Canberra CityNews May 26 - June 1, 2011

Big march for climate action

THE Canberra Safe Climate Alliance, a group formed by 1 NGOs, will hold a major climate-change walk across Commonwealth Bridge to Parliament House on Sunday, June 5.

‘We are hoping to attract a really large Canberra crowd to walk across the bridge on that day,” says CSCA spokesman and chair of SEE-Change ACT, Prof Bob Douglas.

The walk will begin at 1.30 pm from Regatta Point, where there will be music and children’s activities.

Speakers at the rally will include former Liberal leader John Hewson, Richard Denniss, Bishop Pat Power, Linsey Cole, Gosta Lynga, Lin Hatfield Dodds and Phoebe Howe.

“This is part of a national day of action and there are events planned in all capital cities.

“The organising group is hoping that by emphasising the civilised and non-partisan nature of this event and the national debate about a carbon price, that people who have never attended demonstrations or rallies before will turn out for the symbolic walk across the bridge.

“We are hoping that the walk will be led by all of our parliamentarians and church leaders and that there will be very substantial support from university students in the various Canberra campuses.”

The alliance comprises Climate Action Canberra, Greenpeace, Australian Youth Climate Coalition, SEEChange ACT, Conservation Council ACT Region, ACT Environment Centre, Canberra Loves 40%, Climate Active Australia, ANU Environment Collective, Canberra Pedestrian Forum, Climate Whistleblowers, Healthy Soils Australia and GET-UP.

CSCA warns that time is running out for a safe climate future: “Climate experts are telling us that we must act now to avoid extreme weather events and catastrophic climate change, but our federal parliament is treating the subject as simply another political contest.

“A carbon price is essential, but Australia must also embark urgently on creating bas- load power using renewable energy, new land management practices to draw down carbon and a phase out of fossil fuel as our source of energy. This will create thousands of new jobs.”

Several events are planned in the lead up to the walk, including a presentation for SEE-Change at the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday, May 31 by Mark Spain on the feasibility of Australia reaching 100 per cent renewable energy targets by 2020.

‘Show and shine’, the American way

By Kathryn Vukovljak

A STATIC “show and shine” display of American cars will be open to the public at Exhibition Park on Sunday May 29, to raise funds for Snowy Hydro SouthCare rescue helicopter – and, subject to missions, the helicopter will fly in and be open for inspection on the day, too, according to Chris Smith, organiser and president of the American Car Club of Australia.

“There’ll be all sorts of makes, models and ages of US cars on display,” he says. “The BMW club and the GT Ford club will be there, among others, and there’ll be new, old, vintage cars – a great variety.

“And there’s entertainment for the kids, trade displays, food vendors, just a great day out.

“The chopper will be flying in at around 11am and staying til 1pm, as long as it’s available, and people will be able to chat to the crew and go inside.”

The Auto Spectacular will be hosted by the American Car Club of Australia, with commentary by Gordon “Pinky” Fellows, says Chris, and every cent raised will go to the SouthCare helicopter.

The helicopter is a critical tool for the medical care of people in the ACT and southeastern NSW, and has completed more than 4500 missions, says Chris – “you never know when you may need to depend on this service, it’s the fast medical help they provide that saves so many lives.

“SouthCare do a wonderful job. My own family has depended on them several times, so helping this charity is very personal for me.”

Kate van Haalen, media and communica -

Readers

turn away

AFTER registering sharp drops in circulation, the measure of actual copies sold, in the March quarter, “The Canberra Times” headache continues with some of the worst readership falls in the country.

Readership is the estimate of actual readers based on a rolling, 12-month average and the Saturday “Times” has slumped 13.7 per cent to 126,000 readers. The weekday edition was down 9.6 per cent to 85,000 and Sunday down 7.5 per cent to 86,000.

Editor: Ian Meikle, editor@citynews.com.au

Phone 6262 9100 Fax 6262 9111

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tions at Snowy Hydro SouthCare, says the organisation is extremely appreciative, and that no event is too big or too small to help them in their fundraising efforts.

“It’s great that people in the community are giving back to the Snowy Hydro SouthCare helicopter team, who continue to save lives,” she says.

Auto Spectacular entrants can arrive at EPIC, on Flemington Road, Mitchell, from 8am, says Chris, with a cost of $10 per car entrant. Members of the public are welcome from 10am-2.30pm with a gold coin donation.

More information from 0488 872277 (0488 US CARS)

Journalists: Kathryn Vukovljak, kathryn@citynews.com.au

Libby Rolfe, libby@citynews.com.au

Arts editor: Helen Musa, 0400 043764 helen@citynews.com.au

Design and photography: Silas Brown, 0412 718086

Graphic designer: Louise Brooks

Accounts manager: Bethany Freeman-Chandler accounts@citynews.com.au

Distribution and circulation: Richard Watson, circulation@citynews.com.au

Contributing photographer: Andrew Finch

Learning disaster by the book

By Eleri Harris

THIS year so far has been a bumper one for natural hazards, with floods and cyclones in Queensland, earthquakes in NZ and tsunamis and nuclear crisis in Japan.

Climate scientists predict the intensity of these events will only increase in the immediate future, requiring more and more expertise in trouble spots around the world.

But the ANU is here to help, with a Masters of Natural Hazards and Disasters now on offer.

That’s right. You can study tsunamis and earthquakes and volcano eruptions –and you don’t even need a science degree.

Now in its second year, graduates of the 12-month long program, initiated by former vice chancellor Ian Chubb, can hope to work in any number of areas relating to the monitoring, communication or risk-mitigation of natural hazards such as earthquakes, cyclones, floods and tsunamis.

Course co-ordinators Dr Sara Pozgay Rawlinson and Dr Doracie Zoleta-Nantes say the masters brings together staff and students from earth and social sciences looking at both the causes of natural hazards and the impacts on humans that make them disasters.

“Traditionally, these are very separate

Dr Doracie Zoleta-Nantes… “One aspect of disaster is management and risk and you need to mitigate them.”

areas at universities,” Dr Pozgay Rawlinson told “CityNews”.

“The formative idea is you have a bunch of earth scientists look at the hazard and do earthquake fall studies and tsunami modelling and stuff like that and then you have a bunch of social scientists who look at the aftermath and what’s happening with the nuclear power plant as it gets into the water and the effects on people.

“The idea is to combine these two areas because you can’t really have one without the other and so we created the program to really investigate both points of view.

“One of the things we focus on in the classes is how to evaluate what you’re really seeing in these events. It’s more com-

by Silas

prehension and understanding of what is accurate information.”

“The program is a collaboration, students need to know to take all these things into account,” Dr Zoleta-Nantes says.

“In our working environment we’re forced to just focus on whatever we have been mandated to do, so in the process we get this narrow-minded point of view.

“One aspect of disaster is management and risk and you need to mitigate them.

“Development can really be curtailed by these circumstances and it has to be incorporated into local planning and national policy.”

More information at http://naturalhazards.anu.edu.au/master/

STOP SMOKING IN 1 SESSION

Beanie and gone

WITH street art so often the victim of cruelty and vandalism, it was heartwarming for snapper SILAS BROWN to see, one recent cold morning, that some kind soul had gone to the trouble to pop a warm beanie on the head of the little fellow half way up the stairs in the much-abused piece in Petrie Plaza.

The next time he passed, alas, it had gone. The beanie, not the little guy.

Designs on better world

By Eleri Harris CANBERRA Landscape Architects

put on their sustainability hats last week at a seminar and workshop entitled “Designed for Change: Creating Adaptable Urban Place”.

Starring American David Yocca and BritishAustralian Cathryn Chatburn, the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects’ event used suburban Dickson as a case study for investigating ways to combine urban renewal with sustainable practice.

Local landscape architect Jennie Curtis, from Fresh Landscape Design, said Canberra’s urban designers wanted to look at how green infrastructure and landscape strategies could be incorporated into urban design projects to prepare for climate change adaptation.

“The workshop started out as an opportunity for landscape architects to actually explore how we might do sustainability better,” Curtis said. Yocca said that sustainable practice was often seen as an add-on to urban design, rather than a guiding principle.

“It’s a huge challenge,” Yocca told “CityNews”.

“It’s more than just high performance; water conservation; energy conservation; long-lasting, durable, beautiful materials, it’s supporting the local economy in how it’s specified and engaging children and being aware of those things.

“There’s a growing body of evidence that suggests landscapes that provide these qualities have very real benefits that are very pragmatic and make sense economically.

“In office blocks where people have access to windows and trees and fresh air and are closer to nature will have much lower absentee rates and much higher performance levels.

“Because so much land has been degraded the only way to get to sustainability is restorative, to have a net positive effect on air and water quality, soil health, building biodiversity.”

Yocca is a fan of the iconic Australian Parliament House and says more landscape design should be as multi-faceted.

“Using an integrated design process where you’re not solving one problem but creating another, then you get some of these of these benefits and a green roof [Australian Parliament House] is a great example. By putting the green roof over the surface of the building it protects the roof and makes it last much longer, which saves money over time, it better insulates the building, it can provide usable space and amenity and provide real-estate value and urban spaces.”

Pressure gets personal

FOR years I have expressed bewilderment at suggestions by professional sports people that they are under more pressure than ever and I have struggled to comprehend their frustrations; after all, they are being well paid, often up to 10 times the average wage.

Pressure is somebody battling to meet house payments or sinking under the weight of the rising cost of living while keeping their family afloat by working two jobs. A person or family raising a child with a disability with limited income would, to me, epitomise “pressure”; not the disappointment of poor form or nonselection on the playing field.

This is why some coaches are keen for their charges to do work in the community with charity organisations, such as Oz Harvest, who provide meals to the homeless. This work provides perspective; it generates a connection with the community and helps professional sports people reassess their circumstances from a broader understanding of the day-to-day reality of others.

Nevertheless, I have gained an insight into what they are talking about in these days of “new” media.

Twenty-five years ago, if a player had a bad game for the Raiders there was little outside pressure away from the playing cocoon. There was no internet, there was no SMS, minimal talkback, and only some games were

Sports broadcaster TIM GAVEL says these days losing players have nowhere to hide from cranky fans

shown on television. The only direct, immediate response came from spectators at the game.

These days, comments are generated whist the game is still being played. There is an immediate assessment of the player’s performance on various on-line forums; there is SMS messaging and e-mails direct to commentary teams while the game is underway and then there is talkback where the analysis of a player reaches fever pitch, especially after a loss, and it’s all out in the public arena.

If the Canberra teams are struggling, the number of text messages doubles

Add to this social media such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook and we have a recipe for constant comment.

For a player, there is almost nowhere to hide and the pressure builds. During an average call of a game involving the Brumbies or the Raiders, I would receive between 80 and 100 SMS messages. If the Canberra teams are struggling, the

number of text messages doubles.

In the midst of the Raiders’ eightgame losing streak this season, not only did the volume increase, but so did the ferocity of the attacks on anybody associated with the club. As the losses mounted, the personal nature of the e-mails, messages and talkback callers became more vicious.

Many of the messages couldn’t be communicated to listeners because the hatred and bile went well beyond calling for the head of the coach. In some instances, I felt as if fans were trying to outdo each other and nobody was spared.

It was then I started to realise what the players had been talking about. Sure, they are possibly living their dream and enjoying playing to large crowds and having a public profile, but does this give fans the right to attack the players’ character in a very personal way?

I think constructive criticism is fair, but it becomes counterproductive when the one-way dialogue becomes personal. We want players to aspire to play for Canberra, not fear their “supporters”.

Does publicly attacking an individual, suddenly spur them into action? I think not.

Garema’s the place

CANBERRA CBD Ltd is presenting a 360sqm, open-air ice-skating rink in Garema Place, Civic, that will operate day and night during July with up to six daily sessions and a capacity for 200 skaters. Every Friday and Saturday nights “Stars on Ice” will perform a variety of themed exhibition skate shows and during the school holidays there will be daytime shows. Live DJs will perform for weekend, late-night, disco skate sessions. Full program details with online ticketing available from Monday, May 30 at www.inthecitycanberra.com. au/skate

Open day at centre

THE Chinese Australian Early Childhood Centre, in Mawson, will have an Open Day on Saturday, May 28, 2pm-3.30pm at the centre in Ainsworth Drive Mawson, adjoining Mawson Primary School, to mark the opening of an extension to the centre by Minister Joy Burch. The centre has been operated by the Association for Learning Mandarin since 1986.

Red, set, go!

ON Sunday, June 5, the red-themed MS Walk and Fun Run around Lake Burley Griffin will start from Reconciliation Place. Entrants can choose to walk or run a 5km or 10km course. Afterwards, participants will be able to enjoy a post-event atmosphere with food and family entertainment. Registrations to www.mswalk.org.au.

CWA demonstration

THE Country Women’s Association is

holding a meeting and demonstration (on “how to make cards from kitchen stuff”) at its Barry Drive clubrooms at 7pm on Wednesday, June 1. More information on 6231 5396.

Gem of a show

THE Canberra Lapidary Club’s “Winter Gemcraft and Mineral Show” will showcase sparkly gems and jewellery, rocks and minerals at the Conference Centre Parks Room at EPIC on Saturday, June 4 and Sunday, June 5, 10am to 5pm. A wide variety of rough and cut gemstones, jewellery, fossils, opals, crystals, beads, beading supplies, and lapidary equipment will be available for sale. Entrance costs $5 adults, $8 family, $2 children/concession. More information on the club at www.canberralapidary.org.au/

Farewell Doonkuna Estate

Doonkuna says goodbye with a wine sale

THE last bottles of award-winning Doonkuna wines will be sold in coming months signalling the end of an era for the Murrumbateman estate.

The renowned cool-climate varieties are selling at reduced prices and Doonkuna’s Adam Samios says there are bargains to be snapped up.

“This is the last chance to purchase some of our most popular varieties and with all remaining stock selling at half price, there are some great deals on award-winning wines,” Adam says.

As a former chef and restaurant owner, Adam knows good wine when he comes across it.

“I have an appreciation for wine, particularly when it comes to complementing food.

“I  rst developed a passion for Doonkuna wines when I stocked them in my restaurant. It was important to me to serve wine that was local but also consistent in quality across varieties. I could stock the whole range and be con  dent that each wine was good.”

The Doonkuna Chardonnay, Shiraz and Cabernet varieties, currently on sale, were all awarded bronze medals at the Cowra Wine Show.

“One of my favourite drops at the moment is the 2008 Chardonnay, which collected a bronze medal at the Cowra Wine Show,” he says.

“Chardonnay has not been the most popular variety for a while now, but our 2008 blend is less woody and a little sweeter than Chardonnays of the past.

“I like to cook dinner and leave the opened bottle resting so it gets closer to room temperature and the wine becomes just sweet enough to serve as a dessert wine. I love how that one bottle can serve all purposes as far as a white goes.”

When it comes to the reds, Adam can’t go past the bronze-medal-winning 2007 Cabernet.

“The Cabernet is de  nitely a favourite of mine, it’s an all-rounder in the kitchen with really good characteristics and earthy, smokey  avours,” he says.

“It’s great with red meat and game, but also Asian and Mediterranean food.”

The sparkling wine, Cian has also been popular for many years and won a number of awards.

Doonkuna’s Adam Samios... “This is the last chance to purchase some of our most popular varieties and with all remaining stock selling at half price, there are some great deals on award-winning wines.”

It is traditionally made with bottle fermentation and was named after former owners Barry and Maureen Moran’s  rst grandchild.

“Doonkuna” is an Aboriginal word meaning Rising Ground. The 20-hectare vineyard and winery was established in 1972.

Fifteen years after Dr Barry and Maureen Moran purchased the Murrumbateman estate, it has been sold to Eden Road Wines. There are

limited bottles now featuring the Doonkuna wine label, which holds special signi  cance for the Moran family, featuring a legless lizard, the southern cross, and the Moran family crest.

“We have had a wonderful 15 years at Doonkuna,” says Maureen Moran. “We met lots of lovely people at cellar door and will miss our many loyal customers, and the fun times we shared with family and friends. We are sad that

WINE SALE

the Doonkuna name won’t continue but we are happy to hand our legacy on to Eden Road.” Doonkuna Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc Semillon, Chardonnay and sparkling varieties are all selling for half price.

For information go to www.doonkuna.com. au or phone Adam 0422 717077 or email wine@ doonkuna.com.au

Doonkuna Estate has been sold to Eden Road Wines and sadly the name won’t continue. As part of saying thank you to all our loyal customers we have reduced all our existing stock by 50%. You can only buy online at our secure website or by phone on 02 62815033. Limited museum stock available upon request.

Out there, e-chatting

By Kathryn Vukovljak

“MUCH like internet dating, the friendships you form online can come together quickly and intensely,” says Amanda Whitley, editor of HerCanberra.

“I think it’s particularly true for women, because we’re more likely to share things about ourselves freely.

“It’s that kind of connection that I’d love to see HerCanberra readers establish.”

Ex-public servant Amanda says she started HerCanberra, a website that’s “part blog, part city guide, part fashion and beauty mag” with the idea of forming an online community for women in Canberra.

“It can be hard to meet people here, and connecting with like-minded people online can really help,” she says.

Amanda says that HerCanberra was inspired by her experience of working on Mia Freedman’s website Mamamia, while on extended maternity leave with her second daughter,

supportive community.

“That’s why I wanted to create HerCanberra – to build up a community like that here. Eventually I’d like to have regular events, like the recent Chick’s Cocktails where we teamed up with The Durham in Kingston, so we can extend that online connection into real life – for both contributors and readers.”

Despite its similarities to Mamamia, in bringing together different writers to talk about everything from what’s in the news, books and movies, family and friends to fashion and beauty, Amanda says HerCanberra is becoming “a very different animal” to Mamamia.

who was born prematurely at 30 weeks.

“I was very isolated and Mamamia became a lifeline for me at the time,” she says. “I started commenting and then exchanging tweets with Mia, and we became friends. Later she asked me to be a moderator for the site, which I really enjoyed.

“I felt proud to have been able to help Mia build up such a

“It’s much more local,” she says. “We’ve now got around 30 fantastic Canberra writers and bloggers contributing to the site, all bringing something different, and we’re much more about what’s happening around town and sharing ways for women to enjoy Canberra.

“I’m conscious that I don’t want it to be just another mummy blog. Not all Canberra women are interested in babies, and not all mums only want to read about baby things.

“I want it to be like girlfriends chatting over a coffee.”

Vintage queen loves to be seen in crimplene

By Kathryn Vukovljak

“I HAVE an obsession with vintage – seriously, I have a problem,” confesses Janette Vonthethoff, who is bringing a little touch of yesteryear to Lyneham with her vintage clothing shop April’s Caravan.

“I live and breathe vintage. Even my kettle and toaster are vintage. It’s ridiculous and over the top, but I just love it!”

Mildly disappointed that her white gogo boots were being repaired on the day “CityNews” called by, Janette says she loves to dress up.

“It doesn’t matter if I don’t feel like it some days, I always go for it and it makes me feel good,” she says. “I love the 1940s, but my favourite era is the 1960s… the freedom, the colour, the fake fabrics… I

just love polyester and crimplene!”

April’s Caravan, made up of vintage clothes and accessories from Janette’s own collection, is based at Lyneham’s Front Cafe and Gallery which Janette also manages. While the location isn’t entirely permanent yet – April’s will move out at the end of June when an art exhibition moves in – she will be back, with a more permanent fit-out on August 1.

Janette says she started collecting vintage clothes when she was 15 in high school. “It’s all my personal stuff. I never wanted to sell any of it,” she says. “But eventually I had no space left in my house. And I couldn’t stop buying more.

“At first it was really hard to put the clothes out there… I was very possessive of them! I loved it all, but I was worried, you know, what if people say ‘what is all this crap she’s got?’ It was a real phobia.

“But the response has been amazing.”

Taking on the alter-ego of April was something of an accident, she says.

“I bought my 1950s caravan in April last year, so it became known as April, but then when a friend made me a Facebook page she called it April’s Caravan, so now I’ve become April. It’s quite fun to have an alter-ego!” she says.

The plan, says Janette, is to have the caravan renovated and then set up outside the Front for gigs and vintage-clothing sale party nights.

She says she also hopes to create an extension of April’s Caravan that will include furniture, bric-a-brac and vintage hairstyling.

It’s about more than just the clothes to Janette; she says it’s the history behind each piece that makes vintage so special.

“At first I couldn’t price any of my clothes for sale – I was too close to it all. I had to get some friends to do it for me and gradually I felt more comfortable with it.

“Particularly because I want the clothes to go to the right person. Because then it’s like it’s going home. If someone can’t afford an item then I’ll hold it for them for as long as they need. I just love seeing people wearing something from the shop – I always recognise my clothes and it makes me so happy.

“I can see when an item is really special to someone and it gives me a nice feeling.”

Simon, it’s simple, no mistakes this time

The Chief Minister has appointed Simon Corbell to a second stint as Planning Minister. Political commentator MICHAEL MOORE reflects on the mistakes of his first term...

CAN Simon Corbell learn from his earlier mistakes as Planning Minister?

From the time that he worked for then-Member for Fraser, John Langmore, more than two decades ago, Corbell has been personally committed to good planning for Canberra. However, politicians are remembered more for their mistakes than what they have achieved. And Simon has made mistakes – not so much by pandering to developers, but rather by being too receptive to community groups.

Both Chief Minister Katy Gallagher and the new Planning Minister have defended the appointment, pointing out that the role requires hard decisions in the interest of the community and such decisions will invariably come into conflict with developers from time to time.

The Liberal Leader Zed Seselja wasted no time in blasting the appointment, reminding the public that Corbell had been “unceremoniously stripped of the planning portfolio by Jon Stanhope”.

He then employed the Abbot mantra by associating poor decisions with “putting more financial pressure on families” adding: “First-home buyers and renters are struggling to find a home in one of the most unaffordable markets in the country. Much of this burden has come about as a direct result of policies put in place in Simon

Corbell’s first stint as Planning Minister”.

In all other jurisdictions, the health portfolio is considered the political poison chalice. However, in Canberra, the planning ministry has proved an even greater challenge. It is not enough to make decisions “in the community interest” as there are invariably different opinions about how that interest is best served.

The Planning Minister’s role invariably degrades into balancing one set of vested interests against another. When this happens, one or both of the parties will invariably feel aggrieved and use the media to point out why they consider the Minister a failure. Those who are not aggrieved breathe a sigh of relief and get on with their business.

It is informative to consider two obvious failures that occurred under Simon Corbell’s watch – mistakes that were not about pandering to developers but rather to the loud voices of minority groups within the community.

The first is the Gungahlin Drive Extension: The costs associated with the failure to build a duplicate in the first place has been extraordinary and the inconvenience, delays and traffic gnarls for Gungahlin residents and anyone using the Glenloch Interchange are still continuing. The failure to duplicate the GDE was an attempt to find a compromise with the very vocal and politically savvy “Save the Ridge” group, which was largely based around O’Connor. There was

it was a compromise that did not suit them – they were simply trying to stop any road for fear of adverse impact on their homes and the land around the ridge. Interestingly, their dire predictions at that time simply have not come to fruition.

The second mistake was pre-empted by a similarly vocal, but much smaller politically savvy group in Campbell.

At their behest, Limestone Avenue remains duplicated as does the new section of road near the Mount Ainslie turnoff, but in between the modifications to Fairbairn Avenue remains a single lane in each direction. More stupidity! It will not be long before this situation requires rectifying as well. Instead of the series of bridges being built to handle four lanes they are single lanes. As Gungahlin grows, especially when Majura Lane, past the airport, is duplicated, this road will also have to be upgraded.

The lesson is clear. The sensible compromise that was made at the time was the installation of a series of sound-deadening landscaping. A visionary approach would have taken into account the needs of the community as a whole to provide appropriate access and met the concerns of the local residents with the traffic-noise mitigation as was carried out in the end.

no exit from the GDE on to Barry Drive – the most important of their goals as such an exit would have damaged the ambience of O’Connor Ridge.

The second compromise was just stupidity and

Planning is not an easy portfolio. The resurrected Minister should, where possible, find compromises that are consistent with the Canberra Plan to protect the interests of developers and community members. However, he must ensure that he is bullied by neither.

Michael Moore is a former member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and an independent minister for health in the Carnell government.

Katy, may rubbish be thy name!

THE day Katy Gallagher became Chief Minister my stove top exploded. Now, I’m not suggesting one caused the other, but there’s definitely a connection.

At the time I was helping an electrician who was working on the offending appliance. Actually, I was just holding it up at an angle while he tried to undo the screws underneath to get at the problem – a busted burner – when suddenly the thing shattered with the power of a stone smacking a windscreen. We both got a huge fright and bits of glass went everywhere.

“That’s never happened before,” he said. “Glad it wasn’t me.”

Not a very kind thought, it seemed to me; but at least he was good enough to carry the heavy metallic remains downstairs.

Later that afternoon my wife and I decided we couldn’t put off the new kitchen any longer and took the darned thing to the dump. And there – I could hardly believe it – we actually had to pay $10 to give them all that valuable scrap metal.

This is where Katy Gallagher comes in.

All new leaders like to put their stamp on the government they head. So here’s her chance to do something really useful and which her predecessor

the gadfly

Robert Macklin

totally failed to fix: The ACT’s rubbish collection.

It’s the worst system in the country, bar none. Our once-a-week collection of general garbage and fortnightly removal of recyclable paper and hard plastic is simply ridiculous.

Canberra is supposed to be the garden city, yet there’s no pick-up for garden refuse. In most other places across Australia this occurs quite regularly.

There’s a great hole in our civic needs that cries out to be infilled. “Our once-a-week collection of general garbage and fortnightly removal of recyclable paper and hard plastic is simply ridiculous.” says Robert.

Canberra is the most intensive user of computer equipment in the country, yet there’s no pick up for old electrical and electronic goods. Yet this happens in much less favoured communities throughout the nation.

In Canberra there’s no pick-up for old furniture; yet in city communities from Sydney to Sofia, from Northampton to New York it’s a weekly ritual. Indeed, one of our family members practically furnished his Upper East Side apartment that way.

But Canberra’s appalling system means that stuff piles up under the house in most Canberra homes. Our family alone could probably fill a medium skip every three months.

Now Jon Stanhope might have been an old stay-at-home, but Katy is part of Generation X. She’s seen the world and knows just how grand services can be in more enlightened communities. I know this because I saw her a few weeks ago in Tuross itself.

There she was looking perfectly at

home with the family on the Lakeside marina. Obviously this is a person of distinction, sophistication and discernment.

So, here’s your chance, Katy. There’s a great hole in our civic needs that cries out to be infilled. This is your chance to make a name for yourself. I can see it now on your political obituary: Canberra’s own Countess Castoff, the Duchess of Detritus. Katy, it’s yours for the taking. robert@robertmacklin.com

A taste of Amnesty’s birthday

THE local branch of Amnesty International is holding a “Taste of Freedom” candlelit event to celebrate Amnesty’s global 50th anniversary at the Belconnen Arts Centre from 6pm to 9pm on Friday, May 27.

“While the event in Canberra will be a celebration of what people working together have achieved, we’ll also be encouraging attendees to petition for the release of Abuzar Al Amin, a Sudanese journalist imprisoned in 2010 solely for expressing his opinions,” said branch president Dr Nathan Boyle.

“The importance for individuals to stand together to protect human rights, wherever they may be, remains as powerful as ever.”

The event will be marked with food, the “Faces of Hope” photographic exhibition and entertainment provided by the Canberrabased singer-songwriter Jules Cowley.

More information and tickets from toni.matulick@ gmail.com or on 6161 1171.

Lest we forget: Battle of the memorials

By David stephens

A proposal for two new memorials in Canberra to honour the fallen of the two world wars has big supporters – but many in the community are unhappy with the process, writes David Stephens

The Australian War Memorial crouches sphinx-like at the foot of Canberra’s Mount Ainslie. It records the names of the 102,000 men and women who have died in our wars since the Sudan in 1885. It is a memorial, a museum and a research centre. Charles Bean, our pre-eminent war historian, wrote of the AWM in 1948: “Here is their spirit, in the heart of the land they loved; and here we guard the record which they themselves made”. Hard to top as a place to commemorate our war dead, you would have thought.

The Memorials Development Committee disagrees. The committee claims the AWM does not commemorate the 98 per cent of the fallen who died in World Wars I and II, declaring on their website: “The unfortunate fact is, although there are monuments to the Vietnam and Korea conflicts, the [AWM and Anzac Parade] precinct does not provide memorials to the two major conflicts that had the greatest impact on the nation”.

To fill the gap, the committee wants to build two 20-metre monoliths on the shore of Lake Burley Griffin, across Parkes Way from the end of Anzac Parade. The site has been reserved and implementation moved on through the National Capital Authority, the Commonwealth authority responsible for aspects of Canberra’s planning, and the Canberra National Memorials Committee, nominally chaired by the prime minister of the day and including parliamentarians from both sides of the house and the secretaries of the Departments of Regional Australia and Veterans’ Affairs.

The MDC’s patrons include the GovernorGeneral, Quentin Bryce, and her predecessor, retired Maj-Gen Michael Jeffery. The project was supported by the Howard Government and by the former Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd. It will cost around $21 million, to be raised privately – aside from the $200,000 seed money provided in 2007 by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs. The aim is to complete the project by 2015, in time for the centenary of Gallipoli.

So who is the MDC – and where is the money coming from? All nine committee members are retired military officers. While only sketchy details about members’ current employment are provided on the MDC website, member and retired Air Marshal Doug Riding is listed as an adviser to BAE Systems Australia, “Australia’s largest defence company”. Other members have logistics, project management and consulting résumés. Contacts in these sectors could well help the MDC raise the money it needs.

On the evidence provided by the website, the committee’s fundraising strategies are unclear. It says its first priority is “Australian and international companies interested in making significant financial contributions” although it will not disclose details of donors or supporters without their consent.

Asteady stream of letters to “The Canberra Times” over two years has overwhelmingly opposed the lakeside memorials. The possibility that the MDC may be targeting the defence industry for funds is just one issue for opponents, who include friends of the AWM, pacifists, town planners – and people who object to faulty process.

The MDC lacks support among the retired brass. Even the RSL is split. One opponent is retired Gen Peter Gration, a former Chief of the Defence Force. Retired Air Marshal David Evans, formerly head of the RAAF and chair of the National Capital Authority (1997-2003), is also forthrightly opposed, saying the proposed memorials are “surplus to requirements” and they detract from the status of the AWM. He is “a bit outraged” that his successors at the NCA let the proposal through.

At the other end of the spectrum, Dr Sue

Wareham of the Medical Association for the Prevention of War argues that “our commemoration of warfare risks … overshadowing all the contributions to human wellbeing that Australia has made in other spheres of life”.

Then there are the landscape architects and planners, among them Rosemarie Willett, of the Walter Burley Griffin Society, who says the lakeside memorials will “upstage the Australian War Memorial … despoil a remarkable landscape vista”, and take up space on the lakeshore intended for recreational use.

The fundraising issue may turn out to be the clincher, as the MDC’s reports to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission show that the committee raised just $6162 from donations in 2008-09 and $155,020 in 2009-10. Nevertheless, whether the memorials are built or not depends now on the Canberra National Memorials Committee under Simon Crean and the Commonwealth Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities, overseen by Minister Tony Burke.

The National Capital Authority is clearly in the pro-memorials camp. The Authority’s 2007 recommendation to the CNMC for reservation of the memorials’ site contains just one sentence. Then, at a public forum held on 23 March at Canberra’s Albert Hall to discuss the memorials, the NCA admitted there was “nothing in the records… about the rationale” for the reservation decision. But the Authority actually wrote the guidelines for the design competition (2008) and its recent annual reports record its continuing co-operation with the MDC.

The NCA’s key players today are its current

chair, Prof Don Aitkin, Peter Core, a former departmental secretary, and Gary Rake, the CEO. At a later forum held on April 11, they admitted that the processes followed by their predecessors on the Authority were not necessarily best practice – but they insist that the decisions made were valid.

The NCA makes its decisions on such matters subject to a “mandatory” guideline that precludes a new commemorative proposal duplicating the theme of an existing commemorative site. That said, the NCA has interpreted this wording as not ruling out the lakeside memorials.

At both forums, Rake and Aitkin made it clear that they were reluctant for the NCA to now pit itself against the CNMC, given the CNMC’s previous decisions. Before a Senate Committee last year, Rake described the CNMC as a “heavy hitting” committee. This is somewhat disingenuous, given that the CNMC’s quorum is only three members and that records obtained under Freedom of Information by Brett Odgers under the auspices of the Lake Memorial Forum show that the heaviest hitters (senior ministers and shadow ministers) have been conspicuous by their absence from relevant CNMC meetings.

For example, the meeting of November 2008, which approved the design of the memorials, was attended by just three members, the Minister for Home Affairs Bob Debus, AttorneyGeneral’s Department secretary Roger Wilkins and Veterans’ Affairs department secretary Ian Campbell. (The Attorney-General’s portfolio at that time covered both the CNMC and the NCA.)

The MDC will shortly put its case to Tony Burke’s department for approval under heritage protection legislation. The committee is believed to be lobbying the department heavily. The department could approve the proposal or declare it a “controlled action”, effectively subjecting it to either a Public Environment Report or an Environmental Impact Statement. Meanwhile, the opponents are doing their own lobbying, particularly of Minister Crean. Is the lakeside memorials saga a fix? Or is it simply a case of focused bureaucrats and appointees manipulating an outdated and ill-attended CNMC? Or both? In any event, the 102,000 dead souls must wonder what on earth is going on.

This article first appeared on newmatilda. com on April 28. New Matilda is an Australian website of news, analysis and satire. It has been publishing coverage of Australian politics, business, civil society, international affairs, media and culture since 2004.

letters

Sharia law demands ‘impudent’

CERTAIN Islamic leaders are demanding that Sharia law become part of Australia’s legal system. The proposition shows not only impudence, but the great contempt those Islamists have for this country, its people and the weakness of its politicians. It also reveals that those leaders and those Muslims that support them have no intention of truly assimilating into the fabric of Australian society.

Muslims have no special rights over and above ordinary citizens or other immigrants. They are not victims in this country, nor will a blunt refusal to the proposal for their special clergyridden laws make them so.

The West threw off rule by church, clergymen and theologians centuries ago and no reversion to that medieval system is ever likely. To allow the insertion of a few Islamic laws, no matter how innocuous, into the Australian legal system would create an unprecedented parallel legal system that would become the basis for allowing further Sharia laws and Sharia courts.

Like other religions, Islam must be judged by its traditions, teachings and practice. A universal study of these characteristics does not encourage support for a system of Sharia law to be established in parallel to Australian law.

Greg o ’Regan, Farrer

Reasoning well astray

ALEX Satrapa suggests that by refusing to provide an R18+ rating for computer games that society is pretending that because you don’t see the bad thing, it ceases to exist (letter, CN May 19). This reasoning is well astray.

Prohibiting something doesn’t lead to the conclusion it doesn’t exist. Just the opposite. How can something that doesn’t exist be prohibited? There are already approximately 125,000 children 10-15 years watching TV shows between 8.30pm and 11pm, most of which are for mature adults or stronger classifications.

Too many parents ignore the TV classifications in the case of their own children, and do the same with computer games. True, not all kids can be stopped from watching horror movies. But logically two wrongs don’t make a right and don’t provide any reason to expose kids to degrading influences in other media forms.

colliss Parrett, Barton

Chance for children

IF you believe, as [letter writer] Robin Brown does, that “ethics and religion are inextricably intertwined” (‘Well, is there a place for religion in schools?’, Letters, CN April 21), then you might believe that an “impartial” educational program “based in a philosophical approach” would need

to be developed “with the close involvement of the various faith communities”.

However, if you accept that ethics and religion are not necessarily intertwined – in that having religious beliefs is not a prerequisite for having a personal ethical code or living a life according to ethical values – then you will be interested to know that there already is an educational program along the lines that Robin Brown proposes.

The “Philosophy in Schools” program is probably a misnomer, as it is not so much about philosophy as ethics. The program, which has been adopted in too few ACT schools, aims to help children develop their capacity to think critically about ethical issues in ways which relate to the behavioural choices they experience. The program has received rave reviews from schools (including students) where it has been used and has been featured in reports on ABC and SBS.

Surely, this is what we really want in schools – not actual “religious education” (that is the job of families and religious institutions) – but structured opportunities for children to think about ethical principles and values and what these mean for how we conduct our lives.

Karina Morris, Weetangera

Time to question

RIC Hingee (letters, CN May 19) seems to think that big resource companies are perfectly safe investments. Perhaps it is time for Ric to question that investment in coal-seam gas, judging by the impact it has had on water supplies in Australia.

The point of the example was that perfectly sensible people have invested in some very dodgy deals. Anywhere that there is money to be made, there will be shonks. It doesn’t matter if the industry is financial instruments, nickel, oil, rare earths, home insulation or water.

Hingee obviously knew more about the sub-prime mortgage market than most of the world’s big banks. There are plenty of other examples which AMP and ComSuper could fill him in on where “safe-as-houses” investments fell through. These players hedge their bets by backing hundreds of horses, the same way Ric hedges his bets by investing in ethical, safe and profitable industries such as coal-seam gas. a lex s atrapa, Isabella Plains

Letters are invited from “CityNews” readers. Let loose to editor@citynews.com.au or write to the editor at GPO Box 2448, Canberra 2601. Letters of 200 words or less stand a better chance of publication.

Women put fashion into passion for life

TALENTED women over  0 will be in the spotlight at the inaugural “Passion for Life, Passion for Fashion” event this month.

Autism Asperger ACT will host high tea and a fashion parade at the Southern Cross Club, Woden, on Saturday, May 28 to raise money for a new Centre for Autism.

The centre will benefit the hundreds of autism spectrum affected people in the Canberra region who are looking for an integrated centre to help with diagnosis, early intervention, support and self-help services.

Among those helping to raise money for the centre is Sandra Blaik, who has a 14-year-old son with autism.

Sandra says she plans to take her eight-year-old daughter to the high tea and fashion parade.

“It is very difficult for the siblings of those affected by autism and they often miss out,” she says. “I’m very much looking forward to taking my daughter and my mother to the fashion parade, it will be a lovely day out.”

Prominent Canberra women are throwing their support behind the cause with 666 ABC’s Genevieve Jacobs and performer Annie Sloane among the models set to take to the catwalk.

Fashions will be on display from Diana Ferrari, Blooms, Perri Cutten, Robyn Veraar, TS+14, Enchante, Blue Illusion, Elena of Manuka, Bellissima on Kennedy,

Anita J Bridal Couture, Anthea Crawford, Von Troska, Miglio and Arcidiacono Optometrists.

There will be plenty of stimulating conversation, too, with a panel discussion titled “Rejuvenating women with creativity”, exploring the ways in which self-expression and energy can be invigorated through entrepreneurship, education, social justice, the arts, health and the environment.

Featured on the panel will be fashion and modelling consultant Lizzie Wagner, president of Karinya House for Mothers and Babies Sarah Kelly, social photographer and writer Lyn Mills and Canberra Harley Owners Group director Marie Stavropoulos.

In addition to the fashion, food and fabulous women, there will be live music, dance performances, art and craft displays, games and prizes.

Autism is a developmental disability that affects one in a thousand people. Those affected often have problems with communication and social interaction and sometimes intellectual disability.

Autism and Aspergers ACT is committed to improving the understanding of Autism spectrum disorders and provide support for families affected.

“Passion for Life, Passion for Fashion”, Southern Cross Club, Woden, Saturday, May 28 from 2pm. Tickets, $65; mother-and-daughter duos $60 each and tables of 10, $580.

More information at www.autismaspergeract. com.au or phone 6176 0514.

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At Salvation Army ‘Red Shield Appeal’ launch, Hyatt

At Law Week ACT Bar Association

all about the arts

Brilliant music of the night Terrific acting restores faith

By arts editor Helen Musa

I’M sitting in Melbourne’s historic Regent Theatre and even for a jaded arts writer, feeling overwhelmed by stars of both the onstage and backstage kind.

And why not be dazzled? It’s the launch of the bigger-than-Ben-Hur tribute to the songs of Andrew Lloyd Webber, and now it’s coming to Canberra.

James Cundall, from Lunchbox Theatre, co-producer, is first in line.

“We wanted something different,” he enthuses. Cundall says he and Tim McFarlane, of the Really Useful Theatre Company, have been trying to stage it for the past seven years after they got the idea of using LEDs instead of a conventional set.

“I wanted to BE in Argentina…I don’t want it to be a boring concert with potted palms,” says Cundall.

“The music is timeless” and there’s Lloyd Webber’s “unbelievably high volume of work”. And though the great man didn’t stand in the way of director Stuart Maunder’s creative ideas, he was insistent on a certain order and that the opening number be “Love Changes Everything”, sung to a guitar.

Trisha Crowe is a classically trained soprano with a range very similar to that of Brightman, and she’s just fresh from “Symphony in the Park” in Canberra, where she sang a full 12 songs. “I do Sarah Brightman, but I do lots of other things, too,” she tells me.

Enter director Stuart Maunder to assure me that Crowe is capable of quieter moments, as in a touching piece from Lloyd Webber’s “Requiem” and her part in a duet from

“Woman in White”. Maunder has scant praise for the late Richard Wherrett’s 1995 Lloyd Webber show, seen here at the Royal Theatre and starring the composer’s former wife Sarah Brightman, referring to the “bleeding chunks” of music chosen for that show. He prefers to liken his own production to “a little showbag”, where “Cats” numbers such as “Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer” and “Macavity” lead in to the Act One curtain number “Memory.”

Musical supervisor Guy Noble is proud of the way they’ve mixed songs from the lesser-known

“Cats.”

“Aspects of Love”, “Starlight Express”, “Whistle down the Wind” and the newest, “Love Never Dies”, with huge showstoppers.

Michael Cormick, surely one of the best tenors in our musical theatre, gives a mighty rendition of the “Phantom” song, while Delia Hannah seizes centre stage for “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina”, “Memory” and “With One Look” from “Sunset Boulevard.”

Despite the famous song that finishes the show, (you know the one) there are no superstars here, but rather an ensemble of stellar actor-singers, some young, some old.

“The Music of Andrew

will be at Canberra Theatre from June 1-5. Bookings to 6275 2700 or www.canberratheatrecentre.com.au

WIN TICKETS

“CIT yN EWS” has three double tickets valued at $90 – plus a souvenir CD – to be won to the opening night of “The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber”, Canberra Theatre, Sunday June 5. Details and entry form at citynews.com. au/win

THERE’S no need to go rushing to the program notes to understand this show, it’s an evening of terrific acting and one of the most relaxing nights Bell has given us in a while.

The play revolves around the witty battles of Beatrice and Benedick, a verbose couple obviously born for each other. Blazey Best is an acidic Beatrice, but one plainly besotted with Benedick from the outset.

Toby Schmitz steals the audience’s hearts as Benedick with his mischievous asides and exhausts them with long speeches delivered on one breath.

Then there’s the rest of the play: The love-match of Benedick’s mate Claudio and Beatrice’s cousin Hero is nearly undone by the motiveless machinations of Don John, the melancholic prototype of Shakespeare’s Iago, played with nasty insinuation by Sean O’Shea.

Malevolent individuals will always try to spoil a good wedding, but with the help of Max Gillies’ underplayed but totally ridiculous constable Dogberry, there’s no chance.

After the show, Bell told us his actors might be enjoying themselves too much. True. This show is full of lovely actors’ moments, with clever stage business throwing light on characters sometimes treated perfunctorily. Thus Matthew Walker’s young Prince is isolated and sad and Tony Llewellyn Jones as Leonato is far more that just father of the bride, at once virtuous, enraged and fun-loving. This production, acted out on Stephen Curtis’s ravishing pseudo-renaissance set, is bound to restore your faith in human nature.

his

Verges.

WIN “The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber”

WIN one of three double passes and a souvenir CD to “The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber” at Canberra Theatre on Sunday, June 5. Full details and entry form at citynews.com.au/win

Make noises, urges print studio

A PECULIAR letter arrived from Megalo Print Studio + Gallery urging us “to write a positive, happy letter to the CT [“Canberra Times”] about the ACT Government’s decision to allocate the Fitters’ Workshop in Kingston to Megalo. It won’t have escaped the attention of new Arts Minister Joy Burch or music festival patrons that the workshop is also the very best acoustic venue in Canberra for fine music. I’m told the fait is accompli.

THE PhotoAccess members’ show at their gallery in Manuka Arts Centre marks the departure of Ed Whalan, long-time staffer, teacher and exhibiting artist. Three new members of the PhotoAccess team are also showing work – education and projects manager Sean Davey, administration manager Kate Luke, and tutor Josh Dykgraaf, recently returned from Germany.

ALSO at the centre, ACTEW’s Mark Sullivan has just opened a new studio for ArtSound FM, Canberra’s music and arts radio station (92.7 FM and 90.3 FM). I hear ArtSound is also selling “virtual bricks” to supporters for amounts ranging from $50 (bronze supporter) to $5000 (lifetime

arts in the city

supporter). Visit http://artsound.fm/ or phone 6295 7444. GOOD on Erindale College dance

around the galleries

students for showing their support for International Day against Homophobia by performing a “flash mob” – an impromptu public dance at City Walk Fountain. “Homophobic bullying is not okay,” they say.

yOU have to be quick to keep up with The Street Theatre these days. Individualistic musician, singer and songwriter Joan Wasser – “Joan As Police Woman” – appears with her band on June 2 , then sensational indigenous vocalist and actor Ursula yovich swoops in with her cabaret show “Magpie Blues” on June 4. Bookings to 6247 1223.

JUNE 1 will be a funny day. Karl Chandler is bringing his Melbourne International Comedy Festival show to the Civic Pub and a “Hump Day” open-mic comedy nights will also take place at the Pot Belly Bar. Visit www.comedyact.com.au.

APPLICATIONS for the Micro Arts Grants scheme, providing individuals, groups and organisations with grants of up to $500, close on June 6. Phone Andy Heaney at the ACT Community Arts Office 0450 960 903 or email manager@actartsofficers.org.au for details.

Get cracking to catch this art

YOU’LL need to rush to catch the following art exhibitions.

NOMAD Art, in Palmerston Lane, Manuka, has prints by artists from yarrenyty Arltere Art Centre in Alice Springs and Buku Larrnggay Mulka in yirrkala, closes May 28.

NEXT door, at Bilk Gallery until May 28, you can see amazing 3D knitted metal forms and hybrid brooches from Adelaide’s late Gray Street Workshop.

SIX Canberra artists take on

the subject of democracy at the ANU School of Art Gallery until May 28.

ARTISTS Gosia Orzechowska and Karen Green are exhibiting at Watson Arts Centre in Aspinall Street, Watson until May 29. MARILy N Hutchinson’s exhibition reflecting the nature of surfaces is at Strathnairn Homestead Gallery, in Holt, until May 29.

SOUTH Coast ceramic artist Poppy Benton’s show runs at Narek Galleries, 1140 Tathra-Bermagui Road, Tanja, until May 31. Helen

Italian with lots of amore

IN many ways, La Scala in the city offers a classic Italian dining experience – warm décor, classic dishes created from recipes steeped in history, an extensive (and impressive) wine list and attentive service with amore.

For decades, this multiple award-winning Canberra institution has been serving

dining

Wendy Johnson

customers under the watchful eye of brothers Gab and Enrico Saccardo. It does so with the confidence of knowing what it is and where it sits in the marketplace.

Many of La Scala’s dishes are authentic Italian, but the chefs are not afraid to branch out with modern twists that go far beyond pizza, pasta, pizza, pasta, pizza, pasta.

We settled into a dining area at the back and were soon enjoying mouth-watering, razor-thin slices of eye fillet carpaccio ($16), drizzled with fine extra virgin olive oil, capers, lemon juice, quality Parmesan cheese shavings and bright green, peppery rocket. yummo!

The antipasto we shared was not super exciting – certainly nowhere near the level of most of the mains.

If you order the Scaloppine La Scala ($28.80), heed the warning on the menu: “Richer than rich and smoother than silk, but teeth like a lion”. The first half of the description belongs to the veal scallops with bacon, garlic and cream and the second half to the chilli that packs a punch in the dish. The flavours are vibrant and it is no surprise this has become one of La Scala’s signature selections.

The kingfish fillet, coated in prosciutto and carrot slivers, was baked medium rare. An attractive dish, it was served with a roasted trio of capsicum and finished with

Axis says au revoir

A farewell wine-maker’s dinner on Friday, May 27 will feature a five-course dinner prepared by chef Jiju Rajappen, who will move to the Promenade restaurant in the Hyatt hotel. Tickets are $110 each and bookings at 6269 8901.

‘Doc Martin’ boxset winners

WINNERS of nine-disc set “Doc Martin Comedy Cure”, worth $99.95 each, are Max Rowe, Hawke; TJ O’Connor of Scullin; Natalie Bussenschutt, Griffith; and Patsy Sheather from Gordon.

a sexy vanilla, saffron and cream sauce. Moment on the lips and lifetime on the hips, but who cares? It’s not as though you would eat a dish like this every night.

The grilled lamb rump was tender, as was my twice-cooked pork belly. It was served on creamy, smooth mash with lovely lentils, but I found the meat slightly over cooked.

All mains were served on white rectangular plates and beautifully presented, and the portions were just right.

La Scala is named after the famous and opulent Opera House of Milan. There is nothing opulent about the décor of the restaurant, but it is cosy, especially on a cold winter night.

La Scala, Garema Place, Civic, MondayFriday lunch from midday; dinner seven days, from 6pm. Call 6248 8338.

Dame Nellie, superstar

THE National Library is celebrating what would have been Dame Nellie Melba’s 150th birthday by having her treasured memorabilia on display.

With a “ravishing” voice, Dame Nellie was Australia’s first superstar celeb, having achieved international recognition as a classical musician, according to Robyn Holmes, the library’s curator of music.

The soprano sang at the opening of Parliament House in Canberra in 1927.

“Dame Nellie was patriotic about Australia, and took her name from Melbourne,” says Robyn. “She left Australia in the 1880s, studied in Paris, then, after her debut, became the supreme diva of Covent Garden in London, and in New york.”

She became one of the most famous singers of the late Victorian era due to the “purity of her lyrical voice” and the brilliance of her technique.

“We have a recording of her singing, which would have been made in the first period of recording technology, with those big sound-capturing devices!” says Robyn.

“When she sang at Parliament House she was near the end of her life; she died in 1931.

“It was very significant for

Canberra that she was here.”

The Dame Nellie memorabilia, including a silk purse that belonged to her, can be seen at the National Museum of Australia or searched online at the free discovery service Trove at http://trove.nla.gov.au/

Simple, quiet, gentle joy

“Fine Feelings and Grand Design” and “Alchemy” Fitters’ Workshop, Saturday, May 21

IF ever anyone needed proof of the Fitters’ Workshop’s acoustic quality, Australian composer Graeme Koehne’s work for solo guitar, “A Closed World of Fine Feelings and Grand Design”, is it.

This simple, quiet and gentle piece, beautifully played by Callum Henshaw, filled the large, packed space easily.

The concert, entirely featuring works written and introduced by Koehne, was one of humour, surprises and his self-confessed fascination for American pop music styles.

The six members of the Song Company, led by Roland Peelman, gave a superb acapella performance of the “Mass for the Middle-Aged”, written when Koehne himself was crossing that threshold. Moments of reflection and humour allowed us to contemplate the inevitable. Soprano, Louise Page was brilliant in “Ring -

By c linton White at the c anberra International Music Festival

tone Cycle”, a work in progress about mobile phones and cyber-dating; an hilarious bravado hiding a desire for love.

THE second concert for the day, “Alchemy”, was presented by ANU School of Music jazz students, also featuring Miroslav Bukovsky and Bill Risby. Vocalist Rachael Thoms was sheer class.

Billed as “baroque classics transformed into jazz”, this concert showed just how inventive and talented our ANU students are.

The baroque influences were only very subtle, but the end result was an amazing set of improvisations, the style of which has never been heard before.

Trumpeter, Alex Raupach’s arrangement of Purcell’s “Dido’s Lament” was the highlight of the afternoon.

A magical night of music making

A GOLDEN boardwalk through a marquee welcomed patrons to the amazing Fitters’ Workshop, bathed in multi-coloured lighting. The scene was set for a magical night of music-making.

The jam-packed audience was in for a treat; two major choral works by American composers.

Steve Reich’s “The Desert Music” (1984), surely is one of the greatest works of the 20th century. Although this was the chamber version (we heard the Australian premiere), there still was an army of musicians and singers. One can only imagine the power of the full version. It’s not a melodic piece (it’s repetitive chord-based), but it certainly is rhythmic. The five movements are centred on 3:2 time, but the transitions were seamless, including through some weird time signatures, resulting in a haunting piece, painting all the moods of the desert.

“Lux Aeterna” Fitters’ Workshop, May 20.

Roland Peelman, an agile and energetic conductor, maintained the rhythms and tempi perfectly through the hour-long performance.

The second work, Morten Lauridsen’s “Lux Aeterna” (1997), could not have been in greater contrast.

A huge choir and sizeable chamber orchestra gave a sensitive interpretation to this melodic, lyrical and gentle piece. Its theme, translated to “eternal flame”, is based on a requiem mass.

A quiet audience hung on every nuance. At the end, I felt refreshed and renewed.

Peelman drew an astonishing performance, achieving a rich balance of tone and expressive moods.

And, of course. the magic acoustic of the Fitters’ Workshop played its part in helping deliver this very special concert.

all about Gold Creek

Nearby village steeped in serious local history advertising feature

Just 15 minutes from Canberra’s city centre, Gold Creek Village promises a full day of activities for the whole family.

GOLD Creek Village consists of Federation Square and the Gold Creek Cultural Centre, beside the Gold Creek Resort.

Family attractions include restaurants, cafés, the George Harcourt Inn, Cockington Green Gardens, the Australian Reptile Centre, the Bird Walk and the National Dinosaur Museum.

Then there’s historical Ginninderra Village, with its art galleries, gift shops, specialty stores and leatherworks. The village was developed from George Thomas Palmer Sr’s Palmerville Station, settled in 1826 on Ginninderra Creek.

By the 1850s, Palmerville, renamed Ginninderra, had all the features of a village, including a store and school, and the first post office in the Canberra area, which opened on April 1, 1859.

The schoolroom (now Thumbelina Miniatures and Gifts) and residence (now Sweet Copper) are built in the Victoria Georgian style, and retain the six original fireplaces, mantelpieces and original windows, door jambs and skirting board profiles. The original brick chimneys also remain. The school house is said to provide an

excellent example of public-school architecture, and demonstrates the then-technique of building in stone.

A separate weatherboard building, which originally contained the kitchen, bathroom, laundry, pantry and a third bedroom (added 1921), was linked by a covered breezeway to the residence. This building is now home to Lilitu’s Books and Music.

The schoolroom became the post office for the area, when the school closed around 1920. The schoolmaster, and his family, remained at the residence and he commuted daily to the newly opened Hall Public School. All the children attending the Ginninderra School were from the Hall region.

The Green Herring Restaurant was a residence which was transported to the village about 30 years ago, from Bookham, NSW. The reasons for this are unclear. It is understood that there is a further addition from a different residence, which was also transported from another location.

Retail shops, including The Style Emporium, Cherry Seed, Cosmic Rainbow, and Just the Perfect Gift, are modern additions to the village.

Gold Creek offers shopping for gifts, craft, clothing and gourmet foods, a choice of restaurants, cafes and a lively pub.

Popular local galleries include Ginninderra Galleries, Aarwun Gallery, Aboriginal Dreamings Gallery, Graham Charlton Gallery and Brindabella Galleries.

A love story with realism

FICTIONAL romance, in which problems external to her and to him raise impediments to resolving the elemental issue, “will they or won’t they”, differs from a love story.

Making the filmgoer comfortable with a mildly disturbing plot, Alix Delaporte’s feature debut after a career in documentaries, delivers a love story with admirable realism and no romance to speak of.

“Angèle et Tony” opens with Angèle (Clotilde Hesme) in a perfunctory knee-trembler with a man she does not know and will never see again. Perhaps his usefulness is the toy he has brought to France from Asia, which she wants as a gift to her seven-year-old son who lives with her parents. The sequence identifies Angèle as a damaged person.

After she finishes a sentence for an unstated crime, a dating website introduces Angèle to Tony (Grégory Gadeboire), a burly guy with a commercial fishing business, intelligent, stolid, still living with his mother after the loss of his father at sea. He wants more than sex. Angèle is uncertain about what she wants.

The relationship develops at a measured pace, slow, sometimes tense, never aggressive or unkind. As well, Delaporte has a nice eye for the incongruous – decorating trawlers for a festival, teaching Angèle how to gut mackerel and, in perhaps the film’s only element that seems a little off the mark, following Angèle on long bike rides.

We know where the couple will end up, which Delaporte, rejecting what a lifetime of

movie romances has conditioned us to expect, delivers in a deliciously quirky finale among the pools on a rock shelf at low tide. At Greater Union and Dendy

“PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES” (M)

TIME to wind this profitable movie franchise up, perhaps? Running for 137 minutes (including credits), Part 4, while not a total dramatic or creative disaster, is a bit of a bore.

you don’t expect historical, technological or geographical verity in movies of this kind. So verity’s absence from Part 4 of should neither surprise nor disappoint. Without enhancement from expensive and extensive CG illusions, the screenplay (which apparently took nine writers to create), drives Part 4 by plot rather than spectacle, while retaining the utter fantasy that drove parts one to three.

King George III commissions reformed buccaneer Barbossa to re-discover the Fountain of youth using a map attributed to Ponce de Leon who searched for it nearly three centuries earlier. British self-esteem insists that Barbossa find it before a Spanish expedition does. Jack Sparrow, after escaping from custody, hurtles back to the Caribbean and meets old flame Angelica whose pirate father Blackbeard also seeks the fountain.

The mermaid Syrena (Astrid Burges-Frisbey) knows about the fountain, so the expedition makes a portable tank to carry her under the care of the missionary (Sam Claflin), who falls in love with her.

There’s a big, three-way stoush between converging and opposing forces for possession of two magical chalices without which the fountain cannot fulfil its magical function. All very vigorous, all very preposterous, all very expensive to stage for the cameras.

Acting honours (if the film deserves any) go without question to Ian McShane as Blackbeard. Johnny Depp’s performance is a flaccid caricature of Jack Sparrow’s former self. As Barbossa, Geoffrey Rush spouts ridiculous nautical clichés with a somewhat embarrassed expression. Pregnant Penelope Cruz, as Angelica, tags along mainly to provide a woman’s touch from the armpits up.

At all cinemas

Poignant memories in dance celbration

MEMORIES of a favourite eucalypt tree and the discovery of a childhood ballet costume were the catalysts for “Sapling to Silver”, an absorbing and poignant collection of choreographic vignettes carefully woven together to evoke and celebrate the remarkable dance career of Elizabeth Cameron Dalman.

The program was performed by Cameron Dalman herself, with an ensemble of her most accomplished dancers including Albert David, Mark Lavery, Vivienne Rogis, Jade Dewi Tyas Tunggal and Miranda Wheen. Much of the program was choreographed by Cameron Dalman utilising snippets of works created earlier in her career with new choreography to illustrate her cycle of life theme.

There were also excerpts of work by other choreographers significant in her career, including Oleo Pomare and Adriaan Kans, and contributions from the dancers who made up her ensemble, all seamlessly interwoven and presented to an arresting sound score by Andreas Dalman and beautifully lit by Rodney Bates.

A significant choreographer, dancer and dance pioneer, Elizabeth Cameron Dalman is a living repository of much of Australia’s contemporary dance history. She still retains a commanding stage presence and as one old enough to have treasured memories of seeing her dance much of this choreography at her peak, it was both astonishing and moving to witness her remarkable performance in this extraordinarily important program, especially in the joyous finale in which she was surrounded by the dancers entrusted with her legacy.

Taking a shock look at the

IT’S the future. Osama and Elvis are probably somewhere collaborating on a joint album as Melbourne is destroyed by a Jihadist bomb attack turning 9/11 into 3/15 – the Ides of March.

Is it a brave new world? Hardly. Canberra has been renamed “New Melbourne”, civil liberties have been drastically eroded it the name of law and order, the cigarettes are fruit-flavoured and families live in dread of Australia’s answer to the Stasi, the National Intelligence and Security Agency, “NISA.”

It’s grim but rivetting stuff, directed by Duncan Driver, so that the scenes and characters overlap seamlessly. And it makes “1984” look like a picnic.

Ley has written an articulate, debatey play in which he plays a mysterious father, ex-serviceman, mate, and who knows what else? He is beautifully partnered by Maddison Smith-Caitlin as his little daughter.

future

THEATRE

“The Ides of March”

Written by Duncan Ley, directed by Duncan Driver, for Everyman Theatre, at the Courtyard Studio until May 28.

Reviewed by Helen Musa

As public servant Warren, Rob de Fries becomes an ordinary bloke caught in an unthinkable personal crisis, with Raoul Craemer equally credible as his Muslim journalist friend whose son, played with bleak conviction by Jarrad West, is under suspicion. Helen McFarlane fluffed her lines a little, but gave a complex portrayal of outspoken sociology professor Laura, doomed to scrutiny by NISA.

Ley can’t resist tying up loose ends and Driver screens the Shakespearean warning “Beware the Ides of March” as his closing shot. I think we’d already got that message.

The wonderful, exuberant ‘Widow’

THE Melbourne Opera Company received an enthusiastic welcome from a near-capacity Canberra Theatre audience for its exuberant production of the Franz Lehar operetta “The Merry Widow” recently.

Under the experienced direction of Hugh Halliday, this “Merry Widow” featured a fine cast of experienced singers, attractive and versatile set and costumes, a captivating widow and the excellent Melbourne Opera Orchestra conducted by David Kram.

Ali McGregor was a younger, prettier widow than usual, with a lovely light soprano voice, heard at its best in the ubiquitous “Vilia”. As her reluctant suitor, David Rogers-Smith was a fine Count Danilo, handsome and dashing with a warm tenor guaranteed to melt the heart of even the most reticent widow.

Together they brought a refreshing playful -

MUSICAL THEATRE

“The Merry Widow”

Melbourne Opera Company, Canberra Theatre. Reviewed by Bill Stephens

ness to their scenes that set the tone for the rest of the production.

Ian Cousins bumbling, cuckolded Count Zeta, was endearingly funny, and David Gould as his aide, Njegus, with more than a nod to John Cleese, delighted with his hilarious antics. Lee Abrahmsen was a lovely Valencienne, but despite his fine singing, Nick Seidenman seemed unable to evoke the necessary passion to convince as her lover, Camille.

Six attractive dancers added to the spectacle of the chorus numbers which, although wellsung and enthusiastically performed, would have benefited from more rehearsal.

Glamorous styles of the Darlings of fashion

ONE grew up as a goth and the other was a mod, but a shared love of joyful dressing and the glamour of the past helped bring The Darling Sisters together as adults... and now they’re bringing their own unique style to Canberra.

“Have you ever met somebody and just known that you must be related? We are definitely sisters – in spite of what our family trees have to say!” says Darla who, with Blossom, runs The Darling Sisters, which offers everything from an online boutique to charm and deportment salons (or one-on-one-consultation), vintage glamour photography and now, a bricks-and-mortar store at Gold Creek.

“We are always thinking the same things at once, loving the same clothes and music and books and films… we even have an unfortunate habit of getting ill at the same time,” says Darla.

“As business partners, it makes life very easy, as we are nearly always in agreement.”

Separated at birth by not being related – though “we still find that hard to believe ourselves” – Darla and Blossom both worked at the same cultural institution in Canberra, as well as both enjoying weekend dancing with Miss Kitka’s

Meet the Darling ‘sisters’ who firmly believe they were separated at birth… by not being related

House of Burlesque: they “continually clocked each other’s clothing, hair and make-up” for months.

“Eventually we found ourselves in a café together chatting about our favourite things (vintage, lovely lingerie, cocktails, dogs, gentlemen with lovely manners and Doctor Who) and the Darling Sisters came into being. It felt as though it had been there all along,” says Darla.

Darla and Blossom believe there’s glamour and beauty in referencing the past – hence their love for vintage – “but there are also valuable lessons to be learned,” says Darla.

“We both have backgrounds in history and cultural heritage, and we enjoy bringing this knowledge into everyday life.

“It can be the little things in life that make all the difference. A bit of glamour in the wardrobe… a special effort to be respectful and pleasant with other people… a defiant sweep of bright red lipstick. Gloves to the cinema. Chatting with grandma about how she was able to make

the household budget go a bit further, or save water or fuel. Little things.

“We teach deportment that is based on self-respect, positivity and body confidence, something that it in our media-driven world is becoming more and more necessary.”

This is reflected in the online boutique and the new shop, where the pair aim to stock something for everybody, from size 6 to size 34, in styles ranging from the 1920s flapper era through to the 1960s, plus alternative styles such as gothic, steampunk and Victorian – in fact this winter

will feature a lot of gothic/steampunk. Dressing joyfully and with style is a compliment, not only to yourself, but to others,” says Darla.

“That doesn’t mean you need to be superformal, or particularly fashionable, but we’d love to see Canberra women – and men – making a special effort more often, even for everyday things.

“Clothing is a great form of self-expression, and cutting a dash will brighten your own day as well as other people’s.”

The Darling Sisters are online at www. thedarlingsisters.com and at Unit 9, 7 O’Hanlon Place, Gold Creek, open Saturday, Sunday and public holidays.

arts&entertainment

Kids getting physical every day at school

AS our world becomes consumed by technology and time-saving devices, physical work and output is reduced, which is pushing our energy balance into the positive, leading to weight gain.

Without time set aside for specific physical activity and exercise our children are not only heading to obesity, but are not giving their bodies the opportunity to develop and build strong bones and muscles.

Physical activity is a great way for kids to make friends and learn social skills and, most importantly, it sets up a routine that is the foundation for health for the rest of their lives.

One program which began only a couple of years ago in the ACT is the “Minister’s Active Kids Challenge”. In its third year and supported by Education Minister Andrew Barr, the program – which starts next month – is a 10-week challenge to primary schools and their students, to complete 60 minutes of physical activity a day.

The schools are rewarded with incentives such as sports equipment and vouchers during the 10-week period and after the final challenge, which is held at Canberra Stadium. The Physical Activity Foundation which runs this program is hoping 70 schools will take part this year.

Locally, there is the addition of Animalates, a crazy, fun, animal adventure fused with pilates program, which will be running some of the challenges and visiting the schools to help them achieve their 60-minute goals.

Talking with the Animalates founders, Marty and Kirra, one can appreciate how important physical activity is to young

Food scientist AMANDA DOS SANTOS wrote recently about some of the food-based initiatives in place to help combat the obesity “epidemic” affecting children. Here she looks beyond diet to physical activity and exercise.

children and the fight against obesity.

Animalates aims to exercise, entertain and educate children about their bodies through postural awareness and building core strength. Exercise does not have to be just about running and programs such as

Animalates help achieve that balance of activity and fun.

Schools can register before the June start at www.activekids.org.au. For Animalates, there is a free class on June 7. More information from marty@ animalates.com.au

Kirra and Marty from Animalates... aiming to exercise, entertain and educate children about their bodies through postural awareness and building core strength.

Sun-bed exposure ‘too high’

NEW research shows solarium users are being exposed to UV levels up to six times the strength of the midday sun and solarium operators are unaware of the excessive levels of UV radiation their customers are being exposed to.

The research was conducted by Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA), which measured UV emissions from solariums in Victoria and NSW.

Cancer Council Australia’s chief executive officer, Prof Ian Olver, says the results added weight to existing evidence that solariums should be more tightly regulated.

“Currently there are inconsistencies in how solariums are regulated in each State and Territory,” he says.

Prof Olver says that restrictions such as bans on under 18s were a sensible measure, however if governments ultimately decided to phase solariums out, “public health would be the winner.”

ARPANSA senior research scientist, Dr Peter

Gies, says the research showed large variability in UV outputs from tanning beds, making it difficult for operators to predict the effects of each session and creating the potential for overexposure.

“The dose of UV delivered varied significantly for sunbeds of similar power – in one establishment three of the eight-minute sunbeds recorded UV index ranges of 31.3, 40.7 and 48.6, while the 10-minute sunbed measured 20.6,” he says. “Three tanning units emitted levels above the Australian Standard’s allowed maximum UV index of 36.”

Dr Gies says it was difficult for consumers or operators to test how intense a sunbed was, which was of concern, considering 10 minutes of exposure could lead to severe sunburn, depending on which bed they used.

“There were also considerable differences in the UV intensity levels emitted from the top and bottom of some sunbeds – up to as much as 40 per cent,” Dr Gies says.

all about home&garden

High and mighty renovation

HOUSE TOUR

Wo RDs: Kathryn Vukovljak

PH otos: s ilas Brown

HIGH ceilings with clerestorystyle windows to maximise daylight and a family-friendly kitchen are all part of Christine Mercer and Martin Wardrop’s contemporary, sustainable extension on their 150s redbrick house in O’Connor.

The house has been entered in the 2011 ACT Architecture Awards.

“We didn’t want a massive attachment to the original house,” says Christine. “We were prepared to go pretty radical and experiment though – there’s not really a culture of doing that in Canberra.”

Although they did temper their original ideas, the additions to the house, which includes a family room and incorporated pergolas, and a new walk-in robe and ensuite for the master bedroom at the other end of the house, is still unusual.

“We used to get people passing by and

stopping and staring,” she says of the almost completely square, modern addition in grey mini-corrugated metal cladding.

“But recently we’ve heard people saying ‘they must get so much light’. There must be a lot of light-starved people out there.”

Architect Alan Morschel who designed the addition, says that the height of the extension gives it a “distinctive” appearance. “The grey metal cladding is a noticeable and attractive contrast to the existing red-brick house,” he says.

“The kitchen used to look out on to the neighbour’s wall, but now it’s completely shielded and the new pergolas look over the street and takes advantage of the north light.”

“We’re not privacy-seeking people, so the decks draw us out into the garden at the front and we love to watch the world go by, and seeing our neighbours,” says Christine.

“This really works for us and we love the textural contrast of the mini-orb bluescope steel with the red brick of the original house; the combination of texture, colour and materials.”

The entrance to the home now features a private deck with a view of the mature oaks in the park opposite, and a new carport. The couple also included photovoltaics on the roof and 8000-litres of rainwater tanks, cleverly

concealed around the exterior under new decks.

“We lived in the house for 18 months before starting the work, so we had a good idea of what we wanted to do,” says Christine. “We plan to stay here for the long term, so we were looking for a sensible way to add space and make the most of the long, narrow block without a full demolition.

“Now we use the extension more than any other space in the house. I love the splashes of bright red – we’re not colour shy! The windows catch every bit of sun and floods the space with light.

“It’s great because it means we’re all together more as a family.”

The long and short of conifers

CONIFERS provide structure and evergreen shrubs as a foil against deciduous trees and shrubs that give many gardens a naked look in winter.

In our local climate, there are few evergreen trees as opposed to shrubs. In the early days of Canberra, many conifers were grown – taking into account the blocks were considerably larger. Also conifers were sold without the customer having the slightest idea how large they grew, in many instances to 10-12m plus. Instances of this can be seen all over the suburbs. As I wrote last week, if you are buying trees to do some homework first.

There are conifers available for the small garden, townhouse garden or even in containers on a balcony. Conifers also make perfect bonsai specimens. For examples visit the National Bonsai and Penjing collection housed in the purpose-built building in Commonwealth Park (open 10am to 3pm, seven days a week).

A great starting point to see a wide range of conifers is a visit to Cockington Green. In the picture, the conifers in the background appear to be giants, however keep in mind the building is only 40cm tall!

There is no better way than seeing them grow in natural conditions and in combination with other small shrubs. One great combination is conifers and both the green and variegated box hedging, Buxus sempervirens and B.s. “Aurea”. A few suggestions to get you started include Thuya orientalis “Aurea Nana” (any plant with “nana” in the

name means dwarf), commonly referred to as the bookleaf conifer. It has a perfect compact rounded habit that needs no trimming to keep it in shape.

Another compact conifer for growing in containers is Picea “Albertiana” also known as Picea glauca “Conica”. A garden gem found originally in the wilds near Lake Alberta, Canada in 1904. As the name suggests it forms a neat erect cone of rich green.

A firm favourite of recent years is Thuja “Smaragd” of Danish origin, with its compact growth and dark green foliage it is ideal for a hedge growing to three metres. With an occasional trim, it can easily be

Win a book of garden ideas

UNTIL a house is furnished and the garden established the house cannot be truly called a home. The answer to many great ideas for the garden can be found in one new book, namely “Best Australian Gardens and Landscapes” edited by Gary Tackle (Think Publishing 223pp in colour rrp $39.95).

This not only encompasses great garden ideas for the modern house, but ideas galore for the actual home design.

Naturally, with our climate the emphasis is on outdoor rooms to extend the livable and entertainment areas of the home.

I recommend this book if you are in the process of building a house or completing it with a garden.

I collected one copy from the publishers

kept to fence height of 1.8m high. Check out also Picea glauca “Christmas Star” and Chamaecyparis lawsoniana “White Spot”. Many conifers have wonderfully coloured cones pictured here on Abies koreana. The cones start to appear when the tree is still quite young. This is one for the larger garden or the rural property; likewise why not grow Pinus pinea for its edible nuts? Originating in the Mediterranean, its common name is the Italian Stone Pine or the Umbrella Pine due to its rounded umbrella-shaped top. Take this list as a starting point to your local garden centre and check out the wide range of other conifers.

This week:

recently at the Melbourne Garden Show for a lucky “CityNews” reader to win. To be in the running, simply write your name and contact details on the back of an envelope and identify what part of your garden makes your house feel like home and post it to Cedric Bryant Gardens and Landscapes Competition, “CityNews”, GPO Box 2448, Canberra City 2601 by Thursday, June 9. I will announce the winner in my column on June 16.

And the winners of the three copies of “ young Gardener – Get your Hands Dirty” by Janice Marriott are Anna Gianakis, Spence, Alina Murphy, Gungahlin and Judith Senese, Greensborough VIC.

Think about where you are going to plant roses and start ground preparation. Pick pumpkins and pour paraffin wax in the opposite end to the stalk to preserve them. Last chance for planting spring bulbs and annuals for full flowering in eight weeks.

Consider carefully where you are going to plant blossom trees for future growth. Remove leaves from ponds, especially if they contain fish.

Time to change the sheets

By Kathryn Vukovljak

WINTER is the time to change the bedlinen to lush, elegant tones, according to designer Tracie Ellis, of Aura Home.

“In winter, we get a chance to get the layers out of the cupboard,” she says. “It’s all about adding warmth, updating colour and texture – such as adding a new textured coverlet, lush faux-fur throws, hand-quilted shams and hand-crafted silk and velvet.

“I love the rich and deep tones of aubergine, fig and olive greens, coals and charcoals, indigo blues and highlights of honey.”

Tracie says that she has just updated her own bed, in her “fabulous 1950s home” with her Aubergine quilt set (pictured) for winter.

“I’ve combined it with tones of caramel, creamy whites and caviar black, just perfect.”

Wrap up in sweet eiderdowns and cushions in pretty, vintage materials.

Zoé cushion by Lalé from Lark, $49.

Reusable, cute and immediately warm, these gel-filled, “snap” heated Hand Hotties are a safe alternative to a hot water bottle. Hand Hotties, $9.95, www.annabeltrends.com.au

There’s a serious side to the Kookaburra’s laugh

IF you see one kookaburra near your home, it’s likely that a whole family is living nearby, according to Leonie Gale, CEO of the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife, who says the birds are at home in urban areas.

“Kookaburras that were only chicks a little while ago are now old enough to begin helping out their parents,” she says. “These young birds stay with their family group for up to four years, raising siblings and helping their family to defend their home turf.

“The Kookaburra’s distinctive ‘koohoo-hoo-hoo-haa-haa-haa-haa’ isn’t just a belly laugh – it’s a territorial display,” says Leonie.

“Kookaburras make different sounds to communicate.

“At any time of year they chuckle to locate family members. During the breeding season from September to January they make a ‘chuck’ to find their family, and ‘squawk’ to beg for food from other kookaburras in their group.”

Leonie says that their famous laugh tells other kookaburras that: “This is our home, and we will fight for it.”

“If you listen out for these calls, usually made in chorus by a family of kookaburras, you should be able to

discover the boundaries of their territory,” she says.

“Watch out if you hear a ‘kooaa’ and a loud cackle – the first call is a warning to the family group, and the second signals aggression. Kookaburras cackle maniacally before two warring groups clash over territory.

“To defend their home, the laughing kookaburras we have in Canberra dart sharply to and fro, passing each other in mid-air like trapeze artists. Barrages of sinister laughter reverberate between the disputing groups, amongst the bright flashes of their brown and blue wings.”

As young kookaburras don’t go off and start their own families for a number of years, the overall birth rate of the species is low, according to Leonie.

“Kookaburras can find themselves in a lot of trouble if a sudden event such as habitat destruction or a misuse of pesticides wipes out a number of birds. It will take the local population a long time to recover.

“But there are a lot of simple things we can do to protect this national icon, our laughing buddy. And kookaburras are great to have around – not only do they provide lots of entertainment, but they eat the mice, insects and even small snakes from our gardens, too!”

“Backyard Buddies” is a free program run by Australia’s Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife. For more information visit www.backyardbuddies. net.au.

•

All about kookaburras

Check the block before you build

BEFORE you renovate, build, extend or landscape your property, find out what services are on your block, says Stephen Devlin, ActewAGL general manager asset management.

“People often forget that there is a vast network of pipes and cables under the ground, delivering their essential services,” he says.

“These need to be considered before people plan to build, renovate or even dig holes in their garden.

“If an underground water or gas pipe, or an electricity cable is struck, it could be extremely dangerous as well as very expensive.”

ActewAGL has created Dial Before you Dig, a free national service that co-ordinates utility information, says Stephen.

“Once an enquiry is lodged they pass the referral to the relevant providers and a response is sent generally within two working days.

“It is the responsibility of all landowners and occupiers to ensure structures don’t interfere with manholes, meters, pipes, poles and wires and access isn’t blocked.

Kookaburras can live for up to 20 years in good conditions. There are two species – the laughing kookaburra and the blue-winged kookaburra. The latter is smaller, and has blue wings and tail, and a white iris in contrast to the laughing kookaburra’s deep brown eye.

Simple tips to help protect our kookaburras:

Avoid spraying chemicals in your garden or using rodent poison outdoors, as they could affect other species. Keep your pets indoors, especially cats at night, as they can disturb or attack native birds.

If you find an injured kookaburra, call your local animal rescue and rehabilitation group or vet. Leave old trees around your area as

• • Laughing kookaburras live in eastern Australia. They have been introduced to Tasmania and southwestern WA.

these provide perfect nesting sites for kookaburras, and plentiful shade and fresh air for us.

• •

Plant new gum trees so that there will be plenty of good nesting sites available in the future.

If you want to see kookaburras up close, try including some stumps and rocks around your garden – kookaburras love to sit on them.

• •

• • •

Blue-winged Kookaburras live along Australia’s north coast.

Kookaburras have several different calls to communicate.

Mulch your garden and this will attract lizards and insects. If you’re lucky, kookaburras will discover that your place is a great place to catch a meal.

Kookaburras have fantastic hunting skills, and make a great living catching their natural prey. They don’t need us to feed them or they could become dependent on people or become sick.

“If they don’t comply, landowners and occupiers could be asked to pay for removal and fined up to $5000.”

Enquiries can be made online at www.1100.com.au or by calling 1100. More information at actewagl.com.au/advice/ BuildingAndRenovations

your week in the stars

With Joanne Madeline Moore

ARIES (Mar 1 – Apr 0)

May 30 – June 5

With Uranus in your sign, it’s time to shake things up. Be inspired by Clint Eastwood (born on May 31): “Sometimes, if you want to see a change for the better, you have to take things into your own hands.” Short trips are highlighted (even if it’s just around the local neighborhood) plus expect plenty of phone calls, snail mail, texts and emails.

TAURUS (Apr 1 – May 0)

Show me the money! you’ve been talking about saving for something big (like a car, holiday or home deposit) for a long while but now, with the Solar Eclipse in your finance zone, you need to put your money where your mouth is and actually start saving. Plus do an inventory on your inner wealth, as you examine your self-esteem and core values.

GEMINI (May 1 – June 1)

The Solar Eclipse is in your sign, so expect a busy, bustling and bamboozling week. It’s the perfect time to initiate a pet project, refresh your physical appearance, review your personal beliefs or reboot a rickety relationship. Lightning flashes of inspiration strike but make sure you communicate clearly, or there’ll be some crazy mix-ups along the way!

CANCER (June  – July )

This week you’re surrounded by innuendo and intrigue. What others say won’t necessarily be what they mean, so make sure you read between the lines to uncover what’s really going on. It’s time to retreat into your Crab cave, as the Solar Eclipse visits your contemplation zone. Enjoy solo activities like meditation, yoga or long walks in nature.

LEO (July  – Aug )

Loquacious Lions love talking about grandiose goals and spectacular schemes. Now’s the time to walk your talk, as you put passionate plans into action. Don’t just dream about it – get out there and do it! Leading Team Leo will be a breeze mid-week, as you impress others with your enthusiasm and hard work. Socialising with colleagues brings benefits.

VIRGO (Aug  – Sept )

Versatile Virgos are clever and capable, but are you confident enough for big-time success? Don’t sell yourself short! It’s time to shine, as the Solar Eclipse (plus Mercury) light up your career zone. As birthday great Marilyn Monroe reminded us, “We are all stars and deserve the right to twinkle.” On Sunday, look at problems from a fresh angle.

LIBRA (Sept  – Oct )

A big trip is likely over the next year, as the Solar Eclipse activates your travel zone. With this week’s Sun/Saturn aspects, the lesson to learn is self-respect. As birthday boy Clint Eastwood observes: “Self-respect leads to self-discipline. When you have both firmly under your belt, that’s real power.” Sunday favours having fun with family and friends.

SCORPIO (Oct  – Nov 1)

The Solar Eclipse stimulates your intrigue zone so no secret is safe from Scorpios this week, as you uncover clues and pick up on cues that others miss. Be careful what you unearth though – you may stir up issues from your own less-thanperfect past. Lust and loot also loom large, as you work through issues involving intimacy or joint finances.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov  – Dec 1)

Attached Sagittarians – the Solar Eclipse illuminates your relationship zone so your partner will act as a mirror, reflecting back your strengths (and weaknesses). Singles – look for lasting love with a gregarious Gemini or a lovable Leo. On Saturday, Jupiter jumps into Taurus (until mid-2012) which helps focus your mind and ground your fiery energy.

CAPRICORN (Dec  – Jan 1)

Conscientious Capricorns – your leadership skills are appreciated mid-week as you set a positive example, roll up your sleeves and get things done. Thursday’s Solar Eclipse is the ideal time to ditch bad habits and start afresh. Work and personal fitness are the areas where you need to make some overdue changes and adjustments – the sooner the better.

AQUARIUS (Jan 0 – Feb 1)

Have you been feeling bored and uninspired? your life is set to expand in exciting ways, especially in areas involving romance, children, friends, hobbies or sport. Thursday’s Solar Eclipse energises your entertainment sector, so it’s time to clear your throat, polish your maracas, and find yourself a captive audience as you perform and party like a pro!

PISCES (Feb 1 – Mar 0)

The winds of change are blowing through your domestic zone so you could extend your family via a wedding or baby; move house, buy a home or renovate your present dwelling. There is much satisfaction to be gained from contributing your time and talents to your local community. On Friday, don’t waste precious energy pussyfooting around.

Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2011

general knowledge crossword

Across

3 To be emotionally hypersensitive is to be what?

7 What is a more familiar term for a matelot?

8 Which type of creature eats both animal and plant foods?

9 What is another word for a tap?

10 A shed is also known as a what?

11 Name the joints between the upper arms and the forearms.

14 Which parts of actors' lines are intended only for the audience?

17 What are items of dead and putrefying flesh?

18 What serves to cover and uncover the eyeball?

19 Which arachnid has a long narrow abdomen terminating in a venomous sting?

20 Name a term which relates to a year?

21 What describes something ghostly?

Down

1 Name the sweet which is made from burnt sugar.

2 Which medicine performs no physiological function but may be of psychological benefit?

3 What are positive elementary particles present in atoms?

4 When one gets off a train or the like, one does what?

5 A voice characterised by strength, fullness, etc, is considered to be what?

6 Those who regulate their food intake could be called what?

11 What are pretexts or subterfuges?

12 Which product information stripe is designed to be read by an optical scanner? (3,4)

13 Name the dog which is probably a cross between the greyhound and the terrier?

14 What is a repository of arms and military stores?

15 Which place or situation is likened to hell?

16 Relating to right and wrong in conduct is referred to as what?

Canberra Region Property Summary

BELCONNEN

BELCONNEN TOWN CENTRE

4BR H

Sat 11:00-11:45 1/37 Bindaga St Elders Belconnen 0428 486 692 3BR H

12:00-12:45 25 Bindaga St Elders Belconnen 0428 486 692 3BR B

1:00-1:45 4/24 Bindaga Pl Elders Belconnen 0428 486 692 2BR H

Agent 5 Nungara St Independent Belconnen 0402 838 949 3BR H U BANKS

Sat 2:30-3:15 14 Angell Pl Peter Blackshaw Tuggeranong 0418 822 144 4BR G Call Agent 34B Bellchambers Cr Peter Blackshaw Tuggeranong 0402 017 912 3BR B Call Agent 53A Bellchambers Cr L.J. Hooker Tuggeranong 0424 288 717 3BR J

6/48 Betty Maloney Cr L.J. Hooker Tuggeranong 0438 627 772 3BR I

Agent 13 Booderee Pl L.J. Hooker Tuggeranong 0438 627 772 4BR G

Colin McIntyre Property 0417 263 678 4BR H

Cct Luton Properties 0409 015 400 3BR I

0423 900 640 4BR A

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