diabetes as well and is councelling a session athat the clinic to do so. Allen introduced me to musicals and the like, and I'm hoping to get him to watch the 1982 stage version of Sweeney Tood that I brought over with me. He may not stay that long enough, but if that's the acse I'll watch it with mum.
I'm taking plenty of photos this trip, but won't be able to upload any until I get home. That''l be sometime on Tuesday. The plan gets in at Sydney domestic about 7am. The trip's only 4 hours long, but this time I'm going to stock up on snacks and drinks before I get to the airport. Also, I might see if I can pay $9.90 cash for the tv on the trip home. I should probably just sleep, buty suspect that will be hard to do.
I probably won't be able to post more about the trip until after this, as I shant be near an Internet access point until then.