CityNews 190117

Shrinking the pain of migraine + + + Omar spars with love, family, race Spring bulbs call for attention

Giant, jumbo crossword

SUMMER EDITION, 2019

KID

Meet REECE CUMMINGS, Canberra’s karate champ

Ruth’s special gifts to saying goodbye

to one of her cousins at a family event who told her how she’d put the alarm

“She said: ‘Every morning I get up and look at that clock and think of Aunty Jill’,” says Ruth, who in that conversation realised she had done what she set out to do – have her mum

“As an only child it was comforting to see that others will remember my

And, while Ruth didn’t know it at the time, it sent her down the path of start-

“If this worked for me, helping me with my feeling of loss, then this should

After starting her business “Forever Impressions” this year, Ruth, or as others like to jokingly call her, “the death queen”, helps others with the loss of a loved one through gifting at a funeral

“Many people feel overwhelmed when organising funeral arrangements

“Forever Impressions can help and support those going through a time of loss by paying tribute to who they love.

“We are able to give those grieving another option by helping them create a lasting memory through a tangible

Arts & Entertainment 16-17

Arts in the city 17

Canberra Matters 4

Gardening 22-23

Jumbo Crossword 18

Grumpy 10

News 3-14

Summer What’s On 8

Since 1993: Volume 25, Number 2

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Spruce up for park

THE National Capital Authority (NCA) will spend $500,000 over the next three years to spruce up Commonwealth Park. CEO Sally Barnes said the improvements would include outdoor furniture, irrigation, event needs and enhancements to the Stage 88 precinct.

“We will be looking at where the pathways go and how people move around the park,” she said.

Ms Barnes said as well as undertaking maintenance and upgrade works, the NCA would take a broader look at not only what was currently in Commonwealth Park, but what could be there in the future.

Calling young voices

APPLICATIONS are open for the 2019 headspace Canberra Youth Reference Group. Community engagement officer Tracy Boomer says this is a chance for young people to shape the headspace message and service.

“The Youth Reference Group play an integral role within the centre,” she says. “They review and develop headspace services, create youth wellbeing projects and represent the centre at events and political engagements.”

Successful applicants will receive training to engage with the media, politicians, and create wellbeing projects. Young people aged between 16 and 25 with a passion for mental health and youth issues are encouraged to apply at 6201 5343.

CANBERRA MATTERS / social housing

Under the radar, Yvette plays housing games

SOCIAL housing in Canberra is a vexed issue because of the way this government handles the portfolio.

Residents regularly express frustrations with a couple of ACT ministers, namely Andrew Barr (Chief Minister) and Mick Gentleman (Minister for Planning and other things). While such criticisms are justifiable given the stuff that happens, there is another minister, Yvette Berry, who as Minister for Housing and Suburban Development has been largely under the radar but is responsible for her share of this government’s goings-on.

As a result of the Northbourne clearances, the extra title of Minister for Urban Clearances should be added to Ms Berry’s portfolios.

in Dickson and Chapman. Residents were being forced to make the false choice of having community land or to give it up for social housing. This minister was viewed as willfully creating this unsettling situation.

Among the dubious planning decisions was the removal of the public housing along Northbourne and the scattering of tenants across Canberra.

As a result of the Northbourne clearances, the extra title of Minister for Urban Clearances should be added to her portfolios.

She is so fixated on being seen to solve the problems of her own making that she sees no wrong in taking away important pieces of social and green infrastructure designated for important community and cultural reasons.

The perception is that this minister regards residents to be against social housing in their suburbs. Wrong.

This minister has been behind the games to build residences, including social housing, on cherished community lands

The government is not transparent in working with the community to identify the sites; residents reject the idea of using designated community spaces for social housing; and there is evidence from several housing sites that this government does not maintain its housing stock very well.

A curious card appeared in letterboxes last November. It said how the ACT government is committed to

public housing across Canberra blah, blah, blah. The card made no sense. The best reading was that Dickson residents were being encouraged to go online to have “your say” about something not identified that was to do with public housing. It read as if the government was hoping to trigger negative reactions (our politicians are good at such nasty behaviour).

Having navigated into the infamous and questionable “Have-Your-Say” website, there was information (not alluded to in the letterbox drop) about two sites being redeveloped for public housing in Dickson. One was fine. But the other!

The image above was presented to inform people of new public housing. Is that the best a minister interested in social housing and inclusion can come up? Did someone get the drawing for a prison mixed up with this work?

The inner north has numerous social housing sites and most are usually integrated into the neighbourhood. Unfortunately, some recent work has come with curious faults. There is one in the middle of Downer that has lights so numerous and bright that the otherwise well designed

Illustration of proposed public housing in Dickson taken from the government’s Have Your Say website… Did someone get the drawing for a prison mixed up with this work?

public housing apartments look like a prison. Residents and neighbours have complained about this stupid use of lights but no one in this minister’s directorate wants to know.

The same minister’s office did not want to know about the requests to have the large gum tree removed from the centre of the complex as the prospect of large branches coming down some time soon is very high (so now we know who will be held responsible).

The ACT electorate is generally a progressive society and embraces government programs that assist those in need. Residents expect the ACT Labor/Greens government to have put the highest priority on social housing. According to those who study the

TUITION BY KUMON

Between the four local centres in Canberra, we have generated thousands of success stories over the years; from preschool to year 12, in both the Maths and English programs.

How does Kumon work?

statistics, this government continues to not match community expectations on the delivery of a range of socialhousing initiatives.

The ACT government’s lack of leadership in working with residents on these social issues continues to be very annoying and frustrating for residents especially given their support of social housing. Yvette Berry as minister has the means to put in place a more transparent and friendly way of working with residents. That would be a good way to kick things off in 2019.

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

At Kumon, students study material matched to their ability rather than their age. Every student has an initial assessment and an individualised study plan is created for them. They then practice until they have demonstrated a sound understanding of the material before progressing. Students eventually reach a point where they are learning work ahead of their school grade.

What is Kumon’s point of difference?

Learning occurs from carefully prepared work that has been designed in a way that allows students to solve problems on their own. Examples and explanations are clearly provided and students are encouraged to self-learn and advance independently. The Kumon Instructor’s role is to assist them by giving advice and instruction where necessary to allow them to master academic and life skills as they progress through the Study Program.

HEALTH / headaches

The whole time TABITHA CARVAN is speaking to Prof Paul Martin, she feels she’s getting a headache. Should she see a doctor about it – or a psychologist?

EVERY time Prof Paul Martin says the words “migraine triggers” – which is often because he’s an expert on migraine triggers – I feel like it’s in the imperative, as if he can cosmically evoke one in me. That’s how we approach migraines: with superstitious terror at the almost mythological suffering they can wreak.

Instead, we expose patients to the triggers in a controlled way to desensitise them.

The pain of migraines is so extreme, you can’t believe it comes “from inside your head”, Andrew Levy writes in his migraine memoir “A Brain Wider Than the Sky”. Instead, he says, it’s more explicable that “God just punched you in the face”.

Martin is a psychologist committed to scientific objectivity in his position as interim director of the ANU Research School of Psychology, but is not immune to mythologising.

To what else could he attribute the onset of his own migraines only after he started studying them, than the sick sense of humour of the “great psychologist in the sky”?

On his fingers he counts off the symptoms he experienced: unilateral throbbing pain, visual disturbance,

nausea, vomiting, phonophobia, pho tophobia, vertigo and aphasia. A fa miliar catalogue for any sufferer and the reason why migraines are consid ered to be as disabling as paraplegia, dementia or heart failure.

However, Martin believes there’s a difference between these crippling medical conditions and migraines. It has nothing to do with God, and every thing to with what’s “inside your head”.

He believes migraines can be more effectively treated by psychologists than doctors.

The traditional approach to mi graine prevention has been for suf ferers to identify what might be trig gering the migraines – anything from stress, food additives and prescription drugs, to hormonal changes, computer screens and sleep issues – and avoid those triggers.

His approach is to look instead at the setting in which those triggers occur and work with patients to consider what specific factors might be at play in causing those triggers to elicit a migraine.

He gives the example of a patient, a stay-at-home mother, who had identified cold winds as a trigger for her headaches.

would be to say that the cold is having a biological effect which triggers a neurological mechanism,” he says. “The cold is the trigger, therefore she should avoid the cold.

“My approach is to say, well, if she’s getting more headaches in winter than in summer, that’s a starting point, not an end point.

“It could be the children spend more time inside in the winter, which makes her more tired and stressed. Maybe her husband barbecues more in summer, meaning she has to do more of the stressed.”

In a study of this kind of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) as a treatment for migraines, Martin found, for patients who had been experiencing headaches for an average of 25 years, eight sessions of CBT resulted in a 68 per cent reduction in headache activity and a 70 per cent reduction in medication use.

Intrinsic to his approach is that migraine triggers shouldn’t necessarily always be avoided. Instead, sufferers should learn to cope with them.

“Obviously some triggers, like dehydration, aren’t good for your health and wellbeing and are best avoided,” he says. “But there are other triggers, such as stress, anger, visual disturbance, noise and heat, for example, where we believe an avoidance approach only leads to decreased tolerance.

“Instead, we expose patients to the triggers in a controlled way to desensitise them to them.”

In a clinical trial looking at eye strain as a headache trigger, Martin found that short exposure increased the pain response but, as the exposure became longer, the pain response decreased.

After 12 months of exposure to the trigger, combined with therapy on learning to cope with it, the average reduction of headaches among participants was 77 per cent.

Martin has been working in the field of headaches and migraines for 35 years and says he’s confident his approach “leaves the medics for dead” when it comes to results and, unlike drugs, has no negative side effects. And what of his migraines? After working out how to cope with the triggers, he hasn’t had one in 30 years. “I consider myself as good as cured.”

This article was first published in the “ANU Reporter” Summer 2018 (reporter.anu.edu.au)

Upselling hearing loss: retail hearing aids

Recently, I was approached by a patient looking for a second opinion. The week prior she had been to a retail hearing aid store in her local shopping centre, hoping to get some advice regarding her hearing loss. As a pensioner, she should have been able to claim free hearing aids as part of the Australian Government’s hearing loss scheme under the Office of Hearing Services, but when she inquired about the program she was told by the salesperson that the governmentissued hearing aids were of poor quality and inadequate for her needs.

”We need to speak out and about what is going on in the hearing aid industry if we want change.”

– Dr Vass

The salesperson insisted what she needed was one of their more expensive hearing aids, priced at over $7,000 for a pair. Anxious about not being able to afford what seemed to be a necessity, she reached out to a friend who suggested she make an appointment with me for a second opinion.

After consulting with the patient and looking over her results, it became

clear to me that the assessment from the shopping centre was completely wrong. The patient had had surgery on one ear 20 years ago which had resulted in worse hearing loss in that ear and not the other. Yet the “hearing test” from the shopping centre showed that her hearing was equal in both ears. Was this because the tester was incompetent or the equipment was faulty? Or was it just an attempt to cover up a medical condition that would have required the patient to be seen by a doctor before hearing aids could even be considered for her? It is likely we’ll never know the answer, but any of the above explanations would be unacceptable.

We need to speak out and about what is going on in the hearing aid industry if we want change. Anyone who has a similar story can report it to the ACCC.

If you would like to have a complimentary second opinion with Dr Vass please phone 02 6282 2717 to make an appointment.

WHAT’S ON / summer 2019

Justice Crew headlines Australia Day show

The “CityNews” holiday guide to happenings and attractions around Canberra as compiled by DANIELLE NOHRA

THIS year’s Australia Day celebrations will see Justice Crew headline a concert at Regatta Point.

There will also be other musicians playing on the day such as Jess & Matt and locals TuchaSoul.

But for families looking to entertain children, Patrick White Lawns, near Old Parliament House, will have plenty of activities including cricket, a giant slide, live fairy tales, face painting and jumping castles. Visitors can bring a picnic or buy from local food trucks before the 9pm Australia Day fireworks.

THE Museum of Australian Democracy will run a “Ghost Hunters Tour” on Thursdays and Saturdays until January 26. It’s a torchlight tour illuminated with stories of death, mysterious occurrences and dastardly deeds at Old Parliament House, 18 King George Terrace, Parkes, 8.30pm-9.15pm. Costs apply and bookings to moadoph.gov.au

THE Bungendore Show is showcasing and celebrating local talent, animals, produce,

businesses and services in its 140th year. At The Bungendore Showgrounds, 71 Matthews Lane, NSW, January 27. Information at bungendoreshow.com.au

“ROME: City and Empire” features more than 200 of the British Museum’s most engaging and beautiful Roman objects each telling the story of how Rome grew from a series of small villages to become a mighty empire. At National Museum of Australia, Lawson Crescent, Acton, until February 3. Information at nma.gov.au

NATIONAL Portrait Gallery is celebrating 20 years, with 20 new portraits in its exhibition “20/20”. At King Edward Terrace, Parkes, until February 10. Free. Information at portrait.gov.au

THE National Library of Australia’s major exhibition “Cook and the Pacific” revisits the extraordinary Pacific voyages of Capt James Cook, between 1768 and 1780. At Parkes Place, Canberra, 10am-5pm, until February 10. Visit nla.gov.au

FROM Aboriginal times through to the establishment of the village of Hall in 1881, the exhibition, “A Tale of Two Villages” tells the story of the Hall-Ginninderra district. At Hall School Museum and Heritage Centre, Victoria Street, Hall, until June 13. Free. Information at museum.hall.act.au

“AFTER the war” explores the personal stories of hope, loss and love of ordinary Australians whose lives have been altered by war. At the Australian War Memorial, Treloar Crescent, Campbell, 10am-5pm, until July 11. Free. Information at awm.gov.au

“Snakes Alive!” will be

dose of dorin

at the Australian National Botanic Gardens from January 14-20. At Clunies Ross Street, Acton, 11am, 1pm and 2pm. Information at anbg.gov.au

CANBERRA Theatre is bringing ballet’s most playful and live comedy to children aged three and up. “Coppélia” is full of magic tricks, life-size toys and enchanting costumes. At London Circuit, Civic, January 17-19. Information at canberratheatrecentre.com.au

THE National Film and Sound Archive will screen “Paper Planes”, which will be followed by plane-folding lessons with the “paper pilots” from the film. At McCoy Circuit, Acton, 1pm-4.30pm, January 26. Costs $10 with bookings to nfsa.gov.au

THE National Library of Australia invites families to drop in to read stories from the Dreaming, explore the science of Cook’s voyages and create their own story of adventure at the “WordPlay” room for children aged four and over. National Library of Australia, Parkes Place, Canberra, until February 3. Information at nla.gov.au

EVERY Saturday at 2pm visitors can take a short walk with a ranger at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve who will teach them about potoroos and other important inhabitants of the Eucalypt Forest. After, at 2.45pm, guests can join another walk to search for koalas and hear some stories about them. At Tidbinbilla Reserve Road, Paddys River. Normal entry fees to Tidbinbilla apply. Visit tidbinbilla.act.gov.au

SPORT

THE Illawarra Hawks team is promising a thrilling game of basketball when it comes to Canberra to take on the Cairns Taipans on Australia Day at AIS Arena, Leverrier Street, Bruce, 2pm-5pm, January 26. Information at hawks.com.au

Black-belt champion still gets a big kick out of practising karate

By Danielle NOHRA

THE odd combination of karate movies and “Beef Week” started Lawson man, Reece Cummings on a 19-year martial arts journey before earning a top place at the Australian Martial Arts Championships in December.

He was 10 when he watched a karate demonstration at Beef Week in his hometown Wingham, NSW, and thought: “That’s what I’d like to do.”

Now, the 28-year-old holds a national title for advanced black belt forms after he competed in the Gold Coast against 30 skilled competitors from karate, taekwondo, kung fu and other martial arts.

“There were many competitors from different states at the National Titles, but in the advanced black belt forms division, I was the only person representing the ACT, so to take home the title for Canberra was a proud achievement,” he says.

Reece says he feels lucky he came across his practice, Okinawan karate, which is an old-style karate, based around civilian self-defence rather than sports karate.

“Considering [Wingham] was a small place, I’m lucky that I found a good [style of] martial arts and a quality instructor,” he says.

But that wasn’t the case when Reece moved to Canberra in 2009 to join the military.

His discipline wasn’t practised here and Reece had to ask himself: “Do I look at doing another discipline or do I continue this on my own?”

He decided he wanted to continue training in his discipline and was encouraged by his instructor to start his own dojo.

“When I opened I put an ad in the paper and advertised for the day I was going to be training but I didn’t have

a venue and I didn’t have people,” he says.

“For the first year we trained in a green room in a film studio in Mitchell.”

In that same year Reece started going to Japan to train, which was where he was granted his instructor licence, and is where he continues to go for training.

Ten years later, the non-profit school now operates out of a fullydedicated centre with more than 180 students.

Reece, who has since changed ca reers and works full-time in communi cations and public relations, spends an extra 25 hours a week running Karate Canberra – Cummings Karate Dojo.

His instructor said it should be something that comes from the heart and it should be a passion that Reece gives back, which is why he runs the school as a non-profit.

“I’m in the fortunate situation where I love my occupation and I also love my vocation,” he says.

“This way I can share my passion without being reliant on student num bers.”

But in saying this, Reece admits that Karate Canberra has become one of the largest full-time karate schools in the area.

“Being a non-profit means we can offer two scholarships every two years so our students can go to Japan and train,” he says.

“It also funds taking me to Japan every year because the more skills I have means the more skills I can share with students.”

Reece says the karate practised at the school is about character develop ment as well as discipline, confidence, focus and fitness.

“While we predominantly focus on teaching practical self-defence skills, the attributes of traditional karate can transfer to tournaments,” he says.

“[Tournaments are] another way to challenge the martial arts practi tioner and put yourself out there for external critique and evaluation, and assist in developing discipline and confidence.”

What next, bin ransackers in the night?

Reader BJORN MOORE, of Gowrie, is grumpy about the effects of foragers trolling through bins for 10-cent recycling containers

I HAVE noticed, being a keen recycler, a sudden rush of people going through public bins and recycling depots to gather cans and bottles that are, without doubt, for the claim of 10 cents each under the container deposit scheme introduced recently in the ACT.

Seeing someone troll through a bin at the local shops with a pair of barbecue tongs is something to behold.

I believe more than 90 per cent of residents are good at separating rubbish from recycling, following the guidelines, and putting items in the correct collection bin most of the time.

After all, you are not breaking any law if you happen to erroneously put a non-recyclable item in the recycle bin and vice versa with rubbish. At the end of the day it’s voluntary, a community focused initiative based on “doing the right thing”, assisting the environment while supporting industry for recycling.

I reject the claim by the Labor/Greens ACT government that the container scheme is worthwhile. Why do we need to impose additional costs for such a scheme? We are so good already in the ACT with our recycling efforts. Are they really trying to tell us that the lure of 10 cents per item is going to stop some litter bug from throwing a can in the waterway or out of a car window – I think not! If we didn’t have the residential recycling bins we already have (rates paid), then I would support the new scheme 100 per cent. No, it’s just another tax (particularly on alcohol beverages), and I don’t care how they try to window dress it. Perhaps we should have a cigarette-butt scheme instead, they are far worse for the environment.

The irony is that foragers going through bins are taking out material that is already in a recycling bin. I fear it’s just a matter of time before my recycling bin gets ransacked for containers in the middle of the night by a gang looking for booty.

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

OPEN FOR DINNER THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS

“Sherry learns to handle the wage increase”

“Treading carefully with tax returns”

“Vic wants facts before taking the package”

“Courier receives some tax surprises”

“Shawn’s in strife for late super payments”

“Two houses and one tax headache”

“Joyce gets a shock from UK pensions”

“Mum’s art gives Sandy a tax break”

(Chartered

Mia’s weekly message

By Danielle NOHRA

A FAMILY of five from O’Connor has managed to fit its weekly waste into a one-litre jar.

Mum, Mia Swainson, her husband and their three young boys started their journey towards zero waste after Mia read about a Canadian woman who could fit a year’s worth of waste into one jar.

It really struck a chord for the 39-year-old strategic business consultant, who is a sustain able living advocate in her spare time.

“My passion is in supporting people take the next step,” says Mia who runs waste workshops at Canberra Environment Centre.

But, when reflecting on her family’s journey towards zero waste, she says there were two things that every household could do straight away.

The first is understanding recycling which, she says, includes soft plastics that can be “recycled” by using a REDcycle drop-off spot at more than 20 locations in Canberra, usually in front of a Woolworths or Coles supermarket.

“When people recycle their soft plastics it’s then processed into something else,” she says.

This keeps it out of landfill and, when it’s removed from the bin, Mia says it helps people see what waste they’re producing.

“The second step is to take organic waste out of your bin,” she says.

Mia Swainson… “Feel good about the things you do and not

When people take out organic waste, such as kitchen scraps and rotten food, Mia says it will likely halve the waste in the bin.

“It’s nearly 30 to 40 per cent of people’s bins,” she says.

“[And] there’s a heap of ways you can process the material at home.”

Mia suggests starting a compost bin or a worm farm, but if that’s not an option she recommends an app called “ShareWaste” where users

on waste fits in a jar

not guilty about what you’re not doing.”

Photo by Danielle Nohra

can connect with people around Canberra and drop off their waste to someone who has ways of processing it rather than it going to landfill.

“When organic waste goes to landfill it produces a really nasty greenhouse gas called methane,” she says.

“About three per cent of greenhouse gases in the capital come from methane right now.

“Because climate change is such a pressing issue we need to reduce as much as we can.”

While those are Mia’s two easy steps to do today, she says there are other things people can tackle such as “the buy-nothing-new challenge”.

“Anything beyond medicines and food,” she says.

“See if you can buy nothing new and see what comes out of that.

“A lot of waste is driven by people consuming more than what they need.”

It’s not about buying nothing new forever, but Mia, who took on the challenge with her family, says it helped them become more conscious about purchases.

Recently, Mia needed a new hiking tent and, because of the challenge, decided to check the Gumtree website and found the exact tent she wanted, a lot cheaper and it had only been used once.

“There’s a fabulous resource called ‘Buy Nothing New’ on Facebook, which has about 10 group pages around Canberra,” she says.

“It’s really diverse in what you can get and what you can give.”

But, Mia doesn’t want people to become overwhelmed with what they “should” be doing and suggests that people focus on what they are doing that’s good rather than what they’re not.

“Pick one or two things to change at a time and pick something that suits you,” she says.

“Feel good about the things you do and not guilty about what you’re not doing.

“As long as you are on that journey, it’s a really positive thing.

“Waste touches every single person and we have the technology to do so much better than what we are doing at the moment.”

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Queanbeyan author, rapper and poet Omar Musa says...

WHOLISTIC FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS

THE QPR Council is looking for the local who best represents Queanbeyan to have their face painted as a mural on to a wall of the Bicentennial Hall, facing Monaro Street.

“This is a very significant public art project and we are asking for the community to help us select the subject matter,” says Tracey Lamont, the council’s program co-ordinator of place management.

“Think about who it is that truly represents Queanbeyan.”

It could be someone from the past or the present, it could be a grandparent, a family member, but no matter who it is, Tracey says, it needs to be someone who embodies Queanbeyan.

“This is a very significant public art project and we are asking for the community to help us select the subject matter,” she says.

Nominations before March 1 to yourvoice.qprc.nsw.gov. au/whats-your-story-portraitmural

The “face” of Queanbeyan will be painted on the wall of Bicentennial Hall.

Life of service

THE Australian War Memorial has launched its new exhibition “A lifetime of service for Australia”, which tells the stories of those who served the nation in multiple theatres of operation throughout the last century. It is open until April.

• I love going for a swim at Queanbeyan or Civic Pool and following it up with a righteous Frosty Fruit or two.

• Ginninderra Falls is a gorgeous, soulful place to visit in summer, and I feel it remains a bit of a secret.

• Grab a bunch of mates, a speaker and go shoot some hoops down near Lake Ginninderra as the day cools down. Add a sausage sizzle to undo your healthy work.

• It’s never a bad idea to have a slapdash feed at Sammy’s Kitchen in the city, as I often do on my birthday in January. The Ipoh hor fun is my favourite, but the shantung lamb is a recent revelation (thanks, Jem).

• As the sun goes down, I love wandering along the Queanbeyan River, from Oaks Estate, past the cemetery, all the way to the suspension bridge. It’s just beautiful at dusk and has long been my happy place. I saw some kids paddleboarding near the bridge recently and it looked like heaps of fun, maybe trying that can be my summer resolution.

BACK TO SCHOOL advertising

The end is in sight, time to get organised for school

THE school-holiday end is in sight and it’s almost that time for parents to get organised for the looming new school year.

Here are a couple of Canberran organisations ready to help families prepare for 2019…

The

uniform approach of friendly

THE friendly, family-owned business Workin’ Gear Schools has been supplying school uniforms to the local region for more than 25 years, says Lyndall Emmanuel, of Workin’ Gear Schools.

Formerly known as Braggs at Latham shops and then The Uniform Shop at Holt, the store became Workin’ Gear Schools in 2016 and has a sister store in Fyshwick.

“We are strong supporters of the

Workin’ Gear

local community, including local business, organisations and schools,” Lyndall says.

“We stock a large number of Canberra schools [and] we are always happy to speak to schools about how we can help them with their uniform requirements.”

Lyndall says this includes helping with wholesale uniform supply to school-operated uniform shops, offering a full retail option for schools wishing to move away from volunteer-

run, school-based operations, as well as being able to offer custom-manufactured garments through their manufacturing partners.

“[And] we have flexible payment options available in store and online including AfterPay,” she says.

Workin’ Gear Schools, Shop 1, 2 Luke Street, Holt. Call 6255 1029 or visit workingearschools.com.au

Music classes open for enrolment

WHEN two of Canberra’s longestestablished arts organisations merged in 2015, Music for Canberra was created to offer the ACT its largest program of musical experiences.

“We offer classes and programs for people of all ages, starting from 18 months, and classes for all abilities including kids and adults living with disability,” says Music for Canberra program manager Kate Firkins.

“Music is an important part of education for all people. You can start at any age with any instrument.”

Music for Canberra is now open for enrolments for all its classes, including its beginner classes (starting from five years), and it is also holding auditions for its orchestral streams in February.

Budding young musicians can be enrolled into group programs or individual lessons for instruments such as ukulele, acoustic guitar, hand drumming and recorder.

There’s also “Music Play” for children aged 18-months to five years, as well as “Canberra Children’s Choir” and the “Music Craft for Children” program.

There are plenty of programs for adults, too, such as the “Adult Recorder Ensemble”, the “Adult Flute Group” and “Seasoned Voices”, which is a choir for people over 55.

“Depending on what class you’re in, it’s a good social experience, particularly the orchestral and senior choirs,” Kate says. “Group learning is one of the best ways to learn because you will always have support from your peers.”

Music for Canberra, Ainslie Arts Centre, 30 Elouera Street, Braddon. Call 6182 0030, email info@musicforcanberra.org.au or visit musicforcanberra.org.au

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your conviction for what was right would be vindicated by history.”

Omar spars with love, family, race

RETURNING to his home turf direct from the Sydney Festival, poet, novelist and rapper Omar Musa will take the stage at the Courtyard Studio in his one-man show, “Since Ali Died”, as part of the Canberra Theatre Centre’s new initiative, “Etcetera”.

The Ali is boxing legend and outspoken civil rights advocate Muhammad Ali, who died in 2016 and few outside of the champ’s family and friends felt the loss more keenly than Musa, who uses his childhood hero’s passing to explore notions of legacy, love, family and race – indeed, Ali appears more than once in the show to give him advice.

In this suite of politically-charged storytelling, rap and song, Musa pays tribute to his personal hero while confronting heartbreak, violence, the dark realities of Australian culture and what it means to be “a brown man living in a country with a black history.”

“Ali taught me to be brave,” wrote Musa, in a tribute to Ali published by “The Guardian”, “to stand up for myself, to fight for the underdog and that, even if society was against you, your conviction for what was right would be vindicated by history.”

“Float like a butterfly, sing ‘til I’m free,” the show begins, as he plunges into a torrent of poetry, story and song, confronting everything from suburban violence to lost love to his Malaysian

heritage and the dark realities of growing up as a brown-skinned Muslim boy in Queanbeyan, using the death of his hero Ali as a springboard.

Staged by award-winning director, Anthea Williams, it enjoyed a sell-out run at the inaugural Batch Festival in Sydney last year. It was recently rated in the top 10 Sydney shows for 2018 by “Time Out” Sydney, which said, “[Musa’s] ease with himself and his material makes him magnetic.”

Sydney reviewer Kevin Jackson wrote of the performance: “All of these stories are written/spoken with such direct simplicity in a tremendous poetic language mastery, delivered with the relaxed physical ownership of a deep association of understanding and love, to create a charisma of such bewildering power, that I found myself weeping for most of the hour of this performance… Mr Musa gives you a sense of optimism, hope for the future.”

A politically-charged and deeply personal fusion of storytelling, rap and song, it mixes Musa’s own narrative with works from his Penguin anthology of love poems, “Millefiori”, and songs, comic, romantic and satirical from his album, also named “Since Ali Died”.

“Since Ali Died,” The Courtyard Studio, January 30-February 2. Book at canberratheatrecentre.com.au or 6275 2700. Omar, the 2018 ANU Young Alumnus of the Year, is the son of “CityNews” arts editor Helen Musa.

MUSIC Music festival hits on deaf ears for funding

By Helen Musa

THIS is the 10th year of the annual SoundOut international festival of improvised and experimental music, but they’re doing it hard.

Appealing to listeners keen about exploring sonic arts, the festival (under the guidance of its director Richard Johnson) aims to “uplift tired ears, explore the unknown, see within the fabric of sound, unravel the threads of normative musical praxis and question sonic hegemonies.”

Obviously that must sound esoteric to official ears because, although in 2015 Johnson was the recipient of the Award for Excellence in Experimental Music at the ART Music Awards in Sydney for developing SoundOut, it has been sporadically funded by EventsACT and this time around missed out entirely.

As saxophonist Rhys Butler asked ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr recently: “Why is it a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ each year? Your funding neither grows nor declines it just appears and disappears.”

Against the odds, Johnson and his musical allies push on with plans for a festival that will cement SoundOut’s place in Australia’s cuttingedge music calendar alongside Now Now in Sydney and Mona Foma in Hobart.

With artists coming from Australia, Austria, Germany, Quebec, Spain, and Sweden, Johnson hopes to provide opportunities for Canberra musicians to develop their music through collaborations that will combine, mix, crossfertilise and, in a characteristically grand turn of phrase, “move sound mountains to inspire inquiring ears”.

Definitely not music to the ears of EventsACT would be his assertion that It is “an unbridled mix of micro modular, minimalism, desynchronised repetition, fractional maximalism, melodic deconstruction, variable repetition and semithematic repetition and extrapolation,” although he does add that such music can be “moody, atmospheric, unsettling, good-humoured, menacing, ominous, jovial and, above all, original”.

The 2019 festival will see artists such as the Superimpose duo from Germany; viola da gamba player from Quebec, Pierre-Yves Martel and Australian improviser Jim Denley.

SoundOut 2019, Drill Hall Gallery, Kingsley Street, Acton, 1pm-5pm then 7pm-11.30pm, Saturday, February 2 and Sunday, February 3. Book at eventbrite.com.au

A crowdfunding appeal for SoundOut is at gofundme.com

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

The ‘Circularsawruses’ take mystery out of making music

By Helen Musa

MEMBERS of Canberra’s Griffyn Ensemble are keen to continue one of the most extraordinary exercises in music making ever seen in the nation’s capital.

“We’ve transformed satellite dishes, PVC pipes, foot pumps, balloons, skis, tin cans, fence-posts, bicycles, wooden boxes, garden utensils and more into some of the most incredible musical instruments you’ve never seen,” Griffyn director Michael Sollis recently told a concert audience at the Belconnen Arts Centre, Sollis also boasted he’d assembled “a crackpot

team of maverick musicians and makers,” his regular team musos, Chris Stone, Susan Ellis, Holly Downes, and Kiri Sollis, along with Perth instrument-maker, Mark Cain, virtuoso community musician Jim Sharrock and Canberra visual artist Byrd to make not just music but a “musical playground”. Together with community members, they’ve morphed into the “Circularsawruses”.

“We have scoured through old sheds, recycling plants and garbage bins to find offcuts and once-loved materials,” Sollis said.

“After some incredible experimentation and creative design, we have transformed these objects into brand new instruments.”

Sollis’ philosophy is simple enough and, as a first-time father in 2018, he should

“There is nothing more wondrous than watching a wide-eyed child discover sound. It could be as simple as seeing them strike two blocks of wood together, inventing a series of variations and patterns – thus making music for the first time.

“If only we could revisit that experience, to once again be that curious child.”

In his newest exercise, he has gathered the Circularsawruses, including children and adults from the community, to create new and often very strange-sounding musical instruments.

Instrument Playground”.

In last month’s concert they

showed a few of their efforts, painful to a few parents with sensitive ears but fun for the rest of the audience, including the kids. Not just that, it served the purpose of taking the mystery out of music making, too often confined to an elite.

We heard works on Cain’s PVC slide flute, which classical flautist Kiri Sollis told us took some of the control out of her normally masterly hands. We heard fiddler Chris Stone on the “Urbanjo” and hurdy-gurdy music produced with the aid of some serious bicycle-riding that sounded like a wild beast growling.

With careful attention, we could make out “The Little Drummer Boy” and Scotland the Brave” on balloon-pipes, and a new work, “Hazy Australian Summer”, where the relentless tune of the cicada actually sounded more like a mosquito. Soprano Susan Ellis, Kiri Sollis and Chris Holly recreated the sounds of a large, slow-moving animal in “Walrus Chorus”.

Sollis tried new, colour-coded musical notations in a six-movement composition called “Baloons”, not a misspelling but named after Baloo the Bear.

Playfulness was of the essence in this new “Giant, All-Ages Instrument Playground”.

Now the Griffyns, buoyed by the support of the community, want to hear from Belconnen residents of all backgrounds, ages and musical experiences keen to become Circularsawruses. They might even stage another concert before the summer is done.

Inquiries about joining the Circularsawruses to griffyn@griffynensemble.com

ARTS IN THE CITY

Nigel Kennedy plays Johann and George

By Helen Musa

SUPERSTAR virtuoso violinist Nigel Kennedy returns to Australia this month to perform works by Johann Sebastian Bach and George Gershwin. At Llewellyn Hall, 8pm, Friday, January 25. Book at premier.ticketek.com.au

THE Wild Wogs are back with “Wild Wogs 2 – The Return of the Wild Wogs” as comedians George Kapiniaris, Gabriel Rossi, James Liotta and Joe Avati, with a few guests, take the stage at the Hellenic Club of Canberra, Woden, 8pm, Friday, February 1. Book at trybooking.com

LONDON cabaret identity Amy Saunders (“Miss Behave”) and her sidekick Tiffany will perform a night of “satirically subversive fun and games that has even the most conservative audience turned

unruly”. It’s part of the Canberra Theatre Centre’s “Etcetera” season. At The Playhouse, January 29-February 2. Book at 6275 2700.

IN the lead up to the Mother Tongue Multilingual Poetry Showcase at the National Multicultural Festival, director Jacqui Malins is staging open-mic poetry evenings on January 21 and 28. At Smith’s Alternative, 76 Alinga Street, Civic. Book at smithsalternative.com or tickets at the door.

PADMA Menon is holding a “Moving Archetypes” summer dance contemplation intensive, “Siva the Cosmic Dancer”, to expand and reflect through the dance world of Siva, Lord of the Dance. No experience needed. At The Street Theatre, 9.30am-1pm, fees apply. Book at movingarchetypes.com.au

SUMMER JUMBO CROSSWORD

The expert businesses with great stories to share

HERE is a select group of expert Canberra businesses that chose “CityNews” to get their story out to the community over the last year. We thought you might like to hear from them again...

PHYSIOTHERAPY

Hands-on help with pain and injury

WARMER weather can inspire people to become a lot more active but being more active can also lead to aches and pains, says Hands-On Physiotherapy’s practice manager Liz Kell.

With the team’s “hands-on” approach, Liz says they’re committed to helping people manage acute and chronic occupational, musculoskeletal and sports injuries.

But, being one of Canberra’s original hand specialists, the practice also offers hand therapy following injury or surgery as well as management of Occupational Overuse Syndrome (RSI) and chronic conditions, including pain, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

“We can treat or manage injuries including sports injuries, wrist and finger fractures, elbow fractures, carpal tunnel syndrome, joint replacements in the hand, wrist or elbow, nerve entrapment syndromes and osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory arthritic conditions,” she says.

“We also fabricate static and dynamic splints for our clients as required by their treating surgeons or condition management.

“We have experience with Graded Motor Imagery in the management of phantom pain, chronic pain, CRPS and post trauma.” Hands-On Physiotherapy, 1/43 Mawson Place, Mawson. Call 6286 6467, email admin@hands-onphysiotherapy.com.au or visit hands-onphysiotherapy.com.au

started BarkRoyal Dog Day Spa & Day Care in 2017 and has been living her dream, working with dogs every day since.

Located in Nicholls, Debbie, who is the owner and head groomer, provides doggy day care as well as grooming services.

“It’s important to groom long-haired dogs in particular because if they’re not properly groomed their hair becomes matted and it’s painful for the dog,” she says.

“Also if you have your dog groomed by a professional, you’ll have much less hair around the house.

“They also need their nails clipped on a regular basis so they don’t cause all sorts of problems.”

dogs, Debbie offers any owners who have recently adopted a dog from RSPCA ACT, Yass or Queanbeyan a free wash, dry and tidy.

For people who want to give their dogs a social experience or they need them out of the house, Debbie says they can get dropped off in the morning for a day of free play.

“Dogs need to socialise with other dogs,” says Debbie, who has a diploma in dog training psychology and dog care behaviour.

“It stops aggressive behaviour and makes it easier to take your dogs places where there will be other dogs around.”

BarkRoyal Dog Day Spa & Day Care, Eve Place, Nicholls. Call 0419 446163, email barkroyaldogs@ gmail.com or visit barkroyalgrooming.com.au

OWNER of Curtin Optical, Corey Nicholls, says that their independence from large chains gives custom ers a more personalised service.

Having been a part of the Curtin community for 20 years, Curtin Optical has three experienced optometrists available for appointments from Tuesdays to Saturdays.

Corey and his team stock a wide range of eyewear, contact lenses and accessories.

“We cater to all tastes – from budget to well-known brands,” says Corey.

Curtin Optical are providers to the ACT pension scheme and also DVA.

Curtin Optical also offers mobile optical dispensing services – spectacle selections and deliveries to the elderly or people unable to come into store due to disability.

This also includes spectacle repairs and adjustments, and an after-hours service.

In addition, Curtin Optical offers an express service for those who have lost or broken their spectacles.

In its full workshop facility, Curtin Optical’s Corey is a fully-qualified optical mechanic and offers an express service on most (stock) single vision jobs, including rimless spectacles.

Curtin Optical’s instore services have a same day turnaround and its mobile jobs have a 24 hour turnaround.

Curtin Optical. Shop 1B, Curtin Place, Curtin. Call 6281 1220 or email looking@curtinoptical.com.au

“Who will benefit from your Will?”

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.

WILLS AND ESTATE PLANNING

Beware of changing legislation, says Ashilpa

CURRENTLY there are changes that might affect a person when drawing up a will or making estate planning arrangements, says Ashilpa Khanna, of Capon & Hubert Lawyers & Mediators.

Ashilpa says there have been changes to several things such as superannuation arrangements and tax implications for beneficiaries under the different types of trusts in a will.

“It is very important to consult with someone with whom you are able to ask questions [about these changes],” she says.

“This helps in being well informed when drawing up your will or making estate planning arrangements.”

With its personalised approach, Ashilpa says Capon & Hubert Lawyers & Mediators spend time with its clients to find the best possible solution that fits their particular situation at a reasonable cost – including wills and estate planning.

“Wills and estate planning are important because they ensure that your loved ones are looked after when you are gone,” she says.

“Having your affairs in order saves time and money or the need to prove something before the court.

“It also ensures that your lifetime’s assets are disposed of in the manner that you would have intended.

“If your circumstances have changed since you last made your will, it is best to seek advice and make an informed decision as to whether your will needs updating.”

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

HOME IMPROVEMENTS

Cabinetmaker Steve has a flair for special care

STEVE Milutinovic started his cabinet-making business in 1983 and 35 years on, the company has grown into specialising in home renovations, extensions and new homes.

Bordeaux Construction offers commercial fit-outs and joinery and are also fully licensed builders in NSW and ACT.

“We pride ourselves in achieving the highest standard for our customers in design and workmanship,” Steve says.

“Our prices are competitive and we work with you to achieve your desired outcome.

“We offer full trade co-ordination and have our own experienced and reliable tradesmen and expert staff to assist you in your project. Our

custom-built, cabinet making workshop can also build joinery items to suit your needs whether for home or office.

“We also recently received an MBA commendation award for ‘Special Care’ residence as we specialise in housing needs for the aged. Come talk to us about alternative living such as granny flats or self contained units,” says Steve.

Bordeaux Construction and Bordeaux Kitchens offer obligation-free quotes.

Bordeaux Construction, 8 Aurora Place, Queanbeyan, call 6299 4642. Visit bordeauxbcm.com.au or facebook.com/BordeauxBCM

Builder Achim knows his stuff

WITH a focus on giving its customers an efficient yet quality service, Woden Valley Glass is the destination for custom-made shower screens, wardrobe doors and kitchens, says manager Achim Weissegger.

Woden Valley Glass, which has been in Canberra for about 50 years, was taken over by Achim about a year ago, bringing with him more than 30 years’ experience.

“I’m a builder so I know a lot about shower screens and I have been doing bathrooms and the rest for a long time, so I know what works and what doesn’t,” he says.

“A lot of other companies have sub-contractors

Kitchens

who do the work and rush through it but we make sure that the job is done efficiently and properly.”

Before deciding on a sliding wardrobe door, a kitchen splash-back, a glass palestrate, a mirror or glass replacement, Achim says customers can come into the showroom where there’s the choice of a lot of different options.

“We’ll go through the advantages and disadvantages of different products and come up with something that works for you,” he says.

Woden Valley Glass, 63 Colbee Court, Phillip. Call 6281 6716, email wodenglass@gmail.com or visit wodenglass.business.site

Bathrooms

BORDEAUX KITCHENS

The handcraft and platinum specialists JEWELLERY

CLOVER Jewellery has an on-site jeweller and designer so people looking for a special present can get one uniquely made for Christmas, says on-site jeweller James Oh.

Clover Jewellery is a family-run business, which has been in Canberra for more than three years after it was in Japan for more than 25 years.

“We provide a range of high-end and unique handmade jewellery as well as fancy and beautiful silver jewellery,” James says.

“We have lots of samples for customers to try or they can bring in their own design and we can make it on-site by our fully qualified jeweller. We have wedding rings and engagement rings for customers to try on, too.

“We are a handcraft and platinum specialist and we offer a laser-engraving and laser-soldering service, you can put a message in the ring along with a birthstone. It makes it very special and one of a kind.”

Based in Manuka, Clover Jewellery makes custom and unique pieces and also offers a free quote for its design services.

Clover Jewellery, 2/16 Bougainville Street, Manuka. Call 6295 8545, email clover.j@hotmail.com or visit @cloverjewellerycanberra on Facebook.

(Associated with Capital Cabinetmaking) Specialise in custom-built design and joinery • Kitchens

Vanity and laundry units

Commercial Joinery

• Shop/office

Home office

• Experienced tradesmen and full trade co-ordination available

BORDEAUX BATHROOMS

• Designed with you with your budget in mind

High standard of workmanship

High quality finish • Completed on time, every time BORDEAUX CONSTRUCTION & MANAGEMENT

SUMMER GARDENING

It’s time to start thinking about

NOW, half-way through summer, it’s time to start thinking about autumn planting.

The next couple of months are a busy time for the home gardener and February/March is the time Floriade starts its spring bulb planting.

But where to plant bulbs? They love full sun, so don’t plant under evergreen trees. Deciduous trees, which lose their leaves in winter, are better because by the time they are in leaf, the spring bulbs have finished flowering.

Bulbs will provide visually a delight in your garden for many years, so it’s worth buying quality. Garden centres offer bulbs for sale in bulk and the biggest and best can be personally selected. Buying on line may be cheaper, but you cannot see the quality before they arrive.

THE next six weeks will be the hottest part of summer. Any action to help our plants is now vital, which comes back to mulching. Here is an alternative mulch for container plants. I use 10 millimetre, peach-coloured pebbles from Corkhill Brothers landscape supplies in Mitchell to about 10 centimetres thick on top of the potting mix. The pebbles

Preserving valuable moisture by using stones between the lines of vines.

reflect the heat during the day keeping the root zone cool. At night as the temperatures drop the pebbles cool down providing moisture to the plant. This technique is used on a broader scale in many overseas countries with hot climates. For instance in the south of France they clear the soil

of rocks, laying them between the rows of grapevines. The amount of moisture under the rocks as they cool at night is considerable; plus they reduce run-off as most grapes are grown on slopes. In Israel and Spain rocks are placed around trees such as olives and citrus and painted white to further reflect the summer heat. This idea can be used even in the home garden.

planting bulbs for autumn colour

SUMMER is also the time of fragrance in the garden and a climbing plant with superb fragrance is Trachelospermum jasminoides or star jasmine. Growing on the fence alongside our drive now in full flower, it is almost unforgettable walking to the back door.

On the other hand, one climbing plant I do not recommend is Solanum jasminoides or potato vine. Belonging to the same family as potatoes and the highly poisonous deadly nightshade, it is highly poisonous if the berries or any part of the plant are ingested by animals or humans. This climber can run rampant overwhelming other plants. Its insignificant white flowers have no fragrance.

I don’t often condemn a plant readily available from garden centres, but quite simply this one has nothing going for it whatsoever.

OTHER flowers providing colour in the summer garden include Echinacea or coneflower, Penstemon “Bull Tower Purple” and a real star Alstroemeria “Princess Zsa Zsa”. The latter will continue to flower up to the first frosts.

I mention these to provide ideas for the summer garden. All will self-seed or simply multiply to give you a neverending supply to fill bare spaces in the garden over the years.

A WORD of warning when using manures: it’s advisable to incorporate manures into the compost heap or, if

using them for the veggie garden, work them into the soil well before planting. Basically, any manure is good for the garden, but...

• On trips to the country one may see manures sold by the bag, usually horse manure. Most horses are fed with hay and if using fresh horse manure you may end up with a great crop of oats!

• Those little pebbles of sheep manure can take a while to break down, often accompanied with a crop of stinging nettles.

• Chook manure is considered a hot manure, with a high ammonia content. When wet on a warm day, it can cause

severe burning of plants with the release of ammonia gas.

Cow manure is the very best, as the animals chew the cud, regurgitating the grass through their system several times, totally destroying any weed seeds. The best story I heard was that lite milk comes from a different breed of cows than full cream milk!

WATCH out for “pest plants” in the garden. I seem to have a never-ending number of small box elder seedlings from a neighbour’s tree, plus privet and nettle seedlings. I can literally pull out at least 50 or more a week!

These will grow into monsters if you do not practice eternal vigilance. All these being on the environmental weeds list. Usually, they appear under the power lines where the birds have been sitting and the seeds maturing nicely in their droppings. People living in new suburbs without power lines will have this pest plant problem almost eliminated.

MANY people are reluctant to trim back plants that are growing rapidly. If this is not done, those same plants will be tall and scraggly, flopping over with few flowers. In particular perennial plants, of which you would like an autumn display, such as dahlias, chrysanthemums, Asters or Michaelmas daisies. I would suggest that you reduce their growth by half, which may mean cutting off some flower buds. Do not worry, these will soon grow again.

Jottings...

• Start cutting helleborus leaves to ground level now that the flowers are finished. Leaving them provides the perfect haven for slugs and snails.

• Bulbs that need to be relocated, perhaps in too much shade or too deep can be dug and moved at this time.

• To encourage more flowers on dahlias reduce the height of the stems and remove some of the buds. This strengthens the stems to support the extra flowers produced.

Breakfast radio host Tim Shaw, of 1206 2CC, has plans for summer...

• Spend a night at Jamala Lodge sleeping with the lions.

• Escape to the coast, specifically Malua Bay and a walk around Broulee Island.

• A game or two of golf with mates at Gungahlin Lakes Golf Club and at Fairbairn Golf Club.

• Taking visitors to see the new exhibitions such as the “Love & Desire: Pre-Raphaelite Masterpieces from the Tate” at the National Gallery and the Howard Library at the Museum of Australian Democracy in Old Parliament House.

• Enjoying a Hawke Ale at the newly renovated upstairs bar at the National Press Club of Australia.

This summer, University of Canberra vice-chancellor

Prof Deep Saini wants to...

• Take a slow discovery walk around Lake Burley Griffin.

• Spend quality time with my daughters and their families visiting from overseas.

• Dive deeper into Australian history through a full-day immersion in the Museum of Australian Democracy.

• Relax in the backyard over the University of Canberra’s 2019 Book of the Year, “The Natural Way of Things”.

• Fantasise about lowering my golf handicap to a single digit!