CityNews 180823

Labor strikes at the community’s ‘heart’

JON STANHOPE

Out-of-step Zed does us down

MICHAEL MOORE

Hitting the road to save bus seven, again!

PAUL COSTIGAN

Helping lawns back to good health

CEDRIC BRYANT

Dancing from within

Built in 1968, Alexander & Albemarle are undergoing a rebirth. Repurposing much of the existing structure, the office towers are set to be transformed into residential apartments like no other — A&A.

With a European industrial warehouse aesthetic, A&A will offer a 3.4 metre ceiling height of raw concrete with exposed soffits, premium finishes of wool carpets, timber floors and double glazed windows. The ground floor will be activated by a brewery, gym, restaurants, cafés and other retail spaces making A&A a truly unique place to live.

Group pushes for new birth centre

By Kathryn VUKOVLJAK

MIDWIVES, women and academics are calling for a freestanding, publicly funded family birth centre to be built in the ACT, which they say could be the solution to overcrowding at local maternity hospitals.

Bek Bowman, council chair of the Australian College of Midwives (ACM), says local maternity units are bursting at the seams.

“The Canberra population is growing and more babies are being born each year. Expansion is needed so it would be good to provide another viable option to women instead of just having an extension of what’s there now,” she says.

“This is about women. And about giving women better choice and access to a public health facility in Canberra.”

The ACM coalition for the freestanding birth centre says that every month more than 50 women are turned away from birth centres at Calvary and the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children (CHWC).

Mum-to-be Melissa (who declined

to be identified) is expecting her first child in September. She says she was unable to get a place in the CHWC birth centre.

“The process described on the website had changed and I needed a GP referral. When I followed up they hadn’t seen the referral,” she says.

“I was told there was a waiting list but that there wasn’t a place available at the moment.

“I’m still hoping for a low-intervention birth and I have a doula, but I do feel disappointed, largely

because I know what’s available but unfortunately not everyone has access to that.”

The group, Family Birth Centre for the ACT, says women love continuity of care, and that statistics show that women with low-risk pregnancies and who give birth in these types of facilities have less interventions and improved healthcare outcomes.

Ali Teate, assistant professor in midwifery at UC and ACT branch chair of ACM, says this would be

Traders find success in Mitchell

By Danielle Nohra

LEADERSHIP and community spirit saw Mitchell traders band together and fight for a light rail stop, and now it sees them launch a “Find It In Mitchell” website, the first of its kind in Canberra.

Members of the Mitchell Traders Association, which was formed earlier this year after feeling “neglected” by the ACT government, came together to celebrate the launch of the website.

Secretary of the Mitchell Traders Association, Julian Kusa, thanked Minister Meegan Fitzharris for hearing their original pleas for further facilities and infrastructure.

“Earlier this year [Ms Fitzharris] gave the Mitchell Traders Association a grant,” Julian says.

“This grant has enabled us to create the ‘Find It In Mitchell’ page.”

The site, he says, creates a positive digital presence for more than 400 Mitchell businesses.

“It’s the first of its kind,” he says. “Particularly in an

industrial precinct.”

He also thanked Giraffe, a multi-disciplined design studio based in Mitchell, for getting the website up and running.

Ms Fitzharris highlighted the leadership and community spirit that Julian had shown.

“What you have showcased to me and the community is incredible,” she says.

Even though Mitchell is her backyard, Ms Fitzharris says

the third birth centre in the ACT, providing a homely environment for low-risk births with one-on-one, midwifery-led continuity of care and collaboration with obstetricians.

A freestanding, independent unit would mean women choosing lowintervention care wouldn’t have to walk into a hospital, she says.

“It would provide midwifery-led care, with really good, clear collaboration and networking with obstetric teams, which would be wonderful for both professions because it would be wonderful for women,” Bek says.

“It would need incredibly clear transfer processes to a tertiary hospital if needed, therefore be located within a distance that you could be in theatre if you needed to be by the time they were setting up.”

A petition calling for the family birth centre has already received more than 2000 signatures.

“We’re driven by women,” says Bek.

“It’s a woman’s right to birth wherever she wants, however she wants and the strength that gives her to be a mother is the solid foundation of our whole community.”

Sign the petition at change.org/p/ vicki-dunne-the-desperate-need-fora-family-birth-centre-in-the-act

Books and beanies fair

THE Calvary Hospital Auxiliary is holding a Books and Beanies Fair, 8am-4pm, on Thursday, August 30 and Friday, August 31. Book prices won’t exceed $2 (beanies are $5). On offer will be a large selection of fiction paperbacks, children’s books, cook books, biographies and more. The fair’s at the Xavier Building foyer, adjacent to Zouki Cafe, Calvary Public Hospital, corner of Haydon Drive and Belconnen Way, Bruce. All proceeds go to equipment and patient services.

A word about wattles

PAT and Warwick Wright will talk about “Celebrating our Wattle” at the next monthly lunch meeting of the ladies of the Weston Creek VIEW Club at the Canberra Southern Cross Club, Woden, 11.30am, Tuesday, September 4. The club welcomes visitors and any new members. Lunch costs $28 and bookings to 6288 7625 by 5pm, August 30.

Primary school celebrates

TORRENS Primary School is celebrating its 50th anniversary with an open day, 11am-2pm, on Sunday, September 9. Attractions will include a sausage sizzle and cake stall, coffee van, past photo display, students’ 50th birthday themed artwork display and performances by school groups. There will also be tours of classrooms, courtyards and halls to see how the school has changed over time!

Retirement roles

THE Workforce Impact Collective, funded by the ACT government and supported by National Disability Services, is looking for people over 55 to participate in a short interview about their future work and retirement plans. The project is to determine the potential for attracting mature-aged people looking for flexibility and meaning in their retirement into roles available in Disability Support. People of all backgrounds are welcome. Interviews will be held during August by phone or in person. Call 0419 306203.

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she has learnt a lot about it and sees the website as a platform for the stories of Canberra.

“It’s a real delight,” she says.

Seeing Fyshwick bloom and expand, Ms Fitzharris says she sees the same future for Mitchell.

“The future is really bright for Mitchell and businesses here,” she says.

finditinmitchell.com.au

The welcome mat’s out for any unloved bikies

THE Barr government will no doubt closely follow a debate over a call to toughen anti-bikie laws in Tasmania.

With a reported 260 fully patched bikies now making their home in the state, the Hodgman government is under increasing pressure from police to pass legislation similar to NSW and Queensland. If the legislation passes, potentially more bikies will cross into the ACT seeking a softer environment in which to conduct their business.

AMID the noise of the NRL coaching merry-go-round, including a rumour that Trent Barrett was Bruce bound, Ricky Stuart has been taken to task on his coaching record. Former Eels hooker Mark “Piggy” Riddell described the Green Machine’s lack of finals action under Stuart as “the issue no-one wants to talk about”

mostly due to Stuart’s “mates in the media”. Riddell, now a radio commentator, argued “the Canberra Raiders’ coaching should be coming under question, but it doesn’t because no one wants to talk about it. It’s the elephant in the room”.

STILL on the Green Machine and the 1989 Raiders-Balmain grand final has been confirmed as the GOAT (greatest of all time). The game, won by the Raiders 19-14 was recognised as the best at a Men of League “classic deciders” luncheon. Canberra fans will never forget the team’s maiden pennant when the game was forced into overtime with both teams tied at 14 all

after 80 minutes. Nor will they forget a very young and very green Greg Robson opening Ten Capital’s news bulletin on that momentous day.

LARGE mobs of kangaroos grazing on the lawns of Canberra homes and sporting ovals is not uncommon. But a video of more than 20 of the marsupials rampaging through a suburban street has taken the world by storm. The footage was shot by Canberra photographer Matt Bailey from his Deakin office window and within 24 hours of posting on it Facebook it had clocked up over 1.6 million views.

STILL on the big dry and “The Australian’s” “Strewth” column recalled a time – in 1994 – when then Nationals’ leader Tim Fischer called for the Captain Cook jet in Lake Burley Griffin to be turned off. Apparently Tim was concerned about nearby farmers, saying: “It is offensive to those who see it in the distance when they haven’t seen a decent rainfall for two or three years”.

Now, where did I leave the car? dose of

FISCHER was prone to making outrageous statements in order to get a headline or attention paid to an issue. I experienced this gift for self promotion in Mildura in the late ‘80s. A deadly crocodile attack in Darwin motivated the shrewd politician to issue a press release reassuring tourists “no such attack would ever occur in the mighty Murray River” which bordered his vast electorate of Farrer.

THE ACT Federal Labor pre-selection brawl and Canberra’s power couple index are both in for a shake-up following member for Canberra Gai Brodtmann’s shock decision to quit politics. Ms Brodtmann, who is married to Nine Network political editor Chris Uhlmann, will not contest the new southern seat of Bean despite announcing in July that she would. The 54-year-old former diplomat says she is leaving public life to spend more time with her family, in particular her 79-year-old mother.

MANY people have momentarily forgotten where they parked the car at the shopping mall. But you wouldn’t expect a misplaced vehicle to be minus all four wheels and number plates when you finally locate it. While details are unknown, that is apparently the situation at Canberra Outlet Centre in Fyshwick, where this Commodore was found high and dry in the car park.

CANBERRA’S hip hop dancing scene is healthy and heading for big things. At the World Hip Hop Championships in Phoenix, Arizona, Canberra’s Project Beats Dance Studio’s Project One crew finished inside the world top 30.

Project Beats director Chippy Lo said the dancers gained valuable experience from the trip and are now motivated to extend their success in Australia.

With all villas now complete and only a limited number remaining for sale don’t miss your chance to discover over 55’s living at its

complimentary

CANBERRA MATTERS / bus timetables

the road to save bus seven,

CANBERRA is an age-friendly city. It says so on some number plates. But is it?

The ACT government has announced changes to the bus timetables under the guise of making the buses more efficient. The ministerial media statements tell us that the changes will introduce rapid buses to allow more people to get to and from work faster. It will be good if more people access public transport – so we wait to see what happens in 2019.

Looking at the new routes it is obvious who will be disadvantaged the most. And gauging by the protests, older people living in suburbs within Gungahlin, Narrabundah and in Braddon have definitely drawn the short straw.

The Braddon predicament is a case study. The present bus number seven weaves its way through Braddon and allows transport access to aged people living in units and other special residential complexes.

Gauging by the protests, older people living in suburbs within Gungahlin, Narrabundah and in Braddon have definitely drawn the short straw.

They use it to travel in both directions, to Civic and right through to Belconnen to a range of specialist facilities, including doctors and places for exercise and therapy.

The new proposed bus will avoid the Braddon suburban streets and instead will head along Limestone to Dickson – thus delivering a faster route. At Dickson the passengers will need to change at the new interchange – they could even change to the tram (to go where?).

So these older people who had moved into Braddon over decades with access to a bus almost to their doors, will need to walk up to 800 metres or more to a bus stop. Note the extra walking distance and we are talking about older people. But the bus will be faster – because they have eliminated those pesky Braddon bus stops. Similar stories have surfaced in suburban areas across Canberra. This is apparently not the first time governments have tried to disrupt

bus number seven despite it being a very valuable service. I suspect that the transport bureaucrats gathered their raw data and fed it through their special transport algorithm that spat out the more efficient bus routes. If all you are looking for is faster bus routes – wonderful!

The problem is that we are humans. Such algorithms do not allow for the social needs of sections of the population – in this case the evergrowing aged sector who have been encouraged to downsize into units and apartments along bus routes – such as route number seven.

One ministerial defence has been that there were pop-up booths and notices. Sadly, someone forgot to use the electronic boards on the buses. Not many saw these efforts and now also realise that the notices were simply about telling them of decisions made. Then there is the government’s use of its infamous surveys to justify such decisions.

Too many times this government has rolled out questionable survey results that do not match the reality of people’s needs. In this case, apparently respondents queued up to say

that they would walk further for rapid public transport. One wonders. Studies show that people are willing to walk up to 400m for a bus – maybe a little more. If the distance is over 400 metres the chances reduce for them choosing bus travel. The confusion is that internationally people indicate that they would walk up to one kilometre for rapid transit – but that is about catching trains for longer distances. Any use of a figure above 400 metres in relation to any bus travel remains very suspect. It has come as a surprise to inner-north bus commuters that the

presence of the tram up and down Northbourne has meant a cut to services through their suburbs and beyond. The reality is that for most, especially aged residents of Braddon, it is too far from their front door to be even a consideration.

The government has mishandled social housing and is about to sideline aged people for efficiencies. So much for this government being age-friendly.

Paul Costigan is an independent commentator and consultant on the visual arts, photography, urban design, environmental issues and everyday matters.

Makeover motivation from messy spaces

By Danielle NOHRA

WHEN Candice Addicoat helped a teenager pay for her food at an overcrowded food court in 2012, she had no idea it would be the first step to helping low-income earners design spaces they love.

The teen, who was in crisis accommodation, sat next to Candice while eating her food and told her about the stains on the carpet, varying smells and loose nails.

“The bedsitter she was put in was in really bad condition,” says Candice, 45, of Griffith.

“She came from an unsafe home, she already had depression and even though she was safe from the home, the space didn’t help with her depression.”

So Candice, who is a qualified interior designer, went there a few times a week and together they transformed the area.

“We turned the space around but it also turned her around as well,” she says.

“At the end of the makeover she had become really chatty and animated.”

Candice has since done a handful of similar projects on her own but felt

she wasn’t getting enough done.

“I was concerned with some of our community spaces and services becoming tired without the funding to fix them up,” she says.

With the help of a group of longterm unemployed volunteers, Candice recently gave Charnwood’s community centre an uplift.

“I took groups of long-term unemployed people to a tired community space and taught them design and decorating skills,” she says.

“I’ve stepped back from that for now because I’m putting into place a number of supervisors and designers to get out to projects.”

But even with big plans for the future, Candice still makes time to do “mini projects” such as her current one, which is transforming a unit in Oaks Estate.

It was organised by St Vincent de Paul, who is caring for people in the space and wanted to engage the residents with the project.

“They wanted to do something with the residents that meant improving their space and improving their skills,” she says.

Keen to get on to an estate where she can teach residents design skills on site Candice is excited about the project, which she believes will take just over a month to finish.

“I want to prove it’s affordable and achievable and I want to take this

space with its poos and needles and turn it into a villa,” she says.

Candice says the flat, which is from the ‘70s, was in a really bad condition with needles and faeces everywhere. She’s already ripped out the carpet in preparation for its new Tuscan villa-inspired design but at the moment is working on getting rid of the smell.

Everything she uses is affordable

such as her handmade tiles, which she plans to use for an artwork.

Each tile costs her about four cents to make and is made out of a broken necklace, a tablecloth, sticky tape and glue.

She also uses low-cost, recyclable items such as paper and cardboard to make things such as faux brick walls.

As for the rest of the stuff, she’s lucky to also be sponsored by The

Green Shed, so she’s got plenty of choice between them and Vinnies.

And, The Green Shed has even provided her with a space in Mitchell for a studio she’s called Re-Psyched where she plans to hold workshops in the future.

“As a designer I try and look at what’s currently on trend in the design world and try to produce it in a way that anyone can do it,” she says.

“When we start engaging people here, maybe it’ll give them an idea and energy on what they can do.

“The idea is that if we can get into people’s spaces and improve them, it might improve their outlook and motivation.

“I’m not giving them something they have to commit to for a long time or put too much skill into.”

When coming up with the design for the unit Candice has taken into account what might best suit the residents’ needs.

“Some residents do have issues with mental health, so I’ve tried to come up with solutions so if they can’t clean up too regularly, it won’t look too bad,” she says.

And, once the unit is complete, she will be using the design as a launch for her workshops.

“They’ll be about making simple and affordable things with recycling and they’ll be accessible to anyone,” she says.

Out-of-step Zed does us down

DOUBLE disempowerment has been delivered by ACT Senator Zed Seselja and a series of his colleagues in their vote on denying the right of territories to make their own laws on assisted dying.

For some strange reason these senators believe that their personal morality overrides basic democratic principles.

Distraction and diversion have always been a favoured technique deployed in politics to swing a close vote. Moving away from territory rights to a debate on voluntary active euthanasia worked on this occasion with a last-minute change of heart by Nationals’ Steve Martin, Labor’s Alex Gallacher, Liberal Anne Ruston and crossbench senators Brian Burston and Peter Georgiou.

The defeat of the Leyonhjelm Bill to restore territory equity in political power with the states was carried by just two votes. Had Seselja been doing his job to represent the interests of the territory, in his capacity as ACT senator, the result would have been divided evenly. It was that close.

ACT residents have the right to be cross at Seselja who has once again allowed his own personal moral rectitude to override the democratic prerogative of the ACT.

Greens MLA Caroline Le Couteur slammed his stance “given the small margin, the senator has refused to allow our community to decide for ourselves. Instead, he felt his own views more important than those of the Canberra community”.

On both issues Senator Seselja was and remains well out of step with the rest of the community. ACT residents overwhelmingly support both the territory’s right to self-determination and the right of individuals to make their own choice to have assistance to end their lives where they have a terminal illness and are in great pain and suffering.

Doubly disempowered! First, once again losing our community’s right to self-determination. Second, losing the chance to have our personal right to self-

ACT residents have the right to be cross at Seselja who has once again allowed his own personal moral rectitude to override the democratic prerogative of the ACT.

determination if we have a terminal illness and are in great pain and suffering.

There was another option for Seselja, as pointed out by Ms Le Couteur, he could have absented himself from the votes and “urged his colleagues to simply allow Canberrans to have their own say”. His stance is in stark contrast to the very popular then-senator Gary Humphries, who defied John Howard by “crossing the floor” in order to protect the rights of Canberra citizens to make their own decision.

All is not lost. This is reminiscent of the same-sex marriage debate.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr reflected on the setbacks on that issue: “I recall many people telling me there was no way marriage laws would ever change and we kept chipping away at that and worked across the nation to garner sufficient support for that to happen. I think a similar approach can work here”.

We will not have to wait long for the next step. Canberra MP Andrew Leigh, supported by NT MP Luke Gosling, has already moved to introduce a similar Bill into the House of Representatives. This is an opportunity for the House of Representatives to really show up the Senate. It is possible that the Prime Minister may not grant leave for the debate. However, if it does not go through – this time or the next – the Barr approach of chipping away

will eventually come to fruition. The vote in the Senate this time was much closer than in 1997 when the Andrews’ Bill removed the rights of the territories to self-determination on this issue.

Sadly, the Leader of the Opposition in the ACT supported the stance taken by Senator Seselja. Other Liberal MLAs were keen to respect Territory rights and the conscience vote saw Nicole Lawder, Jeremy Hanson, Mark Parton and Elizabeth Lee standing up for the rights of the territories to self-determination. Thus the first ever “remonstrance motion” passed the ACT Assembly, formally expressing the ACT’s displeasure with the Senate. Some have been “chipping away” for a quarter of a century. With double disempowerment at stake, it is clear that the approach is working. It is just a matter of time.

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.

How age friendly is ageing Canberra?

WHILE Canberra has a relatively younger population than the rest of Australia, its population is ageing, with people aged 65 years and over projected to increase by 15 per cent between 2016 and 2020.

So, is Canberra an age-friendly city? This is the question this month’s “Canberra Conversations” public seminar asks and whether its policies and services have due regard to the needs of the aged and an ageing population.

The discussion panel comprises Jenny Mobbs, CEO of the Council On The Ageing ACT; Frances Crimmins, CEO of YWCA Canberra; lawyer Elizabeth Samra , who has been active in advocating for the rights of older people for almost a decade and Toni Hassan, a Walkley Awardwinning journalist and scholar with the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture.

The seminar is jointly convened by University of Canberra profes-

sorial fellow Jon Stanhope and adjunct professor Dr Khalid Ahmed and co-sponsored by the Council On The Ageing ACT. The free seminar will be held at the Theo Notaras Multicultural Centre, 180 London Circuit, Civic, 12.30pm-1.30pm, on Thursday, August 30. Attendance can be confirmed via eventbrite.com.au

European trivia

KNOWLEDGE about Europe is the challenge to participants at the trivia night celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights. Organised by the Delegation of the European Union and the UNHCR, it’s at the Croatian Club, Deakin, starting with a meet and greet at 6.30pm and pencils up at 7pm on September 20. The $15 ticket price includes food. Bookings (up to tables of 10) before September 7 to canberrarep.org.au/content/ book-online

Battle honoured

THE public is invited to join in this year’s Battle for Australia Commemoration at the Captain Reg Saunders Courtyard, Australian War Memorial, from 11am on Wednesday, September 5. Organisers say those attending should be seated by 10.45am.

Helping horses

EQUINE welfare group Heavy Horse Heaven Inc is holding its annual trivia night at the Yarralumla Woolshed, 6.30pm on Saturday, September 1. There will also be silent auctions, lucky door prizes and raffles. Tickets are $25 or $250 per table of 10. Bookings to 0434 088462.

Free

dance class

THERE’S a free “Come and Try Bush Dancing” class at the Albert

Prison officers should decide on needles

COLUMNIST Michael Moore seeks a needle-exchange program in the Alexander Maconochie Centre (“Prison guards ‘should not set policy’”, CN, July 25). He writes that “while there had been breakthroughs in anti-viral medicines, prevention was better –and cheaper in this case – than a cure”.

The problem is that a needleexchange program is not preventative because it allows the practice to continue in the form of “exchange”.

The golden public health rule in

COLUMNIST Paul Costigan (CN, August 9) says: “The community is not against public housing – but just not on the Dickson Parklands”.

The same could be – and is – said about any location for which public housing is proposed.

WHILE prices paid to farmers, particularly dairy farmers, are deplorable, if columnist Robert Macklin (“When charity begins at the till”, CN, August 9) were to physically get his hands dirty and work in a charity store, he would know that supermarkets contribute generously to food staples.

Christian church members and other charity members contribute weekly to supply food to those in need, but sometimes they cannot keep up and the shelves are bare.

I UNDERSTAND Chief Minister Barr is moving to gender equality in the Assembly by deleting genderspecific references such as “him”, “her” etcetera.

combating drug epidemics is that if the number of first-time users does not continue to fall, the epidemic will inevitably widen.

And a closer examination allows the community not to approve such a move. Surely it is against social order and justice to reward in our jail what are regarded in the community as law-breaking actions, because they keep happening.

Colliss Parrett, Barton

There are certainly some interesting things happening in Section 72, but nowhere does Mr Costigan explain why social housing should not be one of them.

The supermarkets stock the shelves both with basics and with food reaching use-by dates. If Coles has offered to collect donations at the till as shoppers pass through to pay for their own shopping, good on them. Not everyone responds to requests for donations, but a reminder at the till prompts people to remember those in need. And that, Mr Macklin, “is what really swells the heart”.

Rewa Bate, Coombs

A simple solution to this perceived problem in the Assembly, when addressing fellow MLAs, is to simply refer to each other as “comrade”. I’m sure Labor Party members would have no objection and be in full agreement to this proposal. This would then be gender neutral.

Cedric Bryant, Watson

Hall, 10.30am-noon, on Saturday, September 1. Organised by the Monaro Folk Society, the class will provide an introduction to anyone unfamiliar with bush dancing.

Bag a bargain

UP-Opping@Limestone is holding a winter clearance sale; take a bag and fill it for $5 with shoes, clothes and some bric-a-brac are included. At 82 Limestone Avenue, Ainslie, 10am-2pm, August 31 and September 1. More information at 0412 730982.

Suicide talk

MATT Blundell, community ambassador for R U OK, talks about suicide prevention at a public forum, Hughes Community Centre, Wisdom Street, 12.30pm-1.45pm on Tuesday, August 28. Entrance is $2.

YES, Downer residents may take some pride in “a tenuous link to the building of our great nation” (“Alexander sets the bar for Downer”, Seven Days, August 9).

However, many will still remember the clear lack of interest and follow-up by then-shadow minister Alexander Downer MP in the late 1980s when the Downer community formally suggested to him, on a number of occasions, the donation from the Downer family of a clock to grace the result of a major revitalisation of the suburb’s com -

munity square area, an endeavour organised and managed by the local volunteer-based Downer Bicentennial Project group. Fortunately, the local Labor MP at the time stepped into the breach and provided a clock. Sir John Downer may have been a nation builder in the late 19th century but his grandson could not be bothered supporting, in a small way, his namesake suburb in the 20th century.

Sue Dyer, Downer

GRUMPY from Curtin (CN, July 26) and Sue Randall (Letters, August 9) are not alone in bearing the brunt of the actions of irresponsible dog owners.

Dog ownership in Canberra has increased with an even greater increase in irresponsible owners.

A north Curtin reserve, used as an off-leash area, is continually being fouled by dogs at an ever increasing rate. This situation has now

reached the stage where the North Curtin Oval is being fouled by dogs. Recently, when crossing the oval, there were three lots of dog faeces along the straight route I took. It’s about time the dog regulations were reviewed with a view to returning to prohibiting dogs on ovals and requiring dogs in public areas to be kept on a leash.

Smith, via email

Labor strikes at the ‘heart’ of the community

THE ACT government is at serious risk of its planned assault on the community contributions scheme being perceived as pay-back by Labor and the Greens on the clubs that campaigned against them at the last election.

While the government is claiming that its response mirrors the auditorgeneral’s April report it goes well beyond the auditor’s findings.

The auditor’s central conclusion was that because of the nature of the existing guidelines, which were developed by the government, the breadth and diversity of the expenditure approved by the Gambling and Racing Commission meant that “there will be considerable disagreement as to the merits and value of community contributions”.

This may very well be true but it does not mean that the guidelines are flawed or that the current range of expenditure identified as community contribution is inappropriate or that the auditor was suggesting that it be paid in the form of tax to the government to disburse.

In any event, to deny a club the primary role in determining how its community contribution will be disbursed potentially subverts the very reason that the club was established and the basis of its existence and success.

Apart from its immaturity, the ban by ministers on dealing with ClubsACT, together with the proposal

The government appears to believe that it knows best and that only it can be trusted to disburse funds raised by clubs for community support.

to raid and take over the community contributions of its member clubs, sets an interesting and I think dangerous precedent.

As I have said, I think it is clear that these actions are a response to the political activism of ClubsACT during the last election to which the government has taken serious but unjustified exception.

Apart from political parties and candidates, the most active and partisan participants in election campaigns are, without argument, the unions.

In the event a Liberal government is ever elected in the ACT it would certainly be open to it to declare that, consistent with the precedent established by this Labor/Greens government to blacklist Clubs ACT that it, the Liberal Party, will not meet with or consult any union that provides electoral support to the Labor Party.

However, central to my concern with the plan by the government to rip the community contributions off clubs is the gross disrespect which it shows to the thousands of Canberrans who have over many decades

devoted themselves to establishing and sustaining clubs for the benefit and support of the community.

What the government is saying is that despite the fact that the clubs are operating within guidelines developed by the government, that they and their staff and members cannot be trusted to either recognise or appropriately meet the needs of the people for whom they established the clubs in the first place.

The government appears to believe that it knows best and that only it can be trusted to disburse funds raised by clubs for community support.

I am also concerned by the serious conflicts of interest the government has in the regulation of poker machines in Canberra. The ACT branch of the Labor Party is one of the largest owners and operators of poker machines in Australia.

To the extent that poker machines cause harm, and their use is certainly harmful to a proportion of those who use them, then the Labor Party is responsible for as high a proportion of harm from poker machine use in Canberra as anyone.

We should not, therefore, allow ourselves to be diverted into thinking

that by appearing to be tough on clubs and on poker machines that the government is somehow assuaging itself of responsibility for the Labor Party’s complicity in the harm poker machines cause.

The proposal to hypothecate community contributions to a central charity for disbursement is in effect to convert the contributions into a tax.

If the government is genuinely concerned that there are services and organisations missing out or falling through the cracks, then surely responsibility for that rests solely with the government. Labor and the Greens have, for example, cut funding in the current Budget for social protection and provided for growth of less than inflation for housing and health.

It is not being too cynical to suggest that the move to convert community contributions into tax is designed to compensate for these cuts.

To seek, in any event, to deflect responsibility for its own shortcomings and the management of its Budget on to community clubs is a bit rich.

Underscoring the apparent contempt which Labor and the Greens have for clubs, other than, of course, for those that bankroll the Labor

Party, is the lack of understanding which they have of the massive social capital generated by clubs.

Community clubs in Canberra are for tens of thousands of people, particularly our older residents and those from lower income quintiles, the major providers in Canberra of entertainment, a family night out, an affordable meal, companionship and a place and opportunity to socialise and belong. Canberra clubs are the heart of our community.

Poker machine use can be harmful and the effectiveness of the response to that harm has certainly been problematical. Alienating and insulting everyone in Canberra for whom their club is a special and important place will do nothing to address the problem.

Jon Stanhope was chief minister from 2001 to 2011 and represented Ginninderra for the Labor Party from 1998. He is the only chief minister to have governed with a majority in the Assembly.

FATHER’S DAY / September 2

Special time to show dad how much he’s loved

FATHER’S Day on Sunday, September 2, is a celebration honouring fathers and celebrating fatherhood, paternal bonds, and the influence of fathers in society.

In Catholic Europe, the celebration of fatherhood is known to date back to the Middle Ages.

It was brought by the Spanish and Portuguese to Latin America where the date, March 19, also known as St Joseph’s Day, is often still used for Father’s Day celebrations throughout many countries in Europe.

Father’s Day is celebrated on various days in many parts of the world, most commonly in the months of March or May.

In Australia, Father’s Day is celebrated on the first Sunday of September.

This week in “CityNews” we feature an inspiring range of experiences and gift ideas for Father’s Day.

Aprons with dads in mind

JUST like every dad, each men’s apron at My Favourite Apron Company is one-of-a-kind and entirely unique, says designer and maker Kendall Fayle.

“You won’t see these aprons anywhere else,” she says.

“They are practical and thoughtful gifts which are designed to encourage dad to be involved in the cooking, baking or barbecuing with the kids close by.

“They are all highly functional and practical and I have designed a special range for men using funky, vintage or retro silk business neckties as the neck strap.

“Each is large in size but adjustable so they fit all men.”

The idea to create aprons for the whole family sparked Kendall’s interest while travelling, almost four years ago.

Kendall had a dream that she would start an apron company called My Favourite Apron Company.

And she did.

The former Canberran now spends her downtime making funky or vintage-style aprons.

She’s also makes sets for the whole family such as sets of aprons for dad, step-dad, granddad and for children.

Kendall says they can be bought in a “quick and easy way” online on Etsy, and she is able to add gift wrapping and a personalised message.

“I can even mail the apron directly to the recipient to most countries around the world,” she says.

My Favourite Apron Company. Call Kendall on 0415 844317 or visit @myfavouriteaproncompanyhandmade on Facebook.

Let music be the food of love

AS nice as socks and handkerchiefs are, Duratone HiFi has present ideas that are way more exciting for dad, says audio consultant Tony Magee.

Take, for example, Duratone’s compact, single-speaker streamer module, the Pulse Flex, which, Tony says, can be used anywhere in the house or, with its optional battery, taken outside to the garden or the pool deck.

“Music is a universal language, understood and enjoyed by every race, creed, colour and religion,” he says.

“Music can make us happy, sometimes sad and a whole lot of other emotions.”

So, Tony says, it’s a great present to say, “I love you”.

“The Pulse Flex can also be taken off site on picnics, to the beach, to anywhere,” he says.

“[Or,] if you are a country or rural customer, you might still be looking for an old-style AM/FM stereo tuner.

“Duratone has a vast array of preloved units in excellent condition, plus NAD have just released a new model,

But no matter what present people are after, Duratone has a 50-year history of tailoring music systems for people, offering new technology and

A clear choice for dads who love cars

AUTOGRAFIKA, a leading Canberra automotive wrap and paint protection specialist, has the perfect present for dads this Father’s Day, says general manager Craig McConchie.

If dad is into cars then Craig suggests siblings team up and get him a paint-protection film for his car, which protects it from chips, scratches and increases its resale value.

The paint-protection films are clear urethane films for all vehicles, makes and models, that help protect vehicles against stone chips, bug damage, abrasion and weathering.

Craig says it’s a great product that suits anyone who’s bought a new car or 4WD or even some older models, too.

“Protecting your investment is worthwhile for all new car buyers,” he says.

“If you put this film on your car, it adds to the value so it pays for itself.”

The Autografika team have recently become trained factory installers of Xpel protective films, which is a market leader in protective films for cars, Craig says.

“We also offer graphic design services for vehicle branding,

which allows our customers access to a higher level of design than found at a typical signwriter,” he says.

“There are only a couple of businesses like ours in Canberra, we are the first to take a truly professional approach in this niche market.”

Visit autografika.com.au, call 6239 1627 or find them on Facebook or Twitter.

All kinds of bikes for all kinds of dads

RIDING a mountain bike, electric bike, skateboard or scooter are all great ways of connecting with dad, says the owner of Cookies Cycles and dad-oftwo David Cook.

“It gives dads a chance to get out and go for a ride with their kids and also get fit,” he says.

And now, with Cookies Cycles’ second division of the shop, Canberra Electric Bikes, David can confidently say he has Canberra’s largest range of electric bikes to choose from.

Located inside Cookies Cycles in Franklin, David says he has about 15 types of models on the floor, which include folding bikes, mountain bikes and commuting bikes, ranging in price from $1500 to $5000.

“Electric bikes are going to be a big part of the future,” he says.

“They’ve really taken off in Europe so I want to build it up in Canberra and get more people commuting to work by bike.”

Even though there’s been changes, David says Cookies Cycles still has the same service as always – providing family bikes, scooters, skateboards and maintenance services.

“But now with a larger range of electric bikes,” he says.

Cookies Cycles, 227 Flemington Road, Franklin. Call 6242 0338, email shop@cookiescycles.com.au or visit cookiescycles.com.au

Home of hits and memories

SONGLAND Records, or as its owner “Frog” Harris describes it, “the home of the hard to find”, is where people can get movies and music for dad, which turn into memories.

“Take, for example, ‘Combat’, a TV show from the ‘60s about World War II,” Frog says.

People might forget about it, but then when they see it, he says they’ll have an “oh, my god, I haven’t seen that for years” moment.

Songland Records also has other favourites for dads such as F Troop on DVD and The Seekers, which features Canberra from 50 years ago.

But Songland doesn’t just have DVDs. It also carries more than 1000 different, new albums and is one of four specialist classical music stores in Australia.

And, if dad’s more in to live music, Songland is Canberra’s sevenday Ticketek agency, where people can buy tickets to shows such as John Schumann (Redgum) and The Vagabond Crew, who are playing in Woden on November 10.

“It’s a huge deal,” says Frog.

“We’re talking about a lot of great memories and a lot of great songs.” Songland Records, Cooleman Court, Weston Creek. Call 6293 4677, email songlandrecords@gmail.com or visit songland.com.au

MUSIC WHEREVER HE GOES!

Helping farmers by treating dad

“WHAT dad doesn’t like boats and spending time with their family?” asks GoBoat Canberra’s owner Nick Tyrrell, who says their boats would make a unique and fun Father’s Day present.

Not only would people be buying a present for dad but, Nick says, they’d also be supporting farmers.

Every dollar from every GoBoat rental on Saturday, September 1, will be donated to the “One Bucket” campaign supporting Drought Angels and Rural Aid to provide mental health support, fodder through the Buy A Bale campaign, and food hampers, personalised visits and financial support for struggling farmers.

GoBoat Canberra will also be donating $20 to “One Bucket” from every gift voucher bought until Father’s Day.

“We can’t make it rain, but we can make a difference to those families struggling with this heartbreaking drought, by donating the proceeds from what’s likely to be one of our busiest days of the year,” Nick says.

“We’re open for season two from Saturday, September 1, and Father’s Day is already filling up fast, but gift vouchers can be bought direct from the website.

“People love being their own captain, deciding where to go, what to see, and of course enjoying it all with food and drink, family and friends.”

GoBoat Canberra, Wharf 2, Trevillian Quay, Kingston. Call 6100 7776 or visit goboatcanberra.com.au

Right: GoBoat Canberra’s owner Nick Tyrrell.

Up, up and away... almost

with the opportunity to sit in the most used plane in the world and experience what it’s like to captain the 737 using the replica 737 flight simulator.

Aviary offers free entry for dads

THIS Father’s Day all dads can enjoy a free interactive experience at the Canberra Walk-in Aviary, says owner and manager Mick Logan.

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.

“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.

“And there’s no time limit, so you can really stretch your dollar.”

Run by professional pilots, the Jet Flight Simulator is based on the Boeing 737-800NG. It gives a sense of what it’s like to fly the world’s most popular commercial jet and become familiar with the primary aircraft controls – engine throttles, flaps, elevator, ailerons and rudder.

“Lots of dads have always wanted to fly a large commercial plane,” Trevor says.

“It’s a very memorable gift because it’s very unusual.”

Trevor says participants can also bring up to four passengers in for free and no experience is needed.

Jet Flight Simulator Canberra, Unit 5, 4 Ipswich Street, Fyshwick. Call 0438 834026 or visit jetflightsimulatorcanberra.com.au

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.

$20 FROM EVERY GIFT VOUCHER SOLD WILL BE DONATED TO THE ONE BUCKET CAMPAIGN, PROVIDING DIRECT DROUGHT RELIEF TO FARMERS.

From

“CityNews” speaks with a range of retirement experts, who know how to get the best out of retired life.

Caravan care starts here

LLOYD’s Caravans’ owner, Kerry Lloyd, and his three sons, love to hear about where their clients take their caravans.

But whether they’re young or retired, Kerry says before heading out on the next adventure, come and see Lloyd’s for a service and safety check or other requirements such as accessories, air conditioning, heating or insurance repairs.

Lloyd’s Caravans has been in Canberra since the ‘60s and Kerry says he’s glad to be carrying on his father’s legacy as well as working with his three sons – Mitchell who’s an auto electrician, Matthew, a panel beater and Kyle, a carpenter.

Lloyd’s Caravans provides services such as caravan insurance repairs, modifications and servicing as well as services for trailers, camper vans, horse floats and motor homes.

“We’re all trained in the caravan industry trade and we are the preferred repairers for all major insurance companies,” Kerry says. “Caravans and motorhomes are evolving all the time and we’re evolving with them.”

Lloyd’s Caravans, Unit 1, 57 Tennant Street, Fyshwick. Call 0438 800652, email caravanscanberra@gmail.com

Retirement living with lifestyle choices

WITH multiple Goodwin retirement villages across Canberra, the not-for-profit organisation’s purpose is to provide communities where seniors can enjoy their later years of life.

“It’s a lifestyle choice,” says the executive manager of retirement living, Erik Boddeus.

“Very often people confuse retirement living with residential care.

“In the first instance, it has nothing to do with care.

“It’s a community of people living in age-appropriate housing, in a caring environment.”

But Goodwin isn’t just about providing people with accommodation and Erik says they also do other work such as research so they can understand the market well.

“The villages we create are exactly with the last homebuyer in mind,” he says.

Goodwin also takes care of all the maintenance in

Relax surrounded by nature

CALVARY Haydon Retirement Community provides safe, secure and relaxed living within its residential aged care and independent living apartments and villas, says its general manager Stephanie Tyrrell. And, it’s in an ideal location, too, she says, surrounded by nature yet close to Calvary Bruce Hospital, a shopping centre and parks. Currently, Calvary Haydon Village has two and three-bedroom apartments ready to move into.

But if people are still not sure, Stephanie says some of its recent resident feedback might convince them, with residents saying they have a real sense of community when they

someone’s home such as changing the light globe or fixing the dishwasher.

“We facilitate resident activities and encourage their independence by organising or helping them organise activities,” Erik says.

“The ultimate goal for people is to remain as independent for as long as possible.

“There is evidence which suggests that people who live in a retirement community, live longer independently than their peers in the wider community.”

Goodwin. Call 6175 5100, email info@goodwin.org.au or visit goodwin.org.au

move in, enjoying the freedom of their own space while joining in with outings and activities as they choose.

Calvary Haydon has a variety of common areas, an indoor/outdoor café, hair salon, an onsite doctor, Catholic mass and other church services.

“Our fully accredited residential aged-care facility provides quality care accommodation including palliative and dementia care services [too],” she says.

Calvary Haydon Retirement Community, 2 Jaeger Circuit, Bruce. Call 6264 7400, email retirement@calvarycare.org.au or visit calvarycare.org.au

offer a suite of programs to physically and emotionally assist you with the impact of chronic pain.

• Dietitian who specialises in pain relief and bone and muscle health.

• Physiotherapy programs specifically designed to improve arthritis and pain in knees and hips.

• Exercise physiology classes.

• Hydrotherapy self lead and instructor lead classes at 5 hydrotherapy pools across the ACT.

• Chair and floor yoga.

• Tai Chi for falls prevention.

• Strength and Balance classes.

• All services are low cost. We accept HICAPS and GP Medicare referrals.

• Regular community talks on all areas of pain and musculoskeletal health.

• All members receive a monthly newsletter full of information on how to reduce your pain and increase your mobility.

• Support and friendship groups that meet online and in person.

• Trained allied health and nursing staff who can assist you with personal queries or can just be a listening ear when you need it.

• A large amount of information that we can assist you to improve your life when living with pain or arthritis.

Dedicated to improving the quality of life

AT Arthritis ACT the staff and volunteers are committed to improving the quality of life of anyone living with any pain or bone and joint conditions.

“In fact, it doesn’t matter what is happening in your health, Arthritis ACT is always happy to help,” says CEO of Arthritis ACT Rebecca Davey.

“If you are living with a pain condition of any sort, there are a few things you need to ask yourself [such as] am I carrying a little extra weight?”

It’s a good question to start with, because Rebecca says excess weight will always lead to increased pain.

“It is just so important to try and keep yourself within a healthy weight range,” she says.

“Our dietitian can help you achieve this, and our exercise classes can help keep the weight off.

“Hydrotherapy is a wonderful form of exercise if you are carrying a few extra kilos.

“The water takes much of the strain away and you can achieve so much more so much more quickly.”

Rebecca says another thing which is important to ask is: “Am I moving enough?”

“It is very common when you have pain to want to stop and rest,” she says.

“As long as you know you don’t have an injury that is going to get worse by exercising, then exercise is the best form of therapy for pain, especially when it’s in your joints.”

Arthritis ACT, Building 18, 170 Haydon Drive, Bruce. Call 1800 011041, email info@arthritisact.org.au or visit arthritisact.org.au

Never too early to plan, says Gail

IT’s never too early to start planning for retirement, says director Gail Freeman, of Gail Freeman & Co.

“The day you start working, superannuation contributions are being made on your behalf, so you really should have an interest in what happens to that money for when you retire,” she says.

“And, if you’re thinking of retiring, you really need to know how much money you will have when you retire.”

Gail and her team often see people who say they want to retire but might not be ready. Through planning they help people maximise what they can to enjoy a financially effective retirement.

“Retirement planning is not as simple as just looking at your superannuation,” Gail says.

“Tax comes into play and there are a number of other factors which determine people’s position.

“Sometimes people need to reorganise their assets because they’re not set up in an efficient way.”

It’s a personal thing though and Gail says they do the best they can with what the person has.

“I seldom see someone that I can’t improve their position with some simple changes,” she says.

Gail Freeman & Co, 9/71 Leichhardt Street, Kingston. Call 6295 2844, email info@gailfreeman.com.au or visit gailfreeman.com.au

Solar solutions to spare the nest egg

“BY installing a solar system, you’re protecting yourself against future price rises,” says Power Saving Centre Canberra’s sales manager and selfconfessed “old person” Donna Spargo.

“A lot of people going into retirement have their little nest egg of money, which isn’t going to last if electricity prices rise,” she says.

“But if you invest in power from the grid you’re buying your own power for life.”

Similar to renting a house versus owning a house, Donna says people can either rent power or, through Power Saving Centre Canberra, buy their own power.

Donna says Power Saving Centre Canberra is essentially an engineering company that specialises in solar, which means all its systems are customised.

“With every person, we look historically at their electricity usage and work out a customised solution,” she says.

“We always go to the site because there’s always something to identify before giving them a price.”

Donna says this means customers don’t get hit with any hidden costs. “Solar is the way of the future and it’s the only way to go,” she says.

Power Saving Centre Canberra, 1/44 Hoskins Street, Mitchell. Call 6154 5444, email info@psccan.com.au or visit psccan.com.au

Will

is a powerful document,

get one, urges Ashilpa

powerful of

document

will is, says Ashilpa Khanna, of Capon & Hubert Lawyers & Mediators.

“A will that is well drafted can give effect to the wishes of the deceased,” she says.

“It’s important to understand how a will works and also the legal technicalities of drafting a good will.”

With more than 30 years behind the practitioners at Capon & Hubert, Ashilpa says clients can be assured that their wills will be made with experience and care.

“We take time in talking our clients through the nature and effect of the document and work with our clients to give them the best possible results,” she says.

If a person doesn’t have a will, once they die their estate is left to be governed by the law.

“Under normal circumstances the estate will go to their partner and/or children. However, that is not the case if the deceased had no partner or children or had estranged relationships during their life,” Ashilpa says.

“Anyone who needs to get their estate in order to ensure that their wishes are looked after once they’ve passed away can come and see one of our lawyers at Capon & Hubert to assist them in putting their wishes into effect through a will.”

Capon & Hubert Lawyers & Mediators, First Floor, 32-38 Townshend Street, Phillip. Email enquiries@chsol.com.au, call 6152 9203 or visit chsol.com.au

At Capon and Hubert Lawyers we ensure that your estate goes to family or friends of your choice.

Having a valid and up-to-date Will can help reduce stress for your family and friends, limit administration costs, and lessen the possibility for dispute over your estate. We understand your situation is different and may require a unique specialist approach.

Regain the freedom of your home

Stairlifts for every staircase

Arthritis Foundation, which Simon says, means an Acorn Stairlift can be fitted to any staircase.

“WITH a tailor-made Acorn Stairlift you can stay right where you are... keep your home, keep your freedom and retain your independence,” says general manager Simon Hughes.

“And we can do so within a matter of days rather than weeks,” he says.

“At Acorn we want to make sure that you get the perfect stairlift solution for your needs,” he says.

“Your home is a cherished part of your life: a place to welcome your family and friends, to entertain, enjoy and simply relax.

“So, why let getting up and down your stairs stop you from having a fully independent lifestyle?”

Acorn Stairlifts is the first stairlift manufacturer to be awarded an “ease of use” commendation from the

“A visit from one of our friendly surveyors will allow you to see what sets Acorn Stairlifts apart from any other stairlift company.

“After assessing your needs, our surveyor will instantly be able to give you the peace of mind of knowing exactly how affordable an Acorn Stairlift can be.”

Acorn Stairlifts. Call 1800 561546 or visit acornstairlifts.com.au

Council proves an old friend for the ageing

THE Council On The Ageing ACT has been looking after the needs of older people in the ACT since 1973.

It’s an independent organisation that works to protect and promote the wellbeing, rights and interests of older people in the ACT.

“COTA ACT connects older people with their community and provides them with information all year round,” says communication manager Catherine Adoch.

She says with mobility decreasing and an increased risk of isolation, COTA ACT wants people to get involved in the community early on.

“Being actively involved in the community helps them emotionally, physically and mentally, giving them

a better quality of life,” she says.

Which is why COTA ACT provides seniors with services such as its “seniors information line”, offering information on things such as seniors cards, social activities, aged care and retirement options and transport. It also has a wide range of information available at its resource library in the Hughes Community Centre, with information booklets on things such as housing, finance, legal, health and falls prevention.

COTA ACT, Hughes Community Centre, Wisdom Street, Hughes. Call 6282 3777, email contact@cotaact.org.au or visit cotaact.org.au

Reward yourself with quality architecture

The Central in Crace offers stunning apartments designed for seniors.

These beautifully appointed, spacious properties include everything you need to create the lifestyle of your choice, all set within a prime location.

No stamp duty. No home maintenance. No rates.

• 1, 2 and 3-bedroom apartments

• Generous floorplans with balconies or courtyards

• Single level with secure lift access

• Minutes to medical services, Gungahlin and recreational facilities

• Exclusive lifestyle clubhouse with residents’ bar, lounge, gym, library and business centre

• Peace-of-mind with adaptability to mobility needs and emergency call system

Viewings by appointment, 20 Galore St, Crace centralbygoodwin.org.au 02 6175 5057

Apartment 131

A unique opportunity to buy a spacious three-bedroom apartment with a stunning view, designed for seniors and located within your community. The open plan living and dining rooms, and sizable balcony provide the perfect spaces to relax or entertain in. The stylish kitchen features reconstituted stone benches, smart storage solutions and high-quality fixtures and fittings. Reward yourself with a beautiful master suite with built-in-robes and large ensuite. The two versatile bedrooms and a study nook provide plenty of space for guests, hobbies or work. EER 7.

Approx 134m2 living + 12m2 balcony Price: $648,000

Open: By appointment please phone 6175 5057

OFFER! $2,500 towards your moving cost & 6 months extended settlement

ALL ABOUT RETIREMENT advertising feature

Secure, private, village living

“UPPER-MARKET, secure and private” is how Pines Living’s CEO Krishan Aggarwal describes its retirement resort and residential aged-care facilities.

“The facilities are much better than most retirement villages,” he says.

The two facilities are under completely different arrangements but, Krishan says, both have top-ofthe-range appliances and high-tech security.

“We have a high-tech emergency call system, too,” he says.

“So if someone falls, they can press a button on their neck or wrist band and it dials out five telephone numbers in a sequence and the ambulance will be there in a few minutes.”

Krishan says the retirement resort, which opened in 2013, enables the residents to live life comfortably, on their terms, in a close-knit community.

“Whether it is relaxing in their own room, or socialising in one of our community rooms, our facilities are designed to maximise independence, comfort, and dignity,” he says.

The residential aged-care facility, which opened last year, like the resort, is situated close to the Woden shopping centre and the Canberra Hospital.

“The nursing home, is again, high-tech,” Krishan says.

“Our nurse call system is the latest and residents are able to get attention immediately.

“Our facilities officer keeps all the residents busy by engaging them with activities such as painting or crochet and a physiotherapist takes them through exercises.”

Pines Living. Visit pinesliving.com.au

A place to live – and love

SUMMERFIELD Constructions’ 56-lot estate in Braidwood for people aged 55 and over is not just a place to live, but a place to love, says director Tim Wright.

It’s not a retirement village but a community for people over 55 with a freehold title and no exit fees.

“These three-bedroom, two-bath, two-car garage, freehold homes, with no exit fees, are all situated on their own piece of ‘backyard’ to enable those who are gardeners to continue their love,” Tim says.

All 19 homes, which have already been built, have all been sold and the next stage of earthworks for 37 villas is about to commence.

“There is absolutely no doubt that people absolutely

love our villas as to quality, design and location,” Tim says.

“We have so many positive comments on Summerfield, its facilities and overall amenity as well as the community spirit and a great place to live. “What people do not understand until they come and experience it, is the wonderful way of life at Braidwood and what Braidwood offers.

“Braidwood is very well located to Canberra and the coast and only a three and a half hour drive to Sydney.” Summerfield Constructions. Call 4842 1753 or visit summerfieldbraidwood.com.au

Elite, Affordable Retirement Living

THE PINES RETIREMENT RESORT

Architecturally designed to accommodate your needs, the two bedrooms & two bathrooms apartments are luxuriously appointed, allowing you the privacy and freedom to entertain friends and family and come and go as you like.

Our state of the art facilities enable our Our Residential Aged Care Facility offers

Whether is it relaxing in their own room, or socialising in one of our clubhouse, our facilities are designed to maximise independence, comfort and dignity.

•

• Elegant interior design with contemporary furniture, artwork and lighting

with

Summerfield Estate Braidwood – located at the centre of the universe

The beautiful Summerfield Estate is nestled in the heart of Braidwood.

The estate sits in an elevated postionsurrounded by heritage protected rural views on all sides. Even better, it is only a 5min stroll into the centre of Braidwood.

What is Summerfield all about?

Summerfield is a boutique and exclusive estate, specifically designed for the Over 55’s. The estate consists of 56 spacious and intelligently designed homes - of

which 19 have been sold and built.

The most important feature of Summerfield is the Freehold Title and NO Exit Fees. Yes - the value is all yours!

With residents already enjoying their new homes, there are only 37 homes remaining in this breathtaking location. With homes from only $550,000, this is affordable luxury for pre retirees and retirees alike.

Summerfield also has the BEST clubhouse views of any Over 55’s estate in Australia!

Fantastic common facilities:

• Large clubhouse

• Indoor heated pool

• Arts & crafts centre • Indoor gym

• Hospitality guesthouse

• Beautiful estate pond and jetty

Also: SEPP Seniors Compliant Design and adjacent to Braidwood Hospital

Our Villas enable you to enjoy relaxed independent living in a caring retirement community.

Located within a beautiful garden setting in Page, Villaggio Sant’ Antonio offers safe and secure living in 2 or 3 bedroom Villas.

Come and discover how you can retire with us today. For all enquires please contact us on 62551794 or reception@villaggio.com.au www.villaggio.com.au

ALL ABOUT RETIREMENT

Independent living in a supported environment

VILLAGGIO Sant’ Antonio in Page provides quality retirement living and aged-care services to the Canberra region, says Villaggio’s new general manager Jill Pieper.

“Our self-care villa community is about enjoying retirement and independent living in a supported environment,” she says.

Offering two and three-bedroom villas in a beautiful garden setting, Jill says each villa is a single-level dwelling on the ground level with its own garage as well as internal access and a private courtyard.

“People can choose from self-care villas, respite, day care, hostel or lodge living,” she says.

Villa residents also have access to a recreation room complete with a library, computer, kitchenette, pool table, barbecue area, and big-screen television.

“Villaggio Villa residents have an amazing sense of community and many of them volunteer at the aged-care facility,” she says.

“Along with all their own functions and outings they are included in events and activities at the facility.

“There is a strong social club, regular outings and happy hours to enjoy and be part of.

But, Jill says, residents can participate in as much or as little as they want.

Priding itself on its Italian heritage, which has helped build the multicultural community in Page, Jill says Villaggio has qualified staff, fantastic grounds and a great range of aged-care services.

Villaggio Sant’ Antonio. 35 Burkitt Street, Page. Call 6254 0766, email reception@villaggio.com.au or visit villaggio.com.au

Total commitment to helping with mobility

NO matter who the customer is, Total Mobility proudly treats each of them as if they were a member of their own family, says ACT branch manager Tim Kapustin.

“It’s really important to ask: ‘What would I do if this was my grandfather or mum?’” he says.

Selling a large variety of products, Total Mobility has everything from basic items such as wheelchairs and walkers to more complex products such as customised power and manual wheelchairs.

“We even have beds and mattresses for agedcare facilities,” he says.

“We do paediatric products as well such as children’s wheelchairs and strollers for kids with disability or special needs.”

Tim was drawn towards the industry after having two children with special needs and says everything they sell changes the quality of someone’s life because it allows them to lead a better quality of life.

“If there’s something that’s broken or someone who needs a new product it could potentially change their quality of life,” he says.

So, the advantage of dealing with Total Mobility is the locality and ability for them to come out quickly (if possible) and ultimately help provide better support.

“People like dealing with us because we’re locals who provide good support and we have a lot of industry experience,” he says.

“One of the things that really sets us apart is our customer service and really understanding the needs of the customer.”

Total Mobility, 3/21 Raws Crescent, Hume. Call 6260 1003, email infoact@totalmobility.com.au or visit totalmobility.com.au

In the mood to swing

CELEBRATING its 25th anniversary, Mellen Events presents the smash US 1940’s big band swing celebration, “In The Mood”.

It’s returning to Australia for the fourth time, and will be at Canberra Theatre on October 28 where it will bring the audience back to the days of the ‘30s and ‘40s.

“In The Mood” is based during a time when the “joint was jumping” to the jiving rhythms of musicians such as Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra and the Andrews Sisters.

Cast members will bring more than 50 hits to the stage such as “Chattanooga Choo Choo”, “Boogie

Woogie Bugle Boy (of Company B)”, “In The Mood”, “Sing, Sing, Sing” and “On The Sunny Side of the Street”. With music arrangements written by Vic Schoen, the conductor for the Andrews Sisters and musical director for Universal and Paramount Pictures, along with choreography from Broadway veteran Alex Sanchez, “In The Mood” is high-energy, world-class, family entertainment that pays a heartfelt tribute to the service men and women of World War II.

“In The Mood”, Canberra Theatre, October 28. Bookings to canberratheatrecentre.com.au or call 6275 2700

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Gallery’s all-American outing

By Helen Musa

“WE revere ‘Blue Poles’ but there’s much more in the show than that,” says Lucina Ward, curator of painting and sculpture at the National Gallery, about the coming “American Masters” exhibition.

It’s hard not to think of “our” great abstract expressionist painting given this show of works is entirely drawn from the NGA’s collection. After all, when the fledgling gallery acquired Jackson Pollock’s work in 1973 it was the most expensive American painting ever sold.

But Ward is right that there’s more than Pollock. The exhibition “American Masters: 1940 to 1980”, lavishly installed in six rooms, ranges from the period following World War II, when America became centre stage in a transfer of art focus from Europe to the New World. Ward puts this down partly to the appearance of émigré artists in the US.

The show is supported by the Chicago/Paris Terra Foundation for American Art, whose representatives have been saying: “Wow – you’ve even got that!” on viewing the content of the show. There’s a buzz of excitement around the national collecting institution, with new director Nick Mitzevich full of eager anticipation at the prospect of seeing famous works he last viewed as a boy. Staff are chuffed to think that Canberra’s exhibition, which includes works rarely on public display, will easily rival “MoMA at NGV: 130 Years of Modern and Contemporary Art”, the Melbourne winter masterpieces show for this year.

Ward makes no secret of her admiration for the founding director of the gallery, James Mollison, whom she met at age 16 and who, she says, always wrote to dealers saying, “unless it is of the highest quality, we’re just not interested”.

Before the gallery was open to the public in 1982, Mollison had collected a huge range of “destination works” even before we knew the term, and the NGA’s collection of modern American art is now very likely the second biggest outside the US.

There were, to be sure, significant additions in 2002 when the Kenneth Tyler Print Collection was gifted to the NGA under the watch of former director Brian Kennedy, bringing in a huge catalogue of work by celebrated 20th century printmakers.

“Much of that has now been digitised, so it’s an international resource,” Ward says with pride.

Two-thousand-and-two was also the same year the NGA Foundation, with the assistance of Terrey

and Anne Arcus and Penelope and Harry Seidler, bought Frank Stella’s “Flin Flon”.

As we enter the exhibition Ward says we’ll be thrown into the world of the abstract expressionist “bad boys”, artists such as Pollock and Willem de Kooning. Most of these works are permanently on display at the NGA, so this will be the most familiar part.

Appropriately, the second room will hold work by the second generation artists, “not quite such bad boys”, she says, of artists Robert Motherwell and Morris Louis, who were defined by critic Clement Greenberg as “colour field” painters.

In the third room we’ll see how everything was turned on its head by pop art in the ‘50s and ‘60s.

The NGA’s collection of work by Andy Warhol is notable.

The fourth gallery will cover the arrival of minimalist and conceptual art of the late ‘60s and

‘70s. The inclusion of Eva Hesse’s “Contingent” and “Slab” (cloud) by Robert Morris are, to her, most exciting.

A return to realism will be seen in the fifth room, where works of photo realism will be shown in works by artists such as Chuck Close and Audrey Flack.

Room six will be filled with the art of light. Outside in the gallery’s gardens is “Within Without”, the skyspace work by American artist James Turrell and part of a “different narrative” that saw the geographical focus of American art move from the east to the west coast of the US in works based on light, space, and sophisticated technology.

“American Masters: 1940 to 1980”, National Gallery of Australia, August 24-November 11. Free, no booking required.

Where dance comes from deep inside

By Helen Musa

ONE of Sydney Dance

Company director Rafael Bonachela’s all-time favourite films is Stephen Daldry’s 2000 movie, “Billy Elliot”.

That’s easy to understand. The story of a boy who grows up in a non-dancing home in north-eastern England but ends up performing in “Swan Lake” is not only a tearjerker, but it bears a partial likeness to Bonachela’s own life story.

“CityNews” caught up with the noted Barcelona-born choreographer and director during a recent visit to Canberra, when he was here to see QL2 Dance’s show “Two Zero” as their newly-announced patron – and he’s particularly impressed by its longtime support for boys in dance.

“Things have changed since I was a child… boys didn’t dance in Spain,” he tells us.

“It was okay for us to play football, but dance must always come as a passion.”

Bonachela never had an older sister who might have gone to dance classes, but says: “It’s just something you need to do and luckily my parents supported me.”

Funnily enough, back during his brilliant career in London, where he worked with Rambert Dance Company and directed his own Bonachela Dance Company, he heard about QL2 from alumnus and now international dancer and filmmaker, Paul Zivkovich.

He praises the “very impressive” modern-day initiatives in youth dance that see young girls and boys dance while also becoming friends, saying that through dance young people can have a sense of achievement.

He’s also been observing the cohesiveness of the hip-hop dance scene. On a recent visit to South America he saw enormous crowds of hip-hop dancers performing in front

of big buildings such as museums.

“Young people bond together through dance despite the fact that in this life there is so much destruction, so much technology,” he says.

This year, Bonachela has been 10 years at the helm of Sydney Dance Company, having come to Australia in 2008 to direct just one show, “360°”, after which he was persuaded to take on the directorship “for a while”, as he told “CityNews” shortly after assuming his position.

Now, under his direction, the company holds the largest public dance class program in Australia, attracting nearly 80,000 participants each year and, more cause to celebrate, will celebrate its 50th year in 2019.

He says his new production, “ab [intra]” is pure contemporary dance, “quite literally a work of breadth and scale; 16 immensely talented individuals who are unique”.

Bonachela has been doing some research and has sourced the title of “ab [intra]” from the Latin meaning, “from within” – in his view exactly where all dancing comes from, an irrepressible force that comes from deep inside.

“We connect at a very intimate, visceral way, I never do narrative dance, but people are blasted away by the sheer artistry of this.”

Over the years here, all his works, from “Project Rameau” to “2 in D Minor”, have been driven by music, usually created, as is the case with “ab [intra]”, with his long-time collaborator, Australian composer Nick Wales.

“It combines beautiful classical and electronic music, my two favourite things – a very delicate cello concerto that becomes sublime, combined with the electronic world of Nick,” he says.

“The way he works with dancers is to get them telling their own stories, their memories, their experiences.

“Our Australian dancers are very beautiful, saying through their art, ‘this is who we are and where we live’ – it gives the audience a wonderful energy.”

“ab [intra]”, The Playhouse, August 30-September 1.

Black to front as officer Ron infiltrates the Klan

“BlacKkKlansman” (MA)

AFRO-American Spike Lee has an impressive filmography, director (83 titles), producer (71 credits) and writer (22 credits), many of which embrace the same film.

Not all of them have been screened in Canberra. So I was delighted to learn that this tense, race-hatred drama, based on real events, was on its way here.

In 1979, 26-year-old black officer Ron Stallworth, of the Colorado Springs Police Department’s intelligence section, was assigned to cover an address by Kwame Ture (Corey Hawkins) at a black night club.

Back at the office, Stallworth phoned a number in the local paper telling readers how to get in touch with the local Ku Klux Klan chapter. He announced himself as a white supremacist who hated coloured people of all races, seeking information about joining the Klan. The film tells what happened in consequence.

It’s an exciting drama, with Stallworth getting departmental approval to take the contact further. In a complex plan, Jewish fellow officer Flip Zimmerman, wearing a wire, impersonated Stallworth in face-to-face meetings with local Klan leaders. The pair slowly worked their way up the Klan hierarchy to its very peak, national leader David Duke.

After retiring in 2014 Stallworth wrote a book about the nine months during which the sting developed to a successful conclusion. Lee’s screenplay combines verifiable reality drawn from that book with what may or may not be a mote of creativity that, whatever its origins, rings true.

The film has a large cast of skilled actors, many not well known in Australia.

John David Washington plays Stallworth and Adam Driver plays Zimmerman. Felix Kendrickson (Jasper Pääkkonen) and his ferociously bigoted wife Connie (Ashlie Atkinson) elevate the film’s tensions. Topher Grace is David Duke.

The film opens with Kwame Ture’s address, stirring rhetoric, great cinema. Nearly two hours’ film time later, the same applies to the first phase in its action-packed coda when Connie Kendrickson hides a bomb under the car belonging to Stallworth’s girlfriend. This works convincingly enough for its verity not to matter.

At all cinemas

“The

Darkest Minds” (M)

CHAD Hodge’s screenplay adapting a novel by Alexandra Bracken envisages a world in which a strange disease has killed off 98 per cent of America’s children. The other 2 per cent have developed superpowers. The adult population has rounded up as many youngsters as possible and locked them in internment camps after classifying them into groups identified by colours.

Every child has to be tested. Those with superior attributes in the red or orange groups are killed without compunction.

At age 16, Ruby’s (Amandla

Regarded by many theatre professionals as the greatest musical ever created, Gypsy is the ultimate tale of an ambitious stage mother fighting for her daughters’ success… while secretly yearning for her own.

WE ARE LOOKING FOR LEADS AND CHORUS CHARACTERS, MALES AND FEMALES — STRONG SINGERS, DANCERS AND ACTORS — ALL AGES 9 & UP.

Director: Rodney Delaney.

Musical Director: Andrea Clifford

Choreographer: Jacquelyn Richards. Conductor: Ian McLean.

AUDITIONS: SATURDAY 15 SEPTEMBER AND SUNDAY 16 SEPTEMBER 2018

PERFORMANCE DATES: 24 APRIL – 18 MAY 2019

Stenberg) test results are remarkable. The young woman who tested her smuggles her out of the compound and takes her to a forest camp where other teenaged fugitives are giving their adult oppressors a hard time.

And that’s the foundation for what might have been a vigorous futurist movie exploring the conflict that grown-ups have created.

Alas, it descends into a romantic confusion based on Ruby and two cute young guys who recognise how special her powers are. Liam (Harris Dickinson) is a goodie on the side of righteousness. Rob (Mark O’Brien) is not.

So what sensations is director Jennifer Yuh Nelson asking “The Darkest Minds” to lead its audience to expect? A measure of excitement, a dollop of romance, a splash of tension; things that you might expect from so unabashedly fictional and improbable a movie that grown-ups might be forgiven for not believing it.

At all cinemas

“C’est La Vie” (M)

“C’EST La Vie” is about a professionally managed reception. It’s in the best tradition of French farce, an occasion at which if it is possible for anything to go

wrong, then everything will go wrong. We in the audience laugh immoderately. The possibilities are endless.

Written and directed by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, at the summit of its very large cast is Max (Jean-Pierre Bacri) seriously considering that after Pierre’s wedding tomorrow, he will simply walk away from the up-market wedding business that he has spent three decades building.

Here is the framework for a plot ranging between improbable and unbelievable by way of hilarious and unpredictable.

Putting it together avoids the real risk of it becoming a set of clichés looking for connections to sustain a story in which beginning, middle and end lurch through, over, around and alongside each other.

Making such confusions work effectively requires clever writing to sustain the freshness necessary to dispel audience boredom. I see more movies in otherwise deserted cinemas than do most filmgoers. “C’est La Vie” provided a welcome diversion from that practice. It is clever comedy that needed sharing and got it. I was grateful.

At Palace Electric

Set all across America in the 1920’s, when vaudeville was dying and burlesque was born, Arthur Laurents’ landmark show explores the world of two-bit show business with brass, humour, heart, and sophistication. The celebrated score, by Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim, boasts one glorious hit after another, including:

“Let Me Entertain You,” “Some People,” “You’ll Never Get Away from Me,” “If Momma Was Married,” “All I Need Is the Girl,” “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” “You Gotta Get A Gimmick,” “Small World” and “Together Wherever We Go.”

Charlie’s taken over the corner in Kingston

What I appreciate is the friendly and efficient staff who make every effort to get to know customers and who are dead keen on drawing out what they think.

IT’S prime real estate and for a long time, the precious spot on the corner of Giles and Kennedy Streets in Kingston remained empty, dark and lonely – a drag for surrounding businesses.

One day I spotted folks working on the outside, repainting the sign of the former establishment, Jones and Co.

I asked what was up and was told Charlie’s was taking over the corner. And so it has.

Charlie’s Corner honours Charles Cameron Kingston, the Australian politician who served from 1893 to 1899.

On site is co-owner Lachlan Ryan, a delightful chap. Instead of tampering with the expensive fitout, Lachlan has pretty much left things well alone – a smart move.

What has changed is the menu. Charlie’s is casual and prices are set accordingly.

The place hasn’t been open too long and the food offering is still being refined. What I appreciate is the friendly and efficient staff who make every effort to get to know customers and who are dead keen on drawing out what they think. They’re proactive

in asking for feedback and implementing ideas that make sense. It’s no wonder that for many Kingstonites, this has already become a new “local”.

Several of us dined on a weeknight. Four burgers are on the menu, but we concentrated on entrees and mains.

The menu promised the spring rolls would come with balsamic glaze ($16) and the pan-fried Japanese dumplings with sweet and sour soy sauce ($17). It ended up the glaze was served with the Gyoza and the spring rolls with a sweet chilli sauce, but we preferred it that way and dug into the entrees with glee.

ARTS IN THE CITY

The salt and pepper squid ($18) was tender and married well with the fresh Vietnamese salad. The coriander dipping sauce needs refining – it’s pretty potent.

The scotch fillet ($29) was cooked to perfection and you can choose from four sauces. The marinated strips of Moroccan beef ($25) featured great flavours and was dished up with fluffy couscous, pan-fried capsicum and parsley served with a cooling mint yoghurt.

The grilled lamb cutlets were tender and the Moroccan saffron rice delighted ($29). The

Nick and Nick’s French feast

By Helen Musa

NICK Milton will return from Germany to conduct the Canberra Symphony Orchestra through a French feast of music celebrating the hundredth anniversary year of Claude Debussy’s death. Sax virtuoso Nick Russoniello will perform Debussy’s “Rhapsody for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra”, then they’ll all perform a slap-up version of Ravel’s “Bolero” followed by Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique” and Milhaud’s “Scaramouche”. At Llewellyn Hall, September 5-6. Bookings to cso.org.au or 6262 6772.

IN the lead-up to the Llewellyn concert and as part of the CSO recital series, Russoniello will also perform compositions by Telemann, CPE Bach, Britten, and his own work, including “Fox” (a tribute to Jimi Hendrix) at Wesley Uniting Church, Sunday, September 3. Bookings to CSO.org.au or tickets at the door.

A POP-UP shop in Weston is the latest venue for an art show and sale of Wendy Macklin’s latest show of paintings with happy people and children and dogs having fun in the sun. “South Coast Summer” will be found at the bottom of the escalator, Cooleman Court, August 24-26 and all works are for sale.

THE Street Theatre will continue its flirtation with football and music when satirist Titus O’Reily appears in “Manifestly Inadequate”. He bills the show as “tailormade for the sports nut, whether their passion is footy, racing or cricket”. At The Street, Monday, August 27. Bookings to thestreet.org.au or 6247 1223.

NEWS from Canberra’s lively Griffyn Ensemble is that, in the wake of Science Week, it’ll be joining astronomer Fred Watson as part of the “Extended Play New Music” marathon at Angel Place City Recital Hall, Sydney, on August 25.

ALSO further afield, former CraftACT chief Avi Amesbury has a new solo exhibition, “Country –

Sax virtuoso Nick Russoniello… at Llewellyn Hall and Wesley Music Centre. Photo by Jacquie Manning

Ancient Lands”, about places in Australia and sites in Israel, where she completed a six-week residency at the Benyamini Contemporary Ceramics Centre. At Sturt Gallery and Studios, Mittagong, until September 16.

AS part of a celebration of the long career of violinist and concertmaster Barbara Jane Gilby, a concert at Wesley will feature the Brahms and Mozart Clarinet Quintets, with Eloise Fisher on clarinet, Gilby and Pip Thompson on violin, Lucy Carrigy-Ryan on viola and Samuel Payne on cello, 3pm, Sunday, August 26. Bookings to trybooking.com or tickets at the door.

SEVEN Year 12 Music Students from Canberra Grammar School will perform music for organ, oboe, piano, cello, alto saxophone and bass guitar at Wesley Music Centre, 12.40pm-1.20pm, Wednesday, August 29. No bookings, tickets at the door.

salmon was delish and the fish cooked to perfection. The skin wasn’t crispy, so I parked it to the side of my dish.

The wine list at Charlie’s is reasonably priced and there’s a pretty decent selection, with whites and reds starting at $8 a glass and $27 a bottle. The Burns and Fuller Chardi is a fave, at $38 a bottle.

The outdoor area is large and the indoor area comfy, with cushy seats lined up along

large windows on both sides

to enjoy a drink and watch the world go by.

Charlie’s Corner, 26 Giles Street, Kingston. Call 5105 3202. Open Tuesday to Saturday, 8am to late. Sunday breakfast and then drinks 1pm-5pm.

Paul Howard Lawn Coring

GARDENING

Helping lawns back to health

LAWNS look understandably sad at present with little or no

and severe frosts.

But will the lawn recover? As in the bush with the severe drought, the grass is still there and with good rains will come again, it will not be dead.

As the days warm and surely they will very soon, the grass will quickly green up. This is where we gardeners can help nature along. One of the first tasks is scarifying, coring or dethatching the lawn, followed by a good feed.

A lawn’s spring recovery will depend to a certain extent on the type of grass. Ours has been patched with a variety of seeds and, despite this, will look reasonably good again.

If a lawn is in reasonable shape scarifying is the easiest method, mainly to remove any dead grass. I use a metal spring tine rake, as illustrated, that adjusts from 25cm to 60cm wide simply by sliding a lever on the handle. I find the halfway mark ideal to remove dead grass including, in my case, runners of couch grass.

It is also great for raking leaves in awkward spots in garden beds just by adjusting the width. One very important point, don’t be tempted to put the rakings on the compost heap. They can contain runners of couch and maybe other weeds. I put the rakings into our trash pack.

If the lawn has been neglected for some time the turf may be matted. The answer is dethatching with a machine fitted with a number of tines, set like a series of vertical lawn-mower blades. This has the effect of cutting up the tufts and allowing new roots to develop. Again, beware of weeds in the raked excess grass.

But for heavily compacted lawns the answer is coring. Imagine a

line of apple corers mounted on a machine rapidly digging into the soil. This process aerates the soil, allowing for improved water penetration.

However, if the ground has become very compacted, the addition of a liquid ground breaker is advisable to soak into the core holes to increase water penetration to the roots.

Late August to the end of September is the time to feed a lawn, followed by an additional feed six to eight weeks later. I suggest certified organic Neutrog Seamungus pellets, a combination of seaweed and

chook poo.

One word of warning, coring or dethatching machines are extremely heavy and take some negotiating, especially in small spaces. The cost of hiring and getting them on and off a trailer is a challenge in itself. Over the years I have heard of dramatic stories of out-of-control coring machines plowing through garden beds! I recommend, except for rake scarifying, using a professional lawn person to carry out this work.

Jottings...

• Feed all daphne plants now to

encourage late-winter flowering.

• Lightly prune camellia sasanqua as buds will shortly start to form for next year’s flowers. Apply a certified organic fertiliser.

• Remember, if veggie seedlings are in stock at garden centres it’s time to plant.

Joanne Madeline Moore

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

Over the past two months, have you felt as if you’ve been walking through treacle, treading water… or even going backwards? Has your Ram mojo gone missing? Has your Aries ambition disappeared? Has a work project backfired? Or have you experienced problems with a colleague, client or customer? Thank goodness your ruler Mars finally moves forwards on Monday. You’ll start to feel more positive, passionate and proactive about love, life and the Universe.

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 21)

Has your motivation gone AWOL over the last few weeks? Mars moves forwards on Monday, which increases your enthusiasm and get-up-and-go. And it also activates your adventurous and aspirational side. It’s the perfect week to dream big dreams and take plenty of positive action. Nothing ventured; nothing gained! Be inspired by Swedish movie star Ingrid Bergman (who was born on August 29, 1915): “I don’t regret a thing I’ve done. I only regret the things I didn’t do.”

GEMINI (May 22 – June 21)

Gregarious Geminis – the buzz word this week is communication. Your curiosity is piqued, and you’re keen to connect and converse with a wide range of people. You’ll also feel like breaking out of your usual daily routine and doing something completely different. But be careful you don’t say (or post) something that’s totally inappropriate. On the weekend, variety is the spice of life as you play sport, pursue a creative project or enjoy a special romantic rendezvous.

CANCER (June 22 – July 23)

Mars moves forwards in your relationship zone on Monday. But Saturn and Pluto are still both in retrograde mode. So, partnerships should slowly improve… as long as you are proactive, work hard on problems and take a long-term view. Platonic relationships are particularly important, as you deepen your connection with a special friend or work on a challenging joint project. And some Crabs will experience a decidedly deja-vu moment, when you meet someone for the ‘first’ time.

LEO (July 24 – Aug 23)

Have you been feeling like a lacklustre Lion over the last few weeks? On Monday, mighty Mars moves forwards again (in your wellbeing zone). So, your fiery energy levels should gradually start to return. It’s a terrific week to get motivated and start a new exercise program. Catching up with family and friends also cranks up your enthusiasm for future joint projects. But be careful that your boisterous behaviour doesn’t come across to others as being bossy and bombastic.

VIRGO (Aug 24 – Sept 23)

Mars starts moving forwards on Monday, so it’s time to reboot your Virgo vim and vigour. Especially involving sport, children, friendships or creative projects. But someone may try to persuade you to buy something that you really don’t need. Steer clear of making uncharacteristically extravagant financial decisions! Take the time to think things through. And avoid making an impulsive comment (in person or online) that leaves you (or someone else) feeling embarrassed.

LIBRA (Sept 24 – Oct 23)

With Venus visiting your sign (until September 9) it will be hard for others to resist your Libran charms. If you ask your partner for the moon and stars, they might just deliver. Singles – there’s never been a better time to attract your soul mate. So, send out the appropriate signals, and then go after them! Mars, Saturn and Pluto also push you to build firm foundations for the future. As birthday great Lily Tomlin reminds us: “The road to success is always under construction.”

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 22)

Progress has been slow (particularly at school, college, work or online) but that will start to change as Mars moves forwards. There’s no substitute for being thoroughly prepared so make sure you are ready to pounce from Tuesday onwards. Relations with a colleague or loved one could be strained though. The more you try to organise them, the worse things will be. They are looking for encouragement and positive solutions, rather than criticism – however ‘constructive’ it is.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 – Dec 21)

Action planet Mars finally moves forwards in your money zone, but don’t spoil your future prospects by being rash with cash. Slow down and think (carefully) before you turn an impulse purchase into an expensive mistake. On Tuesday you’re in the mood to be blunt and tell it like it is. But are other people ready for your special brand of Sagittarian truth serum? When it comes to an exciting work or study project, be adventurous and keep your options wide open.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 20)

With Saturn and Pluto still reversing through your sign, there’s no doubt you’re feeling frustrated. But Mars moves forwards on Monday, which encourages you to power ahead at a patient and steady pace. Be inspired by birthday great, actress and comedian Lily Tomlin: “View challenges as hurdles on the road to success.” The weekend is wonderful for social events, creative projects, outdoor adventures or spending some quality time with your favourite four-legged friend.

AQUARIUS (Jan 21 – Feb 19)

Have you been questioning your Aquarian purpose in life? Or do you feel as if you’ve got the worries of the world on your shoulders? Take a step back and view things from a much wider perspective. On Monday, Mars moves forwards in your volunteer zone. So, think up some dynamic ways that you can help those who are less fortunate – whether locally, nationally or internationally. As Yoko Ono (a fellow Aquarius) observes: “Helping yourself is connected with helping others.”

PISCES (Feb 20 – Mar 20)

Courtesy of Mars turning direct, the power of the group is on your side as you chat and collaborate; mix and mingle. With the Sun shining in your relationship zone, strive to get the balance right between giving and receiving. Your strong ‘need to please’ often results in others taking advantage of your kind and compassionate Piscean nature. Perhaps it’s time to let your partner do the pampering for a change? Singles – love is likely with a tender Taurus, a convivial Virgo or a sexy Scorpio. Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2018

Name classical ballroom dances. (6) 22 Which is the national ball-game of the USA? (8)

24 Name a former harem attendant. (6)

25 What are the hinged, movable flaps of aeroplane wings? (8)

26 Which planet is sixth in order from the sun? (6) Down

2 Name a royal domain, or a kingdom. (5)

3 Which mineral is a yellow variety of sapphire? (5)

4 Which horse runs a short race at full speed? (8)

5 What is a burden, or a responsibility? (4)

6 Which term describes a medical centre? (6)

7 What are variegated varieties of quartz, showing coloured bands? (6)

12 Which of the non-human anthropoids do not have tails? (4)

14 Which term describes a feeling of no interest in anything? (8)

15 To be in a state of wonder and amazement, is to be what? (4)

17 The wattle tree is commonly known as the what? (6)

18 Name a former capital of Egypt. (6)

20 What is a group of nine performers? (5)

21 Which other term describes the Academy Awards? (5)

23 Name a Hebrew prophet of the 8th century BC, and author of the Old Testament book bearing his name. (4)