Back in the UK and Europe

Dear friends and followers,

It’s hard to believe I left Australia over a month ago, and have been travelling around the UK and Ireland.

I’m back in London staying with my sister, so it’s time to get my blog up to date.

Mmm, I think I may be becoming a lazy social media content creator (is that the right term) since creating an Instagram account. (@piecemealadventurer)

London does have its own beauty, as the view from the balcony at the Tate Modern shows

Over the years, I’ve come to appreciate what a great art city London is. Melbourne, my hometown is no slouch, but the breadth of art in London makes one feel spoilt.

There is the public art around the streets:

In London, suburbs like Ealing there are wonderful galleries doing exhibitions such as Grayson Perry’s tapestries.

Or The Expressionists at Tate Modern:

And the work of the Barbadian, Taveres Strachan at the Heyward Gallery;

Above the arts precinct, there was the sign

And on a hot day every young person was at home with art.

Riding across northern Greece

After leaving Konista, it was a misty ride through the mountains of Western Macedonia skirting Thessalonika to Kavala.

I had decided I wanted to make, what is a bit of an Australian Pilgrimage, to ANZAC Cove on the Cannakale Peninsula in Turkey. Hence, it was a blast across northern Greece.

What were the highlights?

The most fascinating stop was the Porto Logos. A little fishing village on the coast between Kavala and Alexandroupoli.

A quaint village with a small port and restaurants, a secluded beach and flamingos and other bird life.

It’s also the site of the Byzantine Monastry of St. Nicholas.

The monastry is set in the middle of the lake with each of the churches containing amazing frescos and etching.

The Byzantine Madonna and Child in the photos are etched and coloured directly onto brass plate and were breath takingly beautiful.

The city of Alexandroupoli is a beautiful coastal city at the top of the Aegean sea close to the border with Turkiye.

The sad part of crossing this part of Greece was the largely blackened forests and farmland, the legacy of recent wildfires in Northern Greece. Wherever I travel, there are ever present reminders of the current climate crisis

WOMADelaide and surrounds

The World Of Music And Dance comes to Adelaide every March. A four day festival held in the beautiful Adelaide Botanic Gardens.

A showcase of music from around the world.

We visited a couple of days of the festival basking in the beautiful warm and letting the music from.the world stimulate body and soul.

Youssoa N’Dour from Senagal the headline act on Monday night.

Sampa the Great and her all Zambian band

There were songs from Persia

Songs of the Pacific as interpreted in the Torres Straight Islands

Sexy soul from the UK

Cuban funk

Wild Romanian gypsy violin

Argentinian Tango. And much much more!

Not far north of Adelaide is the Barossa Valley. Settled by German migrants in the late 1800s it’s a centre of winemaking and one of Australia’s most famous wine regions.

A nice day trip from Adelaide.

There is also some lovely bushland for a nature walk.

The closing act at WOMAD was a an aerial dance of angels casting feathers on the crowd. Here is a sample.

Broome’s Festival of the Pearl – Shinju Matsuri

The lustre of pearl drove the colonial development of Broome in the 1870s and remains a major industry to this day.

Prior to this for millennia the aborigines used and traded mother of pearl shell and used it for decoration and ceremony.

This Riji is the carving of pearl shell shell unique to the North East Kimberley.

These pieces of Riji are part of an exhibition called Lustre the history of pearling in Australia.

The Shinju Matsuri celebrates the role of the pearl in Broome.

The festival integrates culture of Japanese and Chinese pearl divers who came here over a century ago and made Broome home with indigenous and colonial history.

The lantern festival at Cable Beach captures a Japanese Tradition.

The street parade is led in a burst of colour and energy by the Chinese Dragon.

The Shinju festival also offers lots of exhibitions street music and art.

There is a beautiful projection down at the Town Beach

But it was the Riji that totally captivated me.

So I took a long ride, over 200km each way to the top of the Dampier Peninsula.

Over made roads and some thick sand roads

To meet Bruce Wiggan, a local elder and master pearl shell carver at his studio.

Aboriginal art tells a story. This piece tells the story of the making the laws of hunting between local tribes. These laws, this agreement bought harmony.