Clothing Exhibit

We went straight from the farmers markets to the National Trust property out a Saumarez near the airport. This large colonial home has nice gardens and a house open to public inspection - much like many National Trust buildings in the UK I have reported on from time to time. However, our purpose today was to see an exhibition of late 19th and early 20th century garments worn by the women of Saumarez house, the HQ of a large and prosperous pastoral property on the edge of town. This was in a corner of the main house and the exhibits we found all over the house after it passed into National Trust hands. This was incidentally the first time they had been brought together to give something of the flavour of life at the turn of the 20th century for a wealthy family. Here are some of the exhibits:

Each of the items was well-made - often exquisite - and dealt with different activities during the day - sporting apparel (tennis), evening gowns, outdoor clothing, sleepwear (not shown here) and so on. And the items came from some of the best suppliers of the day like David Jones, an up-market department store chain that's still going today.

I must admit that I didn't think I'd like the exhibition, but instead I found it extremely interesting. I came away thinking that we live in much better times. In those days people went to preposterous lengths to demonstrate their wealth and station in life. Fortunately, today's technocratic society has no need to waste such pointless time, expense and effort. These days people with $20 billion in the bank are quite happy to walk around in jeans and a t-shirt. In fact, when I see a bloke in a suit I assume that he's a crook, a used car salesman, a politician, or has some chronic psychological deficiency (such as craving attention or a lack of self-regard). Nowadays most people don't even dress up for a funeral ... and anyone wearing formal gear who turns up for my own will be barred from attending! I'm planning a rave-up instead.

AS

Armidale Farmers Market

Twice a month on Sundays the town holds a farmers market down on the creeklands. Dot and I sometimes attend, as was the case today despite the rather cold and blustery easterly wind. The markets sell mainly fresh produce, gourmet and ethnic foods, and home-made crafts. Today, for example, we bought some nice home-made pastries - one for each of us, Dot bought a jar of jam, and I bought four rather fragrant soaps and some fresh smoked trout for breakfast this coming week. The markets are also a good occasion to meet up with and chat to various friends. These pictures convey a good impression of the market stalls:

And this next guy really caught our attention! He's a cycling enthusiast involved in last week's campaign to get the community out of their cars and on their bikes when commuting to work or other social and sporting events. I participated myself and had to record all my journeys on the campaign web-site. In fact, here are my statistics! My 6 trips covered 71 km. I used an estimated 2161 calories in the process and saved 19 kg (42 lb) of CO2 emissions! These stats enabled me to come eighth of all the participants in the event. This said, the bloke on the bike here said that he'd made the contraption from spare parts he'd found and then he'd turned the bike into a device for making milk shakes. The faster he pedals, the faster he blends the contents of the glass container on the table in front of him. The audience was applauding, which explains his smile. He was really having fun!

AS

Road to Horezu

On the way back to Sibiu, we travelled along the southern foothills of the Carpathians towards Horezu, a village renowned for its production of pottery products. Two of its output are now sitting prominently in my kitchen.

We journeyed through typical Romanian countryside dotted with small farms and villages. The mode of transport, too, was quaint - a lot of it horse-powered as these pictures show. I guess small-holders cannot afford to own cars which might also be damaged by the often pot-holed roads.

Eventually we reached Horezu itself to be greeted by a constellation of small roadside businesses selling the local dishes and pots.

It all made for a colourful display and enticed most of our party to invest in competitively priced artefacts - me included. No wonder I could scarcely my luggage for the return journey!

AS

Homage to Brancusi

We stayed overnight in Targu Jiu during our trip towards western Romania, and it seemed a pleasant little town. The following morning we were invited to take a walk through a nearby park and I, for one, was astonished by what we saw. The town's central park was home to a series of impressive sculptures by one of the country's foremost artists, Brancusi (1876 to 1957). This post pays homage to the fascinating works commemorating Romania's involvement in the first world war and the death of many soldiers in the various campaigns.

The works lie in a more or less straight line through the city from the banks of the Jiu river. The town itself is, like many in Romania, situated on a Roman settlement and that in turn lies where a Dacian village used to stand. They were finished in about 1938 and survived both the second world war and later communist attempts to remove what was termed bourgeoise art. All of us rather liked what we saw and were glad they were saved. Have a look.

The Gate of Kiss.

The Alley of Stools.

The Table of Silence.

The Endless Column.

Perhaps you don't like modern art, but I found these sculptures rewarding.

AS

Flood Disaster

Early in August this year the little commune of Vaideeni lying east of Targu Jiu in Romania was hit by extreme floods and we diverted from out schedule of visits to see some of the damage. Much of it was confined to a sad little place lying on the banks of the river flowing through the town, namely the gypsy encampment which is strung along the banks of the river.

At first the picture was somewhat bucolic as we awaited the mayor to explain the position. The stream did not look overwhelming and the foothills of the Carpathians looked green and pleasant.

Only as we drove up to the gypsy encampment and walked through the village - much to the  interest of local children - did the scale of the disaster become apparent. Many houses had become damaged, some severely, gravel lay everywhere, roads were pot-holed,  a general air of extreme poverty prevailed, and some residents who had lost much were living in what looked like shipping containers. The scene was depressing and looked difficult to remediate.

AD

Rau de Mori

Transylvania has hundreds of little churches which provide an insight into the region's history. We visited one at Rau de Mori which was exceptional, partly because of its design, its ancient frescoes, and looted building material. We walked past contented sheep to greet the local Eastern Orthodox priest for a conducted tour of his premises. The wall in the second picture was built in traditional style, but I don't know who the dude is.

At first the building looked ordinary, but, as the pictures show, it was far from it.

Women's entrance!

Well, does anything strike you odd? Yes! You've worked it out. The building is clearly ancient, but much more so than it seems at first. Most of the building materials were looted from a nearby Roman city and re-cycled! Note the sheep on the roof, the columns at the side of the church, and the 

Lovely Landscape Awful Industries

On yet another day we were driving through pleasant countryside like that show below before we entered yet another drab town, this one mining coal.

The place was Petrosani, home to a dying industry with many of the mines likely to close and create ghettos of poverty.

We were met by the mine manager who went on to explain why the industry was quite unprofitable: thin seams, steep pitch, great depth and so on. In other words the site was difficult to work.

Yet more examples of châteaux Stalin - drab homes to workers.

Ugly industrial sites with derelict buildings.

An interesting haulage system bringing loads of coal to the surface.

Lots of coal dust lying around.

Not somewhere I'd like to live and likely doomed to the scrap-heap as the economy modernises.

AS