Crazy bed of silvery dreams
The steps of St Canice’s Catholic church on Roslyn Street, Elizabeth Bay, are opened up for people, without a home, to sleep on, but they’re cleared on Sundays to make way for civilian church lovers.
The people who make camp there often have pretty involved bedding, including mattresses and privacy screens, but this takes the cake.
It’s a double bed made from multiple layers of wine-box-bladders. It’s bound together with gaffer tape and has bladders above and below a central wooden plate. Looks like they made some effort to make a pillow end, though I can’t explain the bits of pole sticking up.
Our first thoughts were, “Oh look, someone stayed up all night making a bed.” But we realised it would take either some planning to save all those bladders or some amazing luck to stumble across them just when you wanted a bed. Either way an amazing Darlinghurst project.
This is a guest post by Mook Simpson, the blogger and artist behind the ace This Is For That blog.
This may have been the work of some crafty Irish backpackers.
Around 3pm on Saturday the 3rd of July:
While eating a burrito in rushcutters bay park, near reg bartley, a passing man walking his dog was enthusiastically telling his friend that a bunch of people had made a boat out of goon sacks (wine-box-bladders). I went over to have a look and i saw about 20 people of with British and Irish accents crowding around this boat made of goon sacks. They were all in a jovial mood and one of them was holding a sign proclaiming the boat to be named the ‘HMAS Gooncraft’.
http://i29.tinypic.com/6r6pau.jpg
The raft was thrown in the water and three Irishmen gingerly boarded the boat, all seemingly surprised she stayed afloat. http://i31.tinypic.com/kci8sn.jpg
Then after demanding their comrades throw them their bottles of ‘Passion Pop’ (passion fruit flavoured sparkling wine), they started paddling with makeshift planks out towards Shark Island.
http://i28.tinypic.com/i39gqu.jpg
I returned home and was able to watch them on their journey, all the way to Shark Island.
The pole you see sticking up is the holder of the white flag they had mounted on the ‘HMAS Gooncraft’
Ben
9 Jul 10 at 5:08 pm
Another mystery solved!The bed theory didn’t stack up but now there’s a convincing replacement with photos. I feel much better. Thanks a lot.
mooksimpson
13 Jul 10 at 1:12 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0u0Wjf4AYk&sns=em
The real mystery is solved! Who said Backapckers weren’t sophisticated?
Brokepacker
2 Sep 10 at 10:07 pm
In a way the bed theory was right! On the way down to the launch we saw a lot of the homeless people napping on the church steps so after the Goon Raft was sailed we thought it would be nice to leave it on the steps as a bed for whoever needed it as it was nice and comfy! :)
P.s. Out of the 3 on board only the cabin boy was an irishman. The Captain and first mate are from Wigan (England)
Alex
3 Sep 10 at 1:44 pm