180628 citynews

Planning trust lies over the rainbow

PAUL COSTIGAN

Arrogant Labor’s cynical push polling

MICHAEL MOORE

More shocks ahead for the super soldiers

ROBERT MACKLIN

Hunk-a-hunk of Balkan love

HELEN MUSA

Plant now for spring beauties

CEDRIC BRYANT

WHEN AN AFFLUENT WOMAN GETS A BELTING

The hidden face of domestic violence

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On the path to bringing people together

By Kathryn VUKOVLJAK

IT’S a welcoming sight: chairs and tables set up along a bike path for anyone who feels like a rest, a little street library, plant stall and neighbours and passers-by taking time to connect.

Jyoti Dambiec says the bike path community hub she started in Evatt creates conversations and brings people together.

“I’ll look outside and people will be out there chatting. I love having something there that opens the door to conversations,” she says.

“It’s this thing of needing to connect with local community, to say hello to your neighbours and know who they are.”

Jyoti says she started the little library because people would stop to chat while she was out gardening at her McGill Street home on the bike path off Moynihan Street, Evatt.

“This is an ideal spot because there’s a river, schools, the lake, church and a lot of people walking by,” she says.

“I’d put out tomato plants, not to make money but because it made people stop and the little library was an extension of that.”

Jyoti’s library is an old cabinet discarded by a neighbour that she and another ceramic artist friend decorated

Arts & Entertainment 19-21

Cinema 20

Crossword 23

Dining 20

Gardening 22

Horoscopes 23

Letters 11

News 3-11

Politics 10

Socials 12-13

overseen by SEE-Change that brings neighbours together to look at reducing their environmental impact while building community.

“There’s a growing movement in Canberra of doing this kind of thing, to meet that need and pass on skills that bring

munity. It’s something lacking today, even with all the online connections

Jyoti says their Transition Street group of around 15 people meets every month, and that through the initiative she’s become friends with locals she had barely met before, despite being neighbours for decades.

“It’s broader too, the group includes people who pass through from other suburbs,” she says.

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WHEN IT MATTERS

Mentoring scholarships

“I’ll sit out here when I come back from my cycle, or friends visit and instead of going inside we sit at the bike path and chat to people walking past. This spot is conducive to meeting people!”

Topics like water, waste, consumption, energy and food are discussed as part of the Transition Streets’ education, says Jyoti, who also runs the Facebook groups Vegan Healthy Living and Vegan Food & Garden Adventures.

Jyoti hosts regular social events at the bike path – organic garden tours, film screenings, barbecues, breakfasts, live music and fire pit nights, cooking and mosaic workshops.

“This is going back to something I remember when I was a child, when we knew all the names of everybody in the street,” she says.

“To be living next door to people for 20 years and saying hello once or never having seen them is pretty appalling.

“People are busy, and sometimes I think, I’ve got so much to do today, but then all these people are out here and a lot of time can go into that as well. But it’s so important to connect.”

The next meeting will be at the bike path, located a 120-metre walk down the hill from the underpass off Moynihan Street between Sharwood and Fitzhardinge Streets, 10am-11am on July 8. More information from jyoti@dambiec.net And see-change.org.au has more information on Transition Streets.

APPLICATIONS are open for three mentoring scholarships for women entrepreneurs from the ACT and region. Scholarship winners will receive a 12-month Rare Birds Mentorship valued at $1500. Applications for the Rolfe Classic Business Ignition Scholarships to inspiringrarebirds.com/winBMW-scholarship by 5pm, July 27.

Spa wins award

KINGSTON’S H2O Spa has won the title of Luxury Spa of the Year for Australia in The Luxury Travel Guide Spa & Wellness Awards 2018. The awards, which attracted 7974 nominations globally, recognise spas around the world and nominees are put forward by industry experts, the public and customers.

Kids look back

VOLUNTEER guides of the ANU Classics Museum are running a free “Time Team” session for children 8-12 on Friday, July 20. There will be special activities and hands-on opportunities to investigate fascinating objects from the ancient worlds of Greece and Rome. Numbers are limited and bookings are essential via email to rosjackson4@gmail.com

NEW DENTAL CLINIC

SEVEN DAYS

Haig Park vigil has a blunt message for men

SOCIETY’S casual acceptance of “boys will be boys” needs to be trashed and “men need to stop raping women”.

That was the blunt message delivered at the Reclaim Haig Park solidarity vigil for murdered Melbourne comedian Eurydice Dixon. Event organiser Blair Williams, a local Phd candidate, says she wanted to highlight an issue “which doesn’t just happen in Melbourne but everywhere in Australia” adding that “a lot of women in Canberra have felt that similar fear when they walk home from work”.

MEANTIME there are fears of a US-style Guardian Angels chapter rising up in Canberra in the wake of Eurydice Dixon’s murder. Shocked by the violent nature of the 22-yearold’s death, local tradie Matthew Perry floated on Facebook the idea of a volunteer walking patrol protecting women in Canberra. While Perry stressed this was not a vigilante response, others including the police have reservations about such a program.

says would be out of work if more people took gut health seriously.

A BRITISH doctor who ate a tapeworm on TV as an experiment has passed through the capital. Gut-health guru and author of the 5:2 intermittent fasting program Dr Michael Mosley entertained a large audience by flinging faecal facts and figures around an ANU auditorium like a frisbee. Mosley, whose TV credits include “Trust Me, I’m a Doctor” and “The Story of Science”, also dumped on some of his medical colleagues, whom he

STILL on matters medical and blockages of systems, the emergency department at the Canberra Hospital is badly blocked up. Or in the more polite and bureaucratic terminology used in a fax to district general practitioners: “The hospital’s ED is currently experiencing very high levels of service demand and patient acuity”. The letter suggests to GPs “before referring patients to ED you consider other referral options or treatment pathways”.

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A LOBBYIST for Canberra’s greyhound racing industry who has spent the past year hammering ACT Labor over its ban of the sport is hoping to represent the party at a Federal level. Kel Watt is already pushing himself for preselection for the federal seat of Canberra currently held by Gai Brodtmann who will stand in the new, central electorate of Bean. A 60-second Youtube video portrays Watt as the “man who will be there to protect you” when “evil comes a knockin’”. Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton is depicted as the evil in the clip.

MEANTIME, Canberra’s third electorate risks becoming a has-been that never was. Uncertainty surrounds the naming of Bean after many objections were lodged, including one from member for EdenMonaro Mike Kelly, over anti-semitic and racist comments attributed to World War I historian Charles Bean after whom the seat is proposed to be named.

A final decision will be made by the AEC in mid July.

IN his “Weekend Australian” column headlined “Tale of Two Cities”, Phillip Adams explains Canberra’s role in the age-old Sydney v Melbourne feud. Adams suggests “Canberra was certainly born from old jealousy that Melburnians felt for Sydney”.

The National Living Treasure says: “We on the banks of our morose and muddy Yarra, them in their Emerald City on that vast bedazzlement of Sydney Harbour. Canberra was no love child born of a torrid affair, just a sorry little bastard born out of wedlock.” Call me a philistine but here, Adams’ well-chosen words simply create an image of a beetroot wearing an Akubra.

A WEATHER-themed headline begged to be used after the Canberra Demons’ 65-point win over Darwin-based NT Thunder in their NEAFL clash at Manuka. It was close to the worst weather the capital could dish out –cold, wet, almost snowing – but no thunder. The victory cemented Kade Klemke’s squad a spot in the national competition’s top five. But at least one Thunder player had experienced Canberra’s harsh winter. NEAFL legend Cameron Ilett spent winter 2008 playing for the Belconnen Magpies.

COVER STORY / domestic violence

When it’s affluent women getting a belting

By Alison BOOTH

AFTER finishing my undergraduate degree, I lived for a few months in a small terraced house in what was then a rundown part of Sydney.

Next door lived a couple with young children. It wasn’t long before we noticed a pattern of violence once a week – shouting and crying, and sometimes, when things got really bad, a police car arriving at the house. This was usually on Friday nights, when the man of the house came home late and drunk.

I had grown up in a fairly sheltered family environment in a leafy suburb in that same city. I found this experience of violence very confronting, although nowhere near as confronting as it must have been for the woman and the children next door.

What could I do to help? Was there any way to stop it? I’d see her on the street, smile at her, pretend we knew nothing. I was only young then. I wouldn’t do that now.

I had already learnt when I was young that not all marriages were happy, and that many survived only because there was no easy way of getting out. So what was happening

at night in that suburb in which I’d grown up, what went on when the blinds were closed and the curtains were drawn? Would we ever have known if someone was getting knocked around in one of those detached houses? Probably not.

Thinking about these questions led me to decide one day that I would write a novel about middleclass domestic violence. But before I began I wanted to investigate how widespread this was, and if literature had anything to say on the topic.

As a social scientist as well as a novelist, I’m interested in statistics and it seems there is plenty of information available about the extent of domestic violence.

In Australia, one in three women has experienced physical and/or sexual violence by someone known to them. Over 12 months, on average a woman is killed every week by a current or former partner. These are staggering statistics.

Yet I found it difficult to find any information about how the pattern of

Working-class domestic violence is a common theme in modern literature, but there is very little that covers middle-class domestic violence.

domestic violence was distributed across the affluent and the less affluent, the middle and the working classes.

This is despite the fact that we are living in a time when more and more women from all backgrounds are standing up against sexual violence and it is being widely reported in the media, with the #MeToo movement that started in 2017 and every week new allegations in the media about violent, middle-class men.

The general consensus is that abuse in middle-class households is underreported for a variety of reasons, partly relating to social mores and partly relating to how statistics are collected.

The guilt or shame that many abuse survivors feel is especially prevalent among the more affluent, who have been conditioned to believe it’s a lower-income problem associated with the stress of poverty. But poverty isn’t the only correlate of domestic abuse.

Perhaps the belief that domestic violence is a lower-income problem has arisen because poorer women are more likely than their richer counterparts to access refuges and social services that target abuse survivors.

In contrast, affluent survivors are not only more able to afford to take privately financed routes out of an abusive relationship, but are also more able to afford a good lawyer. Hence information about wealthier abused women is not collected – or is under-reported – by serviceproviders, and fewer police call-outs or restraining orders for domestic violence incidents are recorded. What does literature have to say about the phenomenon? Workingclass domestic violence is a common theme in modern literature, as anyone who reads fiction will know, but there is very little that covers middle-class domestic violence. Maybe abuse in affluent partnerships is the elephant in the room, the elephant few can see. Of course, there are some exceptions, some novels that address this head on, including a popular recent example, Liane Moriarty’s “Big Little

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Lies”. But if, as Margaret Atwood once said, novels exist not just for private expression but also for social examination, there clearly is more to be said on the subject.

I undertook a fair amount of investigation into this topic while researching for my latest book, “A Perfect Marriage”. What have I learnt from this?

• Don’t make excuses for the behaviour of your abusive partner.

• Don’t feel any sense of failure that the relationship isn’t working; this is something it is virtually impossible to predict at the outset.

• Don’t be reticent about seeking help; recognise that it can be dangerous for you not to, for domestic violence typically escalates over time.

• Don’t let your spirit and confidence be ground down.

• Do think about ways of obtaining financial independence, and seek personal counselling rather than marriage counselling.

• Work at maintaining a network of loyal and supportive women friends, and know that you are not alone.

“A Perfect Marriage” is Canberra author Alison Booth’s fourth novel. She is a professor of economics at the ANU and in 2017 was awarded the Distinguished Fellow Award of the Economic Society of Australia. Her website is alisonbooth.net

CANBERRA MATTERS / Woden Valley Planning trust lies somewhere over the rainbow

This government is sitting on another planet while

residents are being subjected to massive damages to the cherished urban fabric of our bush capital.

AN interesting thing occurred towards the end of a recent actionpacked Woden Valley Community Council meeting.

The focus was mainly on development proposals – most involving high-rise, lots of high-rise.

The WVCC president did a great job keeping the meeting on time despite the many presentations. As any good president should, she actively represented residents rather than passively allow presenters to present spin and misinformation as fact.

The spin and clichés flowed. For instance, presenters talked about “building form” being a “gateway” to the shopping mall. The chair pointed out that such “gateways” are superfluous, as locals know where the mall is (small chuckle from the audience).

Later, when a bureaucrat was asked a direct question and provided one of those convoluted “planner-speak” answers, the chair’s quizzical expression was matched by comments from the audience – “what did all that mean?”... “And so the answer is?”... “Can anyone translate what she just said?”

It was sad to hear locals say such things as: “You say you have considered what we said, but what you

are presenting tonight is the same, nothing has changed.”

Well-informed criticisms were often brushed off. Someone who had read through the mountain of DA documents questioned why the footpaths outside the tower blocks were only 2.5 metres wide. He queried that surely new footpaths should be four metres in total to allow for trees, pedestrians and bicycles.

Another was about making the towers more sustainable by providing better glass and structures to meet passive housing standards. Nope, that would be too expensive and not required by the building codes.

There were comments that these towers will house more people than a nearby suburb. Yet there are no new parks, no green spaces (except possibly one rooftop garden on one building) and traffic will be a problem given that the corner already has major issues most of the day.

Developer Geocon’s plans for its four-tower, 800-unit, WOVA (WOden reVAmped) development to be built on the site of the Woden Tradies Club, bounded by Melrose Drive, Launceston Street and Furzer Street.

to deal with the massively unsafe bus interchange, lack of community cultural facilities and that the area needed more green spaces (parks).

said while presenters were talking about development and built form etcetera, there was little mention of the community.

said: “But what about what is happening now?”

This was the incident that stuck with me above all else. The chief planner was being very friendly and convincing that he was open to change, was listening, was talking to people and was going to review ACT Planning.

But the reality is that this whole government is sitting on another planet while residents are being subjected to massive damages being done to the cherished urban fabric of our bush capital.

We are being asked to trust the planners because they are having meetings to plan how to plan to make planning better – one day, maybe (somewhere over the rainbow). Trust in this government’s approach to development has a very long way to go.

The answer? That is something the ACT government is “looking at” (more quiet chuckles).

Which brings me to one of the more worrying things. Many years ago a previous WVCC chair made public statements on the desperate need

On the night, the current president mentioned several times that the bus interchange is still a dangerous place, available green space is shrinking and still there are no community cultural facilities or multi-sports facilities. Nothing changes while all these issues are becoming even more pressing as the number of towers increases.

There were many notable exchanges and statements during the evening – far too many to mention here. Towards the end the president

At that point the ACT chief planner, who was in the audience, jumped up to disagree. He said he had made announcements that he was here for the community, he was outcome focused and that he was planning to review the Territory Plan starting in 2019.

On face value, what he said was welcomed, but then someone nearby

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NEWS Food forest welcomes foragers all

By Kathryn Vukovljak

LYNEHAM Commons food forest is celebrating its third birthday with an event welcoming the community to enjoy the space.

One of the founders, Alison Stewart, says the family-friendly party on Sunday, July 15, noon-3pm, will be the first time the group has celebrated the sustainable forest’s birthday.

“We’ve come a long way in the past few years so this is about celebrating what we’ve achieved, thanking our volunteers, while also making more people aware of what’s here,” Alison says.

“We want everyone to know they’re welcome to come in and pick stuff – this is a garden for the whole community.”

The food forest was launched in July, 2015, two years after the initial idea was born from a group of friends and Lyneham residents, says Alison. The group created a proposal and received government support through Transport Canberra and City Services.

The food forest, located behind Lyneham Primary School near Sullivans Creek, uses permaculture principles to grow organic herbs, fruit, nuts and berries.

“We’ve selected trees and varieties that are hardy to Canberra and resistant to pests, including hazelnuts, apples, figs, plums, feijoas, mulberry, elderberry, pears, cherries and herbs,” says James.

“The plantings are ongoing and we want to invite people into that process so they’re also learning about what they can

do in their own backyards.”

Alison says the food forest is already being used as intended.

“I was here watering on Christmas Day and someone came along and picked some herbs and zucchinis for their Christmas lunch,” she says.

“And in a few years’ time hopefully the fruit trees will be producing enough for at least a few people to have a bite!”

The group hosts monthly volunteer working bees and workshops and activities.

Lyneham Commons says there are already at least 17 community gardens and 77 school food gardens in the ACT, although most are not on public land.

James says there are pockets of land all over Canberra on public urban space which could be used for sustainable gardening.

“We’re used to a society where the concept of a garden is pretty standard, and this is just a different approach to productive gardening,” he says.

The birthday party at the food forest will include live music, kids’ activities, a suitcase rummage, food stalls and a labyrinth, as well as information and displays from sustainable groups.

“We’d love people to reconnect with the food forest, and show that other things can happen here, not just gardening,” says Alison.

Lyneham Commons food forest, 8 Hall Street, Lyneham, located behind Lyneham Primary School and next to the Sullivans Creek storm water drain. Visit lynehamcommons.com for more information

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Arrogant Labor’s thumbs up to cynical push polling

THE arrogance grows. Pushing on with largely unfettered development, the ACT government is now using questionable polling methods in an attempt to turn Canberra into an inner-city Melbourne or Sydney.

Using statistically sound methods of assessing genuine opinions is good government and good politics. Using push-polling to justify unpopular decisions that have already been taken is another story.

Even before the commencement of self-government in the ACT, development issues have invariably been the stuff of political debate and community consternation. With an additional 2000+ new apartments being built in Civic over the next few years by Geocon and the Morris Property Group, Canberrans have a right to question the government’s strategy.

However, it is not just the explosion of apartments in Civic. It is the surrounding suburbs and the extraordinary increase in new apartments well away from workplaces such as in the suburb of Wright that are matters for concern. What sort of a Canberra do Canberrans really want for their children and grandchildren?

When Planning Minister Mick Gentleman launched the “Planning Strategy Refresh” he claimed to “open a conversation with the community about how planning will work for our city over the coming years”.

The “Refresh” includes a “Speaker Series” for which community members may register. It also includes the opportunity to “indicate whether you agree or disagree with some of the common themes and sentiments”.

Planning issues in Canberra are complex and ought not to be subjected to black and white answers. Simplistic “agree” or “disagree” approaches will lead to simplistic solutions. Responses by thumbs up and thumbs down indicators may have a place in surveys. However, a conversation with the Canberra community by the Planning Minister can hardly be genuine when complex questions are simplified to “yes” and “no” answers.

Asking the community to provide an understanding of long-term changes to revitalisation or rebuilding of our city should be a serious exercise seeking thoughtful responses. Attempting to present a black and white answer for support of “urban renewal and increased density around major centres and transport corridors” screams “it depends”. Not “thumbs up” or “thumbs down”.

The concern is that an arrogant government is using a façade of community consultation to seek support for policies that have already been determined.

Attempting to present a black and white answer for support of ‘urban renewal and increased density around major centres and transport corridors’ screams ‘it depends’. Not ‘thumbs up’ or ‘thumbs down’.

Development along the transport corridor from Gungahlin to Civic needs community support for the light rail to be successful. At least the government tested the issue of the light rail at the last election and has the mandate to proceed. However, the extent of development, urban infill, the height of buildings, the canyon-like characteristics of the corridor are all issues that go to the heart of Canberra’s planning.

Twenty-storey-plus towers are not a necessary feature of modern planning. The cities of London and Paris are some of the great cities of the world. They pride themselves on height restrictions and a sense of space. Intensity of urban infill and style of development are much more important questions than approval or not of increased urban density.

The other question is about the slums and ghettos of the future. The leasehold system provides opportunities that are not available in most other cities and ought to be deployed as a key element of the planning of Canberra. A broad strategy of genuine listening is the key if the government really wishes to “embark on an engagement that checks in with the community and sees that we are getting things right”. Planning has a wide impact on lives. Any development strategy should consider, for example, childhood obesity and lack of community fitness as a serious issue. This raises questions about public transport, housing and local suburban design. It should question if opportunities for backyard play and childhood exercise are being undermined by urban infill. Such questions can hardly be considered in a nuanced manner with a series of lectures followed by a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” response.

Michael Moore is a former member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and an independent minister for health in the Carnell government. He has been a political columnist with “CityNews” since 2006.

NEWS

They gotcha! Don’t you agree?

CANBERRA drivers now have free online access to camera images for all speeding and red-light offences captured on mobile and fixed cameras.

Access Canberra’s director of customer co-ordination Josh Rynehart said that until now drivers would need to request a camera image every time they received a speeding or red-light traffic infringement by sending an application to the Traffic

Camera Office. The image related to the infringement would then be sent to them by post or email.

“Drivers don’t often have a good recollection of the offence for which they have been issued an infringement and this new initiative will assist drivers when paying fines or disputing infringements,” he said.

“Last calendar year 15 per cent of infringements were disputed

or requested to be withdrawn. It’s expected that once drivers have the opportunity to view images online the number of traffic infringement appeals will decrease.”

Under the new system, drivers type in their unique image identification number and vehicle registration number at act.gov.au/ speedcameraimage. Both numbers are on the infringement notice.

THE GADFLY / war crimes

More shocks ahead for the errant super soldiers

THE recent revelations of alleged war crimes by a small group of our elite SAS operatives in Afghanistan were deeply disturbing.

The allegations – that in 2012 a patrol leader kicked an Afghan prisoner over a cliff and that he was later “finished off” by gunfire – are of course inexcusable. So indeed is the idiotic carriage of a Nazi flag on a Special Forces vehicle.

And I have to report that there are more sensational revelations to come when the investigation by NSW Supreme Court Justice Paul Brereton is completed later this year.

But that is only part of the story.

In the last decade I have written three biographies of SAS soldiers – as well as a history of Australia’s Special Forces in “Warrior Elite” –and two of the three soldiers involved have become close and valued friends.

All three served in the moral quagmire that is Afghanistan; and while they all took part in frontline actions, none was involved with those accused of the alleged incidents.

Special Forces occupy a curiously ambivalent position within our military.

To the public they’re our super soldiers; to our politicians they’re the “go-to” group in any conflict, from anti-terrorism to battlefield insertions.

LETTERS

I have to report that there are more sensational revelations to come when the investigation by NSW Supreme Court Justice Paul Brereton is completed later this year.

However, to their more conventional colleagues in the “Big Army”, they’re like Lady Caroline Lamb’s view of Lord Byron: “Mad, bad and dangerous to know”.

The SAS Regiment sees this as part of their mystique; and in many ways they are a law unto themselves.

Their officers are aware of this and work hard to keep it within bounds. But in a morally compromised situation like Afghanistan at the time, it’s almost inevitable that there will be personalities who break the rules.

In Afghanistan, their tasks included the planned assassination of “bad guys”, identified as Taliban leaders or other Islamist extremists – either among Afghans or other nationalities. And of course “assassination”, however it is dressed up, is taking a human life.

Calling it an act of war is sup -

posed to excuse it. But even if it did, we have not declared war on Afghanistan, nor the Taliban. Nor have we gone to war on Islam or the gradations of violent interpretation of its doctrine until they’re labelled “terrorist”.

Once that limit is reached President Obama (in charge at the time of the allegations against the Australians) willingly ordered assassinations via drones. And no one turned a hair.

The Australian SAS operatives did not have the luxury of assassination by distant drone. They were tasked to do it face to face, either through a rifle scope or in close combat. They were told it was morally justified.

The ‘bad guys’ were dehumanised as “the enemy”.

Their own experience confirmed it. Their colleagues were maimed and killed

Barr and Berry are way off track

JON Stanhope provides a damning assessment of the ACT government’s social and housing priorities in his opinion piece on the ACT Suburban Land Agency (“Labor drives land prices ever higher at any cost”, CN, June 21). He suggests that Chief Minister Andrew Barr and Housing Minister Yvette Berry are deliberately constraining the supply of land for detached housing, thus driving the median price of such housing still further up, and well out of reach of people on lower incomes.

Further, the supply of detached housing is the reverse of what Canberrans have expressed as a desired choice in housing, rather than more and more units.

Stanhope’s concerns about equity reflect what I believe to be traditional values for the ALP. It has me wondering if Stanhope, Barr, and Berry are even in the same party. Barr and Berry are way off track, with the Suburban Land Agency’s number one task apparently being to “maximise revenue” from land sales!

Murray May, Cook

Never mind the trees…

I REFER to “Seven Days” by Mike Welsh (CN, June 14) and the picture of “the great Queanbeyan stitch-up”.

I always cringe when I see this sort of thing; undoubtedly there is a lot of engagement by the folk who knit and crochet but surely, wouldn’t making warm, bright clothing or bedspreads for the not-so-lucky of us be better, the trees do well enough without!

Suzanne Mitchell, via email

Train travel gets a big tick

TRAIN travel times between Canberra and Sydney were more than five hours’ duration – but last September we travelled to Sydney by train in four hours – the smoothest train ever! – because all the timber railway sleepers had been replaced with steel sleepers.

I am surprised NSW Railways has not advertised their

improvements.

I challenge anyone to travel from Kingston Railway Station – by bus or plane, during normal business hours – five days a week – and consistently reach Central Railway Station in four hours – arriving relaxed, unstressed, rested and refreshed by the extremely comfortable seating and excellent buffet service.

Peter Gately, Flynn

Why close Mugga Lane tip?

I AM writing about Paul Costigan’s column “Pollies fail the smell test on Fyshwick dump” (CN, June 7). This really is the icing on the cake.

Has it been disclosed whose silly idea this was and why the decision was made? Especially as Mugga Lane has 30 years life in it.

Is there an organisation that wants to buy Mugga Lane or somewhere nearby and needs the current tip closed? I can bet the details will never come out.

What was not mentioned in the article is that apart from the smell, environment pollution and dust is the place will be overrun by rats, mice and cockroaches.

If Mugga Lane is to be closed, Why? Why close a perfectly good facility located well away from others and make life extremely difficult for businesses and customers in Fyshwick?

Vi Evans, via email

Breaking the confessional seal

The Chief Minister wants to break the confessional seal in relation to child sexual abuse. If the Church is to consider it at all, then it should first seek an acceptable answer as to why it should not also be broken within the same interpretation of secular justice for summary or indictable offences applying to prime ministers, cabinet and other ministers, chief ministers and all other parliamentarians.

Colliss Parrett, Barton

by IEDs. Some of the Afghans who joined them suddenly turned on them and killed their mates. As one of my former SAS mates told me last week: “Each day outside of Camp Russell every man was on edge wondering whether it would be him that was going to be killed or lose limbs from an IED.”

They came to despise Afghans in general. The Afghan men, they said, “had women for babies, boys for sex”.

It was almost impossible to differentiate between the enemy and the sullen collaborators who would “say anything” if the pay was good enough. And it was sickening the way they used kids as shields.

The SAS soldiers had invested their loyalty in the chain of command that provided them with the moral structure that guided their actions. Yet they were not automatons.

They knew that this moral code was deeply flawed for the evidence was all around them.

And when your own life is on the line, that concentrates the mind like no other.

Alas, from time to time individuals among our frontline troops, however well trained, broke the “laws” of

combat, fell victim to PTSD or both. And as it happens, last week another SAS veteran, a friend of my family, took his own life in Newcastle where he’d been living in his car.

Tragically, it seems, in 2012 one flawed personality within that chain lost control and brought dishonour to the Regiment.

His actions were inexcusable, even if they were understandable. But what of the men who sent and kept them in that hellhole when other countries had departed?

And what of us, the Australian people, who permitted the continuing intervention, and in some cases even applauded it?

Robert Macklin (robert@robertmacklin. com) is the author of “SAS Sniper”, “Redback One” and “SAS Insider”.

At the 2018 ACT Architecture Awards, Parkes

At the Wig & Pen’s ‘Darkfest’ launch, Civic

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 Menslink’s Midweeker, Griffith

Get ready to make the most of the ski season

WITH the ski season upon us, it’s time to dust off the skis, dig out your winter woolies and hit the slopes.

Get prepared for your next ski trip with the help of some of the best services in the region.

Experience Being Driven to the Snowy Mountains

Snow Alliance provides personalised transport services in and around the Snowy Mountains region

• The longest serving private transport operator in the Snowy Mountains, providing this service for over 13 years

• Outstanding customer service, flexibility, and reliability

• Modern and versatile fleet that can accommodate all group sizes

• Immaculately presented vehicles

• Snow Alliance holds four operator accreditations over two states (ACT/NSW) ensuring the highest levels of maintenance, compliance and safety

• All drivers have completed advanced driver training courses and are snow licence accredited

For enquiries or to book phone 1800 280 121 or 0417 234 838 or email book@snowalliance.com.au | www.snowalliance.com.au

Be ski ready

Door-to-door transport to the slopes

TAKE the stress out of getting to the snow and enjoy VIP door-to-door transfers with Snow Alliance.

Snow Alliance has provided chartered private transport around the Snowy Mountains region for more than 13 years and takes pride in its outstanding customer service, flexibility and reliability.

“We provide a great transport alternative for groups and small families,” says owner/operator and driver Melinda Taylor.

“All our drivers have completed the advanced-driver training course in Canberra, so we hope to have the best drivers in the region.

“About 50 per cent of our business is returning customers and that stands for the sort of business we are.”

Melinda says Snow Alliance drivers are most of all accommodating – and can help with luggage, baby seats and any other special requests.

• Prevent Injuries

• Correct Muscle Imbalance

• Improve Sports Performance

• Strength & Toning

• Balance & Functional Movement

Summer bodies are made in winter, says Sven

BUILD your strength before hitting the slopes with Core Essentials Pilates.

Core Essentials Pilates is a boutique pilates studio that offers personalised and individualised programs in a small-class setting.

Classes include springboard pilates, mat, reformer, men’s and circuit classes, as well as private and duo classes.

Owner Sven Smith says snow sport enthusiasts can really benefit

“Summer bodies are made in winter,” he says. “We encourage people to come into the studio and get working towards getting into better shape by spring.”

Core Essentials Pilates is offering a new 7am class called Gym and Tonic that focuses on strength and cardio (gym), and pilates (tonic).

www.coreessentialspilates.com.au 0488 349 747 Level 1 / 14 Barker Street, Griffith Shops

Comforts of home at the Scouts’ alpine centre

ENJOY the comforts of home while on your ski trip in accommodation at the Scouts Australia NSW Alpine Activity Centre.

Set on 1.6 hectares of land on the edge of the Jindabyne township, the Alpine Activity Centre offers two types of accommodation with two self-contained cottages and two dormitories.

Perfect for families, the three-bedroom, selfcontained cottages sleep up to nine people and include central gas heating, full kitchen and laundry facilities, lounge with television and DVD player, and two bathrooms.

“The two self-contained cottages are well-appoint ed,” says Kirrily Olejniczak, of the Scouts Australia NSW Alpine Activity Centre.

“The cottages are big enough to fit two families for a really comfortable family holiday.”

Backed with years of experience in organising and co-ordinating snow trips, the Alpine Activity Centre can also provide advice on planning your snow holiday.

Scouts Australia NSW Alpine Activity Centre, 25 Barry Way, Jindabyne. Visit alpine.nsw.scouts.com.au, email alpine.centre@nsw.scouts.com.au or call 6456 2433.

Vertikal’s experienced team of ski instructors is led by head of snow sports and director Paolo Bellini, who is backed with more than 35 years of experience as a ski instructor in Australia, Austria, US and Italy.

“When you can’t get to the mountains, Vertikal Indoor Snow Sports Australia can provide a full alpine experience right here in Canberra,” says director Charlotte Ostor.

“We’re trying to enhance the experience you get when out on the mountain by providing further training to hone and develop the skills you already have.”

corporate event and school bookings. And after a session with Vertikal, sit back and enjoy a little apres ski – the Nordic tradition of enjoying yourself and relaxing after hitting the slopes – by their indoor fireplace, designed to look like you really are up on the mountain.

Vertikal Indoor Snow Sports Australia, Unit 11, Building 3, 1 Dairy Road, Fyshwick. Call 5105 0202 or visit vertikalsnowsports.com

NOW ACCEPTING BOOKINGS FOR WINTER 2018

• Walking distance to Lake Jindabyne, local restaurants and shops • Close to ski fields and activities • Spacious airconditioned and centrally-heated cottages for year-round comfort • Group dormitory accommodation

• Commercial kitchen

• Drying room

• BBQ facilities • Off street parking

Ski and board all year round, learn from scratch or master your skills, keep fit, and have fun.

Vertikal provides access to slopes that simulate real terrain, for the times when you just can’t get to the mountains.

WINTER SCHOOL HOLIDAYS / what

Lots of big holiday treats for little people

The stage is set for young theatre

SEE some of Canberra’s youngest acting talent on stage this school holidays in the Child Players ACT production of “James and the Giant Peach”.

Adapted by Richard George, this much-loved Roald Dahl classic will be performed by young actors out of the Child Players ACT Child Play program – a program that, since 2005, has put on productions every July school holidays.

“‘James and the Giant Peach’ is the story of a young boy who lives with his dreadful aunts until, one day, something magical happens,” says production manager Kathy Thomas.

“A giant peach grows in the aunts’ garden and James escapes in the peach with his new friends, including a giant grasshopper and centipede.

“James and his friends experience many adventures as they travel across the world in their giant peach. Along the way James discovers the joys of freedom, fun and friendship.”

“James and the Giant Peach” will be performed at theatre@bcs, Belconnen Community Centre, Swanston Court, Belconnen from July 12-21 with sessions at 10.30am and 2pm. Tickets are $18 with concessions for families and groups.

For tickets, call 6257 1950 (Monday-Friday, 10am-4pm) or visit

Fun experience for young filmmakers

BUDDING filmmakers have their chance to bring their ideas to the big screen at a winter school holiday film workshop run by Sanguineti Media.

Sanguineti Media’s Filmmaker Hero Workshop, in partnership with the Canberra Short Film Festival, is a fun and educational workshop for ages nine years and older that allows attendees to produce a twominute short film over the course of five days.

At the end of the week, each film will be entered into the official Canberra Short Film Festival competition.

Sanguineti Media managing director Daniel Sanguineti says the workshop, which has been running for three years, teaches children the full process of filmmaking from storyboards and scripts to filming and acting to film promotion. The

workshop is split into two programs –the Hero program for students at high school and above and the Junior program for primary school students.

“The workshop really gives students an opportunity to tell their stories,” he says.

“We want to get people excited about film at a younger age so that by the time they can work towards getting to a professional level, they already have a few years of experience behind them.”

As well as practical filmmaking skills, students learn to work together as a team and build their confidence, Daniel says.

Sanguineti Media’s Filmmaker Hero Workshop. Canberra Technology Park, 49 Phillip Avenue, Watson. To book, visit sanguinetimedia.com.au

Adapted by Richard George

Battle of Hamel in virtual reality

GET an up-close, realistic view of what it was like on the Western Front in World War I at the Australian War Memorial’s first virtual reality experience.

In a world first, the Australian War Memorial has created a virtual-reality experience by merging the Memorial’s archival material with the latest in VR technology to deliver a 10-minute synchronised in-theatre experience. Audiences of up to 45 people can wear VR headsets and headphones, where they can view the Battle of Hamel – a key action fought in France on July 4, 1918, on the Western Front.

“On 4 July, 1918, the Australian Corps, led by Gen Sir John Monash, was victorious at the Battle of Hamel,”

says Memorial director Dr Brendan Nelson.

“Leading Australian soldiers alongside Americans for the first time in history, Monash meticulously planned out the battle to last 90 minutes – it took 93.

“This immersive technology gives people today a unique insight into the events at Hamel almost 100 years ago. I encourage everyone with an interest to book your free ticket to the Hamel VR Experience and learn a bit more about what men like Monash did for us.”

Australian War Memorial’s Battle of Hamel virtual reality experience. Until July 22. For tickets, visit awm.gov.au

• Led by university qualified & experienced teachers

• Fun and stimulating activities that provides both enjoyment and learning

• Sessions include music, movement, dance, fine & gross motor activities as well as literacy and numeracy

• Emphasis on development of motor skills, academic and social skills

• Parent classes for children 5 months to 2 years

• Independent Pre-Preschool for 3 year olds

• Preschool PLUS for 4 and over

• Providing children with the academic and social skills required for formal schooling by introducing structure and routines in a play based fun and creative atmosphere

Be transported back to 1918 and the battlefields of Le Hamel, France in this free and historically accurate digital experience at the Australian War Memorial. Using a combination of 3D and 360 degree video, viewed using VR headset and headphones, you will be fully immersed in the Battle of Hamel. Choose your role to experience the battle from the perspective of an airman, infantry or tank crewman, and learn the history of this important battle 100 years on.

This exciting, virtual reality experience is only running from 22 June - 22 July 2018.

BOOK ONLINE NOW!

WINTER SCHOOL HOLIDAYS advertising feature

Holiday school that’s ‘out of the box’

ENCOURAGE your kids to think outside the box while having lots of fun at SWISH Education.

SWISH Education runs imaginative, engaging and fun school holiday workshops aimed at children aged 5-13 years old. Running five days a week, each of its STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) programs are age-appropriate and created by qualified teachers.

“ SWISH Education is structured like school, but a bit more out of the box,” says director Michele Justin.

“As parents ourselves, we want children to feel safe, have fun and learn something they may not learn in everyday school.

“If we can pique a child’s interest in a topic then that’s fantastic.”

Many of the topics explored in the workshops sit outside the regular school curriculum and include forensics, robotics, 3D printing and anthropology.

SWISH Education is also an accredited child care provider, meaning attending families are eligible for the government’s childcare subsidy.

SWISH Campbell, Campbell Primary School, via Vasey Crescent, Campbell and SWISH Weston Creek, Orana Steiner School, Unwin Place, Weston. Visit swisheducation.edu.au or call 0477 158983.

Up close to lots and lots of beautiful 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.

SWISH Education workshops offer children the opportunity to participate in fun programs that capture their imagination and encourage them to extend their thinking process.

Campbell Primary School & Orana Steiner School*

Topics Include

Forensics, Robotics, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Anthropology, Geography, Geology & more

9 July - 20 July | 8 30am-5 30pm

Cost: $107 per workshop | Kinder - Year 6

CCS Approved @ Campbell | *CCS Pending @ Orana Bookings only taken via our website www.swisheducation.edu.au

“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.

Canberra Walk-in Aviary, Federation Square, O’Hanlon Place, Nicholls. Call 6230 2044 or visit canberrawalkinaviary.com.au

The Canberra Walk-In Aviary is a 1000 square metre planted walk-in aviary where the friendly free flying birds can be observed, photographed and fed.

The Walk-in Aviary’s owners developed the aviary as a way to enjoy and share their extensive collection of feathered friends. It is our mission to allow people to interact directly with the birds. Visitors to the aviary walk amongst more than 500 birds representing 50 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.

Our winter TRADING HOURS

(May – August) 10am to 4pm (Last admission 3.30 pm.)

We are open 7 days a week (Weather permitting) except Xmas Day.

Canberra Walk in Aviary

(Entrance to the aviary is behind the Greengold Garden Centre) Unit 13 Federation Square, O’Hanlon Place, NICHOLLS ACT 2913 Ph: 6230 2044 • Email: micklogan@iinet.net.au Web: canberrawalkinaviary.com.au

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Emma’s radio drama remembers Randolph

By Helen Musa

IF there were a competition to find the greatest Australian writer nobody’s never heard about, the winner would probably be Randolph Stow.

Schoolchildren may have read “The Merry-go-round in the Sea” for its depiction of a golden childhood, but the chance that they’ve heard of his symbolic, possibly greatest work, “Tourmaline” are slim.

Now Canberra playwright Emma Gibson (who originally came to Canberra from Albury at age 19 to study at ANU) has adapted the 1963 Australian classic for the stage of The Street Theatre, where it will play as a radio drama in double bill with Howard E. Koch’s original radio script, of HG Wells’ “The War of the Worlds”.

The Street’s artistic director Caroline Stacey says both are “sci-fi-futurist classics” and the venture aims to marry classic verse text with live performance.

“Tourmaline” has nothing to do with the semi-precious gemstone – it’s the name of a remote WA town, forgotten by all but the monthly supply truck. Once a prosperous gold mining settlement, the gold and the water have both long dried up.

Out of the blue, near-dead, comes messianic stranger Michael Random, who claims that he is a diviner who can find gold and

THEATRE

Playwright Emma Gibson… “I had to make a choice between two big themes and I thought to myself what if Randolph Stow was still around?”

water, but the cult he founds goes wrong when he finds one but not the other. All in the novel is reported by a narrator known as “the Law”.

Making a play out of this epic material, playwright, poet and blogger Gibson says has been no picnic, even for a seasoned writer whose plays “Johnny Castellano

years of self-imposed exile” at Manchester Metropolitan University, where she’s just finishing a masters of creative writing and at an artist’s residency in Cadiz.

“I stumbled on the book while spending a month writing poetry in Spain,” she says, explaining how the fearful July weather there combined with the book reminded her of home.

“I read it [“Tourmaline”] twice in that

shimmer and twine, strangely immaterial. This is hard to watch, and the glare of the stony ground is cruel.”

Gibson was riveted. Although Stow intended it to be set in the future, there was much of the past and present, too.

“I kept thinking this is very Australian… in notes to myself I said: ‘Adapt this book’.”

Stow’s ecstatic style appealed to her but Gibson, noting that a WA production some

Best way of playing cat-and-mouse

By Helen Musa

SINCE the July season of Joanna Murray Smith’s psychological thriller “Switzerland” completely sold out, the theatre has put on an additional performance.

It’s an important story in Canberra’s presentday theatre scene. Local company Pigeonhole Theatre scored a spot in the Canberra Theatre Centre’s 2018 subscription season, while at the same time being picked up by HIT Productions for a touring season of the play “Playhouse Creatures”, which played at the Princess Grace Theatre in Monaco last year.

When “CityNews” catches up with director Jordan Best, she’s deep in rehearsals at Ginninderra Labor Club, the Ainslie Arts Centre and, for the final two weeks, in the Canberra Theatre Centre’s Courtyard Studio, giving set-designer Michael Sparks, lighting-designer Cynthia Jolley Rogers and sound designer Matt Webster ample lead time.

There’s no way Best is going to tell us what happens in this cat-and-mouse play. Very fitting, since the central character is that “queen of the thriller” and mistress of the unexpected twist, Patricia Highsmith.

“It’s super hard to talk about it because it’s a thriller,” Best says. “It’s towards the end of Patricia Highsmith’s life, but I don’t want to give anything away.” She portrays Highsmith as “an incredibly intriguing woman… opinions of her vary wildly, some people say she was loyal and kind but others describe her as hideous, vicious and bigoted – she is very hard to pin down.” Highsmith’s books, Best says, “are more than

Karen Vickery as “queen of the thriller” Patricia Highsmith and Lachlan Ruffy as Edward Ridgeway.

who is an incredible woman with an incredible story herself – I cast her well,” Best says disarmingly.

Here’s what we do know. Vickery plays Highsmith, who is visited in her Swiss home by an apparently naive junior staffer, sent to try and convince her to write another Ripley novel.

The young man, Edward Ridgeway, is played by recent WAAPA graduate and former Canberran Lachlan Ruffy. As Ridgeway slowly insinuates him-

years ago had done it as an epic, decided “there were two ways – either the epic or to hone in on character and plot… I had to break the back of it”.

“I analysed the novel and asked myself, does the Law influence the plot?” she says.

“I removed all narration, it’s a literary device that doesn’t transfer to the stage, I decided to kill off the Law.”

Gibson noted that Stow had worked in Aboriginal communities, seen in his book “To the Islands”, so made Deborah, the 18-year-old part-Aboriginal wife of the local publican, her main focus.

“It was good to have a black woman as the central character rather than a white man,” she says.

Stow’s estate (he died in 2010) has accepted her adaptation.

“I was nervous about taking a different approach… I had to make a choice between two big themes and I thought to myself what if Randolph Stow was still around?” she says. She prefers not to be involved in co-production and is happy to leave that side to director Adam Broinowski. “There’s a point where the script is set, you have to trust the director,” she says.

“Tourmaline Out Loud” with “The War of the Worlds”, The Street Theatre, July 7-8. Free conversation event between Caroline Stacey and Emma Gibson, 3pm, Sunday, July 8. Bookings to 6247 1223 or thestreet.org.au

twists and turns and struggling for who is on top… well, it’s Patricia Highsmith so it’s based on psychology – you won’t see what’s coming.

“We are having a very good time in rehearsal –a thriller is fun.”

“Switzerland”, The Courtyard Studio, July 3-14, extra performance, Monday, July 9. Bookings to canberratheatrecentre.com.au or 6275 2700.

When Edie takes the high road

By Dougal Macdonald

“Edie” (M)

FOLLOWING three decades of caring for a vegetable husband and three years after his death, Edie decides to spend her remaining years doing her own thing.

The bulk of Scottish writer/director Simon Hunter’s film takes place in the land of my forebears where the impact and range of its exteriors combine beauty with savage obstacles to display an environment that delivers profound visual quality.

Hunter’s screenplay well understands what drives Edie to fill a backpack with ancient camping gear stored in the attic of her London home and take the Caledonian sleeper train to Inverness and the coach to Lochinvar village from where she intends to walk up Mount Suilven, which she has only ever seen from a postcard sent decades earlier.

Getting to Suilven’s base is a powerful challenge before beginning the long, rough, exposed walk to add a stone to the cairn that previous walkers have built on its summit.

Edie unintentionally finds local help in the form of camping-shop owner Jonny (Kevin Guthrie) who, at first reluctantly, puts Edie through a preparatory fitness regime before setting her alone, at her own insistence, on the track to the summit.

This is not an adventure for a city-bred octogenarian woman. Sheila Hancock has been one of my heroines since I picked up a copy of “The Two of Us”, her book telling the story of her 29-year marriage to actor John Thaw until his death in 2002. She is a force to be reckoned with when confronting the camera, dignified, subtle, brave and compellingly attractive in an unconventional sense. I cannot imagine any other 84-year-old woman playing Edie and doing her own stunts.

See the film, read the book. Both deliver rewards.

At Palace Electric and Dendy

“Ideal Home” (MA)

STEVE Coogan can be blisteringly comical; pathetic, raunchy, even adventurous (information about his off-screen life suggests that he’s comfortably straight).

In “Ideal Home”, he plays Erasmus, a screaming queen with an ego bigger than Texas, a celebrity TV chef on a local San Diego channel directed by his equally gay but more subdued off-set partner Paul (Paul Rudd). Their shared home is furnished and decorated in bad taste mostly showcasing Erasmus’ ego.

The filmography of director Andrew Fleming shows mostly TV series. Writer Andrew Fleming has a shorter one, mixing TV with real movies. With “Ideal Home” he spends enough time letting the viewer work out Erasmus and Paul’s relationship before introducing the film’s real challenge.

Several decades earlier, Erasmus tried sex with a woman, an experience he would rather forget, just as he would like to forget Beau (Jake McDorman) who arrived about 40 weeks later. And now, after a bitchy day on set, a freckle-faced ginger-haired little boy knocks on Paul and Erasmus’ door. Played winningly by Jack Gore, the moppet is quick to call Erasmus grandpa. He’s arrived because the cops have pulled Beau in for various misdemeanours. In time, he says he wants them to call him Bill. And when asked what he wants the celebrity chef to cook for him, he says he wants Taco Bell. Nothing else!

Among its themes, the film’s a 90-minute promotion of the Mexican-flavoured fast-food chain. It satirises TV cooking series. It lampoons gay life gently,

unabashedly, unreservedly and non-judgmentally. It’s a homage to family values despite obstacles. Others laughed. Did I? Not a lot, but I did crack the occasional smile and found the whole dish not unpleasant.

At Palace Electric, Capitol 6 and Dendy

“Brothers’ Nest” (MA)

DARK dramas set in isolated outdoors locations and leading to many dead bodies have a strong track record among Australian films. While none of them is pleasant, many are good examples of low-budget cinema, with plots involving a farmhouse from which innocent protagonists, predominantly young adults, are unable either to escape or to turn the tables on psychopath captors.

Generally, those films are bigger on violence than on humour.

But occasionally an exception comes along that invites laughter or at least a snicker or a smile. Like the one in which Shane and Clayton Jacobson appear as brothers planning murder to prevent the sale of the family farm to an outsider.

Whatever its genre, no narrative film can be better than the writer permits. Jaime Browne is the party in question and what he has delivered for Clayton Jacobson to direct offers mawkish but credible humour to round out some quite vile behaviour.

Younger brother Terry (Shane) is a rather sweet doofus. Where he differs from older brother Jeff (Clayton) is his better-developed moral sense and cautious approach. Jeff is the mastermind, blusterous, thinking ahead, coming up with solutions to a growing list of problems in their plan to prepare the house to make the death look natural without leaving clues. The humour arises out of neither brother being the sharpest pencil in anybody’s box.

The remaining characters are Kim Gyngell as the brothers’ father and first victim, Lynette Curran as their mother and second victim and Sarah Snook as Sandy arriving with the float to collect a horse.

Only one quibble, which I believe the writer intended. Who called the police shortly before Sandy’s arrival? Was one of the three corpses not totally dead? Getting to that closing stage is less arduous than you might have expected.

At Dendy

DINING

No knocking The Knox

WE were at the Gallery of Small Things for an exhibition and felt peckish. The Watson shops were a hop, skip and a jump away so we headed for lunch, to explore The Knox, which has been dishing up good grub for the local community (and beyond) for around three years.

The place has a “made-inWatson” feel and a strong, friendly neighbourhood vibe. The décor was kind-of Melbourne grunge, which was fun.

The Knox serves breakfast, brunch and lunch on weekends.

The black rice corn fritters ($19) were delightful. They arrived with two perfectly poached local eggs, an amazing salsa (not as spicy as I thought it would be given the menu promised jalapeno) and a gorgeous sweet and spicy aioli. It was loaded with goodness and hit the spot. My second choice would have been the Buddha Bowl, featuring teriyaki-glazed chicken, pickled cabbage and other gorgeous ingredients ($19).

One of our party was in for a bit of fish and so ordered south coast flathead ($22). The batter was light and crispy, the potatoes crunchy, the fried capers salty and the iceberg and herb salad a winner.

The iceberg – cool and crunchy – was sliced thinly and the salad fashioned after a yummy coleslaw.

The veggie burger ($19) wasn’t our fave dish. Perhaps it was potato overload… a sweet potato patty plus chips on the side. The brioche bun added even more sweetness, although the beetroot tzatziki, smashed avo and pickled beetroot cut through somewhat.

The desserts are on show as you walk in. They made us drool and are all homemade, we’re told. They looked divine, weren’t expensive

We salute The Knox for sourcing as many ingredients and supplies from the region as possible.

and the ones we indulged in were delish. The rose and white chocolate tart ($5.50) was big enough for us to share. The small Portuguese tart had perfect pastry and the lemon curd tart with torched Italian meringue ($5.50) had major pucker power.

The Knox has a small wine list but a good one; three decent whites and three reds (including local options). Wine starts at $9 a glass and tops off at $44 a bottle for the reds.

Beyond alcohol, The Knox has put serious consideration in to other drinks, including its health juices. Smoothies and shakes are $7.50. We salute The Knox for sourcing as many ingredients and supplies from the region as possible. It’s service with a smile at The Knox. It took a while to get served, but the staff were working it with the place entirely packed when we arrived.

Towards the back of the eatery is a great play area for the kids. The big outdoor area is protected with plastic barriers and has heaters for winter.

The Knox, Shop 1, Watson shops. Open seven days, 7am-5pm. Call 6255 4615.

Devon brings metafiction to life

By Danielle NOHRA

SLEEP deprivation from a newborn and a postgraduate degree on metafiction was the perfect mix for the publication of Devon Sillett’s first children’s book, “The Leaky Story”.

But it was a long time before Devon, of Gungahlin, thought she could be a writer.

“I wanted to be a writer when I was younger. English was my baby, I love reading and writing,” she says.

But back in secondary school, when her true passion was poetry, Devon was discouraged by a teacher and ended up believing she wasn’t going to write.

Now, three book contracts later, a graduate degree in education and nearly a PhD in creative writing under master poet Jen Webb – and Devon can confidently say she did it.

Devon, who was originally from Minnesota, in the US, before moving to Sydney at the age of eight and then Canberra in 2005, says her first book, “The Leaky Story”, came out of her research at the University of Canberra on metafiction, which means fiction that acknowledges it’s a story.

“I never really understood the connection between academia and creativity,”

gender issues arise and decided she wanted to address it in her work.

“It’s been a really interesting experience seeing how a three-year-old boy experiences gender,” she says.

In her second children’s book, the “Scaredy Book”, Devon says she tries to touch on the issue of gender but it’s ultimately a fun story.

“I’m not looking to write didactic fiction,” she says.

But the character “Book” is portrayed as gender neutral, in a world where it lives in a library and desperately wants to go outside but is scared by what’s there.

“Book” eventually learns to take risks after a girl, Emma, who likes to go on adventures in books, hires him out.

“I wrote the book how it came to me, there’s definitely things, ideally, I’d change, but that’s how the story came to me,” she says.

Uhlmann’s lecture

TV journalist Chris Uhlmann, pictured, will present the 19th Manning Clark Lecture at the RN Robertson Lecture Theatre, Building 46, ANU, at 7pm on July 12. His lecture, titled “Secret City: Fact, Fiction and Australian Politics”, will look at the incredible last decade of Australian politics from Rudd to Turnbull. Bookings to trybooking.com/WHDC

Kids’ bush dance

THE finer points of the Brown Snake, Caterpillar and the Bunny Hop await the junior participants at the Monaro Folk Society’s Kids’ Bush Dance at All Saints Hall, 9-15 Cowper Street, Ainslie, 2.30pm-4pm on Saturday, July 14. An experienced caller will teach kids (and parents) the dances with music from the Tin Mugs bush dance group. Admission is by gold coin.

Tutors needed

Author Devon Sillett… “I wanted to be a writer when I was younger. English was my baby, I love reading and writing.”

she says. “But now I totally get it.”

She was reading papers on metafiction when she was inspired to write the book.

“I buy so many books and don’t read them and see them as abandoned,” she says.

Which is what “The Leaky Story” is, a book that sits on the living room shelf while its family watch TV and play video games until the book starts to leak and the

ARTS IN THE CITY

Photo by Danielle Nohra

family is forced to go on an adventure to get the characters back inside.

Devon was also inspired to write the book through late nights created by her then first son, who would wake up 20 times a night for a year. She signed the book when he, who is now five, was six-months-old.

She now has a second son, two, but it was after her first when she noticed

Hunk-a-hunk of Balkan love

CANBERRA legend Mikelangelo has a new show, partly a rock ‘n’ roll musical, that follows the exploits of Johnny Presley, “The Balkan Elvis”, as he searches for love, fame and fortune behind the Iron Curtain. Also featuring local musos Ben Marston, Dave Abkiewicz, Tom Manley and Mark Levers, it’s billed as “uproarious, uplifting and dead sexy”. At The Playhouse, 8pm, July 5. Bookings to canberratheatrecentre. com.au or 6275 2700.

THE Shiny Bum Singers, soon to turn 20, are performing the mock opera “Seize the Day”, full of system crashes and ministerial interference, to benefit MyHome in Canberra. At Holy Trinity Primary School’s hall, 18 Theodore Street, Curtin, 2pm, Sunday, July 1. Bookings to eventbrite.com.au

ART Song Canberra’s next concert, “Love’s Joy, Love’s Sadness”, will be performed by baritone David Greco with John Martin at the piano, at the Wesley Music Centre, 3pm, Sunday, July 1. Tickets at the door, bookings not needed.

Mikelangelo as a Balkan Elvis… at The Playhouse, July 5.

“I wanted to write a fun book that doesn’t limit the way different genders behave. Something that children will enjoy and think about.

“Book is guided by a strong female character and I just love their relationship.

“Everyone needs a Book and an Emma in their life.”

Devon says her next few books will move away from metafiction briefly but then she plans on stepping back into the metafictional world.

More on Devon and her books at devonsillett.com

KIM Carpenter’s Theatre of Image is reprising its 2010 production of “Little Beauty”, a show for children and families originally commissioned by the National Portrait Gallery. Performed by Adriano Cappelletta and Holly Austin, it is at the gallery from July 3-22. Free, but all welcome.

MEZZO-soprano AJ America joins pianist Ella Luhtasaari in “4 Poems and Prayers,” comprising “Hebrew Melodies,” Korngold’s “Shakespeare’s Songs” and poems by Leunig. At the ANU Drill Hall Gallery,

world music duo Bart Stenhouse and Surojato Roy in an intimate house concert in which they present a fusion of flamenco, jazz and Indian classical music. At 164 Namatjira Drive, Chapman, 3pm, Sunday, July 1. Bookings essential to trybooking.com

VOLUNTEER tutors in law, maths, accounting, business, physics, chemistry and biology are wanted to help students from non-English speaking backgrounds to improve their academic record. The Program for After School Studies (PASS), funded by the ACT government, runs from the Migrant and Refugee Settlement Services offices in the Theo Notaras Multicultural Centre in Civic on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays between 3.30pm and 6.30pm for students aged 12 to 25 attending high school, college, CIT/TAFE or university. More information from PASS coordinator Josh at pass@marss.org.au or 6248 8577.

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Plant now for spring beauties

AS garden sizes in new housing developments seem to get smaller, there’s an increasing demand for smaller evergreen shrubs suitable for these sorts of blocks.

In new suburbs, such as Casey, the average block size is now 440 square metres. And in the latest suburb of Lawson, some blocks are just 270 square metres – a far cry from the standard old “quarter-acre” blocks of about 880 square metres. After a home is built, it seems there’s just enough space for two terracotta pots either side of the front door to grow parsley!

This week, starting with the Viburnum family, I am looking at plants for gardens where there is still space to grow some of the delightful deciduous shrubs that grandma used to grow.

There are about 210 varieties of Viburnums, both evergreen and deciduous. The more interesting are the deciduous varieties, most of which have white flowers that

fruit and wonderful leaf colour in autumn.

First up is Viburnum carlesii, originating from Korea and one of the most popular varieties. The buds start off pink before changing to pure white with a sweet daphnelike fragrance by early spring.

The most attractive spring show is V. plicatum mariesii, when the flattened lacecap flowers, almost like hydrangeas, cover the bush. From a distance it looks as if it is covered in snow.

V. opulus “Roseum”, as the name suggests, has pink-tinged flowers. This is often referred to as the Snowball Bush because of the distinctive balls of white flowers that look like snowballs.

However V. plicatum tomentosum and V. macrocephalum are also referred to as the Snowball Bush. Irrespective of the confusion, they are all wonderful in early to mid-spring.

When viewed in garden centres

buds, as are most spring-flowering, deciduous shrubs. So whether it’s new plants or they’re already in the garden, there is definitely no pruning at this time (the exception being to take out any obvious dead branches or crossing-over branches that are rubbing against each other).

Now is definitely the ideal time to plant to enjoy their spring beauty. Remember to keep all chemical fertilisers well away from the roots as they can seriously cause damage.

After planting, water in with a seaweed solution, which will specifically encourage new, strong roots.

A READER asked about limes, wondering if it was okay to let them turn yellow on the tree. I discussed this with Engall’s Nursery of Dural, specialist growers of grafted citrus since 1946 of whom I have dealt with for more than 30 years, who advised it was best not to allow the fruit to turn yellow and pick them green for the right juice.

local gardening advice that Lilli Pilli would make an ideal hedge in Canberra. However, I recommend it best not to plant Lilli Pilli as the first good frost will wipe them out. On the other hand, they’re great for the coast.

Jottings...

• Sand back wooden tool handles and rub them with linseed oil.

• Plant strawberry runners now, make sure they are “Certified Virus Free” stock.

• Check the labels for size of Viburnum.

• We’ve passed the shortest day of the year (June 21) and it’s all downhill now to spring. What happened to winter?

PUZZLES PAGE

Joanne Madeline Moore

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

You’re keen to call the shots this week but hasty words and impulsive behaviour will only lead to dramas and confrontation (especially on Thursday). Jumping to conclusions is definitely not recommended! So slow down and listen carefully to what other people are saying. A cherished goal or dream has also been delayed, as Mars reverses through your hopes and wishes zone for the next few weeks. Be extra patient! Good things will eventually come to smart Rams who wait.

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 21)

It’s a wonderful week to dream up some fabulous new goals and aspirations for the future. But relationships will be challenging, especially on Thursday. Expect loved ones to be defensive and colleagues, clients or customers to be more demanding than usual. With Venus visiting your domestic zone, strive to be at your diplomatic best with family members. As birthday great The Dalai Lama wisely observes: “A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation of your life.”

GEMINI (May 22 – June 21)

The planetary patterns highlight workplace creativity and helping out within your local community, as you assist someone in need. If you pace yourself and prioritise, then you’ll get things done without feeling frazzled. It’s also a good week to socialise with family, friends and colleagues, as you participate in some lively and stimulating conversations. But avoid getting drawn into a fiery argument (in person or online) where you end up saying hurtful things that you later regret.

CANCER (June 22 – July 23)

Expect some stress involving intimacy or money, as the stars stir up your lust and loot zones. So be patient with your partner, or be careful you don’t get carried away with impulse buys. And think things through before lending money to others, because you won’t get it back in a hurry! When it comes to a personal project, Jupiter and Neptune boost confidence levels and creative inspiration. So make sure you do something special that makes your spirit fly and your heart sing.

LEO (July 24 – Aug 23)

Prepare to sparkle and shine, as the Sun (your power planet) links up with buoyant Jupiter and glamorous Neptune. Confidence, creativity and compassion are also boosted. So make the most of it and do something special, as you tackle a creative project or help someone in need. If you find yourself being drawn into a conflict on Thursday, then use your considerable charm to slide out of the situation with plenty of Leo style and aplomb. Expect some magical dreams on Sunday night.

VIRGO (Aug 24 – Sept 23)

This week retrograde Mars messes with your sensitive nervous system, so do all you can to wind down, worry less and relax more. (Your ‘to-do list’ can wait.) So your mantra for the moment is: “I want to be alone” (famously declared by Virgo movie star Greta Garbo) as you withdraw from the busyness around you, tap into your intuition, and receive wise guidance and inspiration from within. Plus pay attention to the messages and rich symbolism in your nightly dreams.

LIBRA (Sept 24 – Oct 23)

You’re basking in the spotlight this week as you receive public recognition for work well done. The stars also encourage you to join a group or club that will help develop a creative talent – whether it’s art, writing, dance, photography or music. Don’t expect relationships to run like clockwork though, as there will be some sort of drama with a child, teenager, parent or close friend. If you respond deftly (and diplomatically) then things will soon be back on an even keel.

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 22)

This week you could let down your guard and tell someone exactly what you think of them. But be warned – family members and colleagues are primed to fight back and you’ll find you’ve bitten off more than you can comfortably chew! Positivity planet Jupiter encourages you to release any grudges and let bygones be bygones. So your mantra for the week is from birthday great The Dalai Lama: “Forgive others … be kind, honest and have positive thoughts.”

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 – Dec 21)

You’re keen to express your ideas and enjoy plenty of stimulating conversations with a range of interesting people, as Jupiter revs up your curious and social side. But be careful you don’t write (or say) the wrong thing to the wrong person at the wrong time! Make sure you use your considerable communication skills to motivate and inspire others in positive ways. So your motto for the week is from Sagittarian writer George Eliot: “Blessed is the influence of one true loving soul on another.”

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 20)

Power struggles and fiery disagreements are likely this week, unless you can keep your Capricorn need to be in control under control. So swallow your pride and strive to sort out a problem that’s developed between you and a loved one. Plus let other people make their own decisions and their own mistakes. Especially involving financial matters. On Sunday, the Sun and Neptune help you relate to someone in your local community in an extra kind and compassionate way.

AQUARIUS (Jan 21 – Feb 19)

With Mars reversing through your sign, don’t worry if you temporarily lose momentum and question your goals for the future. The dreams you dream now will manifest in September or October (especially if they involve work). So you just need to be patient and have faith in the process. Attached Aquarius – it’s time to work on improving communication with your partner. Are you single and searching for love? Be on the lookout for someone who is sexy, smart and sociable.

PISCES (Feb 20 – Mar 20)

This week the Sun and Jupiter bless ventures involving travel, law, friends, sport, education, publishing, international business, imports and exports. You’re bursting with ideas and are keen to help, but don’t disappoint others by being disorganised and promising more than you can deliver. Sunday’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.

Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2018

1 What are bodies of honeybees that emigrate from hives and fly off together? (6)

8 Name a fabric consisting of a warp upon which coloured threads are woven. (8)

9 What do we call one who robs, or commits illegal violence at sea? (6)

10 Which other term describes flapjacks? (8)

11 Name a popular US film actor, Meryl ... (6)

12 By which name do poets refer to Ireland? (4)

13 What was the nationality of Sir Harry Secombe? (5)

16 What are writing tables called? (5)

19 Name the Biblical first man. (4)

21 Name those wading birds, allied to the herons and storks (6)

22 Which message is being replaced by the email, etc? (8)

23 Small oval drupes are more readily known as what? (6)

24 What are pulpits also called? (8)

25 To evaluate, is to do what? (6)

Down

2 Name a type of fipple flute (7)

3 Which university teachers rank next below professors? (7)

4 What is an extensive Russian plain, especially one without trees? (6)

5 To go down, is to do what? (7)

6 Who are employed to tend furnaces used in generating steam? (7)

7 What do we call the natives of Romany? (7)

13 Name an Australian cricketer, noted as a batsman, Doug ... (7)

14 To be anarchic or unruly, is to be what? (7)

15 In which buildings are aeroplanes housed? (7)

17 Which alternative term describes panaceas or cure-alls? (7)

18 Name those people who look after zoo animals. (7)

20 What is the wattle tree also known as? (6)

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