A Perfect Last Day of Winter.

 On Saturday 30 August, we were battered by ferocious and cold westerlie winds. On Sunday, Joc and I had planned to join the 40th anniversary celebrations of our wonderful Queensland Performing Arts Centre. (QPAC).

It wasn't forecast, but to our relief, we woke to a calm, sunny day. 6C minimum with a maximum of 22C and just a gentle breeze.

I arrived in the city at 8.30 and took the river walk to the meeting point with Joc. I was immediately spell bound by the beauty of this last day of winter and our beautiful city and river.

Images of the opening celebrations, April 1985. 

A very inpressive event as seen by these photos, but I have no recollection of the event. We did attend their first production - Pirates of Penzance - a brilliant and memorable performance.

40 years later, a very low key celebration in the Melbourne Street Green.

QPAC choir.

A preview of a new show, The Lovers.

Adding our best bishes.

Our own birthday badge.

Learning to use the spotlight.

A pop up event - very enjoyable but we felt sorry for these lovely performers. We were their only audience.

The Concert Hall readying for the opening of La Boheme in a week.

Pizza by the river for lunch. Delicious! 

Time now to do some city exploring. First stop the 'W' building.

The Brisbane Festival commences this comimg weekend, running for 3 weeks. Internationally reknowned Brisbane boys, Chris and Karl, will be creating colourful, inflatable 'Mateys" for a public art trail through the city. Diny and George are the first to be presented to the public.

Bet you didn't spot me!

Joc decided to catch her train home. It seemed too early for me to do the same, so I headed for the river walk and completed 8 km, before I arrived at my bus station.

A different angle of the Casino.

'Artistic' high rise.

Our new pedestrian bridge. A view from the Botanical Gardens.

Party boat.

I was now walking on the opposite shoreline. I usually stay on river level, but today I decided that as it was such a glorious day, the views warranted a higher level. 

Halfway up, looking north.

The steps still to be climbed.

At the halfway point, I stopped to enjoy the view [ie a rest stop.] I was excited to spot a Mother Possum with her baby clinging to her back, feeding in a tree below. Oh, how I wish I had brought my camera. Alas, the Iphone just couldn't get a clear image. Possums are nocturnal, so this wasn't a normal experience.

Oh, what a beautiful day!

Bougainvillea and sparkling river.

Wherever you live, I hope your last day of August was as splendid as mine. Today however, was the complete opposite, with no sunshine and regular cloud bursts. How fortunate was I yesterday?

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