Culture Vultures
05/06/2005 11:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
izmeinaThe Izzie holidays draw to a close and we will soon be back under the insidious influence of the Dementor Dolores.
Due to Dog and House minding duties, the Izzie could not venture any place where she could not be back for 8pm (preferably earlier)
So we spent much of our time lurking in Fremantle where they had a heritage festival this week. The perfect opportunity to go snooping and peeping in buildings that aren't normally open to the public. Izzie just loves old buildings and is particularly fond of churches.
The first time we found out about this festival was back in 2003. That year St Patrick's Basilica was part of the show and were offering a free organ concert. Not only was that gorgeous enough in itself but the handful of creatures still lurking afterwards got invited upstairs to see the organ itself. Izzie just adores church organs and to be up amongst all the pipes was just a total treat.
One thing Izzie really loves about the basilica is the constant rivalry between the Italians and the Irish about the pecking order. Apparently some statue of St Patrick in an alcove had to get moved because the Italians objected to his alcove being above those of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. And they do have a point. Poor Patrick got demoted and then a very large mural from the Emerald Isle got placed above the altar in the position where most churches would have their stained glass windows . It was almost like they were trying to give two fingers to the Italians. Izzie could not help think – Pity we don't have a big Polish community here too.
This year they were not part of the party. Instead it was a particularly pretty Presbyterian church near the markets. Pity that the prettiness ended once entering. It was not plain or puritanical or anything like that but just soulless. There was a gorgeous organ painted with patterns that made it looked incredibly like a set of didgeridoos. This was apparently not the intention but it sure would have been a very clever idea if it was.
But the thing that really offended the Izzie asthetic sensibilities was big strips of very loud and vulgar blue patterned carpet.
Such a disappointment as it was such a lovely place from the outside. In contrast was today's visit to the Anglican Church – St John's. While Izzie dismisses these folks as the Tory party at prayer – they certainly do have beautiful churches – lots of wood and what we especially like – smells and bells. The minute we walked in the door – could smell the frankincense. It was dark and mysterious with beautiful stained glass windows and the obligatory British flags but most importantly there was a sense of peace and tranquility there that was absent from the other place and Izzie could have easily spent an hour in there just soaking up the atmosphere.
What we do find most fascinating about these folk is that they have the most beautiful churches – their St George's Cathedral (in downtown Dursleyville) is a termite's dream – lots and lots of wood, carved beams and other gorgeous stuff – and their churches always seem to be impeccably maintained in spite of the Anglicans having so few active members. The Catholic Cathedral up the hill on the other hand, is so grey and drab that one would swear it was designed by Dementors. The Catholic church has lots of loot and practising members but are constantly begging the government for funds to pay for their renovations.
This year we did not go on the graveyard tour as we had already done it last year. And then it was at sunset on a full moon day so a 3pm tour on a grey day like Thursday just could not compare. Instead did the public art works walking tour and went past the Maritime museum. Last year the Izzie got an annual boarding pass – you pay an extra two silver sickles in addition to the normal admission cost and that entitles you to admission for a whole twelve months. That expired yesterday and in all that time Izzie went only once . There are simply too many other distractions in this pretty port town.
This year, anyone visiting during the festival would automatically get the full year extension with no extra cost so Izzie figures why not? Even if we go only once – will still be worth it. But it turned out that due to some damage downstairs – they had cordoned off the ground floor and were giving FREE admission to the rest of the museum until it was reopened
Silly Iz had turned up at 4.30 so did not have long to snoop and sniff – only just long enough to see the sad display about the bad old whaling days. Unfortunately, they were not that old. Izzie has the most awful memories of visiting that nasty stinking place several times on school tours. Folks in those days thought that visiting a whaling station was a most useful and educational outing for little flobberworms.
It was a totally disgusting place – especially for some one who utterly adores these magnificant marine creatures. The smell – is totally unforgettable – simply seeing the display today brought it all back.
It was most ironic to see a single solitary Japanese tourist looking at this display with utter fascination. Australia is so utterly self righteous about the whole sneaky 'scientific whaling' scam. Problem is – it was not much more than 20 years ago when they were killing them too and used almost identical arguments for continuing to kill that the Japanese use today.
The whaling station itself has now been turned into a tourist attraction called “Whale World” Well – no more than the teachers who brought classes there while it was fully operational and where we actually seen and smelled whales being sliced up and blubber tossed into boilers, we guess the sorts of people who go there are the same sorts who visit places like Dachau or Auschwitz and spend their time giggling and posing for group photos.
Well. So now we figure that we will wait for a miserable wet rainy day to have a proper look at this museum as it reallly is most impressive indeed.
Due to Dog and House minding duties, the Izzie could not venture any place where she could not be back for 8pm (preferably earlier)
So we spent much of our time lurking in Fremantle where they had a heritage festival this week. The perfect opportunity to go snooping and peeping in buildings that aren't normally open to the public. Izzie just loves old buildings and is particularly fond of churches.
The first time we found out about this festival was back in 2003. That year St Patrick's Basilica was part of the show and were offering a free organ concert. Not only was that gorgeous enough in itself but the handful of creatures still lurking afterwards got invited upstairs to see the organ itself. Izzie just adores church organs and to be up amongst all the pipes was just a total treat.
One thing Izzie really loves about the basilica is the constant rivalry between the Italians and the Irish about the pecking order. Apparently some statue of St Patrick in an alcove had to get moved because the Italians objected to his alcove being above those of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. And they do have a point. Poor Patrick got demoted and then a very large mural from the Emerald Isle got placed above the altar in the position where most churches would have their stained glass windows . It was almost like they were trying to give two fingers to the Italians. Izzie could not help think – Pity we don't have a big Polish community here too.
This year they were not part of the party. Instead it was a particularly pretty Presbyterian church near the markets. Pity that the prettiness ended once entering. It was not plain or puritanical or anything like that but just soulless. There was a gorgeous organ painted with patterns that made it looked incredibly like a set of didgeridoos. This was apparently not the intention but it sure would have been a very clever idea if it was.
But the thing that really offended the Izzie asthetic sensibilities was big strips of very loud and vulgar blue patterned carpet.
Such a disappointment as it was such a lovely place from the outside. In contrast was today's visit to the Anglican Church – St John's. While Izzie dismisses these folks as the Tory party at prayer – they certainly do have beautiful churches – lots of wood and what we especially like – smells and bells. The minute we walked in the door – could smell the frankincense. It was dark and mysterious with beautiful stained glass windows and the obligatory British flags but most importantly there was a sense of peace and tranquility there that was absent from the other place and Izzie could have easily spent an hour in there just soaking up the atmosphere.
What we do find most fascinating about these folk is that they have the most beautiful churches – their St George's Cathedral (in downtown Dursleyville) is a termite's dream – lots and lots of wood, carved beams and other gorgeous stuff – and their churches always seem to be impeccably maintained in spite of the Anglicans having so few active members. The Catholic Cathedral up the hill on the other hand, is so grey and drab that one would swear it was designed by Dementors. The Catholic church has lots of loot and practising members but are constantly begging the government for funds to pay for their renovations.
This year we did not go on the graveyard tour as we had already done it last year. And then it was at sunset on a full moon day so a 3pm tour on a grey day like Thursday just could not compare. Instead did the public art works walking tour and went past the Maritime museum. Last year the Izzie got an annual boarding pass – you pay an extra two silver sickles in addition to the normal admission cost and that entitles you to admission for a whole twelve months. That expired yesterday and in all that time Izzie went only once . There are simply too many other distractions in this pretty port town.
This year, anyone visiting during the festival would automatically get the full year extension with no extra cost so Izzie figures why not? Even if we go only once – will still be worth it. But it turned out that due to some damage downstairs – they had cordoned off the ground floor and were giving FREE admission to the rest of the museum until it was reopened
Silly Iz had turned up at 4.30 so did not have long to snoop and sniff – only just long enough to see the sad display about the bad old whaling days. Unfortunately, they were not that old. Izzie has the most awful memories of visiting that nasty stinking place several times on school tours. Folks in those days thought that visiting a whaling station was a most useful and educational outing for little flobberworms.
It was a totally disgusting place – especially for some one who utterly adores these magnificant marine creatures. The smell – is totally unforgettable – simply seeing the display today brought it all back.
It was most ironic to see a single solitary Japanese tourist looking at this display with utter fascination. Australia is so utterly self righteous about the whole sneaky 'scientific whaling' scam. Problem is – it was not much more than 20 years ago when they were killing them too and used almost identical arguments for continuing to kill that the Japanese use today.
The whaling station itself has now been turned into a tourist attraction called “Whale World” Well – no more than the teachers who brought classes there while it was fully operational and where we actually seen and smelled whales being sliced up and blubber tossed into boilers, we guess the sorts of people who go there are the same sorts who visit places like Dachau or Auschwitz and spend their time giggling and posing for group photos.
Well. So now we figure that we will wait for a miserable wet rainy day to have a proper look at this museum as it reallly is most impressive indeed.
