Wednesday, July 28, 2010

A Milestone.......is it all down hill now?

 

The week beginning 19th July 2010 was busier than most for us.

Monday we were invited to Wilbur's CafeBar for the tribute to James Savoulidis.

All the information on this event can be found Wilbur's CafeBar.

 

Sunset from front verandah.

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Thursday 22 July was the Big day

 

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We celebrated with a family dinner.

Where? you might ask.

Well it had to be Wilbur's.

Surf and Turf Skewers.

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Quesadillas.

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I forgot to photograph the Chicken Schnitzel,Steak, Fish & Chips and Oysters Kilpatrick.....

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Friday afternoon we flew to Sydney for a weekend at Rydges World Square.

We were lucky enough to be upgraded to the Bellerive Suite, and this was waiting for us....

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Outdoor Area

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My diet was out the window for the entire weekend in Sydney.

I will devote a blog tomorrow to Food at Rydges World Square

 

LP

Horns....Size is Relative.

 

This Kudu was snapped on the Lower Sabie - Tshokwane road in September 2005.

Can't give exact location, because we didn't start documenting sightings and locations until 2007.

We have had a lot of luck with sightings on this road since 2005.

An abundance of both horned and unhorned animals have shown themself to us.

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One of the best set of horns we have seen.

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Horns in all shapes and sizes. These were taken 2009 in northern KNP.

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Pointy horns in WCNP.

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Tiny horns and massive caps KNP and WCNP

 

Slightly out of shape horns and beautifully curved horns.Horns to lock as well.

 

Furry horns and hard to find horns.

 

Magnificent Rhino horn.....lets hope it stays attached to the rhino.......

 

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LP

Monday, July 26, 2010

Gentleman Jim.

 

Taken from The Canberra Times Saturday July 17th

Honour for pizza pioneer

THE distinguished restaurateur known as "Gentleman Jim", described as the first to bring pizza to Canberra, will be honoured with the unveiling of his portrait on Monday. James Savoulidis of the local Greek community, known in Canberra as the founder of Plaka restaurant, has been painted by artist Peter Engel. The portrait is to be unveiled at Wilbur's Cafe Bar in Hackett. Savoulidis, born in Greece, grew up during the Great Depression and was in 1938 sent to Australia by parents who wanted a better life for him. In 1959 he settled in· Canberra and opened a number of businesses in the city starting with the Mondial Nightclub in East Row. During the '60s he helped many Greek families who had migrated to Australia to get established. In 1971 he established the Plaka restaurant in Mawson where Gough Whitlam was a regular patron. He taught Whitlam to dance the Zorba. Engel's previous portraits include that of former Commonwealth ombudsman Professor John McMillan, journalist Virginia Haussegger, former politician Kerrie Tucker and Colin Slater of Sing Australia.

 

We were lucky enough to be invited to the above unveiling on Monday 19th July.

We have known the Savoulidis family since early 1989, and they are more family than friend to us.

The following photos, newspaper clippings and some of the words from the artist, make up our tribute to Gentleman Jim and his Family.

 

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  James Savoulidis

 

James & Helen-----Vicky Savoulidis & David Pring-------Lorraine Pring & Vicky Savoulidis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pic 3-----Nasi Savoulidis

 

  James Savoulidis-----Steve Stavros Savoulidis

Pic 2----Crystal, Stavros & Eleni Savoulidis Pic 3 Artist Peter Engel

Speech by artist Peter Engel

Good evening everyone - I'm Peter Engel, the artist and I would like to welcome you to the unveiling of the portrait of James Savoulidis. A special welcome of course to James and his wife Helen, their children Steve, Arthur and Andrew. Vicky and Geraldine and children.

The purpose of the portrait is to pay tribute in a small way to the life and achievements of James but in the process to have some fun. While James is the subject of the painting, he has not seen it nor has any members of his family! So this is very much a high stakes game for James and me. As an amateur artist I could quite easily get this very wrong - seriously as I have said at previous unveilings, 'failure is well within my reach!' This is either going to be a great hit and I will be a friend of the family for life, or I'll have to find somewhere else to have my coffee in the mornings. So there is a fair degree of anticipation and anxiety tonight!

Before I say a few words about James and the portrait, I want to just restate my artistic objectives. For the past few years I've painting Canberra identities as part of a series. So far they include the former Commonwealth Ombudsman, Professor John McMillan, Virginia Haussegger, Ron Cahill the former ACT Chief Magistrate, former politician Kerrie Tucker and Colin Slater from Sing Australia. John was the first major portrait I undertook and he has been at all of the unveilings since then and he is here again tonight -thankyou John. Colin is also here tonight – welcome Colin

All of these people have made a contribution to the Canberra Community in some way or another and so too has James Savoulidis. He has contributed significantly to the Greek community in Canberra but also to the wider community via the numerous restaurants he has established including the Plaka where he came to know many of the politicians of the time including Gough Whitlam who he taught how to do the Zorba. He also established the Mondial Night Club in East row and was the first restaurateur to bring pizza to Canberra with the Pizzeria in Garema Place in the early 60s. These businesses were some of the first beginnings of a much more diverse cultural and culinary landscape in Canberra that we enjoy today.

To be an innovator and to be the first to achieve something in any field of endeavour says a lot about Jim. Obviously he was a risk taker, with entrepreneurial spirit and strong self belief. These attributes he has obviously passed on to his 3 sons with the most recent example being the establishment of this fantastic facility. Not only has he been successful professionally, in partnership with his wife Helen he has been successful in marriage and in raising a family and forming an extended network of friends. He is unassuming and has obviously dealt well with people over the years earning him the nickname 'Gentleman Jim'.

He was sent to Australia by his parents when he was just 18 in the hope that it would provide a better life for him. I think we can definitely say that his parents' wishes have been fulfilled.

So how to translate all this into this portrait. The main objective with any portrait is to peel off the outer layers that we all have to protect ourselves and show something of the inner being. I hope I have done that with this painting. It's very informal and shows Jim at his most relaxed. I hope it shows a balance of the determination and commitment and entrepreneurial spirit but tempered by a sense of contentment he must now feel in having achieved so much in his life.

So here we go, and remember the strength of your applause will indicate how successful the painting is!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Article taken from Canberra City Chronicle 20th July 2010 scan0011

Further photographs can be found  Wilbur's Facebook Page and Lorraine Pring "Live Album"

 

LP

Thursday, July 22, 2010

SILHOUETTE.

 

 

Pronunciation:/ˌsɪlʊˈɛt/

noun
  • the dark shape and outline of someone or something visible in restricted light against a brighter background

  • a representation of someone or something showing the shape and outline only, typically coloured in solid black

verb
[with object]
  • cast or show (someone or something) as a dark shape and outline against a brighter background

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Giraffes, birds and sunsets seemed the most appropriate for my silhouette series.

The majority of these photos were taken near Satara Camp in Kruger National Park.

All were taken in September 2005.

This photo is one of my favourites

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LP