170504 citynews

Few cheers as drunkenness soars

MICHAEL MOORE

So, what do babies do?

KATE MEIKLE

The perennial Petula Clark

HELEN MUSA

Go light on the hedge trimming

CEDRIC BRYANT

DRIVING FORCE

The

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Poverty pushes Matt through the ‘gates of hell’

WHAT some hikers take a few days to do, Wanniassa resident Matt Napier will do in one.

Matt, who recently turned 40, will walk 40 kilometres or more daily in unknown landscapes until he’s at the point of exhaustion.

It might seem insane for someone to push themselves to such limits, but Matt believes he has it easy.

“There’s people in wheelchairs who would give anything to get up and walk on a blister or blind people who would do anything to see what I see,” Matt says.

With help from his wife Wendy, the couple are passionate about raising awareness and making a difference.

Since meeting through a mutual friend and marrying in 2008, they have created a local charity called Walk to a Better World, which they run on top of their business, Garden Makeovers and Maintenance.

The idea for the charity came from a trip to Nepal in 2006, which later inspired Matt to participate in many solo walking and cycling challenges to raise awareness and funds for global poverty.

“It was the first time that I’ve seen extreme poverty first hand,” says Matt.

“Children four and five were begging and children were dying on the street.”

To help rid the world of such devastations Matt continues to walk, with his next journey in June, where he will follow one of the most “uninhabitable parts of the earth”, the Namib Desert in Africa or “the gates of hell”.

During the 1850km walk from the bottom of Namibia to Angola, Matt will tackle 250-metre-high sand dunes, wildlife threats and isolation.

Along the way, Wendy will be driving the support vehicle ahead of Matt as well as preparing food and treating blisters.

They aim to raise $20,000 for each of their charity partners, Caritas Australia and Empower Projects, to fund sustainable development initiatives including permaculture training at primary schools in rural Malawi.

Wendy describes her involvement as a “job” where emotions need to be kept aside.

“Every now and then I get a little anxious when I think that I’ve lost Matt though,” she says.

But Matt’s usually caught up kicking a soccer ball with people he’s met along the way.

He believes that sport is a powerful tool to form connections with people from different cultures.

In Botswana Wendy, who describes herself as fairly fit, joined Matt for 48km, which was one day of walking, and real-

ised how physically and mentally taxing the walks are.

“The thing that impressed me was pushing on when it’s tough and then being able to get up and go out 40 days in a row,” Wendy says.

“It’s not just about being physically fit, 90 per cent of it is above the shoulders.”

What keeps Matt mentally strong are the stories he hears along the way, including one involving a woman on a previous walk.

“She had four children, her eldest had passed away, her second child had HIV, her third had a mental illness and the fourth was a victim of a hit and run, paralysed from the waist down,” he says.

“They lived in a two metre by two metre shed and earnt about seven Australian dollars from the government, that is when the government would pay them.”

Matt also recalls the story of a lady in Ethiopia who walked for three weeks straight to get to a refugee camp and her son died the next day.

“We’re trying to encourage Australians to do more, we’re a very wealthy country but we’re not pulling our weight,” Matt says.

And it seems that Matt and Wendy won’t stop until that happens, with preparations for the world’s largest marathon already underway for 2018.

Further information at walktoabetterworld.com or call 0437 306330.

Since 1993: Volume 23, Number 15

Arts & Entertainment 27-29

Cinema 29

Dining 29

Crossword 31

Gardening 30

Horoscopes 31

Letter 12

5-12

14-15

Cyclist Andrew Kerec with his father Lud. Story Page 12.

Well written,

Ph 02 6189 0777 Fax 02 6189 0778

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Ian Meikle, 9b/189 Flemington Road, Mitchell.

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Ignorance abounds from the Foreshore view

If Miranda Devine had taken the time to speak with just a few of the tens of thousands who don’t live high on the Canberra hog she wouldn’t have had such nasty piece of clickbait to publish.

THOSE who indulge in the tiresome game of “Canberra Bashing” rarely rely on facts. Case in point is columnist Miranda Devine’s recent rant in the “Tele” where she ignorantly describes a Canberra consisting of: “Smug, entitled public servants [living] high on the hog with taxpayer-funded massages, business-class travel, gentlemen’s hours, high-class restaurants, cafes on every corner and a furious resistance to Barnaby Joyce’s sensible idea of decentralising the Federal bureaucracy to repopulate dying country towns”.

Miranda’s only research appears to be a chat with a friend “who recently moved from Sydney to the Kingston Foreshore, where million-dollarplus luxury apartments are springing up like topsy” and who

says “she can’t believe how easy life is”. If Devine had taken the time to speak with just a few of the tens of thousands who don’t live high on the Canberra hog she wouldn’t have had such a nasty piece of clickbait to publish.

MEANWHILE, ACT Labor Senator Katy Gallagher is using strong language in a campaign against decentralisation, suggesting Liberal party founder and ardent supporter of Canberra as the nation’s capital, Sir Robert Menzies, “would be turning in his grave”.

The former ACT chief minister says: “It is either the beginning of one of the saddest chapters in Australian government history or a pathetic attempt to cloak the disaster of the relocation of the APVMA”.

dose of dorin

A SENIOR US Republican with dexterous diplomacy skills is Canberra bound. Former presidential candidate Senator John McCain, who mocked President Donald Trump’s world view during a nine-minute speech in Munich in February without mentioning his name is due in town next month.

The decorated war hero, down under for high-level security talks, “had words” with Trump after the new president’s terse phone hook up with PM Malcolm Turnbull. The senator will primarily cover Asia-Pacific issues, but given his recent form it’s inevitable he’ll drift off song and provide some entertainment at the expense of “the Donald”.

APPARENTLY we are punching above our weight in the seriously frivolous activity of

the selfie. “Time” magazine ranked 459 cities in order of “selfiest” and Canberra came in as Australia’s #1 for 2016 and a respectable 169th on the global list. The Australian War Memorial is the top geotagged location for pics in Canberra with Lake Burley Griffin second.

“COMMUNITY consultation” is a catchphrase in the backpack of all politicians but one rarely exercised. Chief Minister Andrew Barr wants a citizens’ jury to assist government in forming policy on a diverse range of

issues such as the desexing of pets and laws surrounding cyclists. Mr Barr is keen to adopt an SA model and has invited two experts from that state to Canberra to discuss what they call “deliberative democracy”. The experts, from Democracy Co and the SA Department of Premier and Cabinet, will speak at a city forum organised by former chief minister Jon Stanhope on Thursday.

THE citizens’ jury concept comes too late though for Canberrans to have a say in the naming of 13 tram stops along stage one of the light rail project. Transport minister Meegan Fitzharris unveiled the list of street and location names which she says follows the format of light rail systems in other parts of Australia and overseas. The minister dismissed suggestions the lack of public input was to avoid a repeat of last year’s “Boaty McBoatface” fiasco in the UK over public participation in naming a new research ship.

AFL Canberra’s season is just two rounds old but a long and humiliating season looms for at least one and possibly two clubs. In round one the Gungahlin Jets Div 2 team was obliterated by Eastlake, 39 goals to nothing. And, in a slightly less bruising season start, Belconnen kicked 23 goals 18 points to Tuggeranong Hawks’ 4 points. One of the league’s four guiding principles instituted in 2015 is “Competitive Balance”, which seeks to ensure “every team has every chance of winning”.

Scientist Emma says hello fashion!

Kathryn Vukovljak reports

AFTER realising that a longplanned career in medical science wasn’t for her, Emma Batchelor decided to give in to her love of fashion, follow her passion and create her own online magazine.

The quarterly “Leiden” magazine has just turned one and Emma, 28, says she’s equally thrilled by the success of the project so far and exhausted by it, being glad she didn’t know exactly what she was jumping into at the start.

Emma says she took a bit of a winding path to get to where she is, having studied medical science and immunology at uni and then falling into writing for a local online blog.

“I’d always wanted to do something with fashion but I was good at science and maths at school so I felt I should go with that and get a proper job,” she says.

“For a few years I kept doing the next logical thing and not really what I wanted to be doing, and I let myself get carried away doing that.”

Emma Batchelor… “I’m easily the busiest I’ve ever been but also the happiest, because I’m finally doing what I want to be doing and I’m where I want to be.”

Emma says that fashion has always been important to her as a way to express her personality and present herself to the world.

“My grandparents are tailors, my mum used to sell party plan clothes and my brother and I are both dancers and I loved all the costumes we wore when we were young,” she says.

“I’m so happy to be doing this, even though it’s hard and I work long hours, getting up at 5.30am to work on

Photo by Maddie McGuigan

‘Leiden’ before going to my job, then I come home and work until bedtime, as well as attending events three or four times a week.”

With readers as far afield as Sydney, Melbourne and the US, Emma says most of the content is pitched to women between 20-35, and that her focus is on making fashion accessible

and inclusive.

“I’m very conscious that fashion can be used as a club, like you’re only cool if you’re wearing this or if you don’t look a certain way you’re not cool enough,” she says.

“I’d like ‘Leiden’ to be open to what is cool, what is interesting, what is style, to represent a wider ideal of fashion and be more inclusive.

“It’s been bigger and better than I even expected, because I had no idea what to expect and I just thought, this will be great.

“I’m easily the busiest I’ve ever been but also the happiest, because I’m finally doing what I want to be doing and I’m where I want to be.”

Emma says “Leiden”, named for the town in the Netherlands where she lived as a baby, is about fashion, beauty, health and fitness at its core, but has broadened into culture, lifestyle, events, careers and relationships.

“It’s interesting how it’s expanded over the year – we now have more than 37 contributors and I’m receiving submissions all the time,” she says.

“It’s a lot of people to manage and, as we’re not generating an income at the moment, I feel privileged to have so many people willing to give their time to contribute to this.”

Visit leidenmagazine.com.au

Blanket coverage

THE Salvation Army will accept donations of blankets, doonas, non-perishable food and cash when participants in the Motorcycle Riders Association of the ACT’s annual Motorcyclists Blanket Run gather at 8.30am at Old Parliament House for the 10am start on Saturday, May 13. The event has been held for more than 30 years and Association president David Formica says: “We know that riders always support this event and give generously.”

Cake heaven

THE Canberra Hyatt Hotel’s ballroom will be filled with Canberra-themed cakes for postnatal depression group PANDSI’s major fundraiser, 2pm-4pm, on Saturday, May 13. The “cake off” will feature delicious interpretations of the Skywhale, Telstra Tower, hot air balloons and Floriade. The 80 cakes will be for sale through live or silent auctions. Tickets are $5 and bookable at trybooking.com/275455

Monk’s free talk

BUDDHIST monk Ajahn Brahm, pictured, the abbot of Bodhinyana Monastery, near Perth, is in Canberra for the Vesak Celebration, the celebration of the birth, enlightenment and the passing away of the Buddha, at Parliament House on May 10. The celebrated monk will also give a free public talk at the Sri Lankan Buddhist Vihara, 30 Jenke Circuit, Kambah, 7.30pm, on Tuesday, May 9. More information to 6296 2503 or email info@slbvcn.org

A Taste of Tasmania

6-night cruise onboard Pacific Explorer

History, nature and some unique quirks - Tasmania is the modest champion of the unforgettable travel experience. With the cleanest air in the world, you can breathe fresh air into your holiday repertoire, literally.

Ports of call Sydney • Eden • Port Arthur • Hobart (overnight)

Departs 27 January 2018

Guests 1 & 2 from $799*pp Kids cruise free!^

Explore the Loyalty Islands

9-night cruise onboard Pacific Explorer

This holiday has the perfect mix of French chic and laid-back Pacific Island vibes. Experience the world’s largest lagoon, genuine Melanesian culture and pristine waters for yourself and see why it’s called the ‘Jewel of the Pacific’.

Ports of call Sydney • Noumea • Mare • Mystery Island • Isle of Pines

Departs 03 April 2018

Guests 1 & 2 from $1,049*pp Kids cruise free!

From 1st February 2018 you will no longer be able to buy codeine containing medications without a prescription.

Unfortunately the use of codeine which is an opioid drug, can and has led to opioid tolerance, dependence, addiction, poisoning, and even death. Side effects include headache, drowsiness, dizziness, difficulty in breathing, nausea, constipation, and increased likelihood for falls particularly in the elderly. In fact dependence on this drug creeps up on people very easily, with higher and higher doses being needed to get relief from the same symptoms.

Also severe withdrawal symptoms can result when you stop taking codeine and those symptoms often mimic the pain that the drug was originally being used to

treat. We then mistakenly think we need the medication to control only our original pain. We see this especially in those with headache.

The other big problem that happens if you take more of the recommended dose of over-the-counter drugs that contain codeine is that serious harm can occur. For instance, with paracetamol you can end up with liver damage, and with ibuprofen this can result in internal bleeding, kidney failure and heart attack.

Research has shown that these medications are not particularly effective in the long term and your General

Practitioner may have other options including referring you to a pain specialist for an opinion. Medical evidence also finds that simple paracetamol and/or ibuprofen or in combination is surprisingly effective for many acute and persistent pain problems.

If you would like broad-ranging advice and information on your pain, or feel that you may have a dependency problem, don’t be embarrassed or beat yourself up. Without a referral you can see our pain counsellor, one of our psychologists or our physical therapists, who will help you with a plan of action that puts you back in control.

•

And don’t forget our affordable and regular Functioning

With Pain educational sessions to help you make a plan that’s right for you!

Call our friendly reception team for more information or to book in for any of the above services.

• Codeine is highly addictive and withdrawal symptoms can be severe We can help you develop a plan to stop taking this medication and learn more effective pain management strategies that put you in control.

Our experienced multidisciplinary team can assist you with this under the guidance of our pain and rehabilitation specialists Dr Geoffrey Speldewinde and Dr Keith Chan, who can review your condition with a referral from your GP. FREE PARKING AVAILABLE

Come join us on the Blanket Run!

The annual motorcyclists Blanket Run is being held on Saturday 13 May, Leaving at 10am from Old Parliament House.

Our aim is to provide blankets, non-perishable food and donations to those in our community less well off, via the Salvation Army. The MRA ACT organises the event and it is well supported by riders in Canberra and surrounds.

www.MRAACT.org.au

email: secretary@mraact.org.au or committee@mraact.org.au

Phone: 0448 336 111

Motorcycle Riders Association of the ACT.

MASTERS

The Mature Age Skills Training for Experienced Riders or ‘MASTERS’ training is a defensive road skills course initiated by the Motorcycle Riders Association of the ACT, developed and conducted by Stay Upright Rider Training and partially subsidised by the ACT Government.

The next available date is: 28th May 2017 www.stayupright.com.au/masters-course

“Your makeup could be holding you back from

”

mummy

So,

what do babies do?

MY little boy asked me: “Mummy, what does our baby do?”

I didn’t know how to answer his question. The short answer was “not a lot right now!”

At six months, our baby has come a long way – she can smile, laugh, kick her legs on the mat, put things into her mouth and she can sure cry!

As a three-year-old, my boy is investigating the world and beginning to understand that people, in addition to his beloved diggers, do indeed work.

Every morning he will cheerfully wish his dad a great day at work. He has temper tantrums when he is told he can’t play with the coffee machine or the dishwasher – “I need to do my work!” he yells.

Our baby’s work consists of eating, sleeping and exploring. In my little boy’s eyes her progress is clearly rather slow, although I feel she is growing up way too fast!

My friend tells her son when she drops him off at preschool that she is going to work, even though she is returning home to care for the baby. She told me she wants to teach him that she might not be working in an office, she has a lot of work to do to look after him and his sister, that it’s an important role and it is indeed “work” albeit unpaid and for the most part undervalued.

I hope that in years to come my daughter

Our baby’s work consists of eating, sleeping and exploring. In my little boy’s eyes her progress is clearly rather slow, although I feel she is growing up way too fast!

has equal opportunities to her brother in her chosen field of work and that her options are as open and her pay the same. This is something that doesn’t exist right now, despite the advancements in equality between my and my mother’s generation.

In the future, will my girl think it bizarre that in her “mother’s day” women were paid 16 per cent less than men across the board? I hope she will think the gender pay gap that exists today as bizarre and shocking as I do when I think that my mother was not able to buy property as an unmarried woman.

Yes, my boy, our baby girl doesn’t “do” a great deal at present, but I’ll settle for her sweet baby smiles, cuddles and coos.

And I can hope that, when it is her turn to work, her future will be just as bright as yours.

KATE MEIKLE

Makeup is not an area our patients expect us to talk about when we discuss skincare. At The CAPS Clinic we believe makeup should be an extension of your skincare regime, complementing and enhancing your skincare products and treatments. Makeup is after all another barrier on the skin, so the quality of ingredients it contains impacts your skin dramatically. At The CAPS Clinic we only work with products that enable you to achieve your skin goals and are clinically proven and value for money. I would like to share 5 key reasons why we only work with a clinical-grade mineral makeup and the bene ts it delivers to the skin when used as part of your ongoing skincare routine.

Quality Ingredients

Mineral makeup is a term widely used in makeup marketing to promote products. However, not all mineral makeups are created equally, with many having far less than 20% mineral content. Colorescience uses 100% naturally occurring minerals with additional antioxidants and vitamins to soothe, correct and protect your skin.

Anti-Ageing Properties

Free radicals, UV light and pollution all cause damage to our skin and are primarily responsible for how our skin deteriorates and ages. To combat these e ects, Colorescience speci cally includes antioxidants and vitamins which neutralise free radicals and physically reduce the signs of ageing.

Sun Protection

Colorescience has a speci c range of products that address the need for inbuilt sun protection. The range is recommended by the Skin Cancer Foundation for their e ective sun protection properties against both UVA and UVB rays. Colorescience forms a protective barrier on your skin to help protect against the sun’s harmful rays. The products are chemical-free and contain key active ingredients of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, which are safe and proven ingredients for e ective sun protection.

Minimum Allergy Risks

Colorescience products do not contain chemical preservatives, chemical dyes, fragrances or alcohol. These ingredients are present in most other makeup brands, and are responsible for causing or worsening skin sensitivities, in ammation and other adverse reactions. Colorescience products only use naturally occurring minerals and vitamins that support healthy skin function. You can use this range with con dence even when the integrity of your skin may have been compromised by factors such as sun damage, laser treatments or a weakened immune system.

Beautiful Coverage with Minimal Product

Colorescience makeup is weightless on your skin and you only need to apply a small amount to get full coverage. Less is de nitely more when working with this high quality mineral makeup range. The bene t to you is value for money, as minimal product is needed to obtain healthy looking skin.

It is confusing, time consuming and potentially costly to work out what is best for your skin and your budget. At The CAPS Clinic, our Dermal Clinicians take the frustration out of the equation by examining you skin to prescribe a customised skincare and makeup program to enable you to achieve your best skin possible. We work with science, facts, technology and only the best products to support optimal skin health. What this means for you is an outcome that addresses your skin concerns and gives you healthy glowing skin.

Few cheers as drunkenness soars

ALCOHOL is part of a way of life in Australia. Most Australians would describe their drinking habits as “sensible” using a range of drinks from beer to wine and spirits to celebrate, relax and engage in conversation.

However, there is a downside to the changing way alcohol is being used in this country.

It seems that more and more Australians are drinking with the intention of deliberately getting drunk. Just three years ago about one third of Australians drank alcohol to get drunk. Last year this increased to 37 per cent and in 2017 44 per cent of people were specifically drinking to get drunk.

The Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE) released results of their annual survey recently around the changing attitudes of Australians to alcohol. For the eighth year in a row, the survey revealed these trends and many other disturbing statistics.

As FARE points out, this is not a small problem: “Alcohol harm in Australia is significant. More than 5500 lives are lost every year and more than 157,000 people are hospitalised making alcohol one of our nation’s greatest preventive health challenges”.

This year, for the first time, they also asked about family violence and alcohol use.

They are not on their own. The Australasian College for Emergency Medicine took a snapshot of alcohol-

In my time as a Member of the ACT Legislative Assembly I believed that regulatory restrictions around alcohol were not justified. It is one of the few positions that I now regret.

related presentations to Emergency Departments of more than 100 major hospitals. At 11pm on January 26 last year 15 per cent of all issues being dealt with in EDs were alcohol related.

The huge profits made by alcohol companies is partially transferred to the general public as the taxpayers wear the costs of emergency and other alcohol issues and treatments.

The alcohol industry fights attempts to regulate. The “Keep Canberra Open” and the “Keep Sydney Open” campaigns are an example. In the meantime, the harm grows and taxpayers subsidise alcohol industry profits.

Emergency physician, Associate Prof Diana Egerton-Warburton, pointed out, for example, that “for every additional late trading hour, there’s a 20 per cent increase in serious assaults and injuries”.

She was supported by Canberra Hospital physician and ANU academic, Prof Drew Richardson, the survey’s lead researcher who stated: “We need a profound societal shift in our attitude to alcohol consumption and not just on Australia Day. This is a massive public health problem and a major issue for the safety and effectiveness of our staff.”

Richardson is not a lone voice crying

in the wilderness. FARE found 78 per cent of respondents indicated they believe Australia has a problem with excess drinking or alcohol abuse; 74 per cent believe alcohol-related problems in Australia will worsen or remain the same over the next five to 10 years, and 81 per cent believe that more needs to be done to reduce the harm caused by alcohol.

The industry has a different perspective and came out (taking a page from the tobacco companies’ books) with guns blazing. Fergus Taylor, executive director of peak industry body Alcohol Beverages Australia, attacked the Galaxy Research-run poll as a “dud”. He argued the poll is “all spin and no substance” and was scathing about findings on alcohol-related family violence.

The poll findings say that “92 per cent of Australians think that there is a link between alcohol and family and domestic violence, with 80 per cent of these Australians indicating that governments should be doing more to

address the role alcohol plays in family and domestic violence” and “74 per cent of Australians believe that the alcohol industry should pay for reducing alcohol harm (up from 71 per cent in 2016)”.

In my time as a Member of the ACT Legislative Assembly I believed that regulatory restrictions around alcohol were not justified. It is one of the few positions that I now regret. I had extrapolated from southern Europe where it seemed that freely available alcohol caused little problem. However, extrapolating to the Australian context has not worked.

If there is to be a reduction in the level of harm associated with alcohol, what is now needed is for governments to resist industry tactics and use appropriate levers around pricing and taxation, availability and marketing (especially in sport).

Michael Moore was an independent member of the ACT Legislative Assembly (1989 to 2001) and was minister for health. He is a cochair of the National Alliance for Action on Alcohol.

Fundraising seniors

THERE will be clothes, toys, games, books, jewellery, plants and trash and treasure at the Canberra Seniors Centre’s autumn fete to be held at 10 Watson Street, Turner, 9am-3pm, on Saturday, May 6.

Tim’s trivia challenge

SPORTS commentator and “CityNews” columnist Tim Gavel will be asking 90 trivia questions to celebrate Ainslie School’s 90th birthday at a trivia night, starting at 6.30pm, on Friday, May 19. There will be a silent auction, a $20 lucky dip and, for “naughty” boys and girls, fines for bad behaviour. Tables are $200 for up to 10 players and booking guidance is at ainslieschool. simplesite.com/427178842

A word to the Wyse

ALISON Wyse, chair of the courses sub-committee at U3A, a voluntary organisation supporting lifelong learning for those aged 50 years and over, is the guest speaker at the next lunch meeting of the Tuggeranong Day VIEW Club at the Tuggeranong Vikings Town Centre Club, Greenway, 11.30am-2pm, on Tuesday, May 16. The cost is $26 and open to visitors and interested ladies. Bookings by Friday, May 12, to 6284 8804.

Andrew builds a future for his dad

By Danielle Nohra

SEVEN years ago, 62-year-old Lud Kerec was on a gentle Sunday afternoon ride as part of his final “wind down” preparation for the Port Macquarie Ironman event in a week’s time.

But Lud never made it to the event, he didn’t even make it home.

When turning a corner he was hit by another cyclist who was on the wrong side of the cycle path.

The other cyclist got up but Lud didn’t. His helmet strap had “garroted” his neck and caused a dislocation of his spine.

His spinal cord was intact but badly bruised and Lud had instantly lost pretty much all function below his chest including his hands and chest muscles.

“Life certainly changed in a heartbeat,” says Lud’s son, Andrew.

“Living with quadriplegia has become my dad’s new ‘normal’.

And living with a quadriplegic has become Andrew’s family’s new “normal”, which is why he is now currently half way through a solo, 5450-kilometre, “Spine Tingling Ride” from Canberra to Humpty Doo, Darwin.

Andrew and his younger brother Mal, a triathlete and ironman, grew up in Canberra regularly cycling with their dad, so for Andrew, riding was an obvious choice to raise money.

The ride is to gain awareness and funds for spinal cord repair research, Project Edge, people with physical and complex disabilities, Hartley Lifecare and Livable Housing Australia.

“It took a while, but even after experiencing such a terrible life-changing accident to a loved one, you eventually begin to appreciate that perhaps everything does happen for a reason,” Andrew says.

“You can start looking for ways to create positive outcomes, directions and results.”

For Andrew, his dad’s accident has revealed local issues with medical treatments as well as social exclusion for people in similar situations.

“After an accident causing severe spinal cord injury it is critical that initial treatment/surgery is performed as soon as possible to maximise the chances of any recovery of function,” Andrew says.

“It is generally only available in the major cities, of which Canberra is not.

“Well over 24 hours was lost in transferring dad to Sydney after his accident.”

Lud remained in the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney for several months before he was able to return home.

“In the several months that we were in the Spinal Unit at the Prince of Wales Hospital it became very obvious that the biggest barrier to many patients going home was not appropriate recovery, but availability of appropriate care and accommodation,” Andrew says.

If it wasn’t for Andrew’s family, Lud would’ve had to remain in hospital for a year longer.

“My wife and I were able to make modifications to our new home that was under construction, and mum and I

Village residents seek fairness

ELDERLY residents in independent living retirement villages throughout the ACT are concerned that changes now being considered to the Retirement Villages Act 2012 and associated regulation may not give them fair and equitable legislative protection relating to the cost of maintenance, repair and replacement of capital items.

Minister Shane Rattenbury has reconvened the Retirement Villages Act 2012 Review Advisory Group to consider what is referred to as “second tranche issues”. One of the issues to be considered is maintenance, repair and replacement of capital items.

provided all of dad’s health and hygiene care for 12 months,” Andrew says.

As builders, Andrew and Lud started a family business in 1996 called Renaissance Homes, so the family was able to build a specialised home for Lud up the road from Andrew’s house in Forde.

While Lud has remained optimistic, conquering the physical and mental impact of his injury, the social exclusion remains an ongoing anxiety.

“In the majority of cases, he can no longer visit family and friends as he simply cannot access their homes,” Andrew says.

This is one of the main reasons that’ll keep Andrew raising awareness and pedalling until mid May, just days before he turns 48.

Riding anywhere between 100 to 190-kilometres a day, Andrew has already raised around $70,000, with hopes to raise another $30,000.

“Dad is the first person to send me a satellite text message of support in the morning and a congratulations at the end of the day,” Andrew says.

“I always feel he is with me, that he has conquered more adversity than I’ll ever face in a day on a bike and that drives me on.”

Andrew’s dad and brother will fly to Darwin to ride the last 10-kilometres with him, finishing in the driveway of a family friend’s home in Humpty Doo.

And then a month later, on June 14, the Kerec family in conjunction with Hartley Lifecare and SpinalCure Australia will host a charity dinner at Albert Hall, Yarralumla.

On the night there will be a raffle, silent and live auctions, music, food and speakers, including Andrew and his dad, who will share their personal experiences.

Andy Friend, the former Brumbies’ coach and current Australian Men’s Rugby 7’s coach will be the MC of the event.

All proceeds from the dinner will add to the funds already pledged to Andrew’s chosen charities.

Buy tickets via Hartley Care on 6282 4411 or email debmiller@hartley.org.au

Capital items for which the operator is responsible include a building or structure, plant, machinery or equipment, and any part of the village’s infrastructure. The operator is also responsible for capital items in residential premises and includes curtains, blinds, whitegoods, tables, chairs, hot water systems, light fittings, taps and sanitary fittings. There are three definitions in the Retirement Villages Act 2012 (s 135) which are:

Capital item – what capital items are the responsibility of the operator; Capital maintenance – meaning works carried out for repairing or maintaining a capital item; and Capital replacement – means works carried out for replacing a capital item but does not include capital maintenance.

So when (routine/scheduled) maintenance work is carried out on an air-conditioning unit and the thermostat has to be replaced, the “works carried out “ is capital maintenance, but the parts (operator’s responsibility) replaced are capital replacement. The labour component of routine maintenance is capital maintenance (what residents pay for) while the parts replaced (what the operator pays for) are capital replacement.

Currently residents pay for all capital item maintenance in the village including all parts and labour. Bellerive residents are calling on all retirement village residents and members of the ACT Legislative Assembly to support an amendment, which was previously in the Retirement Villages Amendment Bill 2016, of the definition of capital item to provide that “capital item” includes all or any part of a capital item.

Retirement village residents are seeking from MLAs fair and equitable legislative protection that gives all village residents assurance that operators pay their share of capital maintenance, repair and replacement costs.

‘The

Big wins bring that oh-what-a feeling!

“PRICE is important, but what is more important is the experience. People don’t forget their experiences and at Canberra Toyota we want to keep in touch with our customers and create lifetime relationships,” says Dealer Principal Mirko Milic.

And he should know. He’s just back from an unforgettable experience of his own, Toyota’s night of nights in Sydney where the dealership was again recognised with a swag of awards that make the Canberra dealership stand out as a consistent winner from 61 other Toyota dealers in the Eastern Region.

For the second consecutive year, the Canberra dealership has been recognised as having the best service department in the region.

“We won the Silver award for service, which means our Belconnen, Gungahlin, Fyshwick, Phillip and Pre-delivery service workshops, together with our call centre, are officially the number one Toyota service dealer in the Eastern Region! Well done to Chris Mullins and his team for being the best of the best two years in a row!” says Mirko.

“We won the Bronze Excellence award for our Parts Departments and we qualified for the prestigious ‘Millionaire’s Program’, which means our Parts Departments are recognised by Toyota as achieving business excellence in everything we do across all key business indicators. Well done to Darryl Kirkland and his team for once again winning these awards in a very competitive part of our industry!

“In new car sales, we also won the Bronze Excellence award for sales, which rewards our 2016 achievement

for a number of critical KPIs including new vehicle sales targets, guest satisfaction, market share, fleet sales and Toyota For Life to name a few.

“And the icing on the awards cake is that, for the fifth consecutive year, we made the National Top 20 Club.

“Out of the 209 Toyota dealerships in Australia we finished 12th in new vehicle sales volume, which was a great improvement on our 16th position last year.

“From the car washers out cleaning the cars in minus five degrees in winter, to the workshop team who get the cars ready, to the sales and service department –everyone plays an important role,” he says.

“It’s handy having a great product to sell – Toyota

is one of the world’s most admired brands – but what distinguishes us from others is our people.”

Mirko, who has 21 years in the car industry and six years at Canberra Toyota, says he loves the rewarding nature of his work and the awards recognise his team’s hard work to provide customers with unbelievable service.

“For us, it’s all about the relationship. People are looking for and expect desirable service, but our goal is to deliver unbelievable service, to over deliver and give them a surprise at the end!

“We work with our business customers to manage the whole process, over and above the vehicles themselves.

“We make sure the fleet runs smoothly, from servicing

and maintenance to the urgent roadside breakdown service; there’s lots of little things we do that are over and above.”

Canberra Toyota operates across four sites at Belconnen, Fyshwick, Phillip and Gungahlin, employing 231 staff and selling more than 3500 vehicles a year.

With 40,000 cars serviced across the four sites each year, Mirko says Canberra Toyota is the fourth largest Toyota servicing department in Australia.

He says that the large volume of vehicles they service and the retention of their customers is testament to their commitment to providing that “unbelievable” customer service.

Part of the Canberra region for many decades, Mirko says Canberra Toyota is also a proud supporter of the community.

“We have sponsored the Raiders for 14 years. We are also long-time supporters of many sporting clubs, St Vincent de Paul and Ronald McDonald House, to name a few,” he says.

“It’s very important to us to give back to our community. Canberra is in many ways a big country town, and you have got to be a part of it, do the right thing and support our community.”

Other charities and sporting groups the company supports include the Tara Costigan Foundation, the Brain Cancer Foundation, the GWS Giants, the Belconnen Magpies, Cricket ACT, AFL ACT, Canberra FC, CBR BRAVE Australian Ice Hockey team and the Gungahlin Eagles and Jets to name a few.

Canberra Toyota is at Belconnen, Fyshwick, Phillip and Gungahlin, visit canberratoyota.com.au

sundayROAST

Stay in touch with the names making news on Sundays from 10am as 2CC and “CityNews” present Canberra’s only local weekend news and current affairs program.

It’s a revolving panel show that brings to the microphone great “CityNews” commentators and 2CC personalities.

Be part of the conversation and call 6255 1206 between 10am and noon.

MONDAY TO FRIDAY: 9AM-5PM, SATURDAY: 10AM-2PM

At the International Music Festival’s Gala Dinner, Pialligo At the opening of ‘The Play that Goes Wrong’, Canberra Theatre

Mother’s Day inspiration / May 14 advertising feature

The day to celebrate and salute all the mums

MOTHER’S Day, which falls on the second Sunday of May, celebrates and honours mums, motherhood and the influence of mothers in society.

This year, Mother’s Day will be held on May 14, and will mark the 109th year since it was started in 1908 by American Anna Jarvis in West Virginia. She campaigned for the day following the death of her mum, who had been a peace activist who cared for wounded soldiers on both sides of the American Civil War and created Mother’s Day Work Clubs to address public health issues.

Anna believed that mothers were “the person who has done more for you than anyone in the world”.

Making the most of ‘me’ time

RECENTLY, at Fernwood Fitness, nationwide renovations saw the introduction of meditation rooms in some of its clubs.

Fernwood has always been a place where its members can come for “me” time, says Lisa O’Brien from Fernwood Fitness.

According to psychiatrist and meditation practitioner Dr Elise Bialylew: “Mindfulness is about tuning in to what’s going on in the present moment.”

“It’s about creating space from our fast and full lives, rather than being slaves to the automatic pilot,” she says.

It also has benefits for physical health, which is why in many gyms there’s now yoga classes and meditation rooms alongside treadmills and weight racks.

“It seemed like a natural step for us to offer a designated space to practice mindfulness and meditation,” Lisa says.

“Whether you’re doing a guided meditation through an app or just having a breather after your workout, we can all benefit from a bit of downtime in our busy lives.”

Visit any Fernwood club or go to fernwoodfitness.com.au

A warm welcome awaits mums

DEZINER Beauty loves giving back to all mums, according to its owner Louise McMahon, pictured above.

“It is a proven fact that mums only have 17 minutes each day to themselves,” Louise says.

“We promise to give mum more than 17 minutes’ pampering time here at Deziner Beauty.

“Mums are your cook, cleaner, friend, taxi and go-to girl.”

Deziner Beauty provides beauty services and treatments with a clinical focus combined with a welcoming and warm atmosphere.

“We have relaxing and clinically proven facials to boost mum up and give her the relaxation she deserves,” Louise says.

“We also offer a facial club where mum receives free treatments with every facial.

“Mum can sit back and enjoy a manicure or pedicure while reading a magazine or having a friendly chat.

“Even waxing can be pampering for mums as they don’t have much time to themselves, let us do it for her.”

And, if people aren’t sure just what mum will like, Deziner Beauty offers gift vouchers so mum can pick what’s best for her.

Deziner Beauty, Shop 18, Cassidy’s Arcade, 72 Monaro Street, Queanbeyan. Visit Deziner Beauty on Facebook or call 6299 5792.

Sharing the love with a pamper

THE staff at Sibu Beauty know how much their own mums do and believe Mother’s Day is the right time to give back.

“We all love our mums, so being able to share that with other people’s mums is pretty special,” says owner Amanda Rutledge.

“We have a Mother’s Day special, which is a one-hour massage and a one-hour facial for $165.

“We believe that everyone should feel amazing and deserves a little pamper in their life regardless of the form it comes in.”

The team at Sibu Beauty helps mums feel great, whether it’s by removing unwanted hair, helping clear problematic skin or even keeping nails looking neat.

“At Sibu Beauty, we take the time to listen to the client’s needs and wants and then we address them,” Amanda says.

“We treat every client as if they are our number one and are fully focused on their needs regardless, just to make them feel amazing.

“Customer service is everything in our business, we’re a customerfocused industry and therefore we need to ensure that we provide that every time to our customers.”

Sibu Beauty. At Nicholls on 6241 4115 or Crace on 6162 0397, or visit sibubeauty.com.au

• We specialise in Acupuncture and Remedial Massage for Pregnancy, Chronic Pain, and General Wellbeing.

• Our clinic creates a relaxed, yet professional atmosphere for our clients to enjoy.

• Our qualified, friendly and experienced practitioners are dedicated to providing the highest standard of care.

Mother’s Day / May 14

Local business puts mums first

THE staff at CARM Therapies understand that mums are very busy people.

Founder and co-director Emily Avery, pictured, says often mums come into the clinic, having neglected their stresses, aches and pains to the point where they’re not coping anymore because they’ve put kids, work, relationships and more before themselves.

“It’s not selfish to put yourself first,” Emily says.

“Making sure you are feeling happy and healthy just means that you have a better chance of looking after your loved ones.”

As a small, locally owned business, CARM Therapies is dedicated to treating every client as an individual.

“We have plenty of amazing ways to help mums feel relaxed, happy and healthy,” Emily says.

CARM Therapies offers acupuncture, massage, naturopathy, yoga and meditation.

Through these services, Emily says mums can be left feeling good on the inside and out.

Big experience in a small world

IN the 1970s, Babbacombe, a district in England, was replicated and brought to Canberra.

The tiny town sits inside Cockington Green Gardens along with a delightful and fascinating display of meticulously crafted miniature buildings set within beautifully landscaped gardens.

“I don’t believe there is anything as big or extensive in Australia,” says the executive assistant Debbie Sarah.

Debbie contributes to the four generations of Sarahs, who have kept Cockington Green Gardens a family orientated business for many decades.

Debbie says they cater for all ages, from kids to seniors.

“There’s hands-on displays where children can press buttons”, she says.

“Kids especially enjoy the steam train ride.”

There’s also a colourful display of gardens, which are often compared to famous gardens around the world.

Cockington Green Gardens, 11 Gold Creek Road, Nicholls. Visit cockingtongreen.com.au or call 6230 2273.

To ensure your mum will feel great inside and out. Simply arrange a Gift Voucher or make a booking:

Phone 02 6278 7302

Email carmtherapies@gmail.com www.carmtherapies.com.au

Shop 5 Higgins Shops ACT

“Mother’s Day is a special chance for everyone to show their mums how much they mean to them and to acknowledge all the extra little things that mums do for us throughout our lives,” she says.

“We are very lucky to have such strong and loving women in our lives.”

CARM Therapies. 5 Higgins Place, Higgins. Call 6278 7302 or visit carmtherapies.com.au

Purchase a Mother’s Day value pack for the rest of the family and Mum will received a free glass of bubbly and a complimentary souvenir bag

Mother’s Day Mini Tea

Whilst visiting, enjoy the casual surrounds of our Garden Marquee, and enjoy a Mini Tea with:

› Tiny scones, slices and mini muffins with a tea, coffee or hot chocolate.

› Kids can choose from a Baby-Cino, small slushie or a fruit popper.

Places are limited, bookings essential, available morning or afternoon.

per person

advertising feature

The cafe with amazing views

“MOTHER’S Day is a small way of saying thanks to our mums for absolutely everything they have done for us,” says the sales and marketing manager, Vanessa Bove, of The Deck at Regatta Point.

She calls it “Canberra’s most picturesque cafe” as it overlooks Lake Burley Griffin, the National Gallery, Parliament House and the Great Dividing Range.

She says it’s the “perfect place” to bring mum on Mother’s Day.

“Our floor-to-ceiling windows ensure mum will always have a gorgeous view over the lake,” she says. “Or if you would prefer to venture outside, the large wooden deck provides the perfect environment to enjoy our special Mother’s Day menu while celebrating with family in beautiful surrounds.”

The Deck at Regatta Point has designed a special menu filled with its cafe favourites.

“Our vibe is relaxing, focusing the cafe on that amazing view,” Vanessa says. Vanessa says the Deck’s staff are warm, friendly and go above and beyond to make sure that customers have an amazing experience.

She says that the food is prepared by a chef who cooks on-trend, delicious meals.

The Deck at Regatta Point, Barrine Drive, Parkes. Call 6230 7234 or email thedeck@artisticfood.com.au

Chemist offers special prices to say thanks to mum

AT Chemist Outlet Dickson there are plenty of items to pamper mums at discounted prices.

Pharmacist Rhonda Warne says: “We have quite a few mums working in the store, so we know how much mum does for the family.”

“We want to say thank you to mums by helping people access presents at discounted prices,” she says.

Chemist Outlet Dickson has discounted perfumes, hair dyes and lots of gift packs.

Rhonda says her store has the cheapest prices in North Canberra with a team that emphasises a strong customer focus.

“A lot of people think because we are an outlet, we don’t offer the same services as any community pharmacy,” Rhonda says.

“We have a team of pharmacists ready to check your blood pressure and monitor blood glucose levels.

“We also do medication checks and diabetes medication checks, and all these services are free.”

The pharmacy also offers free webster packing of medications and free local delivery.

“If you can’t make it into the pharmacy and need your scripts filled, then leave them with us or give us a call,” Rhonda says.

“Alternately, if you need to monitor your blood pressure, pop in next time you’re in Dickson and let us help you with it.”

Chemist Outlet Dickson. 1/42 Dickson Place, Dickson. Call 6247 7944.

Monday 15 — Saturday 20 May Law

Law Week aims to promote public understanding of the law and its role in society with free public events including lectures, tours, and information sessions. Book online or call for appointments.

» Law Week Launch, featuring the ACT Golden Gavel: Attorney General Mr Gordon Ramsay MLA will open Law Week 2017 followed by Canberra’s funniest young lawyers competing in the ACT Golden Gavel speaking competition. Mon 15 May at 5.30pm ANU Commons Function Centre, 3 Rimmer St $30 per person. RSVP Mon 8 May.

» The Blackburn Lecture: “Law, Morality and the Public Trust”: To be given by Justin Gleeson SC, barrister and former Solicitor General of Australia. Tuesday16 May at 12.30pm Finkel Lecture Theatre, John Curtin School of Medical Research, Garran Road, ANU. Entry by gold coin donation.

» Wills Day: Make a free appointment with one of our qualified solicitors for advice on how to set up your Will — appointments available Friday 19 May between 11am and 2pm.

» Animals: The Forgotten Victims of Domestic Violence: Presented by the Animal Defenders Office, this event will discuss the links between animal abuse and domestic violence. Thurs 18 May at 5.30pm ACT Law Society, Level 4, 1 Farrell Place, Canberra City. $25 per person (includes drinks & vegan canapes) RSVP Tues 16 May.

» Public tours of the ACT Supreme Court: Free tours, running all week. Mon 15 May to Fri 19 May at 11am and 2pm.

Law Week is coordinated by the ACT Law Society, and is made possible with the generous support of principal sponsor, Lawcover. Law Week 2017 will raise donations for The Australian Indigenous Leadership Centre.

Law Week puts community welfare theme to the fore

Legal services with experience

PROVIDING strong and personalised legal advice and services for more than 50 years, Nelson & Co is a small, well-established legal practice within the ACT.

Allan Nelson started the practice in the early ‘60s and since has trained many of Canberra’s top lawyers and set a number of precedents within the ACT.

In 2012, James Colquhoun joined the firm as special counsel. He has more than 45 years of litigation experience and is a well sought after commercial law specialist.

In 2014, Peter Hohnen also joined the firm as special counsel. He helped pioneer defamation

law in the ACT and is a specialist in the field of litigation and dispute resolution.

“For more than 50 years our firm has provided sound services in estate planning for the Canberra community,” says Allan.

“These services include preparation of wills, preparation of trust documents, estate planning advice, preparation of powers of attorney and estate administration.”

Nelson & Co, Level 1, Savings House. 8 Petrie Plaza, Civic. Call 6248 8544, email info@nelcolaw. com or visit nelcolaw.com

ACT Law Week, hosted by ACT Law Society, is the biggest social event on the Canberra legal calendar, bringing the legal community together for a week of lectures, forums, tours and social events.

Law Week will run between May 15 and 20 with the theme, “Law and Justice in Your Community”.

The goal for the week is to promote public understanding of the law and its role in society.

This year, ACT Law Week will be supporting the Australian Indigenous Leadership Centre (AILC), which is Australia’s only national provider of accredited indigenous leadership education programs.

The wider Canberra community is invited to attend Law Week events, which include the Law Week Launch, May 15; Law Week Dinner, with guest speaker feminist author Clementine Ford, May 17; public lectures such as the annual Sir Richard Blackburn Lecture, which this year will given by Justin Gleeson SC, May 16; a mock trial organised by the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions, May 20, and tours of the ACT Supreme Court.

Bookings to nicole.karman@actlawsociety. asn.au, 6274 0308 or via actlawsociety.asn.au

Blackburn Lecturer

JUSTIN Gleeson SC has more than 30 years’ legal experience, as solicitor (1985 - 1988), counsel (1989 onwards), and Senior Counsel (2000 onwards). He was the founding head of Banco Chambers, Sydney (20052012). Most recently, he was the tenth Solicitor-General (2012 - 2016). He has returned to practice at the private bar, specialising in international law, international arbitration, constitutional law, appellate law and select commercial cases.

Fighting for injured clients

MALIGANIS Edwards Johnson has protected the rights of injured Canberrans for 30 years.

Partner Deborah Rolfe says: “Every client is important. It can be a very stressful time, we act for the injured person who doesn’t understand their rights and who needs support against a large organisation.

“We deal with the insurers so the client can concentrate on getting better and receiving the treatment or assistance they require”.

Working on a “no-win, no-fee” basis, Maliganis Edwards Johnson specialises in personal injury law, in particular obtaining compensation for motor

vehicle accidents, workplace injuries, construction site accidents, medical negligence, wrongful death and public liability.

“Over 30 years we have obtained excellent results for people with short-term injuries and long-term disabilities.

“No amount of money can give back your health, but it does give you the treatment to enable you to return to work and to look after your family,” she says.

Maliganis Edwards Johnson, 60 Marcus Clarke Street, Civic. Call 6257 2999 or visit mej.com.au

Partner Deborah Rolfe… “Every client is important.”

Trusted resource for generations

FOR more than 150 years law firm Baker Deane and Nutt has built personalised relationships with its clients.

“The team at Baker Deane and Nutt strives to be involved with the community and in particular, up and coming law professionals in our industry,” says partner Tanya Nadin.

With two offices, one in Canberra and another in Queanbeyan, Baker Deane and Nutt has been a community partner since 1861.

“We continue to build our business and client relationships by achieving justice in our community with our professional law services and highly experienced team,” says Tanya.

“At Baker Deane and Nutt we pride ourselves on our longevity within the Canberra and Queanbeyan community as a trusted resource for our clients.”

Baker Deane and Nutt. Visit bdn.com.au

At Capon and Hubert Lawyers we ensure that your estate goes to family or friends of your choice. Having a valid and up-to-date Will can help reduce stress for your family and friends, limit administration costs, and lessen the possibility for dispute over your estate. We understand your situation is different and may require a unique specialist approach.

Community based practice protecting people’s rights

CAPON & Hubert have been following this year’s ACT Law Week motto, “Law and Justice in Your Community” since the firm was established in 1986.

Finance director Rhonda Hubert says Capon & Hubert is a community based firm that cares about assisting clients, helps gain understanding about what the law can accomplish for them and explains what reasonable results are expected in situations.

“ACT Law Week is valued by practices such as Capon & Hubert because it highlights the importance of people seeking legal advice,” Rhonda says.

It also ensures people’s rights are protected and helps them benefit from the legal process.

“There are alternatives to simply going to court and these options are useful to clients to avert litigation wherever possible,” Rhonda says.

“Capon & Hubert seek to give advice and support clients to achieve fair and reasonable outcomes to their circumstances.”

During Law Week, Lee Usher-Clarke, a Capon & Hubert lawyer will be volunteering on Wills Day, May 19.

“A will is a legal statement by which you name the people you want to receive your property and possessions when you die,” Rhonda says.

“Every person over the age of 18 should have a will, but most people leave making a will in the ‘too-hard’ basket.”

Members of the community can make an appointment to receive advice regarding making a will on the ACT Law Society website.

Capon & Hubert, 32-38 Townshend Street, Phillip. Call 6152 9203 or email enquiries@chsol.com.au

Family Lawyers at their best

Firm dedicated to helping families through difficult matters

PASSIONATE about family law, Mazengarb Family Lawyers is dedicated to getting families through difficult matters.

“We have especially made positive impacts in the lives of young people who experience gender dysphoria by assisting them and their families in accessing authorisation for treatment through the court system,” says associate, Jessica Wolski.

During ACT Law Week, families have the opportunity to chat with Mazengarb Family Lawyers, who will be at events such as the ACT Law Week Launch, which will feature the ACT Golden Gavel speaking competition.

“The evening will be a great opportunity to have a laugh, build connections and be amongst Canberra’s close-knit legal community,” Jessica says.

ACT Law Week allows firms to get behind a greater cause raising donations for charities such as the Australian Indigenous Leadership Centre (AILC).

“It also gives opportunities for practices from different areas of law to connect and build relationships with each other,” Jessica says.

“ACT Law Week also helps to increase the public awareness of each area of law.”

Mazengarb Family Lawyers. Level 5, 11 London Circuit, Canberra City. Call 6230 0199 or email officemanager@mfamilylawyers.com.au

Law Week sport

RETURNING this year during ACT Law Week is the Six-a-Side Soccer Competition and the Law Week Netball Competition. The Six-a-Side Soccer Competition at Willows Oval, on the ANU campus in Acton, on May 5 sees corporate solicitors, in-house lawyers, barristers, paralegals, clerks and support staff of all skill levels compete for the Law Week soccer trophy. This is followed by a “friendly” netball competition on May 18, at Lyneham Netball Centre, which is open to male and female lawyers, barristers and their staff.

A big thank-you week for some very special people

VOLUNTEERS sacrifice a lot of time by generously and continuously giving back to the community.

To celebrate and acknowledge these people, National Volunteer Week runs annually as an opportunity to say “thank you” to Australia’s six million volunteers.

This year, between May 8 and 14, the ACT will join in by acknowledging local volunteers through breakfasts, luncheons, open days, award ceremonies, forums and training sessions.

This year’s theme “Give Happy, Live Happy” highlights the fact that volunteers live happier and healthier lives.

Associate Prof Dr Thomas Nielsen, from University of Canberra, says: “Sustainable wellbeing comes not from money or consumerism, but from having meaningful happiness in our lives.”

“There is one shared denominator for what people across cultures and religions report as giving them meaningful happiness in their lives: doing something for others,” he says.

Volunteering and Contact ACT

says there is always opportunity for Canberrans to support their community, with 86 per cent of volunteer-involving organisations saying they need more volunteers to make their work more effective.

Volunteering and Contact ACT. CONTACT Shop. Griffin Centre, 20 Genge Street. Call 6251 4060 or visit vc-act.org.au

Tony thrives on giving kids a family

ACT Together is always in need of people who are able to care for a child for as little as one weekend, to a month, or for life.

For Tony and his wife, there was no better time to foster than now.

Together, they have raised four children, now adults, and now they have taken this time in their lives to become long term foster carers for two boys aged 16 and 12 years.

Tony says: “It’s our social obligation to continue carrying the baton and helping other kids as well, and providing them with an opportunity for them to become a prime minister, to represent Australia, to establish a business, to become a good person, to grow into manhood, to have a family.”

Tony and his wife have seen remark-

able changes in the two boys that came to them years ago.

“The oldest one, part way through his time with us said: ‘Can you help me to be a good man? I want to grow up to be a good man and to have a family of my own’,” Tony says.

“To this day that sort of chokes me up a little bit because that’s what he’s asked us to do. That’s what he is doing and we’re seeing it happen.”

During National Volunteer Week, ACT Together thanks its amazing carers like Tony, who truly make the difference to children and young people in the Canberra community.

ACT Together. Call 1300 WEFOSTER or visit acttogether.org.au

Daphne’s drive for change

DAPHNE, a volunteer driver with Belconnen Community Service, hasn’t been paid since 1999. And she doesn’t want to be. It’s her calling.

“If it wasn’t for us, people wouldn’t get out, and you get very stale if you just stay at home,” she says.

Daphne had previously worked in retail and hospitality, but when an injury prevented her from continuing she turned to volunteering.

“I need people and I need to look after them, but I don’t need to be serving them in a shop,” she says.

Daphne has known some of the people that she transports for many years.

She says that, years ago, one of her favourite tasks was to take young people with disabilities out to play basketball.

She barracked for their team and would buy them ice creams on the way home when they won.

Daphne recently provided transport for Cal, who was one of the basketball players and is now an adult.

They hadn’t seen each other for a while but recognised each other instantly.

“His arms came out and we were hugging,” Daphne says.

When driving, Daphne most enjoys the conversations that she has with the people she drives around.

“You get so much joy to know that they trust you and that you’re going to listen.”

Belconnen Community Service, Community Transport is currently seeking volunteer drivers to help people just like Daphne has.

2017 National Volunteer Week 8-14 May

would like to thank all of the wonderful volunteers who contiribute in so many different ways to our Canberra Community.

Below is a list of events that we will be running during National Volunteer Week

8 May 2017 Volunteering Awards, Canberra Region Hosted by Volunteering and Contact ACT, in partnership with Beyond Bank, this awards ceremony recognises outstanding volunteers within the Canberra Region. 6pm, National Arboretum

9 May Volunteering Open Day Are you interested in volunteering but aren’t sure where to start? Come talk to our team and find out about the many volunteering opportunities. 10am - 2pm, at the Canberra Centre

10 May Community Impact Day Members of the public, private sector and Government are invited to take part in a volunteering day with one of two community organisations. 9-11am, at Greening Australia and Zonta

11 May Volunteer Managers Round Table This round table is for Volunteer Managers to learn more about challenges faced in the industry and possible solutions. 10am -12pm, at VCA offices (Level 2, 202 City Walk)

13 May Step up for Volunteering Come and visit many of Canberra’s volunteer involving organisations who will host stalls on the shores of Lake Ginninderra.

10:30am - 1:30pm, Mc Dermott Place at Lake Ginninderra

For more information on any of the above events please contact us on 6251 4060 | events@vc-act.org.au | vc-act.org.au or find us on Facebook Twitter Instagram and LinkedIn or search the hashtag #NVW17

National Volunteer Week

Centre acknowledges vital volunteers

THE Weston Creek Community Centre has been providing a facility to hire for 39 years.

“We provide a lot of services to the community and we can’t do that without volunteer help,” says the centre manager, Yung Tran.

The centre is used as a function hall, exhibition hall, it’s used for meetings, squash competitions, and leisure courses such as Tai Chi and drawing.

The centre also provides secretarial services such as photocopying, typing, binding, fax machine access and emailing.

The Weston Creek Community Centre currently has two local volunteers, one who deals with IT, and

another who does general office work.

“They are very vital for the operation and services provided by the centre,” Yung says.

“They are the people who come and devote their time and knowledge for nothing, not seeking anything in return.

“It’s important that at least once a year their contribution is acknowledged widely in the community.”

Weston Creek Community Centre. Parkinson Street, Weston. Adjacent Cooleman Court Shopping Centre. Call westonccc@iinet.net.au or call 6288 1144.

WESTON CREEK COMMUNITY CENTRE

arts & entertainment

The music keeps perennial Petula young

Arts editor HELEN MUSA talks to singer Petula Clark in New York about age, music and songwriting

PETULA Clark, star of stage and screen, is as famous in France as in the English- speaking world with a career spanning more than 70 years.

Born Sally Olwen Clark in Wales, the 85-year-old will be at the Canberra Theatre next month singing timeless hits such as “Downtown” and “I Know A Place”, as well as numbers from her new album “From Now On”.

Speaking to Clark by phone to New York recently, it is with a considerable amount of chutzpah that “CityNews” ventures into the touchy question of age and singing, using the excuse that this writer is a person of a certain age.

Politely but firmly, she’s having none of it.

“I am against ageism and racism of any kind, I hate it,” she says.

“I feel if you can do it, that’s what matters – if you enjoy it and if you are good at it.”

Although her home is in Geneva, Switzerland, she’s been working a lot in the UK over the past year and declares herself “energised by the music and the energy… I don’t even think about ageing. I have no vocal cord problems and I don’t do anything to take care of my voice.”

It’s a matter of some pride to Clark that she grew up performing.

“I’m half Welsh, you know, and spent my childhood in Wales where I used to sing in the mountains and in choirs… I first sang on radio at about eight years of age. I didn’t do anything to train, I just sang.”

Clark is bemused by her fellow singers, who go in for elaborate voice exercises, and tells me: “I was performing in ‘Sunset Boulevard’ on the West End for two years, you know… in the dressing room I could hear the other singers warming up and I thought to myself: ‘Maybe I should be doing that’. But I didn’t.”

While known primarily as an interpreter of songs, especially those famous urban numbers

written by Tony Hatch and Jackie

Trent –

such as “Don’t Sleep In The Subway” – she is also a songwriter, though not, she says, from the beginning.

Clark mostly composes love songs, but she says: “There’s one that’s not and I’m particularly proud of it… it’s called ‘Living for Today’ and that hasn’t been recorded at all.

“I’m a non-educated musician and I started quite late. Tony Hatch encouraged me and we did a lot of work together, until once, as they were working on an album, Hatch announced: ‘I don’t have an idea in my head – you write something’.

“So I wrote ‘You’re the One’,” she says. “It sounded so great, it was a hit in 1965, but I was never really sure myself, so I was a sometime songwriter.”

or call 0447643646. No previous experience of dance required.

She enjoys singing the oldies, reminding me that “those hits were new in their day”.

“I don’t feel embarrassed about singing the old songs, but I enjoy doing new material, too,” she says.

It pleases her that on her last tour of the UK fans told her they loved hearing the old numbers but they also loved the new ones.

“The new ones are like my children,” she says.

Talking of children, where are hers?

“I’m a bit of a gypsy and I have been for a long time. My son is in California, my daughter and two grandchildren are in New York and a daughter, who is a yoga professor, in Paris. So, I’m sort of centrally

The shores of Lake Geneva have been home to some of the world’s greatest artists, not least our own Joan Sutherland and most famously Charlie Chaplin, who lived in the lakeside village of Vevey, where there is a large statue of him.

In the not-very-successful 1967 movie

“The Countess from Hong Kong”, one of the few high points was the song composed by Chaplin “This is My Song”. Petula Clark recorded it in the same year.

“He was so delighted that that he invited me to his home in Vevey on Lake Geneva,” she tells “CityNews”, explaining that Chaplin was then 78 years old, with another 10 years to live.

I’m half Welsh, you know, and spent my childhood in Wales where I used to sing in the mountains and in choirs… I first sang on radio at about eight years of age. I didn’t do anything to train, I just sang.”

“I played the piano while he danced in his living room – quite an experience,” she says. Which brings us back to our opening subject – age, as Clark turns the tables, concluding the interview with the words: “You keep going, girl!”

Petula Clark, Canberra Theatre, Friday, May 19. Bookings to 6275 2700 or canberratheatrecentre.com.au

PROFESSIONAL, FUN TUITION IN Ballroom Dancing

Join our classes and enjoy yourself in a fun and relaxed social environment at our studio in Isabella Plains

• Junior classes

Starting February 6, Monday’s from 6.30pm

• Adult Beginner & Intermediate classes

Starting Wednesday’s 3rd May from 7.30pm (8 weeks)

• Social Dancing

• Private Dancing Lessons Individuals or Groups (perfect for wedding parties)

All Classes are now held at: Isabella Plains Primary School Hall

130-140 Ellerston Avenue, Isabella Plains

Dale’s Ballroom Dancing

Phone: 02 6296 4009 Mobile: 0407 066 110

Email: dale_harris@bigpond.com

Web: dalesballroomdancing.com.au

Principal: Dale Harris

arts in the city

Big night for the country gals

COUNTRY singer-songwriters, 2015 Golden Guitar winner Amber Lawrence and former Country Music Association Global Artist of the Year Catherine Britt will be in town with their “Love & Lies” tour with 2017 Golden Guitar New Talent of the Year, Fanny Lumsden. At the Harmonie German Club, Friday, May 12, bookings to harmonieclub.com.au

“VELVET”, billed as “a party with an exhilarating disco soundtrack that never lets up,” is coming to town. It features Tom Oliver playing a young ingénue who slips behind the red velvet rope at a glamorous nightclub, where he encounters members of the glitterati such as singer Marcia Hines and aerialist Emma Goh. At The Playhouse, May 3-14. Bookings to canberratheatrecentre.com.au or 6275 2700.

NGA staff are over the moon as news that “Versailles: Treasures from the Palace” drew 190,128 visitors. It’s no coincidence, they figure, that the ACT has recorded a 12.8 per cent visitation increase for the year ending in December, saying 70 per cent of their visitors came from outside the ACT.

Country singers Amber Lawrence, left and Catherine Britt.

THE 18th John Briscoe Memorial Art Award is coming up at the Raglan Gallery in Cooma. Sponsored by the Briscoe family in memory of their father, a prominent Monaro artist, it will be judged by former Canberra artist Jude Rae and announced at the opening on May 6. The show runs Wednesday to Sunday, 9.30am to 4.30pm, until May 28.

ANGELA Hewitt, one of the world’s greatest pianists, will perform work by Bach and Beethoven for Musica Viva, at Llewellyn Hall, ANU School of Music, on Thursday, May 11. Bookings to musicaviva.com.au

Margaret Dimoff Art Gallery large rooms of large canvases and works under glass unique affordable

36-38 Grey Street, Deakin 0407 416 480 Open Fri–Sun, 10–4 | E wmdimoff@bigpond.com www.margaretdimoffartworks.com.au

BRINDABELLA Orchestra, formerly the U3A Orchestra, will present a program of works by Gustav Holst, Brahms, R. Vaughan Williams, Dvorak and Strauss, conducted by Rosalie Hannink at Queanbeyan Uniting Church, Rutledge Street, 2pm, on Sunday, May 7. Entry donation is $5, which includes a program and afternoon tea.

THE National Centre for Australian Children’s Literature is presenting “Still touching hearts: an evening with May Gibbs”, to celebrate the life and work of this Australian children’s author and creator of the Big Bad Banksia Men. Jane Brummitt, an expert on Gibbs, will present an original piece of Gibbs’ artwork to the centre. At Alia House, 9-11 Napier Close, Deakin, 5.30pm-7pm, on May 11. Tickets at the door.

SOPRANO Sarahlouise Owens and keyboard player Ariana Odermatt present a rare concert of songs and arias from operas by Cavalli, Rameau, Gretry and Vivaldi at Wesley Music Centre, 20 National Circuit, Forrest, from 12.40pm-1.20pm, on Wednesday, May 10. Entry is $10 or donation. No bookings required.

opera

Silly

‘Fledermaus’ gets

the vintage treatment

By Helen Musa

“DIE Fledermaus” (The Bat) must be one of the silliest operettas ever written – and just about the most tuneful.

With a plot predicated on unconvincing disguises, twists and turns, with a bit of adultery and jail time thrown in, it was composed by Johann Strauss II and first staged in Vienna in 1874. It features perennials such as “The Laughing Song” and “The Champagne Song”. Now Canberra Opera is tackling this tuneful farce in a production by Karyn Tisdell that’s been in the making since December.

As Tisdell tells “CityNews”: “It’s not easy and it’s quite long – three acts – with a lot of dialogue in it and quite a long cast of singers who’ve never had to learn a lot of dialogue, so I thought it best to have a longer period of rehearsing, but it’s always good to have new blood.”

Tisdell played the tragic Sister Angelica in Puccini’s opera of the same name and in the title role as the vicar of Dibley last year for Tempo Theatre. That was her first foray into “straight” theatre and into Belconnen Theatre, where “Die Fledermaus” will run.

She then accepted Canberra Opera’s offer to have a go at directing her favourite operetta, “Die Fledermaus”, thinking: “I can bring my performer’s hat to it as I understand how to move while preserving the singing voice, so I can give the singers a little bit of help.”

“I was looking for something different to do, something a bit lighter after two big tragedies [“La Boheme” and “Sister Angelica”], a bit more entertaining, the music is just wonderful and audiences just love it,” she says.

Tisdell’s production of “Die Fledermaus” has 20 performers, which is to her mind “not a massive cast… but the Belconnen Theatre is not all that big, so we couldn’t have fitted in 40 chorus members”.

They’re using the new English translation and musical arrangement by Ian Gledhill and there’s 40 per cent more for the chorus to do, with lyrics added to turn orchestral music into song. They open the first two acts playing tradespeople, dance goers and jailbirds.

This “Fledermaus” has been updated from the 19th century to circa 1955, she says. A self-confessed retro-dresser, Tidsell says she loves vintage and wears

1950s-style dresses herself.”

The set by Mel Davies is also from the 1950s, with the first scene in a London (not Viennese) apartment, the second “ballroom” scene in a garden and in the final scene in jail, with the entire cast on stage. She says she didn’t want do something traditional and was influenced by Lindy Hume’s production for Opera Australia set in Manhattan during the 1930s.

“Nineteen-fifty-five was the end of 14 years of rationing, it was the time of the Dior New Look, it seemed to slot in perfectly,” she says.

“It’s a lot of fun,” Tisdell says, praising the musical director Kathleen Loh and her stars, Keren Dalzell and Andrew Barrow as Rosalinda and Gabriel von Eisenstein. “But there are lots of challenges, having to cover everything, the directing, the costumes and the publicity; I have my fingers in every pie.”

She feels sure the high point will be “The Champagne Song” where everyone’s on stage. “It’s so wonderful that people will want to sing along with it – “I guess a bit of humming doesn’t hurt,” she says.

A lot from a low-budget film of a high order

“Things To Come” (M)

A FILM in which the principal character teaches philosophy at a Paris high school must struggle to make a big box office impact. For filmgoers who enjoy thinking about what they are seeing, it offers quite a lot.

Nathalie enjoys her profession. Her marriage to Heinz (André Marcon), comfortable rather than exciting, has provided two children, now young adults. But behind Heinz’s stolid façade lies a heart capable of passion –inevitably, toward a younger woman. The marriage is irretrievable, the breakup civil.

Nathalie frequently visits her demanding mother Yvette (Edith Scob), a faded beauty, a hypochondriac refusing to go into care, living in a luxurious rather than opulent apartment, her only companion a large black cat named Pandora. Yvette’s excited – she’s being considered for a role in a show in which she is to play the deceased! Writer/director Mia Hansen-Lǿve’s sense of the ridiculous is sharp.

Outside the school, students are revolting against political measures. Nathalie’s publisher is pressing her to agree to a refreshment of the next edition of her book that sells well among philosophical pedagogical folk. But her life is generally satisfying.

Nathalie does not take a lover. Why should she? She knows numerous men whose company she enjoys. A house on the Brittany coast provides an escape. Hansen-Lǿve has imbued her film (reportedly based on her own mother who is indeed a professor of philosophy) with delicious visual beauty and staged it with impressive economy of resources (and a couple of goofs). Playing Nathalie in her mid-60s, Isabelle Huppert, heart-stoppingly lovely, displays impressive physical capabilities.

“Things to Come” is low-budget filmmaking of a high order. And its closing moments, to the accompaniment of

dining

Powering

MAPLE + Clove bills itself as a wholefoods operation, serving delicious, natural goodness to power your mind, body and spirit. How could I resist?

Perched in a perfect spot in Barton, the café enjoys the northern sun and has a décor that makes you feel like you’re in a place that worships food for the soul. The large and comfortable outdoor area is marvellous this time of year. Like most clever cafes, Maple + Clove focuses on seasonal produce, fresh and local. Served all day is a great range of dishes such as a savoury spelt waffle ($20), poached eggs and goat’s cheese ($19.50), sweet potato hash brown with ham and scrambled eggs ($19) and a simple banana bread ($7).

My friend, who is at Maple + Clove often, can’t get enough of the “Fresh Start” ($19) and that’s what she chose on our visit. It looked beautiful on the plate – so colourful with the rich, red tomatoes, vibrant green, sliced avo, smoked salmon and a crusty seeded rye bread. You can opt for slow-cooked eggs, if your heart desires, for an extra $4. Lunch is served from 11.30am,

AK47 rifles. The vendors have offered US Army M16 rifles. And the initially unstated but quickly-implied objective of both groups is to come away from the deal with both goods and money.

That toxic combination has supported filmmakers for decades, including Martin Scorsese who’s credited as one of its 10 executive producers. I suspect that the intention of that inclusion may have been to add a mote of box-office cred to what is otherwise a boring film that writer/director Ben Wheatley reportedly intended to be a polemic against the effects of that Second Amendment.

For 91 minutes, the two sides blaze away at each other in a slow attrition until there’s only one participant still alive, who crawls away dragging the briefcase of money. Nothing else.

Boring. And in no way likely to have any effect on the film’s proposition against the obscene, hard-line policy of the American Rifle Association that in real life scares American lawmakers, Federal and State alike, to take a stand.

At

Dendy

At Palace Electric

“Free Fire” (MA)

“A WELL-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

It may fairly be stated that more US citizens have died in consequence of the Second Amendment to the US Constitution than its proponent James Madison could have envisaged in his worst nightmares!

“Free Fire” takes place in an abandoned Boston warehouse where, in 1978, two groups of bad guys have met to make an arms sale deal. The buyers have specified

the body and soul

so

with the menu featuring eight regular items, many gluten free and dairy free ($18 to $24.50).

I’m a big fan of ocean trout, especially at lunch since it’s not too heavy. It sounded yummy, but I wasn’t entirely comfortable with the execution. I found the fish overcooked and, although I adore kipfler potatoes, I found this component confusing. The capers and other goodies mixed within overpowered the wonder of the kipflers and the ocean trout itself (at least for my tastebuds). Perhaps next time I’ll give the grilled barramundi salad a go, or just stick to the raw green salad, which will no doubt make me

feel super-duper healthy. There’s no doubt that Maple + Clove truly strives to serve food that’s loaded with immune boosters from antioxidant-rich ingredients. That includes milk-based smoothies, fruit and veg-based smoothies and freshly squeezed fruit juices. Its loyal regulars are big fans, no doubt.

Maple + Clove, open seven days for breakfast and lunch.

Licensed (beer and wine).

7 Burbury Close, Barton. Call 6162 0777.

“Bad Girl” (MA)

THIS is the first live-action feature by writer/director Fin Edquist whose career in the moving-images industry has hitherto been mainly in Australian TV series and animated features.

I wish I could be more positive about “Bad Girl”. But it aims at a mark then fails to connect with it. Screenplay and execution combine to let it down, dragging its other

attributes with it.

It’s a thriller with violence involving two teenaged girls rebelling against conformity. Nothing new, nor particularly wrong, about a film that does that. But it doesn’t give itself a chance to make the best of a basically manageable plot.

Sara West plays Amy, adopted daughter of realtor Peter (Benjamin Winspear) and Michelle (Felicity Price). Amy, on parole from juvenile detention, comes to the rural house that the family is occupying while Peter tries to sell it for its investor owner. She’s bored, resentful, rude and disobedient.

Blonde, blue-eyed Chloe (Samara Weaving, niece of Hugo and daughter of Simon) arrives unannounced offering to clean the house. Amy finds her somebody she can relate to. Ere long, the pair is behaving badly. Amy’s clumsy attempt to seduce Chloe doesn’t work well. Peter and Michelle aren’t effective as parents. Chloe’s origins are less clear.

As the film flounders along looking for a path to resolution, its audience might validly ask, why do its authority figures fail to ask the right questions or respond rationally to its exigent issues? Regrettably, the screenplay denies them those comforts, thereby dragging “Bad Girl” to an outcome that for unwavering contriv ance is up there with the best.

At Capitol 6

gardening / hedges & roses

Go light on hedge trimming

IF you haven’t completed trimming hedges by now, I recommend leaving any heavy trimming until October.

Usually, I suggest all trimming of evergreen shrubs and hedges is completed by Easter. That, of course, varies from year to year.

However, mild autumns mean considerable new growth and a light trim would still be in order before a good frost burns it off.

On the subject of hedges, a reminder to remove falling leaves from the top of the hedge. Wet leaves can be quite heavy and cause severe damage, especially to the small-leafed variety such as Buxus or box hedging.

HEDGES don’t have to appear as a boring exhibition of varying shades of green with no or few flowers.

The run-of-the-mill hedges are Viburnum laurustinus (P. tinus). The most common variety, Photinia robusta, does have a mass of clusters of small white flowers that smell rather revolting. Then there is a variety of Pittosporums, originating in NZ and a range of conifers, most of which grow far too large for the average garden.

Hedges define boundaries, make great windbreaks, screen neighbours’ ugly sheds or hide ugly neighbouring houses and autumn is an ideal time to plant them.

When planting any type of hedge, whether a small Buxus or a tall hedge, always dig a trench, which will allow the roots to spread out sideways giving considerably faster growth rather than having to fight their way out of small, round holes.

For small box hedges plant about 30cm apart. For large hedges, plant 75-90cm apart. If the ground is very hard, particularly with clay, consider using the Multicrop liquid Ground Breaker, we have used this with amazing results.

Here are some suggestions for taller hedges with flowers:

• Feijoa sellowiana, or pineapple guava, not only does it have the most delightful flowers but delicious fruit, which can be eaten fresh or as a topping on ice cream and other desserts. Feijoa can grow to 2m-3m or clipped to just a metre tall.

• There is a great range of Callistemons or bottle brush that can easily be trained into a formal hedge. It is always recommended to dead-head Callistemon after flowering.

• You cannot go wrong with Camellia sasanqua, with possibly the best one for its density and flowers in C.s. “Hiryu”, although with its popularity it is often sold out in garden centres once it comes into flower. C.s. “Plantation Pink” can also be used as a hedge.

• For a really fragrant hedge consider Osmanthus “Heaven Sent”, which can be kept to one metre tall or allowed to grow two metres

plus. Its tempting description is:

“The deep green foliage sets off the white tubular flowers, which have an amazing perfume. The flowers are borne in clusters all along the many branches, making a dramatic display from mid-winter to late spring.”

• Another flowering shrub ideal for hedges is Abelia grandiflora. There is a good example of this growing in Novar Street, Yarralumla, where it is kept to a metre high. I have seen other examples growing as a dense hedge to two metres or more. With its pale pink blooms, it flowers most of the year. There are examples of native plants that can be used, but many of them don’t take to continuous hard pruning into a hedge.

IT’S time for my annual reminder about buying rose bushes. They are likely to be for sale in supermarkets any time now. However, you will not see new stocks of roses in garden centres until between mid June and July.

Most wholesale rose growers only lift their roses when they have naturally gone into dormancy. The supermarkets try to beat the garden centres by persuading some growers to artificially force the roses into early dormancy by spraying with a defoliant. The roses then have peat moss or similar wrapped round the roots and packed in plastic bags. They are offered for sale in supermarkets with artificial light and warm air conditioning. Under such conditions new shoots soon start appearing and, once planted out in the garden, the first frost will burn off any new growth. Most garden centres pot up roses on arrival from the growers and offer them for sale standing outdoors and in natural daylight.

To keep the selling price to a minimum some supermarkets will buy one year-old roses with the stems

hardly the thickness of a pencil. With a heavy frost, the sap freezes in the thin stems; once again, the end of the rose. Always look for roses with stems at least as thick as your little finger. Finally on roses, some garden centres will have potted roses for sale from last year’s arrivals. There’s nothing wrong with them plus they have the advantage of an extra year’s growth and thicker, healthier stems. They can be planted any time.

WHEN buying pots, make sure there are holes in the bottoms. I notice many pots for sale in the DIY stores have the saucers attached to the pots and they’ve been fired all in one piece in the kiln. These pots may be suitable for artificial flowers but sudden death for living plants, which will quickly develop root rot and die.

Jottings...

• The new Gallery of Gardens at the Arboretum is now open to the public.

• Now’s the last chance to plant spring-flowering bulbs, especially tulips and Dutch iris in the next couple of weeks.

• Early mornings are an ideal time to visit the top of Mount Ainslie to watch the sunrise and the kaleidoscope of autumn leaf colours as the mist

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

This week is all about formulating strategies and finding solutions. Focus on finances, business and/or work, as the planets provide the extra enthusiasm, power and passion needed to boost your professional profile or fast-track your finances. But don’t get lost in a fantasy world. Keep it real Rams! With the Full Moon stirring up your money zones, you’re keen to splash some cash around. But make sure your bank balance is in a healthy state before you start spending up big.

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 20)

Wednesday night’s Full Moon urges you to get the balance right between individual projects and joint ventures. And it also fires up your flirting zone. Do you long for more love and romance in your life? Flutter those eyelashes (or flex those Bullish biceps) and you shall receive! So your motto for the moment is from birthday great Katharine Hepburn: “Love has nothing to do with what you are expecting to get, only with what you are expecting to give – which is everything.”

GEMINI (May 21 – June 21)

Communicating with others becomes increasingly complex, as the Full Moon urges you to dig beneath the surface and get to the bottom of an old emotional issue. You’re also keen to assist someone in need, but resist the urge to indulge in gratuitous gossip. Wednesday will work best if you think fast on your feet, multi-task and mix things up. Whereas (courtesy of steady Saturn) Thursday and Friday favour being as disciplined and organised as you possibly can.

CANCER (June 22 – July 22)

The Sun and Pluto encourage you to put more energy into pursuing your dreams. No side-stepping Crabs! It’s time to set ambitious goals – and then pursue them with plenty of passion and purpose. But you won’t feel like indulging in much mid-week Full Moon frivolity, as the stars increase tension in relationships. Your intuition is switched on big time, as you tune into those around you and uncover some important information. But don’t let a smooth-talker lead you astray.

LEO (July 23 – Aug 22)

Tuesday looks terrific, as the Sun/Pluto trine brings the opportunity for recognition at school, professional rewards or personal insights. You also have the power to influence people in positive and inspiring ways so don’t miss the chance to make a real difference. Watch out for domestic dramas on Wednesday or Thursday though, when the Full Moon shines an unforgiving spotlight on family fiascos. Don’t make matters worse by blurting out what’s really on your mind!

VIRGO (Aug 23 – Sept 22)

This week’s super Sun/Pluto trine helps you replace out-dated aspirations with dazzling up-dated dreams. But a relationship with a romantic or business partner looks confusing or complicated, as Neptune scrambles your communication antenna. So (courtesy of Uranus and Saturn) you may need to make a snap decision (using intuition and intellect) that results in more stability. The mid-week Full Moon favours making a splash on social media or learning something new.

LIBRA (Sept 23 – Oct 23)

Have you been shopping up a storm when you should have been paying off debt or saving for something special? If the answer is ‘yes’ then you can expect a financial fiasco this week, as the Full Moon stirs up mischief in your money zone. The Mars/ Jupiter trine highlights the importance of adventure in your life. So your motto is from birthday great, Cate Blanchett: “It’s important to travel and move and have a continual set of experiences so you’ve got more to feed back into your work.”

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 21)

Expect some drama at Casa Scorpio this week, as the Full Moon (in your sign) increases your magnetism – and your tendency to brooding, obsessive behaviour. So do your best to find appropriate ways to let off steam, and choose challenging projects to channel your intense energy into. Otherwise you’ll just drive loved ones crazy! The transformative Sun/Pluto trine provides a fabulous opportunity to influence others in positive and powerful ways – both in person and online.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 – Dec 21)

Taskmaster Saturn is reversing through your sign, which can bring up situations that highlight your flaws and zero in on your mistakes. Don’t stress Sagittarius! Use it as an opportunity to learn, develop, practice and mature. This week Mars and Jupiter send a lucky opportunity your way involving social media, joint ventures or group activities. So get your ideas out there (in person and online) as you entertain others with your sparkling repartee and nifty networking skills.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 19)

Casa Capricorn is a place where routine is revered and surprises are unwelcome. This week you’ll find that life is complicated; partnerships are unpredictable; the rules are constantly changing; and an unresolved family problem comes back to test you. Maybe it’s time to simplify your life, cull some of your commitments or give a fair-weather friend the flick? Be inspired by movie icon Katharine Hepburn (born on May 12, 1907): “If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.”

AQUARIUS (Jan 20 – Feb 18)

You’ll feel super restless this week and the danger is you’ll go overboard and throw the baby out with the bathwater. The Full Moon imbues you with a sense of urgency but self-discipline and gradual, structured modifications are what’s needed at the moment. It’s also important to strive to get the balance right between your professional and personal lives. Be inspired by birthday great, Cate Blanchett: “I live my life parallel with my work, and they are both equally important.”

PISCES (Feb 19 – Mar 20)

This week’s Full Moon stimulates your fertile imagination and your fascination with the mysterious. You’ll feel incredibly creative but resist the temptation to be gullible (especially involving a personal project or a family matter). Avoid the Piscean predilection for procrastination and taking short cuts. When it comes to money, business and/or work, you’ll find that knowledge is power, and hard work is the secret to success. Friday is a good day to make an important decision.

Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2017

1 Who, in Classical Mythology, ferried the souls of the dead across the Styx? (6)

8 Which poetical term means between the afternoon and night? (8)

9 What is a collection of dolphins known as? (6)

10 Name the renowned plane of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, ... Cross. (8)

11 Which word implies a lack of pigmentation? (6)

12 Which number does the Roman numeral IX represent? (4)

13 Name the alloy consisting essentially of copper and zinc. (5)

16 What are parts played by actors? (5)

19 What is an artificial shelter for honeybees? (4)

21 Name a fortified and blended wine of S Spain. (6)

22 Which colloquial term describes a restless person? (8)

23 Name a shed containing a number of beehives. (6)

24 To which animal suborder do cloven-hoofed and cud-chewing quadrupeds belong? (8)

25 What is a more common term for an Inuit? (6)

Down

2 What do we call a person who harasses a public speaker? (7)

3 Which term describes raw recruits? (7)

4 What is the given name of the S African politician, ... Mandela? (6)

5 A different one is described by which word? (7)

6 Name an Australian political party. (7)

7 What are meetings of people seeking to communicate with the dead? (7)

13 Name the large carnivorous burrowing animals of the mustelidae family. (7)

14 What is a school for instruction in a particular art or science? (7)

15 Name a common term for a disturbance or brawl. (7)

17 What is a tapering, four-sided shaft of stone, with a pyramidal apex? (7)

18 What is the tympanic membrane known as? (7)

20 Which term describes all of the property and debts left by a deceased person? (6)

Providing a creative curriculum, putting children at the heart of everything we do and working closely with the whole community.

Tuesday, 16 May 2017 9.30-11am and 4-6pm

At St Vincent’s Primary School, families become part of a community which seeks positive well balanced Christian values for their children. It is a place where lasting friendships are established.

sundayROAST

Stay in touch with the names making news on Sundays from 10am as 2CC and “CityNews” present Canberra’s only local weekend news and current affairs program.

It’s a revolving panel show that brings to the microphone great “CityNews” commentators and 2CC personalities.

Be part of the conversation every Sunday – call 6255 1206 between 10am and noon

READY FOR THE WORLD