Cardboard? Crikey…

Apologies as have been a bit busy this week to keep the blog updated…gonna be hectic over the next couple of days also so sadly this is your lot for the week. It’s quite a good one though ‘cos it features another cardboard cut-out (see here, here, here and here).

This is the not-so much wondering Pollster stood by his cardboard cut-out of none other than the legend that is Steve Irwin! I’m guessing quite a few of you have heard of our Steve, aka the ‘Crocodile Hunter’, wildlife documentary presenter extraordinaire who during his lifetime did a grand job of spreading word of Australia’s special wildlife around the world. His legacy is the Australia Zoo, located north of Brisbane in Queensland, where this cardboard cut-out can be found.

I’m sure Steve would be the first to say good on ya to the Wondering Poll for the myriad of statue photos that he has provided this website during the last year and a half while he’s been travelling around the world…I do believe he arrives back here in the UK later on this evening. So, yeah, good on ya mate, I’m gonna be publishing your pics for a good while yet…

An Oversized Old Man…

Many thanks to Kya for tonight’s stunning statue. A pretty darn fine spot of imitation as well! This is ‘Old Man River’, an 18-foot 17 stone marble statue, which resides beside the Mississippi river near the French Quarter in New Orleans, and was created by Robert Schoen. It’s great to feature a monument from the Big Easy as well, one of my most favourite cities in the world…

I do love receiving your statue imitation photos, as they tend to be loads more exciting than any of the efforts we come up with. Please feel free to email any suitable photos you have by clicking on the email link or my profile just to the right there, and I’ll get them on the site as soon as. Thansk again Kya...

Aboriginal Antics…

Tonight’s statue offerings come from the William Ricketts Sanctuary, which is located near the Dandenong Ranges, a gorgeous mountainous tree and fern filled area an hour east of Melbourne, Victoria.



Nestled within all the trees and ferns at the Sanctuary is this slightly bizarre collection of aboriginal sculptures, the results of a lifetimes work by the Australian artist William Ricketts.



Bill Ricketts was inspired by the traditions and culture of the aboriginal people, and he made frequent trips to stay with various tribes.



It was an interesting walk around to see his work anyway, and for a pair of statue connoisseurs by the name of John, there were plenty of imitation opportunities. I’ve added a few more regular photos below, as it really was quite strange seeing all these artifacts nestled in among the trees …

Roma Recollections…

Around this time last year, I was sat on this bench in sunny Adelaide, attempting to imitate (not very well I have to add) the honourable Dame Roma Mitchell!

*sigh*

Once again, Uncle Wiki describes her feats far better than I ever could, but, in short, she is famous for being the first woman governor of an Australian state, that of South Australia, where Adelaide is situates.

Digging the Duke…

A long overdue thank you to Karen (whom I’m guessing is on the left up there!) for sending tonight’s statue in. This man is Duke Kahanamoku, and he’s one of the most famous athletes from the islands of Hawaii.

He made his name first of all by winning a load of medals in the swimming pool at the 1920 and 1924* Olympic Games. He also took a gold in the 1932 Olympics as part of the US water polo team. He is generally regarded as the person who popularised the modern sport of surfing, such was his prowess with a board as he travelled around Australia and the United States performing swimming and surfing exhibitions. He starred as an extra and character actor in a number of Hollywood films (starring alongside John Wayne amongst others). He moved back to his homeland of Honolulu, where he was elected the county sheriff and continued to fulfil this role for a further 13 terms. He’s also been inducted in to the US Olympic Hall of Fame and has featured on a US postal stamp, amongst other achievements.

That’s quite some resume right there eh?! What a dude, and indeed a complete legend. Very much worthy of this fine statue, which is found on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu. Thanks again Karen for bringing the Duke to our attention.

* Funnily enough, he was pipped to second place in the 1924 Olympic 100 metres freestyle by Johnny Weissmuller, another multi-talented sporting and acting dude. Must have been some race that one!

Props to Philip…

Ahem, sorry for going AWOL again. Combination of a few internet problems here, a few days off on holiday and Easter. Anyways, thank you for your patience, and I shall continue to get back on the statue case this week and beyond…

Anyway, this chap is Phillipo IV, who stands at the entrance to one of the many churches in Rome. Indeed, good old Uncle Wikipedia reveals that the church is the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, and the statue is a Mr Philip IV of Spain, who was king of in the 1600s and a benefactor to the church. As ever, it’s much fun to imitate a statue with props.

Elephant Antics…

Not much time tonight so just thought I’d post a quick elephant! This creature resides just outside the natural history museum in Vienna. First elephant statue we’ve had on the site actually…..we need more!

Oodnadatta Oddness...

If you take a journey down the Oodnadatta Track, which is a very long dirt track that passes through the barren deserts of South Australia, then somewhere along the way you will encounter this bizarre selection of bush sculpture. There were a couple of upturned planes above, and, my favourite, this big dog below.



Big dog was a bit tricky to imitate (damn that sand was hot!) but you can just about make it out in the distance there.

Having travelled for hours and hours on the bumpy dirt track to suddenly encounter these things, in fifty-degree heat, it was all a little on the surreal side really!

Trevi Take Two…

Having posted about the Trevi Fountains a few days back, I’ve just discovered another picture in the statue archives of said monument. Given that I received this one in January 2005 when I started this site, it only seems reasonable to publish it now! Ahem.

Much kudos and thanks, with a side helping of apologies to a Mr David Wood who sent it in (although I wasn't completely rude as I did publish one of his pics in February 2005, and then another one in September 2006). This one features his friend Chris.

Like I have always said, keep sending me your lovely statue imitation photos and I promise they will get published eventually (some time this century)!

Headless Hombre...

In the nineteen posts that I’ve made so far this year, travelling hobo Mr Poll has featured in ten of them, and so it only seems fair to post another given that it’s his birthday today…

The Roman Forum is a pretty stunning mix of ancient buildings near the Coliseum in the centre of Rome. Overlooking it is Palatine Hill, where you may well stumble upon this monument. Not quite sure who it is sadly, but I can tell you that he’s got no head!

Bringing back beautiful memories of Parnu, this is one Pollster’s better imitations it has to be said. Happy birthday out there old chap…I believe he’s just arrived in Egypt. Plenty of statues there dontcha know!

Stand By Your Sign?

Given that we’re in Australia, I may as well stick around this evening. This picture is about as Australian as you can get, what with it featuring Uluru and a kangaroo. It also features a pair of halfwits by the name of John.

A Flinders Fable…

Given that we’ve travelled from Rome to Hong Kong this week lets continue this mission onwards to Australia once again. Circumnavigating the globe in a week to bring you the statues of the world, oh yes.

Anyway, this is Matthew Flinders, and this statue can be found in Adelaide, South Australia. He is from the Captain Cook School of exploration, and was famous for being the first person to circumnavigate and map the coastline of Australia, including the Southern coast, on which Adelaide is located, for the first time. To say that there are a few things in Australia are named after Flinders would be quite a heroic understatement, to say the least, so he must be fairly well thought of for his achievements, which included being taken prisoner for six years on his journey back to the UK. He must have undertaken some pretty interesting expeditions that’s for sure.



Captain Poll, who has been doing a pretty fine job himself of circumnavigating the globe and currently resides in Petra, once again performs admirable imitation duties.

Odd Animals In Ocean Park…

As last night’s Hong Kong statues were taken way back at the back-end of 2006, it only seems good, albeit somewhat belated, manners to post a couple of more from that particular trip! These animals reside at Ocean Park, which is Hong Kong’s version of a huge great swimming pool and water rides complex. Muchos thanks to Sarah for sending the pix in, and thanks loads to her travelling friend Sue, for a particularly impressive hippo, above, and for tackling a pair of zebras below.

This continues a random series of posting slightly bizarre plastic animal statues from the Far East…

The Tian Tan Buddha…

I’m going to take a break from posting pictures of statues and blokes called John this evening, and travel to the Far East to an island just off Hong Kong. You can take a ferry from HK to Lantau Island, where you will stumble upon the Po Lin Monastery.

The biggest Buddha statue in the world resides here, the Tian Tan Buddha, featuring friend Sarah, below. Commendable imitation plaudits must be attributed to her travelling companion Sue, above, on one of the (more manageable) statues at the foot of the Buddha. This is a statue offering praise and gifts to the giant Tian Tan herself.



I’ve been fortunate enough to have visited the island myself, and the whole monastery area was a very peaceful one to walk around. For all travelling (VdP?!) and, indeed, non-travelling people out there, I have it on good authority that this Traveller IQ Challenge is quite a useful time waster….you have been warned.

Emulating Emperors…

I seem to recall talking about the veritable statue bounty that you encounter on a trip to the Vatican Museums. Well, here’s some more. This is a pair of Roman Emperors. Sadly I was unable to jot the name down of the above, but below we find Emperor Titus.



Just to wrap up my photos, and so, until someone next sends in pictures from the Vatican, here are a few other random sculptures from the museum.







And this one best describes the look on your face having spent a few hours here facing a monumental (over) load of ancient artefacts, paintings, maps, sculptures, busts, statues, ornaments, ceiling art…