A Trip To Town

 A trip into town today with my good friend Richmal saw us wandering the mall for quite some time. There is general kaos in the mall at the moment with renovations to the walkways and generally the enterance into to the mall is a disaster. Our original intention was to picnic in the Botanic Gardens but the prediction of inclement weather caused us to rethink our plans.So instead of seeing the lovely lily pads in the garden ponds I saw  a lovely mural of lilies and carp in the mall.

Instead of a picnic in the park we found  a laneway off the mall set up as a picnic market place complete with fake grass and three charming and enterprising young lads making the most fabulously delicious lentil and halloumi burgers. The picnic ground came complete with ginham covered stools with very comfy chair pads and a view created by artists on the walls of the gallery opposite. I should have photgraphed the pigeons and doves painted on the walls - but I was too busy enjoying my burger!

Yummy burger !

We then went to the art gallery and I visited my favourite room - textiles including those by William Morris- and lovely glassware. I also wandered around the gallery walls to see what's hanging and found that one of my all time favourite and hilarious paintings had been taken off the wall - shock ! horror!  This painting I don't know who painted it. It is a very large black surface with a bordered red edge of two inches and nothing more. The interesting thing about this painting is not the painting itself but the reaction it gets. You just have to hang back to see  peoples reactions - the number of people whom go up to it and look around its sides just to see if there is more! And that is where the beauty of the painting is to behold - in people's reactions. I have seen few other works get such attention and involvement from its audience and it just goes to show sometimes the simplest things are the most interesting.
After our art adventure we went to check out Urban Cow a hip art and craft store on Pultney Street and attached a coffee / wine bar called the Howling Owl.
Don't you love the servery area - the old fridge. I was impressed by the variety of gin and the lovely recycled crockery which made up the sailing ship - Her Ladyship -