And now we're more in love than ever – thank you, WM, you light up my life!
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Showing posts with label history. Show all posts
Thursday, 4 December 2014
Saturday, 25 January 2014
The Museum of Sydney
(Re-titled post since it appears no one wants to read this one under the misapprehension that it is the same post as yesterday! )
If you want Part 1 of this story, you can find it over here. It tells of our first night in the city, with photos of the fantastic views from Sydney's tallest building.
We woke up late on our first morning in Sydney. We had eaten very well the night before so neither of us was particularly hungry. We hung around in our hotel room for a while, enjoying the view and deciding what we wanted to do. Meanwhile, WM took more photos (using a zoom lens) from the balcony.
We finally decided to visit the Museum of Sydney, which opened in 1995 but neither of us has ever been there (I told you we don't get into the city much). The museum is built on the site of the original Government House, which was build during 1788, the first year of British colonisation. The museum was fascinating (both of us love this kind of history). We were allowed to take photos of most of the exhibits inside the museum so here are just a few of WM’s collection!
This full size replica of part of the facade of the original Government House is in the foyer but doesn't make any sense until one has been inside and seen the information about the first Government House.
As you can see, Government House was a two story building. It was built as the home of the first Governor of the colony, Arthur Phillips, and subsequent governors for about fifty years until it was demolished in 1850 as unfit for human habitation. WM and I were quite disappointed to read that – we though it was a lovely-looking building and a fine example of colonial architecture. It appeals much more to our taste than the ornate Gothic-style building which replaced it.
The original house was the two-story section (without the veranda) seen at the front right of the photo below (of a model of the house).
It was added to by successive governors and was a grand house but always contained structural problems, due to the original part of the building being hastily built by unskilled labour (the British Government of the time gave no thought to finding convicts with the necessary skills to build a new colony before transporting them). One of the loveliest features for me was the curved wall of the dining room, as seen in the photo below.
The kitchens are in the building joined to the house by the covered walkway and the other smaller outbuilding housed the laundries. The photo also shows items found during the excavations which began in 1983, 84 years after workers on the site discovered the foundation plaque from the original building!
The next picture shows a drawing by colonial artist, William Bradley, of the house as it originally looked. I am intrigued by the proximity of the water and the gentle slop of the land – Sydney has reclaimed a lot of land since them and the museum building, erected on the same site, appears to be on much higher ground.
Another area of interest inside the museum had to do with food served in Government House – furnishings, table settings and cookware as well as the kind of food itself.
The table set à la français.
The “batterie de cuisine”.
a suburban kitchen from a later period
And a personal favourite for me: a TeasMaid – my parents brought an identical one of these to Australia from England; it was a wedding gift. It sat on a table on my father’s side of the bed and they used it daily for many years – mum poured the tea while dad got ready for work. Surprisingly, they were able to replace it with another which my mother still has but I doubt she uses! The water boiled at exactly the time the alarm went off and made its way from the kettle on the right to the teapot on the left. Purists wouldn’t like it – the teapot was not warmed before the tea was made!
The Sydney Harbour Bridge opened in 1932 and there were many commercially available souvenirs but Australia, like the rest of the world, was still in the throes of the Great Depression so handmade souvenirs were also produced, like these two – one made from shells by an Aboriginal woman and sold to tourists, the other from two wire coat hangers. not surprisingly, one of the nicknames of the “The Bridge” is “The Coat-Hanger”!
The following photo is of a plaque made to commemorate the Federation of Australia in 1901, when six separate colonies formed one country! It shows the building erected in Centennial Park where the “onstitution of the Commonwealth of Australia” was signed by Queen Victoria and the first prime minister of Australia, Sir Edmund Barton.
Here is the way that Jørn Utzon, an architect from Denmark, worked out the construction of the ‘sails’ of the Opera House. The building was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1973 and is a very famous Australian icon.
As some of you know, I am very interested in family history. I heard my maternal grandmother talk about “Lady Marion Best” many times but I wasn't sure who she was. You can imagine my delight in seeing a photo of “Marion Hall Best” in the Museum. She was an interior designer who had a small shop in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra. My grandmother retired from her upholstery and furnishings business (see where I get my stitching genes from), Nichols and Keep, in 1975. The partnership worked from Bondi Junction and, apparently, did quite a bit of work for Lady Marion Best.
If you want Part 1 of this story, you can find it over here. It tells of our first night in the city, with photos of the fantastic views from Sydney's tallest building.
We woke up late on our first morning in Sydney. We had eaten very well the night before so neither of us was particularly hungry. We hung around in our hotel room for a while, enjoying the view and deciding what we wanted to do. Meanwhile, WM took more photos (using a zoom lens) from the balcony.
We finally decided to visit the Museum of Sydney, which opened in 1995 but neither of us has ever been there (I told you we don't get into the city much). The museum is built on the site of the original Government House, which was build during 1788, the first year of British colonisation. The museum was fascinating (both of us love this kind of history). We were allowed to take photos of most of the exhibits inside the museum so here are just a few of WM’s collection!
This full size replica of part of the facade of the original Government House is in the foyer but doesn't make any sense until one has been inside and seen the information about the first Government House.
As you can see, Government House was a two story building. It was built as the home of the first Governor of the colony, Arthur Phillips, and subsequent governors for about fifty years until it was demolished in 1850 as unfit for human habitation. WM and I were quite disappointed to read that – we though it was a lovely-looking building and a fine example of colonial architecture. It appeals much more to our taste than the ornate Gothic-style building which replaced it.
The original house was the two-story section (without the veranda) seen at the front right of the photo below (of a model of the house).
It was added to by successive governors and was a grand house but always contained structural problems, due to the original part of the building being hastily built by unskilled labour (the British Government of the time gave no thought to finding convicts with the necessary skills to build a new colony before transporting them). One of the loveliest features for me was the curved wall of the dining room, as seen in the photo below.
The kitchens are in the building joined to the house by the covered walkway and the other smaller outbuilding housed the laundries. The photo also shows items found during the excavations which began in 1983, 84 years after workers on the site discovered the foundation plaque from the original building!
The next picture shows a drawing by colonial artist, William Bradley, of the house as it originally looked. I am intrigued by the proximity of the water and the gentle slop of the land – Sydney has reclaimed a lot of land since them and the museum building, erected on the same site, appears to be on much higher ground.
Another area of interest inside the museum had to do with food served in Government House – furnishings, table settings and cookware as well as the kind of food itself.
The table set à la français.
The “batterie de cuisine”.
a suburban kitchen from a later period
And a personal favourite for me: a TeasMaid – my parents brought an identical one of these to Australia from England; it was a wedding gift. It sat on a table on my father’s side of the bed and they used it daily for many years – mum poured the tea while dad got ready for work. Surprisingly, they were able to replace it with another which my mother still has but I doubt she uses! The water boiled at exactly the time the alarm went off and made its way from the kettle on the right to the teapot on the left. Purists wouldn’t like it – the teapot was not warmed before the tea was made!
The Sydney Harbour Bridge opened in 1932 and there were many commercially available souvenirs but Australia, like the rest of the world, was still in the throes of the Great Depression so handmade souvenirs were also produced, like these two – one made from shells by an Aboriginal woman and sold to tourists, the other from two wire coat hangers. not surprisingly, one of the nicknames of the “The Bridge” is “The Coat-Hanger”!
The following photo is of a plaque made to commemorate the Federation of Australia in 1901, when six separate colonies formed one country! It shows the building erected in Centennial Park where the “onstitution of the Commonwealth of Australia” was signed by Queen Victoria and the first prime minister of Australia, Sir Edmund Barton.
Here is the way that Jørn Utzon, an architect from Denmark, worked out the construction of the ‘sails’ of the Opera House. The building was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1973 and is a very famous Australian icon.
We enjoyed our time at the museum very much and were disappointed to have to go, but it was time for our next adventure – Sydney Jet Boat.
Naturally enough we couldn't take a photo on a boat skidding, sliding and doing u-turns across the choppy waters of the Harbour, so this is a photo taken by WM the following day as the boat returned to Darling Harbour. As you can see, the passengers are very wet. We weren’t too wet – we wore the ponchos offered to us! We had a great time, thirty minutes well spent!
Come back tomorrow for the final part of this thrilling saga…LOL
Come back tomorrow for the final part of this thrilling saga…LOL
Sunday, 10 February 2013
I've been Liebstered (part 2)
As explained in yesterday's post, Christ (Shared Creativity) and Janet (Caribou Crossing Chronicles) nominated me for the Liebster Award.
Here are the rules:
Today I will tell you eleven facts about myself, and then pose my own eleven questions.
The Liebster Award was designed to introduce "small" blogs (under 200 followers). Here are my nominated eleven.
Thanks again, Chris and Janet!
- You must post 11 random things about yourself.
- Answer the questions that the nominator set for you
- Create 11 questions for the people you nominate
- Choose 11 blogs with less than 200 followers and link them in your post.
Today I will tell you eleven facts about myself, and then pose my own eleven questions.
- I was made in England and born in Australia on ANZAC Day, a holiday unique to Australia and New Zealand -- just to prove that I am really Australian to my Aussie dad and (then) English mum.
- I am the eldest of three children, married to the eldest of six children.
- I worked Thursday night and Saturday morning in the delicatessen section of a supermarket for five years (my last two years of high school and my three years of teachers' college) up till the Saturday before I got married.
- I was a Brownie Leader for five years. I took "leave of absence" thirty-two years ago and haven't been back!
- As a child, I wanted to be an actress but my father told me I had to get a "real job" so I studied to be a teacher and years later discovered it was a great acting job with a captive audience!
- In College, I took every drama class I could! English was my major.
- I was a primary school teacher for a total of eight years in two different state schools then, after a five year gap (as a SAHM with DD), I taught for five years in a private school (which my daughter attended).
- My husband and I owned a scuba diving shop 50km (21 miles) from the coast for three and a half years (1987-1990) during the "recession we had to have"! I do not scuba dive and would not pass the medical to do so due to a history of bronchial illnesses as a child!
- At the age of 45 I applied to go to university and was accepted. Over the next three years I completed my Bachelor of Adult Education from one university and earned a Graduate Certificate in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from another.
- I love languages and over the years have studied French, Italian and Japanese. I don't speak any of these well. I can say thank you in eighteen different languages!
- My husband and I attended the same primary school and were in the same class in Grade 2.
- Where were you when Armstrong walked on the moon? (I know, you weren't even born then!)
I was at school, it was broadcast over the radio into the school quadrangle - What colours in decorating, fashion or stitching do you remember without hesitation?
In decorating, I clearly remember Mission brown, burnt orange and avocado green from the 70s, grey and pink in the 80s. - What was your favourite childhood toy?
My sister and I each had a Sindy doll, my dad built a wardrobe and my mum made clothes. We also had bought clothes for them which was novel because we'd only just started having store-bought clothes ourselves! We definitely had this outfit!
http://www.poorlittlenell.com/bulletin/?attachment_id=324 - Name one song that you can sing from beginning to end.
Only one? I've been a singer all my life and I know the words of lots of songs. Okay, "Yesterday" by the Beatles (and a lot of others since it is one of the most recorded songs ever!) - Name one advertising jingle from your pre-adult days that you remember clearly (and then tell me music has no power!)
The KFC song that goes "the cows and the sheep and the birds and the horses..." -- and, yes, I can sing all the words!
- When did you get your first computer?
I bought WM a John Sands Sega with rubber keys that plugged into the television and used cassette tape for memory! We bought our first "real" computer when we had the shop -- I think in 1989.
- When did you start blogging and why?
I wrote my first post in January 2007. My friend had a blog and it looked like fun! - How many UFOs/WIPs can you name right now?
Twenty-something! - What makes you laugh?
My grandsons' antics. - What's the first thing you think of when you hear/read the word "Australia"?
Home - the best country in the world! - What's for dinner? Who's cooking?
I have no idea!
The Liebster Award was designed to introduce "small" blogs (under 200 followers). Here are my nominated eleven.
- Delighted Hands
- Hayestackhayes
- Kate's Arty Bits Blog
- Life in Pieces
- Life is a Stitch
- Quilting and Other Craft Therapy
- Sew Many Yarns
- Snippets 'n' Scraps
- Stitchin' Therapy
- Tops to Treasures
- UFOs and UBIs - My Crafty Blog
Thanks again, Chris and Janet!
Saturday, 9 February 2013
I've been Liebstered!
Two followers of my blog, Chris (Shared Creativity) and Janet (Caribou Crossing Chronicles), have nominated me for the Liebster award. I am deeply honoured.
As part of the award, I have to answer 11 questions posed by the nominators.
Here are Chris's questions with my answers.
1. How did you start crafting?
As a child I was given many gifts of crafting activities -- embroidery cards, weaving, French knitting, basket making, flower making, pattern games, etc so I guess crafting has always been part of my life. As an adult I have had different phases of crafting, including folk art, decoupage, scrap booking, cross stitch, wool embroidery and dressmaking, but knitting has been there almost all my life. A little about my sewing history can be found in this post and the story of how I came to quilting can be read in this post.My knitting history can be found in my very first post (which I found to be an interesting read -- my how things have changed!)
2. What is your favourite hobby?
Only one? You're kidding! I'd have to say knitting if I could have only one! Or would it be reading?
3. When is your favourite time to quilt/knit/sew/whatever?
I prefer to sew during the day and I knit anytime but usually at night while watching television with my husband or listening to audiobooks or podcasts after he's gone to bed!
4. Do you mostly use a machine or work by hand?
I make quilts by machine, I knit by hand.
5. If you could get on a plane right now with no financial limitations and no strings attached, where would you go?
UK and Ireland -- to walk in the steps of my ancestors in England, Scotland and Ireland. I'd have to visit Wales too - my mother was evacuated there during WWII. I might wait till the weather warms up a little though (if you don't mind!)
6. Do the seasons affect your fabric selection?
No! I work mostly with the fabrics/scraps donated to our quilting group!
7. What is your favorite book, ever?
Seriously? One? Right now it's A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens!
8. What is your favorite comfort food?
Chocolate - preferably Lindor! In times of stress I'll eat milk chocolate --- but never white chocolate which, as we all know, isn't really chocolate at all!
9. What inspires your creativity?
Other people's creativity!
10. Do you plan projects or start them on impulse?
A little bit of both!
11. How many projects do you hope to complete this year?
Twenty-four sewing related, at least that many knitting related!
And the questions from Janet:
1. Who is your favourite author?
Jane Austen. Of modern writers, Kate Morton.
2. If you won the lottery, the first thing you would do?
Question the bearer of the news. I don't buy lottery tickets!
3. Share a childhood memory
Silence at the dinner table while dad listened to the 6:30 news! I was shocked when I went to WM's place the first time, eight people at the table (excluding me) and everyone seemed to be talking at once!
4. Live concert you would like to attend
André Rieu -- it would make my husband so happy!
5. Dream vacation:
An around-the-world-trip (by plane) staying in nice hotels, visiting all the places I've read about and some of my blogging friends as well!
6. Where would you like to live:
On the Australian east coast where I can see the ocean! I have my dream house all planned out!
7. Favourite pet
I have lived with cats most of my life. I can easily live without pets but I can't bear animal cruelty of any kind! When I was a primary school teacher, 10year old boys pulling the wings off flies made me angry!
8. Favourite ice cream
Chocolate with chocolate chips!
Would you believe there was a time when I didn't eat chocolate?No, I didn't say I didn't like it, just that I didn't eat it! It was believed to be the cause of migraines but it turned out not to be so!
9. What famous person/fictional character would you like to get to know?
Jesus!
10. What would you like your biographer to say about you?
That I am/was loyal, generous and creative.
11. What was your first car?
A 1963 Ford Cortina that I bought for $200 and sold eighteen months later for $200!
Come back tomorrow for the second part of this award!
Thanks Chris and Janet for nominating me!
As part of the award, I have to answer 11 questions posed by the nominators.
Here are Chris's questions with my answers.
1. How did you start crafting?
As a child I was given many gifts of crafting activities -- embroidery cards, weaving, French knitting, basket making, flower making, pattern games, etc so I guess crafting has always been part of my life. As an adult I have had different phases of crafting, including folk art, decoupage, scrap booking, cross stitch, wool embroidery and dressmaking, but knitting has been there almost all my life. A little about my sewing history can be found in this post and the story of how I came to quilting can be read in this post.My knitting history can be found in my very first post (which I found to be an interesting read -- my how things have changed!)
2. What is your favourite hobby?
Only one? You're kidding! I'd have to say knitting if I could have only one! Or would it be reading?
 |
| My own design in 63 different yarns! |
3. When is your favourite time to quilt/knit/sew/whatever?
I prefer to sew during the day and I knit anytime but usually at night while watching television with my husband or listening to audiobooks or podcasts after he's gone to bed!
4. Do you mostly use a machine or work by hand?
I make quilts by machine, I knit by hand.
5. If you could get on a plane right now with no financial limitations and no strings attached, where would you go?
UK and Ireland -- to walk in the steps of my ancestors in England, Scotland and Ireland. I'd have to visit Wales too - my mother was evacuated there during WWII. I might wait till the weather warms up a little though (if you don't mind!)
6. Do the seasons affect your fabric selection?
No! I work mostly with the fabrics/scraps donated to our quilting group!
7. What is your favorite book, ever?
Seriously? One? Right now it's A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens!
8. What is your favorite comfort food?
Chocolate - preferably Lindor! In times of stress I'll eat milk chocolate --- but never white chocolate which, as we all know, isn't really chocolate at all!
9. What inspires your creativity?
Other people's creativity!
10. Do you plan projects or start them on impulse?
A little bit of both!
11. How many projects do you hope to complete this year?
Twenty-four sewing related, at least that many knitting related!
And the questions from Janet:
1. Who is your favourite author?
Jane Austen. Of modern writers, Kate Morton.
2. If you won the lottery, the first thing you would do?
Question the bearer of the news. I don't buy lottery tickets!
3. Share a childhood memory
Silence at the dinner table while dad listened to the 6:30 news! I was shocked when I went to WM's place the first time, eight people at the table (excluding me) and everyone seemed to be talking at once!
4. Live concert you would like to attend
André Rieu -- it would make my husband so happy!
5. Dream vacation:
An around-the-world-trip (by plane) staying in nice hotels, visiting all the places I've read about and some of my blogging friends as well!
6. Where would you like to live:
On the Australian east coast where I can see the ocean! I have my dream house all planned out!
7. Favourite pet
I have lived with cats most of my life. I can easily live without pets but I can't bear animal cruelty of any kind! When I was a primary school teacher, 10year old boys pulling the wings off flies made me angry!
 |
| our current "master" -- Tomodachi (Japanese for "friend") |
Chocolate with chocolate chips!
Would you believe there was a time when I didn't eat chocolate?No, I didn't say I didn't like it, just that I didn't eat it! It was believed to be the cause of migraines but it turned out not to be so!
9. What famous person/fictional character would you like to get to know?
Jesus!
10. What would you like your biographer to say about you?
That I am/was loyal, generous and creative.
11. What was your first car?
A 1963 Ford Cortina that I bought for $200 and sold eighteen months later for $200!
Come back tomorrow for the second part of this award!
Thanks Chris and Janet for nominating me!
Tuesday, 22 February 2011
"The King's Speech"
Tonight WM and I went to see one of the best movies I have ever seen. The sets were fabulous, the costumes wonderful and the acting superb!
I can rarely sit through a whole movie (without knitting) and not fidget or need a drink or a toilet break or want to know how much longer it has to go! Tonight I did none of those things!
If you are a lover of history, particularly British history, or a lover of spoken language, or enjoy narratives about those who face difficulties head on and triumph, or simply a fan of Geoffrey Rush or Colin Firth, you should see this movie.
In my opinion, it deserves every award for which it has been nominated.
I can rarely sit through a whole movie (without knitting) and not fidget or need a drink or a toilet break or want to know how much longer it has to go! Tonight I did none of those things!
If you are a lover of history, particularly British history, or a lover of spoken language, or enjoy narratives about those who face difficulties head on and triumph, or simply a fan of Geoffrey Rush or Colin Firth, you should see this movie.
In my opinion, it deserves every award for which it has been nominated.
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