140515 citynews

JOB hunting is daunting at the best of times, but it’s especially difficult if you’ve been out of the workforce for a while as a

Tania Bunk found herself in this situation a few years ago and despite a strong set of marketable skills in graphic design and human resources, along with the confidence to act in front of big audiences and record her own “folky pop” album (“Grounded”, 2005), she still felt pangs of self-doubt, even when she was handed a job “on a silver platter”.

“I remember clearly when I was offered full-time employment in a place where I was working as a casual; I remember having that feeling of: ‘I don’t think I’ll actually be able to do this’,” she says.

“As a single mum, it was a blessing because I was bringing up two children on my own without the assistance of a partner at all, so the security of full time work was like: ‘Wow!’, but I still remember walking out and feeling doubt that I could do it.”

Now Tania runs Canberra’s only casting agency dedicated to finding work for actors, and is branching out into helping others get back into work after having children, by teaching them acting skills, starting with workshops called “Wonderful Working Women”.

“In those workshops we look at some basic job interview skills in relation to acting theory, so having the ability to walk into a room and not be nervous, to feel that you know exactly what you need to do and who

Stephen Easton reports

you need to be,” she says. “Even if you’re not quite confident of the answers you’re going to give in the interview, you can learn to give off that feeling that you know exactly what you’re about.”

Tania also has a good grasp of the more typical job seeking and interview skills like resume writing and responding to selection criteria from her experience in human resources, which she mixes with her understanding of theatrical communication.

“We go through some techniques to focus the mind, we look at believing in ourselves and what we’re good at, and things like being able to use your intuition so you don’t panic if they ask you a question in a job interview that’s totally off-tack,” she says.

“A lot of acting is about improvisation, having things thrown at you and realising that if you stay calm and believe in yourself, you can deal with any situation.”

The idea is not to become one of those annoying people who seem to breeze through life with little more than a belief in the inevitability of their own success, says Tania, but rather about avoiding being the opposite: a person of substance who can’t get a look in due to lack of confidence.

“The fundamental core is believing in yourself, really, knowing what your assets are and being able to promote them, but not egotistically, not the ‘gift of the gab’ sort of person who doesn’t have the substance.”

Jenny or Katy on: 6249 7377

off that feeling that you know exactly what you’re about.”

Orangutan update

THE Orangutan Project is hosting a “Bears and Orangutans, do they stand a chance?” information (and fun) night with two internationally acclaimed conservationists at Teatro Vivaldi Restaurant, ANU Arts Centre, 6.30pm-9.30pm, on Friday, June 6 in aid of wildlife conservation. Tickets at $25 available from orangutan.org.au/ upcoming-events or from The National Zoo and Aquarium reception, 6287 8400. Enquiries to act@orangutan.org.au

Friends and memories

RETIRED Irish ambassador to Australia and Canberra resident, Richard O’Brien, will be the speaker at the Friends of Ireland meeting at the Canberra Irish Club, 8pm, on Wednesday, May 21. The title of his speech is “Memories of an Irish ambassador – warm soup, hostages and the Trinity connection!”. Enquiries to 6251 4838.

Craig’s ABC

ABC television newsreader Craig Allen will be the guest speaker at the Tuggeranong Day View Club’s May 20 lunch meeting at the Tuggeranong Vikings Town Centre Club, Greenway. View is a leading women’s volunteer organisation and support network and interested visitors are welcome to attend. Cost of lunch is $21. RSVP to 6284 8804.

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How to disappoint everyone but Labor

LET’S hope Treasurer Joe Hockey’s Budget guests got their money’s worth from rubbing shoulders with his most senior staff and key ministers. At $3000 a pop to his North Sydney Forum they certainly deserved it.

Most of us don’t have a lazy $3000 to donate to the Liberals. Makes you wonder if they could pay in kind – with a bottle of 1959 Penfold’s Grange for instance.

Anyway, it turns out Joe’s Budget was really inclusive – there was something in it to disappoint nearly everyone… except the Labor Party, of course. The whole exercise has been a wonderful bonus for the Opposition, if only they had a leader who could string a pithy sentence together.

SPEAKING of which, Paul Keating provided an object lesson this week on the ABC’s “Lateline” with his call for a government “longevity” insurance system. It was pithy Paul rekindled… and here’s a small scoop: my Labor spies tell me he’s actually been asked to consider a return to Federal politics with more than one sitting member prepared to stand aside. And at 70, he’s in his prime. Alas, his response, I

Here’s a small scoop: my Labor spies tell me Paul Keating’s been asked to consider a return to Federal politics... His response was pure pithy Paul.

understand, was pure pithy Paul (as in ‘pith off’).

ATTORNEY-General Simon Corbell tied himself in garrulous knots this week with his boasting about the wondrous results of his new liquor laws that showed they had reduced assaults in the ACT by 11 per cent. And though they’d actually risen in Civic, where the laws apply most pertinently, that was because “there are more police around to witness them”. Fair go, Simon.

ANOTHER piece of Corbellian flap and fluster was his announcement of a $743,000 policy review in response to the disgraceful overcrowding in his Alexander Maconochie correction centre. Hard to believe, isn’t it, that until March 2009 we were able to do without a jail at all. It’s Parkinson’s Law gone troppo. And while it has been administered by unbroken Labor

governments, suddenly Simon has decided: “Justice reinvestment involves the rebalancing of criminal justice expenditure from custody to community-based initiatives that tackle the causes of crime rather than the results of crime.” Make of that gobbledygook what you will. Chances are they’ll just build a bigger jail.

MUCH more flap and fluster this week over moves to end the “sick note” from the doctor. Tony Abbott’s Government has imported one Carol Black from the UK to advise on the change and she’s a “Dame” so Tony reckons she must know what she’s talking about. She advocated a “fit note” setting out what the previously “sick” worker can actually do in the workplace… other than infect colleagues with the thing that sent her/ him to the doctor in the first place.

AND if you’re really fit, try not to

ROBERT MACKLIN

HAve yoUR SAy

Secure Mental Health Unit Preliminary Sketch Plan

Aspects of the Preliminary Sketch Plan can be seen at: www.health.act.gov.au/HIP

Comments can be sent to HIP@act.gov.au or Secure Mental Health Unit Project, PO Box 11, Woden ACT 2606 by Wednesday, 18 June 2014.

A community information session will be held at 6.00pm on Wednesday, 21 May in the Aegean Room, Hellenic Club, Woden. The session will be facilitated by ABC Health Presenter, Dr. Norman Swan.

For further information:

T: (02) 6174 8088 E: HIP@act.gov.au

show off your rippling curves, especially if you work in the Tax Office. Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan himself, we’re told, has personally sent workers home to cover up their naughty bits. Honestly.

MAYBE life really is a cabaret. And if you doubt it, get in early for your tickets to the Canberra Philo’s July production. They’ve snaffled a London West End star – Angel Dolejsi - to play the MC that Joel Grey made famous in the “Cabaret” movie… mighty tough act to follow.

robertmacklin.com

Champ who takes the stairs

IS there a more unassuming sports star in Canberra than Mark Bourne? If there is, they don’t readily come to mind.

Mark is the reigning Vertical World Circuit Champion. If you were in the dark about the Vertical World Circuit, you wouldn’t be alone. He is the fastest stair climber in the world. Earlier this month he won the Taipei 101 for the third year in a row.

As the name suggests, there are 101 floors and it’s a 439-metre vertical race to the top. A quick Google search provides an immediate impression, but probably doesn’t do justice to the effort required.

Monday to Friday, 30-year-old Mark is a public servant working at the Department of the Environment. He juggles his training around work as well as being a dad to two kids, with a third on the way. He needs to be organised and disciplined. Thankfully, he has a strong training group, which includes Olympic marathoner Martin Dent. He has a strong background in mountain running, which has obvious benefits when climbing two steps at a time, 101 floors into the sky.

In terms of managing his time, Mark has opted to compete in a minimum number of events this year in a bid to retain his world title. There are eight events in total, but the title is determined on the top four results. He missed defending his Empire State Building crown

events in Asia. There are a couple of reasons for this, including time away from work.

Another is cost; despite being the world champion he regularly has to self-fund his trips away for competition. There is some prizemoney, which does little more than cover costs.

Unfortunately, none of the Australian Tower races in Brisbane, Sydney or Melbourne are on the world circuit, so if you want to be the world champion you have to head overseas.

I asked him why he does it. He simply said: it is something he enjoys doing. So while you are contemplating taking the lift or the stairs, give the stairs a go just to see, if for nothing else, how you would fare racing up 101 floors.

The right track

WORLD BMX champion, Caroline Buchanan, is so passionate about her sport that she is channeling her ener-

gies into building an Olympic-class BMX track in Canberra.

It is rare for an elite athlete to look beyond their own backyard, but for Caroline this has become a quest almost as consuming as competition itself.

There are two BMX tracks in Canberra; one at Melba and one at Tuggeranong. Caroline says neither is capable of hosting major events in a sport that is growing.

I know little about what’s needed for a BMX track, but it’s obvious that mounds of dirt and plenty of space are prerequisites. Caroline says for Canberra to host major events a new track needs to be built. The exact location for the facility is one aspect, another is funding.

Given we are building a beach volleyball facility, it is only natural that other sports are looking at facilities and what can be done to lift the standard.

TIM GAVEL

I have no real issue with the beach volleyball facility if it can be shown to attract events and grow the sport in the ACT. Volleyball is at least providing some of the funding itself. Under that criteria, BMX deserves some assistance.

Careful what you wish for when going viral

IN March, 2011, I walked into the Phoenix Bar in Civic and my friend Joel rushed up to me at drink-spilling pace waving his mobile phone.

He’d spent part of the afternoon pushing an oversize slinky down the escalator in King O’Malley’s, at times reaching a delightful equilibrium, and had recorded the whole thing on his iPhone.

“You should put that on YouTube,” said I, “it will totally go viral”.

Fortunately Joel took my sage advice and at the time of this writing the video has been viewed 3,385,523 times and featured on Japanese television.

(Joel gets a little shifty when anyone asks exactly what’s going on with the ad money from YouTube, but I did get a pint of cider out of it).

This makes the King O’Malley’s escalator one of the most viewed in the world and we look forward to tourists starting to make the pilgrimage, perhaps with a slinky rental business operating from behind the bar.

However, while it’s relatively easy to see something great and recommend putting it out there, it’s much harder to set out to make something that will be taken up by the world’s masses.

Occasionally I get asked to speak about the intertubes and social whatnots. Invariably the question comes: “How do I get my message to go viral?”

To which the answer is: “Messages don’t go viral.”

Amusing or interesting things go viral, on very rare occasions they also contain messages.

A better rule of thumb is: “Nothing you ever want the world to see will go viral, anything involving you that does go viral will be something you desperately wish did not”.

How many people knew what David Gyngell looked like before he started punching on with James Packer in Bondi?

As the old joke goes “you fool around with just one goat…”

In that vein, the other viral sensation to come out of Canberra in recent years was that picture of Raiders’ star Joel Monaghan

All the worthy stories as nothing compared to a gang of drunk and slightly famous idiots with a camera.

“simulating a lewd act” with a teammate’s dog.

When the best possible spin you can put on a story is that you were merely simulating reprehensible behaviour it really is time to leave town.

(Parents of a certain age will fondly remember fielding the awkward question from their progeny “what’s a loodact?”)

The night before the story broke my publisher was getting (rightly) nervous and we considered sitting on it.

“If we do run it, it will be the most viewed story we’ve ever run,” I said. And so it was.

In a way, it was immensely frustrating. All the worthy stories, some of them dangerous, as nothing compared to a gang of drunk and slightly famous idiots with a camera.

Our server groaned under the load, our advertisers impressions blew out to an international audience with no possibility of becoming customers, and the BBC started calling me for an interview at 4am.

While many dream of “going viral” my advice would be to be careful what you wish for.

The real moral of this story is that if you think you’ve got a really cool video you should buy me a pint of cider and I’ll advise on the next step.

See the slinky heading down the King O’Malley’s escalator at tinyurl.com/mfu22ah

JOHN GRIFFITHS

Big Lance is a lot of cockroach

QUESTACON is playing host to a new visitor, Lance the Giant Burrowing Cockroach.

The heaviest cockroach species (and second only in body length to the Madagascan Hissing Cockroach), Lance’s lot are native Australian bush cockroaches from North Queensland.

In the wild, Giant Burrowing Cockroaches burrow up to a metre underground and can live for up to 10 years.

Lance and other Australian native cockroaches are considered to be valuable members of the ecosystem, eating leaves and detritus on the bush floor and keeping the soil healthy.

He’s been on display during the “Science Time: Autumn and Trees” program and will be back occasionally during busy school holiday periods.

Meanwhile, across town at the CSIRO Discovery Centre, scientist and author, David Rentz, has

Lance the Giant Burrowing Cockroach… the heaviest cockroach species and second only in body length to the Madagascan hissing cockroach.

launched his definitive “Guide to the Cockroaches of Australia”, which looks at more than 500 species.

While they might be reviled in the kitchen and bathroom, of the hundreds of species of cockroaches found in Australia, it is only a small number that give the group a bad name.

Just a few introduced species that are commonly found in homes, restaurants and hospitals are responsible for thousands of dollars spent to comply with health standards.

“A Guide to the Cockroaches of Australia” by David Rentz (CSIRO Publishing, $49.95)

Not shivering, celebrating!

By Catherine Carter

IT’S hard not to love Canberra at this time of year – cool evenings with warm and sunny days, the gardens still green and the trees golden and glowing.

Though, for some visitors, the thought of winter in the capital gives them the chills. Our coldest months should offer as positive an experience as the warmer seasons.

Tourists continue to flock to Paris, London and New York when temperatures plummet. Indeed, Europe in winter is a magical place where evening walks reward visitors with discoveries of fairy-lit squares, live music and night-time markets. The freezing cold just adds to the experience – hot doughnuts and steaming mulled wine taste so much better when held between gloved hands!

We should make more of winter in Canberra. The successes of the Fireside and Truffle Festivals and the ice-skating rink in Garema Place suggest that Canberrans are more than happy to get out and about when it’s cold.

Some of us still remember the winter markets once held into the night on the shores of Lake Burley Griffin at Commonwealth Place. Visitors could watch the stars through telescopes, drink glühwein and dance to music under the winter sky. We should build on this success, animating the city centre in winter with markets and entertainment during the day and night.

Celebrating the seasons in Canberra all year round is an opportunity not to be missed.

Catherine Carter is ACT executive director of the Property Council of Australia.

We’re supporting Communities@Work help Canberrans in need with healthy food and essential supplies. We’re giving you great chances to win too.

CARE TO WIN $1,000 FOR SHOWING YOUR RECEIPT?*

Show receipts at the Customer Service Desk for a $5 Connect & Care “Care Coupon” to donate to any Communities@Work charity. You could also win a $1,000 gift card.

CARE TO WIN A $3,000 SCHOOL TECH PACK?*

Simply donate healthy food (sorry, not fresh) and other essential goods in your school’s drop box in Centre Court, and your school could win one of three tech packs.

Ask at our Customer Service Desk or visit www.hyperdome.com.au for details.

How the public service is a free political kick

THERE has been no talk from the government around Budget time of ensuring the very wealthy and the very, very wealthy shoulder their share of the tax burden.

Instead, all we hear is about cutting and slashing the public service. And this is on top of the constant cuts by the Gillard and Rudd governments.

The most recent round of slashing throws down the gauntlet to our most senior public servants and particularly the Public Service Commissioner. Community groups, industry and some semi-government bodies understand the need to sell themselves and their value to the community. Our public servants make a huge contribution to community and yet this is poorly understood across Australia, making them and their work an easy scapegoat. It may not be a traditional approach of public service organisations – but enough is enough! It is time to begin the process of selling, really selling, the value of the public service to the Australian community.

An insight into the outrageous nature of the ideological drive comes from Tony McBride, chair of the Australian Health Care Reform Alliance, who says a compulsory co-payment for GP visits is one way of providing extra funding for health care, “but it is one of the least effective, targeted bizarrely at those who are sick”.

He says: “Strong primary health care is internationally recognised as the cornerstone of an effective and lower cost health system.”

The consequences of such an ideological drive would discourage low-income people – who we know have the worst health status on average – from attending their local GP or emergency department “when there are the early signs of sickness [which] is counter-productive, cruel if they are in pain, and ultimately foolhardy. Untreated diseases get worse and more expensive to cure.”

Health also illustrates the flick-pass approach taken by this government. When savings are made on primary healthcare it is the States and Territories that pick up the (bigger) bill. Cost shifting may make the Federal Budget look good. However, ordinary taxpayers fork out at both levels of government and this way they have to pay more taxes for the same services. It is yet another example of an inequitable, ideological approach taken by the Federal government. It’s time for Australians to return to an equitable shouldering of our shared responsibility and a commitment to “a fair go”.

According to Prof Peter Whiteford, from the Crawford School of Public Policy at the ANU, writing in “The Conversation”: “The wealthiest 20 per cent of Australian households,

Our public servants make a huge contribution to community and yet this is poorly understood across Australia.

with an average net worth of $2.2 million per household in 2011-12, accounted for 61 per cent of total household net worth.

“The poorest 20 per cent of households accounted for one per cent of total household net worth, and had an average net worth of $31,000 per household.”

It is unsurprising that the Audit Commission set up by Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Treasurer Joe Hockey have targeted the most vulnerable in our community. After all, the exercise was specifically designed along ideological grounds.

Although there were claims of a dire Budget emergency, revenue being raised from the wealthiest through the mining taxes and from carbon pricing was given away.

The government may target the wealthy to some extent, but what it fails to do is to target the really wealthy. And the gap grows larger.

Member for Fraser, and former ANU economics professor, Andrew Leigh, recently made the point that the gap is even growing substantially between the wealthy and the very wealthy with “the proportion of wealth held by the top one per cent nearly doubling between 1979 and 2010, and the proportion held by the top 0.001 per cent tripling from 1984 to 2012.”

According to an estimate published in “The Business Review Weekly” in November 2011, “the top 84,000, or one per cent, of Australian households had an average net wealth of $11.2 million”.

Michael Moore was an independent member of the ACT Legislative Assembly (1989 to 2001) and was minister for health.

MICHAEL MOORE

Join renowned speaker, doctor and academic Associate Professor Katrina Anderson for an exclusive morning focused on holistic wellness, which will educate, inspire and empower you!

Here’s to Chuck

AS an old Conder resident, I thank you for knowing your history and taking up the cudgels (CN, Canberra Confidential, April 17) in the long-standing battle to have my suburb named correctly; that is Conder not Condor.

Sadly, it is not only the ACT Legislative Assembly and its good burghers who make this mistake; real estate agencies, the bureaucracy and many Canberra organisations – including a high-profile pizza chain (I call it the Domino effect) make this mistake all too frequently.

Why anyone could imagine that Canberra would name a suburb after a large bird of carrion (condor) is beyond my understanding.

Now, good old ex-Pom Chuck Conder may have had a somewhat dissolute and short-lived existence (dead at 40), but he is a noted Australian painter, so let’s give his reputation and talent wings – and not some ugly old flesh-eating bird.

Barry Rollings, via email

Opportunism, methinks

THE ALP opposes co-payments, really?

A lot of politics is regrettably about posturing, opposing things that facts in government would lead you to support. The ALP has embarked

Conder

upon a huge fear-campaign on the suggestion of co-payments for doctor visits. Oddly, the same ALP in government happily and regularly hiked up the co-payment for pharmaceuticals, which are pretty fundamental to health care, too. A wee bit of opportunism here!

M Gordon, Flynn

It’s time to buddy up?

IN my view, it’s time Canberra initiated a sister-city process with the capital of the US, Washington. Yes, we already have this status with Nara, Japan, and Beijing, China. But many cities have more than two. Our US friendship goes back to World War I at least, and daily we live in the presence of Walter Burley Griffin. There will be critics, of course, asking what can Washington do for us. I see that as short-thinking and short sighted. There are many organisations already in Canberra with strong links to America. Surely our local representatives and business entrepreneurs could only benefit from very close links with Washington. Yes, our Government is dwarfed politically and numerically by the number of Washington politicians – but could this not work to our advantage?

Colliss

Parrett, Barton

Date: 7:15-9am Wednesday, May 28

Where: Double Drummer, 4 National Circuit, Barton Member: $80

Member Table: $750

Following a guided meditation, Associate Professor Anderson will speak about what wellness looks like in the workplace, and how you can achieve it. To

Non Member: $125

Non Member Table: $1200

Treat yourself to a luxury June getaway with this very special offer – only available 13-15 June or 20–22 June 2014

La Osteria restaurant / sponsored

New name behind Kingston’s old copper door

KINGSTON’S La Osteria may have a new name, but new owners Domenic and Ornella Celestino are the originals, back behind the reins of what used to be La Rustica after a 10-year hiatus.

“It’s great to be back,” says Domenic. “It’s been like coming home, and it’s very nostalgic for our family.”

Domenic and Ornella opened the restaurant and in 2004 sold it to their family, who ran La Rustica in the same Kennedy Street location for 10 years.

They’ve now moved on with a new venture, and so the opportunity arose for

Domenic and Ornella to take over again.

“When the chance came up, we happily took it,” says Domenic.

“There is such a lot of history here, and we love creating the welcoming, family atmosphere that La Rustica has always had.”

Despite the name change, not much else is different about the restaurant, says Domenic.

He says they still have the same head chef who he brought over from Italy in 1994, and that much of the menu and traditional recipes, including pizzas, pasta, meat dishes and house-made desserts, will remain the same.

“In Italy, an osteria is a very simple, casual eatery,” he says. “We want it to feel like

you’re in an Italian home, gathering with friends and family, enjoying a really satisfying, filling meal, cooked the way Italian food always has been.”

“It’s a very casual way of dining, it’s traditional, country style, home style.”

La Osteria still has its rustic vibe intact, with wooden beams that were reclaimed from the old Sydney docks, exposed brickwork, warm colours and a relaxed, cosy feel.

“It’s amazing to think this wood was under water, holding up the docks,” says Ornella.

“People are always knocking the beams to see if they’re hollow!

“They’re solid. And the older the wood gets, the better it looks.”

The couple also own La Cantina in Narrabundah, which also shows their style with a unique arched brickwork interior.

“The fitout here in La Osteria is the one we put in ourselves back in 1996, so we decided to keep it because it has our style all over it,” says Domenic.

“It has a timeless quality – particularly the old copper door. I saved that door from the woolshed at the old Sydney docks and transported it here, so it has a lot of memories for us. People admire it all the time, and it’s much imitated but that one’s an original.”

Ornella says they wanted the restaurant’s new name to have a “La” in it. “It’s become our signature,” she laughs. “La Rustica, La

Cantina, La Osteria – it’s our style now.”

Their son Paul is now managing the traditional Italian bar and cucina.

“I grew up here so there are a lot of memories; it’s very sentimental for me,” he says. “I couldn’t be happier to be back.

“This is such a special part of Kingston – it’s full of history, as one of the first shopping precincts in Canberra. The wide footpaths, the heritage trees. It’s beautiful here and we love being part of this community.”

La Osteria, 35 Kennedy Street, Kingston. Call 6162 1122 or visit laosteria.com.au. Lunch, midday to 2pm, Wednesday-Friday; dinner, 6pm-10pm, Monday-Sunday.

scene / around canberra

Event of the week / Camp Quality Supper Club: Tales of the City

Tales would be shared, new ones would evolve and many an indulgent pleasure experienced.

“TALES of the City” could refer to the eponymous stories by Armistead Maupin of ‘90s San Francisco. But I sure Camp Quality didn’t have that in mind when it chose it as the theme of its annual fundraising night out in five cities around the country. Tales would be shared, new ones would evolve and many an indulgent pleasure experienced.

It started for the media group at Soju Girl, one of the 10 participating restaurants, and could have ended there with the superb menu planned and explained by head chef Derek Brown satisfying even the most discerning of palates with the eclectic fusion of Asian cuisines, deconstruction of familiar favourites and molecular gastronomy for delicious flavour combinations.

But we had another party to go to. The after party is the grand finale for this event when all the diners are “limousined” to the secret location – it was Old Parliament House – for the chance to let their hair down. One gent, with an inclination for anonymity, kept his under his wig.

Camp Quality supports kids with cancer; that’s the only tale I really need to tell.

LYN MILLS

INTRODUCING THE ALL-NEW QUATTROPORTE.

IT’S TIME

After ample anticipation, the new Quattroporte is here. A harmonious blend of seductive design and innovation. The new Quattroporte GTS boasts a 3.8 litre V8 engine delivering 530hp at 710Nm of torque for blistering performance. Distinctly Italian and iconically Maserati, this sports saloon is now even more responsive offering luxurious comfort and intuitive control. The powerful new Quattroporte S with 410hp at 550Nm of torque, is also available for order. So, if you’ve ever dreamed about owning a Maserati Quattroporte, it’s now time.

*As per Australian Design Rule (ADR) 81/02.

862-874 Elizabeth St (Cnr Bourke St), Waterloo NSW 2017 02 8577 8100

www.fmsydney.com.au

Photos by Andrew Finch

At Elite Sound and Events 20th Birthday

ActewAGL is once again hosting free Energy Saving Workshops to help customers with managing energy use and reduce winter energy bills.

Workshops will be held across Canberra and Queanbeyan at the following locations.

Gungahlin Library, Corner of Hibberson and Gozzard Streets, Tuesday 20 May 5.30pm to 7.00pm

Queanbeyan Kangaroos Club, Richard Ave, Queanbeyan, Wednesday 21 May 5.30pm to 7.00pm

Bunnings Tuggeranong, Thursday 22 May 5.30pm to 7.00pm

ActewAGL House, 40 Bunda Street Civic, Monday 26 May 12.00pm to 1.30pm

Woden Southern Cross Club, 92-96 Corinna Street, Phillip Tuesday 27 May 5.30pm to 7.00pm

Bunnings Belconnen, Thursday 29 May 5.30pm to 7.00pm

To find out more about our free community workshops and register your attendance visit actewagl.com.au/workshops

ClubsACT Awards for Excellence special feature

Three club groups share in multiple awards

Hellenic wins big club title

“There was a clear dominance this year by three club groups who shared multiple awards, the Southern Cross Club venues, the Vikings Group and the Hellenics,” says Jeff House, ClubsACT CEO, who organises the annual excellence awards.

“Notably, the Vikings Group took out seven categories including the Medium Club of the Year accolade for their Town Centre Club.

“CEO Greg Mitchell of the Southern Cross Club of Canberra has been a long-serving figure in the Canberra club industry and received the Outstanding Service Award.

“Despite the group dominance, the National Press Club of Barton also took out three awards including Small Club of the Year.

“David Lockwood (25), of the Hellenic Club of Canberra, was named the Young Achiever of the Year and was recognised for his outstanding ability and dedication.

“Assuming a role as head chef of the Hellenic Club’s Floresco restaurant, at the Australian National Botanical

Gardens, he has displayed an ongoing passion and willingness to always take on new challenges despite his young age.

“The ACTTAB Chefs’ Battle, now in its second year, saw a strong calibre of chefs test their culinary talent and show the very best of the Canberra club food offering. This coveted accolade was taken by the Southern Cross Cub Tuggeranong team executive chef Anurag Guatam and 3rd year apprentice chef, Bradley Howden.”

At the

Outstanding Service Award winner Greg Mitchell.

Award – Medium, Southern Cross Club Jamison

Community Assistance Award – Large, Hellenic Club of Canberra

Responsible Gaming and Gaming Facility – Medium, Vikings Town Centre

Responsible Gaming and Gaming Facility – Large, Southern Cross Club Tuggeranong

Member Services Award – Medium, Vikings Town Centre

Member Services Award – Large, Gungahlin Lakes Golf Club

Best ACTTAB Award, Hellenic Club of Canberra

Human Resource Management – Medium, Southern Cross Club Jamison

Human Resource Management – Large, Hellenic Club of Canberra

2014

Club of the Year

Large

HELLENIC CLUB OF CANBERRA

Awards for Excellence Category Winners Chefs Battle

2014 Best Bistro

Vikings Town Centre

2014 Best Restaurant

Peppercress at Southern Cross Club Tuggeranong

2014 Best Conference and Event Centre

National Press Club of Australia

Outstanding Service Award

Greg Mitchell CEO of the Canberra Southern Cross Club

Young Achiever Award

David Lockwood, Hellenic Club of Canberra

Promotion of Sport - Medium

Vikings Town Centre

Promotion of Sport - Large

Vikings Erindale

Community Assistance Award - Medium

Southern Cross Club Jamison

Medium

VIKINGS TOWN CENTRE

Small

NATIONAL PRESS CLUB OF AUSTRALIA

ACTTAB

Community Assistance Award - Large

Hellenic Club of Canberra

Responsible Gaming and Gaming FacilityMedium

Vikings Town Centre

Responsible Gaming and Gaming FacilityLarge

Southern Cross Club Tuggeranong

Members Services Award - Medium

Vikings Town Centre

Member Services Award - Large

Gungahlin Lakes Golf Club

Best ACTTAB Award

Hellenic Club of Canberra

Human Resource Management - Medium

Southern Cross Club Jamison

Human Resource Management - Large

Hellenic Club of Canberra

CIT Best Apprentice

Daryl Harris, National Press Club of Australia

Chefs Battle - Runner Up

Joshua McCulloch and Finnian Power of Vikings Town Centre

ACTTAB Chefs Battle - Winner

Anurag Guatam and Bradley Howden of Southern Cross Club Tuggeranong

Ecologist John Briggs… “I’m really disappointed

that the ACT government has taken such a ruthless view to our efforts.”

Volunteers duped by land ‘greed’

LANDCARE volunteers from the Watson Community Association have worked hard to restore the natural balance in Justice Robert Hope Park since it was set aside as “urban open space” in 2001 and 2002 after a successful campaign against residential development on the site.

Now they are angry and bewildered. Their adopted park and the work they have done to restore it have been used to justify the destruction of a neighbouring patch of the same critically endangered native woodland.

Since 2012, federal environmental policy has required a separate piece of land be reserved as a “biodiversity offset” for developments that consume pieces of dwindling native habitats, but critics say the policy is being deliberately misapplied in the ACT by both the Federal and Territory governments.

Justice Robert Hope Park is in the category of “White Box-Yellow Box-Blakely’s Red Gum Grassy Woodland”, listed as critically endangered by the federal Department of the Environment, and has been used as a biodiversity offset to make up for the loss of the same woodland type next door.

“Our first gripe is the area they have chosen as an offset is already a reserve… and to me, that is completely wrong,” says ecologist John Briggs, from Watson Community Association’s Woodlands Working Group.

Briggs heads up the south-east region Ecosystems and Threatened Species Team in the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, Flora and Vegetation Management Unit. He was the one who first assessed the land and confirmed its conservation value for the locals who wanted to save it.

“The Commonwealth policy says that an area

Stephen Easton reports

that’s already a reserve shouldn’t be eligible, and neither should an area that can’t be built on, because of current zoning or whatever reason, yet they’ve let this go through,” he says.

“And, they’ve used the improvements to the condition of the park that were done by the community group as part of the justification. They’ve used our work to subsidise the environmental costs of this.”

Briggs is not alone in this view. Dr Philip Gibbons, a senior lecturer at the ANU with expertise in conservation, biodiversity, environment policy, landscape ecology and natural resource management, and ANU biologist Prof Jochen Zeil, the convenor of Friends of Mount Majura, wrote much the same thing in “The Canberra Times” in January.

They argued that using existing reserves such as Justice Robert Hope Park as biodiversity offsets, as the ACT Government and the Commonwealth believe they can be, is “in clear contravention” of “a key principle” behind the policy.

On March 28, the Land Development Agency (LDA) sold Block 9, Section 64 North Watson, for $7.3 million “to be developed as a sustainable precinct” with 80 to 110 new homes, which will require a 10m-wide clearing for a stormwater pipeline through the woodland reserve next door and another 100m-wide section carved off as an “outer asset protection zone” for bushfire safety.

“I’m really disappointed that the ACT government has taken such a ruthless view to our efforts there, and that they’re allowing these impacts to the park such as the asset protection zone and the pipeline that’s going to knock down our eight-

year-old plantings,” says Briggs, who believes both impacts could have been avoided.

In 2001, the public campaign to save the park on Canberra’s north-eastern fringe found support in the Legislative Assembly from independent and Greens MLAs, as well as Labor, in opposition at the time.

“If you allow any development within the site… the site cannot regenerate as an intact unit of Yellow Box/Red Gum grassy woodland. It cannot be done,” then-opposition MLA Simon Corbell told the tree planters at a rally in 2001.

“[...] The Labor Party has taken the view that the only way to ensure its integrity in the long term is to protect it in its entirety, and that is the Labor Party’s position.”

Half a year later Corbell was Planning and Land Management Minister in the Stanhope Government, which gave Justice Robert Hope Park a level of protection that left a 70 per cent chance of it being destroyed at some point, at least according to the Department of the Environment’s recent assessment of its potential as a biodiversity offset.

“Back then we were very positive and very grateful to Simon for that support,” recalls Briggs, wondering if their former champion, who he says now refuses to meet the group in person, has been “caught in the middle of politics” and rolled by the powerful LDA.

“I’m extremely disappointed that Simon hasn’t supported its full protection now. I just feel it’s about money, that they’re desperately looking for revenue and they don’t care about anything else.”

More information including public submissions and the government’s responses at: economicdevelopment.act.gov.au/community_engagement/ current_activities/block-9-section-64-watson

Surviving a crush on Pauline

MIKE WELSH has a “crush” on Pauline Hanson, the woman who took national politics by the scruff of the neck. But it’s not a “crush” of the heart...

WHEN thinking of Pauline Hanson, the First Lady of One Nation, I can’t help but remember a ‘60s Aussie band and my nearly being crushed to death. There have been only two occasions on which I felt I even remotely close to being crushed by a crowd of excited and irrational people.

The first was 1965 in hometown Launceston when two schoolboy friends and I made the mistake of loitering unwittingly inside the same record bar as the hottest pop band in the country, The Easybeats, was conducting an “in-store”. It all happened in the blink of an eye. One second we were standing at the back of the Allen’s Music store in front of a makeshift stage which had magically filled with five skinny, longhaired blokes; the next we were being hauled bodily on to the stage by “security”, which in 1965 was Kevin, the store’s Hammond organ teacher and the band’s lead singer, “Little Stevie” Wright, when a marauding horde of screaming 12 to 14-year-old females started flooding forward.

The second “near-crushed-to-death” experience came almost 30 years later, at the Port Macquarie Town Hall.

The political pop-star of the time, Pauline Hanson, was in town as a guest of the local branch of her burgeoning political party, One Nation. Ms Hanson had already proven a security nightmare for organisers (security being a tad more sophisticated by then) at rallies around Australia, but this was a hard-core “Pauline” crowd. Covering the event as a journalist, I’d barely stepped into the foyer before being targeted by locals who believed the media had given her a tough time and felt the need to “jostle” our small and startled media pack.

Ordinarily, my beat didn’t involve pensioner pushing and shoving, but on this day it surprisingly morphed into something potentially more dangerous.

Things got a bit “too close for comfort” and police gathered up the media party and Ms Hanson and shoved us all through a door to the safety of backstage. When Pauline came to Canberra in 2012 to appear on my radio program, one thing was crystal clear; she was still extremely popular with the punters for her “straight talking” approach.

The mere mention of “Pauline’s talkback radio tryout” resulted in stories in newspapers from Perth to Sydney and was covered on scores of national radio and TV programs. And whether you like or loathe her, she will continue to be a force to be reckoned with, even if it is on Kochie’s couch. For the record, The Easybeats haven’t made an “in-store” for some time.

This is an edited version from Mike Welsh’s blog “Mockery of Shockjockery, thoughts of an ex radio shockjock”.

Your safety is our priority

Maintaining a safe and reliable network is our priority. To do this, we need your help.

When you’re out and about, keep an eye out for damage to gas or electricity equipment.

Damaged equipment includes the following:

• open or damaged substation doors

• covers removed from mini pillars

• damaged electricity poles and wires

• bent or broken gas meter pipes.

A little help from you could make a big difference to everyone’s safety.

For emergencies and faults call 13 10 93 for electricity and 13 19 09 for gas – 24-hours.

Are you entering the workforce or changing careers?

Join our high quality, friendly and practical training:

Food Safety Supervisor – $150 Units required for compliance for registered food businesses.

Hygiene for Food Handlers – $95 Safe practices for staff in food environments.

Service Champions – $120 Service techniques to see you excel with your customers.

Certificate III Hospitality – $110/unit

Already in industry, have your skills recognised through the RPL process and a qualification may not be that far away.

Please contact Nicole at: nicole@takeanote.com.au or enrol at: www.takeanote.com.au

Make the most of knowledge and where best to share it... conferences & training advertising feature

Here is the “CityNews” guide to some venues, events and organisations around Canberra that all facilitate trading in knowledge, the most important commodity of all.

The National Convention Centre… offering a special deal for new customers who book a daytime event with a minimum of 30 delegates anytime from May to August.

Big centre hosts small seminars, too

EVERYONE knows the National Convention Centre has the facilities to host massive events, but due to its flexible design it’s actually perfect for smaller meetings and seminars as well.

To convince more local organisations of this fact, the centre is offering a special deal for new customers who book a daytime (8am-6pm) event with a minimum of 30 delegates for any time in May, June, July or August.

“Our meeting packages start at $69 per delegate, per day, and that includes room hire, a two-choice morning tea, hot buffet lunch, afternoon tea with biscuits and free wi-fi, so delegates can check emails and browse web pages,” says sales director Jennifer Dywerslee.

“We’re also including free parking for up to 200 delegates, subject to availability.”

Jennifer says the Convention Centre has been measuring feedback from its clients for a long time, and maintains an extremely high satisfaction index, especially for its catering and

customer service. Around 40 per cent of its clients come back again and quite a few have been regulars since it opened 24 years ago.

“We’re flexible, and that means more than just the floor plans; we listen to what our clients are asking for and find ways to deliver it,” she says.

“We’re big enough for a worldclass event, yet small enough you won’t get lost in our centre, or our processes.”

National Convention Centre, 31 Constitution Avenue. Call 6276 5200 or go to nccc.com.au

Smart ways to recognise skills

NICOLE Bush from Take a Note Training Solutions specialises in hospitality training, with a focus on taking customer service skills to the next level.

“The big thing we see in hospitality, retail and other quick-service industries is the pace at which customers shop now has really increased, so the course includes a lot of techniques in relation to the diverse customers you deal with and what they want today, as well as specific skills like conflict management,” she explains. “There’s a whole range of things we look at, beyond just getting them through the door.”

Nicole says a lot of experienced people working in hospitality don’t realise they can have their existing skills ticked off and get a certificate quickly and easily.

“If people already have the skills and just need them recognised with a qualification, you can do that now under recognition of prior learning,” she says. “We go out and assess people based on what they can currently do in the workplace, find any little skills gaps that require a bit more formal training and look at flexible training options to fill those gaps. It means you don’t have to commit to one night a week for two years, so you save time, including time away from the workplace.

“More and more in hospitality, they’re looking for formal qualifications, and it also helps you take what you’ve learned in that industry into another.”

Take a Note Training Solutions. Call 6248 0998 or go to takeanote.com.au

Meeting Packages from $69 per person, per day including FREE WiFi and FREE Parking for delegates*

*Terms and conditions apply

To book this offer contact our Events Team on 02 6276 5200, email ncc.sales@ihg.com or request an RFP at nccc.com.au/organise/event-enquiry/ www.nccc.com.au

Helping

to make business dreams come true

Ron and Bronwen Davis… providing services such as planning, mentoring, feasibility studies, data analysis and IT advice to small companies.

DAVIS Consultancies will be running a workshop later this year for Canberrans who dream of quitting their job and starting their own small business.

Husband-and-wife team Ron and Bronwen Davis provides services such as business planning, mentoring, feasibility studies, data analysis and IT advice to small companies in Canberra, taking their motto from military strategist Sun Tzu: “Opportunities multiply as they are seized”.

“Given ongoing employment concerns for many, we plan to hold a small informal “Q & A” workshop in Canberra for people who are leaving their employment and are looking to start or develop a business of their own,” says Ron.

“We provide in-depth, quality business support to our clients, thereby allowing them the time to focus on the main game — their new or established business.”

The workshop will run for at least two hours and should participants wish, there will be the opportunity to follow up with an individual discussion to assist them with their specific plans.

“The skill, experience and broad expertise that the company offers has been developed from the small business arena through to working with private businesses and through Government funding for community groups and local governments,” Ron says. Davis Consultancies. Call 6295 7003 or email ron.davis@ daviscon.net.au

Where apprentice chefs get a personal touch

JCE Positive Outcomes provides personalised hospitality and management training, especially commercial cookery, and trains apprentice chefs in some of Canberra’s top kitchens.

Managing director Edward Nathan says JCE pioneered a completely on-the-job approach to commercial cooking apprenticeships in Canberra, but also has a fully equipped training kitchen to fill in any gaps as required.

“For the theory, they can come to our classrooms and they get one-on-one training,” Edward says. “For a lot of people in this industry it’s all about money, but we actually care about these guys – some of whom can’t read and write, but are excellent chefs. So we might read them the question, they tell us the answer and we write it in for them; it’s very personalised.”

He adds that JCE has recently started specialising in placements where apprentice chefs can learn to cook Asian cuisine.

“The other thing that is unique to us is that our ap -

prentices can take up a seven-month stint in France with our partner organisation over there called Gastronomicon,” he adds. “They are trained over there and they get paid employment as well.”

Anyone from the Asia-Pacific region who wants to attend the culinary academy in the seaside resort town of Cap d’Agde in the south of France, has to go through JCE Positive Outcomes.

“Our apprentices also get membership into the Australian Culinary Association, and they get a Food Safety Supervisor Certificate for free,” says Edward. “If they wish to continue their studies with us to Diploma or Advanced Diploma, we give them a highly discounted rate because they are already our apprentices.”

Last August, it became mandatory in the ACT for at least one person in every food service establishment to have a food safety qualification, and JCE’s course is also recognised in NSW.

JCE Positive Outcomes. Call 6258 0033 or visit jcepositiveoutcomes.com.au

The conference where thought leaders gather

THE yearly conference staged by the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG) has a reputation as a prestigious showcase of experts in public administration, thought leaders and academics from around the world.

This year’s ANZSOG Annual Conference, “Growing National Prosperity: Government’s role in the 21st Century”, is being held from August 5-7 in Canberra, at a time when the public sector finds itself at “a critical juncture”, according to ANZSOG’s dean and CEO, Gary Banks.

“Year on year growth can no longer be taken for granted, government expenditure commonly exceeds revenue and traditional policy advisory, administrative and service delivery tasks are coming under considerable pressure,” Mr Banks says.

“While the core objectives of promoting economic prosperity and community wellbeing remain, the fiscal fallout from the GFC and emerging additional budgetary pressures are raising new questions about the extent of government’s role and how it is to be discharged. “ANZSOG sets the platform with practical content, for rigorous thoughtprovoking debate for public administration officials of Australia and NZ on topics that are relevant to the challenges facing governments of the day.”

ANZSOG Annual Conference, August 5-7, Hyatt Hotel and nearby locations. Call 03 8344 1990 or register online at anzsog.edu.au

advertising feature

Refurbished park attracts increased interest

EXHIBITION Park has been undergoing a refurbishment program over the past few years with a focus on improving both the look and function of its many versatile spaces, as well as upgrading features such as catering outlets and entrance ways.

“We want all Canberrans to feel a sense of pride and connection to the venue, and get behind us and support the positive changes being made,” says Liz Clarke, CEO of Exhibition Park Corporation.

In particular, the transformation of the Exhibition Park Conference Centre last July has positioned it as a leading facility with recently upgraded audio-visual equipment, outstanding catering and the capacity to accommodate groups from 50 to 500.

“We have received an extraordinary response following the refurbishment and have seen an increased level of interest from major conference organisers, both nationally and internationally,” says Ms Clarke.

“As you walk through the venue, you see the detail that has gone into the architectural design and styling to create spaces that inspire imagination and creativity, while not becoming intrusive or distracting.”

The versatility of the convenient and affordable conference centre makes it a popular option for groups of any size, she adds.

“Only a short drive from the Canberra CBD, with ample free parking on site, Exhibition Park is worth a look for all types of conferences and events.”

Exhibition Park, corner of Flemington Road and Northbourne Avenue, Mitchell. Call 6205 5230 or go to epic.act.gov.au

The place to meet in the Tuggeranong Valley

FOR seminars, conferences and conventions in the Tuggeranong Valley, the Vikings Club has a state-of-the-art venue in Erindale, simply named The Auditorium.

“The Auditorium is perfect for seminars, conferences or conventions, capable of holding up to 700 delegates in theatre-style, over 300 in classroom style and up to 700 for a cocktail launch,” says Vikings Club events manager Joe Teixeira. “We can also offer expo facilities on negotiation.”

The self-contained venue features high-quality lighting, sound and video projection equipment with hearing aid loops and an elevated audio-visual control room at the back, as well as three large motorised screens to ensure everyone can see what’s happening up on the big, raised stage, which is 15m wide and

8m deep. The Auditorium also has 8m-high ceilings, a purpose-built green room with kitchen facilities, comfortable lounges, catering by award-winning chefs and free parking for up to 600 cars.

A range of function packages are available and the club will hold tentative bookings for up to seven days before a deposit is required.

“Our professional audio-visual technicians and event coordinators will work with you to ensure every detail is perfect, and we can also provide accommodation transfers on request,” says Joe.

The Auditorium, 6 Ricardo Street, Wanniassa. Call 6121 2131 or go to vikings.com.au/erindale/functions

Great and versatile event spaces near the city

THE Canberra Rex Hotel Conference and Events Centre offers 900 square metres of innovative conference and event facilities, which can be easily configured to accommodate a variety of different sized events.

For training seminars, board meetings, conferences, gala dinners, weddings and exhibitions, the versatile event spaces can host anything from 16 to 650 guests.

The Great Room can seat 500 delegates theatre-style or 400 for a stylish dinner, and divides into five separate spaces for breakout sessions. The Grand Ballroom seats 260 theatre-style or 220 dinner guests and can split into two areas, each with natural light and access to a private bar, entrance and foyer.

“Capturing and maintaining the attention of your audience is one of the key ingredients to a successful event,” advises the hotel’s assistant manager, Jackie Gregory.

“At the Canberra Rex Hotel, you have access to a comprehensive range of audio visual equipment, all available in-house, which enables last minute requests to be arranged efficiently.

“Our team of exceptional chefs will ensure all guests are catered for and our menus offer a variety of gourmet items, from fresh and healthy options to sweet treats.

“We specialise in tailoring packages that are bespoke to each event. During a meeting with our Conference and Events Team, including our executive chef, we will create a package that is suited to your event.”

Canberra Rex Hotel Conference and Events Centre, 150 Northbourne Avenue, Braddon. Call 6248 5311or go to canberrarexhotel.com.au

Approved by the NSW Food Authority

I day program, 9am to 4.30pm. All materials supplied including workbooks, fact sheets, sample logs and sample Food Safety Plan!

Call or email us: Nicole: 0434 541 379

Reception: 6258 0033

Edward: 0408 860 993 operations@jcepositiveoutcomes.com.au academy@jcepositiveoutcomes.com.au

us about our specials on the Diploma of Management and the TAE40110 in Training and Assessment

Special of the month of MAY, JUNE, JULY & AUG $75/ppCostworkbooksincludes

Canberra Confidential

BUBBLY pinup Keegan Snow Spence, has won a national competition for the title of 2014 covergirl for “Pinup Skool” magazine, but you saw her first as covergal on the October 17, 2013, of “CityNews”.

In an earlier interview she told “CN” that she “lives and breathes” vintage, from her music (Etta James and Shirley Bassey) to movies (“Breakfast

at Tiffany’s” and “Some Like It Hot”).

“My mum and I used to watch classical movies and I just fell in love with the glamour of that era,” she said.

“People have always said I’m an old soul. I think I’d have rocked the pinup style in that era, but I love rocking it in this era now!”

Above: Keegan on the cover of “Pinup Skool” and, left, her “CityNews” cover last October.

Cheeky little white

A CHEEKY little white dropped through the freebie chute and straight into CC’s in-tray the other day. Alas, the vintage was recent, but the taste of old-fashioned, lovely creamy milk on CC’S Coco Pops was a real treat.

Bodalla Dairy, on the south coast, was buttering up the local media with a bottle of what it says is naturally produced milk, gently pasteurised at a low temperature to conserve healthy bacteria and proteins and bursting with more health benefits than the massproduced supermarket stuff.

It’s not homogenised and the cream rises to the top, like it used to do, says dairy owner Sandra McCuaig.

Supa Barn is stocking it.

Dark Ages anyone?

IS this the wackiest club in town? CC discovered the Ancient Arts Fellowship on a list of unusual things people do in their spare time.

A closer look revealed that it’s a Canberrabased Dark Ages re-enactment group whose members practice old-fashioned skills such as archery and close-quarters fighting using swords, shields, axes, spears and the like, wearing armour and period costumes.

Making all of this gear by hand is another of its main activities, along with feasting on foods that would have been served up to William the Conqueror (or William the Bastard depending on which side of his conquest you were on). Every year this culminates in a long weekend of feasting, crafting, fighting and archery called Beorgwic.

Big Water Views And Classic

fireplace as well as an enormous ‘teenage’ retreat next door that has its own bathroom! Set on a 575m2 block with fully fenced and private backyard this home is sure to please.

Melissa Williams 0408 253 481 LJ Hooker Broulee

The AAF confines its immersive historical revelry to Northern Europe and Britain, from the time when the Vikings began to raid and later live alongside the Anglo-Saxons up until the Norman invasion, led by the aforementioned William, in AD1066.

“However,” they say, “our members also like to branch out into other locations and other periods.”

For more information go to aaf.org.au

Spinning the baby

OH those wags at the Contentgroup. First they snaffle the Floriade PR account from rivals Morris Walker, then they’d have us believe that having a baby is like a PR campaign.

The cringing pitch is the wide-eyed work of, bless him, first-time dad-to-be Jamie Bradnam, who labours at the Civic spin centre as a senior communications co-ordinator, whatever that is.

Jamie’s wife is expecting in September, but he tells the world: “Despite all the excitement and the overwhelming response we’ve received from family, friends and colleagues though, one of the hardest parts of the whole process was patiently waiting to be able to tell the world.”

But here comes the strange parallel: “We work with clients on numerous events every year. While the excitement means that often our clients will want to let the cat out of the bag straight away, an important announcement needs to be carefully planned and well timed.

“You don’t want to announce who won a prestigious award on a Saturday when the

media isn’t around [we are, too!], or promote who will be headlining a major concert before the contracts are signed.

“The same goes when we were announcing our baby. The whole process really did feel like a public relations campaign.”

Since when did tell the parents then Facebook it get so complicated? Congratulations all the same, but keep the birth off Youtube, there’s a good fellow.

To farmers, with thanks

AUSTRALIANS are being urged to share the love for farmers on World Thank You Day on June 11.

The curiously titled organisation Buy a Bale is asking all Australians to physically mail them a thank-you card for a farmer, which will be sent to a farmer in the drought areas of NSW and Queensland.

“Thank-you cards are a lost art to many these days and we believe that World Thank you day on June 11 is a great opportunity for Australians to write and express their thanks to the farmers for what they do for us all,” said Charles Alder, campaign co-ordinator for Buy a Bale.

As drought continues to ravage 80 per cent of Queensland and almost 50 per cent of NSW, Buy a Bale has delivered more than 50,000 bales of hay to more than 420 farmers in the last five months.

Thank-you cards should be mailed before May 28 to Thank a Farmer, PO Box 1342, Sunnybank Hills, Queensland 4109. Cards should be no larger than a standard envelope size (DL).

arts & entertainment

Festival’s winning ways with war

GOOD music festivals have themes and programs that excite, engage and challenge and the 20th Canberra International Music Festival is doing exactly that.

This festival, “The Fire and the Rose” (and artistic director Christopher Latham’s last), marks the centenary of World War I and the 75th anniversary of World War II.

Latham has drawn on his extensive world-wide research to find music associated with those terrible times in world history, either composed or performed during those times, or written commemoratively.

There are some nuances, such as the extraordinary Mother’s Day concert, “The Vessel”, featuring the exuberant, bold music of a festival composer-in-residence, Elena Kats-Chernin (the review’s at citynews.com.au).

Sprinkled throughout there’s some familiarity, too, with music by Handel, Bach, Ravel, Dvorak and Debussy. Even Prokofiev’s ubiquitous “Peter and the Wolf” gets an airing. But all the chosen works have some connection with the theme of war.

Even so, challenging the audience is a central theme

and here we find music, written mainly in the 20th century, even as late as the 21st century, all of it taking audiences well outside their comfort zones and exposing them to music they might never otherwise have heard.

Myriad world and Australian premieres can be found, often of works thought lost or perhaps buried in European bottom drawers. In other cases, there are works getting their first public airing in revised form.

Australian composers are not forgotten, either.

As well as the concert of KatsChernin’s music there’s a whole concert of Nigel Westlake’s work. Others, such as Ross Edwards, Peter Sculthorpe and the ANU’s Calvin Bowman are featured throughout.

Playing all this music is a team of more than 180 performers, nearly all of them Australian and many of them Canberran. Some, such as the fabulous pianist, Daniel de Borah, boast international reputations, but all contribute enthusiastically and with great skill.

Don’t let the CIMF pass you by. Attending even one concert will excite, engage and challenge. It’s on until Sunday, May 18.

Music of the north heads south

By Helen Musa

IF you heard the phrase, “pining for the fjords”, what would come first to mind – Monty Python’s “Dead Parrot” skit or Scandinavian music?

I’m betting it’s the first, but it’s also the name given by Adelaide physician and musician, Ingrid Wangel, to the band specialising in music of northern climes which will be heard over the June long weekend at the coming Peak Festival, formerly the Snowy Mountains of Music.

Wangel is an exponent of the ancient 16 string Swedish instrument the nyckelharpa, known by some as “the Frankenstein fiddle” or “the instrument you play when you’d not sure what you want to play”. She bought hers from a fine instrument-maker in Brisbane and testifies to its “very exotic” quality.

A descendant of Finland’s most celebrated composer, Jean Sibelius, Wangel enjoys a quirky sense of humour and tells me that when she and her musician friends decided to form a band concentrating on Scandinavian music they toyed with calling themselves The Danish Tarts.

Classically trained, with some periods of musical study in her father’s homeland Finland and a decade-long interest in Celtic and world music, she was given a CD of Scandinavian music and “immediately looked, it was so different,” as she tells “CityNews”. She formed the group about three years ago with a view to broadening Australians perceptions of folk music, and it’s taken the folk scene by storm.

“People think of Britain as being the primary source of musical culture,” she says, but she and her fellow band members, Jeri Foreman on fiddle, Gage Stead on double bass and Doug Loudon on guitar, are more eclectic in their tastes, throwing in some bush music and Quebecois tunes, too.

Wangel acknowledges that fjords are somewhat lacking in Finland, but says, “We’re not racist, so we also cover Norway and Sweden.” To her, the unusual chords and the general feel of this music is

“very peculiar,” “amazing” and even “funny”.

The Peak Festival, directed by Illawarra musical identity, Dave de Santi, is only too happy to tap into the popularity of Pining for the Fjords, who have been recently seen at Woodford Folk Festival, Tamworth Music Festival and IKEA concerts. With references to “pine forests, lakes, reindeer and blond gods”, the Peak can hardly go wrong.

The Festival now in its sixth year, has been exceedingly innovative in finding music that either goes with the snow theme or contrasts with it, as with a Caribbean band we interviewed a couple of years ago.

Designed to celebrate the opening weekend of the NSW snow season, the festival presents

non-stop music from June 6-9. There are 130 concerts this year, from familiar Anglo Celtic folk performances to an African band and poetry slams. Even to the most jaded of Canberrans the closeness of the alpine region and the reasonable accommodation, chairlift and festival packages make this an alluring way to herald in the winter.

And the final enticement from Pining for the Fjords – “At the end, you can even learn a 20 second Swedish drinking song,” Wangel concludes, “and if you do, you get to drink vodka.”

The Peak music festival, June long weekend, Perisher Valley, for all program and ticketing details visit snowymountainsofmusic.com.au

arts & entertainment

THE Indonesian embassy is staging a free traditional Javanese performance by dancers from the Yogyakarta Palace to match the Indonesian photography exhibition, “Gardens of the East”. This refined courtly dance is very different from its Balinese counterpart, so don’t miss it. James O Fairfax Theatre, NGA, 1.30pm-2.30pm and 3.30pm-4.30 pm, Sunday May 18.

Photo show draws dancers Thailand gives film students a break

THAT indefatigable operatic entrepreneur, Carl Rafferty, is at it again, this time hosting a “Best of British” candlelight night at the Albert Hall on May 23 and 24, featuring the great tunes from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Rafferty provides the table, the candles, the tablecloths and the entertainment, you provide the food and the wine. Normally tables come in eights. Bookings to raffertycarl@internode.on.net or 0417 429899.

STOP press. The canine star due to play Rufus the Bulldog in Free Rain Theatre’s upcoming production of “Legally Blonde the Musical” has pulled out, pleading stage fright. Anyone with a potential Rufus should contact the show’s publicist, Coralie Wood at 6281 0250.

LADY’S Mantle is the Canberra women’s vocal ensemble that performs music from medieval to modern times under the direction of Maia Harrison. The mantles worn by the ensemble represent the shape of the leaves of a medicinal herb. They’ll be performing a free concert called “Heart and Home” at the High Court of Australia, 1pm, Sunday, May 18.

CANBERRA’S Dante Musica Viva Choir was formed just over nine years ago by Prof Francesco Sofo. The choir’s second annual gala concert will be held at the

Italo-Australian Club, 2.30pm, on Sunday, May 18, and will feature popular and regional Italian songs, arias and Neapolitan evergreens. Tickets at the door.

QUEANBEYAN mayor Tim Overall has announced the new $3000 Clearwater Sculpture Prize and exhibition on the foreshore of the Queanbeyan River, coinciding with the inaugural Queanbeyan River Festival on October 11. Expressions of interest from artists of all abilities are now sought, closing on May 30. Inquiries to 6285 6170 or culturalservices@qcc.nsw.gov.au

OPERA composer Sandra France and librettist Helen Nourse are excited to be getting DVD versions of their prizewinning Canberra bushfire opera, “From A Black Sky”, performed professionally last year at The Street Theatre.

By Helen Musa

WHEN O’Connor-raised film student Josie Baynes went surfing on the net to see what creative opportunities might come up, she could hardly believe what was on offer – return flights to Bangkok, hotel accommodation and a budget to shoot a film, for instance.

Co-winner of the only Australian entry to score a place in the “Amazing Thailand” Destination Film Festival, she and her Victorian College of the Arts classmate, Stephanie Parsons, are just back from an action-packed week in Bangkok and Chiang Mai doing what they love best – making films.

“I saw it online and applied to go overseas. It was at the same time as the Easter break, so it worked well,” Baynes tells “CityNews.”

The deal was that Baynes and Parsons had to write, shoot, edit and complete a seven-minute film in six days.

After a two-day orientation session in Bangkok, they were given a van with a driver and headed off on the 10-hour drive north to Chiang Mai. In the van as they went, they wrote the script, a “cheesy romance” called “One Lantern” about a girl who thinks her boyfriend is cheating on her.

Once in Chiang Mai, they were packed off into a “beautiful green highland area” where they enjoyed three days of shooting with local Thai actors and an interpreter who wasn’t fluent in English. Baynes directed and Parsons did the shooting.

After another 10 hours back to Bangkok, the pair edited their film then attended a two-day film summit, first watching 52 films then dressing up to schmooze with famous people in the Thai film industry.

Baynes tells “CityNews” that she’s always taken family videos, but while in school at Lyneham Primary and high schools and Dickson College, she took it to another level by submitting English assignments in video form, once submitting a 10-minute movie based on the character of Odysseus, “shot in a paddock somewhere”.

After a gap year as a counsellor for Camp America in the US, where she taught moviemaking to young people, she won a place in a coveted course at the VCA which takes only 15 people in each year.

For her final year project, a 10-minute film, she’s decided to explore how teenagers live in share houses and how a young girl struggles with the depression to become independent. Baynes has been hearing about the new trend among Melbourne university students of finding a sugar daddy to pay for the rent, so her working title is “Splenda”, in reference to the artificial sweetener.

As for her recent experience, Baynes says: “We didn’t win any awards, and we get no academic credits, but it was a great experience… I’ve grown to love the culture and the people and I’ll definitely be applying again next year.”

arts & entertainment / cinema

Emotional bonding of two broken creatures

“Healing” (M)

WRITER/director Craig Monahan’s cinematic oeuvre may be small but it is beautifully formed.

“Healing” is his fourth film. As well as showing absolutely spectacular footage of Australian raptors, it delivers a strong narrative in which deep human emotions are manifested by their suppression.

Turkish immigrant Viktor (Don Hany) arrives at Won Wron low-security prison farm to serve out his sentence. The authorities have assessed him as reformable. In 18 years, nobody has visited him.

A hunting wedge-tailed eagle has collided with a fence post and broken a wing bone. Other members of the work party would euthanase it but Viktor wants to save it. At Healesville wildlife reserve, veterinarian Glynis (Jane Menelaus) agrees.

By now, the film has polarised its intentions, to observe rehabilitation of two broken creatures.

The strict discipline of prison life matches the restraint that Viktor must practise as he cares for the eagle whom he names Yasmine. Her broken bones heal slowly. Bird and prisoner develop a relationship that the film depicts without sentimentality or loss of credibility.

Don Hany and Hugo Weaving (as the prison officer who sees the prospects of the Viktor/Yasmine relationship) deliver first-rate performances in a cast that never misses a beat. And Andrew Lesnie’s cinematography, especially of the birds and other native wildlife, is nothing short of superb, as we

might expect from the man who lensed three big films for that Kiwi filmmaker, Sir What’s-‘ís-name.

At Capitol 6 and Palace Electric

“Chef” (M)

REGULAR customers come to the Los Angeles restaurant where chef Carl (writer/director Jon Favreau) has offered the same menu for a decade. Carl resists restaurant owner Riva’s (Dustin Hoffman) insistence that he change it. Reviewer Michel (Oliver Platt) savages his refusal to adapt. Carl’s angry tweeted response to Michel goes viral. After a major fall-out with Riva, he walks out.

The tweet brings notoriety, if not fame.

Carl’s ex-wife Inez (Sofia Vergara) sends him to Miami to talk with her other ex-husband (Robert Downey Jr) about alternative employment, leading to the refurbishment of a food truck that Carl, his Los Angeles sous-chef Manuel (John Leguizamo) and his 10-year-old son Percy (Emjay Anthony) drive back to LA.

Manuel has based the truck’s fitout and menu on Cuban street food. As Carl, Percy and Martin drive it west, they attract crowds whose purchases finance the journey.

In a combination more frenetic than eclectic, the film combines family issues with the influence of social media, and the rather preposterous notion – perhaps not so much

so, given the US propensity to obesity – that a chef of almost-haute-cuisine might find fulfilment in ethnic takeaway based on fried sandwiches.

The road movie feeling runs out of puff after New Orleans. And when Michel surfaces near the end seeking a slice of Carl’s action, it comes close to being too contrived for comfort.

At Capitol 6 and Palace Electric

“A Castle In Italy” (MA)

VALERIA Bruni Tedeschi’s film is full of allusions to events in her family and participations by family members. She wrote and directed

the film and plays central character Louise, daughter of a Jewish family that converted to Christianity but doesn’t practise it seriously.

The family had wealth from a factory until daddy lost his grip. Now mother (played by Tedeschi’s real mother) and brother Ludovic (Filippo Timi) are being difficult about penury.

The family’s main asset is a Brueghel painting.

A decade earlier, Louise, now 43, unmarried, performed in a film. Now she is involved in a spiky relationship with actor Nathan (Louis Garrel) who has difficulty conforming with any life plot including the embarrassing task of providing the semen from which Louise wants an embryo transfer. In the

background are his parents, the director of Louise’s film and a small cohort of minor characters who fit the jigsaw less awkwardly than you might imagine.

Following an erratic narrative path, the film takes a while to achieve perceptible dramatic impetus. A bit of a whacko bird, Louise never quite knows her heart’s desire but is prepared to explore options. Persevering with her slowly exposes plot rationality and delectable humour, delivered with earthy frankness. I’m glad I accepted its challenge to stay to the end.

At Palace Electric

Catch some exciting recent cinema about the creative genius that lies behind art in a program curated and introduced by film writer and curator Dr Simon Weaving.

PROGRAM

Wednesday 4 June

MARWENCOL

2011, rating TBC, 84 mins

Wednesday 11 June

FIFI HOWLS FROM HAPPINESS

2013, rating TBC, 96 mins

Wednesday 18 June

PICASSO’S GANG

2013, rating TBC, 101 mins

Australian premiere

Wednesday 25 June

BELTRACCHI: THE ART OF FORGERY

2014, rating TBC, 93 mins

Australian premiere

Wednesday 2 July

A STORY OF CHILDREN AND FILM

2013, rating TBC, 106 mins

Wednesday 9 July

FINDING VIVIAN MAIER

2014, rating TBC, 83 mins

Special advance screening

Wednesdays 4 June – 9 July 6.00 pm

James O Fairfax Theatre, National Gallery of Australia

Series tickets (6 films):

$80, $70 concession, $60 members

Single tickets: $16, $14 concession, $12 members

Bookings: For series tickets go to online.nga.gov.au/eventbookings

Series and single session tickets available from the information desk at the National Gallery.

For more information nga.gov.au/WinterFilmSeries

(right) still from A story of children and film (2013)

arts & entertainment

‘Winging’ away to where?

musical theatre

”Winging My Way to the Top”

By Karen Strahan

and Jill Walsh, directed by Gordon Nicholson, at the Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre until May 17.

Reviewed by Anthony Turner

THERE are some good things to be said about the new musical playing at The Q in Queanbeyan. The opening night audience clearly enjoyed themselves and laughed and cheered in all the right places.

There were good jokes and bad jokes; double entendre dripping from the stage; good songs and not so good songs and the production clearly appealed to those it was meant to appeal to. We were allowed to laugh at ourselves, our coarseness and our foibles.

In the program notes the writers (Strahan and Walsh) tell us that they had a desire “to write an original musical comedy about your typical (or not so typical) Aussie family”. And this they have done with more or less success. Indeed, there are some stand-out songs such as “I’m the Proprietor”, which we didn’t get enough of; “All I Have is Me” sung by all five females bringing the only real emotional connection with the audience and “Gotta Get Your Pav Right” in the true tradition of musical comedies the world over.

The singing was generally excellent with a tight band under the direction of John Black.

But the production had many faults.

The inexperience of the director (Nicholson) could not deal with the set in the first act, which forced the actors to face front and caused awkward movement across the stage and there was a general drop in energy between scenes.

The story needed stronger exposition and more focus and I wasn’t sure if we should be concentrating on Beryl’s quest for a caravan or Pearl’s quest for fame and fortune (Lisa McClelland’s sweet voice was a joy).

In the end, the poignancy of the lives of these “ordinary Australians” wasn’t taken seriously enough. The definition of comedy can be said to be tragedy at twice the speed! Angela Lount, as Vivyen the French maid, showed us how it should be done.

Taking the Road to a new winter menu

EDEN Road never does things by half measure. Winemaker Nick Spencer is passionate about the winery’s success, starting with its win of the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy at the Melbourne Wine show for “The Long Road Shiraz”, created out of its very first vintage. This is the Melbourne Cup of trophies.

The winemaking team has picked up dozens of awards, including the prestigious James Halliday Chardonnay Challenge 2012.

This is serious business and its wines served at an exceptional dinner at The Artisan, a classy restaurant tucked away at Narrabundah shops and itself a multiple-award winning enterprise, ranged from a 2014 Riesling that hasn’t yet been bottled to an out-of-this-world 2009 Museum Release Riesling with wonderful depth.

The Artisan recently launched its winter menu and the Eden Road dinner was an occasion to celebrate new and exciting dishes.

The pan-fried octopus with tasty chorizo, roast peppers, chickpeas, preserved lemon and baby spinach was a fabulous start, with the octopus remarkably tender. It went down well with the 2012 Tumbarumba Pinot Noir and the more masculine and fascinating 2011 Gundagai Nebbiolo (only 200 dozen made that year).

Veal lovers will fall for the poached loin of veal with sake marinated mushroom, radish and snow pea tendrils, superb with a 2012 and 2011 Canberra Shiraz. The meat was also “tender as” and the marinated mushroom and radish added a touch of class to the relationship.

Duck and Shiraz. A marriage made in heaven. The buckwheat crépe with duck confit leg, sugar snaps,

Duck and Shiraz. A marriage made in heaven.

watercress and tangy pomegranate was a tad salty, but went well with the Gundagai Shiraz – the power of the wine cutting through the duck.

My favourite dish was the Riverina Black Angus (bavette cut). Artisan has mastered the art of making a soufflé and its smoked potato version was sensational. The dish was topped off with decadent Café de Paris butter and a port jus packed with flavour.

The wine dinner ended gracefully with cheeses from Essential Ingredient.

Nick is an entertaining winemaker who uses an instinctive approach to execute his craft. He says Eden Road aims to produce with “clarity and purity”; wines celebrating what the French call la terre noire – rich, black soils that support vines to flourish.

The Artisan has mastered the art of wine dinners, always providing an experience that showcases ingredients, technique and knowledge. If you haven’t attended one, put it on your bucket list. In the meantime, the new winter menu is up for the tasting.

The Artisan, 16 Iluka Street, Narrabundah, call 6232 6482.

WENDY JOHNSON

The rights and wrongs of picking new roses

ROSE-PLANTING time is fast approaching when all the new roses – plus the older, well-known varieties – arrive.

There is always a rush to be the first in town to be selling roses. Not so the garden centres, but supermarkets – which readers will well know, I don’t believe should be in the plant business.

One has only to look at the often wilted plants held under artificial light and air conditioning. What hope has any plant to be suddenly taken into the open garden with frosts at this time of the year, let alone pampered roses?

These supermarkets usually sell roses with the roots wrapped in plastic with more plastic over the stems. To beat the garden centres, these

When it comes to roses, you get what you pay for… consider where you buy them, says Cedric.

roses are often only year-old roses with thin stems. The foliage is sprayed with a defoliant to shed the leaves early. Once again, under artificial light and air conditioning this encourages new soft shoots.

The berries of Callicarpa… flowers, leaves and berries like this, what more do you want?

Planted out with a good frost, first the leaves shrivel and then the sap in the thin stems freezes. This spells the end of your rose!

I would never recommend buying roses less than two years old with well-established, thick stems. Nor would I recommend buying roses that are not displayed in the open air under natural conditions and potted up.

It is the old saying: “You get what you pay for.” If you pay only $5-$6 for a rose, don’t expect too much. Expect to pay at least $10-$12 for a good quality, two-year-old rose. Even with a minimum of care,

roses can provide enjoyment for easily the next 30 to 50 years, which is why I recommend buying them from the experts at a garden centre.

THE May edition of a leading Australian garden magazine advises readers that “now is the time to prune roses” with no qualification on different times depending on climate conditions. This may be the case in a temperate climate but definitely not in our local climate. Delay rose pruning until at least the middle of August to early September. The Horticultural Society of Canberra will be conducting rose-pruning demonstrations in July and I’ll have

details of them in due course.

LOOK out for Callicarpa giraldiana (syn. C bodinieri ). Introduced from China to the West by early plant hunters in 1845, the deep violet to lilac-purple autumn berries are stunning.

They follow the dark violet flowers that appear in late summer. The autumn foliage is deep rose purple.

A group of these small shrubs will give an awesome lift to a dull spot in the autumn garden. Flowers, autumn leaves and berries like this, what more do you want? And yet this plant that has gone out of fashion with the demand for everything that is evergreen.

Jottings...

• Tall bearded iris can be dug and divided now. Trim scraggly roots before replanting.

• Spring flowering Dianthus are now arriving in garden centres. Look out for new varieties such as “Candy Floss”,

“Sugar Plum”, “Slap and Tickle” or “Waterloo Sunset”.

• Remove fallen leaves from the tops of small hedges such as Buxus or box and Hebe. Accumulated rotting leaves on top of plants can kill them.

• Keep off lawns when frost is on the ground.

puzzles page

Joanne Madeline Moore

your week in the stars – May 19-25, 2014

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

Do you feel as if you’ve been treading water … or even going backwards? Has a partnership felt as if it’s more trouble than it’s worth? Thank goodness mighty Mars (your ruling planet) moves forwards on Tuesday, so you’ll start to feel much more positive and proactive about life, love and relationships. It’s time for fiery Rams to finally shift into top gear!

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 20)

Bulls – don’t take good health for granted. Be proactive about making healthy lifestyle choices, and prioritise time for regular exercise and nutritious meals. As birthday great Ralph Waldo Emerson reminds us “The first wealth is health.” Is a relationship going through a bumpy patch? Sunday’s Jupiter/Saturn trine urges you to work on keeping the lines of communication open.

GEMINI (May 21 – June 21)

Gung-ho Gemini – avoid the temptation to skim over important details. You’re keen to zoom ahead but remember there’s a fine line between making smart snap decisions and messy mistakes. The stars are super for artistic endeavors and creative thinking, but nervous energy is also high. So, if you don’t pace yourself, then you’ll be exhausted by the end of the week.

CANCER (June 22 – July 22)

Has a family relationship been going down a rocky road? The stars encourage healing, as you build bridges and start communicating again. You’ll have to be a proactive Crab and make the first move though. The winds of change are definitely sweeping through your life but don’t waste time worrying about it. As birthday great Bob Dylan says “There is nothing so stable as change.”

LEO (July 23 – Aug 22)

Calling all Lions! Avoid being a right-royal bossy-boots this week. Cool compromise and clear, considered communication will get you a lot further than temper-tantrums and prima donna behaviour. On the weekend, Saturn stabilises a domestic situation and helps you find a solution to a problem; or Jupiter brings family members together to enjoy a special celebration.

VIRGO (Aug 23 – Sept 22)

You’re at your versatile Virgo best, as the Sun shimmies through in your career zone (until June 21). Professional projects are favoured as you move ahead with confidence, creativity and plenty of chutzpah. Mighty Mars moves forwards in your money zone, but don’t spoil your future prospects by being rash with cash. Think – carefully – before you make expensive purchases.

LIBRA (Sept 23 – Oct 23)

Many Librans have been feeling lazy and lackluster, as Mars has retrograded through your sign since early March. Thankfully the warrior planet finally moves forwards on Tuesday and you’ll start to feel more motivated, as your mojo returns in spades! Be inspired by Ralph Waldo Emerson, who wisely declared “An ounce of action is worth a ton of theory.”

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 21)

Smart Scorpios know that sustainable success doesn’t just drop out of the sky. So this week’s stars are super for utilizing every opportunity that comes your way, as you take an adventurous idea and make it happen through hard work and awesome organization. Singles - you have a better chance of finding your soul mate if you are proactive, creative and cast your net wide.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 – Dec 21)

Are you viewing a family member through rose-coloured glasses? Perhaps it’s time to be more realistic about what’s really going on? The wonderful weekend Jupiter/Saturn trine is a time when good luck meets thorough preparation, as you capitalise on the lucky opportunities that come your way. Energy levels are high, so put your Sagittarian enthusiasm to practical use.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 19)

It’s a great week to set goals with the big picture in mind. Small dramas and minor irritations fade into the background, as you look to the future with excitement and enthusiasm. The Jupiter/Saturn trine boosts productivity and helps you socialise and circulate with an influential new crowd. If you want to zoom ahead at work, you’ll have to network your socks off!

AQUARIUS (Jan 20 – Feb 18)

Aquarians are feeling mighty adventurous, as Mars moves forwards in your travel zone and stirs your gypsy gene and wanton wanderlust! So your motto for the moment is from Ralph Waldo Emerson “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” A chat with a respected teacher or mentor puts a current problem in perspective.

PISCES (Feb 19 – Mar 20)

Are you living in a Piscean fantasy world? Saturn sends a reality check this week – especially involving your future goals. So take your head out of the clouds and get organised. The Moon and Neptune give you a creativity boost on Thursday and Friday but don’t waste precious time on the weekend. With the Moon in dynamic Aries, stop procrastinating and start creating. Daily astrology updates at www.twitter.com/JoMadelineMoore Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2014

3 Name one of the most widespread grasses in the higher-rainfall areas of Australia

7 Who was the author of “For the Term of His Natural Life”, Marcus ...?

8 To have acted furiously is to have done what?

9 What are writings, especially receipts or certificates?

10 In which US state is Chicago?

11 To lower in dignity is to do what?

14 Which term is appropriate to a member of the clergy?

17 What do we call those who linger?

18 Name those of the royal house who reigned in England from Henry VII to Elizabeth I

19 Which word expresses as much as a place can comfortably accommodate?

20 To supply with wealth is to do what?

21 What are the external openings of the nose?

Down

1 Name an alternative term for hexose

2 Name the system of printing, for the blind

3 Of which nationality was Omar Khayyam?

4 Which mild, powdered seasoning is made from sweet red pepper?

5 What is another term for military units?

6 Name the 4th president of the US, James ...?

11 Which of the cetaceans is sometimes called a porpoise?

12 Which bottles for wine or spirits hold about 1.5 litres?

13 What is a non-professional called?

14 Which instruments are used for grinding substances in a mortar ?

15 What, colloquially, is the Canberra NRL team called?

16 Name the African flightless bird, closely related to the emu

Heather is worried and upset. Her father’s health is failing and she is depressed at the prospect of admitting him to a nursing home.

“Mum is 90 and dad is 88. Mum is fine, but dad’s health is deteriorating and I’m feeling down because a nursing home is not what I want to happen, but I don’t see much choice,” she told me.

I consoled her: “Heather, that must be very hard for you. How is your mum, is she okay or do you need to look at a nursing home for her as well?”

Heather replied that her mother would like to stay in the family home for a while and that she was capable of looking after herself.

“I think it would be better for her to remain at home, even though it means that they will be separated,” she said.

I told her she had come to see me at an opportune time.

“There are new means test rules that will apply from July 1, so if your father goes into a nursing home after then it is likely to be more expensive than now. The current means test was based only on income. The new means test uses both an income and an assets test to calculate the fees charged,” I advised.

“The first decision that you need to make is whether to keep the family home. That decision seems to have been made. This is helpful because no part of the cost of the home is included for the assets test part of the means test.

“However, if your mother does need to go into a nursing home later, the first $144,500 of the value of the house (this figure will be indexed) is included in the test. If you sell the house, all the proceeds are included for the test.

“There are also options in paying for the nursing home. You may be charged a refundable accommodation deposit (RAD) and/or a daily accommodation payment (DAP) or some combination of the two. You should be able to choose how much of the payment is RAD and how much is DAP.

“Any RAD that you pay is also included in the assets test to determine your father’s nursing home fees. As you can see, this is complex and I would like to do a full analysis for you of the best way financially of your father going into care. All nursing homes have to publish their rates.”

Given the complexity, Heather said she would organise another appointment to come back and explore her family’s options further.

I agreed, saying: “In the meantime, I will do some calculations for you so that at our next appointment we can consider the optimal mix of RAD and DAP.”

If you need any guidance on aged care, investments and how best to pay nursing home fees, contact the friendly team at Gail Freeman & Co Pty Ltd.

Electrolux Ambassador Tetsuya Wakuda is truly an icon. Tetsuya and Wayfarer are a natural fit and both have a special place for Electrolux products. For Wayfarer, that special place is a ‘dream kitchen’ that will command the central living space. Every apartment at Wayfarer features a dream Electrolux kitchen, including induction cooktop, range hood, oven, compact combi oven, microwave and dishwasher.