One of my favourite songs, PJ Harvey collaborates with Thom Yorke on This Mess We’re In off PJ’s Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea album. Their voices are surprisingly suited.
This was covered very nicely by Katy Steele (from Little Birdy) and Paul Kelly on Rockwiz.
Sunday is wedding day at Meiji-Jingu. Seems like there are plenty of couples/families willing to fork out their life savings on a traditional wedding.
Since the wedding-goers parade in the middle of the temple grounds, all the visitors got a sneak peak, too.
I liked the wooden prayer cards that hang in shrines all over Japan. At Meiji-Jingu, they were written in all sorts of languages, reflecting the diversity of visitors there.
Once you near the Meiji-Jingu shrine, you are welcome to cleanse your hands and mouth before entering.
If only the barrels were full! These empty sake barrels outside of Meiji-Jingu seem to be a feature of shrines since I saw them in a few places in different parts of Japan.
I love the artwork on them – such attention to detail.
It’s been two-and-a-half years since my trip to Japan, but I’ve still got many vivid memories of my month there. One of them was my visit to the Meiji-Jingu shrine. It is the most important shrine in Tokyo, set in the middle of some glorious parkland. The entrance, is a giant torii or gate, in the middle of a forested avenue.
I will post more photos from Meiji-Jingu tomorrow.
Wollongong sits 400 metres below Mount Keira, so the view is good, even on an overcast day. The main attraction of the Wollongong waterfront, is the lighthouse, which really stands apart from the rest of the ‘burbs.
Continuing with our native flora theme…
Took a walk around Mount Keira on the weekend – a mountain (actually an old volcanic plug) overlooking Wollongong. The mountainside is lush with rainforest…
And resplendid in all varieties of palms.
Banksias are ubiquitous to the east coast of Australia, where I live, but nevertheless are quite striking when in full flower.
Surprisingly, they are still striking even when their flowers have dried and withered.
Nowhere near the real Black Forest, but here is a fair imitation of the celebrated cake, at a very popular German bakery in Wentworth Falls.
Static and Silence 