Sunday morning walk to croquet

St John's Church in Halifax Street.

This morning was one of those beautiful Adelaide mornings.  As I ambled from home to the South Parklands, it was a mild 21 degrees, with a gentle breeze. Magic.

St John's Rectory

Street verges plant to roses, lavender and shrubs.

A pleasant place for a rest along the way.

Past interesting homes.

Home of the French Consul in Adelaide

A beautiful home and grounds

St Corantyn, built in 1891 by Charles Hornabrook.
The home was also owned by Sir John Lavington Boynthon for many years.

Ochiltree House, built in 1882 for John Rounsevell.
The home reflects a Victorian Italianate style with a French influence in the mansard roof.

South Terrace Croquet Club

 And my destination, the South Terrace Croquet Club.  What a lovely relaxed way to spend a Sunday morning.

Perhaps in a future post I'll let you in on the hidden pleasures of croquet.

Vigil against terror

Last night I joined about 500 people at a vigil to mourn the killing of 130 and the injuring of many more people in Paris by terrorists. We gathered on a warm evening at the soldier's memorial park in Unley -  a gentle, peaceful part of the world.

Premier Jay Weatherill and French Ambassador Christophe LeCourtier

We were joined by French expats, the Premier Jay Weatherill, French Ambassador to Australia, Christophe LeCourtier, Governor Hieu Van Le, heads of Christian churches, representatives of the Islamic community in South Australia, and by senior Chinese officials.

Mayor of Unley, Lachlan Clyne

Gisele Blanchard, French expat living in Adelaide, sings the French and Australian National Anthems.

People signing the book of condolence and placing flowers and wreaths.

In multi-culturally diverse Adelaide, where Muslims came to call South Australia home as early as the 19th Century and where the oldest Mosque in Australia stands, where our Governor, himself a Vietnamese refugee, pulled from his childhood memories and sang the words of La Marseillaise, we stood for the values of diversity, tolerance and freedom.

We also stood for the innocents killed in Lebanon and the many thousands of Muslims killed by ISIS terrorists in Syria and elsewhere.  We stood for those impacted by and fleeing from ISIS terror; Muslims, Christians and Jews alike.

I don't know what the answers are. Do we go down the non-violence path preached by Ghandi and Martin Luther King Junior or do we attack ISIS with added force? I'm not sure how the philosophies of Ghandi and Martin Luther King would have stopped previous despots like Hitler or Pol Pot, so perhaps some degree of force to combat this madness is inevitable but there must be a political solution at some point.  I desperately hope our world leaders have the wisdom and capacity to bring this terror to an end soon.

What a ham! #ThePopeyeMurder

The beauty of hand-made #glass. #MegCaslake #DavidPedler

There is something very beautiful about hand-made glass.  These beautiful pieces were given to me by a dear friend who knew I coveted them.  The sugar bowl, milk jug and salt bowl are made by Adelaide glass artist Meg Caslake who collaborates with ceramic artist David Pedler.  They have a hot glass studio at Uraidla in the Adelaide hills and a ceramics studio at Moonta.  Both have either worked at the Jam Factory or exhibited there.  Their work is also available through art images gallery and Kirra Galleries

The colour changes depending on the light

via art images gallery

Some of Meg's other works have a nautical feel.

via art images gallery

Via art images gallery

I have some other favourite pieces.  This orange paperweight was designed and made by Mel Traler.

A few years ago I picked up these venetian glass pieces from a glass factory on the Island of Murano near Venice.

This light-catching bowl was designed by Anna Ehrner and made at the famous Kosta Boda factory in Sweden.

Just a few of my favourite things that brighten-up the day.

Martinsell Estate, Pewsey Vale #Barossa Valley - for sale

This weekend there is a lot of local media around the sale of this Georgian style home at Pewsey Vale in the Barossa Valley, under an hours drive from Adelaide.  The interest stems from Martinsell Estate being a beautiful home in one of the great wine growing regions in the world and the parochial fact that it is the former home of the late Sir Alick and Lady Mary Downer, the parents of Alexander Downer the former Foreign Minister of Australia between 1996 and 2007. Alick died some years ago but Mary only died earlier this year.  In an interesting twist of fate, Alexander Downer is now the High Commissioner in London, a job his father Alick occupied when Alexander was a child. But given Alexander is living in London, they have decided to sell the estate.

The home is set on 77 acres. The property comprises the main house of 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms, a 3 bedroom cottage, 12 acres of sauvignon blanc vines and extensive gardens.

Alexander's wife Nicky in the library of the main house. Photo via The Advertiser

The house is decorated  more in keeping with the fashions of the 1950s than today's. Nonetheless, the home is elegant and tasteful.

The kitchen and bathrooms look largely original, or at least little has been done to them since the 1950s. But very clean.

There are a number of outbuildings, including an old apple packing shed, which could be used for shindigs.

photos from realestate.com.au

Wondering where the name Martinsell Estate came from, I found that Pewsey Vale is named after the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire, England and Martinsell is a large hill on the outskirts of Pewsey. So there you go, learned something new.

The estate agents believe 55 Wirra Wirra Road Pewsey Vale could sell for as much as $2million.