Greek Orthodox Church

When I mention something Greek, that means it’s another Paniyiri-related post. This time I’m going to bring you inside a Greek Orthodox church in Brisbane. As Paniyiri was held in West End, so does the church.

I’m not sure where to begin but yeah, this a typical Greek Orthodox church architecture. Definitely, I’m learning something new here because my faith is similar to a certain extent but different church.

This is the entrance of the church from the festival. I took from inside the compound. There were ladies selling cross and rosary (the Greek version, of course). You can also see the huts erected for the festival. In the background, it’s Brisbane’s skyline.

Now, let’s take a look inside.

My first impression, this is one colourful church. You’ll find similar decoration in all Greek Orthodox church worldwide. Before you enter the hall, there are candles for you to lit. You must pay for that candle.

When the priest started his oration, he can go on and on like in the Protestant church. That’s why they keep a clock inside. If you started to get bored, well, there’s the exit.

The priest is also allowed to marry. But most probably he gets married after he became a priest. Not that there’s no chance, it’s just rare.

Imagine how many days it took complete painting the whole church? How many litres of paint were used?

Now, I’m taking you to second floor. Somehow the upper level reminds me of the Denpasar’s Bishop House – not that I’m a regular visitor but if you’ve ever been to the morning mass at that place, I feel similarities.

In the altar, there are some areas where attendees are not allowed to enter. Some part of the altar is also closed unlike the Catholic church. Holy Communion is provided though.

The bench reminds me of Kepundung Church, haven’t been there in ages – ever since Cathedral opens (which the construction never finished).

So does this church recognises Saints? They don’t have choir during service but oddly enough, later in the afternoon they have choir performance at the church.

Anyway, if there’s any information that’s wrong about this feel free to correct me. Russian Orthodox church next, anyone? 🙂

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Smith’s State of Origin special edition

I’m not going to talk about State of Origin match here but rather some special edition of Smith’s potato chips that is only available during the State of Origin season.

On the Friday before Origin Game 1, Coles advertised on the Courier-Mail about their latest grocery promo. Three packs of Smith’s 175g potato chips cost only $5 till Wednesday (which is SOO Game 1).

I was curious about this special flavour and tried to locate it Coles Central at Myer Centre but to no avail. If it can’t be found at Myer Centre, I didn’t expect to find it at Coles Central QueensPlaza either. Did I fall for Coles advertising gimmick? You decide.

Last week after my grocery shopping at the Saturdays West End Market at Davies Park, I went to Coles Mollison St (West End) just to buy prepacked food not available at the market. Then I came across these boxes of Smith’s SOO special edition besides the frozen food area.

I forgot to mention earlier that this special edition is only available at Coles. The packaging shows two colours, blue (NSW) and maroon (Qld – my current state). It’s pizza flavour as it turned out to be. I thought it was some special flavour. But then again, do you expect pavlova or lamington flavour for your potato chip?

As the theme of this potato chips is State of Origin, does anyone living in Albury-Wodonga or Ballarat or any other place outside NSW and Qld able to locate this at your local Coles?

It tastes quite similar to pizza-flavoured potato chips that I had tasted a few years ago. That was back in Singapore, usually I bought it either at Cheers or 7-Eleven (well, as an alternative to Lay’s sour cream & onion or Polar puffs or Pokka Lemon Tea). I forget the name but it was Japanese brand.

By the way, it’s a mystery I never figure out. Why isn’t there any Lay’s potato chips sold in Australia? Is this the same case as Burger King branded as Hungry Jack’s in Australia?

Going Greek for lunch

Last weekend was Paniyiri, Brisbane’s Greek festival. Greek as in the people from Greece, not geek as in IT nerds (pardon me). Last year due to a series of unfortunate event (sore throat), I didn’t go to Paniyiri.

Anyway, this is my last post before I’m on my study assignment break next week. I’ll be back earliest by 3 June.

I’m not going to focus on my whole experience at Paniyiri as it will take so much time. I promise I’ll write that down as soon as I’m back from doing assignment. So, this post will focus on what I ate during Paniyiri.

1. Sweet honey puffs

It’s one of the must-try food at Paniyiri. Honey is poured on top of the puffs. If you remember my post on Fieritalia last year (go find that in this blog), I ate something quite similar to this. Was it called gnocchi? Anyway, I also forget the Greek name for this honey puff. Small plate costed me $5, bigger plate $7.

2. Haloumi Wrap

Another must-try at Paniyiri. I guess this is the Greek version for kebab. It consists of vegetables (tomato, onion, lettuce) and beef. Did they put mayonnaise or Greek yogurt inside? It costs me $8.

The Greeks used to be considered as lower-caste European migrants in Australia. But time certainly has changed. The guy who served me when I bought those two things used the word ‘Mate’.

Paniyiri celebrates 35 years of Greek-iness (if there’s such a word) in Brisbane this year. Definitely I’ll visit Paniyiri again next year. If you’ve missed out, there are many Greek restaurants in West End. If you live in my hometown (Denpasar), there is this Greek restaurant called Mykonos in Seminyak area – I’ve eaten there before and I like it (but my mother doesn’t, apparently she doesn’t like Greek food because she finds it weird).

Hope you have a great day. See you again when I come back from my bloodbath with assignments. 😀

A story from West End Library

Two weeks ago, I went to West End Library for the sake of borrowing a non-fiction book titled “Comic Art Propaganda”. Instead, I left the library borrowing one extra item, Donald Duck comic (there is nothing wrong with it, right?).

At the check-out terminal, a librarian with a FastBack book smiled and greeted me.

‘Hi, how are you doing?’
‘(I’m) Good’
‘That’s good.’

Now, now, don’t conclude that it’s the end of the story. After I got my borrowed items receipt, I quickly moved aside to let a woman queueing behind me to check-out her items. The friendly librarian also greeted the lady. Either the woman started the conversation or the librarian vent about her work.

The librarian job for the day was to remove all FastBack stickers on the no-longer-FastBack books property of Brisbane City Council allocated for West End Library. An example of FastBack book is given below.

George Negus’ The World from Down Under

There were two stacks of FastBack items with at least 20 books in one stack. Seems easy? Well, for the librarian she must not destroy the plastic cover. No chemical solvents used to speed up her work. And as any librarian would have known, shelve the books back. Not forget to mention, there are three stickers in each FastBack item; in front, on the side and at the back. Enjoy your work!

Oh, remember, each city council libraries’ books are always updated and that means every time a new item comes, a FastBack sticker will usually be given depending on demand.

This is just another library story brought to you by myself. Self-conclusion depends on you as the reader.

West End Library

The second post on libraries in Brisbane, this time we’re going south of the city to the Greek (and Vietnamese) suburb of West End. West End located not far away from the CBD as well as Cultural Centre in South Brisbane. You can walk from the Brisbane Square Library to West End or take the CityGlider (remember, free trial of this service has ended since midnight).

The building of West End Library has quite a history. It is named Kurilpa Library. It has a mini clock tower, quite comparable to City Hall. The name of the building, however should not be confused with Kurilpa Bridge connecting just outside Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) and Santos building.

West End Library is managed by the Brisbane City Council. So far, it is the smallest City Council library that I had ever visited. Since it is small, expect the materials and collections in this library to be cramped. I dare say my comfy bedroom in my hometown is less cramped than this library (my bedroom is definitely small one).

Despite the small size, I frequently visit this library because it often has the materials that I want (DVDs, graphic novels and comics). There is a computer for internet connection (notice the word ‘is’ is used rather than ‘are’). It also has community languages materials (Greek and Vietnamese) since West End is a Greek and Vietnamese suburb (you can find plenty of Greek and Vietnamese restaurants here).

The library staff is friendly and helpful. But watch out when they are shelving returned materials, you won’t have enough space to browse through this library.

If you wish to return your borrowed items after hours, you may go to the back of the building where a bookdrop is located.

West End Library
178-180 Boundary Street, West End Queensland 4101

Wed, Fri: 10am-5pm
Thu: 10am-7pm
Sat: 9am-1pm
Closed on Monday, Tuesday, Sunday and public holiday