CityNews 190411

Sorting election spin from the lies

MICHAEL MOORE

Kate can’t pass up the pull of Persian music

HELEN MUSA

Lindy’s nostalgic rural haven

OPEN GARDEN

CLUB Bub

Becoming a parent is like joining a club, writes KATE MEIKLE. But there are no medals and you’re signed up for life!

Claim before it’s too late.

Don’t delay call MEJ.

6 PAGES MUMS & BUBS

Beekeeper Victor can’t escape feeling that buzz

By Danielle NOHRA

WHEN Victor Croker ran away from beekeeping about 30 years ago he would have never thought it would take ballet, a good bottle of fortified wine and a garage to get him back into the game.

Victor, a third-generation beekeeper, says his paternal grandmother was the family’s first beekeeper. In 1920 she couldn’t get work as a nurse, so she got about 100 hives and took them to all the orchards in Griffith, NSW.

“Dad then had about 2500 hives,” says Victor, 50, of Amaroo.

“I left school and went straight into the family business, but in 1990 I ran away from home with the desire to do something else.

“I had only worked in the family business and hadn’t experienced other career paths.”

Victor headed to Canberra to spend two weeks with his brother and has been here ever since. Mainly working in IT, he took a 20-year break before being “tricked” into the beekeeping game again over a glass of wine by his now business partner David Leemhuis. The two met when volunteering to build props at a ballet school both

INDEX

Arts & Entertainment 30-32

Canberra Matters 6

Cinema 31

Crossword 33

Dining & Wine 32

Garden 34-35

their daughters attended.

up on a farm in Bungendore and al ways wanted to get back out into the bush, so when Victor’s dad mentioned their history in beekeeping he made the business proposal.

er but didn’t have enough knowledge behind him,” Victor says.

“Beekeeping is a bit of a dark art; people don’t share information, you learn it over generations.

“I said, ‘yeah, okay as a hobby we’ll get 10 hives’ but then he said he was thinking of a couple of hundred.”

keeper. Beekeepers always find themselves gravitating back to it. We can’t help it.”

It’s been a long journey for the pair who only recently were able to leave their full-time jobs to focus on beekeeping.

“We started with about 160 tradi-

Since 1993: Volume 25, Number 13

Road, Mitchell. Folk Festival performer Kate Pass. Story Page 30.

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tional wooden hives and after the firstgled over winter in the wooden boxes,”

“I started researching hive design and found a high-density, polystyrene

The first to use polystyrene hives in the region, Victor and David took the risk and bought a sea container of them.

“When we got them on the ground we found the bees were 30 to 65 per cent more productive,” he says.

“They were also a lot healthier. We now produce anywhere between

100,000 and 150,000 kilograms of honey per year, depending on the season.

“We probably won’t go higher than that. We’re happy to cover our costs and live comfortably.”

They provide honey to Victoria’s Beechworth Honey brand.

But not everyone has this business model and Victor says, like any industry, there are greedy people who end up with too many hives that they can’t manage.

He says this can also lead to other issues such as the fake-honey problem, which has been highlighted in the media over the past year.

“If beekeepers take too much honey from their bees, the bees will starve; but rather than have their bees starve they feed them sugar syrup and the bees convert it into something that looks like honey but isn’t,” he says.

“We don’t feed sugar syrup, that way we’re guaranteed pure honey that’s not adulterated.

Victor says being a good beekeeper is only 30 per cent about the bees.

“It’s probably 70 per cent about the environment and the florals,” he says. “You almost have to be a botanist because you need to understand the plants the bees are targeting.”

Every species produces its own flavour and Victor’s personal favourite comes from Scribbly Gum in the Snowy Mountains, saying it tastes like salted caramel.

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SEVEN DAYS

Deportation will send teen into ‘world of isolation’

GREENS Senator Jordon Steele-John described the impending deportation of deaf Queanbeyan teenager Kinley Wangchuk as “ableism in its purest and vilest form”.

The Senator called on Immigration Minister David Coleman to halt the “disgraceful” deportation.

Supporters rallied at Parliament House on Friday calling for the 18-year-old to be allowed to remain in Australia after his family’s application for permanent residency was rejected on medical grounds. The family arrived here from Bhutan in 2012 and fear Kinley faces a “world of isolation” if he is deported.

A CANBERRA start up has won the prestigious Microsoft Australia’s AI for Accessibility challenge.

Getaboutable.com – founded three years ago by Dr Yasmin Gray (who has MS) and joined by Steven Diep and Andrew Vassili last year – pitched its travel portal to the technology giant on Wednesday and received the exciting news early on Friday. Vassili says the news was a “big step” for the company, which had been focused on expanding the platform to assist people with a disability.

AS members of the Canberra Press Gallery prepare to burst the “bubble” and head out

on the hustings, former ABC press gallery journalist Frank Keany has come to the rescue. Keany discovered “a few boxes in the cellar” of his 2016 book “Follow the Leaders”, written while traipsing around the country in the wake of campaigning politicians. He’s offering Facebook friends a copy (for a nominal fee).

PETER Garrett is heading back to Canberra, the city where he attended uni (ANU) and sat in Federal parliament as a Rudd government cabinet minister. The 65-year-old environmental campaigner is back fronting Midnight Oil, the band he helped form in the 1970s.

The “Oils” have scheduled a concert for the Canberra Theatre on May 27, one of only two shows scheduled (the other at Thirroul) before heading back into the recording studio.

STILL at the ANU, and what does the institution have in common with the former White House intern Monica Lewinsky? Both are big fans of the comedian Hannah Gadsby. The Tasmanian’s career took off in 2018 after her one-woman-show Nanette was taken up by Netflix. The ANU has awarded Gadsby Alumna of the Year for 2019. Lewinsky credited Gadsby with helping her reclaim her self-esteem and predicted

Gadsby’s motto: “There’s nothing stronger than a broken woman who has rebuilt herself” will be 2019’s most popular tattoo.

OSCAR Wilde’s weather witticisms are still quoted today but with Canberra’s early cold spell millennials have entered the conversation.

Headed by “Meanwhile in Canberra” a popular meme has been posted on social media referencing the unwritten law that there be no heating in the capital until Anzac Day.

The weather meme posted on

but what does it mean?

Disappointingly, the millennials from whom I sought an explanation of this cryptic meme could only offer “it’s esoteric”, forcing me to retreat to the comfort of another of Wilde’s (often attributed to George Bernard Shaw) quips that “youth is wasted on the young”.

STILL on Irish wits, butcher Wes Dempsey is not amused. Ordinarily, Wes brightens the days of those who pass or visit his Elite Meats at Kippax Fair with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of witty one liners posted on an A-frame board. But after his business was broken into, the one time stand-up comedian turned the joke board into a threatening warning: “To the scumbags that broke into our shop – Belco is small and when we find out your names you

will be begging the police for protection”.

WITH the Ray Hadley bullying allegations continuing to attract headlines, commercial radio’s take-no-prisoners reputation has been laid bare. Locally, a simple attempt to point out a spelling error on a Canberra station’s site has resulted in a gob full of abuse. A former staffer picked up the word record spelled “recoerds” and copped: “So it’s a typo. RECORDS there are you f$%^ing happy now” for his trouble.

An internal investigation is understood to be underway.

CANBERRA MATTERS

Be afraid, the barbarians are inside the gate

“THE barbarians are at the gate” usually means there is imminent danger from barbarous hordes about to crash into your city to plunder and destroy.

The problem for Canberra is that Andrew Barr and his barbarians are inside the city, are running the joint and are plundering resources and celebrating the city’s slow destruction.

This is the common theme being discussed across Canberra. People are witnessing many horrible things happening to the city they love.

Conversations focus on many concerns including:

• This city was never meant to be just another metropolitan city;

• being a garden city/the bush capital;

• architecture at a human scale;

• respecting heritage;

• hanging on to and increasing the urban trees and biodiversity;

• real housing choices – not just badly built, boring apartments;

• valuing greenery, open spaces and parklands;

• government that works with the people (not against them) and

• politicians and a bureaucracy capable of kindness, friendliness and empathy.

On these points Barr and his government are being judged as failing.

Attendees at the March 17 forum at Manning Clark House heard speakers deliver short and well-focused presentations under the broad title “Develop -

Despite election promises for change, the appearance of new and expensive authorities and worthy statements from planning chiefs, things are getting worse.

ing Away Our Bush Capital?”. Most of the planning and governance problems within the sad state of this ACT government were identified.

People were reminded that despite election promises for change, the appearance of new and expensive authorities and worthy statements from planning chiefs, things are getting worse and the damage to Canberra’s fabric is approaching a tipping point.

A 2016 article was mentioned as an insight into the key background

issues – the suggestion was to search “Canberra’s tangled web of developers and bureaucrats”.

While ACT Labor voters express the loss of the progressive government they once voted for, the other parties are also not doing so well with voters.

The ACT Liberals are being judged as mirroring their Federal warriors, complete with an out-of-touch far right. Progressive Liberals are in despair. While the comments on the Greens are not polite given their

frequent inaction on planning issues; sometimes they refer stuff to committees – but not much else happens.

The most shocking quote being that when asked about their views on the questionable proposals for West Basin, the ACT Greens said that at least it would no longer be a car park.

This tired bit of spin is the argument that the government, its bulldozermentality agencies and its trolling supporters use to justify the destruction of this part of Lake Burley Griffin.

The area does indeed have a car park at one end, but that car park is full of trees and the vast majority of West Basin remains open-space parklands with heaps of trees and important functioning biodiversity alongside the foreshore. All of this is of little interest to the ACT Greens. It makes you wonder.

Members of the local political parties need to take responsibility for what is being done in their names. If members sit on the fence, then they must recognise that they own and are responsible for this slow and ad hoc destruction of the city. Surely they join these parties to uphold some principles and to ensure good governance. This is not happening.

Andrew Barr’s government is seen

as not capable of listening to residents and the system of government is so out of touch that the government cannot imagine how to empathise with issues let alone be open and transparent in how it conducts planning and manages development.

While Canberra remains a fantastic city with great green infrastructure, unfortunately the new norm is rapidly becoming loads of very dreadful developments and boring architecture.

People across Canberra are joining forces to find new ways to get the residents’ concerns given a fair hearing. As is happening in Warringah in Sydney (Vote Tony Out), the common call from these individuals and groups is rapidly becoming just a few words: “Barr must go”. Could it be that simple?

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

young author

Jack grows up to a life of murder and crime

By Danielle NOHRA

WHEN Canberra author Jack Heath was a kid he decided he wanted to write at least 100 novels.

He was inspired by an Australian science fiction author whose biography said he was the author of more than 100 books.

Now Jack, 32, of Charnwood, is preparing to publish his 30th book in June and he doesn’t plan on slowing down any time soon.

Since “300 Minutes of Danger” took off about four years ago, Jack was able to quit his job at Dymocks (where he mostly recommended his own books!) to write full time.

Having to squeeze in writing time in between work and family previously has meant he treats full-time writing as precious.

He started writing his first novel at the age of 13 and six years later, in 2006, “The Lab” was published.

“I started writing my first book in high school because I was bored with the books I was given at school,” he says.

“I thought: ‘How hard could it be?’ Turns out it was really hard.”

Getting published at 19 was surreal for Jack, but he says these days it feels

like it happened to someone else.

“I don’t have a connection anymore with that young naive writer,” he says.

But his audience does and although Jack started writing children’s and young adult fiction, he has kept the same audience even now that he’s writ ing adult fiction.

After the release of Jack’s adult series, with “Hangman” published in 2018 and then “Hunter” this year, he says he’s had adults coming up to him saying they loved his first novel, “The Lab”, when they were a kid.

“It’s cool that I still have the same audience,” he says.

Before writing the “Hangman” series Jack was interested in how a writer can trick a reader into liking a character despite their being a terrible person.

This led him to create the character Timothy Blake, an FBI consultant who also happens to eat people.

“There are some readers who can’t get past that,” he says.

“I wanted people to like him but be unfavourable of liking him.”

Jack says he gets a lot of ideas from reading a lot of other people’s books and asking himself: “How would I do it differently?”

He also gets his ideas from listening to people and says he’s never really had a problem with coming up with ideas but he definitely struggles to choose from all the good ones.

“One scene was so horrifying, I fainted and vomited on a plane while reading it,” he says.

“It was a really traumatic and embarrassing experience.”

But at the same time, Jack was really impressed by how much power words can have.

After this experience Jack began reading more confronting fiction, but

“With Timothy Blake, he recognises he’s a bad person and that’s what I think readers respond to,” he says.

He got other ideas for the novels from Schapelle Corby.

“The newspapers were acting like she was going to get executed in a foreign prison,” he says.

“It was the first time I really thought about the death penalty.”

After doing some research Jack

found out that Houston in Texas was the place with the most executions and he found himself wondering what they do with all the dead bodies.

One of the reasons Jack really enjoys writing fiction is because he can push barriers and explore both sides of the argument.

“Because I started writing about Timothy Blake in 2008 I’ve had him living in my head for a long time,” he

“We have this uneasy truce. Whenever I have a nasty thought I’d like to disown I put it into Timothy Blake’s

In June, when Jack’s 30th book “Lockdown”, which is part of the “Liars” series, comes out, Jack reckons he will have to do something to celebrate.

For kids 10 and up, he says it’s about the teenage inventor of a lie-detector app (Jarli, from the first three books in the series) getting trapped in a hospital while a bunch of armed mercenaries are searching it for a patient who’s on their hit list.

But for now he’ll be working on the next book and then the book after that until he reaches 100, which by then he will probably still be living in Canberra and still writing at Coffee Guru in Charnwood.

“I can’t imagine ever leaving Canberra. People complain about the weather but that just means it’s a great city for reading,” he says.

OPINION BRIEFLY

What is it about school reunions?

RECENTLY, in the swing of my work, I interviewed the new principal of my old school and during the ensuing photoshoot met a few of the students. When they learned I was an “old girl”, one of the first questions they sweetly asked was: “Are you still friends with anyone from school?”

They were thrilled to hear my response that, yes, I am still lifelong friends with a small group of girls I met at the school. I told them that we keep in touch regularly through a WhatsApp chat group as we are all living in different parts of the world, but we get together for reunions whenever possible and I am so lucky to have these special friends in my life.

almost 30 years now living just around the corner to me with her two kids.

This year is the 20th anniversary for the “class of 99” and there has been chat among my group as to whether any of us would go if there was a reunion organised.

I grabbed my bestie and as we sat down, we realised we were all sitting in the exact cliques that we had at high school. Nothing had changed!

I am doubly lucky having my oldest school friend, who has been my “bestie” for

It got me thinking about what happened at our 10th-year reunion.

First of all, I remember we all got very dressed up. Like we were all bridesmaids at a wedding kind of dressed up. Some of us got our hair styled. And that’s great, it feels good to dress up and feel and look your best, but in this case it felt like we were trying very hard and nerves were showing.

Why did we feel so nervous? We were 28 years old, we’d all finished our studies, travelled and started our careers. Some of us even had kids! There was just something about “going back” that brought out that lack of confidence and fear of being different that some (maybe all) teenagers experience.

I arrived with my bestie, her dad

Tom Calma reappointed

both sat in the back of the car, just as we would have as teenagers. It felt like we were going back in time.

The pre-dinner drinks were lovely once a champagne got our nerves under wraps and it was fun to mingle with girls I hadn’t seen for years. Everyone looked exactly the same, except with better hair and eyebrows. The regression kicked back in when we were asked to take our seats. It was a musical-chairs moment as we all lurched towards our friends to secure a seat together. I felt that rush of anxiety that I used to feel when we had to pick teams at sport, that I don’t want to be the last one standing alone

I grabbed my bestie and as we sat down, we realised we were all sitting in the exact cliques that we had at high school. Nothing had changed!

We all kicked on afterwards, as you do, at a nearby bar and my friends and I bumped into an old bully from school. A couple of snide words from her was all it took to make me realise there were some people we don’t ever want to be reunited with, despite a decade passing.

But the night was also another reminder that there are some very special people in my life who I would pick, always pick, to be on my team.

So will I attend the 20th reunion? I’ll have to check with my bestie first.

will be the longest-standing member of the University Council, having been first

Hillclimb for HeartKids

THE tenth fundraising HeartKids Hillclimb will feature 45 race-car drivers peeling their way around the sealed, one-kilometre race track at Fairbairn Park Hillclimb Track, Sutton Road, 9am-4pm, on Sunday, April 14. The annual fundraiser is held in memory of William Cummins, younger brother of Southern District Motorsports Association member Daniel. The event, which is free to attend, has raised $85,000 for HeartKids.

Family fun day

CHILDREN’S charity Variety NSW/ACT is hosting a family fun day at Stage 88, Commonwealth Park, on Thursday, April 18. A fun, free and inclusive event, it will include activities, entertainment and a special visit from the Easter Bunny. “Playschool’s” Rachael Coopes will team up with ACT local Mr Tim (Tim Bevitt) to provide entertainment throughout the day. A sausage sizzle, drinks and fresh fruit will be provided free of charge plus some party food including fairy floss and popcorn. Register for free entry at variety.org.au

POLITICS / election 2019

Sorting spin from lies as the election cranks up

DURING the Federal Budget week

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, along with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, were putting their best foot forward to attract voters’ support in the light of the upcoming election.

Scott Morrison was demonstrating his real strengths from his prepolitics career as a marketing guru. In the lead up to the Budget he, and his colleagues, had the community convinced that this year would finally bring us into the black. It would have been good if it were true; unfortunately, it was not even marketing spin. It was a lie!

The truth is Josh Frydenberg delivered a deficit Budget with the “promise” of coming into a surplus in the not-too-distant future. Even worse, his political colleagues have now adopted the lie as their slogan: “back in the black”.

Gilding the lily!

Some see it as good marketing or great salesmanship. The reality is that it is dishonest. It is one thing to put a positive

It is reasonable for Australians to fear the possibility that, like the US, we might also be landed with a leader whose prime focus is on marketing his own message.

spin by emphasising the best possible achievements. It is another to attempt to persuade the community of good work based on something that is simply not true.

Across Lake Burley Griffin on Budget day hardly anyone noticed when Chris Steel, Minister for City Services, Minister for Community Services and Facilities, Minister for Multicultural Affairs and Minister for Roads, stood in the Assembly to sing his own praises. He was putting a positive spin that was not a lie. Mr Steel waxed lyrical in a “Ministerial Statement” in the ACT Assembly about his achievements after only six months as a Minister.

Improved recycling was a key message with a target of diverting 90 per cent of waste away from landfill by 2025. Green bins have been delivered to the Canberra community within budget and more than a year earlier than promised. He expressed pride in the 16 million containers returned

through the deposit scheme ready to be recycled with minimal contamination. A positive spin!

To his credit, Mr Steel addressed the China National Sword Policy, which has the intention of cutting “foreign waste including plastics, industrial waste, electronics and other household waste materials”. He informed the Assembly a significant portion of plastics are being trialled to be recycled into asphalt and spread on to “one million square metres of road”.

Interesting was the statistic he identified that in every tonne of asphalt “we will reuse 800 plastic bags, 300 glass bottles, 18 printer toner cartridges and 250 kilograms of reclaimed asphalt”. A positive spin!

Bill Shorten wanted to sell his message on Medicare. He targeted cancer to make the message more appealing and better understood.

“It’s something that touches every community, and most of our families,” he said.

Everyone knows prevention is better than cure and expenditure on prevention has been constantly cut.

However, Labor knows the impact of a debate on Medicare and, in the election context, has decided on selling this message.

As the Federal election campaign starts in earnest it will be important to distinguish between political spin and the facts. Smooth salesmen do have an appeal. Just as there is ample evidence that Tony Abbott and the conservative side of Australian politics copied many of the tactics of the Tea Party in the US with a focus on opposition for opposition’s sake,

this spin is simply political tactics. It is reasonable for Australians to fear the possibility that, like the US, we might also be landed with a leader whose prime focus is on marketing his own message. However, our future should really lie with truth, honesty and integrity.

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

BRIEFLY Frog’s charity sale to help animals

music, fundraising and the importance of the old-fashioned record store.”

Free movie

TO celebrate National Canadian Film Day, the High Commission of Canada is hosting a screening of the moving drama “Indian Horse” at Palace Electric Cinema, 6pm, on Thursday, April 18. Admission is free and the commission is throwing in popcorn and a drink, but bookings are essential at eventbrite.com

War nurse talks

FORMER Vietnam War nurse Terry Ross is the guest speaker

Club at the Town Centre Vikings, Greenway, 6.30pm, Wednesday, April 24. Dinner costs $27 and interested ladies are welcome to attend. Bookings to 6291 7716 or

Lunch and quiz

THE ladies of the Gungahlin Day VIEW Club will be competing in a trivia quiz at their next lunchtime meeting in Nicholls starting at 11.30am, on Wednesday, April 24. Lunch costs $35 and bookings to 6262 2556 by Sunday, April 21. Interested visitors welcome.

Free meditation

FREE Sahaja Yoga Meditation Classes are held every Wednesday until June 26, 12.30pm1.30pm, at the Community Room, Dickson Library, Antill Street, Dickson Shops. More at 6257 2057 or freemeditation.com.au

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As of January 1st, providers have dropped prices on their most expensively priced plans due to pressure from the Government.

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IN a column published on citynews.com.au

(“Labor’s mess, but where do the Libs stand on planning?”), Paul Costigan listed some of the urban planning and development matters that continue to cause community concern, unrest and disappointment across Canberra.

He invites our ACT Liberal MLAs and Liberal candidates for the ACT October 2020 election to provide considered responses on them.

While he acknowledges that preparation of the Liberals’ positions on such matters may take some time, the current Liberal MLAs should be more than aware by now of what he has highlighted and have the ability to indicate, in the near future at least, what they will commit to doing throughout this year and next to help address “Labor’s mess” at the parliamentary and community levels. Committing to getting up to speed on the contents of ACT Planning Strategy and the City and Gateway Urban Design Framework and their ongoing implementation would not go astray either, given the ways in which the ACT government seems to be focusing on parts of these two key documents quite selectively, in order to drive particular development and renewal projects across Canberra, with far less regard to meeting associated locational and environmental needs as identified in those planning documents.

Our city’s image, liveability, sustainability and future well-being deserve more attention and public discourse from the ACT opposition.

Sue Dyer, Downer

Legalised, but drug emergencies rise

IRRESPECTIVE of columnist Michael Moore having had his pound of religious flesh from Guilia Jones, MLA, shadow police minister (Clerical power finally comes a cropper”, CN, March 28), I know he wants to help protect Canberrans, especially our kids, from drug dangers.

So, I would ask him to let the community know of the following: A study released on March 26 in the “Annals of Internal Medicine” has found that the rise in marijuana use in Colorado since the state legalised the drug has led to

increased emergency room visits.

The study found that 9973 marijuanarelated emergency room visits occurred from 2012-2016, more than triple the number that occurred prior to legalisation. Additionally, the study found that 10.7 per cent of visits at University of Colorado Health were due to the ingestion of high-potency marijuana edibles. Dr. Kevin Sabet, former senior drug policy adviser to the Obama administration said: “Evidence continues to build the case that marijuana legalisation results in harmful impacts on public health and safety”.

Colliss

Parrett, Barton

Double standards fade slowly

INTERESTING article on Anthony Pesec, who seems to understand the ACT residents’ frustration with the main political parties (“Time to plug in some energy policy, says aspiring senator”, CN March 28).

However, the article doesn’t tell us anything about his marital status. Yes, not that important. But, I mention it because had it been a woman standing as a Senate candidate her being “mother of three” or whatever would no doubt have headed the piece.

Double standards take a long time to die.

Vivian Munoz, Holt

Thank you, Weston Creek

SHOPPERS at Weston Creek’s Cooleman Court generously donated just shy of $4000 to a Christchurch tragedy appeal conducted by members of the Rotary Club of Canberra Weston Creek.

The Rotarians’ bucket collection, from 9am to 3pm, outside the centre’s three major entrances was well received by the public.

All proceeds will be used by Rotary in Christchurch in support of and in consultation with the local Muslim community.

On hearing of the Weston Creek appeal, a Christchurch Rotarian responded: “Wow, that is amazing… What a wonderful gesture on behalf of your club and on behalf of your com -

munity. Thank you so much from everyone in NZ.”

Catherine Ross, president

Building over playing fields

PLANNING Minister Mr Mick Gentleman plans to bend over to a developer around Kippax Fair who is going to tear up and build on some of the greenest, smoothest playing fields in the ACT and replace them with totally inadequate and under-facilitated ovals in the area that have less than half the capacity of the grounds to be destroyed.

And there’s the great effort of scaling the car park back to five storeys from the six-storey apartment development, good job.

Michael Attwell, Dunlop

Coming clean Rabbie’s lassie

I HAVE just read the letter about the cleaning of the statue of Bellona at the War Memorial (“First lady gets a wax and polish”, CN, March 21).

I well remember the lady in front of the Albert Hall and its contemporary, the statue of Robert Burns in National Circuit.

My mother told me that going past in the bus one day, aged about 5, I said: “Look Mummy, there’s Robbie Burns’ lady”. I think they must have been the only two statues that I knew of many years ago.

Joan Pratt, Mawson

DISCOVER DICKSON

The plane truth about old days in Dickson

DICKSON, with its leafy streets, single-dwelling houses and double-storey duplexes, was once Canberra’s original airport.

Between 1926 and 1928, a small runway called Northbourne Aviation Ground was located where the Dickson Library and playing fields are now.

In September, 1928, Dickson was gazetted but the suburb was not settled until the ‘60s.

According to the 2016 census, Dickson, which is named after Sir James Dickson, a Queensland advocate of Australian Federation and one of the founders of the Australian Constitution, has a population of more than 2000 people.

Alison reveals Dickson’s best meeting spot

LOCATED in walking distance from Dickson shops and only a five-minute drive to Civic is Canberra’s own south of France, says Alison Knell, who is the director of Canberra Parklands Central Apartment Hotel.

The south-of-France-inspired hotel opened in 2003 and now Alison is sharing Dickson’s best-kept secret to visitors coming to the area and to locals needing a conference space.

For visitors, the apartment suites, all equipped with kitchens, include studio apartments as well as one, two and three-bedroom apartments.

“The bedrooms are all modern and spacious and visitors have access to a huge, heated, indoor swimming pool and a gym,” she says.

“We also offer conference and meeting facilities too, which have accommodation and catering package options.

ference or meeting here, they’re welcome to come and have a look beforehand.”

Alison says other great features are the hotel’s free street and free secured parking.

“You can park buses, cars and even horse floats for people heading to Thoroughbred Park,” she says.

“It’s a very peaceful and quiet spot just opposite the parklands and back from Northbourne Avenue.”

Canberra Parklands Central Apartment Hotel, 6 Hawdon Place, Dickson. Call 6262 700, email reservations@ canberraparklandscentral.com.au or visit canberraparklandscentral.com.au

• 10 minutes to Airport & Parliament house

• Studio,1, 2 & 3 bedroom apartment suites

• Conference facilities

• Catering packages • FREE Wifi, Foxtel & parking • Heated indoor pool • Gymnasium

Food store that cares about waste

NOT only does The Source Bulk Foods in Dickson have a fantastic range of pantry items (many are organic or chemical free), but customers can buy just the right amount they need, says owner Emma Mason.

“This way their staples stay fresh and it reduces food waste,” she says.

“Customers can [also] bring in their own containers or use our paper bags [so] they produce less rubbish and less recycling material.”

The Source Bulk Foods in Dickson (and Belconnen Mall) stocks pantry staples such as beans, flour, seeds, grains, dried fruits, nuts, snacks and confectionery, as well as cooking liquids such as oils and local honey, and cleaning products and personal cleaning products such as soap.

“We have an extensive range of wastefree merchandise such as double-skinned, stainless-steel water bottles; coffee cups; food containers; 100 per cent organic cotton produce bags; stainless-steel straws and straw cleaners as well as stainless-steel, bento-style lunch boxes,” she says.

“We also make sure we cater to different dietary requirements and so keep products that are gluten-free and vegan,” Emma says.

The most popular product though, in the Dickson and Belconnen stores, is dried mango.

“There’s no added sugar or preservatives,

just mango,” she says. But along with old favourites are new ones and Emma says they currently have a range of “naked Easter eggs”, which are package free and in both vegan and milk chocolate varieties.

The Source Bulk Foods, Shop 7, 30-42 Dickson Place. Call 6262 9483, email dickson@ thesourcebulkfoods.com.au or visit thesourcebulkfoods.com.au

DICKSON MEDICAL & TRAVEL CLINIC

DISCOVER DICKSON advertising feature

Pre-winter shots guard against nasty flu

AS winter approaches owner and pharmacist Rhonda Warne, of Chemist Outlet Dickson, is urging everyone to get the flu vaccine.

“There are four strains of really nasty flu that people need to guard against,” she says.

“It won’t stop you getting the sniffles and viruses, but it will protect you from the flu.

“Our vitamins and coughs and colds range will help with the rest.”

But whether customers need a flu vaccine, or other items such as medication packs, vitamins and hydrating lotions, the team at Chemist Outlet Dickson is ready to help.

And what’s even better, Rhonda says, is it’s all at heavily discounted prices.

“We pride ourselves on being cheap, but our service

is never discounted,” she says.

Rhonda says this applies to all services such as medication reviews, medication packing, diabetes medication checks including a glucose test, cholesterol tests or advice on therapeutic skin products.

“The winter air in Canberra is particularly dry and heating also dries the skin out, so come in and have a look at our range of therapeutic skin products,” she says.

With Mother’s Day just around the corner Rhonda also suggests having a look at Chemist Outlet’s gift packs.

“You would be hard pressed finding perfumes and cosmetics at our prices anywhere else,” she says.

Stylish shoes for wide feet

THE Healthy Foot in Dickson has a big range of stylish, flexible and supportive shoes for people with wide feet or orthotics, says podiatrist Mark Clayton.

Handmade in Israel from Italian leather, Mark says these shoes, which are called NAOT, make it fashionable to walk in comfort.

“When you buy a pair of orthotics, most of the shoes don’t have enough depth or they’re not stylish,” he says.

“These have good, modern styles and a big range. [In fact] we’re proud to be Canberra’s largest supplier of world-renowned, orthotic-friendly NAOT footwear.”

Mark, who’s been a podiatrist for more than 30 years, says he entered the industry because he liked the idea of helping people. His experience helps him find new ways to keep people’s feet healthy, such as wide, medium and standard sized NAOT shoes, which fit most feet.

NAOT, which means “oasis”, has been crafting its footwear for more than 60 years.

Clinic’s doctors cover all the bases from travel to general practice

DICKSON Medical & Travel Clinic has been providing a high level of care to its patients and the community since it was established in 1987 by Dr Alan Shroot and colleagues.

Dr Shroot was joined by Dr Les Buczynski the following year, and since then have been working together as co-principals.

The practice offers standard general practice services, such as diabetes and asthma management, to travel medicine vaccinations and occupational medicine such as employee medicals and screening.

With a support team of nurses onsite and a range of allied health services such as physiotherapy, dental and pathology in the same complex, Dickson Medical & Travel Clinic says it offers a comprehensive service to all its patients.

Dickson Medical & Travel Clinic, Unit 5, 151 Cowper Street. Call 6257 3853 or visit dicksonmedical.com.au

How can Australians better understand China?

By DAVID WEI, of Canberra’s

EnglishChinese bilingual radio station STAR AM

AUSTRALIANS who do not speak Chinese nor have visited China can often get the wrong impression about China from the Australian or global media.

But as the American actor Vincent D’Onofrio said: “It is pretty simple, pretty obvious: that people’s first impressions are really a big mistake.”

The two-time Australian Walkley Award winner, journalist, author and speaker, Rowan Callick, published a policy brief at the China Matters website in March called: “Is there a problem with Australian media coverage of the PRC?”

Right at the beginning it says: “There is a widespread perception among many observers of Australia-China relations that there is a problem with media coverage in Australia about the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

“Since 2016, Australian society has become caught up in a ferment of debate about the PRC. The Australian mass media, whose content has reflected this furore, has been criticised in some quarters for instigating the uproar.

laugh at the reporting about China by the Australian media.

One good example is the ABC “Four Corners” program called “Project Dragon” aired on February 22. The program promotion said: “Now China has opened up a new front in its war on those accused of financial crimes. On Monday ‘Four Corners’ will reveal the new tactics being used by Chinese authorities to take back money they believe has been stashed illegally in Australia.”

To me it looks like a bunch of scammers who were trying to utilise the loopholes in the Australian corporate law to steal the naive Chinese property investors’ money legally.

It is a straightforward scam. Luckily, those scammers did not succeed. The Chinese authorities would never use those scammers to recover the so-called “dirty” money. And what is more ironic is that in the “Four Corners” program, it actually showed the legal approval from the Chinese government about that foreign investment by the said company.

It is in Chinese that I could see and understand. In the whole program there was no investigation or interviews from mainland China but just one side of the story told by the scammers.

China has much more to offer than negative stories written by journalists who cannot read and write fluent Chinese but see themselves as China experts.”

This scenario was like the ancient Chinese saying: “When more than three people said that there is a live, wild tiger roaming in the downtown then it is becoming true”. Even if it isn’t true. After the ABC “Four Corners” report, dozens of media organisations around the world started quoting the story as if it was true and accountable.

“Nevertheless, there are systemic issues that Australian media coverage of the PRC faces. There are also obstacles to international and domestic coverage, some of which are imposed by the PRC authorities, which cannot be easily resolved. There is indeed a problem with Australian media coverage of the PRC, but it can only be addressed convincingly within the context of, first, broader challenges facing the media; second, a decline in international coverage overall; and third, unique problems in covering the PRC.”

As a China-born Australian who has lived in Melbourne since early 2001, I agree with Rowan’s view.

So many times I shake my head or

The issues about China are complicated and difficult not only because of China’s sheer size and long history, but also the fast speed China is developing and evolving.

In February, Canberra’s Chinese and English-language radio station STAR AM broadcast British philosopher, mathematician, historian, writer and Nobel laureate, Bertrand Russell’s 1922 book: “The Problem of China”.

To me, modern-day Australian journalists seem too shallow compared with Russell’s insights and projections about China almost 100 years ago.

China has much more to offer than negative stories written by journalists who cannot read and write fluent Chinese but see themselves as China experts.

The National Museum is currently holding an exhibition, “The Historical Expression of Chinese Art: Calligraphy and Painting from the National Museum of China”. The exhibition shows the reproduction of the first volume of the Emperor Qianlong’s Southern Inspection Tour scroll.

The full scroll has 12 volumes and the

full length is 154.17 metres. It is a must-see masterpiece that not only showcases the fine arts from China, but also provides the panoramic view of Chinese society during the Qing dynasty in the middle of the 18th century.

The National Museum’s exhibition is a good way of understanding China’s history. And entry is free. If you want to own a reproduction of a piece of that fine art or other classic Chinese paintings at affordable prices, contact STAR AM at 0425 788666 or creation@staram.com.au

David Wei is the general manager of STAR AM.

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MUMS AND BUBS

A welcome salute to the bub ‘club’ members

KATE MEIKLE, mother of two, offers up a salute to all mums managing their babies

IT might not have a secret handshake, our membership base is broad and diverse, but I reckon that becoming a parent certainly is like entering a club.

Life as you know it is now completely different. And guess what? You are now a lifelong member. No-one hands out medals in this club (although Mother’s Day is approaching!), but the rewards are indeed the greatest.

But what’s missing from the club is a “salute” that we all know to use to acknowledge each other. To give your fellow members a nod of comradeship especially when the going gets tough.

It would have been good to have the salute when I used to push my pram around the neighbourhood every afternoon in an attempt to settle my crying baby who really needed a nap but resisted his afternoon one every day.

To me, the sound of my baby crying was the loudest, most consuming, cold-sweat provoking sound I have ever heard. But I pressed on, plodding the pavement, pushing that pram and

“shooshing”. It was all I could do. When I passed people I felt self-conscious about the crying and would say to my baby loudly: “There, there... we’re almost home, darling” even when we weren’t. I hated the idea of someone thinking I wasn’t doing a good job of consoling my baby. That I was a ‘bad’ mum. By the time my second baby came along, and boy was she a screamer, I was more immune to the cries and more comfortable with my role to know that, despite all my best efforts, sometimes babies cry. The salute would come in handy when wrangling small children, when they are tired, you’ve run out of snacks and they are about to crack it, and you just need to know someone gets what you are going through.

I would have loved the salute when breastfeeding in the most random of places, because babies need milk sometimes in the checkout queue at the supermarket, or in the car while parked in the busy departure drop-off zone at Sydney airport (those security guys were very understanding).

mercifully it’s non-exclusive. It can feel lonely at times, but you are never alone. There are networks you never knew existed until you join the club. And you don’t have to be in the club to give a little salute or support to a new mum or dad.

The kindness, understanding and support I have received has also been from strangers, and those without children. Sometimes a little smile is all it takes to make the job of motherhood that little bit easier and that can come from anyone, and believe me it means the most when you least expect it.

Marketplace filled with fun for families

MARKETPLACE Gungahlin is perfect for a family outing, says marketing manager Beth Gooch.

“We have really great facilities for families such as parent rooms, mums and bubs parking, a free indoor playground, plus a lot of cafes, which cater for kids,” she says.

“Lots of them have plenty of room for strollers and some have menus encompassing kids’ dining options and babycinos.

“We’re just really family friendly. You can’t come to Marketplace Gungahlin and not see lots of mums and kids.”

Beth says the Marketplace is also a space for fun with plenty of small merry-go-rounds and rides dotted throughout the centre.

“It’s really good because when kids get restless they can be distracted on rides,” she says.

“We also have a kids club that parents can sign up to online and they will be the first to know about activities and quality, free kids club events.

“In the past we’ve had discos, Lego workshops and even live entertainment, which are exclusive for kids club members.”

Marketplace Gungahlin also has many kids stores such as Mini Bling and Me, Kmart, BigW and Bookface.

“Woolies also has a free fruit station to keep kids busy eating while parents shop,” she says.

Marketplace Gungahlin, 30 and 33 Hibberson Street, Gungahlin. Visit marketplacegungahlin.com.au

• Free Indoor Playground

• Free School Holiday Entertainment

• Free Kids Club

• Parents Rooms

• Mums and Bubs Parking

• Outdoor Space and Alfresco Dining

• Bub Friendly Dining and Coffee Spots

Station Stop Café is located within the Yarralumla Play Station in Weston Park, one of Canberra’s most iconic locations. Away from the hustle and bustle it is the perfect place to meet up with friends for coffee, cake, breakfast or lunch.

Open daily the Station Stop Café offers:

• Delicious and affordable menu, serving barista made coffee, cakes, kids meals, breakfast & lunch

• Lots of free parking

• Free indoor toddler play space

• Fun for the family

MUMS AND BUBS advertising feature

- Take a ride on Bluebell the train

- Play a round of putt-putt and - Feed the friendly animals at the farm

Monday to Friday: Sat & Sun: 8:30 – 4:30pm 8:00-5:30pm

www.yarraps.com.au

THIS October the Canberra region of the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) will be celebrating 50 years of providing mother-to-mother support in the community, says ABA breastfeeding counsellor Megan Fox.

Run by volunteers who have completed a Certificate IV in breastfeeding education, the association offers a range of national and local services to support families on their breastfeeding journey.

“The Canberra group organises regular events and activities across Canberra, Queanbeyan and surrounding areas to bring mothers and their babies or children together,” Megan says.

“Partners, grandparents and friends are also welcome at our get togethers.

“Our group is a bit different to traditional mothers’ groups as babies and children are usually at various stages, so mothers can benefit from the experience of other mothers and learn from each other.

Yarralumla Station that’s all about play

FOR mums, bubs, dads and older children, Yarralumla Play Station has a variety of activities for kids of all ages, says owner and manager Jason Perkins.

“There is more than enough at the Yar ralumla Play Station to keep the whole family amused and make a day of it,” he says.

“Sometimes our meetings will have a discussion starter topic, but they are always informal and flexible.” Megan says the Canberra group is a source of friendship, resources and fun for many women.

The Canberra group also offers services such as breastfeeding education classes, which are run each month for expectant parents, and breast pump hire.

“We have a range of breast pumps and accessories available to hire or buy,” Megan says.

“When hiring from the Australian Breastfeeding Association you receive support from a breastfeeding counsellor, instruction on using the breast pump, information on expressing and storing your breast milk, and members receive a discounted hire rate.”

Australian Breastfeeding Association, Canberra group. Email canberra@breastfeeding.asn.au or visit facebook.com/ABAACTSNSW

Photographer who likes to capture the love

Originally built in 1973, the venue underwent a massive transformation in 2014 when Jason took on ownership and created and built what is now the Yarralumla Play Station.

Recent changes have included an extension of what is now known as The Station Stop Cafe, the introduction of two mini golf courses and the restoration of four historic NSW train carriages circa 1910 to be used for functions.

Jason says fun activities, such as putt-putting around Canberra’s most famous icons, riding on a mini train and feeding animals at the mini farm, are a huge hit with kids.

“We are very family friendly and welcome in parents groups, carers and grandparents,” he says.

“Our cafe includes a free toddler play area and we have a chef who prepares fresh meals on site at our cafe, with everything from coffee, cakes, burgers - and our kids meals are a hit.

“[Yarralumla Play Station] has lots of free parking, easy pram access and has a bathroom (including change table) on site.”

Yarralumla Play Station, 9 Pescott Lane, Yarralumla. Call 6282 2714, email manager@yarraps.com.au or visit yarraps.com.au

SPECIALISING in maternity and newborn photography, Jill Dolby, of LoJo Photog raphy, loves capturing the special bond between a child and their parents.

“It’s about capturing memories but it’s also about capturing the love between parents and their children,” she says.

While Jill takes photos of children of all ages, she says her home studio in Amaroo is specifically designed for newborns but she can also organise photoshoots in other locations.

She says she takes pride in providing beautiful images, which allow families to keep their memories as they grow and change.

“Children change so quickly and memories fade but photos are that thing which will take you back,” she says.

Whether that be through digital images, framed photos, portrait boxes with prints, canvas portraits, albums and aluminium prints.

Having children of her own helps Jill relate to the needs of a client.

“It also helps me to relate to the children in family sessions and when there are older siblings associated with maternity and newborn sessions,” she says.

On Jill’s website, she says there’s plenty of great reviews, with one woman recently saying: “She was so amazing with our daughter and was so tolerant with what she needed and how she was feeling at the time of the photo shoot.”

LoJo Photography. Call 0404 887297, email lojo_photog-

Breastfeeding your baby is a normal and natural thing to do. However, some mothers encounter challenges along the way. That’s why the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) exists — to support mothers in reaching their breastfeeding goals.

If you’re planning to breastfeed, ABA’s Breastfeeding Education Classes (BECs) are a wonderful opportunity to learn new skills that will help you prepare for your new baby before he or she arrives. Expanding on regular antenatal classes, attending an ABA class can assist you in making informed breastfeeding decisions, including how it works, help available, as well as the opportunity to develop a support network before baby’s arrival.

In celebration of 50 years of ABA in Canberra, you can become an ABA member and attend one of our Canberra Breastfeeding Education Classes for only $50* (normally $90). Book quickly as places are limited.

Why become an ABA member?

ABA membership provides you with a wide range of benefits, including:

• Opportunity to attend a Breastfeeding Education Class (additional $20, unless claimed with the above promotion)

• A copy of Breastfeeding … naturally, covering topics from preparing for breastfeeding, to solving problems and managing the changing needs of your growing baby

• Half-price breast pump hire

• A copy of our quarterly member magazine, Essence and monthly eNewsletter

• Access to email counselling

To learn more, visit breastfeeding.asn.au

facebook.com/ABAACTNSW

instagram.com/ozbreastfeeding

twitter.com/ozbreastfeeding

Passionate Qualified Educators fostering your child's uniqueness, self-esteem & independence

High Educator to Child ratio

Early years learning frame work supporting and enhancing learning

Catering for all learning needs and abilities

Breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and late snack

Special events calendar for Families: Morning/arvo teas, Family cultural info & food days, Grandparent day, Sausage sizzles & more!

Locally

and

Open from 7am - 6pm 60 Jenke Circuit, Kambah (opposite Club Lime)

Before and After School Care for Namadgi School students - 4 to 6 year olds (breakfast and arvo tea included)

CALVARY John James Hospital has been providing excellent services with great patient outcomes to pregnant women and parents since 1994, says director of clinical services Jo Mitchell.

Offering a continuity of care, the hospital has services helping mums through all stages of pregnancy such as antenatal care, through to the delivery and postnatal care.

“You choose your obstetrician, who cares for you from early pregnancy, through your pregnancy, labour and post-delivery,” she says.

“Our mums link in with our team of midwives during their pregnancy through the antenatal classes (run onsite at the hospital) and then our midwives care for them during labour and following delivery in conjunction with the obstetrician.

outcomes for the mums and their bubs.”

Jo says it’s about being comfortable while getting high-level medical support with many great reasons to stay in the unit such as partners are welcome to stay, freshly cooked meals, 24-hour onsite doctor and emergency cover and a special care nursery located in the maternity wing.

“We provide a lactation specialist for mums to see post delivery and we also offer mums and bubs physiotherapy exercises,” she says.

“Our experienced maternity physiotherapists have designed a program that is safe and sympathetic to the special exercise needs of new mums, in a baby friendly environment with volunteers available for cuddles.”

“And we have great rapport between our midwives and obstetricians who work together to get the best

Call the Maternity Unit at Calvary John James Hospital on 6281 8730 or email maternity.physio@calvarycare.org.au Maternity care at every turn

Janet captures love between mum and bub

PHOTOGRAPHER Janet

Gerrard established Moments

Photography Canberra in 2013 and has since built one of Canberra’s best fam ily, newborn and maternity studios in Macgregor.

She also says she’s one of Canberra’s best maternity and newborn photographers and, as a mother herself, attributes it to understanding how pre cious it is to capture memories of family.

“I picked up the camera because I was wanting to make sure to capture my growing family,” she says.

“I quickly realised how tough it was to do so, and poured my heart into improving my craft.

Trained therapists are there to help

“My clients trust me to capture the first year and many return after their newborn session to capture all the milestones.”

Janet says she’s also a full-service photographer, which means she provides not only digital images but tangible, heirloom-quality products from the finest professional photography labs in Australia.

“The photos I capture for my clients become some of their most precious possessions and show how much they are loved,” she says.

“They show how much they love their babies, their children and their family.”

Janet says it’s an honour to take photos of a mum-to-be and then when she returns to the studio to capture her with her new baby.

Moments Photography Canberra, Unit 3, 12 Chalmers Place, Macgregor. Contact 0427 369115 or visit momentsphotographycanberra.com

WHETHER it’s before, during or after pregnancy, CARM Therapies’ remedial massage and acupuncture practitioners have post-graduate training in specific treatments, which are safe and effective, says founder and co-director Emily Avery.

“Acupuncture can seem like a scary concept to some people, but the pregnancy acupuncture points used at CARM Therapies are both safe and proven to be effective,” Emily says.

“All of the pregnancy protocols used are from evidence based research studies, and are used in clinics and hospitals around the world.”

Emily says both acupuncture and remedial massage treatments are great for women preparing for pregnancy, for women receiving IVF treatments, for general relaxation, or for musculoskeletal problems such as hip and back pain, which often arise during pregnancy.

“Acupuncture is also very beneficial for treating nausea (morning sickness), and massage can help to ease fluid retention,” she says.

CARM Therapies also offers one on one sessions for partners to learn how to do acupressure for labour.

“This is a one hour session where the expectant mum and her birthing partner learn the best acupressure points to use in the weeks leading up to the due date and during labour,” she says.

But no matter what treatment someone needs, Emily says CARM Therapies’ staff are both friendly and professional and understand that each person is unique in their pain experience.

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

CANBERRA NEWBORN, MATERNITY & FAMILY PHOTOGRAPHER

Our team of highly qualified, experienced and friendly practitioners are all dedicated to helping you feel good before, during and after pregnancy.

With treatments for muscle and joint pain, relaxation, nausea, and other pregnancy related conditions, CARM Therapies will look after you during this exciting and special time.

*Discountoffervaliduntil10/5/19.Notvalidwithanyotherdiscountoffer.NotvalidforGiftVoucherPurchases.

One of the most important things you will do during the first year of bubs life will be to capture how much bub will change. A First Year Package captures the first year of your beautiful baby’s life. From the beauty of life growing in your belly, to the first days of life at your Newborn Session, to a session when bub starts to sit at 6 months and right through to a First Birthday session to celebrate bub turning one.

MUMS AND BUBS advertising feature

Centre models a good balance for kids

SNOW Gum Early Childhood Learning Centre understands the importance of both male and female role models in early childhood, which is why the centre has both men and women educators, says owner Debbi Lette.

“Our large natural outdoor environment allows each child to take supervised, calculated risks, which is important for social development and inquiry-based learning,” she says.

“There are males in other aspects of children’s lives so they should also have male role models within childcare too,” she says.

Debbi believes that having Joe, the centre’s lead educator in the preschool room, is a huge advantage as it encourages different approaches to learning and play, and provides a positive balance for children.

But that isn’t the only advantage of the centre and Debbi says it provides large open learning spaces for a small grouped number of children in each room, which she says allows for stronger relationships to grow.

“We ensure we use STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) teaching and learning opportunities into our preschool program to help our children develop their skills to think scientifically and logically, problem-solve and collaborate.

“With good training and qualified staff our educators can provide better care and educational programs for your child’s development.”

Snow Gum Early Childhood Learning Centre, 60 Jenke Circuit, Kambah. Call 6296 1111 or visit careforkids.com.au

Alix sets the building ‘blox’ for self feeding

Leading the way in infant self-feeding

THE inventor, founder and CEO of Mashblox, Alix O’Hara, has been changing the way babies and children eat.

Alix established the Canberra-based start-up in 2016 after inventing a hollow silicone building block, which allows children to play with and explore food without making a mess.

“The mashed food goes inside and they just squeeze it out through their mouths,” she says.

The inspiration for Mashblox came after Alix saw a toddler playing with an apple, which was dropped, bounced and then picked up before being eaten again.

“Babies love to play and explore the world through their mouths,” she says.

“Mashblox simply applies these instincts in a fun and practical way for bubs to feed themselves.

“It’s important to give them the opportunity to playfully feed themselves.

“It’s important because they’re able to regulate how much they eat to their own body rather than relying on their parents’ cues.

“They learn to listen to their body and that sets habits into adulthood.”

When children are able to feed themselves, Alix says she’s also found it encourages them to eat food they might otherwise be fussy towards.

“It encourages children to eat foods that they’ve never touched before such as porridge, fresh bananas, avocados and even peas and spinach,” she says.

“It saves mess and fuss, keeps them busy and even works on their motor skills.”

Mashblox. Call 1300 MASHBLOX, email hello@mashblox.org or visit mashblox.com

Mashblox® are soft, tactile, clear hollow silicone blox to serve “mash potato consistency” foods, for fun food exploration!

Promotes independent feeding

Makes foods fun and interesting without making multiple special meals!

Introduce new foods that bub won’teven taste otherwise

Reduces mess on the floor

Improves motor skills

Will grow with your child: teething, weaning, and toddlerhood

Versatile and reusable – fridge, freezer, oven, microwave and dishwasher safe!

Easy to clean, just turn inside out to wash

Visit www.mashblox.com to purchase 4 pack, or keep an eye out for tag #MakesMealtimesFun for other parent’s feeding success stories!

HEALTHY EATING

When chocolate calls, it’s best to be ready!

With Easter’s inevitable burst of chocolate just around the corner, dietician CLARE WOLSKI weighs up the pros and cons of sweet delights. It’s not all bad!

CHOCOLATE is one of the most commonly craved foods and the demand for chocolate worldwide is increasing.

Over the past decade there has been emerging evidence about the health benefits of chocolate, but do these benefits outweigh the negatives? Is chocolate good or bad?

PROS

Raw cocoa (often called cacao) has very high levels of polyphenols. Polyphenols are a large group of chemicals, which may have beneficial effects on cardiovascular health through a range of physiological effects, including:

Lowering blood pressure – Many studies have observed reductions in blood pressure after eating raw cocoa and dark chocolate.

Moderate dark chocolate consumption is also linked to long-term lower blood pressure.

Reducing inflammation – laboratory tests of cocoa polyphenols have demonstrated anti-inflammatory responses and a moderate consumption of cocoa polyphenols has shown to reduce inflammatory markers in the blood of human subjects.

Lowering cholesterol – Animal and human studies of polyphenols derived from cocoa have shown reduced LDL (unhealthy) cholesterol and increased HDL (healthy) cholesterol.

Improving brain health – cocoa polyphenols may increase blood flow to the brain, resulting in improvements for memory, mood, vision and mental processing.

It all sounds pretty good! So why aren’t we eating chocolate at every meal?

CONS

Processing – Chocolate is made from the beans of the cacao fruit tree. The beans are fermented, dried, cleaned, roasted and ground to make cocoa and cocoa butter. Unfortunately, about 70-90 per cent of the polyphenols in raw cocoa are lost during these processes. Most of the milk chocolate you’ll get on the supermarket shelf will be low in polyphenols.

Sugar and fat – In order to make chocolate deliciously sweet and melt in your mouth, manufacturers have to add sugar and fat. This dramatically increases the calories and dilutes the amount of cocoa and polyphenol that you end up eating.

THE BOTTOM LINE

While there are some health benefits of the polyphenols found in raw cocoa, chocolate is a processed food. Many things have happened to the cacao bean between the farmer and your chocolate bar. Processed foods should be a small part of our diet.

Chocolate is not “good” or “bad” and eating it won’t make you “good” or “bad”. I love chocolate and definitely believe that it can be included in a balanced diet, just not every day. Look at your week as a whole and decide on a few occasions when you’d really like to enjoy some chocolate.

ENJOY YOUR CHOCOLATE

• Pick a chocolate that you really like, rather than eating whatever is available.

• Choose a darker chocolate. It will have more polyphenols and the rich taste helps to prevent overeating.

• Consciously put a portion on a plate and put the rest away.

• Avoid distractions. Step away from your work, turn off the TV and put your phone down. Focus on how much you enjoy this food.

• Eat slowly and enjoy every mouthful. Completely finish one bite before you pick up the next.

Clare Wolski is a practising dietitian at The Healthy Eating Hub, call 6174 4663.

Happy holiday weekend has a serious side

EASTER, also called Pascha or Resurrection Sunday, is a festival and holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, described in the Bible’s New Testament as having occurred on the third day of his burial after his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary. In the lead up to Easter, during what is called “Holy Week”, there’s Maundy Thursday, commemorating the Maundy and Last Supper, as well and death of Jesus. Then there’s Easter Day, which this year falls on Sunday, April 21, and is often filled with celebration and, of course, chocolate eggs. Easter eggs or Easter bilbies are a widely popular symbol of new life, with the symbolisation of eggs originating in the early Christian community of Mesopotamia, who stained eggs red in memory of the blood of Christ.

Cheap tyre deals to keep drivers safe

TRANSTATE Tyres in Belconnen is offering some cheap Easter deals to keep drivers safe over the break, says owner Adrian Heffernan.

Transtate Tyres has reduced prices on popular tyre sizes, which Adrian says encompasses tyres that suit lots of normal, family cars.

“They’re not high performance but they’re a very good quality and being sold at a very good price,” he says.

“We’ve reduced the prices because we have a lot of stock that needs to go and Easter is a wonderful time to buy.

“A lot of the time people don’t check their tyres before

“With brakes, people don’t get any warning that the brake pads are wearing out.

“There’s no symptoms and we have to visually check to see if the pads are still there.”

Transtate Tyres doesn’t just cover tyres and brakes and also offers services for wheel alignment, suspension modifications and repairs, and all servicing, including new servicing.

“We can do new-car servicing and it doesn’t affect new-car warranty,” he says.

Having been in Belconnen for about 46 years, Adrian

Toyo Tyres are a great replacement tyre

Toyo

Get your music systems ready for Easter

EASTER has a wonderful musical heritage and whether people enjoy listening to religious sommes or commercial tunes, many bring out music to listen to over the holidays, says Kerry Morcombe of Duratone HiFi.

For this reason he advises people not to leave it until the last minute to check their sound system for Easter.

“Make music a central part of your Easter celebrations,” he says.

“Music is our passion. Let us assist you in selecting and installing a music system that suits you and your home

“We will consider trade-ins of your old equipment on replacement equipment.

experienced staff on hand to assist.

“We also have a range of goodquality used equipment, all workshop tested, together with a wide choice of new equipment that will deliver wonderful sound in your home or holiday retreat.”

Just before Easter, Kerry says the world will also be celebrating Record Store Day on April 13.

“We have in stock over 60,000 new and used LPs, a range of new and used turntables and a selection of vinyl accessories including cleaning materials,” he says.

MUSIC FOR EASTER

Matt shares Easter’s hope

FUSION City Church loves hosting new people, and senior pastor Matt McGaw says it’ll be an honour to share the hope and heart of Easter with everybody.

“The Bible tells us that the two greatest things we can do is to love God and love people, and we would love to host you at one of our upcoming Easter services to show you that in action,” he says.

“The cross is a powerful symbol of great love and hope, and our world today needs to hear that message more than ever.”

On Friday, April 19, the church will run a Good Friday service at Fusion LifeCENTRE, 85 Hoskins Street, Mitchell, at 6pm. Then its Easter Sunday celebration is at 10am at Palmerston Primary School, and will be followed by an Easter egg hunt for kids. For people who miss the morning service, Matt says there will be another at the Fusion LifeCENTRE at 5pm.

Outside of Easter, he says the church runs other programs such as FusionKIDS, a kids ministry, which provides fun-filled programs that are Bible-based and highly interactive for children in kindergarten to year 6.

“We [also] have a thriving youth ministry for school years 6-12 called IGNITE that is reaching and building into the next generation,” he says.

Fusion City Church. Call 6156 2497, email admin@fusioncitychurch. com.au or visit fusioncitychurch.com.au

At the ACT Young Professionals Ball, Parkes

At the opening of ‘The Historical Expression of Chinese Art’, ANM

sundayROAST

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

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

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

At Wine Weeks ‘Wine Flights and Jazz’, Dickson

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Eatery with a gift in store

WENDY JOHNSON

Kate can’t pass up the pull of Persian music

By Helen MUSA

FUSING east and west, jazz and classical, the inclusion of WA bass player Kate Pass’ Kohesia Ensemble in the National Folk Festival line-up is a clear signal of directions for the future in an increasingly diverse Australia.

And not just that, as festival director Pam Merrigan points out, she comes from one of the two focus states/territories for 2019 – the other is the ACT.

The Easter festival at Exhibition Park has an estimated attendance of up to 55,000 people with 21 international performers from 14 countries, 40 Canberra and 11 acts from WA and 13 artists for the popular KidzFest. Pass leads the eight-piece Kate Pass Kohesia Ensemble and, talking by phone from Perth, explains how she first came to know Persian music, now the mainstay of her band.

Six years ago while studying jazz at the WA Academy of Performing Arts, she found herself playing in a band that featured Tehran-born singer Tara Tiba, who had migrated to Perth in 2012.

“I really fell in love with the sound and the expressive nature of the music,” Pass says.

“The modes are different to Western scales and sounds, but the good thing about jazz is you can go between styles of music, there are different things, different genres I quite enjoy that.

“We fit into the jazz festival scene, the world music scene and the folk music scene, so there are three prongs.

“Here in Perth there are not many venues

that cater to an eight-piece band so festivals have become our chief focus, the more festivals the better, I say.”

She says that there is no doubt the double bass works with Persian music.

“As an ensemble we worked on getting the right sounds and the right modes to fit in with the Persian music, where there are a lot of microtones in the instrumentation,” she says.

“Traditional Persian musicians are very happy playing those microtones and so it’s an interesting compositional challenge to try and solve those problems.”

“I really like playing the festival stages. We’re used to being nice and cosy on stage, but it will be great to play to a big audience – you can feel the energy from the audience and its life.”

A VERY different tradition of music informs Taiwan-born Canberra vocalist Kim Yang.

An aspiring songwriter, she’s performed cover songs at markets, pubs, cafes and weddings, but increasingly she is incorporating Taiwanese elements into her own Australianmade songs.

“I came here from Taipei with my Australian husband in 2012,” she says.

“At that time I wasn’t a professional musician; I used to sing on YouTube and jam around when I was a student, but when I moved to Australia I wanted to do something with my life so I started to write songs.”

Invited to play at events mostly doing cover songs, Yang felt she needed to write about her own life story through original songs.

“I never really shared some of my experiences to people, so I thought I could write a song to put down my idea,” she says.

One song, called “Missed Chance”, is in praise of a kind woman, a cancer sufferer, who wrote an encouraging email after she’d been on a talent show on Taiwanese TV, but

whom she never met.

“Homesickness is another important feature in my songs so I’ve written a funny one called ‘Merry Christmas, Mama’ where I sing: ‘Look mum, I miss you, I didn’t call you enough but I still miss you’.”

Yang enjoys living amid two different cultures in her Australian family, helped by the fact that her husband speaks Chinese and she works at the ANU in a research centre, but tries to go back once a year.

She is adamant that she is not a pop singer, saying: “I still have my standards”.

However, she admits to having been inspired by Canadian singer Sarah Ann McLachlan, Joni Mitchell, Regina Spektor and Joan Baez, and after attending a music course at CIT where she studied jazz and blues standards, she is branching out.

But home thoughts beckon, and one famous Taiwanese song she loves doing is “The Spring Breeze”, written during Japanese colonisation in the 1930s, but it has a sad note.

“Taiwanese people just don’t have identity, we’ve been colonised by the Europeans, colonised by Japan, colonised by Chinese, so who are we?” she asks.

Yang is looking forward to the folk festival, where she will promote her debut EP.

National Folk Festival, Exhibition Park in Canberra, April 18-22, bookings and all program details to folkfestival.org.au

CINEMA Oscar’s final years in Paris

“The Happy Prince” (MA) I’VE enjoyed some of Oscar Wilde’s writings (he was terrifyingly prolific) but I’ve never pored over his complete oeuvre or history.

So I can’t make a valid judgement about whether the screenplay by actor and director Rupert Everett is exactly correct in its details of time, place and dramatic content.

But I took great satisfaction from Everett’s film made about the three years between Wilde’s arrival in Paris after release from prison and his death in 1900.

It breathes respect for verity, events and places in the life of Wilde the man, artist, social observer, as recorded in a variety of media during those three years, his friends, associates, family, enemies.

History until recently tends to deal unfairly with Wilde’s sexuality. Everett makes no bones about his own sexuality. You might be forgiven for expecting “The Happy Prince” to be a vanity composed of his triple functions behind and before the camera. Everett’s respect for Wilde the creative genius is patently not negotiable.

A good story benefits from having a genuine villain. Enter Lord Alfred “Bosie” Douglas, more distasteful than the group of English tourists who, in the film, set upon Wilde in Paris with distasteful jibes descending into violence. Whether that occasion actually happened I cannot say but in the film it makes a profound effect.

Colin Morgan delivers Bosie’s malignant selfishness with a subtlety that does nothing to diminish its cruelty and destructiveness. Emily Watson plays Constance Wilde who bore his two sons.

And Everett’s portrayal of Wilde radiates conviction and fondness for the author as hero.

At Palace Electric

“Mid90s” (MA)

THE core of Jonah Hill’s directing debut is 13-year-old Stevie (Sunny Suljic), a pretty boy, small of stature, whose family comprising single mother Dabney (Katherine Waterston) and older brother Ian (Lucas Hedges) is disconnected enough for Stevie to be able to run wild in Los Angeles during the mid-1990s.

Hill also wrote the screenplay for this relatively short (85 minutes) coming-of-age drama that pulls no punches in painting an unflattering portrait of undisciplined juveniles whose lives revolve around skate-boarding, smoking, fighting and being members of a gang.

It’s the first acting role for most of its predominantly young characters who form an impressive cadre in a story suggesting that the local police have either written the gang off as intractable or been too busy dealing with adult matters to notice them.

The story unfolds in an area of the city that Hollywood’s movie colony probably wishes was not there. Poverty rules. Morality is slack. The gang erodes Dabney’s attempts to raise her sons to be upright citizens.

Stevie is a victim of unfortunate circumstances not of his or his family’s making. As the film develops, we come to feel concern about where it is taking him.

The destination at which Hill’s screenplay wants him to arrive is mildly optimistic, without resolving underlying causes.

At Dendy

“Galveston” (MA)

THIS film, with a screenplay by Nic Pizzolatto from his own novel and directed by Melanie Laurent, fits into a small but well-shaped collection of genres – drama, thriller, crime, road movie.

It moves steadily but without undue haste through a plot built on 40-ish criminal Roy (Ben Foster) diagnosed with cancer, sent by his boss Stan (Beau Bridges) on a criminal

MUSIC / four winds festival Beethoven is in the wind, down by the sea

IT’LL be a case of “Beethoven meets the Bush” at Barragga Bay for the Four Winds Music Festival this year if artistic director James Crabb has anything to do with it.

Beethoven will be to the fore during a gala finale in the outdoor amphitheatre on the afternoon of Easter Sunday in a performance, Crabb says, “ the scale of which has never been seen at Four Winds”.

The gala begins with an East-West journey through earth, air, water, fire and ether in “Five Elements”, performed by the Enigma Quartet and shakuhachi player Riley Lee, playing pieces by composers such as Ross Edwards, David Hirschfelder, Anne Boyd and Peter Sculthorpe.

errand that comes unstuck. As Roy is leaving at speed, 19½-year-old Raquel “Rocky” (Elle Fanning) gets into his car.

Roy lets Rocky come along in his flight westward. Rocky demands a detour to a rundown shack. A girl child is standing outside. A shot is heard. Rocky emerges carrying a sack of clothes, tells Roy that the little girl is her sister Tiffany (played by sisters Anniston and Tinsley Price) and tells Roy to drive, just drive. We suspect some manipulation of truth going on about the sister, but we must wait to see if we’re right.

In a seedy motel near the Texas oil port of Galveston, Roy gets invited to join another crim in a forthcoming job. Rocky leaves Tiffany in the care of the motel proprietor (CK McFarland) while she goes off to turn a few tricks to earn a few bucks. During all this, remember that chain-smoker Roy, diagnosed with lung cancer, has nothing to lose. Romance with Rocky is not on his agenda. Rocky is a lost soul in search of redemption but without the strength of character or intellect to deal with it if she finds it. Elle Fanning’s performance is commendably mature.

The film’s pace may be slow but the strength of its meaty content is inexorable. As a view of life at the underbelly of society, it doesn’t need to be happy or gentle to be effective.

At Dendy

It continues with songs from around the world by a cappella group Coco’s Lunch, culminating in the performance of Beethoven’s “Coriolan” overture and Piano Concerto No. 3 by Austrian pianist Stefan Vladar and the festival orchestra.

The enthusiasm of Scottish-born classical accordionist Crabb is infectious as he outlines his plan to take Four Winds to the real people.

There will still be exclusive house concerts in Wapengo and Tanja by luminaries, including Swedish lutenist Jakob Lindberg and British soprano Dame Emma Kirkby, but there will also be a move into the immediate region with a world music performance by Riley Lee, Bobby Singh, Jeremy Rose and Crabb himself on Maundy Thursday, April 18, in Tilba Central Big Hall, preceded by a music

workshop in the village.

A youth concert aimed at primary-aged children will take place in Bermagui Community Centre on Good Friday morning, April 19, featuring “Mulga Bill’s Bicycle”, a new madcap musical composed by Elena Kats-Chernin and Christina Leonard during a Four Winds artists’ residency in January this year.

Then, on the same evening, there’ll be a free community concert on Dickinson Oval, Bermagui, where festival and local artists will mingle on stage.

He is naturally excited about his visiting musicians, Compass Saxophone Quartet, Enigma, Arcadia Winds, the Australian String Quartet and the festival orchestra. Over the festival’s four days, a series of more intimate concerts will also take place in the 200-seat indoor performance space, the Windsong Pavilion.

One of the quirkiest yet most enticing events for 2019 will be a yoga session in the Bermagui Surf Club on Easter morning. That night there’ll be a Sunday after-dark concert that Crabb describes as “a meeting of a slightly different flavour”. Canberrans can now take a bus from the Canberra Theatre in the morning and be home by 8.30pm. Inquiries to 6493 3414.

Four Winds Festival 2019, Barragga Bay, 9kms south of Bermagui, April 18-21, bookings to fourwinds.com.au

CELEBRATE RECORD STORE

MUSIC FOR EASTER

New eatery with a gift in store

Calli is more than a café. It’s a café, a wine bar and an upmarket homewares and gift store. It’s right on the water, close to the action, but far enough away to have its own sense of calm.

EVERY so often, a new concept pops up on the hospitality scene that attracts Canberrans like bees to honey.

We (meaning my faithful foodie friends) were excited when we heard about Calli opening a couple of weeks ago at Kingston Foreshore.

You see, Calli is more than a café. It’s a café, a wine bar and an upmarket homewares and gift store. It has a perfect possie, right on the water near Go-Boats, so it’s close to the action but far enough away to have its own lovely sense of calm.

The owners, Kay Taylor and John McCallum, are among the longest-term residents of the Kingston Foreshore and when the opportunity came up to create a special space for discerning customers, they grabbed it.

The menu continually evolves, as Calli road tests dishes in its early days of business.

It’s a small menu (by design), with a

strong focus on fresh, quality and regional produce. It was designed by Deb Todd who worked with John and Kay to set up the café, bar and store.

We were there for brunch and came away impressed.

The breakfast burrito ($16 or $21 with haloumi or chorizo) was packed with goodness. It included roasted zucchini and corn salsa, capsicum coulis and spiced chickpeas. The heirloom carrot and black rice bowl ($18) featured roasted heirloom carrot, avocado and a yummy orange and almond honey vinaigrette. You can add a lovely piece of salmon for an additional $8. The bruschetta didn’t disappoint ($16). The hummus was super creamy, pomegranate salsa perky and Italian sausage features a great combo of herbs ($5 extra).

Calli has also worked with Lonsdale Street Roasters to create a special coffee blend, perfect with homemade sweets. Quality teas are also on the menu.

Majura, Clonakilla and Lake George. The small selection of gins, whiskies and beers is enticing.

John – a wine buff who headed the Oxford Wine Society – has curated a small

Calli’s “wine bar” stays open after lunch. Calli doesn’t serve dinner but offers wines and cocktails with marinated mushrooms ($8), cheese platters ($14), house-roasted mixed nuts ($10) and

STEP TOWARDS A CAREER IN ACTING

Inner-self aches over a couple of pinots

By Richard CALVER

I RECENTLY read an interview with a scientist who is an expert on our inner conversations, the talks we have with ourselves that are as important as the dialogue we have with others.

“We are all fragmented,” wrote Prof Charles

“There is no unitary self. We are all in pieces, struggling to create the illusion of a coherent ‘me’ from moment to moment.”

Kay has put her heart and soul into Calli’s store. She makes and designs many items, including luxury pillows and lampshades. The rest she sources ethically and each item has an interesting back story.

Dog friendly Calli, Trevillian Quay, Kingston Foreshore. Open Tuesday-Sunday, from early through to 8ish at night.

Curse of the Baskervilles

ARTS IN THE CITY

By Helen Musa

SHERLOCK Holmes tries to solve his most notorious case before the curse of the Baskervilles dooms another heir in “Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery”, directed by Rob De Fries for Dramatic Productions, Gungahlin College Theatre, April 19-27. Book at stagecenta.com

ERIN Helyard, director of Pinchgut Opera, will give two master classes and a performance of selections from a hand-written music manuscript brought to Australia from Scotland in 1840 by the artist and diarist Georgiana McCrae on the 1840s Broadwood piano in the Lanyon drawing room at 3.30pm on Sunday, April 14. Book at eventbrite.com.au

THE 2019 Moro Spanish Film Festival will celebrate cinema from Spain and Latin America with the Cine Latino Film Festival, formerly a separate event in November, as a sidebar with five titles screening at Palace Electric until May 8, including as opener the best film winner at the Goya Awards, “Champions”, in which an arrogant basketball coach is sentenced to community service and forced to work with a team of mentally disabled players. Book at palacecinemas.com.au

A RARELY-heard setting of the “Stabat Mater” by JB Vanhal will be performed by Adhoc Baroque at St Paul’s Manuka, 3pm, on Palm Sunday, April 14. An exit donation would be appreciated.

AS part of the Heritage Festival, Manning Clark House will hold heritage tours of the famous Robyn Boyd, 11 Tasmania Circuit, Forrest, at 2pm on Monday, April 15, and 10am, noon, 2pm and 3pm on Sunday, April 28 and 2pm on Monday, April 29. Book at manningclarkhse@gmail.com

Those inner conversations can be fuelled by what we are reading, by the events portrayed in the media and by the dilemmas that confront us where we aren’t quite sure that what we do has the slightest significance when weighed against the horrors that we have seen or the despair that is engendered.

There were two wines. One was a pinot noir from NZ that my sister had given me as a present when I was last there in December, 2018: the Last Shepherd 2017 from Central Otago. The other a local pinot noir, a 2017 Eden Road, The Long Road Pinot Noir.

My inner-self was saying that this is no contest; my Kiwi heritage (I grew up in the shaky isles) and my experience knew that Central Otago pinots are superlative and they cannot be beaten.

And now NZ has suffered a tragedy that is so horrible that it makes me physically sick to think that someone could kill 50 innocent people in the name of some perverted ideology.

Here again my inner-self is repulsed but knows that the event has nothing to do with wine or wine writing or comparisons of something as prosaic as what we drink for pleasure.

The NZ wine was nowhere near as pleasant as the local pinot. I looked it up and the NZ wine costs around $A19 a bottle. The finish is rough. It tasted awry, just the way I felt when I thought of the massacre.

We tried both wines on a Sunday night. The ritual was misconceived. I couldn’t bring myself to squeeze joy out of something that kept taking me back to the shock of what happened in Christchurch.

How could anything I had thought about my adoptive country ever be the same? How could a glass of wine (even too many) make a jot of difference? I called the winemaker at Eden Road Wines, Celine Rousseau. I went through the motions of asking her about the smooth finish and the way that this $28 wine is very satisfying at that price point.

She was charming and explained that any clag (my word) or poor finish is rounded out by 3 per cent Pinot Meunier, one of the less talked about grapes that go into the mix of grapes to produce traditional champagne.

I thank her for the conversation and apologise if I seemed slightly disengaged.

Ms Rousseau told me that in the Halliday 2019 wine companion the Long Road was awarded 92 points. She had just finished harvest and was up for a chat. But I didn’t have the heart to tell her that my mind was not really on this battle.

The whole idea of being amusing or insouciant about a NZ and Australian wine comparison in fact left me feeling as if I was entirely missing the point.

The internal conversation that I had with myself was to try and get a perspective on the importance of continuing to do what we do as an everyday matter in the face of tragedy and in the face of the savagery that we have witnessed.

Another part of me says that the misanthropy that the shooter obviously possessed is something that it is necessary to eschew in order to gain perspective. I pray that my inner-voice will let me hear that message.

PUZZLES PAGE

Joanne Madeline Moore

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

Friday’s Full Moon revs up your relationship zone so Rams are ready to rumble! Activities with a fast tempo suit – from travel and sport to social media and entrepreneurial ventures. With one big proviso – be careful what you say. With Mercury and Venus moving into your sign (on Wednesday and Saturday) avoid being verbally impulsive. If you don’t self-edit what comes out of your mouth, then you could end up with an awkward situation on your hands.

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 21)

Jump off the comfy couch! This week’s dynamic stars encourage you to be proudly proactive, as you set challenging goals and then actively pursue them. Not sure how to do that? Try rubbing shoulders with your kickass Aries friends… they’ll show you how to crank up your motivation and energise your enthusiasm. The weekend is a terrific time to pursue a practical project or escape into a private creative world via reading, writing, painting or playing music.

GEMINI (May 22 – June 21)

With Mars charging through your sign, positive action leads to dynamic success. Plus Mercury shifts into your networking zone on Wednesday. So don’t underestimate the amazing contacts you have amongst your extended peer group. It’s not what you know, but who you know. Then Friday’s Full Moon stimulates your friendship zones. So those around you can look forward to some surprises, amusing antics and manic moments from you and your merry band of mates.

CANCER (June 22 – July 23)

Mercury, Venus and the Full Moon are activating your career zone, so it’s time to show others what you are capable of! Lucky opportunities are around, but you must be quick to grab them or they will pass you by. And are you worried about a romantic, platonic or business relationship? With this week’s star patterns you’re less likely to be over-emotional, and more inclined to speak calmly and negotiate well. So open up and talk about what’s really on your mind.

LEO (July 24 – Aug 23)

With the Full Moon firing up your tempestuous nature, you’re amped up and ready to perform as you let your hair down and overdo just about everything! But don’t let overconfidence (and over-exuberance) trip you up this week. Your head’s full of ambitious dreams and spectacular schemes, but they’ll only work if you can persuade other people to contribute to Team Leo. Creative collaboration will take you a lot further than functioning as a solo operator.

VIRGO (Aug 24 – Sept 23)

Mercury (your patron planet) and the Full Moon stir up your money zones. So the spotlight is on making adjustments regarding money, possessions and/or resources that you share with loved ones. Avoid being evasive; you’ll find a direct and honest approach gets the best results. When it comes to finances and business, make sure you research thoroughly (with your Virgo x-ray vision) and plan meticulously. It’s also a good week to travel, whether for work or pleasure.

LIBRA (Sept 24 – Oct 23)

It’s all about love and lust this week, as the planets galvanise your partnership and intimacy zones. So (if you are attached]) make sure you plan something suitably romantic and sexy with your sweetheart. Single? You won’t find your soul mate if you sit at home sobbing (and sulking) about being solo. It’s time to spread your social net far and wide, as you network like crazy and find the partner of your dreams! The weekend is wonderful for an exciting joint venture.

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 22)

Venus and Jupiter stimulate your urge to splurge on extravagant purchases that you don’t really need. So perhaps it would be best for smart Scorps to avoid shopping sprees… both in person and online. In the words of financier J. P. Morgan (who was born on April 17, 1837): “If you have to ask how much it costs, you can’t afford it.” Friday’s Full Moon favours meditation, contemplation and investigation as you solve a stubborn problem or get to the bottom of a perplexing mystery.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 – Dec 21)

This week’s Full Moon stars are fabulous for romance, friendships, hobbies, entertainment, creativity, networking and group projects. With your sparky Sagittarian mojo and momentum running on high speed, you’re ready to rock and roll! But Mercury and Venus both shift into fellow impulsive fire sign Aries. So you need to (occasionally) take your foot out of your mouth and strive to communicate with more care and consideration, especially with friends.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 20)

The focus is on your home life, as peacemaker Venus helps you approach a community issue or a domestic matter in a diplomatic fashion. The more support and encouragement you offer family and friends, the better. But avoid getting drawn into petty power plays on Friday (especially with a work colleague). Learn to use your influence in smart and subtle ways. The weekend Sun shines a bright spotlight on an unpredictable situation involving a child, teenager or friend.

AQUARIUS (Jan 21 – Feb 19)

Imagination and intuition are heightened on Monday, when you tap into your subconscious mind and receive important guidance and inspiration. The secret to success this week is communication as the planets encourage you to look, listen and learn from those around you. So your motto for the moment is from birthday great, actress Emma Thompson: “Any problem, whether big or small, always seems to start with bad communication. Someone isn’t listening.”

PISCES (Feb 20 – Mar 20)

Don’t waste precious time being a bashful Piscean! This week’s sparky stars encourage you to be enthusiastic about all the opportunities that are around, as you explore and experiment, plus leap through life with a strong work ethic and an extra dose of confidence. Draw inspiration from former Spice Girl and current fashion entrepreneur, Victoria Beckham (who was born on April 17, 1974): “I believe you can achieve anything if you work hard enough to get it.”

Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2018

Across

3 What are schizomycetes more commonly known as? (8)

7 What is a commemorative inscribed tablet, fixed to a wall? (6)

8 Which medieval glove, of mail or plate, is used to protect the hand? (8)

9 Name a province in northern PNG. (6)

10 Which is the eleventh sign of the zodiac? (8)

11 Name a NE Queensland town on the western shore of Trinity Bay. (6)

14 What are proverbs also called? (6)

17 What is the angular distance north or south from the equator? (8)

18 Name the capital of the Bahamas. (6)

19 To be faded or dry, is to be what? (8)

20 To dismount from a horse, is to do what? (6)

21 What are appetising things, added to meals? (8)

Down

1 What is lucerne also known as? (7)

2 Name the great circle of the earth, equidistant from the north and south poles. (7)

3 What do we call those people who seek alms? (7)

4 Which large drinking cup has a handle and sometimes a hinged cover? (7)

5 Which pin is used for flattening pastry, etcetera? (7)

6 What are painters or sculptors called? (7)

11 Name the state of tension that existed between the US and the Soviet blocs after WWII. (4,3)

12 Which term implies that which is all inclusive? (2,5)

13 Which colloquial expression describes crazy persons? (7)

14 What are lists of things to be done? (7)

15 Name an alternative term for a dirigible. (7)

16 What is a more common name for otalgia? (7)

Gail Freeman & Co Pty Ltd

CHARTERED ACCOUNTANT

Slow triumph for common sense

My client has specifically asked me to write this to illustrate to anyone else in her situation that it is possible to recover, even if it takes time.

During the 2013 financial year she was formally invalided from her employment and received a partial disability benefit.

During the year ended June 30, 2014, she was paid a lump sum of about $90,000 of which about $30,000 was deducted for income tax. When I read the documentation, it became clear to me that this type of payment should not have had tax deducted. So I recommended my client contact her lawyer to get the payer to reissue her payment summary and refund her the tax as it should not have been deducted. The solicitor suggested my client should just discuss it with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) and get the tax back that way. I explained to the solicitor that this enquiry initially needed to come from the payer. At this time I heard nothing further.

Another issue that arose from receiving this lump sum was that my client’s income increased greatly and she was now over the Medicare levy surcharge threshold. We had taken account of that when we lodged the return so there was no further action.

Suffice it to say that at this time my client had reached rock bottom. She had no income, the ATO had $30,000 that she needed and the legal side of things was very slow.

Ιn April last year my client was offered a final settlement and part of this settlement was that the net payment previously received had to be repaid. The question now at issue is how to get the $30,000 tax paid back from the ATO.

The first possibility is to lodge an amendment to the return as lodged. However, an amendment must be done within two years from the date of receipt of the assessment. Unfortunately, as can be seen from the above dates, my client was outside the two-year window.

The next option is to lodge an objection to the assessment.

However, the objection also needs to be lodged within the same period. There is a special provision that allows a taxpayer to request additional time to lodge an objection if the ATO accepts the request for additional time then the objection will be considered.

So the objection was duly lodged together with a request for additional time as it was clear at the time that the taxpayer could not have known that her claim would be reclassified. The ATO then agreed to accept the late objection as if it had been lodged on time. We still had a couple of other tasks to do to rectify our client’s affairs at the ATO. When the 2014 return was lodged we had recorded a lump sum of about $90,000. This figure carries forward into future years so we had to amend or object to the subsequent years to ensure that this was removed from the record.

The tax was subsequently refunded and my client is very happy that her case is completed. She now has her tax back and she has received her lump sum for permanent disability.

If you have any questions about taxation and lump sums, contact the friendly team at Gail Freeman & Co Pty Ltd.

Disclaimer

This column contains general advice, please do not rely on it. If you require specific advice on this topic please contact Gail Freeman or your

OPEN GARDEN /

Lindy and Bob Ross... “I get satisfaction from seeing things have another life and it’s part of living alongside the history here,” says Lindy.

Rural haven evokes a nostalgic past for Lindy

With gardens established by the owner’s parents, Cambrey Farm in Pialligo is a rural haven that reflects the 80-year history of the farm.

Pretty cottage gardens surround the two homes on the 2.7-hectare farm that was established in the 1930s and has been in owner Lindy Ross’ family since 1954.

Cambrey will be open to the public on April 13-14 through Open Gardens Canberra, with golden ash, liquidambar, Japanese maples and box elders showing off bright autumn colour.

Cool, shady paths lead to a series of garden rooms, with a secluded formal rose garden box-hedge parterre framed by a thick cherry laurel hedge, an old orchard with pear, peach, apple, quince and nectarine trees remaining, a productive veggie patch, solar-heated pool, dilapidated old poultry farm and restored barn.

Bob and Lindy say conditions can be harsh for the garden, exposed as it is to heavy frosts and strong winds, but thanks to protective plantings, fertile soil and hardy plants, it’s thriving.

“We use a combination of bore water and rainwater tanks to water the garden and chose tough plants like roses, viburnum and grapevines,” says Lindy.

The kerosene-tin-clad barn, once a grain store for the poultry farm and still housing a Bonser feed mixer, was restored with salvaged timber from an old World War I internment

Words: Kathryn Vukovljak

Photos: Holly Treadaway

camp in Fyshwick and will be used as an art gallery on the open weekend.

It’s also insulated with alpaca fleece in the spirit of making use of what you have. Lindy’s reuse philosophy is evident throughout the farm, with vintage flagon pendant lights in the barn, planters made from 44-gallon drums sawed in half and gabion benches from reused timber and rocks.

“I get satisfaction from seeing things have another life and it’s part of living alongside the history here,” says Lindy.

“My parents planted the pin oaks that line the driveway and I’m always reminded of my mum being outside gardening or my dad from his old tools hanging outside the shed and the collec tion of saddles and riding boots in the barn.”

Bob and Lindy have three old chooks who lay sporadically and 12 sweet alpacas that help control the grass in the paddock.

Alpaca poo and honey from the farm’s hives will be available for sale over the open weekend, as well as Devonshire teas with all scones home made by Bob.

Cambrey Farm, 18 Beltana Road, Pialligo, open 10am-4pm, Saturday, April 13, and Sunday, April 14. Admission $8; free to under-18s and Open Gardens Canberra members. More information at opengardenscanberra.org.au/members

T H E P O D C A N B E R R A

Winter shrubs for bigger blocks

By Cedric BRYANT

READERS continue to ask for suggestions on hardy shrubs that provide colour in late autumn months and through the winter.

There are many annuals for winter colour, such as polyanthus, primulas, pansies and violas. But, as with all annuals, they need replanting according to the season.

Some readers have suggested I have been emphasising shrubs for the ever increasing numbers of minute gardens, ie blocks down to 270 square metres. They have reminded me that there are many hundreds of gardens still with good size blocks up to 1000 square metres.

So here are more winter shrubs for the medium-to-larger garden:

• Mahonia aquifolium is a native of north-west America. It has slightly off-putting, somewhat prickly large evergreen leaves, which are offset by bright-yellow flowers in densely clustered arching panicles in winter. The leaves turn a reddish-brown in winter. In spring, clusters of dark blue berries appear. Commonly known as Oregon grape (although no relation to grapes), Mahonia is resistant to summer drought and poor soils. Examples of this shrub can be seen growing in Commonwealth Park.

• Many deciduous plants present themselves at their best in winter with bare stems, both for appearance and fragrance. There is none better than Chimonanthus praecox Luteus or winter

sweet with its fragrant yellow flowers. It can grow quite large, up to four metres, although it’s not a problem to keep it more compact with regular annual pruning in late winter/spring after flowering. The pruning encourages more branches and, consequently, more flowers.

• Some shrubs are perfect for their winter foliage, rather than flowers. Take Loropetalum plum gorgeous. The name describes it perfectly with its rich, plum-coloured leaves all year round. In early spring, the raspberry tassel flowers give the whole garden a lift. One of the easiest plants to grow (just give it a light prune after flowering), it grows to 1.5 metres tall with a similar spread.

IT’S been a while since I mentioned the gosh-wow plant. Members of the Belconnen Garden Club visited our garden recently and the most talked about plant was our Osmanthus aurantiacus

The visitors couldn’t mistake the delicious apricot fragrance of the clusters of apricotcoloured flowers. It’s native to most of Asia from the Himalaya to Taiwan and is the city flower of Hangzhou in China.

The flowers, often fused with green and black tea leaves to give added scent, are also used to make a scented jam and sweet cakes.

This plant is a stunner and with its multiplic ity of uses, one can understand the description as the gosh-wow plant. It may be hard to find, but it’s worth searching for or looking online for suppliers.

Jottings...

• With the promise of showers almost every day and little or no rain eventuating, keep watering plants regularly.

• Sow broad beans, peas, onions and sweet peas.

• Trim conifers, pittosporums, viburnums and box so new growth will be hardened off before heavy frosts.

• Do not overwater bulbs; water them in at planting time and only every few weeks if there is no rain.

• If small shrubs are planted in the wrong spot, ie too much shade for example, now is a good time to transplant.

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