bilateral kellerberrin

Jo gave me a photograph. The photo is of the front of the bank. It is a sunny day. It must be about midday, or early afternoon, as the shadows are quite vertical. I guess Jo must have taken this photo some years ago, since the bin outside the bank is not painted blue like the bins in my photos. It’s still “wood” colour. Nobody is in the photo. But parked right outside the door of the bank, on the step, neatly placed, is a pair of old Blundstone boots.

Jo told me that this photo is a “reconstruction.” She had observed this scene one day when driving past the bank, but didn’t have her camera. So she returned on a Sunday and set it up for the shot. You can tell the bank is shut because the “a-frame” sign advertising the latest interest rates is parked just inside the glass door.

Apparently, this is quite a common sight. Farmers park their mucky boots outside shops, offices, and their own homes to keep the gunk off the carpet. I must say, I haven’t observed the boot-parking phenomenon myself.

I was, however, impressed with the home made boot-cleaner that they have at the entrance to the council chambers. It’s constructed from three large wooden scrubbing brushes mounted in a wooden framework to create a kind of “U” shape about the width and depth of a boot. In this way, you can lower your boot (still on your foot) into the device and move it back and forth. The bristles will presumably remove any loose particles of mud or dirt on the sole and sides.

I didn’t stray very far from home yesterday. I put some washing through, chatted with Jo for a while, and then tackled a book review I had agreed to write for a magazine. The book was about West Space, an artist-run gallery in Melbourne, celebrating ten years of its survival. I hid myself away, read the book, wrote the review, and went to bed.

The craft barn is a pigsty. I still haven’t put everything away since Thursday’s workshop at Cunderdin, and there are drink coasters all over the place. I have to snip all the corners off the drink coasters to make them “rounded” instead of square. Bob at Foil Print in Cunderdin hasn’t got the facilities for rounded cutting, so I am doing them by hand, with scissors! It’s time consuming, but enjoyably brainless…