Day 123: ...begins...
May. It is an interesting month. We are approaching the halfway point of the year already, those promises one made to oneself back in January (which doesn't seem all that far away, but really is now) have to begin to come to fruition, or...they fade to become next year's resolutions. Perhaps it is because so much of my working life has been governed by timetables, semesters and the like. Anyway, May will be the month for more writing, after this weekend.
In Japan, today was Constitution Day, a public holiday to recognise promulgation of the post World War Two constitution in 1947. It is sometimes called the peace constitution because of Article 9, which forbids the maintenance of armed forces and the right to declare war on other states. People in my corner of International Relations hold onto this...in Japan, it tends to signify the end of 'Golden Week', a week of coincident public holidays from the end of April which effectively gives everyone ten days off, depending on where the weekends fall.
In Brisbane, and sort of related, we have celebrated Buddha's Birthday at South Bank now for some years. For a week or so leading up to this weekend, the riverside space is festooned with lanterns and members of various communities to celebrate Buddhism. It is another lively use of the space.
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| Lanterns by the river |
On my way to a concert tonight I took a stroll along the river to capture some of the atmosphere. I've not thought to look at the Tibetan temple from this angle before...sort of captures all that is today's Brisbane.
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| Tibetan Temple |
Tomorrow is the May Day march...we used to have a public holiday on Monday for this purpose but it is not the remit of the present government here in Queensland to believe this is required. Funny how different governments take different approaches to days of historical significance.
[Camera : iPhone 4S, 7.14pm, 7.15pm]
