Fremantlebiz - Paul's Letter from Australia

Fremantle on a quiet Saturday afternoon

We had a few excuses to go into Fremantle yesterday. The main on was that the "back to school" specials at Officeworks were beckoning. My wife had a list issued by the local primary school for things which will be needed by our youngest daughter. The primary school is a sort of black hole for stationary. So much of this sort of stuff has gone there over the years, never to be seen again.

The second excuse was that son number four and his girlfriend had come up from Wagin to attend a wedding in Fremantle. She was to be one of the bridesmaids. The church was the Catholic Saint Patrick's Basilica. We wanted to take a look at the bridal party arriving in their limo.

We parked at Officeworks' free car park and walked to the church about half a kilometre away. Our timing was pretty good. The invited guests were just starting to enter the church. We waited outside and the limo turned up about ten minutes later. I've put online a picture I took of the old building yesterday. Click here to see it. You might get the impression that parts of Fremantle can be rather quiet on Saturday afternoons.

We'd heard on the grapevine there had been a bit of icy feeling between the families of the bride and groom. I had my camera in case there was a brawl. Unfortunately there wasn't. But I did take some very nice pics of the group which I'll pass on to my son's girlfriend. The bride and groom had engaged professional photographers for the real action, both still and video.

We'd also gathered on the grapevine that these extras plus the usual trimmings had added up to a sizable sum. I'd guess around $20k, which might have been why the bride's father was looking a bit grim faced. Aside from my son's girlfriend, the other two bridesmaids were his daughters - his unmarried daughters. There's a lot to be said for registry office weddings.

After watching the wedding party enter the house of God, an old crone with a bunch of keys glared at us, then shut and locked the front doors from the inside. That was okay by us because we weren't intending on going in. We were heading back to Officeworks.

On the way we called into an emporium of imported Bali niknackery which occupies a former wool store. This very large, multi-story brick building has long been a conspicuous feature of the port. The days for the Bali business are numbered. Marching orders have apparently been issued. The industrial heritage building is about to be converted into luxury dwellings.

My wife and I were after a small Bali-style table on which to place our drinks when we sit on the front verandah. We found one which was just right, square and made of cane with a glass top - $119.

We returned to Officeworks to get down to the serious business of buying school stationary - glue sticks, biros, rulers, calculators and exercise books. Over a hundred bucks worth.

When we got home it was time to test our Balinese table with a sundowner, except that with daylight saving now, the sun sets far too late to actually enjoy the pleasures of twilight relaxation.

© MMVIII Paul R. Weaver.

About the writer

Click here to see our backyard.

Check out each month's subject index on the Calendar Page for my "common-man" monologues about survival in 21st century Australia – plus a little history occasionally. An original essay is added most days as part of an undertaking to write at least couple of million words. Zzzzzzzz!

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