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When things start growing in the bathroom...

STARTING a floristry business in her bathroom also started Nipuni (“Nip”) Wijewickrema on a journey to being named Young Australian of the Year ACT.

The 22-year-old was recognised last month for her social entrepreneurship in starting the home-based business GG’s Flowers two years ago to enable her 16-year-old sister Gayana, who has Down syndrome, an opportunity to find meaningful employment.

“We started the business in our bathroom, then moved out to our garage,” says Nip.

“My family saw this as something we could do to help Gayana, but we have also been able to employ five other people with special needs to work casually with us delivering flowers.”

Nip says the goal of a social enterprise is to create business that helps the social good.

“The product you get from GG’s is

Reporter KATE MEIKLE discovers how Young Australian of the Year ACT, Nip Wijewickrema, changed her sister’s life – and, as a result, her own

the same quality from any florist, but the difference is that this business changes people’s lives, we pay people with special needs for their work and give them purpose,” she says.

Running a small business can be challenging at times, Nip admits.

“When you try to do a good thing, sometimes it can also be hard,” she says.

“It doesn’t mean the bills stop! We have to sort out all the details that any business faces such as insurance, premises and creating a safe and healthy working environment.

“We are not a charity, I am set on making this a profitable business and show that people with special needs can make money and can be involved

mum in the city

with business.”

Nip left her job at the ANU to give GG’s Flowers her full support, alongside her stepmother, Geetha. While Nip and Geetha don’t yet take a wage, Nip’s goal is to make enough profit to pay all staff and divert money back into training and employment for people with special needs.

Nip says she would like to create a partnership with CIT and offer floristry training opportunities and, one day, plan her and Geetha’s succession to allow people with special needs to step in and take more responsibility.

“I am determined to show Gayana and her friends that with love, support and contacts, you can make money and be less reliant on disabil-

ity payments from the government,” she says.

Nip says that Gayana loves working and the independence she gains by being able to make money and spend it how she likes.

The Young Australian of the Year ACT award gives Nip the opportunity to talk about her work and inspire others.

“I want to lead by example and, once I get on top of this business, I hope to pull together all the information and share it with others to inspire them to do something to make a difference,” she says.

“You, too, can start something from your bathroom!”

Nip Wijewickrema will represent the ACT in the final of the Young Australian of the Year 2016 in Canberra on January 25.

GG’s Flowers are at 0402 370097.

The great stumble forward into stress

AS we stumble towards Christmas and New Year, it’s easy to get stressed out; the holidays are close, but there’s so much to do.

If you’re anything like me, there’s a late rush to finish projects at the office and all too many end-of-year functions for work, school and all sorts of organisations.

Then there’s the looming dread of Christmas shopping. Why is it that the most relaxing time of the year is preceded by the most stressful?

In recent weeks my particular bugbear has been aggressive people who want to waylay me to have me part with cash for one reason or another.

It comes in all forms.

At home it’s unsolicited telephone calls

Why is it that the most relaxing time of the year is preceded by the most stressful?

from our internet provider wanting us to buy their latest package of services, always a neverto-be-repeated deal for a bundle of services our family is unlikely to make full use of.

At shopping centres, I always seem to be stalked by those people at tables in the walkway who want to sell skin products, outdoor blinds or a host of other things that, if I wanted, I would ask about but don’t.

While waiting for service at my favourite coffee shop the other week, a young woman just wouldn’t leave me alone. She seemed determined to keep talking about whatever she was selling in the hope that I would eventually cave in just to get her off my back. Hair care products, I think it was.

I have more time for people who are soliciting

donations for charities, but many of them seem to have got more pushy. Certainly, many have been schooled in hard-sell tactics and live up to the nickname of “charity muggers”.

Even driving home, there are the uninvited car windscreen washers who just won’t take “no” for an answer. A horrified friend recently told me how another female driver was subjected to a tirade of abuse for declining the services of a particularly persistent windscreen cleaner.

I have often admired the windscreen washers. I know they are often people with troubles just trying to make an honest dollar out in the weather everyday. But standover tactics at the traffic lights are unacceptable.

Maybe it’s the time of year. Maybe it’s the weather. Maybe it’s financial pressure. Maybe it’s just a symptom of how society is changing. But I must admit, I’m pretty tired of aggressive, persistent sales tactics in whatever form they take.

If only one could fast-forward through to Boxing Day.

Since 1993: Volume 21, Number 46

Arts & Entertainment 19-21

Canberra Confidential 14

Cinema 21

Dining 21

Gardening 22

Horoscopes 23

News 3-8

Politics 8

Puzzles 23

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seven days

‘Tis the season to be shameless

CHRISTMAS comes early for the Feds on the hill, as this week they bid tearful farewells to friend and foe alike.

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten at least tempered the usual mush with a dig at the multi-millionaire PM: “As long as the truffles are up to standard,” he said, “it’s never been a more exciting time to be Malcolm Turnbull.”

Even sacked Lib minister Ian Macfarlane had only nice things to say about the PM as he defected to the Nationals in quest of a front-bench return through the back door. “I’m a huge fan of Malcolm’s,” he purred.

The PM himself went overboard in thanking predecessor Tony Abbott .

“He has been a great prime minister,” he said. “And I thank him for his support today as a member of our party.”

They really have no shame.

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MALCOLM had just returned from the Paris climate-change wordfest where he promoted Abbott’s pledge of very modest CO2 reductions.

Not so the new Canadian PM Justin Trudeau: “Canada is back, my friends,” he declared. “We’re here to help.”

He seemed to be channelling Kevin Rudd who popped up in Paris like Banquo’s ghost. Truth is, Turnbull is locked into the past until he wins an election as PM.

BACK home Mal Brough had a very hot time as Labor held his toes to the fire over his TV admission – later denied in Parliament – that he had asked staffer James Ashby to get copies of then-Speaker Peter Slipper’s diaries. This would be a criminal offence and the AFP is investigating. Few will weep at Brough’s departure… unless you count a ruined Peter Slipper’s tears of joy.

THE rorting by public servants of “sickies” – averaging about two weeks a year – as revealed by the APS Commission is not only unacceptable, it gives ammunition to public-service knockers, as though everyone in private industry

was white as snow. Actually, your columnist has recently had extensive dealings with the overworked folk at Woden Centrelink and a more conscientious and diligent team could not be found anywhere; it’s the small, recalcitrant minority that spoils it for the rest.

MORE to the point was the report showing Canberra as the best place in the nation to harmonise work, family and leisure. Nearly 70 per cent of Canberrans are happy with their work-life balance. In the other states regional workers are usually much more satisfied than their city cousins. This

suggests the convenience of travel plays a very big part.

SPEAKING of which, Canberra is the fastest-growing Uber market in Australia. There are now 350 Uber drivers in the city and the 10,000 passengers to date are more than happy with the service. As we noted last week, this is just the beginning of the revolution that will take many private cars off the roads. Light rail proponents beware!

FINALLY, warmest congrats to Kira Churchland, the first woman to play top-grade Canberra cricket with the blokes. Let’s hope she can handle the inevitable sledges. The South African Daryll Cullinan responded to Shane Warne’s welcome to the crease: “I’ve been waiting two years for another chance at you,” said Warnie.

Cullinan: “Looks like you spent it eating.”

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Goodbye, good mornings

FOR 16 years I’ve helped to get Canberrans out of bed on the radio and now it’s over.

It’s a little odd to end a longterm breakfast gig without scandal, without tears and without lawyers. I’ve worked full time in radio since I was 17. It’s all I’ve known.

I started working at my local radio station, 6AM Northam as a casual announcer in 1983 before moving to Perth, regional Victoria, Launceston, Adelaide, Newcastle and Canberra.

Will I miss it?

Yeah, I think I will, but not for at least six months. For the next six months I look forward to feeling human again. Breakfast radio is like being the mother of three-month-old triplets who never get any older. It’s been a 16-year ultramarathon.

In the end it was the 2.45am alarm that ended my full-time radio career. Sure, I’m a morning person, but a quarter to three isn’t morning, it’s night time!

MARK PARTON ends his 16-year “ultramarathon” on Canberra breakfast radio at 9am on December 18 when he steps down from 2CC. Will he miss the early mornings?

In these last few weeks I’ve been counting down the days like a “lifer” counts down to his release day from prison.

When I finally made the call to quit there were so many factors that contributed to it. One of the biggest was my health and wellbeing.

Combining my radio role with my new marketing business PartonMe had seen me working most days from well before dawn till close to traditional knock off time. So many family things, so many relationship things and so many “me” things had just fallen by the wayside.

I’m quite a keen cyclist, but I think I’ve been on the bike twice in the last 12 months. I just haven’t had the time. Most of the clothes in my wardrobe don’t fit me as a consequence, and that’s an annoyance, but if

the situation were to continue I’m sure there would be much greater drawbacks. My first regular workday after my radio career ends is December 21. I’m committed to riding the bike to my office in the city on that day… because I can. And to be disciplined and get on the bike at least three times a week from that point.

I’m committed to watching more movies, seeing more sunrises, climbing more hills, stealing more kisses and being unconscious much, much more.

In the past 18 months my work/life balance had become so lopsided that the “life” part never got a look in and it had to change.

I know there will come a time when I miss daily radio, but not anytime soon.

Roundabout way

to Glebe Park

Email: cw@dvcs.org.au (8am to

I WAS never much of a carousel aficionado, until I moved to Canberra.

But after falling in love with the Melbourne Cup winners on our own merry-go-round, I’ve paid much more attention to those in other cities when I travel.

The modern merry-go-round emerged from early jousting traditions in Europe and the Middle East, during which knights would gallop in a circle while tossing balls from one to another.

By the 17th century, the balls had been discarded in favour of rings which the riders were encouraged to spear while spinning. Carousels soon sprung up at fairgrounds across Europe to give children a chance to emulate their crusading heroes.

An early carousel of wooden horses was built at the Place du Carrousel in Paris, and my favourite carousels can all be found in the City of Lights.

The triumph of the Parisian carousel is found not just in its charm, but also in its clever placement.

While there are more than 20 roundabouts scattered all over the city, the best are found in the middle of public parks and gardens.

Most parks in Paris have one, and children can choose from the

By Catherine Carter

and dinosaurs at the Jardin des Plantes or the elephants and unicorns at the Jardin du Luxembourg.

So, what would happen if our own beloved, but tired old merry-go-round was to move to a new, leafier location?

I think Glebe Park, a longforgotten corner of our city centre, is the perfect place for a restored carousel to delight a new generation of Canberra children.

When the Allawah, Bega and Currong flats are demolished and new apartments in Reid are complete, Glebe Park will become the backyard for many new families.

As the city reorients itself, we are presented with new possibilities. Glebe Park could give our carousel a new lease on life and help create a new children’s hub in a space of the city that is underutilised.

The merry-go-round could be the impetus to make Glebe Park a magical children’s destination.

All we need is a little imagination.

Calvacade of care

MORE than 1000 bikes and riders are expected to gather at Old Parliament House on Saturday, December 12, for the annual Canberra and Region Motorcyclists Toy Run in support of the Salvation Army and St John’s Care. The ride starts at 10am and is preceded from 8am by breakfast. Riders are invited to dress up for the ride with prizes for the best decorated bike, rider and pillion.

Wrapsters wanted

VOLUNTEERS are needed to wrap presents for a few hours each day from December 12 to Christmas Eve for the Cerebral Palsy Alliance ACT at the Westfield shopping centres. Shoppers can get gifts wrapped for a gold-coin donation, which will be matched by Westfield. To be on the roster email slamech@cerebralpalsy. org.au or call 6199 0699.

Nativity Trail

QUEANBEYAN’S third annual Nativity Trail takes place 4pm-6pm, on Sunday, December 20. This will involve a live Nativity – a Roman orator, wise men, shepherds, the inn and the Nativity proper – spread across four churches and, for the first time, also HOME in Queanbeyan.

St John’s new chief

ROBERT Hunt has been appointed CEO of St John Ambulance Australia (St John). He is currently the CEO of the Australian Institute of Building and will take up his Canberra-based position on February 10.

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Music to the ears of winning trio

THREE Canberra College students have ended their school years on a winning note by creating a software synthesiser called “Musaco”.

It won a first place in the ACT and took second in the national Young ICT Explorers competition.

Created by 17-year-old Aidan Sawers, the information and communication technology project is a software synthesiser that allows the user to upload songs and sounds that can be mixed by pressing the buttons and playing the device like a keyboard.

“It makes it easy to remix songs and it also has lights so you can design lighting for each performance as well,” says Aidan.

He was inspired to design “Musaco” when he felt limited by a similar product on the market.

Aidan teamed up with James Callaway and Tomasz Stowowczyck, working in their own time and during their mediaprojects class under the guidance of IT teacher Sanjay Deo Sharma.

“Our teacher pushed us to go into the Young ICT Explorers competition, he felt

we had a really good chance,” says Aidan.

The boys say they were anxious hauling their equipment to the 7th floor of the SAP building in Sydney for the national competition.

“We walked past the other projects, some cool, others amazing and found our assigned table and we could see all of Sydney Harbour from there,” says James.

“To our surprise, we placed second in the year 11/12 division, winning $150 each and the respect of our peers,” he says. Aidan hopes to study IT at ANU next year and create new IT projects with a scientific or medical side to them. He plans to continue refining and updating “Musaco” and make a real prototype of it in the future.

Stop the mistakes, save the world!

lowbrow

By John Griffiths

LAST week was a bumper one for mistakes made with little thought coming back to bite their perpetrators.

Twenty-two-year-old hotel supervisor with the Meriton Group Michael Nolan decided Facebook was the place to offer the feminist opinion writer Clementine Ford a four-letter character assessment beginning with the letter “s”. Ms Ford took the opportunity to point this out to his employers, who decided his services were no longer needed.

This then prompted a tidal wave of violently sexually abusive language from Ms Ford’s critics. Whatever reservations one might have about involving a person’s private conversations in their employment go by the wayside when confronted by such a stream of verbal sewage.

Being a wily fighter, Ms Ford has duly recorded all of the abuse on her own website where one imagines it will limit the careers and

love lives of the perpetrators for a great many years to come.

This is, of course, merely the latest spectacular example of the modern age of communication tightening the loop between action and consequence.

The internet is not, of course, an unmitigated force for good. The Reclaim Australia gatherings of howling racists would probably not have occurred in this country if the participants were limited in their communications to people they actually knew in real life.

But things seem to be getting terrifyingly real with the regulation of CRISPR techniques to modify genes being hotly debated at the moment.

There is huge potential for curing genetic diseases in the technology.

From Wikipedia: “The technology has been used to functionally inactivate genes in human cell lines and cells, to study Candida albicans, to modify yeasts used to make biofuels and to genetically modify crop strains.”

It’s also going to let people do some spectacularly stupid things to their own DNA and to other creatures.

We might look back fondly to piercings and

tattoos, and the Olympic records appear to be set for some serious rewriting.

This was all neatly tied together in the nightmarish documentaries of Adam Curtis “All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace”.

The series is available on SBS’s On Demand service right now and featured a lot of historical interview footage that makes a pretty grim commentary on the human propensity to rush enthusiastically into things without caring too much for the consequences. The interviews with the goblin-like Ayn Rand, gibbering her gimleteyed madness to the darkness, intercut with the captains of global finance saluting her vision, are worth the time to view alone.

The fate of the world may be beyond us each individually, but all of the above does raise the value of letting people know when you think they’re about to make a mistake. Be it a face tattoo, an abusive Facebook comment, a new business model or re-engineering the very nature of life.

Sure, it might slow things down a little, but things changing too slowly isn’t really the biggest problem we’re faced with right now.

John Griffiths is the online editor of citynews.com.au

Fresh faces reveal unhappy Labor

By Michael Moore

THE preselection process has certainly “refreshed” the Labor Party, illustrating considerable dissatisfaction with the incumbent members.

There are confounding factors, of course. Jostling for power within the factions is a major one. The process delivered 10 candidates to the Labor Right with the Left scoring eight and seven non-aligned.

At the October election there will be five electorates with five seats each rather than the current three and 17 seats. It is most probable that Labor and Liberal will win two seats in each electorate with the election largely decided by the last seat in each electorate.

It’s likely Labor will win three in some electorates, while in others it will be the Liberals. The Greens have a chance of winning some seats as they have managed on a couple of occasions. The sole Greens MLA is Shane Rattenbury, who won a seat in what was the sevenmember electorate of Molonglo.

The order of election to the Labor ticket is revealing, even though position is much less important under the HareClark electoral system where there is no defined order to advantage candidates. It will now be up to each of the candidates to make their presence felt.

However, Chief Minister Andrew Barr and Yvette Berry, Housing and Community Services Minister, are the only two incumbent members to win preselection by scoring the top number of votes for their electorate. This begs the question about how other ministers are viewed by the party.

Simon Corbell and popular back bencher Mary Porter are not running. Corbell leaves a gaping hole in the new electorate of Murrumbidgee, having served nearly two decades in the public eye. Maybe he saw the writing on the wall and was unprepared to risk failing the preselection battle. Porter’s electorate of Ginninderra still has prominent candidates, but without Porter Labor will struggle to win three seats.

The central electorate of Kurrajong has Barr preselected first with the other four candidates largely unknown. Similarly, in the Weston Creek electorate of Murrumbidgee all the candidates are relatively unknown to the public. Ironically, the one hopeful who was well known, Brianna Heseltine (of Mr Fluffy fame), was not preselected. This opens the electorate to opportunities for the Liberals, the Greens and independents. However, they will need to bring highprofile candidates to the electorate. There is a similar story in Yerrabi. Meegan Fitzharris, who became an MLA by countback less than 12 months ago, is the only known candidate for the area of Gungahlin. This is the one electorate that will probably reject the Liberals’ anti-light rail campaign, providing Labor with a window of opportunity for three seats. Labor improves its chances with competent-looking candidates such as Bendigo Community Bank chairman Jayson Hinder and Indian community leader Deepak Raj Gupta. In contrast, Ginninderra and Brindabella have a run of well-known candidates.

In the Belconnen electorate of Ginninderra, Yvette Berry was preselected first followed by Kim Fischer. Current MLA Chris Bourke was the fifth candidate preselected. Uniting Church Minister Gordon Ramsay brings a reasonable profile in this electorate – although he may have to counter concerns about separation of church and state.

In the Tuggeranong seat of Brindabella there are three well-known candidates. Incumbent ministers Mick Gentleman and Joy Burch are running with former candidate and political staffer Angie Drake. Former candidate Karl Maftoum beat all of them for the first place.

Early next year the Liberals will preselect and no doubt they will be considering how to land high-profile candidates in electorates where Labor is at its weakest.

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

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LITTLE Sprout is Canberra’s home of hard-to-find and quality crafted toys, says marketing and training manager, Emily Crisp.

With a new pop-up store in Garema Place, in addition to its flagship store in Phillip, Emily says that Little Sprout’s full range of quality toys will appeal to children from babies to teens.

“We have the biggest range of Lego, which is a very popular Christmas gift,” she says.

“Also popular are the traditional Gotz dolls from Germany, the adorable Swedish Rubensbarn dolls and Micro Scooters are a great choice.”

Little Sprout Phillip, 47 Colbee Court, Phillip, 6282 3684. Little Sprout Pop Up Civic, 165 City Walk, Canberra City.

CANBERRA Garden’s Dinah Meagher believes that great gardens begin with great ideas.

Over her extensive career in residential garden design, Dinah has transformed every type of outdoor space, from inner-city balconies to large rural blocks.

This Christmas, Canberra Gardens is offering a special on garden consultation gift vouchers.

“It’s an opportunity to discuss ways to bring out the best in your garden with a professional landscape architect,” says Dinah.

“You may wish to add an element of surprise to your garden or to improve the house entry.

“Advice is given on optimising connections from the house to the garden, garden lighting, structures, water features, low-water plants, edible gardens, shade gardens, play spaces and outdoor rooms,” she says.

Dinah also specialises in pre-sale garden styling to fit budgets and optimise returns.

“Existing materials can be reused and refreshed in an innovative way, elements of surprise added for interest and intrigue, and improvements to the house entry, realising the potential in your property,” she says.

Visit canberragardens.com.au or call Dinah on 0422 628190.

SIT back and relax at Authentic Chinese Massage, located next door to Sassy Hair at Weston.

Offering a suite of massages including remedial, relaxation, hot-stone and deep-tissue as well as reflexology and feet spa, the Authentic Chinese Massage experience aims to leave its patrons relaxed and refreshed.

Owner Sucie Fan-Hackett says that first-time customers will receive a $10 discount and there are Christmas gift vouchers available.

Rebates are available from 47 private health funds.

SIZES 12 to 28

the gifts to get you through advertising feature

SHOES

Fabulously fashionable summer

STEP into iconic luxury ladies shoe shop, Escala at Manuka, and make sure you are ready for a fabulously fashionable summer, says owner Gail Lubbock.

“Summer is all about ease. We have a beautiful range of sandals and espadrilles that you can just slip on,” says Gail.

Gail says that the sandals reflect a bright colour palette, with jewelled tones, pinks, oranges and metallic making a big splash this summer.

“White is also a really nice summer look. We have some stunning white patent sandals that would look lovely with a pair of three-quarter pants or tailored shorts,” she says.

Escala also stocks a range of bags, scarves and accessories that make great Christmas presents.

“A roomy bag is perfect to take on holiday and to the beach!” says Gail.

Escala, Shop 1, The Lawns, 21 Bougainville Street, Manuka, call 6232 7666 or visit escala-shoes.com.au

SKIN CARE

Relax and be pampered

ENHANCE Skin Care offers an extensive range of proven treatments for difficult skin conditions in a relaxing atmosphere, says owner Shiralee McGann.

“Our treatments include IPL light treatments, luxurious facials, eyelash extensions, and cosmetic tattoo. These all help to give an even complexion and more youthful appearance,” she says.

“Cosmetic tattoo is perfect for anyone with thinning lashes or uneven shape to the lips or brows. Examples of our work can be seen on our website.

“Dermalift is an excellent alternative to cosmetic surgery to give your face contour and lift. It works by gently stimulating the muscles of the face with micro currents, just like an exercise routine, but during a relaxing facial.

“Due to the increased circulation the skin receives better nutrition, reducing acne, pore size, redness and increased moisture. The skin will look firmer, feel smoother and is a great prevention for wrinkles,” says Shiralee. The Enhance Skin Care’s signature treatment includes microhydrabrasion, Dermalift 30 and deep infusion.

Enhance Skin Care, 40 Allara Street, Canberra. Visit enhanceskincare.com.au or call 6247 2100.

City centre gets into the swing of the 12 days of Christmas Christmas in the City – Canberra Celebrates!

COME and enjoy the biggest celebration of the festive season at Christmas in the City – Canberra Celebrates!

Spreading Christmas cheer for the whole family, this premier program of fun features world-record Christmas light displays, market shopping, food and beverage stalls, camel rides, petting farm, arts and crafts for the kids and, of course, Santa!

All the festivities are located at the heart of the city and are surrounded by Canberra’s best shops, restaurants and bars.

Jane Easthope, CEO of Canberra CBD Limited says that Christmas in the City is funded by the commercial property owners in the City and Braddon, as a gift to the community.

“We believe in Canberra and our great community, and Christmas in the City is an opportunity to celebrate with lights, energy, social connection, community and pride,” she says.

“All international cities have major Christmas events in the heart of the city centre, so why wouldn’t you celebrate Christmas in the city?”

Jane and her team, including charity partners, work to grow the Christmas displays and attractions offered in the City each year.

“We will be eternally grateful to David Richards, his family and SIDS & Kids ACT Christmas Lights in the City who approached us to host their worldrecord-breaking display last year.

“The City was the best place to host it with

Charity partners

Christmas in the City is proud to partner with the following charities:

• SIDS and Kids ACT, who is raising funds and awareness by delivering the Christmas Lights in the City display.

• The Canberra Hospital Foundation is receiving a percentage of the sales from the gelato and slushie stand at the Taste Canberra markets.

• The Asthma Foundation ACT is raising funds and awareness by running the Kids Hub in Petrie Plaza.

• The ACT Eden Monaro Cancer Support Group raising funds and awareness at the Petting Farm.

the venue space, transport links and an amazing array of shops in the hub of commercial Canberra.

“We want to keep growing it each year, to support the lights and create an integrated experience to give people even more reasons to come into the City,” she says.

Jane recommends people come and enjoy the beauty of the Canberra Christmas Tree, which has this year broken the Guinness World Records title for the most number of lights on an artificial Christmas tree.

“We beat the record held by Universal Studios in Japan!” says Jane.

“It’s received international attention and is beautifully decorated, so come and see it,” she says.

Christmas in the City will be running throughout December. With more lights and activities than ever before,

Christmas in the City includes:

• The Canberra Christmas Tree

• SIDS and Kids ACT Christmas Lights Tunnel

• Christmas night markets

• Asthma Foundation ACT Kids Hub

• Flip Out trampolining

• Camels in the City

• Pavilion X

• Art and music

• Animal farm

• Taste Canberra markets

• Santa Claus Lane day market

Program highlights

SIDS

& Kids ACT Christmas Lights

Canberra has once again made history with the SIDS & Kids ACT Christmas Lights in the City breaking the Guinness World Records title for the most number of lights on an artificial Christmas tree. The Canberra Christmas tree and lights tunnel brings a magical presence to Christmas in the City.

Pavilion

X

Pavilion X is an installation in Garema

Place designed and built by University of Canberra architecture students. It is an interactive light and soundscape that can be explored during the day or at night.

Asthma Foundation ACT Kids Hub

Kids aged 2-15 years will love the asthma-themed crafts and activities that the staff and volunteers at Asthma Foundation ACT will be offering. Holidaythemed activities include creating sand-art pictures, children’s story time, bubble blown wrapping paper and Christmas-themed scratch art. Asthma and allergy related children’s books and sand art packs will also be on sale.

Christmas Night Markets

Complete your Christmas shopping with an ever-changing mix of handmade goods, treats and unique gift ideas from on-the-spot Christmas card photographs through to handcrafted jewellery, vintage accessories and homewares.

Taste Canberra

Every evening Taste Canberra features a range of local traders who are bringing flavours from across the globe to the heart of Canberra.

Delight in Egyptian, Greek, Turkish, Vietnamese, Thai, modern Australian and German cuisines. Indulge with Canberra’s first waffle on a stick, a s’mores station, caramel apples and churros as well as traditional lemonade and freshly squeezed juices. For the grown-ups there is also a boutique brewery, pop-up winery and a margarita bar.

Animals in the City

The petting farm and the Camels in the City is a fun attraction located near the Canberra Christmas tree and the entry to the Canberra Centre. Come and meet friendly bunnies, chickens, lambs, pigs and goats. Take a ride atop a camel around the magical Canberra Christmas tree.

Health Hub

The Health Hub at Christmas in the City is all about promoting active living and healthy lifestyles. Get the kids up and moving these school holidays with an array of activities and special guests in Garema Place between December 11, 12, 18 and 19.

Santa Claus Lane Markets

Calling for buskers!

Come along, create some Christmas atmosphere.

More information at inthecitycanberra.com.au

Stroll down Santa Claus Lane in Petrie Plaza and delight in a plaza topped by giant Santa hats and filled with festive music. Write a letter to Santa at Kids Land and post it in Santa’s special mail box. Santa Claus Lane Markets, 8am-2pm, on December 12, 13, 19 and 20.

There will be guest appearances by Santa and his lovely wife, Mrs Claus, from 10am daily.

Every day: 12 Days of Christmas

• 3pm-8pm, Asthma Foundation ACT Kids Hub, Petrie Plaza

• 1pm-7pm, Camel rides, City Walk

• 3pm-7pm, Cancer Support Group Animal Farm, City Walk-Ainslie Place

• 1pm-8pm, Flip Out Trampolining, Garema Place

• 3pm-11pm, Christmas Night Markets, City Walk

• 3pm-11pm, Taste Canberra Markets, Petrie Plaza

• 6pm-11pm, Christmas Lights in the City (Tunnel & Tree)

• 6pm-11pm, Gingerbread House

• Ongoing – Pavilion X, Garema Place

Canberra Confidential

Crash, bang, published!

“AFTER the most frustrating four months of my life, I finally kept my promise to publish two ‘John Order’ e-books per year!” writes triumphant author Greg Cornwell

Greg, a former Speaker of the Assembly, earlier this year published “Order and Suspicious Suicide”, an e-book novella centred on a fictional Legislative Assembly backbencher John Order.

It was the latest one, “Order and Mrs Cohen’s Conviction”, that nearly cost him his self-imposed deadline.

The months of misery began in winter when, after completing the final proof but not sending it to his publisher, he was involved in a car accident that saw him in hospital twice. Recuperation on an overseas trip was cruelled by his publisher then mislaying the proofs and another six weeks were lost.

“All okay now and, importantly, in time for Christmas, but I do think Thomas Carlyle only had to contend with his manuscript being burnt! [accidentally by a maid in the 1830s]” Orders to Apple iBooks and Amazon Kindle, $4.99.

Wear, tear and art

THE NGA has put out an artistic doormat in the form of a new metallic vinyl floor artwork in 13 colours covering the floor near the front entrance.

Called “Sound System”, it was purchased from Glaswegian artist Jim Lambie as a way to “enliven” the entrance. While earmarked for a stay of a couple of months, it is already showing signs of wear and tear.

• Quality custom designed chairs, sofas and bedheads

• Re-upholstery of dining chairs, sofas, chairs and ottomans

• Window seat cushions, outdoor cushions and scatter cushions

• Upholstered wall panels for warmth, peace & quiet

• Free consultation with an experienced designer in store

• A local business that has been in Canberra for 30 years

6 Yallourn Street, Fyshwick Phone: 6280 4464 www.dreamdesignfurniture.com.au

Starring Tim Overall…

THE drama that is a Queanbeyan Council meeting these days is clearly not enough theatre for mayor Tim Overall While helping launch The Q’s 2016 season recently, he told The Q program manager Stephen Pike that he’d like to be cast in a theatrical role. By way of public audition, Tim will be singing a duet on community radio QBN 96.7’s breakfast show early on December 14.

Art at a price

ART lovers attending the NGA beware. Attendees at the Tom Roberts summer blockbuster launch discovered there is no longer a couple of hours of free parking for gallery patrons. Abolished several weeks ago on instructions from flint hearts up the hill, the NGA car park now charges by the hour. As does the adjacent National Portrait Gallery. Add this to the night parking fees around the Canberra Theatre and arts outings are starting to add up.

Hamming it up?

“HERE is a bit of great news, our Poachers Little Ham has just been awarded 1th [sic] place in the recent Australian pork awards,” writes Poachers Pantry MD Susan Bruce. And it is; and congratulations, but nowhere in the announcement does the Hall-based company admit the award is for the ACT category. The national boneless-ham winner was from Victoria. Nevertheless, Susan says her team was humbled by “being given such a prestigious award”. Second prize, locally, went to Southlands Quality Meats, Mawson, who were probably equally humbled because they got second prize in the bone-in ham category, too.

Signs of being saved

THE media alert was loftily titled “Revitalising Canberra’s heritage for future generations”, but the silly spinners in Mick Gentleman’s office had over-egged the Minister for Planning’s news of the installation of two heritage signs, one at the former Coggan’s Bakery building

in Braddon and the other at the former WWII internment camp, Blue Range Camp, off Brindabella Road in Coree.

Baker’s delight?

A SNOUT passing the Woden Donut King discovered a baker’s dozen (13) isn’t what it used to be. As the picture shows, the price says $10 for a dozen, but there are only 10 in the tray. “Oh, but we sell them for $8, so it’s okay,” said a reassuring shop assistant when challenged.

Meanwhile, Dianne Young facebooked that the Jamison Donut King sells a dozen donuts for $7.50.

Sport on the run

WHILE the ACT government trumpets the health benefits of walking to a billion-dollar tram we haven’t built, Opposition sport spokesman (and soccer tragic) Steve Doszpot is puzzled at the way organised sport is being treated.

He hosted a forum for local sporting organisations, including the football codes and cricket, and says a consistent theme raised was the declining state of ovals and infrastructure and rising hire fees.

“The government’s methods are puzzling. They’re happy to ban junk food advertising on buses, but are running down local sport at the same time,” he sniffed.

scene / around canberra

Holiday Camp in French

Holiday Camp in French

JANUARY

All day - only for Children from 7 to 10 years old

All day - only for Children from 7 to 10 years old

All day - only for Children from 7 to 10 years old

9.30am-12.30pm & 1.30pm-4.30pm

9.30am-12.30pm & 1.30pm-4.30pm

All day - only for Children from 7 to 10 years old

9.30am-12.30pm & 1.30pm-4.30pm

One week - $450

One week - $450

One week - $450

Two weeks - $800

Two weeks - $800

Two weeks - $800

Half a day - for Pre-Kindy & Kindy

Half a day - for Pre-Kindy & Kindy

9.30am-12.30pm & 1.30pm-4.30pm One week - $450 Two weeks - $800

Half a day - for Pre-Kindy & Kindy

Tuesday to Thursday

Tuesday to Thursday

9.30am-12.30pm

Half a day - for Pre-Kindy & Kindy Tuesday to Thursday

9.30am-12.30pm

One week - $210

One week - $210

9.30am-12.30pm

Tuesday to Thursday 9.30am-12.30pm

One week - $210

Two weeks - $380

Two weeks - $380

One week - $210

Two weeks - $380

Two weeks - $380

Half a day - for Teens & Children

Half a day - for Teens & Children Monday to Friday

Monday to Friday

1.30pm-4.30pm

1.30pm-4.30pm

One week - $320

Half a day - for Teens & Children Monday to Friday 1.30pm-4.30pm

One week - $320

Half a day - for Teens & Children Monday to Friday 1.30pm-4.30pm

Two weeks - $570

Two weeks - $570

One week - $320

One week - $320

Two weeks - $570

Two weeks - $570

Intensive classes from beginners to advanced Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays 9.30am-12.30pm or 5.30pm-8.30pm $665

Intensive classes from beginners to advanced Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays 9.30am-12.30pm or 5.30pm-8.30pm $665

Intensive classes from beginners advanced Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays 9.30am-12.30pm or 5.30pm-8.30pm $665

Advanced (A2) Immersion Week 18th to 22nd January 9.30am-12.30pm & 1.30pm-4.30pm $450

Advanced (A2) Immersion Week 18th to 22nd January 9.30am-12.30pm & 1.30pm-4.30pm $450

Intensive classes from beginners to advanced Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays 9.30am-12.30pm or 5.30pm-8.30pm $665 Advanced (A2) Immersion Week 18th to 22nd January 9.30am-12.30pm & 1.30pm-4.30pm $450

Advanced (A2) Immersion Week 18th to 22nd January 9.30am-12.30pm & 1.30pm-4.30pm $450

Pronunciation class Tuesdays & Thursdays 4.30pm-5.30pm Workshops - $175

Workshops - $175

Pronunciation class Tuesdays & Thursdays 4.30pm-5.30pm

Pronunciation class Tuesdays & Thursdays 4.30pm-5.30pm Workshops - $175

Workshops - $175

Conversation class A2/B1 - B2/C1 Wednesdays 6pm-8pm

Pronunciation class Tuesdays & Thursdays 4.30pm-5.30pm

Conversation class A2/B1 - B2/C1 Wednesdays 6pm-8pm

Conversation class A2/B1 - B2/C1 Wednesdays 6pm-8pm

Conversation

A2/B1 - B2/C1 Wednesdays 6pm-8pm

arts & entertainment

Here come the girls and they’re right on Q

By Helen Musa

“ENRICH” is the all-purpose title that program manager at the Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, Stephen Pike, has come up with as the theme for the 2016 season at The Q, but he might as well have called it “I am Woman”.

The coming season, of no fewer than 16 productions, is heavily dominated with works by and about women.

While there is a “megamix” pop concert called “Boys in the Band”, American actor Frank Ferrante and his one-man show “An Evening with Groucho”, and the Gruffalo is surely male, but mostly the centre stage spot is reserved for the gals – and what a bunch!

Noni Hazlehurst comes to town playing a homeless mum in Daniel Keene’s sympathetic play, “Mother”. HIT Productions is back with Denny Lawrence’s staging of “Educating Rita” and Goldilocks upstages the three bears in Jordan Best’s prize-winning kids’ show featuring music by her father Peter Best.

Actor Mel Dodge joins forces with Charlotte Brontë for a story of ambition, forbidden love and family in “Miss Brontë.”

In her play “All my Love” Anne Brooksbank reveals another little-known love affair, that of writer Mary Gilmour and Henry Lawson, with suffragette mother Louise Lawson hovering in the background.

Justine Campbell and Sarah Hamilton conjure up the last Tasmanian tiger through the eyes of a female thylacine tracker and a zookeeper’s daughter in “They Saw a Thylacine”, while Catherine Lyall Watson’s play “Motherland” brings the story of three women – a Brisbane socialite, an émigré academic and a single mother – seen across time.

If that’s not enough big-time girls for you, Catherine Alcorn channels Bette Midler in “The Divine Miss Bette”, created by Peter Cox.

Yes, there’s room on the couch for one bloke at least, in Amy Herzog’s Obie award-winning play “4000 miles”, where 21-year-old Leo couch-surfs with his 91-year-old Jewish grandmother.

As well, the Melbourne Ballet Company makes its debut at The Q with “Divenire”. The Q continues its support of local talent with the new Pigeonhole Theatre’s feminist play, “Playhouse Creatures”, looking at five Restoration-era actresses at a time when all players were deemed rogues and vagabonds. Liz Bradley, Amy Dunham, Jenna Roberts, Emma Wood and Karen Vickery star.

Jarrad West directs another star local casting for Rick Abbot’s comedy “Play On!”, where the fictional Queanbeyan Music and Dramatic Society stages a “thrilling” murder mystery – they almost fooled us there.

“Enrich,” 2016 Subscription season at The Q – Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, bookings to theq.net.au or 6285 6290.

Roberts from every angle

visual art

“Tom Roberts”

At the National Gallery of Australia until March 28.

Reviewed by Anja Loughhead

PRESENTING more than 130 pieces from public and private collections, the National Gallery of Australia brings together a range of works by painter Tom Roberts for this year’s summer exhibition.

The expansive retrospective, simply titled “Tom Roberts”, provides audiences with an opportunity to experience the breadth of the artist’s practice, which includes paintings, pastels, drawings, prints and sculpture.

It is evident through Robert’s earlier paintings such as “Still Life with Pomegranates” that he had an astute ability to communicate depth through the interplay of light and shadow.

It is perhaps this quality of Roberts’ brushwork that began to thrive after returning to Australia from England in 1885. To view his oeuvre en masse enables audiences to gain an insight into how the luminosity of the Australian sun played an integral role in Roberts’ narrative pieces. There is vitality in Roberts’

depictions of the landscape as iconic pieces “Shearing of the Rams” and “A Break Away!” create tension between movement and stillness.

Undeniably romanticised, Roberts’ paintings present the labour of rural life, often referred to as “national narratives”, these scenes convey no apparent hardship of a colonial life spent in opposition to the land.

A point of contention may arise from the National Gallery of Australia’s decision to display such a large-scale exhibition of Tom Roberts’ work. In our current social climate one might ask what

the works from a colonialist white male offer us in regard to nationalist debate, indigenous land rights and the feminine discourse?

But, of course, “Tom Roberts” is an exhibition demonstrating one artist’s contribution to the turning point of Australian Art.

Influential to the practice of Fred Williams and Arthur Boyd, and seen in Dianne Jones’ revisionist 2001 work, “Shearing the Rams”, Roberts’ work accounts for a period of time in which Australia began to construct its own national identity through visual representation.

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arts in the city theatre

By Helen Musa

SEASONALLY appropriate, gallery@ bcs is presenting “Fowl Play”, a group exhibition on the theme of animal welfare. “Chickens live in a world that is far from ideal,” the artists’ statement begins. Artists see them as beautiful, but their reality is otherwise. At Belconnen Community Centre (not Belconnen Arts Centre), Swanson Court, Belconnen, December 14-January 8 (opening event 5.30pm, Tuesday, December 15, all welcome).

SCOTTISH twins The Proclaimers will close their week-long Australian tour next year with a concert at The Playhouse on April 20. Craig and Charlie Reid have built a reputation for songs of political fire and wit and are said to incite euphoric sing-alongs at their live shows. Tickets are on sale from Friday, December 11 from canberratheatre.com.au

IN “Haydn’s Esterhazy Orchestra” the Australian Haydn Ensemble recreates the era when Joseph Haydn was composer at the Esterházy Palace and created his early symphonies “Le Matin”, “Le Midi” and “Le Soir”. Violinist Marc Destrubè, from Vancouver, will play the role of Haydn, while soloist Erin Helyard will perform his “Concerto for Harpsichord in D Major”. At

Albert Hall, 7pm, Thursday, December 17. Bookings to 1800 334388 or australianhaydn.com.au or at the door.

A FEAST of music is promised when the National Capital Orchestra presents its annual “Concerto Concert”, featuring works by Berlioz, Telemann, Mouquet, Marcello, Boehme, Krommer and Rachmaninov conducted by Leonard Weiss. At the John Lingard Hall, Alexander Street, Red Hill, 3pm, on Sunday, December 13. Entry by donation.

THE Q and Queanbeyan City Council are turning on a free “Morning Melody” with piano man Joey Fimmano, former “Young Talent Time” star and Mo Award winner. It’s at the Bicentennial Hall, 10.30am, on Monday, December 14. Bookings to 6285 6290.

THE Fairies fly into Canberra for a Christmas show for preschoolers. In an hour of singing, interactive dancing and giggles with Harmony, Rhapsody,

Barnaby, Elf and Wizzy there’ll also be ballet to “Jingle Bells”, “Away in a Manger” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”. At Canberra Southern Cross Club, Woden, 11am, December 16, bookings to 6283 7200.

“COLLEGE Express 7” showcases the energetic artwork of 150 students in Years 11 and 12 from north-Canberra colleges. They run the gamut of video, photography, painting, drawing, ceramics, textiles and design work. At Belconnen Arts Centre until January 31. Also at Belconnen Arts Centre, until December 13, Brisbane artist Ros Paton’s exhibition “Lamina” celebrates the transience of our built environment, a subject initially inspired by the 1989 Newcastle earthquake.

DON’T miss Nicola Dickson’s fascinating current installation in the glasswalled Gallery 4 of Canberra Museum and Gallery facing Civic Square, visible 24 hours of the day until February 13.

Page’s sharp edge

By Helen Musa

WHEN theatre lovers turned up to The Street in 2011 to see Geoff Page’s movie-in-verse “Lawrie & Shirley: The Final Cadenza”, they got more than they bargained for.

Not only did the production feature a bravura performance by Chrissie Shaw on a cinematic-style set by Imogen Keen, but this full-length work was written entirely in “abcb” iambic tetrameter rhyme and rhythm, taking our collective breath away with its sharp wit and technical accomplishment. And as Canberrans, we saw ourselves on stage.

Now Page is at it again, entertaining us with his sardonic verse as his surgeon’s knife exposes the vital organs of ordinary Canberrans in a new play “Cara Carissima” (“My Darling, My Dearest”), to be staged at The Courtyard Studio by Tanya Gruber.

The second in a trilogy that began with “Lawrie & Shirley” and ended with “Coda for Shirley”, the story begins when an elderly couple meet in an old people’s home and begin a relationship that shocks their children, especially Shirley’s avaricious daughter Sarah, who is confronted by the sexuality of the affair and how it might affect her inheritance.

By the end of the trilogy, Lawrie and Shirley are dead and the children have been bypassed in the will for the grandchildren.

Page explains to “CityNews” how “Cara Carissima” fits in. The daughters Sarah (Nikki-Lynne Hunter) and Jane (Kate Blackhurst) are still there, the former as petty and self-righteous as ever and the latter “a bit more congenial”.

Sarah’s marriage to public servant Barry (Peter Robinson) – “good-hearted but a bit of a dumbo” – is over and, after she kicks him out, he takes up with his young PA Cara (Cara Irvine) and Sarah plots revenge.

“Cara Carissima” has a setting quite different from the other two plays and the dialogue is something Page himself might well have overheard on his visits to the coffee shops of Griffith and Manuka, to which he takes not pencil and paper, but his keen ear.

Bruno the barista (Bruno Galdino) narrates.

“I don’t lurk, I just like coffee” Page tells “CityNews”.

“I’m pretty interested in the whole coffee culture and the levels of snobbery around a good cappuccino”.

He doesn’t want to be stereotyped as a comic writer, pointing out that his poetry is often much more serious, but tells us that “comedy is just one thing I like to do, it’s very engaging and it’s nice to collaborate”.

His former colleague and well-known theatre identity Peter Wilkins is the producer, but the creative team is otherwise unfamiliar.

“I haven’t pushed my way into the theatre,” says Page, but he has responded to requests from Gruber to rewrite a few stanzas that didn’t sound convincing.

He’s as curious as we are to see the end result.

“Cara Carissima”, world premiere season, The Courtyard Studio, Canberra Theatre Centre, December 17-20. Bookings to 6275 2700 or canberratheatrecentre.com.au

Cool chic and delicious!

MANY mourned when Artisan closed its doors at the Narrabundah shops. But after months of hush-hush, the space was back in business, and big time. XO had arrived. You won’t recognise the place, starting with the gorgeous black and white mural at the front, by Dai Cameron, a graffiti artist not confined to the traditional parameters of graffiti or street art.

Once inside you’re presented with cool, contemporary chic; blonde wood, marble tables edged with brass, cane chairs, raw brick walls painted white and an amazing “wine wall”. The leather-topped stools and chopsticks are the work of industrial design studio Skeehan.

Chef Anand Kumar (affectionately known as “AK”) was born in Malaysia and is in charge of seasonal menus focusing on south-east Asian cuisine, which is big on sharing. Local produce is front and centre. Modern techniques are used but at the heart of the food is family and heritage.

I’ve only been to XO once, but want to head back soon. I’d go for the steamed dumplings again, perfect pouches of minced prawn and pork with spicy soy vinaigrette ($16). I’d not hesitate to re-order the joyful Shantung bao, super-soft, home-baked bao stuffed with tasty, twice-cooked pork belly, cucumber, pickled daikon and ginger ($8 each).

Local produce

is front and centre. Modern techniques are used but at the heart of the food is family and heritage.

XO is great for gluten and dairy free meals, with many options on the menu (some dishes can also be adapted on request). This includes the Hiramasa Kingfish. The presentation was stunning, so much so it seemed a crime to disturb the food to devour it. But devour we did. The fish is beetroot cured with lemon grass, mixed herbs and Ponzu Nuoc cream sauce ($16).

We had to try, just because it sounded so out of place, the Asian Bolognaise, created with stir-fried Udon noodles in XO chicken mince ragout with a 60°C egg on top. It looked like the ingredients were just thrown together, but the dish is as carefully designed as the decor. And it was delicious.

Our least favourite dish was the “Prawn Kapital”, which claimed to be spicy Nyonya-style curry with grilled king prawns ($27). Some prawns we had were dry and we wondered where the curry was.

The gang behind XO is a “team of old friends”. One owner, Ken Nhan, grew

up working in the Griffith Vietnamese Restaurant, owned by his uncle.

The team is as passionate about wine as they are about food. The wine list celebrates Canberra operators such as Eden Road and Clonakilla. Pact Beer’s pale ale is available.

The service was amazing throughout, but petered off at the end and we waited too long for the bill. XO needs to concentrate here to ensure consistency from start to finish.

XO, 16 Iluka Street, Narrabundah. Open for lunch Tuesday to Saturday and dinner Monday to Saturday. Call 6295 XOXO.

‘Truth’ is all about brilliant Blanchett

By Dougal Macdonald “Truth” (M)

THE US presidential election is the greatest show on earth. The prize is not merely the right to govern. Serious money is involved. Ambition influences every element of the production. Who will win? What secrets lie behind the contest? How will it affect the fortunes of other nations?

In 2004, Mary Mapes, producer of CBS’s flagship news program “60 Minutes”, led a team investigating allegations that George W Bush used his President father’s political clout to conceal that young George’s claim of training in the National Guard (thereby avoiding serving in Vietnam) was in fact a lie.

“Truth” is writer/director James Vanderbilt’s telling how Mary Mapes and her team investigated that apparent lie after CBS fired her.

As a movie, it’s got everything – tension, evasion, probity and, not least, credibility.

If I were a betting man, I’d bet that “Truth” will get a nomination for just about every category in just about every peer assessment contest that the movie industry conducts to promote its 2015 products. Cate Blanchett’s performance as Mary Mapes looks a front runner for Best Actress. While Robert Redford gives a sweet performance as “60 Minutes” anchorman Dan Rather, Blanchett dominates the film with energy, chutzpah and superb nuances.

Politics is a tough game, as any player will tell everybody. So, too, is uncovering the truth of a controversy. This is great cinema.

At Palace Electric and Capitol 6 “Phoenix” (M)

GERMAN filmmaker Christian Petzold is little known in Australia. In 2013, I gave four stars to “Barbara” starring Nina Hoss who, in “Phoenix”, again plays a woman seeking to recover her soul and rebuild her psyche in the wreckage left from the totalitarian inhumanity of war.

Jewish singer Nelly has undergone facial reconstruction that has left her unrecognisable. Now with the help of mannish-looking Lena, she is seeking answers. Is her husband Johnny still playing piano in the Phoenix bar? Does he still love her? And was it he who betrayed her to the Nazis and Auschwitz?

Petzold’s construction of Berlin’s rubble before the wall divided the city sets a powerful sense of a nation striving to recover its cultural, economic and social feet. This woman, vulner-

able, handsome rather than beautiful, reminds Johnny of the lost wife. Nelly wants to be with him, whether for his love or for the help he might give her in recovering her family’s wealth. The plot develops without hurry. The film’s images depict the aftermath of war with clarity and credibility. Its human values are sombre. But despite offering us little by way of joy, “Phoenix” has enough enigmatic force to hold our attention all the way to Nelly’s revelation of a tiny, vital, piece of evidence seconds before the closing credits begin to roll.

At Palace Electric

“In the Heart of the Sea” (M) IN 1820 the Nantucket whaling ship Essex sank in the western Pacific. Of its 21 crew, only eight eventually came home after 90 days adrift, bringing a tale of a giant sperm whale that battered the ship to splinters in what seemed vengeance against humans.

In 1851 Herman Melville published “Moby Dick” about the great white whale. The film takes a liberty with how Melville (Ben Whishaw) obtained his source material. It posits that Melville got it from Thomas Nickerson (Brendan Gleeson) who, at age 14, sailed in Essex as cabin boy (Tom Holland). Apparently, Nickerson did write the story some 55 years after the event; legend has it that his MS was lost until 1980. Let’s not quibble about the verity of the film’s bookends. It’s what they embrace that counts. And that, in the hands of director Ron Howard using a screenplay by Charles Leavitt, comes across as a combination of excitement, beauty, nautical reminiscence in most respects convincing as to modern presence, courage, desperation and respectful authenticity. The whaling passages adequately reflect how it actually was before Svend Foyn invented the harpoon gun and sail gave way to steam then diesel powered catcher boats and factory ships. The depiction of the great whale is probable in every respect except for its length and its aggression toward humans. Sperm whales are not known to grow to more than 12 metres.

Chris Hemsworth gives a good performance as first mate Owen Chase, who expected to sail as master, downrated in favour of the martinet son of the company’s patron Pollard (Benjamin Walker) who made some unseamanlike sailing decisions.

At Palace Electric

gardening Oleanders get some bad press

SOME readers might be shocked at the mere mention of Nerium oleander. Never plant this in the garden, all parts are poisonous, they say!

I recently spent time in the Provence area of France where, besides lavender production, Oleanders are seen everywhere. I don’t recall banner headlines of massed deaths due to Oleanders. Yes, all parts of the plant are poisonous and it’s best to wear gloves when handling it.

LET’S take a look at other plants that may be poisonous that can be found in almost every garden without realising their poisonous nature.

A few years ago “The Canberra Gardener” listed more than 120 plants that are poisonous if the leaves are chewed or berries eaten, starting with the common potato through to daphne, cotoneaster, Digitalis (foxglove), laburnum (Golden Chain tree), wisteria, ligustrum, rhododendron and azaleas.

In reality, are you going to start ripping all these plants out? No. So why pick on the oleander with a flowering time possibly longer than any other plant?

A small genus of a single species first introduced into Western gardens in 1596, it became an instant favourite. It can be seen growing along the Mediterranean and is a rival to camellias grown in more northern climes. The most

Thanks to all who entered, it was a keenly sought prize.

though, with breeding, numerous forms are now available, which include a variety of flower colours with single and double flowers and even variegated leaves. They are ideal for growing in pots and take to very hard pruning in winter. If ever there was a plant suitable for our climate this is it.

UNFAMILIAR to many gardeners, the Lapageria rosea or Lapageria or Chilean Bell Flower is a rare climbing plant with interesting flowers and one of the most beautiful of all flowering climbers. It is also the national flower of Chile.

Introduced into Western gardens in 1847, it is an evergreen with a strong twining habit and rosycrimson, bell-shaped flowers up to 7cm long and 5cm wide that are borne singly in summer.

Pictured here is the pure white Lapageria var. albiflora growing

in our garden in Watson in the shade of silver birch trees. It likes growing in lime-free soil in shade or semi-shade and doesn’t like exposure to long periods of strong sunlight. I understand that the Heritage Nursery at Yarralumla now has it in stock.

ONE of the most knowledgeable horticulturists regarding Australian native plants is the inimitable Angus Stewart.

Well-known for his plant expertise and breeding skills and a presenter on the ABC’s “Gardening Australia”, Stewart’s new book “The Australian

Native Garden” in conjunction with AB Bishop (Murdoch Books, rrp $49.99) is a must for any lover of Australian flora. Alternatively, this down-to-earth practical guide will encourage those who’d like to grow native plants, but think they are maybe too difficult.

Jottings…

• When sowing carrot seed, don’t cover with soil. Simply place shadecloth over the seeded area and remove it once seedlings show with a couple of leaves.

• Complete planting of dahlia tubers, putting the stake in first.

• Watch out for rose suckers from the rootstock and remove as soon as they appear.

• Harvest broad beans and freeze for later use. Chop up old foliage before putting on compost heap.

• Lightly prune Daphne plants after flowering. Take cuttings at the end of this month.

CONGRATULATIONS to the Yarralumla Nursery, winning a major award with the National Trust Heritage Awards 2015 for an outstanding project in working with GML Heritage on the Yarralumla Nursery Conservation Management Plan. GML Heritage has been at the forefront of heritage consulting for more than 25 years.

Joanne Madeline Moore

your week in the stars – December 14-20, 2015

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

With Mars (your ruling planet) moving through Libra until January 3, you may appear to be unusually calm on the outside but on the inside you’re feeling intense – full of fiery energy and ready to burst. The Sun/Jupiter square on Monday and Tuesday ratchets up your inner restlessness, and then the weekend stars see you becoming absolutely obsessed about a work or study issue. If you can’t switch into slightly laid-back Libran mode, then you might just blow a fuse!

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 20)

Patching up romantic problems will be easier now than at other times, as Venus visits your partnership zone (until December 30). Don’t just give up and put your relationship in the ‘too-hard’ basket. This week Pluto also encourages you to get up-close-and-personal with your partner as you examine problematic areas and ferret out solutions. Single Bulls – give superficial suitors the boot! Look for love with someone who is physically affectionate and emotionally mature.

GEMINI (May 21 – June 21)

Creativity and intensity are high as Mercury [your ruling planet] links up with Neptune [on Monday/Tuesday] and Pluto [on the weekend]. So it’s a wonderful week to dance, sing, perform, paint or play … the more creatively you express yourself, the better you’ll feel. And it’s time to give superficial communication and garrulous gossip the flick, as you get down to the nitty-gritty in conversations with loved ones. Study, research, analysis and problem solving are also favoured.

CANCER (June 22 – July 22)

Are you having problems communicating with a partner, friend or family member? You need to focus all your energy on that person and make them your number one priority. Energy goes where intention flows. If you combine a compassionate approach with good listening skills and let them know how much you really care, then the relationship will improve in leaps and bounds. For Crabs who feel tense and irritable on the weekend – take some time out to relax and unwind.

LEO (July 23 – Aug 22)

The week starts in a frantic whirl when you overwork, overplay or just promise too much to too many people. Slow down Leo! Make the most of Venus visiting your domestic zone as you clean and de-clutter your living space; make it as beautiful and inviting as possible; and then spend time relaxing in your Lion’s Den. Fresh flowers and lots of comfy cushions are a must. As birthday great Jane Austen reminds us: “There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.”

VIRGO (Aug 23 – Sept 22)

This week Mercury connects with Neptune and pairs up with Pluto, which stimulates your versatile creativity and voracious Virgo curiosity. So you’re in detective mode as you research a creative project, solve a problem or uncover a mystery or two. It’s also a great time to study, do brain-training, or dive into a challenging new book – but resist the urge to obsess over minor matters and make mountains out of molehills. Strive to keep a sensible sense of perspective.

LIBRA (Sept 23 – Oct 23)

With Mars moving through your sign (until January 3) have the courage and passion to be the authentic you and let loved ones be themselves too. Be inspired by anthropologist Margaret Mead (born on December 16): “Always remember that you are absolutely unique. Just like everyone else.” Coupled Librans – it’s time to connect with your lover on a deeper level. Singles – if you meet someone special, avoid superficialities. Strive to get up-close-and-personal.

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 21)

Scorpios are savvy shoppers, spenders and savers – which is just as well because unexpected expenses are likely at the moment. Under the shadow of Saturn, if you haven’t planned wisely then you may be caught short – especially on Thursday. And if you’ve been stewing over something for a long time, hidden resentments could suddenly be released on the weekend via sharp words or succinct text or sarcastic email. But is that the smart way to go?

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 – Dec 21)

The Sun/Jupiter square on Monday/Tuesday, activates your extravagant Sagittarian gene. You’re likely to overcommit and promise more than you can actually deliver. The weekend stars favour revising and researching, plus tying up loose ends before you launch ambitious new projects. The more energy and focus you put into financial and business affairs, the more successful you’ll be – but you must do your homework, and check all the details thoroughly first.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 19)

This week you have the capacity to tackle mental tasks with extra energy and Capricorn concentration. You’ll find you power through planning, study or research projects with ease but avoid being unusually hasty and taking short-cuts, especially with colleagues or loved ones. Clear and consistent communication is essential, otherwise you’ll make an inappropriate comment or a messy mistake. So deft diplomacy and close attention to detail are the secrets to a satisfying week.

AQUARIUS (Jan 20 – Feb 18)

The more creative you are at work, school or college, the better the week will be. And the more you reach out and help those around you, the more useful you’ll feel. You have the ability to influence people in positive ways, as you employ praise and encouragement to get others onside. You’ll feel restless on the weekend so use your mental abilities and communication skills to inspire others and initiate projects. And don’t forget to get your body moving – preferably outside in the fresh air.

PISCES (Feb 19 – Mar 20)

Don’t be a procrastinating Piscean! This week’s stars push you to bite the bullet and make some firm and focused decisions – especially involving your goals, hopes and dreams for the future. You’ll also shun superficial encounters, preferring deep and meaningful conversations with family, friends and work colleagues. You could find yourself linking up with an influential person from foreign shores. Just make sure you are thoroughly prepared.

Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2015 Daily astrology updates at twitter.com/JoMadelineMoore

General knowledge crossword No. 530

Across

3 Which Pacific island was settled by mutineers of the Bounty in 1790?

7 What, in architecture, is the front of a building?

8 Which earlier trains were noted for their discomfort, red ...?

9 Name the classes of woodland deities represented as part human and part goat.

10 What is said to be a legendary treasure city of S America (2,6)?

11 Name the ancient king of Egypt who built the great pyramid of El Giza.

14 What, in law, do we call a person to whom a thing is sold?

17 To put back into a liquid holder, is to do what?

18 What are shinbones also called?

19 Name an edible N American turtle.

20 Which syndrome is chiefly characterised by an inability to comprehend, or communicate, etc?

21 What is another term for a tumour?

Sudoku medium No. 165

Down

1 Name the floral emblem of NSW.

2 Name, from Greek legend, the sea-nymph who for seven years detained Odysseus on the island of Ogygia.

3 Who in Greek legend, slew the gorgon, Medusa?

4 What is the negative pole of a battery?

5 In which of the British Isles is Tipperary?

6 Name a term that describes a complete lack of points, runs, goals, etc (2,5).

11 Which AFL team won the grand final in 1995?

12 Which term describes a restraint or hindrance?

13 What is a trap for the unwary?

14 Hanoi is the capital of which SE Asian republic?

15 What are banded anteaters also known as?

16 Name the official headquarters of an ambassador.

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