Sunday Selectons #215

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files. 

The meme is now continued by River at Drifting through life.  The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to River.  Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen.

Like River I usually run with a theme. This week I am showing you the start and the finish of a very busy, and sometimes beautiful, day.

Enlighten finished last weekend, and our balloon Spectacular started.  It finishes this morning. 

I am a balloon tragic.  I love them and will go considerable distances to see them.  They are an entirely weather dependent event and sometimes they simply don't take to the air.  Often too much wind is the culprit, but early last week there was not enough, and they stayed grounded.  And uninflated.  On Thursday morning my youngest brother and I decided we would risk it (his high and skinniness stayed in bed).  Just after six, we were at the launch venue.  We were lucky and the balloons did take to the air.  Naturally I took many, many photos - which will get a post of their own in a few days.

The dawn was beautiful though.

The day was v busy, and included a routine boob squashing.  Sigh.  I am sure that if men were more subject to breast cancer the test would be considerably less painful.

I was a tired puppy by the end of the day, but the sunset had me out in the road doing mad woman with camera dances.  Again.

Definitely a good day.  A wonderful start, and a beautiful finish.

Sunday Selections #214

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files. 

The meme is now continued by River at Drifting through life.  The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to River.  Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen.

Like River I usually run with a theme.  This week I am returning to the Enlighten Festival.  We went back yesterday to try and catch Old Parliament House illuminated, and to see a performance called Voala Station, performed by Spanish artists.  In it, we followed four businessmen who had missed the last late-night train and were swept into a world of magic and dizzying heights.  It was an incredible performance, and lots of it was done hangind from wires.  Sadly, my camera had a malfunction and the shutter speeds were wrong.  I will show some photos, but they are not good.

Starting with Old Parliament House - before the lights went on.

Then the sun started to go down.

Old Parliament House illuminated.

And some less than wonderful shots of the Voala Station performance.  How I wish I could have shown you just how magical it was, with up to eight people spinnng above our heads, and an absolutely glorious singer.

Enlighten 2015

Canberra, my city, is widely regarded as making ditch water seem positively scintillating by comparison.  Arguable, but never mind.  So when the Enlighten festival started last week we had to go.

We first went last year and loved it.  The facades of buildings in the Parliamentary Triangle were illuminated, bathed in colour and in some instance animated scenes danced across them.  It was always a given that we would front up this year as well.

There was music, there was food (even if we didn't get any), there were happy crowds.  And some of the buildings (like the Art Gallery and the National Library) stayed open for much longer than usual.

Please come with me - and settle in for a looooong ride with a lot of photos.  As always photos will embiggen when clicked upon.

We started at the National Gallery.  Where I was severely disappointed.  The image changed every few minutes it is true, but the only change was in colour.  Not a patch on last year's effort.

This year:

Fairly dull - and it certainly doesn't compare with last years effort which looked like this:

I would score this year's effort as a fail.

I was concerned that a precedent had been set and wore my sulkpot Ben Nag Nag hat as we headed towards the  National Portrait Gallery.  Less than twenty metres further on  I threw the grumpy hat away.

Trees along the walk way between the Gallery and the Portrait Gallery were spotlighted with changing colours.

And then to the Portrait Gallery.

Next was Questacon - our interactive Science Museum.

And then to the National Library.

The lights on Old Parliament House failed just before we got there.  We waited twenty minutes or so and essentially said 'sod that for a game'  and headed home.  There are a couple of events scheduled for this weekend we would like to see, and with luck the Parliament House lights will be back on.

On balance I liked last year's festival better, but I am not sorry we went this year as well.  And we will line up next year too.

Sunday Selections #213

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files. 

The meme is now continued by River at Drifting through life.  The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to River.  Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen.

Like River I usually run with a theme. This week is no exception - but first things first.

Thank you all so much for your comments and messages of support while I was having a wallow in the pity pool.  I have found my flippers and my snorkel and have pretty much emerged from the murky depths.  The coughing virus and the ear infection I picked up are both mostly gone, but my MS is thriving at the moment (drat it) so I am not walking well and pain is an issue.  However, our Enlighten Festival (which runs for two weeks) started on Friday.  Lots and lots of illuminated buildings down by the lake.  Of course we went.  And this year they have added Night Noodle Markets so we went early - thinking we would have an early dinner and then a wander.

Wrong.  The Night Noodle Markets were incredibly crowded and expensive - and there was nowhere to sit (except on the grass) if you did reach the head of the queue.  Neither of us could face the queues and if I get down to the ground I have huge difficulties getting up again, so we passed. 

Instead we wandered down to the lake to see Voyage - where 300 paper boats formed a fleet.

They were fun early - and after dark were illuminated and became an almost incandescent fleet.

Before dark we trekked up to the National Gallery, planning to start the walk from there when the buildings were illuminated.

The next orb is not part of the Enlighten Festival - but I love it.  I take yet another photo (or six) of it each time I visit the gallery.  The light on it is natural, reflections from the setting sun and clouds...

Needless to say there are many, many more photos (of variable quality) from the night.  I will probably devote a post to them in a few days.  One of the buildings lights failed, and there are some special features which won't happen until next weekend, so we will be back.  And, our balloon festival starts when Enlighten ends.  This balloon tragic will certainly be there to see that as well.