A Walk Through Enmore

I'm having a lazy sort of day today. Sydney is being treated to an unseasonal blast of Spring/Summer weather, and I have the day to myself as my beautiful paramour Peter is home sleeping after working a late night shift last night. I decided a lazy day was on the cards because I'm going out tonight to a big leather themed dance party, and so conserving energy and some later afternoon napping were the two priorities. I had a few minor errands to run, so I grabbed the camera and went for a walk in the sun through Enmore.

Go back through this blog, or my flickr photostream and I guarantee without fail there will be annual Magnolia photos. Bigger men than me have tried, so who am I to fight the power of the Magnolia?

I thought this yarn bombed old telegraph pole was charmingly done. Not just "Let's wrap this in a piece or knitting/crochet" but a bit more thought had been put into making it pretty.

But don't stop there, because telecomms switching box thingies need some love and pretty too.

And just a couple of houses down from the yarn bombed telephone pole this little someone came over for a cwtch*.

Once the cwtching was done, I ran my errands and then strolled home through the glorious sunshine. I even got a couple of texts and a loving call from the boy, before he turned in to catch some zzzzzs before he heads to work this evening. All in all a pretty glorious afternoon.

* For some reason, despite being 50/50 Scottish and English in our house ever since I can remember my family usually always used the Welsh word cwtch in relation to the necessary and important cuddling of animals.

Postscript: Here's a sampling of past Magnolia Madness.

It's That Time Again

If you have read this blog for a while, or kept tabs on my Flickr photostream, you'll know by now that I essentially take the same photos and write a similar blog entry at roughly this time of year every year. This time of year being Magnolia Time! I can't help it.

There is something about seeing these guys towards the end of Winter each year that gives me a lift, puts a kick in my step. Especially when they are combined with a blue sky day. Spring is just around the corner! Sure, they are a Winter flower but they seem to be heralding Spring in exaggerated fashion.

Shall we make it a date for next year?!

Magnolia Time

This week is completely kicking my ass. I'm currently pulling full days in the office, before heading to the Buddhist centre to price carton after carton of books for our next conference. This week has been that x 3 so far. You know what, that even made me think I'm dull just reading that...

So, if you've read this blog for a while you know that I resort to putting up the pretty when I haven't much else to say. I took these pics at lunch the other day, just around the corner from the office. The fun part? I had to lean out over about a 15 foot (nearly 5 metre) drop to get these shots. I'm an artiste, we think nothing of such peril.





Spring, well it's just around the corner!

Iron Lace & Magnolia

Iron Lace & Magnolia
Originally uploaded by Other Andrew.

To me this looks like something from a gentler age. Can you smell the bayou? Hear the cicadas? Feel the lace of your gloves as you lift your skirts?

In reality it's the magnolia growing in one of my neighbour's front garden, in sunny downtown Newtown. Not a crinoline in sight. Alas.

It's That Time Of Year Again!

Magnolia time!



I took almost the exact same shot last year I think, but I'm just so happy to see these guys. It seems like one day it's a bunch of bare twigs, then the very next day BAM! it's full of buds.

They also herald the latter parts of winter and the first sniffs of spring in this part of the world, which is officially a Good Thing. I mean, check out that blue sky...

Port Wine Magnolia

When the lovely Martin and Lisa where in town a couple of weekends ago, my friend Bodhi and I showed them around Sydney and ended up at one of my favourite places, the Chinese Gardens of Friendship.


Magnolia blossoms, Chinese Garden of Friendship. Sydney, September, 2005.

These blossoms really caught my eye, and I just had to take a picture of them. No really I had to, Bodhi insisted. I'm glad he did, the colour and the light are lovely.

The Chinese Garden of Friendship: Part II

Here are a few more of the many pictures I took on my visit to the Chinese Garden of Friendship last Sunday.


Ashley. Darling Harbour, July 2005.

Ashley gives us an 'inscrutable' look. For only $5 Bodhi & I got to play dress-ups with Ashley, and wander around the garden taking pics for half an hour. This picture was taken inside the the Pavilion where the costume hire was located.


Roof of the Twin Pavilion. Darling Harbour, July 2005.


The Gurr (or Clear View Pavilion) interior. Darling Harbour, July 2005.

This is the inside of the three storey tall pagoda type structure at the top of the garden. All the carving inside the Pavilion was of different types of plants and the lantern was really beautiful.


Winter magnolia. Darling Harbour, July 2005.

We passed these small magnolia blossoms on the way from The Gurr, as we walked around the lake.


Windows. Darling Harbour, July 2005.

This passage way ran behind the Peace Boat Pavilion towards the Teahouse, and I really loved this view through the windows and a glimpse of the banana palm growing in between.

Big Blue Sky Magnolias

I feel a little guilty, posting yet more Magnolia pictures... but c'mon, look at that sky! Vast. Clear. Cerulean even.



This exists in our world. Doesn't that encourage you? To think that there is so much beauty in this world, so much gorgeousness.

Of course to make the same point I could just as easily have posted a pic of the early thirty-something in the tight white t, low rider jeans and some chin scruff I saw earlier today, but that would have cheapened it, don't you think?