Monday 23^rd July

We were hoping to go on a guided tour through one of the oyster factories, however the minimum number of interested people was not reached and so it didn’t go ahead. More the pity as I would liked to have seen a professional “shuck” some oysters, enabling me to have less cuts on my hands when doing it myself.

As our interest was in something seafood, we found another outlet and purchased our lunch – these oysters had already been opened thank goodness.  You can see how Bob fared after this lovely feast.

Later in the day we took a walk along the esplanade where the statue of Makybe Diva sits well in front of the water, so we paused to marvel at the achievements of this horse, trainer and jockey.

Across the road we found the Civic Centre in which is housed a craft shop, an exhibition space and theatre.  There is currently an exhibition with only two items on display by Patricia Piccinini. The first one is named the Lovers and the mediums used are fibreglass, automotive paint, leather and scooter parts. This sculpture cleverly mixes the appearance and features of animal and machine. Two Vespas are transformed into deer coupled together in a tender embrace.

The second sculpture is named Big Mother and is created from silicon, fibreglass, leather and human hair.  The inspiration for this work arose from the artist hearing a true story based on a female baboon whose baby died while still nursing.  The primate mother, overwhelmed by grief, abducted a human child as a substitute. The child was recovered unharmed.