city bingo (2): more humorous signs (2)

Took the ferry over to South Perth to investigate where I stayed 25 years ago, and walked past this restaurant/hotel, with a sign that says - 'The Windsor. It Just Sounds Fancy.' Love it.

life and times of Tony Abbott

In the circles in which I mix Tony Abbott has never been that popular. Was pointed at these biggest blunders and Shit Tony Abbott Says compilation videos almost as soon as I arrived in Australia. And my local pavement has been inscribed with 'Abbott Liar' for some time.* Now, with the more recent 'blunder' of giving a knighthood to Prince Phillip without asking anyone, Tony's position seems ever more wobbly - its just no-one quite wants to be responsible for the final push.

* Interestingly, the sections with this inscribed graffiti have been replaced since I took this picture: but of course the problem of using in-situ concrete and then leaving it to dry is that miscreants have plenty of time to scrawl in wet cement - and have indeed written 'Abbott liar' all over again. 

no labels but lots of logo

One of MONA’s deliberate anarchies is to not label the work. Instead if you want you can hook up with iPods and/or headphones (the O guide) and learn about the art as you go; from a series of different voices, including Walsh’s own reasons for buying a piece. However, the project is supported by a large amount of written material – Monanisms, the catalogue for the opening show; the Making of MONA about the whole project; and David Walsh’s memoir A Bone of Fact. We may not be given ‘proper’ art-gallery-type instructions about how to read the art (who made it, when, what out of, where and in what context) but there is a tremendous amount of post-modern, post-everything ‘stuff’ which surrounds the collection, infused by all the irony, partiality, cleverness, and witty asides one has come to expect. How long this will seem ‘on-trend’ rather than deeply dated waits to be seen.

...and dressing up

The other side of being comfortable in small amounts of miscellaneous causal wear is an enthusiasm for proper dressing up. As far as I can tell, this is of two basic sorts: smart casual and fancy dress. The first – at the risk of sounding unfairly derogatory - tends to 80s disco and the kind of blingy dressiness that people in the North East of England do very well. The second is the propensity to use any occasion to party in a costume; starting with party hats and getting more and more outrageous as required (for example, playing bowls dressed as characters from superhero films). Or not just being Father Christmas in the pub, but also some Christmas parcels.

city bingo 2: humorous signage

Humorous names for shops, products and businesses abound here; and not based on subtlety either*. The photo shows one of my favourite examples - although the fresh fish fillet brand called 'the one that got away' also appeals. A new local fish and chip shop (chipper) is about to open in Coogee and has a facebook competition for its naming. So looking forward to that.

And whilst I am at it, this seems a good moment to mention the drop bear. Not only for the creature itself but also its fine entry on Uncyclopedia ('the content-free encyclopedia') under the heading "this article may be Overtly Australian. Pommies may not understand funny stuff, only humour. Cannucks and Yanks may not understand anything at all. Don't change a thing and she'll be right, mate!"


* I am not alone in noting the application of Australian humour to signs - as always buzzfeed has got there first with a list and photos.