170629 citynews

Big

Irony

Waking up to why I nearly died

Tea totally as Sri Lanka celebrates

By Kathryn Vukovljak

THE Sri Lankan High Commission will celebrate 150 years of the tea industry in its country with a global tea party across time zones.

High commissioner Somasundaram Skandakumar says the invitation-only tea party, which will be held on July 6 at the Sri Lankan high commission in Yarralumla, will be echoed at all 52 Sri Lankan diplomatic missions at precisely 5pm in each time zone around the world.

It’s been organised by the Sri Lanka Tea Board, which is the government’s main arm for promoting Ceylon tea, in collaboration with the Colombo Tea Traders’ Association.

“Tea is a pleasant beverage and has enormous health benefits,” Mr Somasundaram says.

Mr Somasundaram says tea was first brought to Sri Lanka in 1867 after a widespread blight destroyed coffee plantations and became a major industry in the country.

“I have a relationship with the tea industry, because I’m not a career diplomat – I come from a commercial background and worked with a company called George Steuart for 37 years, which in some ways pioneered the tea industry of Sri Lanka,” he says.

Mr Somasundaram says tea pioneer James Taylor was brought to British colonial Ceylon from England through the company and planted the first tea bush in 1867. He then went into commercial production and sold his first consignment in 1873 and the industry grew from there.

He estimates that 10 to 15 per cent of the working population in Sri Lanka are involved in the tea industry.

“This line of business creates vast employment opportunities, from plucking the tea on the plantation, the manufacturing process, the transport to the warehouses, the brokers, the buyers, the freight forwarders,” he says.

“Tea has been for years the mainstay of our economy, with plantations now spread over 230,000 hectares of land.”

Although there has been a slight downturn in the industry in recent times, says Mr Somasundaram, thanks to increasing costs, challenges in finding labour and a recent return to privatisation, he says that marking the sesquicentennial anniversary is particularly important because the industry is at a crossroads.

“We face limitations on the price our tea can reach and have to evaluate whether we can absorb escalating production costs and whether we need to consider diversification or if mechanisation is the answer,” he says.

“But we have an excellent set of people and the industry is being sustained in spite of these negatives. There are challenges ahead but we want to focus on and sustain the industry and celebrate how far we have come.

“At each gathering we will take our guests through the history of the industry and what it represents, the practical side of it, and then taste the flavours of the tea that’s made in each different elevation. We will also discuss the diverse nature of the tea we produce in Sri Lanka now, including green tea.

“We’ll also serve traditional sweet meats with our Ceylon tea, while explaining how it’s grown and brewed.

“We want to commemorate the landmark of an industry that has put us on the global map.”

Since 1993: Volume 23, Number 23

Jets get a boost

FOLLOWING vandalism at the Gungahlin Jets Junior Football Club’s playing fields and canteen, the Ainslie Group has donated $5000 on behalf of Gungahlin Lakes Golf & Community Club to help the footy club get on its feet. Ainslie Group CEO Simon Patterson said: “To hear of the effect this has had on the Jets’ community both emotionally and financially is very upsetting and we are happy to be able to assist.”

Clothes wanted

DEBORAH Olde, owner of Queanbeyan’s Elements Face and Body, has put a free winter clothes rack out the front of her Crawford Street shop. “If you’re cold, take one; if you want to help, leave one,” is the maxim and Deb is looking for donations of clean, warm or waterproof winter clothes that can be left anonymously on the rack or dropped into the salon.

Winter sale

A WHITE elephant stall, jewellery, cakes, jams, winter woollies, books and plants… what hasn’t the St Ninian’s winter sale got to offer? Plus a sausage sizzle and Devonshire tea. It’s all happening in the church hall, corner of Mouat and Brigalow Streets, Lyneham, 9am-4pm, on Saturday, July 8.

Arts & Entertainment 15-17

Dining 17

Crossword 19

Gardening 18

Horoscopes 19

News 3-14

Politics 8

Seven days 4

Socials 10-11

Wine 17

production”Verbatim”. Story

CEO: Greg Jones, 0419 418196, greg@citynews.com.au

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

Journalists: Kate Meikle, kate@citynews.com.au; Danielle Nohra, danielle@citynews.com.au; Kathryn Vukovljak, kathryn@citynews.com.au

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

Photographer: Maddie McGuigan

Advertising manager: Greg Jones, 0419 418196

Senior advertising account executive: David Cusack, 0435 380656

Advertising account executive: Liam Jones, 0400 092095; Damien Klemke, 0439 139001; Emily Lester, 0406 412462

Production manager / graphic design: Janet Ewen

Graphic designer: Paulette Leo

Proof reader: Glenda Anderson

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

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

Ricky extends his Raiders’ season by two years

The fans resoundingly endorsed the Green Machine’s confidence in the three-time premiership player.

CANBERRA Raiders’ coach Ricky Stuart is locked into the club until the end of the 2020 season with an extra two years added to his deal.

And the fans resoundingly endorsed the Green Machine’s confidence in the threetime premiership player.

An online poll offered three options to fans with an overwhelming 63 per cent voting for the lock him in now option, followed by 23 per cent ticking the box for wait until the end of the season and 14 per cent suggesting a different direction to be taken at the end of Stuart’s current contract.

MEANTIME Stuart was measured in his response on radio to Senator Pauline Hanson’s divisive comments on segregating autistic children. The Raiders’ mentor, who founded the Ricky Stuart Foundation and whose teenage daughter Emma is autistic, said Hanson

was “completely wrong” in her view and that families who struggle with autism daily would be “gutted” if their children were excluded from the mainstream school system.

IN a week when fat shaming was a national conversation, Liberal MLA Elizabeth Lee went on the front foot to address an attempt to bully her and, in the process, received an overwhelmingly positive response.

The member for Kurrajong was targetted online with comments such as: “Put on weight since I last saw you” and “Try to stop eating too many [sic] Um Chas”. Ms Lee returned fire with: “I’m Asian, I eat more than yum cha and I don’t exist to be pretty and skinny for anyone”.

Ms Lee’s proactive approach drew hundreds of comments and personal messages, 98 per cent of which were positive.

AN aggressive sales pitch has angered several residents of a Belconnen suburb. One homeowner reported two men knocking on his door with an offer to buy his house. When told he wasn’t interested the pair warned him “you’ll be sorry”, as next door had been purchased and would soon contain nine units which they claimed would reduce the value of neighbouring properties.

WITH local talent featuring heavily on reality TV programs highlighted by 15-year-old Lucy Sugerman’s stunning performances on “The Voice”, another Canberran is off to New York to try her luck with a Big Apple institution. Dancer Isabelle Steward, 17, has been chosen from thousands worldwide to participate in an intensive program with the iconic Radio City Rockettes.

dose of dorin

A YOUNG Canberra entrepreneur continues to forge ahead in building a national reputation. Nipuni Wijewickrema won the ACT regional Australia Post Pitchfest from a field of five local candidates. The 2016 Young Canberran of the Year, who founded GG’s Flowers to provide employment for her Down syndrome sister, heads to the national final in August at which the winner scores a trip to Silicon Valley in California for an intensive training course.

AUSTRALIAN Christian Lobby director Lyle Shelton has done a Donald and dropped

the “F” word. The controversial lobbyist screamed “fake” over a news report suggesting Senators Zed Seselja and Matthew Canavan were to host a fundraiser for ACL at Parliament House. Shelton confirmed there was a gathering but it was simply “drinks” to which MPs and senators from all colours of politics – with the exception of the Greens – attended in support of ACL staff at the invitation of the two conservative senators.

THEY’RE a glass half-full bunch, those hot-air ballooners. I tweeted a pic, which to my layman’s eyes was a crash landing of a balloon on the middle of Gungahlin Drive at Casey. But the post was quickly flipped on its head by a tweet from @Eponymowse “Nice work picking out the median strip. Fine piloting”.

Several years ago on radio I ignorantly referred to two incidents on the same day during the annual balloon festival as “crash landings”. One basket had finished unceremoniously upended behind the Hyatt Hotel while another had rudely plonked itself in the front yard of a family home in Bruce. The official spin on both, “textbook controlled landings”.

Actsmart offers a range of free programs for ACT businesses including:

• support to implement efficient recycling and waste management practices

• obligation free onsite energy and water assessments

• rebates of up to $5,000 (on a cost share basis) to upgrade inefficient equipment

More than 1000 ACT businesses have already signed up to Actsmart programs.

‘There’s

By Dr Vass

A question that is common in my practice is ‘do I offer free hearing tests’ and my answer is always ‘NO’ and I never will. Like the saying goes ‘there’s no such thing as a free lunch’, everything has its price. If you are being offered a free hearing test you need to ask yourself one important question, ‘why is it free?’.

This approach is a sales pitch, it’s a lure to get customers into a clinic and sell them hearing aids. It is also a tool used by sales focused clinics to collect personal information to add to their company database and onto a mailing list. The more recent trend of offering patients incentives such as ‘make a booking today for a free hearing test and receive a shopping voucher’ is even more alarming.

I am passionate about hearing health and I believe that the knowledge and advice that I share with my patients is invaluable; not something that can be matched by a free shopping voucher.

will never pressure a patient into purchasing hearing aids. I do not receive sales commissions or work to meet sales targets. I am passionate about hearing health and I believe that the knowledge and advice that I share with my patients is invaluable; not something that can be matched by a free shopping voucher. I believe in providing a professional service to my patients, not selling to them.

- Dr Vass

My philosophy is simple, my patients and their wellbeing come first. I welcome anyone to contact my office on 62 822717 and make an appointment if they are seeking help for hearing loss or in need of a second opinion.

As an independent Doctor of Audiology, I take my profession seriously. I have never and

THERE are some historic dates that are instantly recognisable. You know, dates such as November 22, 1963*, or July 20, 1969**.

For me March 11, 2011 is one of those days. Not because it was the day of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan, but because it’s the day I nearly died.

I was needed at work early that morning and was feeling tired when I arrived a bit after 6am. There was nothing unusual about that, as I always felt tired in the mornings. It was my job to collect the papers, so I took the short walk – maybe 150 metres – to get them, and the newsagent said I was looking a bit unwell. I dismissed it as tiredness and being a Friday.

As I reached the office front door I broke out in a sweat from head to toe and started to feel very light headed. Instinctively, I checked my pulse and felt it going way faster than I could count. Not exactly a good feeling, I can tell you.

Less than five minutes later I was in the care of paramedics who hooked me up to the machine that goes “ping”. And it started pinging between 170 and 250 beats a minute. I was soon in an ambulance and on the road to hospital with lights and sirens going.

In the emergency department I was hooked up to a bigger machine that went “ping” so much they turned the pinger off.

Over the following 12 or so hours the medics tried several different things to get my heart back to normal. If I lay perfectly still, it would go below 100, but the slightest movement would send it skyrocketing again. It turned out I was experiencing atrial fibrillation (AF) and I was told several times why AF is a bad thing. In short, it can cause a blood clot in your heart and with one good pump it can go into your brain, at which point it’s game over.

It continued through the day, and some 15 hours later a doctor said I should try to get some sleep. He went on to say that if the AF was still going in the morning that they’d try shocking my heart back to normal.

Get some sleep. With the threat of one “good” heartbeat killing me. Or the possibility of being electrified the next day. Yeah, right...

Ironically, within minutes of falling asleep, my heart action returned to normal.

Get some sleep. With the threat of one ‘good’ heartbeat killing me. Or the possibility of being electrified the next day. Yeah, right.

Over the following weeks, I was subjected to a barrage of tests to find the cause. Eventually, the heavy snoring I’d been doing for years became the chief suspect. A sleep study (where they connected me up to a million wires and told me to sleep) ensued. This led to the discovery that due to sleep apnoea, every hour while I was asleep, I stopped breathing around 80 times. For up to 30 seconds.

If you don’t get how bad that is, try doing it while you’re awake. The net effect was a steady drop of the oxygen level in my blood through the night, making my heart work harder. From there, one particularly bad night was enough to put my heart under more strain than it could take. Bingo! AF! And near death!

I was advised to go on a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine.

Despite the initial discomfort of trying to sleep with a mask, it took all of two nights for me to wake up in the morning not feeling tired. A follow-up sleep study showed I was sleeping almost uninterrupted through the night. My blood pressure went down, my fitness went up to the point where I could do 10 kilometres on almost any device in under 50 minutes.

So here’s the thing. If you – or someone you know and/or love – snores, don’t muck around. Get it checked out. It might just save a life.

*Assassination of President John F Kennedy. **Man lands on the moon.

Chris Coleman presents “Canberra Live”, 3pm-6pm weekdays on 2CC.

CHRIS COLEMAN

Irony of Labor and the pokie shares

THERE is a lovely irony in the call on the ACT Labor government during Budget estimates by Caroline Le Couteur, ACT Greens MLA, to divest the Territory of shares or investments it may have in poker-machine manufacturing companies.

Ms Le Couteur believes the government should invest public monies “ethically” and, in light of the documented harm that gambling can cause, it should not invest in companies that manufacture poker machines.

Government officials in responding to Ms Le Couteur advised that the government had not given any consideration to divesting such shares or investments.

The irony I refer to is, of course, in Ms Le Couteur raising the question of the “ethics” of a government owning shares in the manufacture of poker machines with a government that, through its administrative arm, is one of the largest owners and operators of poker machines in Australia.

Interestingly, in the week before this issue was raised in the Estimates Committee it was reported in local media that the Labor Party, through the clubs it owns and controls, had paid the Italo-Australian Club just over $500,000 for an unspecified number of poker machines. It was reported that this may have been the second such purchase by the Labor Club in recent times.

Labor is also now operating through its clubs more poker machines than it was operating a year ago and appears to have a significant number of poker machines in storage.

Coincidentally, the more than $500,000 reportedly paid by Labor for its most recent purchase of extra poker machines equates to a mere one week of earnings from the poker machines it currently operates.

Labor is also now operating through its clubs more poker machines than it was operating a year ago and appears to have a significant number of poker machines in storage.

This surely flies in the face of the oft stated commitment of the government to reduce the number of poker machines in operation in the ACT. It smacks very much of the Labor Party demanding of the local clubs sector to “do what I say, not what I do”.

It also raises an interesting question about whether the larger, wealthier clubs such as Labor are snapping up poker machines on the market and stockpiling them in anticipation of the foreshadowed legislative reduction in the number of poker machine licences in the ACT.

If for example, as is being suggested, the Labor Party through the clubs it controls has stashed away

poker machines it can, if there is a forced reduction in poker machines, presumably relinquish the number of machines required of it from those it has recently acquired and has in storage, thereby effectively maintaining its current level of operation but in a market with far fewer machines overall thereby increasing its share of the gambling market.

The question that should be asked is whether the actions of the Labor Club in buying up and storing poker machines really is in response to the plans the Labor government has announced to reduce the number of poker machines in Canberra; remove the prohibition on poker machines being operated for profit by the private sector through the casino and the decision to introduce a trading scheme that will return the enhanced value of a poker machine sold under the scheme to the club selling the machine

and not to the government.

Irrespective of whether the Labor Club has, by virtue of its privileged position of being owned and operated by the Labor Party, acquired any particular insight into the government’s intended approach in implementing these plans does not lessen the depth of the hypocrisy, or perhaps even worse than hypocrisy, which would flow if the Labor Party is enriched or profits in any way from the proposed raft of changes.

The unprecedented, and frankly childish, decision of the government to ban all Ministers from meeting with or consulting with the 75 per cent of the Canberra community clubs that have dared to publicly disagree with the government’s approach to gambling policy, most particularly in relation to allowing the privatesector ownership of poker machines, is an additional reason for alarm.

Family portraits

IT’S National Family Portrait Month in July and local photographer Thanasi Bakatsoulas is again spearheading the ACT’s contribution to meeting the national target of $10,000 to help beyondblue. Mothers and children will be photographed for an upcoming book called “A Mother and her Children… An Unbreakable Bond”. The $51 participation fee goes to beyondblue. Register via eventbrite.com.au and enquiries to bakaphoto@gmail.com or call 0403 530566.

Dalai Lama’s party

THE Dalai Lama’s 82nd birthday will be celebrated with cultural performances and a sit-down, three-course meal at the National Press Club, Barton, on Friday, July 7. Hosted by the Canberra Tibetan community, tickets are $50 (children under 12, $20), dress is formal or traditional and bookings to trybooking.com/QKXC

Dancing goes Dutch

DUTCH choreographer André van de Plas will conduct a workshop for Folk Dance Canberra and Canberra International Folk Dance Association at the Hackett Community Centre on July 23 and 24. André has taught and choreographed international dance for more than 30 years. There will be sessions for beginners, intermediate and advanced dancers. Full details of workshop at folkdancecanberra.org.au

If you are approaching retirement or in retirement from 1 July there is a $1.6m cap on the amount you can hold in the pension phase of your superannuation. These changes also apply to public servants.

If you have not taken action as yet, you should review your superannuation strategy. This is particularly important for those approaching a balance of $1.6m in Superannuation but equally important for those people who are currently salary sacrificing superannuation contributions. Call a Fitzpatricks Private Wealth specialist superannuation adviser today to discuss your circumstances.

Shane is an award winning financial planner having worked in the industry for some 12 years. He has extensive experience in providing high quality advice and personally tailored solutions to his client’s. His success is attributed to his ability to understand individual needs and develop solutions that provide his client’s with the best opportunity to reach their financial goals.

Alisa has over 20 years of experience in the financial service industry and over that time has helped hundreds of clients achieve financial peace of mind. With sound expertise in wealth creation, superannuation, tax effective structures and investment strategy, she is able to able to provide financial planning services tailored to the client’s needs and financial circumstances.

Big thumbs down to ‘uglifying’ billboards

BEING disparaging about Canberra is easy. Our city is not like any other in the world, which should be a point of pride.

However, there are constant voices seeking to implement the same mistakes as in other cities. The latest attempt is on billboards. The last thing that Canberra needs is a free-for-all of these eyesores to “uglify” our city.

The Standing Committee on Planning and Urban Renewal of the ACT Assembly monitors Canberra to protect the environment, ensuring liveability and maintain its status as one of the healthiest cities in the world.

The committee is in the process of considering whether rules on billboards should be relaxed. The submissions published by the committee a day after submissions closed, without exception, provide a big thumbs down to any such relaxation. There may be more submissions that have been received but not published.

Canberra should be well served by this committee. All members are university graduates and most have postgraduate degrees. The chair, Caroline Le Couteur, holds degrees in economics and business and a graduate diploma of environment and development management. Deputy

The last thing that Canberra needs is a free-for-all of these eyesores to ‘uglify’ our city.

chair, Suzanne Orr, is a planning specialist with a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Canberra. The experience of all the members is broad and relevant.

With such a committee issues ought to be considered carefully, intelligently and thoughtfully. The members will need to resist the movement amongst those that do not understand Canberra – that “it has no soul” or the joke that “Canberra is 100 suburbs in search of a city”. This

is the sort of derision that results in an unnecessary inquiry into billboards. At least the published submissions simply nail the issues.

Robin Sevenoaks’ submission argues an issue of visual amenity. The submission cites “the damage caused by billboards in an otherwise beautiful environment that is Canberra, our national capital”.

Support comes from Craig McGill, arguing billboards undermine our “unique city” and our “bush capital status”. He points out “billboards are ugly, distracting, and serve absolutely no-one except advertisers and the owners of the boards (who receive the advertising revenue)”.

Hugh Dakin can see some room for limited-time advertising on billboards for community organisations and schools. However, he is scathing about commercial billboards that “insert themselves, uninvited and unwanted”. He opines: “Advertisers have no right to do this and should not be allowed to do so”, arguing they are “litter on a stick” and

should not “uglify our city”.

Liam Lilly, of See-Change, opposes billboards and asks if the traditional owners of Canberra have been consulted.

Strongly opposing “full-wrap advertising” on buses and the proposed light rail trams are Conrad Burden with Barbara and Geoffrey Nelson as a stealthy way of billboard advertising. Their argument is about a “detrimental effect on passengers” and is “inconsistent with the visual aesthetics that make Canberra a unique city”.

The submissions are united in ensuring Canberra’s distinctive aesthetics are maintained. The common thrust of the submissions to the ACT Parliamentary Inquiry is that Canberra is a “unique city” and this is how it should remain.

However, the blight has already been creeping in. As just one example, how distracting is the big screen billboard on the National Convention Centre at the corner of Constitution Avenue and Coranderrk Street? The committee should ensure it, and modern-style billboards like it, should not be permitted.

On the day after submissions closed there were no published submissions supporting the idea of relaxing billboard regulations. It is possible that more submissions are to be authorised and published. Where has the idea come from? Is someone looking to expand their business? Has someone whispered in an appropriate political ear? Are the disparaging comments hitting home? It is not clear why there is such an inquiry.

We have a strong Planning and Urban Renewal Committee. Any recommendations should further limit new types of signage and findings should ensure Canberra’s distinctive environment.

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

A safe space for men

By Danielle Nohra

WHEN seeing the title, “ANU Men’s Network”, some people assume the worst and are quick to think it’s a group of men’s rights activists, but president Sebastian Rossi, 21, says that’s far from the truth.

“There was controversy when we were first starting up due to fear,” he says.

The network was founded by a group of concerned ANU students and helps support men on campus by providing a space where they can discuss a range of “critical socio-cultural issues”.

The main topics discussed amongst the 500 members include mental health, relationship problems, image problems and insecurities around masculinity.

“Women definitely have it worse than men, but while it’s important to focus on women you can’t ignore men,” he says.

The network has a private Facebook group active for ANU students, which welcomes any gender to discuss men’s issues.

“The space has an anonymous Google form system

Sebastian Rossi… “There was controversy when we were first starting up due to fear.”

where they submit questions and comments,” Sebastian says.

Not even the executives know the identity of members who post questions in the group.

Sebastian, who is in his fourth year of a science and chemistry degree, says it’s about making people feel comfortable.

Throughout his time at ANU he has needed support and, while there are a lot of great services, he hasn’t always felt comfortable when seeking them.

Sebastian says because he prefers to dress well rather than drink beer he is sometimes spoken to differently by people who assume wrongly he is gay.

“This space talks about men’s issues (such as Sebastian’s) without fear or reprimand and

gives people support,” he says.

“It’s a space where people can say something without feeling like they’ll be attacked.”

Even though the network is adamant about not being misogynistic or oppressive towards women, sometimes comments fall through the cracks.

“We allow some of the ones that are blatantly misogynistic, but only if they’re unintentional – for learning purposes,” he says.

“But it doesn’t really happen that often.”

ANU Men’s Network has been active for just over a year and Sebastian is really happy with what’s been accomplished.

“If it’s helped just one person then it’s doing its job,” he says.

And he isn’t the only one. Women and people of all different backgrounds are getting behind the network. Even the network’s executives are a mix of males and females.

“But overall, we’re an apolitical, non-judgemental support group for men,” says Sebastian.

ANU Men’s Network and ANU Circle for Gender Equality will be raising money for Menslink at a social night in Civic, with speeches on gender roles. King O’Malley’s, August 10, 7pm.

scene / around canberra

At Marymead’s 50th anniversary lunch, Woden At the Philippines Independence Day reception

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.

At the Menslink Midweeker, Griffith

We often see patients who come for fat reduction treatments, such as liposuction and body sculpting, to remove stubborn love handles or fatty deposits on the stomach or inner thighs, but sometimes surgery can be an expensive and excessive option. We felt there had to be a more practical solution and now we have found it! It’s called CoolSculpting and it’s o ered in Canberra at The CAPS Clinic.

How does it work?

The science behind CoolSculpting is the discovery that subcutaneous fat cells are more vulnerable to the e ects of cold than other surrounding tissue, so they can be e ectively targeted, destroyed and then removed from the body permanently via the lymphatic system. With each treatment, 20% of the fat cells in the treated area are gone for good. This is di erent to weight loss and other procedures on the market as the fat cells only shrink, and with weight gain they increase in volume again. This proven body sculpting treatment has been performed over 4 million times worldwide and can be performed in a matter of hours and have you returning to your normal activities immediately afterward.

What areas can be treated?

CoolSculpting is a non-invasive way to reclaim your gure by reducing fat in common trouble spots like the mu n top or love handles, that seem impossible to get rid of with diet and exercise alone. Areas like waist, hip, arms, thighs, back and under chin area can be sculpted and those frustrating bulges become a thing of the past.

Who is a candidate?

CoolSculpting is not a weight loss tool rather a sculpting tool. Ideal candidates are those who are healthy with a good diet and exercise program and are close to their ideal weight but are carrying small amounts of stubborn ‘pinchable’ fat in the waist, hip, arms, thighs, back and under chin area.

When can I see results?

You can expect to see results anywhere from three weeks to three

months, with a sculpted and more de ned body where CoolSculpting has been performed. Many patients comment that their jeans t better and they feel much more comfortable in clothes, especially swimwear! We will be attending the ‘Ultimate Women’s Weekend –Lifestyle and Wellbeing Expo,’ demonstrating this procedure and answering questions. Come see us to receive special o ers, win some great prizes and learn more about this procedure.

Details: Exhibition Park, 29th and 30th July, 10am-5pm

beat the boredom guide

Holiday ideas to keep the kids entertained

LOOKING for activities and entertainment that’s sure to keep children busy over the next two weeks of school holidays?

Despite being cold out, there’s plenty to see and do around Canberra – whether it’s learning about dinosaurs or birds, or watching a show run by young people.

Trading hours

Open every day of the year 10am to 5pm

– except Christmas Day (Last admission 4.30pm)

Canberra Walk In Aviary Feed the Birds!

‘The Canberra Walk-In Aviary is a 1000 square metre planted walkin aviary, located in Gold Creek Village NICHOLLS, where the friendly free flying birds can be observed, photographed and fed. It is our mission to allow people to interact directly with the birds. Visitors to the aviary walk amongst more than 500 birds representing 60 different species from Australia and around the world. Visitors are given a small plate of food and some of the birds will come and interact with you.’

Unit 13 Federation Square, O’Hanlon Place, NICHOLLS Phone 6230 2044 Email micklogan@iinet.net.au canberrawalkinaviary.com.au

Walk in and enjoy the best of birds

GET up close and personal with a range of birds at the Canberra Walk-in Aviary.

The aviary is a 1000sqm planted walk-in enclosure that has about 550 birds from about 60 different species.

“The aviary is great fun for all ages. You have the chance to get up close and personal with a range of birds,” says Mick Logan, owner and manager of the aviary.

“While not all birds will interact with you, you get the chance to observe, up close, species of birds that otherwise would be hard to see in the wild.

“We give you a small plate of food and a tub of mealworms and you can wander around and feed the birds.”

Mick says that people are welcome to take photos of the birds.

“Providing the weather is fine, you can have a great time feeding the birds or just observing our feathered friends,” Mick says.

Call 6230 2044 or visit canberrawalkinaviary.com.au

Family time and fun at the beach

WITH the school holidays coming up families, couples and friends can sit back, relax and take in the sounds of nature at the luxury beach house, Lilli Pilli Sublime, says owner and manager, Angela.

Not only will visitors be escaping the Canberra winter but they also receive a free gift on arrival.

With only a five minutes’ drive from the heart of Batemans Bay, Lilli Pilli Sublime is a spacious, single-level, four-bedroom beach house that can accommodate eight people.

Everything has been thought of at Lilli Pilli Sublime, from its free wifi and Foxtel to full provision of linen and beach towels.

“It’s just a matter of packing the bags and heading down,” Angela says.

“We’re pet friendly, too, so you don’t have to leave your dog in a kennel or with your neighbour.”

Angela says there’s a local vet who runs a “doggy daycare” in case owners want to go on a day trip.

It’s also close to the Mogo Zoo, cafes, specialty stores, local beaches and bush tracks.

Angela says for families, the kids can be fully occupied with its rumpus room with games and a snooker table, while parents can enjoy quiet time in the outdoor entertainment area.

It also has a DVD collection, outdoor kitchen, library and a Nespresso coffee machine.

Angela can arrange romantic getaway packages, dining packages, beauty packages and can help organise other activities including fishing, golf, surf school and kayaking.

Email lillipillisublime@me.com, call 0412 800857 or visit lillipillisublime.com.au to find out more.

advertising feature

Dinosaur museum gets a makeover

THESE holidays, visitors to the National Dinosaur Museum will step into a new world after the building’s most recent renovations.

One of the museum’s newest displays is of a dimetrodon or “almost us”, as education manager Phil Hore likes to describe it.

“It’s basically our ancestor, the earliest creature that shows mammal features,” he says.

Dimetrodons are often mistaken for a dinosaur but even with their reptile-like appearance they’re more closely related to mammals than to modern reptiles.

But before visitors see the dimetrodon display they will have to take the stairwell, which has been turned into a pteranodon aviary with baby pteranodons and cliff faces.

During the school holidays there’s guided tours daily with one at 11am and another at 2pm and then directly after is a “dinosaur disguise” activity where kids can make a dinosaur mask to take home.

“We’re open in all weather, cold or hot, rain or shine. And it’s a good place to get out of the cold,” Phil says.

But for dinosaur enthusiasts who do want to stay outside, the museum’s dinosaurs are at the Australian National Botanic Gardens, which Phil says is a huge hit with children.

The National Dinosaur Museum, 6 Gold Creek Road, Gold Creek. Call 6230 2655 or visit nationaldinosaurmuseum.com.au

Where the kids run the whole show

THE family-run, children’s, amateur theatre group Child Players ACT will be performing “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” for two weeks during the school holidays.

It’s a program where every child is given individual lines so they all have a turn to shine, says its artistic director BJ Anyos.

The Child Play program was developed by BJ after her son wanted experience in background lighting but found no opportunities for a 10-yearold in Canberra.

“Kids step up to the expectations. They’re great stage managers, it’s wonderful to watch young adults do everything,” BJ says.

The full-length show, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, is the result of a six-month training program.

“In the first term we do theatre skills and get children to learn all the backstage jobs,” BJ says. “In the second term we put all the skills that we’ve learnt to use by putting on a show.”

“Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” will be performed at theatre@bcs, Belconnen Community Centre, Swanson Court, July 6-8 and 12-15, at 10.30am and 2pm. The production runs for two hours with an interval.

Bookings to 6257 1950, online at canberrarep.org.au, or at the door.

DOUGAL MACDONALD MOVIES every week in... reviews

items. We accept our guests well mannered dogs on application.

The LPS vibe is very much a tropical one with its hot and cold private outdoor shower. Its Bali inspired garden adds a touch of paradise and is pleasantly styled with Asian stone sculptures, fountains and bamboo.

Guests can enjoy the many beaches in the area; Lilli Pilli Beach is just a 300 m walk. Take in the fresh ocean air and sounds of the wildlife.

with all channels, playstation with games, Nespresso Coffee Machine, linen including beach towels and baby

Luxury comfort and style - these are the three principles upon which the hosts have built the LPSublime experiences.

christmas in july advertising feature

When things turn chilly

AS winter bites in July it’s a chance to celebrate “Christmas” with family and friends in weather more suited to a northern hemisphere yuletide.

The precise beginnings of the Christmas in July tradition is unclear, although it is commonly believed that it actually started in Europe, as a way to celebrate Christmas in summer.

This untimely Christmas festival is also often ascribed to a group of Irish tourists who went for a vacation in Sydney’s Blue Mountains in July, 1980. Overjoyed at the sight of snow, it’s believed they convinced the proprietor of a local hotel to hold a party called “Yulefest”.

Skin’s the thing in cold weather

WITH Canberra’s seasonal, sub-zero temperatures Deborah Olde isn’t surprised if people’s skin is feeling rough and dry.

The good news, she says, is that it’s never too late for people to do something about their skin.

Deborah, the owner of Elements Face and Body says: “A good cleansing, toning and moisturising routine is critical at this time of the year to keep your skin protected.

“To make sure your moisturiser penetrates where it’s needed,

removes dry, scaly skin with a good exfoliant and follow with a conditioning and moisturising mask to bring the moisture and softness back into your skin.

“We have a number of good options to select from, but first, we need to have a closer look at your skin to pick the best exfoliant and mask for you.”

Elements Face and Body, 9/251 Crawford Street, Queanbeyan, call 6298 1226 or visit elementsfaceandbody.com.au

The benefits of a quality quilt

THERMA Quilts is a family-run business that specialises in making and servicing feather and down products from quilts to pillows, cushions and anything made from feather and down.

“Quilts are a good investment because they last a lifetime,” says owner Jennifer Kusa.

“As we age we tend to feel the cold a little more, so there’s the option to adjust the warmth too by adding extra fill.”

The seamstresses at Therma Quilts use quality textiles to hand make every item so it’s suited to the customer’s needs.

And Jennifer says Therma Quilts

provides a top-up service when quilts and pillows show signs of wear or loss of warmth and fluffiness.

“Regular servicing of your quilts would ensure that your down is fresh, fluffy and keeps you nice and warm during winter,” Jennifer says.

“Having a quality quilt can also save customers on electricity.

“Whether you’re wanting to rejuvenate your quilt, customise it or buy a new custom-made one we can look after you.”

Therma Quilts, 10-12 Kemble Court, Mitchell. Call 6241 6859 or visit thermaquilts.com.au

briefly grumpy Winning avenue

No one listens to the listeners

Reader CEDRIC BRYANT, of Watson, is grumpy about too much chatter and not enough music on his favourite radio station

“WHEN Auntie loses the passion, nothing is sacred anymore” read the headline of an article in “The Australian” by Angela Shanahan in April.

“ABC Classic FM has been going down the drain as a source of interesting music,” she writes.

The radios in our house are tuned to this station from the moment we wake, but I must admit Shanahan is 100 per cent correct.

I tried to find a charter for the station online but without success. On one of the ABC websites listeners’ comments are listed. One after another requested “more music and less chatter”, but it would appear no one is listening.

Now we have to put up with the morning presenters, mid-week and weekend interrupting with texting. Most of it is a load of blather, ie for months now discussing how to get a grand piano on a gondola! Or one I’m sure many would find offensive: not “Pomp and Circumstance” but “Pomp and Circumcision”.

I’m sure the past, great presenters such as Marion Arnold and Colin Fox would be horrified at the current direction of ABC Classic FM.

Stop the texting and get on with the music!

Grumpy is an occasional column dedicated purely to things that get up your nose. Readers are invited to vent (no more than 300 words, please) at editor@citynews.com.au

THE refurbished Constitution Avenue has been awarded the ACT’s highest architecture honour, the Canberra Medallion, at the Australian Institute of Architects’ 2017 ACT Architecture Awards. Over a decade in the making, the project of the National Capital Authority, JILA, Hill Thalis, SMEC and AECOM also received the Sir John Overall Award for Urban Design, and was considered by the judges to have realised Walter Burley Griffin’s vision with a project that they said “negotiates the macro and micro scale with consistency, clarity and vision”.

Gun amnesty

THE National Firearms Amnesty begins on July 1. During the amnesty anyone in possession of unlawful or unregistered firearms and firearms-related components can turn the weapons over to police without repercussion. The National Firearm Amnesty surrender location in the ACT is the AFP Firearms Registry, 86 Vicars Street, Mitchell. Further information at firearmsamnesty.ag.gov.au or 1800 909826.

Women with spirit

NOMINATIONS are open for the 2017 Women of Spirit Awards. Hosted by Lifeline Canberra, the awards recognise inspirational women who have triumphed over adversity, who have given back to the community and have inspired others. Nominations close on August 18 and the winners announced in September. Queries to 6171 6300 or via events@act. lifeline.org.au

arts & entertainment

Conductor Milton promises six of the best

By Helen Musa

NICHOLAS Milton may be a consummate violinist, conductor and the artistic director of the Canberra Symphony Orchestra, but it’s his prowess in the art of committee sitting that has given rise to the orchestra’s exceptional “International Opera Gala” next month.

Milton has been the general music director and chief conductor of the State Opera House of Saarbrücken in Germany since 2014. Fluent in English and German, he was a sitting duck for inclusion in the Australia-Germany advisory group set up to “take the already strong bilateral partnership to a new level”.

One of the results will be the Canberraonly performance, with the orchestra, of operatic favourites by six of the company’s top artists.

We catch up with Milton by Skype to Germany late at night as he emerges from a performance of Wagner’s “Tannhauser”.

“I’ve been in Germany for well over 10 years, but this is my third season here in Saarbrücken,” he tells “CityNews”.

Arriving in 2004 with very modest German, he quickly made himself familiar with

the rich culture of the country, directed the Jena Philharmonic Orchestra, freelanced and then in 2014, took up the job in Saarbrücken where, as general manager as well as artistic director in chief, he calls the shots.

With a rapid turnover repertoire, performances every night and sometimes up to 10 new productions to add into the standard repertoire annually, he judges it to be “a terrific opportunity”.

All the while he keeps up an impressive practice in Australia, conducting with Opera Australia and the Willoughby Symphony Orchestra, and leading the CSO into a kind of golden age.

That Canberra connection has proved most productive. After an approach from former Prime Minister Tony Abbott who was keen to cement cultural relations between Australia and Germany, he agreed to sit on a “fascinating” committee chaired by Federal Minister Mathias Cormann that has also included Lucy Turnbull and ANU vice-chancellor Brian Schmidt.

“It’s a big learning curve to manage an opera house,” Milton says with considerable understatement.

“So I saw a chance to do a bit of an exchange. Our singers have met a lot of Australians and then the advisory group gave me a chance to bring our cultures together.

“They wanted to fund some German

artists to come out to Australia and I was happy to oblige, because I have institutions – it’s hard to make institutions work together because the planning is done years ahead, but it was possible because I was chief in Canberra and chief here [Saarbrücken], too.”

Milton is naturally proud of the powerhouse of talent he is bringing – “a bass, one of the great baritones of the world, two incredible sopranos, a mezzo soprano, an amazing tenor – the full range”.

Together with the CSO, they will perform solos, duets and ensemble segments of operas by Wagner, Mozart, Verdi, and Puccini, “the most incredible music I could find… the right mix”.

As well, in keeping with the cultural exchange, the ensemble and the CSO will perform the Australian premiere of a work by German composer Paul Dessau, best known to Australian theatre audiences as the composer for Bertolt Brecht’s “Mother Courage” and “The Good Woman of Setzuan”.

The aria we’ll hear comes from Dessau’s 1975 satirical opera, “Leonce und Lena” and bears the unlikely title of “My Tired Feet”.

Other highlights of the gala will include

Icelandic baritone superstar Olafur Sigurdarson singing an aria from Verdi’s “Falstaff”, but Milton is equally excited about the rest of the ensemble who, he tells us, typically for a German opera house, come from all over the world – Sigurdarson and soprano Herdís Anna Jónasdóttir from Finland, soprano Susanne Brownsteffer and mezzo soprano Judith Brown from Germany, bass Hiroshi Matsui from Japan and tenor Carlos Moreno Pelizari from Chile.

The logistics of bringing six operatic stars to town and rehearsing with the CSO are such that they’ll only have a bit of time off, but he’s determined to ensure that they will “get a feel for Canberra, visit the galleries and see the lake”. We give Milton our best tips on where to find kangaroos.

It’s impossible to suppress Milton’s enthusiasm for the coming concert. “Yes, we sell out each year, but we want to make sure all people know about this,” he says.

“International Opera Gala”, Llewellyn Hall, Saturday, July 8. Some tickets still available from CSO Direct on 6262 6772 or at premier. ticketek.com.au

Words to the wise from young and old worlds

By Helen Musa

SIXTEEN yellow chairs capture the limelight in Canberra Youth Theatre’s production “Verbatim” about to tour to the Australian Theatre for Young People in Sydney.

It’s a revival of a stupendously successful venture last year that saw young artists from the company join Canberra Dance Theatre’s over-65 years Gold troupe to create an electrifying 50-minute theatre piece about their own anxieties and hopes.

Katie Cawthorne… “It’s highly physical and symbolic, but a little bit hard to imagine when you haven’t seen it.”

CYT’s artistic director Katie Cawthorne is putting the finishing touches to a revamped version that we’ll see at the Courtyard Studio before it goes on tour.

Cawthorne is the entrepreneurial director who took company members on tour to NZ in 2015 with “Dead Men’s Wars”, a co-production with the Long Cloud Youth Theatre, but verbatim theatre is a long way from her normal focus on physicality in theatre.

“I didn’t have much background in verbatim theatre,” Cawthorne tells “CityNews”.

“It was really interesting to listen to the honest, truthful, fine feelings of teenagers and senior citizens in the society they live in.”

As the name suggests, “Verbatim” begins and ends with words. Cawthorne interviewed every cast member about “gender, love, anxiety, and family – the really big ones”. She found the most talked-about anxiety was about death.

“I’m not a teenager and I’m certainly not a senior yet, but the words that came out of their mouths astonished me, you don’t need to write them, they’re beautiful as they are,” she says.

Cawthorne immediately set about using her theatrical experience to identify the linking themes.

With 20 hours of audio recording to go through, she found herself slicing up the pieces and reorganising them under thematic headings. We’re getting the true words but everyone is not talking about death all at once.

As well, returning to her love of physical theatre, Cawthorne allowed the words to speak for themselves, as the characters listen to verbatim recordings of their own words and respond to the words, often in movement.

“It’s highly physical and symbolic, but a little bit hard to imagine when you haven’t seen it,” she says.

She was nervous about working with such a mixed age cast aged 14 to 80, fearing “this might just not have any zing”. So she staged a few weekend sessions involving theatre games and teamwork activities and it worked like a dream.

“They didn’t see each other’s ages anymore and the audiences don’t see the ages, either – they really don’t,” she says.

“What we discovered is that age doesn’t matter, even if you’re 80 you can still experience anxiety and even if you’re 14, you can fall in love.

“With such a lot of lively vibe, I thought this really needs to be seen elsewhere.”

So, armed with rave reviews and filmed footage, Cawthorne approached director Fraser Corfield at the Australian Theatre for Young People, who knew the work of the company and he invited them to perform at Studio 1, The Wharf, right on the harbour at Walsh Bay.

Great, but with pillars protruding on to the acting space, she needed to work out what movement changes would be essential to fit in before their shows there from July 19 to 22.

“The Verbatim Project”, Courtyard Studio, July 14 and 15. Bookings to canberratheatrecentre. com.au or 6275 2700.

arts in the city

Peace and love for London

CANBERRA Museum and Gallery director Shane Breynard and cultural historian David Headon have taken off for London with the 2016 CMAG show “Peace, Love and World War: The Denmans, 1910-1917, Empire and Australia”. Australian high commissioner Alexander Downer will open the exhibition.

CANBERRA writer Kaaron Warren’s novel “The Grief Hole” has been named Best Novel in the 2017 Ditmar Awards for Australian science-fiction, fantasy and horror writing, making her the first person to win all three genre awards for that one book – the Aurealis Award, the Shadows Award, the Ditmar – and, of course, a 2016 Canberra Critics Award.

Windsong Pavilion at Bermagui, 12.30pm, Sunday, July 2. Bookings to fourwinds.com.au

BORN in South Africa, raised in Australia and educated in the US, pianist Kristian Bezuidenhout has been called “Mozart reincarnated” and he’ll be here with the Australian Chamber Orchestra at Llewellyn Hall, Saturday, July 1. Bookings to aco.com.au or 1800 444444.

TEN artists living around Batemans Bay are exhibiting pastel works depicting wildlife, landscapes and still life at Ginninderra School House Gallery, Gold Creek, Nicholls, until July 31.

TENNYSON’S 1864 poem “Enoch Arden” will be given unexpected new life when classical actor John Bell joins pianist Simon Tedeschi to perform this melodramatic tale, set to music by Richard Strauss, in the

Margaret Dimoff Art Gallery

rooms of

THE National Film and Sound Archive is marking the 25th anniversary of the Mabo decision with an online, curated collection as well as a screening of “Mabo: Life of an Island Man” with director Trevor Graham and Gail Mabo. At the Arc Cinema, 7pm, July 5. Bookings to nfsa.gov.au

THE Salt Room is a popular bi-monthly poetry performance night that mixes performance and storytelling to showcase some of the brightest sparks in our poetry scene. Gorman Arts Centre main hall, 7.30pm-10.30pm, Friday, July 7. Bookings to agac.com.au or tickets at the door.

UC Chorale, which we hear has been moved off campus, is back under the baton of AJ America performing a highly original winter concert that will feature a 13th century Icelandic hymn, Bruckner’s “Locus Iste” and Dan Walker’s “Laudate for Another Place, Another Time”. At Kippax Uniting Church, 3pm, Sunday, July 2. Bookings to trybooking. com or tickets at the door.

Authentic, tasty, Thai food fix in Queanbeyan

IT’S on the ground floor of a free-standing heritage building, on a side street in the heart of Queanbeyan, overlooking a beautiful park. Even though it’s been open for years this quaint restaurant had never been on my radar. I’m glad it is now because I adored my authentic tasty Thai food fix.

I’m talking about Lime Leaves, which whips up Thai dishes bursting with flavour and presented with care.

Khun Omm is an award-winning, self-taught chef who began making amazing Thai food in Australia in 1996. She’s the “matriarch” of Lime Leaves, using fresh ingredients and her signature style of cooking to create truly memorable dishes.

One of our party began with Tom Yum, the traditional hot-and-sour soup Thailand is famous for (vegetarian or

Lime Leaves whips up Thai dishes bursting with flavour and presented with care.

chicken, $10.90; prawn, $13.90). It was fragrant, with a generous dose of herbs in the broth.

When at Lime Leaves, tantalise your tastebuds with “Drowned Prawns” ($25.90). The plump, succulent king prawns were indeed drowning in coconut milk but the dish was a perfect balance of flavours – light lemongrass, salty shrimp paste and tangy tamarind juice.

The “Crying Tiger” presents sliced, grilled beef ($20.90) or duck ($22.90) on a bed of salad. It was exceptional and

wine

Fishing for the right wine

TATHRA wharf is a special place. It has spectacular views to the open sea and back to the arc of yellow sand that forms the sweep of the bay. It is also a great place for amateur fishermen to try their luck, including yours truly. Indeed, my piscatorial skills underline the notion of not being in the fishing profession. But I must, as a lawyer, give a nod to the catfish:

Q: What is the difference between a catfish and a lawyer?

A: One is a bottom-dwelling, scum-sucking scavenger and the other is a fish.

Anyway, the idyll of catching dinner was recently realised when, after a day of throwing back undersized Taylor and rock cod, my fishing buddy caught an Australian barracuda or snook. It yielded two medium-sized fillets sufficient for dinner. I caught nothing.

The fillets were quickly fried in very hot oil not less than 45 minutes after the snook was off the hook. Served with a vegetable dish of previously baked and reheated aubergine, tomato and fresh green chilli, the question was what wine would go with a reputedly strong fish and vegetables with an equally strong chilli flavour. I had anticipated that we would need a white wine to go with fresh-caught fish (seriously!) and had grabbed an unknown WA verdelho from my wine club’s latest offering.

It was an inspired grab. The 2016 Peos Estate Four Kings Single Vineyard Verdelho is an ideal wine to match with fuller-flavoured or spicy foods.

The grape variety was introduced to Australia in the 1820s and was used in the production of fortified wines. It originated from the Portuguese island of Madeira. But at present the variety is generally known for its “tropical” characteristics because winemakers are producing fruit-driven, full-bodied dry white wines.

this time tamarind was used to create a more fulsome dressing with bags of flavour.

I love Thai curries and am fascinated with the gazillion ways chefs create this dish, never giving their secrets away. The green curry ($14.90) was rich and creamy (thanks to the coconut milk), sweet (palm sugar) and savoury (fish sauce). It was super delicious.

House specials include the Goong Wan ($25.90), caramelised king prawns tossed in butter and orange sauce, which I’d love to try on my next visit. Chef special options also include red curry duck with lychees and cherry tomatoes ($22.90).

The wine list is compact but well priced and some local wines make their mark.

I visited Lime Leaves on the recommendation of a friend who works in the area. The stately building

has separate rooms (each adding their own touch of intimacy) and toasty fireplaces. Thai décor elements sit happily among the building’s wonderful architecture. The service was friendly and staff took note that we were off to The Q theatre. We experienced a few mistakes with our order, but it was apologies all round and we headed out in plenty of time. Apparently new staff were in training.

Lime Leaves is a quiet, special spot. It’s worth a visit.

Lime Leaves, 24 Lowe Street, Queanbeyan. Call 6299 2000. Open for dinner Tuesday to Sunday and lunch Wednesday to Friday. Fully licensed; BYO (wine only). Lime Leaves is also in Kaleen, Gwydir Square, 283 Maribyrnong Avenue.

The question was what wine would go with a reputedly strong fish and vegetables with an equally strong chilli flavour.

My friend who was responsible for catching the snook remarked that the wine had a toasty, almost nutty flavour that complemented the food.

I contacted Peos Estate where the owner, Vic Peos, said that the versatility of the verdelho variety is remarkable.

“The full tropical flavours come with a later pick. We tend to pick it so we get a medium style where the minerally flavours come through,” he said.

“The name Four Kings comes from the locale in Manjimup. Canberra might think it’s the truffle king but this area is the biggest producer in the southern hemisphere.

“We are an hour’s drive from Margaret River and the property down the road was named the four aces, which is now the name of our top of the range wine. But when we started to export to China we added the name and the next level wine, the Four Kings. Our entry level wine is, in comparison, the Four Jacks.”

If only we’d had some truffles to go with the snook and the Verdelho. Even those from Manjimup rather than the very special Canberra truffles!

Cook a man a fish and you feed him for a day. But teach a man to fish and you get rid of him for the whole weekend.

gardening Famous flower grows fans

WITH a history going back at least one thousand years BC, tree peonies are China’s most famous flower and can be seen everywhere from temples to public and private gardens.

Dr. Peter Valder is possibly one of the world’s most knowledgeable experts on Chinese plants and in his book “The Garden Plants of China” says: “Of all the flowers I have seen, I doubt that any are so extravagant and sumptuous as those of the tree peony.

“And while those of the Chinese herbaceous kinds are smaller, they have a quality and refinement which immediately claims attention.”

The tree peony, Paeonia suffruticosa, sheds its leaves in autumn while the herbaceous variety, Paeonia lactiflora, dies right down in winter.

stock for planting now. One of the most informative websites is at kelways.co.uk/page/plants-peonies

OF all the massive range of orchids, the cymbidiums are possibly the most popular, certainly from a florist’s point of view.

Last month I was reading in “Country Life” magazine about the Chelsea Flower Show. It reported that McBean’s world-famous orchid nursery in Somerset has an orchid, Cymbidium lowianum, that is 117 years old and has been on McBean’s show stand every year for the last 102 years, winning too many gold medals to mention.

Banks Street, Weston Park, Yarralumla • 6281 7373 heritagenursery.com.au /TheHeritageNursery

the advantage of being a Diggers Club member at the Heritage Nursery YOUR BEST NURSERY IN TOWN

Valder says both are mentioned in ancient literature for their medicinal use.

The herbaceous peony is native to northern China, Mongolia and eastern Siberia. In 690 AD it was known as the “dynastic ancestor of flowers” and the tree peony “the king of flowers”.

Garden centres have peonies in

IS keeping chooks part of gardening? Most certainly, yes.

Let them loose in the garden during the day cleaning up the bugs and house them at night.

All the thousands of chickens on my family’s farm in England were free range in huge pens with large chook houses for night time use and protection from foxes.

For small chook pens it’s essential to have netting over the top besides the sides to stop foxes. They don’t only prowl at night, but anytime.

One of my clients who did not take my advice lost four of the six chooks to a fox within the first week.

My father disliked chemical sprays and planted the apple trees

in the chook pens; no problems with codling moth, the chooks ate them before they reached the apples.

More advice in Dave Ingham’s book “Backyard Chickens – How to Keep Happy Hens” (Murdoch Books, rrp $35).

Jottings...

• It’s important not to put chook poo straight on the garden because it’s too high in ammonia and can burn plants. Best to let it cure in the

compost heap first.

• Sow asparagus and globe artichoke seeds now.

• Time to plant potatoes, try several varieties.

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

Resist the overwhelming urge to be a bossy Ram! The Full Moon charges up your career and family zones so apply the brakes and think before you speak. Otherwise you could say the wrong thing and upset others. When it comes to your Aries aspirations, the main quality you need to cultivate is patience. So your motto for the week is: “Good things come to those who wait.” And with Venus visiting your social media zone (until July 31) true love and Lady Luck could be waiting online.

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 20)

Friday is your best day when money, business, finance, property and real estate are all favoured. Then your communication and learning zones are activated by the weekend Full Moon. So it’s a terrific time to exercise your Bullish brain as you talk, text, tweet, read, research, post, publish and converse as creatively as possible. But resist the urge to be super stubborn at home. Strive to be a considerate soul who takes housemates’ needs and views into consideration.

GEMINI (May 21 – June 21)

Stop gallivanting around in a general fluster and instead, focus on revamping your close relationships. With vivacious Venus shifting into your sign (until July 31) it’s time to charge up your charisma and call in a few old favours. Others will find your intriguing Gemini charm and friendly nature hard to resist! So, with a dash of deft diplomacy and improved communication skills, it’s a wonderful week to get a troubled partnership heading in a positive new direction.

CANCER (June 22 – July 22)

Crabs are ruled by the silvery Moon so you can’t help but be affected by this week’s Full Moon, as it stirs up your emotions and fires up a partnership problem that’s been brewing and stewing. But if you become over emotional and unreasonable then it won’t help matters. Instead, tune into the romance and magic of those full moonbeams. Be inspired by actor Tom Hanks (born on July 9): “I always look up at the Moon and see it as the single most romantic place within the cosmos.”

LEO (July 23 – Aug 22)

Prepare to sparkle and shine this week, as the Sun (your power planet) links up with glamorous Neptune. Creativity and self-expression are also highlighted. If you find yourself being drawn into a conflict on Thursday, then use your intuition (and considerable charm) to slide out of the situation with plenty of style and grace. Then there’s a magical Full Moon, so it’s a wonderful weekend to spend quality time with a wise mentor or your favourite four-legged friend.

VIRGO (Aug 23 – Sept 22)

Your very private Virgo nature is emphasised from Thursday onwards, when Mercury (your patron planet) shifts into your seclusion zone. Make sure you connect with like-minded folk who understand your particular peccadillos and strong need for privacy. You prefer things to run in an efficient fashion. But on Saturday night there’s manic Full Moon energy about, and people will be hard to pin down. So drop the strict weekend schedule and just take things as they come.

LIBRA (Sept 23 – Oct 23)

Librans are natural matchmakers and love to counsel others. This week, with Venus (your power planet) shifting into the dual sign of Gemini, there’ll be two distinct sides to every relationship story. So, when giving advice, make sure you communicate clearly and are scrupulously fair to all parties involved. You’ll certainly require your diplomacy skills on the weekend, when the Full Moon fires up your home zone and you may feel as if you’re stuck in an episode of Family Feud!

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 21)

Expect plenty of phone calls, emails, texts, tweets and snail mail. If you are dealing with important financial or business matters, then a conservative approach reaps rewards. Protecting and stabilising (and enjoying) current resources is preferable to taking a chance on risky new ventures. Mercury moves through your career zone (from July 6-25), which boosts your ability to analyse professional strategies, and enhances your already impressive powers of persuasion.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 – Dec 21)

Communicating with friends and colleagues from other countries is favoured, as you extend your social circle to include a cosmopolitan new crowd. But the Full Moon stimulates your money zone so it’s not a good week to go on a shopping spree, venture into the real estate market, plus buy or sell shares. You’re likely to make important financial decisions based purely on your emotions, which will fluctuate wildly in the lead-up to Saturday night’s full moonbeams.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 19)

Under the luminous glow of the Capricorn Full Moon, concentration is high and your attention to detail is even better than usual. So any work you do will be of an extremely high standard. Coupled Capricorn – it’s a wonderful week to work on deepening the love and commitment between the two of you. With plenty of persistence, your relationship can last the distance. If you are looking for love, don’t accept second best. Be patient and wait for the right person to come along.

AQUARIUS (Jan 20 – Feb 18)

Don’t worry if you temporarily lose momentum and question your goals for the future. The dreams you dream now will manifest further down the track (especially if they involve work). You just need to be patient and have faith in the process. Attached Aquarius – it’s a fabulous week to work on improving communication with your patient partner. Are you single and searching for love? Be on the lookout for someone who is whip smart and/or wonderfully funny.

PISCES (Feb 19 – Mar 20)

This week’s terrific Sun/Neptune trine activates your creative and contemplative side. So it’s the perfect time to lose yourself in an artistic project or pursue a special spiritual practice. Dream extra big and beautiful dreams on the weekend, when the Full Moon urges you to draw up a wish-list of your goals for the future. So your motto for the moment is from fellow Piscean, actress and entertainer Liza Minnelli: “Don’t listen to anyone who doesn’t know how to dream.”

Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2017

1 Name a distilled spirit made from

oats, etc. (6)

8 Name a legendary treasure city of South America. (8)

9 Which is the second-largest continent in the world? (6)

10 Name a Siberian peasant who posed as a monk, and exerted great influence over the Tsar, Grigori ... (8)

11 To be of some service, is to be what? (6)

13 Name regular winter swimmers. (8)

16 Which person is a newcomer in a place or locality? (8)

19 Name the second book of the Old Testament. (6)

22 Which of the cetaceans are commonly called porpoises? (8)

24 What are wooden shoes called? (6)

25 Which crustacean attaches itself to a rock or the like? (8)

26 Name the planet, sixth in order from the sun. (6)

Down

2 What is another term for sword or dagger handles? (5)

3 Name a type of small boat. (5)

4 Which animal is in the second year of its age? (8)

5 In the ancient Roman calendar, what is the 15th March? (4)

6 Name a gallinaceous bird of the Northern Hemisphere. (6)

7 When one is totalling up, one is doing what? (6)

12 What is a decorative vessel, having a spout and handle? (4)

14 Name an alternative term for exits. (8)

15 What is the monetary unit of Botswana? (4)

17 Name an inhabitant of Troy. (6)

18 Which term relates to any lofty mountain? (6)

20 What is the course of a satellite in space? (5)

21 To circulate counterfeit money, is to do what? (5)

23 What is an uneasy desire called? (4)