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Famous Bell Tower
containing 18 'Swan Bells' of which 12 are royal bells that came from St Martin in the Field Church, London Friday 29th April dawned and, as with yesterday, we had nothing particular planned for the day (except, that was, to be back at the caravan by about 5pm so that we could watch a certain wedding that was due to take place on the other side of the world!). On the spur of the moment we decided to catch the bus from outside of the caravan park into the centre of Perth. I checked the bus timetable we had been given when we booked in and identified the next suitable bus to catch – 9:50am. We made it with a few minutes to spare and paid the princely sum of $3:60 each for a “Day Rider” – an absolute bargain. The journey took about 40 minutes and went through Belmont and on through the inner suburbs of Perth. We could see the city centre getting nearer and nearer and we also had a magical view of South Perth across the river. We stayed on the bus until the terminus so that we would know where to catch the return bus from (we remembered the problem we had in Adelaide trying to find a suitable bus-stop). We could see the famous bell-tower
A very English scene
These bedding plants should make a lovely display not too far away in Barrack Square and attempted to walk towards it across a courtyard adjacent to the bus terminus. We took a chance and walked through a large complex as we could see where we wanted to go through some huge windows at the far end. It turned out to be the new Perth Convention Centre and, judging by the number of suited and booted people about, a convention of some sort was taking place – we shouldn’t have been there! So we beat a hasty retreat and found our way around the building and into the park leading to the waterfront.
We remember it fondly from last time and spent an hour or so admiring the view, gazing up at the splendid bell tower which houses the historic twelve bells that came from the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields in London. They are recorded as being in existence from before the 14th century and were recast in the 16th century by Queen Elizabeth I. The tower was given to the people of Western Australia as part of the national Bicentennial celebrations in 1988. They are one of only a few sets of royal bells and these are
Cyclist trying hard to keep up with the bus
going over Swan River and looking towards South Perth the only ones known to have left England. We had gone up the tower on our last visit so didn’t go up again but found a place to have some coffee and toast, overlooking the water. Then we remembered that the Blue Cat, one of Perth’s three, free, inner city bus services, called at the bell tower before going into the city centre so we caught the next Blue Cat that appeared and made our way to Adelaide Terrace. That was the street that our first bus had come in on and we had spotted some very intriguing statues that I was anxious to take some photos of. The bus dropped us within a couple of minute’s walk of the statues and from there we walked through the London Court which is a very British looking arcade – it was built in 1937 in a mock Tudor design by a rich local businessman. We just missed seeing the knights above the clocks circle each other as the clock chimed the hour. Dick Whittington and his cat look over the arcade at one end and Sir Walter Raleigh keeps an eye on the other end! The arcade leads towards the pedestrianised
areas of Perth where the very impressive main shopping precincts are. They were all hustle and bustle and full of a variety of street musicians who were all very entertaining. Graham wondered whether anyone could set up and busk as he thought he could do a turn if we run short of money but we suspected the performers needed to first acquire a licence. We admired yet more sculptures and enjoyed the cheerful atmosphere before finding a small café (the same one we used years ago) where we could sit on a balcony area and take in the view while we enjoyed our lunch.
More meandering and sight seeing followed before we decided it was time to make our way back to the bus. We remembered that the Blue Cat would call at the bus terminus on its circuit (Red Cats and Yellow Cats did different circuits around the city – all free) so we made our way back to the bell tower, enjoying the scenery again and listening to the splendid sound the bells were making, before catching the next Blue Cat to the terminus. The fairly new terminus was good in that all bus times and boarding
points were advertised on screens, much the same as flights in airports, so our bus was easily identifiable. It arrived and departed spot on time and we were soon on our way back towards Forrestfield. Whilst we were in Busselton, someone we had spent time with, a Perth resident, warned us that the city transport system was a joke and they said they would never use it. Well more fool them as today it was perfect. The buses were timely, a return ticket on the service bus was cheap, the Cats were reliable and free and Perth was a delight - what more could you ask for? We will definitely try to fit in another day in Perth before we leave.
We were back in the caravan park by 4:00pm and we asked at reception if, by chance a packet had arrived for us from England. The receptionist said it had – she had rung me earlier to let us know but we must have been on the bus coming back from the city and I didn’t hear the phone ring (I’ll have to change the ring-tone from Graham singing ‘Adieu Sweet Lovely Nancy’ to something louder!). The packet
contained the latest CD by “Mo Mac n Me” which Mac had very kindly sent for Graham. For the rest of the evening Graham was “lost” with his head phones on avidly listening to their latest recordings. He still managed to watch events from Westminster Abbey on the TV although I suspect he didn’t hear much of it as he was too engrossed in the CD.
The build-up to the Royal Wedding here in Aus has surprised us by its intensity – there has been almost wall to wall coverage for, it seems, weeks so it was such a relief to see that the day looked as though it would be dry at least. I felt quite homesick as I watched but thoroughly enjoyed it - the Aussie coverage was very good, although during the service they simply used the BBC coverage. We didn’t know of any Royal Wedding parties taking place here in Forrestfield but apparently there were a few in the centre of Perth. It was a truly joyous occasion and many people in the caravan park also had their TVs tuned to it and, judging by the general reaction of most folk we meet, there is
still a huge regard for the Royal Family here in Australia. Of course, everyone hopes that this union will be more meaningful than the last major royal marriage which, because of the groom’s deceit, seemed to be doomed from the outset. Kate and William’s fondness for each other seems very sincere so we hope it will go some way to re-establishing the monarchy as something worthwhile in the eyes of the world. With the final kiss on the balcony of Buckingham Palace I, along with probably most of the billions of people watching, heaved a huge sigh of relief that the whole event had gone without a single hitch or any trouble on the street – what a wonderful occasion it had been!
I finally got to hear the new CD and, even with my unmusical ear, I could appreciate the progress Mo Mac n Me are making in the variety and quality of their music – good on you chaps!!
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Darryl and Sarah
Wallaby Wanderers
Jellyfish - shudder!
Fantastic that you got to see the Royal Wedding - I didn't as the TV packed up at work!!! How rude!! We did enjoy a bit of a street party in the evening though. Our sloe gin was quite a hit! I shall enquire about busking licenses for Perth .... just in case!!! x x x