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PERCHED ON THE ROOFTOP OF THE AWARD WINNING BURBURY HOTEL, OVERLOOKING THE CITY, LAKE AND LEAFY BARTON IS CANBERRA’S MOST EXCLUSIVE HIGH TEA.

Octogenarian Henk still kicks goals as a referee

By Danielle NOHRA

AFTER refereeing soccer games in Canberra for more than 40 years, 82-year-old Henk Thijssens reckons he might be the oldest soccer referee in Australia.

“A couple of years ago an English football referee, who was in his 80s, retired and was called the oldest referee in England, so maybe I’m the oldest soccer referee in Australia, but who knows?” he says.

The Flynn resident initially got involved in soccer in 1975 when his kids were playing. He started as the manager and then coach of Belconnen United, which later became Belnorth.

“Shortly after I took up coaching, I realised there were no referees to help out so I did a course in 1977,” he says.

Henk says he also decided to take up refereeing because there were some poor decisions at some of the games and he realised he didn’t know all the rules himself.

He started refereeing junior games and quickly realised how important the role was.

“We had a national coach visiting and he really motivated me saying there was more to reffing than just

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blowing a whistle,” he says.

“[As a ref] you’re quite involved in junior development and people’s enjoy ment.”

At the age of 40, it was also a good way for Henk to stay fit and he used to run every day with one of his col leagues before refereeing two games on a Saturday and another two on Sundays.

As well as refereeing local games, Henk would referee senior national premier league games and school games. He would also organise referee games to train up young refs, too.

His three sons all had a go at reffing at one stage and recently, after about 30 years, two of his sons, Rod and Richard, started playing in the mas ters games for Belnorth on a Sunday, which Henk refs.

“It’s real good fun to referee a game with two of my sons again,” he says.

“These days I’m getting a bit slow so I concentrate on doing the masters over-45 games. It takes me a couple of days to get over it now.”

When looking back on Henk’s service to refereeing, Rod jokes that working was his part-time job and reffing was full-time.

“I think we were only about 13 and back then most parents didn’t come along to the games,” Rod says.

“My dad ended up buying a 12-seater van so he could pick all the kids up who couldn’t get to the game.

Holly Treadaway.

12.

“We would turn up and open the door and the whole team would pour out and the other teams would look at us and think: ‘What just happened?’

“He was a dedicated manager, coach and referee, all at the same time! Of course, some of the other teams didn’t like it but he tended to be harder on us than them.

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“His dedication is just impressive. Whether it was for myself, my son or people he doesn’t even know.

“I still have mates from the team when I was younger who I’ve seen since and they say: ‘What your dad did was amazing’.”

As a former referee himself, Rod says there’s one thing to play the game and then there’s another thing to be -

“Someone is always going to be upset but the amazing thing about dad is he still turns up every week,” he says.

Over the years Henk, who has a life membership with Belnorth and Capital Football, took on other roles with the club such as referees’ co-ordinator, treasurer and various other commit-

Apart from his continued refereeing Henk’s still very much involved in the club through his mentoring of young refs on Saturdays and helping teams with their positioning. He’s even coaching refs up for the Kanga Cup, which is coming up in July.

Rod says Henk’s always been dedicated to his club and if that wasn’t obvious, it definitely became obvious the year Rod and his wife put their son in the Gungahlin soccer team.

“My dad wasn’t happy about that,”

And even though Henk’s on a dialysis machine three times a week for about five hours each time from kidney failure, he’s still not slowing down and says he’d like to keep refereeing for a few more years.

“I couldn’t stop when my grandchildren were playing and now funnily enough my sons are playing football again, so I can’t retire, can I?” he says.

SEVEN DAYS Teacher knows best about Annika BRIEFLY

TRAPPED in an international media storm sparked by an AFP raid on her Canberra home to smoke out a whistleblower, News Corp journalist Annika Smethurst received succour from an unexpected quarter.

Among scores of supportive messages on social media, a tweet from the press gallery writer’s grade-six teacher Paul Flanagan: “You are loyal, strong, clever, one of the loveliest girls I ever taught” .

The raid triggered condemnation and fear, particularly in the Canberra Bubble, of what may come. “First They Came”, the 1946 prose of the German Lutheran pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) is instructive. It is about the cowardice of German intellectuals and certain clergy (including himself) following the Nazis’ rise to power and subsequent incremental purging of their chosen targets, group after group.

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out –because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.

MEANTIME, my diplomatic deepthroat (retired) who has signed the Official Secrets Act, cryptically explained the old-school method of whistle blowing. Apparently, in the days between carrier pigeon and electronic messaging, the approach was frame your comment as a question, get a junior staffer to ask the question ensuring it contained a least a grain of truth. The resulting rumour spreads like wildfire and eventually the truth gets out.

FORMER

Canberra pastor and Brumbies chaplain has begged Rugby Australia to do the right thing and give Israel Folau another chance.

McDonald , founder of Canberra’s Crossroads Christian Church, says in an open letter to RA: “You are breaking my heart. I listen to so many who say they’ve had enough. They don’t care anymore. The politics, the ignorance, the mismanagement, the bullying, the elitism – they’ve had enough. And what can I say? They’ve got a point. But I won’t give up. In fact, I see a window of hope”. McDonald, at the Brumbies from 2003-2017, argues former coach Andy

Friend “once surveyed all his players to discover the most influential people in their lives. A significant number of the players put Jesus Christ, or the Lord, or God as number one. I suspect this would have been repeated in many of the teams across Australia, NZ and South Africa.”

A NEW Federal front bench doesn’t necessarily mean a new way of political spinning. Sadly, the person tasked with removing hurdles from the light rail network Stage 2, new Assistant Minister Nola Marino, has opted for the same old spin to avoid making a commitment. Among “statutory safeguards” and “ecological footprints”, the junior minister assures us: “If and when the project progresses it will be the greatest change to the Parliamentary Zone since the construction of New Parliament House.”

FORMER Canberra FM radio

breakfast host Ryan Jon has a knack of racking up impressive stats on social media. The man who scored more than 100 million views worldwide in 2017 with a video about searching for his birth mother, is now

going the extra K to prove his love for longtime girlfriend Bridget who lives on the other side of Australia. Jon produced a seven-minute video of him “running” the 3400 kilometres separating them to propose at the regional Victorian winery where she works. The video so far has topped 130,000 views.

AT the risk of inflaming the already toxic relationship between Canberra cyclists and motorists, a tip for the arrogant cyclist who cavalierly crossed four lanes of traffic against a red light at one of the inner south’s busiest intersections. The rider may wish to check his GoPro camera for confirmation of his inconsiderate and dangerous behaviour that does nothing to improve safety or harmonious relations in traffic. It was 7.10 Monday morning (June 3) at the intersection of Canberra Avenue and the Monaro Highway at Fyshwick.

TUITION BY KUMON

60 YEARS OF PROVEN RESULTS

Frosty fines for lazy drivers

FROSTY mornings can mean $200 fines for anyone driving without a clear view from their vehicle.

Police say when the cold weather causes a build-up of frost or fog, they attend numerous collisions occurred as a result of drivers having poor visibility from their vehicles.

Officer in charge of Traffic Operations David Wills says: “The legislation surrounding these matters is quite clear – a driver must not drive a motor vehicle unless they have a clear view of the road, as well as traffic ahead, behind and to each side of the vehicle.

“Drivers who operate a vehicle without a clear view through the windows face a fine of $200, which is an expensive alternative to simply waiting until your windscreens are clear and unobstructed.”

Open to offers

THE Relay for Life Team, the Bold Bandannas, will be open to offers on its unpriced trash ‘n’ treasure charity stall at the Belconnen Markets, 8am-5pm, on the weekend of June 15-16 to raise funds for cancer research, prevention and support services. They’ll also be selling homemade preserves (pickles, chutneys, lemon butter), hand-sewn items, including children’s dress-up clothes, hand-knitted dolls’ clothes, beanies, scarves and other gifts.

While 14-year-old Isaac was starring in his cricket team he was falling behind in the classroom. To his mother’s relief, another cricket mum whose own son had been studying at Kumon for years, suggested Kumon to her and so she enrolled him.

“It didn’t take long before I could see the systematic nature of the maths program fill in Isaac’s learning gaps. He’s also much faster and more accurate than ever before”, his mother Heather explains. She went on to say; “The daily worksheets are also teaching him to be more disciplined and provide balance in his life, which was once solely focused on sport.”

Kumon Maths and English programs cater for children from preschool to year 12 with a daily approach to developing excellent academic skills. The Kumon Instructor will tailor your child’s study program based on their specific needs. Students attend Kumon classes twice each week and receive homework to do every other day.

There are four Kumon Centres located in Canberra. For almost 30 years, they have collectively helped thousands of students improve their maths and English abilities. Call your local Kumon Centre today to see how your child can get the ‘Kumon advantage’.

CANBERRA MATTERS

Do our politicians keep the right company?

A FORTNIGHT ago, the focus for this column was on that remote universe occupied by the ACT Labor/Greens government. The puzzle remains as to how this group of otherwise sortof-reasonable people are convinced that they are doing humane and considerate things when they allow the development of the city to happen in such a barbaric manner.

Maybe one problem is the company they keep.

Besides spending most of their time talking to themselves and with advisers who make comforting sounds and bombard residents with gobbledygook, our politicians spend far too much time in particular company. This is the world of industry seminars and conferences, launches, professional industry body dinners – being people who know how to befriend ACT politicians.

A few years ago during a dispute over a suburban development, one resident worked through the planning directorate’s meeting minutes. What jumped

Residents are well aware that the real outcomes are set through the regular meetings between the politicians and the development and property industries.

out was that while 130 residents had made submissions on this contentious development, the impact was a single mention that these had been received. They were treated as a collective body – no names were mentioned.

Meanwhile the minutes were dominated by contacts with developers and industry professionals – often with positive comments about individuals. There was no doubt that a mass of residents’ submissions was of much lower importance than constant contacts with the development industry.

In that same opinion piece mentioned above there was reference to the chief minister’s address to an industry body. These sorts of events happen regularly with head planners and politicians being key speakers or being special guests. It’s not unusual for our politicians to take up the invitation to the launch of a major developer’s latest marvellous creation for the city. There are so many of these events happening constantly. These connec -

tions and relationships are part of the work life of our politicians and it has been so for many years. It is through these events that the government is subject to well-practised influencers. These people operate inside the tent.

Residents are outside that same tent. Residents get the ad hoc consultations, they have to fill in forms, they have to make submissions, they attend roundtable forums and spend far too much time on the government’s infamous HaveYourSay website. And yet – so little actually happens.

Recently there were calls for residents to attend even more forums and planning workshops. Given the track record of poor outcomes for the residents from such gatherings, one wonders why anyone still attends –except to have the planning bureaucracy record that they consulted.

While this pretence of consultations occupies residents endlessly, residents are well aware that the real outcomes are set through the regular meetings between the politicians and the development and property industries. There was the instance recently where the chief planner, despite national agreements by all states, issued contrary

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advice to a minister on the timing for new building regulations. That new last-minute advice was drawn from conversations at an industry meeting. It has become an outstanding case study on the power relationships at work behind the scenes.

The worrying aspect of these relationships is that the politicians and chief bureaucrats fall for it. They feel safe with these people because they need each other. They relax with these people because these industry professionals reinforce the importance of our ACT politicians. Residents remain in that pesky category except when an election rolls around. Later next year our friendly politicians will be in your face at every turn.

If there was an initiative to increase the trust in government and the way that the ACT government conducts planning and development, a first step would be to ban almost all attendances by bureaucrats and politicians at industry functions and for elected representatives to make themselves more available to spend time with residents.

There is so much wrong with this government. There’s more to come on this theme in the coming weeks.

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

Record number of women, but Dennis tops list

MORE women than ever before (40 per cent) have been awarded in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours, but it was a Griffith man who took out the top gong in Canberra.

Dennis Richardson, pictured, was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia for his eminent service to public administration through leadership roles in the national security, defence and foreign policy arenas, and to workplace cultural reform.

Before retiring as a public servant and diplomat in 2017, Mr Richardson worked as the secretary of the Department of Defence (2012-17). He also worked as the secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the director general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.

Despite retirement Mr Richardson hasn’t slowed down and sits on the board for the Canberra Raiders, ACT RSPCA and the National Capital Authority. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate of letters by Sydney

University last year and an honorary doctorate of laws from ANU in the same year.

Other local recipients include:

OFFICER (AO) IN THE GENERAL DIVISION

Mr Martin Gerard BOWLES, Canberra, for distinguished service to public administration at a senior level and to policy development and program implementation.

Emeritus Prof Andrew Peter HOPKINS, for distinguished service to higher education, particularly to industrial safety and accident analysis.

Mr Simon Joseph LEWIS, Sutton, for distinguished service to public administration in a range of portfolio areas and to transformational change and organisational design.

MEMBER (AM) IN THE GENERAL DIVISION

Emeritus Prof Neville Frank EXON, Chapman, for significant service to marine geology and to higher education.

Ms Lisa Kim FILIPETTO, for significant service to bilateral relations and to international humanitarian initiatives.

Rev Dr Thomas Robert FRAME , Tarago, for significant service to higher education, to the Anglican Church of Australia and to the community.

Mr Craig James HAMILTON, Monash, for

significant service to public administration in defence policy.

Mrs Margery Heather HENDERSON, Yarralumla, for significant service to the community through the preservation of political history.

Ms Daryl Ann KARP, Turner, for significant service to the arts, particularly to the museums and galleries sector.

Mr Warren Leslie KING , Barton, for significant service to business, particularly in the area of defence industry capability.

Ms Mary Anne KIRK , Bruce, for significant service to midwifery and nursing, and to professional standards.

Mr Peter Ross MARTIN, ACT, for significant service to multi-platform and print media as an economics journalist.

Ms Louise Mary MAYO, O’Connor, for significant service to vocational education and training, and to the community.

Dr Helen Margaret MOORE , Cook, for significant service to English language education and to community music.

Prof Barbara Ann PAMPHILON, Duffy, for significant service to higher education and to the community.

Mr Andrew Michael PHELAN, Campbell, for significant service to judicial administration.

Dr Peter John READ, Turner, for significant service to Indigenous history.

Distinguished Prof Dharmendra Prakash SHARMA , McKellar, for significant service to higher education and to computer science.

Ms Margaret Eileen TWOMEY, Forrest, for

significant service to international relations.

Ms Theanne Rae WALTERS , for significant service to medical education and accreditation.

MEDAL (OAM) IN THE GENERAL DIVISION

Mr Peter Leslie CULLERNE , Wamboin, for service to veterans and their families.

Prof Jane Esther DAHLSTROM , Deakin, for service to medical education and to pathology.

Mr Kenneth Charles EYNON, Latham, for service to athletics.

The late Mr John Thomas FAHY, Ngunnawal, for service to National Wattle Day celebrations.

Ms Caroline Patricia FLYNN, O’Malley, for service to the community through a range of organisations.

Mr Peter Thomas FUNNELL , Florey, for service to hockey.

Mr Ivan HINTON-TEOH, Ainslie, for service to human rights, and to the LGBTIQ community.

Mrs Joyce Irene HYLES, Kingston, for service to the community of Bungendore and Queanbeyan.

Ms Colette Elizabeth MACKAY, Braddon, for service to the community of the ACT.

Mrs Judith Mary McNAY, Curtin, for service to veterans and their families.

Ms Sally MELHUISH, Hall, for service to baroque music.

Mrs Wendy MOORE , Ainslie, for service to the international community of Nepal.

Dr Krishna Dhana NADIMPALLI, Amaroo, for service to multiculturalism in the ACT.

Ms Vasiliki NIHAS-BOGIATZIS, Barton, for service to the arts and cultural heritage.

Squadron leader Gary William OAKLEY, Bonner, for service to the indigenous community through a range of organisations.

Mrs Vivien Elma PALMER , Isaacs, for service to education, and to the community.

Mr Jose Manuel ROSES, Monash, for service to karate.

Mr William Michael SPARKS, Braddon, for service to community health.

Mr Richard Llewellyn STONE , Fadden, for service to veterans and their families.

Mr Eric Serge THAUVETTE , Gilmore, for service to people with a disability.

Dr Vida VILIUNAS, Deakin, for service to medicine in the field of anaesthesiology.

Dr Gordon Eustace WHITE , Garran, for service to medicine, particularly sexual health.

PUBLIC SERVICE MEDAL

Dr Roslyn Kay BAXTER , O’Connor.

Mr Robert John BOLLARD, Hughes.

Mr Ryan Alexander FERNANDO, Holder.

Mrs Sarah Jane HITCHCOCK , Gordon.

Ms Michelle Anne LAUDER , Hawker.

Ms Hilary Margaret MANSON, Red Hill.

Mr Matthew RAMAGE , Wamboin.

Ms Beverley Maree SIMS, Nicholls.

Can Shane deliver on prison reform?

“BY building communities, not prisons, we can act to ensure that we support individuals to break the criminal justice cycle, and keep our communities safe.”

The irony of these wise words in a tweet by ACT Corrections Minister, Shane Rattenbury, was exposed almost immediately by a tweet in reply.

Bill Bashford included a picture in his reply tweet of the “work about to begin in Canberra’s new, low-security prison in the next 12 months”.

The message was reinforced in the ACT Budget which committed $35 million to expanding the jail with an “80-bed minimum security prison – or ‘reintegration centre’ – outside the wire at the Alexander Maconochie Centre”.

Two things are needed. A healthier prison is the first. There is still some way to go. The second is healthier and more equitable communities that mitigate against the need for so many people to be incarcerated. This is the sensible tweet circulated by Shane Rattenbury regarding building communities rather than prisons.

However, Rattenbury is a Minister. Philosophical reflection has its place – but it is not enough. He has the wherewithal and the responsibility to put his own words into action.

Failure to do so reflects complacency and incompetence as a minister. Paying lip service to a problem is not a solution. Appropriate funding in the Budget, ministerial guidance, co-ordination with cabinet colleagues and a serious

Rattenbury is a Minister. Philosophical reflection has its place – but it is not enough. He has the wherewithal and the responsibility to put his own words into action.

commitment to outcomes are key to tackling such difficult problems.

The ACT’s 2019-20 Budget was certainly not framed in this manner. Perhaps the issue is just too hard! If the issue is truly intractable, why raise it? Unless it is a self-indulgent feel good!

The Budget expenditure under the heading “Building communities not prisons”, is simply improving the Warrumbul Sentencing Court and the ACT Bail Support Program. Excellent initiatives but, at best, a very early foundation stone for a genuine shift in policy.

At the opening of the prison the Greens challenged then Labor Chief Minister Jon Stanhope and the minister responsible, Simon Corbell, to deliver a truly human rights-compliant prison. It does in some aspects. However, while there is no needle and syringe program in the prison, the Alexander Maconochie Centre will not be compliant with the ACT Human Rights Act. Action remains wanting on this front. And the proportion of people who are incarcerated grows. There is a problem. It was horrifying in the year 2000 when the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed that over the previous decade throughout Australia “there had been a 32 per cent increase in the adult imprisonment

rate, from 112 to 148 prisoners per 100,000 adult population”. And things got worse. Not quite two decades on, in 2018, the ABS revealed Australia incarcerated at the rate of “221 prisoners per 100,000 adult population”.

In the ACT incarceration rates have increased alarmingly. In 2000 the ACT incarceration rates were the lowest in Australia at 76 prisoners per 100,000 population. They have doubled since that time.

The ABS identified the rate in 2018 as “151 prisoners per 100,000 adult population, an increase from 141 prisoners per 100,000 adult population in 2017”. Under Rattenbury’s stewardship an increase of this magnitude in one year should be a serious embarrassment.

Lip service is not enough. The feeble attempt in Chief Minister Andrew Barr’s introduction to the 2019-20 Budget has its place: “We are making a major investment in more police and a new approach to policing that will focus on crime prevention and disruption, helping to deliver on our goal of

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reducing recidivism by 25 per cent by 2025”. However, more policing (or even funding better policing) is not enough.

The ACT is progressive in many areas. However, on this issue lessons from other countries seem to have been lost. Dutch newspaper “De Telegraaf” reported in 2013: “Nineteen prisons in the Netherlands closed because the country didn’t have enough criminals to fill them.” It added that five more were “slated to close their doors by the end of the summer”.

Sachar.

Free yoga for big day

It is not even necessary to go international; Prof John Braithwaite at the ANU began developing outstanding policy options on “restorative justice” decades ago.

Raising an issue through a tweet is not a bad thing. Taking responsibility and acting is so much better. Over to you, Minister Rattenbury. We like your tweet. How are you going to deliver?

Michael Moore is a former member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and an independent minister for health. He was Minister for Corrections from mid 2000 until retirement in November, 2001.

THE fifth International Day of Yoga (June 21) will be celebrated by the High Commission of India at a free yoga practice and guided meditation session on Saturday, June 22. Shikha Sachar, who studied yoga at the Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga, will lead the public event at the Albert Hall from 10am to 11.30am.

The birth of Black Mountain

DOUGLAS Finlayson, an expert on the geology of the Canberra region, will explain the significance of Black Mountain’s formation and the geological features that were formed during ice ages in the last one million years at a public lecture on June 18. Presented by the Friends of Black Mountain, it’s at the Telstra Tower theatrette from 11am. Entry by gold-coin donation; email a name and phone number to hotchinbridge@bigpond.com to assist with catering.

The Mr Fluffy Community and Expert Reference Group (CERG) is leading a community consultation program to acknowledge the effects of 50 years of Mr Fluffy in Canberra homes, and the community is invited to share their experiences and ideas.

There are several ways you can participate:

mrfluffy.engagementhub.com.au

mrfluffy@rpsgroup.com.au

Mr Fluffy Legacy Project, Level 3, 65 Canberra Avenue, Griffith ACT 2603

You can also join us at a drop-in session to speak with a member of the project team.

DATE: 19 JUNE 2019

Forrest Hotel

30 National Circuit Forrest ACT 2603

Session 1: 2:00pm–4:00pm Session 2: 5:00pm–7:00pm

DATE: 20 JUNE 2019

The Tradies Dickson

2 Badham Street Dickson ACT 2602

Session 1: 2:00pm–4:00pm Session 2: 5:00pm–7:00pm

LETTERS

The government is misnamed

THE ACT Labor government is misnamed. It would be more accurate to call it the Land Sales and Developers’ Consortium.

Concerning the sale of the Havelock House site, it was recently announced that they failed to reach agreement with the preferred tenderer because it was unable to meet the price demanded of them.

“Land Sales” smugly stated that in the interests of the people of Canberra they had to maximise prices. They then added that the developer was urged to make some low-cost housing available.

The actual contract phrasing of this requirement is that the developer may or may not make such low-cost housing part of the mix. Logically, these weasel words mean naught.

Realistically, any developer who is being put through the financial wringer by our rapacious government will not be able to do low-cost housing.

To put it more simply, the higher the reserve price for land the higher the cost of buying into a development will be, which is a primary reason for low-income, wouldbe homeowners having little hope of ever owning their own home.

I would love to say vote Liberal at the next ACT election but both our main parties sing from the same hymn book particularly when it comes to land.

Personally, I will vote independent at the next election. An independent might or might not be better, but definitely could not be worse than what we have at the moment. There is only one Legislative Assembly member with a social conscience and that is Caroline Le Couteur, and she is a Greens member who supports Labor.

Howard Carew, Isaacs

Trying to stop the earth from warming

IT makes me crazy when I see old men stating: “If we took all the cars in Australia off the road at once it wouldn’t make any difference to climate change.”

Can’t they understand the scientists are trying to stop the earth from warming any more in the future, not bring the temperature down now? If the warming continues to increase where will it be in 50 or 100 years’ time? I think the sceptics think the temperature is supposed to increase overnight or there can’t be any such thing as global warming.

Yvonne

Dickson, via email

Increasing the risk of psychosis

FOR various reasons the number of letters to the editor published on the dangers of drug use, especially cannabis, have recently fallen away remarkably in NSW and ACT.

When police make drug and gun seizures cannabis is almost always present and evidence linking cannabis to schizophrenia has been medically demonstrated. I write to try to help parents and our youth, and women in particular, to better understand the dangers of the drug.

A professional, multicentre study published online on May 16 found that risk of psychosis increases threefold with daily use of cannabis and nearly fivefold when cannabis has THC concentrations greater than 10 per cent.

Bills to legalise cannabis are in the Legislative Assembly and the NSW Parliament. About four years ago Prof Jan Copeland estimated there were 220,000 people in Australia dependent on cannabis, so if these Bills are passed they will be in conflict with section 109 of the Australian Constitution and move dependency nearer to 500,000.

Colliss Parrett, International Drug Watch, Barton

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Brushed off by doctors, sick Leah never says die

Brave Leah Yaxley is in the battle for her life. She’s been a nurse for 11 years. ‘You put your faith in medical professionals but how many times has somebody been misdiagnosed?’ she asks reporter DANIELLE NOHRA

AFTER experiencing excruciating pain in her left breast, Calwell’s Leah Yaxley went to the doctor on three occasions and was turned away every time.

At the time, the 31-year-old didn’t fit the bill for breast cancer. She was

“After that I just left it. You put your faith in doctors and think it’s going to be okay.”

Not long after Christmas Leah was playing with her youngest child when she landed on her breast causing ex cruciating pain.

“The fall and the pain didn’t match

“A week later I noticed quite a large bruise on the top of my breast.”

It wasn’t so much the bruise Leah was concerned about but the pain, so she headed back to the doctor, who

This time Leah pushed for tests, she needed to make sure there was noth

“It was so frustrating. If I was 65 it would have been straight on to a mammogram, no questions asked,”

From there Leah was sent to get an ultrasound and then a mammogram but was told it just looked like some tis sue damage so she went back to work as a nurse following her maternity

She says two other sonographers still had to look at the tests, by law, but she assumed it would all be the same

The first two sonographers said it was fine but the third found a little, teeny, tiny 6mm lesion inside her milk ducts so Leah was sent to get a biopsy and even the doctor said it just looked like calcification and it would be fine.

A couple of days later the doctor

“He said: ‘I’m really sorry but it’s

“When he said it to me it was a real pause in that moment. I was beside myself. Then the fear settled in as I thought, how far advanced is it?”

When Leah spoke with the oncologist he told her that had she left it until there was a lump, it would have been

“It’s scary to think that so many times I’ve been told by a doctor or practitioner that pain in your breast is not a sign of breast cancer,” she says.

“I’ve been a nurse for 11 years and you put your faith in medical professionals but how many times has somebody been misdiagnosed?”

After her experience Leah is urging people to go and get another opinion if they’re not happy with what they’re being told.

“It’s your livelihood, it’s your life,” she says.

After three rounds of chemotherapy, Leah says unfortunately her cancer hasn’t shrunk, but she says it’s good news in that it hasn’t grown.

She’s staying positive and says she’s hopeful she’ll see improvement once she starts her Herceptin drugs, which is used to treat HER2-positive breast cancer.

“I’ll also be having a double mastectomy after the chemotherapy and then radiotherapy if it’s reached my lymph nodes,” she says.

Her diagnosis had been hard on eve -

Seniors Information Service

ryone involved, Leah says, especially the week she has her chemotherapy but she knows she has to stay brave regardless.

“I think you don’t know how brave or strong you have to be until you have no choice,” she says.

“I’ve got three kids who need their mum. I’ve got so many school lunches to make before I check out.

“It’s important for me to find that inner strength to be there for my kids.”

A huge part of her strength has come from a Facebook page she started called “Breast cancer 32 and it could happen to you”. It has more than 450 people following it and has become an online community for Leah and others.

“I started the blog because when I was diagnosed it was so confusing,” she says.

Leah says she’s had people contacting her telling her how it’s helped them understand their loved-one who

is going through the same thing, or it’s resonated with other cancer battlers.

“If I can help one person through the blog than this whole shitstorm has been worth it. That’s the nurse in me,” she says.

But the nurse in Leah has also found it hard to let others take care of her after taking care of others for so long and when her friend offered to start a GoFundMe page to raise funds for her medical bills she was reluctant to say “yes”.

“I never wanted to be a charity case. I said ‘no’ for the first two months and then my medical bills started coming in,” she says.

Not being back at work has caused big financial stresses so Leah let her friend start the GoFundMe page, which has since raised more than $1300 so far.

Visit gofundme.com

Nation’s forgotten city YOUNG & RESTLESS

AS a proud Canberran, and proud Australian, the disrespect in the national arena towards our national capital is sickening.

Indeed, former prime minister Sir Robert Menzies, one of the greatest champions of our city, would be turning in his grave.

Despite ours being a city for all Australians, the disrespect from each successive Federal government seemingly grows.

The Federal government effectively has an “AntiCanberra Minister” in the Minister for Decentralisation.

For politicians to believe that an investment in Canberra is just for the good of the city’s inhabitants, is utterly wrong. We are the national city, we are the seat of government, and as such should be the centre of the public service and national institutions.

When we celebrate Canberra, we regularly acclaim its beginnings and what it has become, but never its future; we seem to live in a country where there is no place for the progression of our national capital and certainly where there is an all-time low of respect for Canberra as the capital.

In the recently completed “Inquiry into National Institutions”, the National Capital Authority stated that there was no shortage of land for new institutions. This includes those forgotten from Burley Griffin’s plan, others that were suggested later on and many that are present in other national capitals but not ours.

Some older ideas include; the Australia Forum or National Convention Centre (site reserved on Vernon Circle), a National Opera

BRIEFLY

Peek at the classics

THE ANU Classics Museum is offering “Glimpses of the Classical World” as voluntary guides present a program of presentations on themes related to the museum’s collection of ancient Greek and Roman artefacts. The program will be conducted in the AD Hope Building, Ellery Crescent, ANU, over four mornings, 10am-12.30pm, during the university’s semester break on July 1-2 and July 8-9. Places are limited and it is not considered as a children’s activity. Information and bookings to pfinley@webone.com. au by Friday, June 14.

House (tentative site reserved near the lake), a Natural History Museum and a National Catholic Basilica (site reserved near Commonwealth Park).

Some newer suggestions, including my own, include a National Air and Space Museum (possible site near the airport); a National Sports Museum; a National Cemetery, an optional cemetery for prime ministers, prominent citizens and service people (site on Mount Ainslie behind the War Memorial); a National Museum for Migration and a National Centre and Museum for the First Australians (placed where the tent embassy is).

Some people have also suggested a centralised government department to manage all of our national institutions and museums to make their management, storage and acquisitions more efficient. Precedents exist in the US with the Smithsonian Institution. Others have suggested that national institutions have a public “wishlist” that philanthropists, companies, and individuals can donate towards.

Another forgotten blueprint of Griffin’s plan is the site of The Lodge. Its current location was supposed to be a

temporary site, the original idea was to build the prime minister’s residence on Collins Park, with properties for senior government ministers and senior public servants supposed to create a quasiNational Avenue.

While we can’t be certain who would’ve resided on this “National Avenue”, the large “mansions” that line Tasmania Circle are a sign of what may have been.

No election is won or lost in Canberra’s five seats and we can but hope that future governments can break partisan boundaries and together champion Canberra once more as not only the city where parliament meets, but as our national capital. A true city for all Australians.

John-Paul Romano (@johnpauldromano) is a young Canberran, entrepreneur and founder of The PURE Network (thepurenet work.com)

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Stephen spars his way to a broadcasting future

By Danielle NOHRA

a child, Queanbeyan’s Stephen Peios would imitate great boxing announcers such as Michael Buffer... and now he’s an announcer for boxing legends in real life on the world stage.

It’s nearly been a dream come true for the 33-year-old who was a ring announcer for boxing at the Commonwealth Games last year, the FIFA Club World Cup in the same year and is currently in France hosting the FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Nearly, because he’s not stopping until he reaches his absolute goal, which is to be the biggest ring announcer in the world or to anchor for the premier league. But with a love for all sport and a passion for media, he says he’s really open to anything.

Stephen’s passion for sport started young and growing up he was always a massive sports nut.

“The thing I love the most about sport is it’s something that brings people together in a friendly way but also through friendly rivalries,” he says.

“It’s something that will divide people for the best of reasons when it comes to friendly banter.

“It also unites people from around the world and celebrates skills.

“I used to love everything from rugby league to football to boxing to netball to AFL to cricket.

“[At the age of eight] I would wake up at one o’clock on a Tuesday morning to watch the WCW (World Championship Wrestling) with my cousin.

“We’d talk to each other on the landline quietly hoping our parents wouldn’t hear. This was when I first saw Michael Buffer on the television.”

From about age nine, Stephen says he had a clear understanding of most sports.

“I could play most sports and knew a lot about them and the statistics,” he says.

“When I got to about 15 I would imi tate the guys on the television. That was about the point I knew I wanted to be like those guys.”

It wasn’t until Stephen was 18 that he got his first gig on his local commu nity radio station, QBN FM.

It was there where he would chat with his friend Jimmy Buckley for hours about sport.

“It was my first foray into the world of broadcasting, announcing, analysing and commentating,” he says.

“It wasn’t much, but it was something I loved and this went on for about 10 years before I had to give it away due to competing commitments.”

But he says it was where it all began.

nities at bigger stations and a couple of years later he ended up talking about sport on Saturday mornings on the AM station, 2CC.

“I remember being really nervous [when I first started doing work for 2CC],” he says.

“Now, I get up in front of full stadiums

“There’s no reason to get nervous now, I’ve had plenty of preparation and practice over the past 15 years.”

Over the past six years, Stephen’s gone from being a ring announcer locally to nationally and even got to work the Commonwealth Games last year.

“The Commonwealth Games was an

unbelievable experience,” he says.

“It was a world-level event and to work with the world’s best amateur boxers in a high-pressure environment was a massive development for me.

“I really enjoyed the program on the Gold Coast and this just opened more

“From there I was lucky enough to move on to do some big international football tournaments such as the FIFA Club World Cup and the AFC Asian Cup, a level which was massive on the world stage.

“Being recognised by FIFA and being called upon to go to France for the FIFA Women’s World Cup is a huge honour for me.”

While Stephen’s come a long way from his first gig at QBN FM he says he’s still not quite there yet.

The benchmarks for Stephen are voices such as Alan Parry, Martin Tyler or Joe Rogan.

“They’re the people you hear and remember,” he says.

“I’ve always had a belief in myself that I could get to the top of the profes -

“Coming out of Queanbeyan and Canberra it’s a little difficult because there’s not as many opportunities and not as many sporting clubs or teams end up on a national level.

“If I get to the level of Michael Buffer then that could be a point where I could say, now I’ve made it.”

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Remembering freedom’s struggle

CROATIA celebrates Statehood Day on June 25, marking the nation’s Declaration of Independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991.

About a month earlier the people voted 93 per cent “yes” to independence. It was a dream come true for many Croats –including those in Australia – but powerful

Serbian-aligned forces inside and outside the country were willing to fight to keep it from self rule.

Although independence did not take effect until three months later on October 8, which is now celebrated as Independence Day, the declaration on June 25 also sparked the beginning of Croatia’s War of Independence, which lasted until 1995, and so Statehood Day is a solemn reminder of this terrible conflict, too.

On their National Day, Croatians express

gratitude to all who took part in the creation of independent Croatia, including its defence and liberation.

Independence after the end of the Cold War was a new beginning for a nation with a long history, stretching back more than 1000 years to the age of kings and emperors.

Croatia has always belonged in Europe, culturally, historically and geographically, and its accession to the European Union on July 1, 2013 brought it back in from the cold.

Marko Body Repairs

Family care for crash repairs

IN the ‘60s, because of political reasons, Marko Nazor was forced to leave Croatia and has since made Australia his home.

Marko started Marko Smash Repairs Canberra in 1982 and has been servicing Canberra since.

Marko’s son Ante says it’s important to reflect on how far Croatia’s independence has come since his dad migrated to Australia from Sumpetar, a village in Split-Dalmatia County.

The family business provides all smash repair needs from minor to major accidents, all private and custom works, as well as all insurance claims.

Marko Smash Repairs Canberra supplies and sells tyres at Mitchell Tyres & More at the front of the building, which is a subsidiary of Marko Smash Repairs.

Ante says “the service is second to none, in an industry where repair shops are becoming massive, we are still family owned and run.

Our customer service is way ahead of our competitors,” he says.

Marko Smash Repairs Canberra, 74 Hoskins Street, Mitchell. Call 6241 3088 or visit smashrepairscanberra.com.au

Set amongst landscaped grounds, Adria Village is a warm and welcoming community of people from all around the world. We pride ourselves on cultural diversity and celebration, and offer a wide range of activities to cater for all interests. We provide care for Croatian and all other nationalities.

Adria Village fosters individuality and independence, providing support and assistance to enable residents to live in a comfortable and secure environment. Adria Village in Stirling offers residential care for 42 residents, incorporating 2 respite rooms, and Special Care. The Village also contains 36 independent living villas. All villas have 2 bedrooms, a courtyard and a garden, and residents enjoy a peaceful and welcoming community lifestyle.

Our aim is to provide a caring, safe, home-like atmosphere, reflecting your rights to dignity, respect, privacy, safety and the best quality of life. Contact our friendly staff today to arrange a personal tour.

Village with a touch of home

ADRIA Village often gets feedback about how it’s a small, friendly, home-like community, according to administration officer Candace Rhind, who says there’s a new opportunity for people to join its welcoming independent villas.

She says two, two-bedroom villas with a courtyard are now available.

“It’s a great place to live and our point of difference is that we’re very personable and multicultural,” she says.

“We have a strong focus on celebrating culture here.”

This culture stems back to 1989 when the Croatian community of Canberra and Queanbeyan established Adria Village to enable residents to live in a comfortable and secure environment, while encouraging individuality, independence and active participation in a broad range of cultural, social and religious activities within the village.

The village contains residential care for 42 residents, as well as 36 independent living villas in a landscaped environment with mature trees and gardens providing homelike and natural surroundings.

Adria Village general manager, Iva Vujica says as well as organised social programs the village provides multilingual staff, bus services, regular mass, an on-site chapel, a psychologist, podiatrist, chemist, hairdresser and pharmacist.

Adria Village also provides special care units for residents with dementia and any other special needs, and has two respite care rooms for shortterm care by arrangement.

Adria Village, 89 Fremantle Drive, Stirling, adria.org.au, 6288 0198.

‘We provide the latest deals, reduced fares and special offers, and a large cruising range – international and domestic – to suit any budget.’

The website worth cruising for a winter escape

WITH winter settling in here in Canberra, thoughts may be turning to distant shores, warmer days and tropical locations.

A cruising holiday can offer the perfect escape, says Ozcruising operations manager Johnny Hamilton-Gibbs.

With a range of itineraries, including the Queensland Coast, Australian circum navigation, Tasmania, NZ, South Pacific, Asia, Hawaii, the Mediterranean and world cruises, Ozcruising is one of the largest online cruise agencies, with an experienced local team and a one-stop website.

Based in Canberra for 13 years, Ozcruising offers cruises from well-known providers such as P&O, Carnival, Cunard, Royal Caribbean, Azamara, CMV, Holland America, Celebrity, Norwegian and Princess Cruises.

“We provide the latest deals, reduced fares and special offers, and a large cruising range, both international and domestic, to suit any budget,” Johnny says.

The Ozcruising website allows users to research and book online without having to make a phone call – but with the comfort of knowing that someone from the Canberra City-based team can easily be in touch if extra help is needed.

Canberra is in a prime position for easy access to cruise ships, with a short trip to Sydney via bus or car and easy parking alternatives

available when driving.

“There’s also the option of short cruises, which are a quick and easy way to escape for the weekend, with three-night departures from Sydney known as cruise samplers,” Johnny says.

“This is a great way to get a taste of cruising and enjoy different cruise brands to see which appeals to you.”

Johnny says his personal favourite cruise has been to the South Pacific.

“With its untouched natural beauty and year-round warm weather, it’s the ultimate

escape from the Canberra winter,” he says.

“NZ at this time of year is another bucket-list cruise, especially as Canberrans are accustomed to the cooler winters. I recently returned from NZ and loved the scenic landscapes, lakes and mountains. It was still a little warmer than Canberra and I’m ready to go again!”

One of the best things about cruise holidays is that you can do as much or as little as you want, Johnny says.

“There’s the forever-expanding list of onboard activities for those who want to

get involved and keep busy, and land tours accessible onboard, but it’s just as easy to completely chill out,” he says.

“A lot of people don’t realise the perperson pricing is inclusive of accommodation, entertainment and meals on board for the duration of the cruise, so when you break these prices down per person per day, you can really see the value you’re getting from the holiday.”

More information or bookings to ozcruising.com.au

Cunard Cruise Line offer

BOOK a Cunard cruise 6+ nights or more in June with Ozcruising and you’ll receive a complimentary bonus onboard credit of up to $1000 per person + free specialty dining for two in the Verandah Steakhouse onboard Cunard.

Onboard credit can be spent on onboard luxuries such as spa treatments, specialty dinners and beverages.

With the range of Cunard Cruises, including Australian destinations as well as Hong Kong, Cape Town, Yokohama, Singapore and New York, there is sure to be the perfect itinerary.

Cunard offers luxury cruising with a sense of occasion, heritage and relaxation, with ships including the famous Queen Mary 2, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria sailing out of Australia in 2019, 2020 and 2021. More information or bookings to ozcruising.com.au

Book Cunard with Ozcruising & receive up to $1,000pp Onboard Credit + FREE specialty dining for two during your cruise (Terms & conditions apply)

How to make the most of long conference days

THE right atmosphere or catering can make long conference days or training programs feel shorter and much more enjoyable.

Whether it’s a change of scenery by the beach, unique food, tailored training programs or local venues that go above and beyond, “CityNews” speaks to experts ready to make any conference or training program unforgettable!

has spaces suitable for any type of conference or training event, says director of conference and events Sheree Kahlefeldt.

And it’s centrally located, with Sheree saying the Realm Precinct is minutes away from most government departments and only 10 minutes from the airport and city.

Hotel Realm, one of Doma Hotels’ conference locations, is practically on the steps of Parliament House and several government agencies, and has spaces suitable for any type of conference, training or event, Sheree says.

“From our state-of-the-art, purpose-built boardrooms, which can host up to 22 delegates, to our architecturally unique and versatile High Courtyard venues, which provide an exciting alternative for an event,” she says.

“The National Ballroom has recently been renovated

dinner or lunch and up to 800 for a conference.

“The newly renovated space boasts state-of-the-art audio visual, laser projectors, extended pre-function spaces, new bathrooms, dedicated trade lift, stunning custom-made chandeliers, fully integrated wireless presentation capabilities and a dedicated conference and events concierge.

“We [also] have a dedicated banquet concierge service whereby your dedicated supervisor is on call at all times.

“For larger events, we host a pre-conference meeting with all operational staff involved in which the client also attends to run through all event details the day or two prior.”

Doma Hotels, 1/18 National Circuit, Barton. Call 6163 1888, email marricel.watt@domahotels.com.au or visit domahotels.com.au

Let Canberra Club at Barton host your next Function Canberra Club

We can cater for your Corporate and Casual occasions. Let us tailor an event to suit your needs

Whether you are hosting a small or large Conference, a Business meeting for 10 people or 80 people, a 21st, 50th or anything in between....

Contact our Functions/ Events team today on 61620503

www.canberraclub.com.au

Daana

adds a flare

to conferences

THE premium catering company, Daana Catering, is the first choice for conference organisers who are after an unforgettable event, say co-owners and chefs Sanjay and Sunita Kumar.

“Research shows that the top-most reason for conference delegates, com plaints in post-conference feedback is the quality of conference catering,” Sanjay says.

“It’s always the food that people remember from conferences and events.

“When you entrust your conference to Daana Catering, those memories will be the talking point for all the right reasons.”

Sanjay says the multi award-winning team at Daana Catering will surprise guests with their delicious international fare and personalised service, all at an affordable price.

“We offer delicious chef-curated menus and customised catering for all occasions for up to 500 people,” he says.

“Our experienced team of chefs can deliver a wide range of international cuisines [like] Italian, Asian, Mediterranean, Aussie, British and Indian to name a few.

“Special dietary requirements are taken care of with the same flair, too.”

Sanjay, who’s the personalised point of contact from pre-planning to conference completion, promises to provide

professional advice and to deliver what is asked for.

“Daana Catering offers conference packages as well as helps with planning and delivering tailor-made conference catering to match clients’ budgets and needs,” he says.

Daana Catering. Contact 5105 1048, email chef@daana.com.au or visit daanacatering.com.au

It’s ALWAYS the food that people remember !

With Daana Catering, those memories will be a talking point for all the right reasons.

For seamless professional catering that really makes an impact, let the multi-award winning team from Daana Restaurant and Catering take care of your event.

Daana Catering offers:

• Catering services for any size group 15-500

• Catering options to match any budget

• Conference Packages, Corporate Catering, Functions & Events

• Convenient Online Ordering System

• Venue hire also available

Winners of Best New Restaurant 2017* and Best Indian Restaurant 2018*, our chefs will surprise and delight your guests with their delicious international fare, and friendly personalised service.

So, isn’t it time to swap out sandwiches and wraps? *RCA

Hotel Realm National Ballroom

EVENts, Functions, Meetings, Weddings

CONFERENCES

Trainers who believe in ‘human potential’

YELLOW Edge has been supporting leaders at every level since it was established in 2002, says its client service manager Victoria Appleby.

The leaders of Yellow Edge itself, the four founding directors, were colleagues at a large multinational and decided to start the business after they were frustrated with the constraints imposed on them in their former roles, which consequently affected their clients.

Now, Victoria says they support leaders through training programs, professional coaching, citizen engagement and consultancy work.

“They decided to take a stand and embark on a new journey together, armed with a depth of client understanding and a mission to provide exceptional service,” she says.

“We believe in human potential and our ability to support and elevate our clients to higher levels of performance.

“We are not a training company that provides ‘off-the-shelf’ offerings to our clients, but instead create tailored solutions for valuable, practical outcomes.

“We partner with our clients on projects and often become their trusted advisers in the leadership and development space.

“Clients regularly tell us they appreciate our ability to understand their needs, that we’re easy to work with and that we provide positive impact and change.”

Conference and more down by the sea

LOCATED on the southern end of the south coast’s jewel, Mollymook Beach, the four-star rated Mollymook Shores Motel and Conference Centre is the perfect spot for Canberrans to hold their next conference, says manager Maria T Kelly.

It’s a great change of atmosphere for Canberrans, according to Maria, who says they can experience the fresh beach air while getting to work in a central location.

With 27 rooms, guests can take advantage of the location and stay overnight following the conference, or for a multi-day conference.

and Cupitt’s Winery.

“There’s also a golf club across the road and an 18-hole golf course two kilometres down the road.”

But no matter what reason guests stay at Mollymook Shores Motel and Conference Centre, Maria says they will always get a warm welcome.

Club goes above and beyond

CANBERRA Services Club goes above and beyond to make sure they deliver the best conference or event to its guests, says its functions manager Marija Djerke.

“We cater for everyone’s needs, whatever they want they’ll get,” Marija says.

The conference space at the Canberra Services Club holds about 80 people and has conference essentials such as a projector and a white board.

Then the space upstairs, which spills out onto a beer garden and is decorated with fairy lights, holds about 150 people and, Marija says, is perfect for private parties.

“It’s great for a comfortable, private party. It’s like having an event at home,” she says.

Appleby.

Yellow Edge, Level 2, 9 Sydney Avenue, Barton. Call 6273 0168, email clientservice@yellowedge.com.au or visit yellowedge.com.au

“Guests can take a stroll before the conference, then they can relax and play golf or go to one of the incredible local restaurants,” she says.

“Mollymook has the best of everything. We have amazing restaurants like Rick Stein at Bannisters, the hatted restaurant St Isidor

“Our rooms are large and we’re wellknown for our cleanliness,” she says. And when it comes to conferences, if organisers are looking for catering options, Maria says they can organise to bring food on site and take advantage of the best local food from Milton, Ulladulla and Mollymook.

Mollymook Shores Motel and Conference Centre, 11 Golf Avenue, Mollymook, NSW. Call 4455 5888, email reservations@ mollymookshores.com.au or visit mollymookshores.com.au

The club often hosts events such as conferences, weddings, engagement parties, christenings, birthdays, as well as functions for the defence force, the AFP, the firies and the ambulance services in Canberra and its surrounding area.

“Call up or come in and we can sit down and have a chat about what you want,” Marija says.

“We have lots of catering options such as buffet-style, sit-down options as well as conference and corporate packages.

“There’s heaps to choose from and if they want something different we

will go above and beyond to get it for them.”

Overall Marija says the club offers a good price for guests to have a good night, at a good venue, with good food.

Canberra Services Club, 51 Blackall Street, Barton. Call 6162 0503 or visit canberraclub.com.au

to

THE PERFECT CONFERENCE VENUE

Where Business Meets Relaxation

With Mollymook Beach at the doorstep, and a 9-Hole Golf Course only a four wood away, Mollymook Shores Motel & Conference Centre is the ideal location for your next business event, or to explore the beautiful South Coast, only a pleasant 2&1/2 hour drive from Canberra!

27 motel rooms/apartments, most suitable for twin share

Dedicated and experienced Conference/Meeting Co-ordinator

On-site catering

Pool, Sauna and Alfresco BBQ area

Large off-street car park with Coach turning circle

4 star AAA rating

Shores Motel and Conference Centre.

Come &

HANDYMAN’S TRADING POST

NAMED after Sir Philip Fysh, a Tasmanian politician who helped bring about Australia’s Federation, Fyshwick has been a suburb in Canberra since the 1920s.

The suffix “wick”, from Old English, means “dwelling place” – and, by extension, “village” or “district”. Its streets are named after Australia’s industrial towns and regions.

These days it’s a busy commercial hub well known for the enormous range of different businesses that call Fyshwick home. Here are some of the leading ones…

Now’s a great time to double glaze

NOW is a great time to insulate the home by double glazing the windows, says the sales manager of TwinGlaze, Melanie Hugg.

“Thirty per cent of your home’s wall space is windows and doors. By double glazing you will make your home much warmer in winter, cooler in summer and reduce noise,” she says.

TwinGlaze is a recently launched Canberra-based business and provides an affordable double-glazing option that fits into existing window frames, says Melanie.

“There’s no construction and no mess. We work with your windows, by removing the glass and leaving the frames in place, so the installation of new TwinGlaze windows is quick and easy.

“Our clients say they have had a reduction in their energy bills of up to 40 per cent! They say their home feels more quiet and comfortable,” says Melanie.

Call TwinGlaze on 6190 1011 or email canberra@twinglaze.com.au

Customers are crazy about Tasmanian oak

TIMBERLAND Furniture’s feature-grade, Tasmanian oak furniture is the perfect feature for a home, and owner Tony Purdy says it is quite visually striking.

“The Tasmanian oak furniture is really popular at the moment,” he says.

“You can see the sap lines on the timber, which gives it character.”

Best of all, there’s a fair bit on the floor at the moment, including dining suites, TV units, buffets and coffee tables.

Tony says Timberland Furniture also specialises in customising furniture for specific requirements such as changing the colour, size or adding or taking out a drawer.

It can be hard to find a piece of furniture that fits, which is why Tony says Timberland Furniture customises any of its furniture, so it can slot straight in to the ideal spot.

“We will customise it for you to make it fit the space and with lounges we can make them to size, or you can choose your own material,” he says.

“We try to find things a little bit quirky and different because there’s no point having the same products as everyone else.”

And Tony says all products sourced by Timberland Furniture are good quality and affordable.

Timberland Furniture, 7/17 Iron Knob Street, Fyshwick. Call 6280 7411, email timberlandfyshwick@gmail.com or visit canberracustomfurniture.com

Storage solutions with security

ACT Self Storage, previously known as Yallourn Street Storage, provides tailored storage solutions for all commercial and residential needs, says owner Andreas Markou.

He says ACT Self Storage will help with all storage needs and offers a safe environment for furniture and other household goods or commercial goods.

“We will take care of everything you need from storage to packaging solutions,” he says. “It is a first-class storage facility with a large range of secure storage services, units and sheds in a variety of sizes at the best rates and being owner managed, you know that your confidentiality will remain with us.”

Specialising in commercial storage, Andreas says they can store items such as document and record storage, sensitive material storage and business inventory storage for warehousing needs.

“We offer double-layered security and can receipt and dispatch parcels to pallets,” he says.

“The storage facility also provides easy truck access to maintain all your needs.”

ACT Self Storage, 17 Yallourn Street, Fyshwick. Call 6239 2126, email info@actselfstorage.com.au or visit actselfstorage.com.au

Chris has shed loads of building materials

CHRIS Perkins never knows what building materials will be coming through the front door at Handyman’s Trading Post.

“We’ve got two sheds packed to the brim with new and used building materials,” says Chris, who took over the store in 2015 but has been working there for nearly 25 years.

The store itself has been around for 36 years, and Chris believes it’s the only one of its kind in the area.

“We have a variety of products but we do get a lot of doors in such as sliding doors, french doors, hinge doors, and front and back doors,” he says.

“We also have doors with brass handles that you can’t source anywhere else.”

At most furniture stores, Chris says it usually takes about six to eight weeks for customers to get their order but at the Handyman’s Trading Post they don’t have to wait.

“The beauty of our shop is you can see what you’re buying and take it home right away,” he says.

And Chris says if they don’t take it home that day, it might not be there the next day.

“We get things in daily so you’ve got to get it while you can,” he says.

As for the service Chris and his team deliver, Chris says

Caravan care starts here

LLOYDS Caravan Repairs and Servicing owner, Kerry Lloyd, and his three sons, love to hear about where their clients take their caravans.

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

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

Lloyds Caravans provides services such as caravan insur ance repairs, modifications and servicing as well as services for trailers, camper vans, horse floats and motor homes.

“We’re all trained in the caravan industry trade and

Damian’s got any car problem covered

WHEN it comes to auto repair and maintenance services, no one does it better than Latin Motors, says its owner Damian Jones.

Established in 1979, the family-owned, long-established workshop specialises in European makes and models.

But, Damian says the repair centre is equipped with professional-grade auto-repair tools and equipment, which enables Latin Motors to service all vehicle makes and models.

“No matter how minor or major your car repair needs are, I have you covered,”

“We always put our customers first, making sure they are notified and assured if there is any extra work found on their car.”

Damian, who did an apprenticeship in European cars, says he appreciates their fine engineering.

Lloyds Caravan Repairs and Servicing, 57 Tennant Street, Fyshwick. Call 0438 800652, email caravanscanberra@gmail. com or visit caravanscanberra.com.au

“I am factory-trained in Audi and SAAB and have more than 13 years of experience in all European vehicles,” he says.

“I pride myself on providing and delivering reliable, honest and efficient customer service and information to my customers, notifying of any additional work required prior to it being carried out.”

And, Damian says, when it comes to Latin Motors, customers can feel comfortable knowing they’ll be liaising directly with the mechanic who is working on their vehicle.

Latin Motors, 56 Townsville Street, Fyshwick, call 6280 5586 or visit latinmotors.com.au

Safety

gear from the boots up

FOR high-vis workwear, safety equipment and boots, Seears Workwear has the lot, says a Seears spokesman. Seears Workwear is family owned and operated, run by Pat Seears and his son Shane.

The 1400 square-metre store sells clothing and safety gear for pretty much every kind of industry and worker, he says –from building labourers, chefs, blue and white-collar workers to hospitals, major companies, and government departments such as Defence.

“We also have a corporate section, where we provide a free measure-and-quote and free delivery service,” he says.

“We are a very competitively priced business and are always negotiable on large bulk orders.

“We offer a full embroidery and screen-printing service, too.” Seears keeps a huge range of stock on the premises and sells online at seearsworkwear.com.au

Seears Workwear, 60 Barrier Street, Fyshwick. Call 6280 4111 or visit seearsworkwear.com.au

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• Safety equipment

• Protective clothing

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Two casts, one play and lots of ‘Pride’ for Kirsty

By Helen MUSA

WHEN Canberra Theatre director Kirsty Budding announced auditions for her adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”, more than 80 young people turned up to try out.

Originally conceived as an adult production with about three kids in it, Budding tells “CityNews” there was such a high standard that she decided to go with two separate productions, performed back to back.

“It looked as if I had to choose, but it also meant that, to be fair, I’d need to have made the Bennet sisters teenagers, not young adults,” she says.

It sounds like a logical nightmare and Budding has been rehearsing both casts separately, the younger cast from 6pm to 8pm and the adult cast from 8pm to 10pm, but it’s had its advantages, since if somebody is ill, there’s always a fill-in standing by.

“It’s been a huge effort because of the double casting,” she says.

“The way it will work is that there’ll be the young people’s version at 6pm and the adult production at 8pm, with a 30-minute turnaround in between.”

And somehow she’s managed to get the

whole of “Pride and Prejudice” down to 90 minutes.

The only really big logistical problem for Budding has been in costumes, because this is a fully-dressed production set during Regency England. She went to various sources – John and Aylwen Gardiner of Canberra business Earthly Delights, local theatre groups and her own pocket. Local sources were augmented by having costumes made around England, posted to her mum, who lives there, then getting mum to post them here. Phew.

They’re staging it at Belconnen Theatre, which has substantial dressing room space.

So how hard was it for Budding to adapt

“Pride and Prejudice”?

“My guiding principle was always to be faithful to Jane Austen’s iconic lines,” she says.

“Especially the lines said between Mr Darcy and Elizabeth – I really kept all the important parts.

“Cutting the novel down to 90 minutes was a challenge, but what I did was to put together some events, for instance, we meet the reverend Mr Collins and Mr Wickham with the army officers in the same scene. That creates comedic opportunities as we see the conflict of values.”

stuffy Mr Collins, her favourite is Caroline Bingley, Mr Bingley’s sister.

“Here we see Jane Austen’s satirical skill as she sends up aristocratic people and their contempt for anybody who is in ‘trade’,” she says.

As for the romantic side, it’s there in

full of sexual tension, and later the final proposal by Mr Darcy – beautiful and romantic,” Budding says.

“Pride and Prejudice,” at Belconnen Theatre, adult cast, 8pm, June 18-22, youth cast, 6pm, June 19-22, bookings to buddingtheatre.com

ART CLASSES LESSON SCHEDULE

MARGARET HADFIELD – Budget / Senior’s Class DENNIS MORTIMER – Design/Visual Language

MARGARET HADFIELD – Painting in All Mediums

MARGARET HADFIELD – ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS CLASSES

MARGARET HADFIELD – Painting in All Mediums – Materials supplied for both classes

MUSIC Boyd meets girl… has baby

By Helen Musa

CLASSICAL guitarist Rupert Boyd is walking through the streets of Manhattan on a fine, late-spring day when we catch up with him to talk about his coming visit to the town of his birth, Canberra.

He knows all about our winter weather, but his wife, American cellist Laura Metcalf, he tells us, found spring in Canberra the coldest experience of her life when the pair were last here in September, 2017.

Their guitar/cello duo, due to perform at Wesley Music Centre and Bungendore Wood Works Gallery, is called Boyd Meets Girl and, yes, he says: “We have been accused of having chosen a name that is a little cheesy, but we think it’s a catchy name – better than The Rupert Boyd Duo or some such.”

And it gives them a little leeway in the choice of repertoire, especially important since, in classical music at least, there’s not a huge cello/guitar repertoire.

They’ve reached back to the 19th century and forward to the 21st for the upcoming tour, the highlight of which will be a two-piece set of works both about women and emotional distress.

The first is “Gretchen am Spinnrade”, a song composed by Franz Schubert depicting Faust’s Gretchen, lonely at her spinning wheel, and the second is “Pray You Catch Me” from Beyoncé’s 2016 “Lemonade” album, a lament for husband Jay-Z’s infidelities.

Rupert is not a mad Beyoncé fan – that’s Metcalf – but, he says: “We’ve made an arrangement, which is like our own, a fantasy based on the number, a nice chamber music piece.”

Another work in the concert will be a five minute piece called “A New York Minute” for cello and guitar, written for them by veteran

Boyd Meets Girl, classical guitarist Rupert Boyd and cellist wife Laura Metcalf… “We have been accused of having chosen a name that is a little cheesy, but we think it’s a catchy name,” he says.

Slovakian-born classical guitarist and composer Marian Budos, who studied composition at the ANU with Jim Cotter and Larry Sitsky. Boyd, one of the ANU School of Music’s star graduates and the grandson of Australian modernist architect Robin Boyd, is always welcomed by audiences here, but

first child, born on July 4 to the accompaniment of fireworks. By coincidence, his sister had her first child earlier this year, so it’s expected to be quite a family reunion.

While he assures us that Milo is one of the highest trending names in the US, Boyd feels we should know: “I always drank Milo myself when I was little.”

They’re experiencing a lot of sleepless nights, but as he says: “The poor little guy, he’s only 11 months old and we’ve dragged him through half the states of the US.”

In 2015, when we caught up with Boyd in New York, he was living the Manhattan life, and it is still doing the trick for him – they’ve bought an apartment in Manhattan, their son was born in Manhattan, he brought out a new album, “The Guitar”, in Manhattan and they’ve initiated a weekly Sunday morning concert experience called “GatherNYC”.

So far, he reports, they’ve done 35 or 36 concerts, attracting top musicians including New York Philharmonic’s principal clarinettist, Anthony McGill. The program always includes two minutes of silence intended to replicate the church experience but, as Boyd says, “the religion here is music”.

Boyd Meets Girl, Wesley Music Centre, Forrest, 7.30pm, Friday, June 21, book at trybooking.com and Bungendore Wood Works, 6pm, Saturday, June 22, book at 6238 1682 or rupertboyd.com

LUCAS HNATH

Hopeless but lovable Bruce, the foam hero

By Helen Musa

“LOW-fi puppetry” is on the way to The Street later in June.

Master puppeteers Daniel Buckle and Nick Pages-Oliver will recreate an epic adventure of love and revenge around a yellow block of foam with eyes and a pair of hands in white gloves.

“Bruce” is billed as “a twoman, one-puppet show fusion of mime and puppetry.”

Created by WA Academy of Performing Arts graduates

Wyatt Nixon-Lloyd and Tim

WINE

Watts, it wowed audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe as the hopeless but lovable hero, Bruce, was seen redeeming himself by telling the incredible story of his life as the hero-cop turned novelist-astronaut who battles through the depths of the sewers and the heights of outer space. The minimalist comic show is presented by Perth-based theatre collective The Last Great Hunt and there’s an “adult themes and language” for this production, which is recommended for 15+.

“Bruce” at The Street Theatre, 8pm, June 18-22, book at thestreet.org.au or 6247 1223.

Bruce the foam puppet… wowing audiences at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Something in the air that night...

TWO cannibals are eating a clown. One looks over at the other and says: “Does this taste funny to you?” Two clowns are eating a cannibal. One looks over at the other and says: “I think we ruined this joke.”

Like jokes that depend on context, the quality of a wine can be linked to the place or circumstances where you drank it.

I recently went kayaking along the Katherine River in the NT with my son. Male bonding extraordinaire. We were led through the turns and rapids of 50 kilometres of this wondrous waterway by Gecko guides. We were spoilt with two guides for a four-person tour.

Three days paddling and two nights camping under the stars were profoundly affecting, lighting up the soul and shuffling off quotidian worries. There had been the offer for us to pack a bottle of wine if we wanted to drink on the tour, but we declined, given that it was a good way to rest the liver and somehow it didn’t mesh with the expectations of adventure in the wild.

Yet there we were, camped on a white stretch of sand, awaiting repast on the second and last night of this superb sojourn. Dinner was tender roast beef done perfectly medium rare in a camp oven, served with roasted vegetables.

The stars were bright in a sky absent from light pollution. The Dutch couple on the tour then surprised us by offering to share an Australian wine that had nestled in their dry bag during the journey.

The stars were bright in a sky absent from light pollution. The evening was chilly, and a campfire comforted. The Dutch couple on the tour then surprised us by offering to share an Australian wine that had nestled in their dry bag during the journey. They explained that they drank local wine wherever they went in the world. Oh, we thought, perhaps a Penfolds Bin 389 or even a Koonunga Hill as iconic red wines worthy of the Aussie beef? But no, they proudly proffered a 2018 Jacobs Creek Merlot. It retails in Canberra for around $7-$10 a bottle but was probably twice that in Katherine.

On taste, did we whisper, shrunken in a darkened corner of the camp: “The horror, the horror?”

No, in fact we thought the plummy, fruity flavour that was surprisingly smooth went well with the beef and the wood-smoked air that tended to

envelop everything. We both were surprised by the cachet that the wine brought to the occasion and with not even a hint of irony we toasted the nurturing of this wine on the sometimes challenging journey. Three mouthfuls and alas it was gone, another thankful memory from a trip of a lifetime.

I thought to test the taste memory in another place that I hold dear: Tathra in NSW. Last weekend, a friend went fishing while I took on my role as an untalented but enthusiastic gardener at my house in Tathra. The evening saw a meal of rare eye fillet steak and sweet potato chips deliberately served with a 2018 Jacobs Creek Merlot purchased from the local bottle shop at $11.

My friend was aghast until I explained the context of the comparison.

We dutifully tasted the wine, first by

itself and then with the food. The fruit complexion this time was short in the front of the mouth disappearing to the inoffensive at the back of the palate. There was a hint of plum, but it was as if the fruit were underripe. The wine was better suited to food but remained ordinary and forgettable. It was as if the former tasting had occurred on another planet.

My friend stopped drinking the Jacobs Creek and moved on to the other wine I had supplied, a WA 2010 Capel Vale Cabernet Sauvignon that was amazing: smooth, full bodied and with just the right balance of fruit and alcohol. I, too, left the Jacobs Creek in case the former memory could somehow be tainted. But in sharing this with you, that is impossible.

“Some memories are realities, and are better than anything that can ever happen to one again.” – Willa Cather

By Helen Musa

SINGER Deborah Conway and her partner and collabora tor Willy Zygier are pairing their tenth album, “The Words of Men”, with their 1993 ARIA award-winning gold record “Bitch Epic”, which they will perform in its entirety at The Playhouse, 8pm, Thursday, June 20. Book at canberratheatrecentre.com.au

BRISBANE’S Expressions Dance Company will stage an elegant dinner party thrown into turmoil when power meets greed, ambition and jealousy. As the evening wears on, “The Dinner Party”, choreographed by Natalie Weir, exposes society’s insatiable desire for control and status as the accusations start to fly. At The Q, Queanbeyan, June 21-22. Book at theq.net.au or 6285 6290. Recommended for ages 13+.

“DISNEY on Ice” celebrates 90 years of Mickey Mouse as he is joined by Minnie, Donald Duck and Goofy on a journey to discover his favourite memory of all time with the help of his “Mouse Pad”. AIS Arena, June 19-23. Book at ticketek.com.au

MUSEYROOM Productions and the Friends of Ireland Canberra are marking Bloomsday (the day James Joyce’s “Ulysses” takes place) a day late with “Funeral: 13 Ways of Looking at Finnegan’s Wake.” Renowned as the world’s most baffling book, they say it’s “like a river: you can dive in at any point and have a lot of fun with its playful mixture of music, folklore, filthy stories and outrageous puns”. At King O’Malley’s, Civic, 6pm, Monday, June 17. It’s free, but registrations advised to eventbrite.com

MODERN Māori Quartet is a kind of talented four-piece Māori “Ratpack” who fuse humorous Māori storytelling with the Western tradition of showband entertainment. At The Playhouse, June 19. Book at canberratheatrecentre.com.au

APPLICATIONS for The Wheeler Centre’s second national writers’ scheme, “The Next Chapter,” are now open. Writers will be assessed on a 10,000-word writing sample, a 300word personal statement and a one-page letter of support from someone who can vouch for the entrant’s commitment to writing, but applicants don’t need a university English degree, industry connections or to have been published before. Applications to thenextchapter.wheelercentre.com close July 12.

FRESH from starring as Malvolio in Shakespeare by the Lakes’ “Twelfth Night” and his one-man show “Icarus”, at The Street, actor Christopher Samuel Carroll joins drummer Steve Fitzgerald to perform the modern Irish classic play, “Howie the Rookie”, described as “a white-knuckle ride through the mean streets of Dublin”. At Smith’s Alternative, Civic, 7pm, June 20-21. Book at smithsalternative.com

Would

Greenway

Only good news is that this is the last of

“X-Men: Dark Phoenix” (M)

VERY likely, some readers will consider that I’m over-subjective about the merits or otherwise of a film that more likely than not I’ve seen in a cinema that was otherwise empty or, at best, shared with a mere handful of others.

They’d be right. Like them, I have tastes and preferences. Unlike them, I have an underlying view of my reviewing function. Its purpose is to give readers independent information to help them decide whether to see or not to see newly-opening films.

One personal rule deals with films made by companies that began making their millions by creating and selling so-called comic books (which are neither comical nor books) to divert filmgoers who don’t like what I write (and sometimes write to tell the editor that they could do it better). Shakespeare said it well. Hamlet, to the players: “To split the ears of the groundlings, who for the most part are capable of nothing but inexplicable dumb shows and noise”.

So when a movie blazons its origins from a comic book company, I set it aside in preference for one that asks the audience to think about what it’s telling them, to be challenged, to walk out into the real world grateful that the filmmakers have respected their intelligence.

For the foregoing reasons, I have avoided seeing any of the X-Men titles. But this week, I got trapped by the terms of my engagement with the editor – three new movies every issue. There was me, to my left a lone woman several rows in front, to my right in the next row, a couple who looked at me as we rose

to leave.

After 114 minutes of “X-Men: Dark Phoenix”, I couldn’t contain myself. “What a load of crap”. The couple smilingly nodded what I took to be agreement. My only satisfaction about it was the reports along the grapevine that it will be the last of the X-Men.

At all cinemas

“My Big Gay Italian Wedding” (M)

ANTHONY J Wilkinson’s stage play, which director Alessandro Genovesi (aided by Giovanni Bognetti) adapted into the screenplay for this gentle, moderately humorous Italian-language movie, began slowly before finding fame and running 84 weeks in an off-Broadway theatre restaurant.

In Berlin, Antonio (Cristiano Caccamo) and Paolo (Salvatore Esposito) fall in love and decide to get married. Antonio wants to tie the knot in his home village of Civita di Bagnoregio. Accompanied by chums Benedetta (Diana Del Bufalo) and Donato (Dino Abbrescia) they head south to tell Antonio’s parents, father Roberto (Diego Abatantuono) and Anna (Monica Guerritore).

Civita di Bagnoregio is a pretty spectacular place, reachable only by a long, rising walkway to the top of a small mesa. There is no way that Roberto, the mayor with power to perform wedding ceremonies, is going to marry his only son to another man. Anna says that Antonio’s choice is okay by her – but only if the wedding meets her expectations and

the town’s traditions: her favourite celebrity wedding planner oversees all the arrangements and Roberto performs the marriage.

Not surprisingly, the principal characters are Antonio’s parents. The film deals with rather more than the predictable issues arising from their responses to the news.

The crises along the path to the ceremony are less obstacles to be overcome than opportunities for diversion of the dramatic flow to the comedy channel. And some may consider the closing dance number in the piazza in front of the church to be an awkward afterthought.

At Palace Electric

DINING / fenway public house, woden

Chasing bases at the Fenway

IT was once an ugly, sterile, concrete car park and is now a stylish, funky strip of bars, coffee shops and eateries. It’s all happening in Woden’s long-awaited Bradley Street dining precinct and locals are luvin’ having a place to call their own.

One of the – if not the – largest of the six new operations is affectionately nicknamed the Green Monster (proper name is Fenway Public House or Fenway for short). This massive watering hole can pour beers and dish up burgers and schnitties for a whopping 350 customers.

The décor is saturated with many shades of green – wall paint, interior features and loads of lush plants. It works, in a monster-kindof-a-way.

Fenway has Jazz Tuesdays, massive TV screens everywhere you look, several dining zones (inside and out) and a huge bar area with some stools. The sports element is certainly there. Indeed, the place is named after the famous baseball park in the US – Fenway Park. Fenway’s menu says it supports local farmers by sourcing from the Canberra region and Australia – smallgoods from Balzanelli and Pialligo, free-range eggs from Hilltops, bread from Three Mills, dairy products from Country Valley and condiments from Beerenberg Farm.

No

one asked how our meals were going, which I always find baffling with a new establishment since it’s a free and quick form of market testing.

Based on this mouth-watering description, I went for the apple and sage pork sausages ($26). They weren’t available, which broke my heart.

With my Monster appetite, I switched to the eye fillet, a fabulous and tender piece of meat. I ordered it rare. It came more on the blue side. That doesn’t bother me, but it might other customers. Sauce on the side please? Came on top. And the steak covered half my salad. It wasn’t pleasant (the salad that is), especially with steak sauce (hot) smothering the lettuce (p-o-o-r lettuce).

The black Angus rump was also top quality and beautifully tender ($34). Mash please? Came with chips. From the “Little Monsters” section of the menu, we ordered the simple tomato, cheese and ham pizza ($12). It wasn’t available so it was pasta with Napoli sauce and parmesan ($12).

The Boston Cheeseburger was available and came as ordered ($20). Whew.

The beef pattie was loaded with extras, including cheddar, sauce, mustard, pickles, lettuce, tomato and tater tots (deep-fried grated potato cylinder in shape). Was it the juiciest, tastiest burger in town? Likely not, but the fries were great and it went down the hatch.

No one asked how our meals were going, which I always find baffling with a new establishment since it’s a free and quick form of market testing.

The fit out is beautiful and the sun streams into the side of the Green Monster in the afternoon. Will we be back? We will try once more. I’m determined to give those sausages a go.

Fenway Public House, Bradley Street, Woden. 10 per cent surcharge Sundays and 15 per cent public holidays.

“Red Joan” (M)

WHILE this film tells a story about a woman who channelled important atomic weapon information to the USSR in the years following their strategic deployment over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945, it derives much if not all of its information about her private life from a novel of the same name by Jennie Rooney. Rooney based the novel on the real-life story of Melita Norwood, a Communist Party member who did indeed supply information to Soviet military intelligence. Some sources suggest that while British security services identified her as a risk in 1965, they refrained

‘X-Men’

from questioning her in order to avoid disclosing their methods. The film reflects this. Never tried, she died aged 93 in 2005. Would the Soviet Union have learned how to build atomic weapons if Joan/Melita hadn’t done what she did? The answer must be: “Very likely, yes”.

Director Trevor Nunn’s film finds its merit in two remarkable performances. As Joan in her youth, Sophie Cookson is almost a match for Judi Dench’s portrayal of Joan in her 90s. Tom Hughes plays Leo, the leftist student who spots young Joan’s potential as a Cambridge physics graduate with strong humanist ethics.

“Red Joan” bears scant resemblance to any other English-language film about espionage. Its pace is unhurried. Its muted justification for Joan’s actions is in some ways defensible. Will it generate strong filmgoer attitudes toward the indefensible element of Joan’s actions? Perhaps yes, perhaps not. Does telling the story serve any useful real-politik purpose? No, but it’s moderately enter taining.

At Palace Electric, Dendy and Capitol 6

•

• Tree pruning

• Tree removal

• Hedge trimming

• Hedge lowering

• Spreading mulch

• Retaining walls

Text or call 0468 695 561 Email cgsact@gmail.com Find me on gumtree.com.au

Avoid tears at rose-planting time GARDENING

IT’S rose planting time and every year I get questions from readers on why their new roses have died.

The secret to survival is that when buying roses, always look for twoyear-old plants, the ones with stems the thickness of, say, a fat ballpoint pen not a skinny pencil.

In supermarkets, roses and other outdoor plants are offered for sale in artificial light and air conditioning. Unfortunately, these conditions can lead to premature leaf growth, which will be hit by frost once planted outside.

Invariably, these roses are oneyear-olds lifted from the ground too early, unlike in garden centres where roses are potted up on arrival from the grower and are displayed in the open air, ie the same conditions they will spend the rest of their life.

IT’S also vitally important that if roses are to be planted where they have been previously grown that a barrow load of soil is removed and replaced.

Roses have an undefinable disease called “rose sickness” that may not have been apparent in the old roses but can affect the new plants.

Plant in fresh soil from elsewhere in your garden. Dig the hole so that the roots can spread out naturally without curling round. Don’t put chemical fertilisers or fresh manures in the planting hole because they can cause irreparable damage to their tender roots.

If buying potted roses, apply a certified organic liquid-plant nutrient such as Maxicrop Seaweed while still in the pot. Then, once planted, apply a second application of the same. This specifically encourages strong root growth before the coming summer.

ANYONE considering climbing roses needs to think carefully where they are to be planted. Many are very vigorous growers, for instance Rosa Wedding Day can easily spread to 10 metres.

Most are extremely prickly and a challenge when it comes to pruning. Plus they carry a great deal of weight in full flower and will need a strong support structure.

The rose illustrated here is virtually thornless. The Rosa Zephirine Drouhin is an old French rose with one of the strongest perfumes. Or there’s the completely thornless, spring-flowering Rosa Banksia with its mass of rich single yellow flowers. Whilst spectacular, the flowering lasts only a relatively short time.

Growing roses over an arch will require two plants, one each side. It simply defies nature to plant only one rose and try to grow it over the top and down the other side of the arch.

FOLLOWING my recent item about composted horse manure from the Hayshed, Pialligo, several readers have asked how I use this product. Obviously adding to the compost heap is an excellent idea. In our garden I firstly loosen the soil with a hoe, which includes mulch that has compacted over the summer.

Next I wet the soil thoroughly and apply the composted horse manure to plants, not wasting it on the whole garden or bare patches where nothing is growing.

Apply around the root zone/drip

line of plants, ie to the extent of the branches. I lightly work it into the soil with a hoe.

The abundance of leaves at this time is a hugely valuable food source which is shredded and applied as a mulch.

Finally, give the area a second good soaking. It doesn’t matter if you cover emerging bulb leaves, they will soon find their way through the leaf mulch.

Jottings...

• Roses don’t have to be planted in a specific bed and can be mixed with

perennials for year-round colour.

• Trim any broken branches and roots off roses before planting.

• Roses can be pruned at any time, not just in early spring.

Joanne Madeline Moore

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

Get set for a frustrating week, as Saturn opposes Mars. Plus motivation levels will be low and you’ll feel as if you’re trying to move forwards with the handbrake on. You need to adjust the way you communicate with others, especially family members. The more patient and flexible you are, the better. There are also many rewards to be gained from becoming actively involved in a local community project. But be careful you don’t over-promise and then under-deliver.

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 21)

Avoid staying on the same path for too long! This week Mars trines Neptune, which is fabulous for taking new ideas (which you discuss with others) and incorporating them into your hopes, dreams and wishes for the future. Destiny is around you and the more you combine the creative with the practical, the better the long-term outcome will be. There’ll be some stumbling blocks along the way though, so you must learn to be a patient and adaptable Bull.

GEMINI (May 22 – June 21)

The Sun and Venus are visiting your sign which enhances your Gemini charisma… and you’ll need every drop of it! People will be restless and cranky, so power up your communication skills and turn the charm factor up to 10! And do you have to make an important financial decision? Saturn is delaying proceedings so be patient and wait for a more opportune time. The weekend is wonderful for creative projects, spiritual pursuits and destiny imbued dreams.

CANCER (June 22 – July 23)

With Mercury and Mars in your sign, you’re passionate about getting ahead. But the more you try to control and rush others, the more they will resist. So slow and steady wins the current race. When it comes to loved ones, you’ll find communication, consultation and active listening will get you a lot further than bossy behaviour. On the weekend, plan a romantic escape (with your partner) or a heavenly holiday (at your dream destination) for some time soon.

LEO (July 24 – Aug 23)

The week commences in a confusing rush so slow down and get your bearings before you proceed. Convivial Cats – aim to get the balance right between socialising with others and spending some quality time on your own. Plus shine a spotlight on your hopes and dreams for the future. Are they an honest reflection of who you are right here and right now? If you have an ongoing problem that’s worrying you, look to a mature friend for some well-chosen words of advice.

VIRGO (Aug 24 – Sept 23)

This week expect some confusion between relationship responsibilities and work issues. So do your best to maintain strict boundaries between what is personal and what is professional. A relationship with a child, teenager or friend also looks frustrating, as you seem to be heading in opposite directions. Try to find some common ground where you can meet each other halfway. Destiny is around on the weekend when you come up with an inspiring idea or meet someone special.

LIBRA (Sept 24 – Oct 23)

With Mercury, Mars and your destiny point all activating your career zone, you’re keen to power ahead and achieve more at work. But annoying delays, low motivation levels and tricky timelines are a problem at the moment, as you are diverted from professional responsibilities by a practical domestic matter or an emotional family situation. With plenty of patience and a dollop of diplomacy, you’ll manage to steer your way through a frustrating week.

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 22)

Prepare for a rather challenging week, as circumstances or people frustrate your plans. When it comes to your aspirations for the future, don’t let others hijack your dreams. No matter how difficult things become or how long it takes, you need to be the captain of your own ship and the master of your own destiny! So your motto for the week is from fellow Scorpio, award-winning actress Tilda Swinton: “What is any life without the pursuit of a golden dream?”

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 – Dec 21)

Personal projects, business deals, financial matters and joint ventures are placed under the spotlight. You’re in a mad rush to get things done but Saturn is throwing a spanner in the works. So you must knuckle down, do your homework and read the fine print thoroughly first. Sagittarians prefer a speedy approach but you need to slow down as the devil is definitely in the fine details. If you are too hasty then you could end up heading off in a totally unsuitable direction.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 20)

Expect a relationship roadblock, when there is some conflict between what you want and what a loved one needs. With Saturn visiting your sign, you need to re-define the real you. Don’t try to model yourself on others… let your inner voice be your guide. It’s time to reveal the true talents buried deep within your psyche! Be inspired by birthday great, entertainer Judy Garland: “Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.”

AQUARIUS (Jan 21 – Feb 19)

A work, health or humanitarian matter is very frustrating and you may feel as if you’re banging your head against a brick wall. The path you are on has some obstacles along the way but don’t give up. Aquarians love to change the world for the better. So keep going on your chosen trajectory, but at a slower and more measured pace. Be inspired by birthday great, Anne Frank: “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”

PISCES (Feb 20 – Mar 20)

Are you feeling overwhelmed by work pressures or relationship politics? You’re keen to escape stressful scenarios and daydream the hours away, as you retreat into your own private world. But this week you’ll be brought down to earth by an unwelcome reality check, as Mars and Saturn demand that you face facts and carefully sort out a confusing and frustrating situation. Then you‘ll have the energy and motivation to tackle a personal project or pursue a creative vision.

Copyright Joanne Madeline Moore

2019

General knowledge crossword No. 689

“AFFORDABLE housing” or “housing affordability” –what’s the difference?

It’s getting a little embarrassing for our Federal politicians to interchangeably use these two phrases. Affordable housing is different to housing affordability. Housing is a basic human right according to the United Nations, not an optional extra. From the UN website (ohchr.org): “Housing is not merely a commodity, it’s a human right.

Across

1 What might we call a Brisbane NRL player? (6)

8 Which index is based on selected share prices on the US share market? (3,5)

9 Name a ship, captained by William Bligh, noted for a mutiny. (6)

10 Name a popular word game. (8)

11 Which city hosted the 1896 Olympic Games? (6)

13 What are the tympanic membranes more commonly known as? (8)

16 Name an alternative term for apothecaries. (8)

19 To be worn out, or exhausted, is to be what? (6)

22 What is another term for a supervisor? (8)

24 Name an unmanned US spacecraft, designed to explore Mars. (6)

25 What is a formal agreement between nations to cooperate for specific purposes? (8)

26 Name some small, herring-like marine fishes. (6) Down

2 Name the perch upon which fowls rest at night. (5)

3 What do we call the one or particular occasion? (5)

4 Name the legendary Greek leader who devised the Wooden Horse. (8)

5 What is a pitcher, with a wide spout? (4)

6 Which colloquial term describes a mate, or a friend? (6)

7 What is a scene of wild uproar and confusion? (6)

12 Name the Australian explorer who accompanied 17 down? (4)

14 What do we call a club's second team? (8)

15 To egg on, is to do what? (4)

17 Name the Australian explorer who accompanied 12 down? (6)

18 Who, in Arthurian legend, was the venerable magician? (6)

20 What may we call a Hindu religious ascetic? (5)

21 Which other term describes a doctrine? (5)

23 Name Australia's renowned Dame. (4)

“The human right to adequate housing means the right for all to a place to live in security, peace and dignity. The right to adequate housing is recognised under international human rights law in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and in many other human rights treaties, international declarations and conference outcome documents, including the 1996 Habitat Agenda.”

So Prime Minister, when you release a National Housing Strategy and don’t factor in accommodation for the 25,000-plus refugees you’re allowing to come to Australia, expecting each local authority to absorb them somehow, you’re breaching a basic UN human right by not funding accommodation appropriately. Social housing options are finite and exhausted everywhere. But that’s another conversation for another time.

Data shows we have many in our Canberra community with affordable housing as a daily issue – from sleeping rough through to having difficulty each week making rental payments. For some it starts as getting a roof, any roof, over their head. Often, they have no fixed address and they are often “hidden” in a visible sense. Moving to semi-permanent accommodation on a per night basis is better than nothing.

In a progression sense, they will hopefully get a permanent address one day; then transition into rental accommodation at whatever address they’re given; and eventually might have the luxury of renting in a location and a price point of their choice one day.

Many in the other half of our Canberra community are affluent enough to have housing affordability as their issue – buying something on the property ladder.

The issue of housing affordability is real as it is a driver of our economy, and various government policy levers are being applied to assist home purchases, such as first home owner grants.