CityNews 191212

Drought threatens animal sanctuary

DANIELLE NOHRA

Wind howls as flames menace Queanbeyan

NICHOLE OVERALL

Surviving Christmas bites busy mums hard

KATE MEIKLE

Christmas wish for more trees, please PAUL COSTIGAN

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NEWS / Shannon’s cry for help

Drought takes a cruel toll on animal sanctuary

By Danielle NOHRA

WHISKER Woods, a once thriving animal sanctuary, with an abundance of grass to feed the animals, has turned into a dry, nightmare, and now its owner Shannon Mortlock urgently needs help.

When Shannon, 41, opened the notfor-profit animal sanctuary that rescues domestic and wild animals on 48 hectares in Williamsdale, just outside of Canberra, she never thought she would get to a point where she’d struggle to feed the animals.

A decade on and Shannon is living pay-check to pay-check, spending most of her income on feeding them.

“For years the sanctuary would run from my wages, but ever since the drought hit, it’s just not sustainable anymore,” she says.

Shannon’s been struggling for three years and although she hates asking for help, she’s found herself in a position where she desperately needs it so has set up a GoFundMe page calling for donations.

“We took in these animals to give them a safe and loving home and now I’m struggling to feed them,” she says.

INDEX

Arts & Entertainment 27-29

Canberra Matters 6

Cinema 28

Crosswords 30, 31

Dining 28

Gardening 26

Horoscopes 31

Letters 16

News 3-16

Politics 14

“We’re not a farm so we can’t just send them off to slaughter. It’s just not an option. And we can’t rehome them because nobody’s taking animals in the drought. I’m getting asked every day to take in sheep, cows and horses because farmers can’t afford to keep them.

“I used to get asked once or twice a week but now it’s every day because of the drought.”

Shannon’s even been yelled at recently because she’s had to say “no” to taking in some animals, and says

Since 1993: Volume 25, Number 48

Socials 17 Cover: Gardening columnist Cedric Bryant’s dreaming of a red Christmas. Story Page 30.

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with her public service wages.

At minimum, Whisker Woods needs $600 a week to provide hay for the animals over the next six months. And then there’s the need for water.

“[We’re not on town water], we only have rain water but there’s been no rain for three years so we have to get water trucked in now,” she says.

“We need about two truck loads per month, which is $250 per load to keep the place maintained. It’s not even going towards showers. I have to go to my mum’s or my partner’s house to have a shower.”

All together Shannon’s asking for almost $15,000 to get them through until about May.

She just wants the animals fed and hydrated, and says the eight horses and four dairy cows cost about $600 a week alone.

“I’m worried about February because the produce just isn’t growing to keep up with the demand,” she says.

With no feed on the ground and a dried up dam, the sanctuary has become more costly than Shannon could have ever imagined when she started it.

“It makes you think: ‘Is this it now? What if it doesn’t get back to what it used to be?’” she says.

“Unless people don’t start to help sanctuaries more, we’ll start closing.”

Donations to chuffed.org/project/ whiskerwoods

SEVEN DAYS

When the cranky cockies tumbled into town

THREE thousand frustrated Southern Riverina farmers poured into the capital demanding the Federal parliament scrap the controversial Murray Darling Basin Plan.

Under the bold “Can the Plan” banner they came, the young, the old, with their dogs, and in their trucks, Toyotas and even tractors.

In weather-beaten Akubras and lived-in Driza-Bones, the normally reserved or “quiet” Australians rallied enthusiastically among scores of creative and sometimes crude placards on the lawns of Parliament House in one of the biggest such protest events this year.

As a convoy of more than 200 horn-blasting trucks circled, speakers and entertainers warmed up the crowd before it marched on the forecourt. Organisers pleaded with the protesters to “behave”, but when a small group broke away and penetrated a line of almost 20 AFP officers, the entire group marched to the front doors.

With extra reinforcements protecting the building the mob chanted slogans aimed squarely at Water Minister David Littleproud and local MP, the member for Farrer, Sussan Ley. Among the first pollies brave enough to venture down was Bob Katter, but he was quickly elbowed out of the spotlight by One Nation senators Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts. The One Nation

pair swooped on the disenchanted cohort like seagulls on hot chips, keen to exploit angry farmers and regional small business operators, now clearly in the market for another political vehicle on which to hitch their considerable political clout.

THE bowels of motorists travelling along Belconnen Way near Bunnings on Wednesday were abruptly loosened by the disconcerting sight of eight police officers on the side of the road pointing speed guns directly at them. No, it wasn’t a heavy handed pre-Christmas, revenue-raising campaign, but what appeared to be a training exercise

involving young officers familiarising themselves with the instruments in time for the holiday blitz.

CANBERRA’S bus shelters continue to be senselessly trashed. The shelters on each side of Commonwealth Ave near Albert Hall have been disabled for weeks, with tape wrapped around shattered glass panels. In July police speculated that around 50 bus shelters had been targeted by slingshots. The glass panels can cost up to $1000 apiece to replace.

THE local breakfast radio fare continues

to change, with ABC cornflakes man Dan Bourchier on the move. Bourchier is to be replaced in 2020 by Lish Fejer who appears to be taking an intellectual approach, promising “to dive into that hive mind and have some fun” with the “switched on, generous, connected and considered” ABC Canberra audience.

THE Yarralumla Residents Association has returned tradition to the area by urging locals to become involved with decking local trees with bright red bows. No tree, no prob. Decorated letterboxes are also acceptable. The association can provide the fabric and instructions for $5.

AFTER more than two decades in the secondhand book caper, former Canberra public servant Ron Robertson is trading the romance of bricks and mortar and ceiling high piles of dusty tomes, for the detached world of the web. Sadly, Ron’s Hawker bookshop must close on December 31. Hawker’s unofficial mayor says the old model of book selling is no longer viable and he will now do business exclusively on his laptop.

IT’S comforting to know I’m not the only pedant in the capital. Posted on twitter: “The Apostrophe Society closing its doors has inspired me to start a foundation for Not

Referring to Federal Parliament as Canberra (still working on a name). Its basic goal will be to stop people using ‘Canberra’ when they mean Federal parliament”.

AND the final reference to the bubble this year. As the pollies left town for the summer break, unmolested by a threat to block their exit by activist group Extinction Rebellion, two minor and trivial questions remain unanswered. Did Malcolm Turnbull’s bonk ban transfer to the ScoMo regime and if so has it remained intact? Asking for a friend.

CANBERRA MATTERS

A Christmas wish for a lot more trees, please

IT’S Christmas! A time to be jolly.

A Christmas tree is such a positive symbol. No matter how crazy or plain, Christmas trees, like the real ones, bring joy. And we could do with a lot more fun in life.

Unfortunately, Canberra as the Bush Capital is under threat. This is not fun news. We have known it for a long time. At this time of the year, the community sectors are near exhaustion. They have devoted so much time and energy trying to bring some sense to planning. Yet the trees are still coming down. The number of trees to be planted as announced during 2019 do not go anywhere near enough to replace those being lost, let alone get the city on a path to have ample trees to assist with the realities of climate change.

The trees are still coming down. The number to be planted as announced during 2019 don’t go anywhere near enough to replace those being lost, let alone ensure the city has ample trees to assist with the realities of climate change.

ad hoc development approvals that deliver less biodiversity, fewer birds, fewer trees and harsher urban environments. There’s also the desire for better design, good architecture and more attention on community facilities – but that’s another whole piece. This column is about how green infrastructure should be a key focus for the ACT’s 2020 election.

Canberra’s community groups are constantly challenging the stupid planning and development regimes of this Labor Greens coalition government.

A common factor in these challenges has been the ACT planning directorate’s

Recently the government tried to sound as though it cared for the city’s green infrastructure. It was a sorry effort. They could not bring themselves to use the internationally recognised term for the policy area. The term they used was “Living Infrastructure”, which has no use in scientific circles. That terminology avoided the realities that this government is decades behind on actions that should have enhanced, not diminished, Canberra’s green infrastructure.

When this government talks up environmental and green policies, for the most part it means that they are going to have more committee meetings to discuss something.

To counter this confused approach, Canberra’s well-organised community groups need to consider making green infrastructure, which includes trees and biodiversity, a top priority issue for candidates coming into the ACT’s 2020 election.

The symbol to be used should be a tree and what it represents – green infrastructure as integral to the city’s future as a liveable city for the future. It will be a huge challenge in 2020 to have ACT political parties take this seriously – even though it is obvious and overdue to be a top priority. The so-called Labor Party is a hollowedout shell of what Labor used to stand for. The ACT Greens have become embedded with ACT Labor and are more a murky brown. And no-one knows what the Canberra Liberals stand for when it comes to climate, biodiversity and fundamentals such as increasing

The Canberra community deserves a lot better than the current muddled approach to green infrastructure by the ACT’s political and bureaucratic leadership across portfolios such as planning, urban development, housing, land use, conservation, heritage and environment. The National Capital Authority is no better given its developerdriven approach to how it administers the issues relevant to this city.

A fundamental change is required from the top down to change the culture of all levels of government and agencies that influence the city’s green infrastructure – including within established suburbs, to the more recent that are bereft of ample trees and the yet-to-be-built that are more likely to continue to be domi-

TUITION BY KUMON

60 YEARS OF PROVEN RESULTS

nated by hard surfaces with a scarcity of trees and biodiversity.

The lead up to the ACT’s 2020 elections should be a reality check on which candidates are committed to delivering (not just talking about) green infrastructure as a key to this city being an enjoyable place to live. The community sector is ideally placed to change how a future ACT government of any colour deals with green infrastructure.

Merry Christmas to all the hardworking people in our community groups.

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

Do you want the ‘Kumon advantage’ for your child?

What a wonderful year it has been for Kumon in Canberra. Our Instructors from Kumon Gungahlin, Woden, North Canberra and Tuggeranong would like to extend their thanks to all the Kumon students and families enrolled at their Centres and wish everyone a very happy and safe Christmas and New Year.

How does Kumon work?

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’.

Life’s a piece of cake for the Lions

Queanbeyan has brought us many things, but who knew the nationally loved Lions Christmas cake got its start there? APRIL MARCH reports.

BORN in Queanbeyan, the Lions Christmas cake has become a staple at the table of many Australian homes.

Known for its taste, fruit content, and shelf life – the iconic cake has raised more than $50 million for local communities since its inception in Queanbeyan in 1967.

Long-standing Lions Club of Queanbeyan member Noel Reid, 95, was instrumental in the foundation of the “much loved” cake fundraiser, 52 years ago.

The past district governor, former club president and self-confessed sweet tooth ran the highly successful initiative out of Queanbeyan from 1967 until 1984.

“At one time…we strived for a million cake sales across Australia in 1975…and we did it,” says Noel.

Reid, a retired stock and station agent, served in Borneo during World War II.

In 1957 Noel married his wife Joan and joined the Lions Club of Queanbeyan.

The father of seven children and 16 grandchildren, Reid is the last remaining charter member of the Lions Club of Queanbeyan.

“I talked him into joining the club,” chuckled Joan.

“He always wanted to help… he always wants to help the person in need.”

Reid’s son in law, Greg Tarrant, is also involved in Lions.

He’s immensely proud of the role his family has played in the Christmas cake initiative.

“The idea came from a small club in America who were selling cakes as a fundraiser,” Greg said.

“Noel, along with other members Aub Rankin, Ern Smith and later Peter Stapleton were all part of getting the cakes fundraiser rolling here.

“For many years it was run out of Noel’s office at WJ Gibbs and Co in Queanbeyan… his office was always full of cakes.

“But the whole concept revolves around Helen Keller…”

In 1925, Helen Keller attended the Lions Clubs International Convention and challenged Lions to become

“knights of the blind” in the crusade against darkness. The Lions accepted her challenge and its work ever since has included fundraising for sight programs.

Lions Club of Queanbeyan president Max Carrick said the “iconic” cake is still being baked using the original tried, tested, proven and unique Lions Christmas cake recipe.

“Everyone loves it,” he says.

“We never get any complaints, nobody has ever come back and said, ‘that was a dud cake’.

“The cakes have been a

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MY SUMMER

fantastic fundraiser for clubs across Australia.

“We are all very proud of the fact that Queanbeyan is where it all started.”

In Lions, 100 per cent of the money raised from the public goes to support community projects.

“We support many worthwhile causes, projects and organisations such as Meals on Wheels, HOME In Queanbeyan, a local women’s refuge and Queanbeyan Special Needs Group,” Max said.

“Last year we raised $25,000

Cake hero… Noel Reid, 95, the last remaining charter member of the Lions Club of Queanbeyan.

alone for local community projects through our Lions Club Bookshop on Monaro Street in Queanbeyan.”

Places to buy Lions Christmas cakes until Christmas from Lions volunteers include Queanbeyan’s Riverside Plaza, Jerrabomberra Shopping Village, the Lions Community Bookshop, 146 Monaro Street Queanbeyan, South Point (formerly Tuggeranong Hyperdome), Belconnen Mall and the Jamison shopping centre.

This summer Australian former world champion marathon runner Robert de Castella plans to…

• My favourite day of the year to run is Christmas morning. The only people out are kids playing with their new bikes and toys outside. There’s a great Christmas spirit in the air and community.

• Post big Christmas lunch is time for a family walk at Isaacs Ridge followed up by a short nap.

• Then, toasted leftover ham sandwiches for breakfast on Boxing Day, on Deeks Health Foods’ quinoa bread, of course!

• A day ride on my motorbike, through the Alpine country and high plains, with lunch at Tumba-bloody-rumba (Tumbarumba).

• Read the latest Jack Reacher, or like, novel.

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CHRISTMAS / arguments

Many a slip twixt the Christmas cup and the lip

Why is it that we’re more likely to say things we might later regret during Christmas? Researcher BRENT COKER has some tips for avoiding arguments over the festive period.

CHRISTMAS is a stressful time for many, so not surprisingly it’s also known as the season for arguments.

Some assume it’s because we share the time with family members, who we’re more likely to argue with because of bottled-up resentment or some other annoyance we’ve been secretly nurturing. Others put it down to alcohol.

But, in either case, under normal circumstances people are usually adept at keeping potentially hurtful comments to themselves. So why is it that we’re more likely to say things we might later regret during Christmas?

Over the past three years we’ve been studying why people say things they later regret. Released last month in the “Journal of Experimental Social Psychology”, our research discovered in eight experiments over three years the same variable consistently explains why people disclose things that cause them anguish.

From innocuous faux pas to more serious disclosures of secretive information, in each experiment we found “arousal” explains tendencies to disclose information that probably should have been concealed.

Christmas is stressful, and stress leads to chronic arousal. When people

are aroused, they’re more likely to say things they probably shouldn’t.

So what is arousal? And why does it cause people to say things they later regret?

Essentially, arousal is the degree to which an individual is awake and alert. You might assume being awake and alert would increase rather than decrease the accuracy of what we say – but this appears not to be the case.

The reason is because arousal uses up so-called “cognitive resources” –basically brain power. Because there are less conscious cognitive resources available for controlling what comes out of our mouths, our minds default to more automatic, and seemingly less considered, responses.

When we lose conscious control over what we say, it becomes more likely we’ll disclose information that we would otherwise keep to ourselves.

Our research finds that information we’re usually careful about concealing, such as secrets and very personal information, is more likely to be disclosed when we default to more automatic responses.

We found arousal makes people reveal more personal information, disclose secrets, reveal incriminating

experiences with strangers.

In our first experiment, we asked participants to write dating profiles. We evoked arousal with half the participants. They disclosed more embarrassing, emotional, intimate and even incriminating information on their dating profiles than those who were relatively relaxed.

A post-hoc study found those people who disclosed such information were less likely to be chosen for a date. The study suggests people who aren’t chilled out are viewed as less ideal partners.

In our second experiment, we found people were more likely to disclose times when they said mean or malicious things to others online, suggesting that arousal increases the disclosure of information that people do

not normally like to disclose. Relaxed people, it seems, are better at concealing information and keeping secrets.

In our third study, we evoked arousal by getting people to jog on the spot for 60 seconds. The results found participants were more likely to share embarrassing stories (open up to others) after physical exercise. Usually people might disclose personal information like this to friends and family, but it seems people are more likely to open up to strangers when aroused.

This finding suggests that doing physical exercise together might be a better way of getting to know someone than more docile pursuits such as sitting around.

It seems that lowering arousal is the key to gaining more control over what we say. The problem is that the times

when we ought to be careful – such as job interviews, media engagements, important work meetings, or romantic encounters – are often arousing, and it is not easy to remain calm and relaxed.

So what are some things people can do to minimise unintended disclosures and save the family from a memorable Christmas for the wrong reasons?

Some techniques are known to reduce daily stress levels and are useful for situations when we’re most riled up. These approaches include consciously controlling your breathing and listening to chilled music. Other techniques for longer-term benefits mirror the advice of health professionals – reduce how much coffee you drink, eat a balanced diet and get enough sleep.

Not only do these steps make you healthier, they also reduce your stress levels and ultimately your control over what you say.

So when you’re opening your pressies or digging into your turkey this Christmas, try to chill out and relax. Turn on the music, breathe deeply, and reduce the chance of saying something you might later regret.

Dr Brent Coker is a researcher and lecturer of Marketing at the University of Melbourne. He has a PhD in electronic commerce (“Predicting Internet Purchase Intention”).

This story first appeared in “The Conversation” (theconversation.com).

Why surviving Christmas bites busy mums hard

HAVING lived through a handful of Christmases with two small children and written in previous years about some of the challenges that parents face, especially the pressure and sleeplessness of the silly season, believe me, I know what Christmas is like for families.

It amplifies hard-to-manage behaviours from little ones who are out of routine, high on sugar and over excited. And it’s not just the kids – let’s face it we grown ups are over tired, over committed and perhaps some of us (me) have over indulged in sugar and Christmas drinks.

I love Christmas, I really do. You’ll get no “bah, humbug” from me, but to be honest, Christmas has bitten me hard as a mum.

A lot of work, money and emotions go into making it a great time of year and a lot of expectations accompany it that the family will all share wonderfully happy, magical Christmas moments. As my fellow mum friend smiles, rolls her eyes and says in a sarcastic

When the Christmas happy hour kicks in and the kids are playing happily in the garden, time stretches on and dinner times are sometimes a last-minute realisation: “Oh crap! It’s almost seven o’clock, what are we going to feed the kids?”

tone: “Ah, Christmas memories…”

Last Christmas, we consciously recognised that Christmas with little ones wouldn’t just organically be the relaxed affair we hoped for without some serious planning, so we came up with a survival strategy. Call out to distinguished Canberra paediatrician Dr Sue Packer, who inspired some of the strategy in her 2017 interview with “CityNews” that has resonated with me.

Our checklist was – are the kids hungry, tired or bored right now? The food strategy was to keep up the kids’ regular meal and snack times. Not always easy when visiting people’s homes, eating out and sometimes forgetting to pack a lunch box for the kids when we go out.

Yes, standards drop for our parenting over Christmas, we are only human! But we tried to make sure the kids had an apple or crackers and cheese available for a snack to help curb the “hangries”.

When the Christmas happy hour

kicks in and everyone is socialising and the kids are playing happily in the garden, enjoying the lovely, long, summer evenings, time stretches on and kids’ dinner times are sometimes a last-minute realisation: “Oh crap! It’s almost seven o’clock, what are we going to feed the kids?”

will suddenly decide to help me show off my amazing parenting skills to friends and family by suddenly eating broccoli without a fuss, so I stuck to familiar, easy foods. Spend the energy on creating delicious food that the grown-ups will appreciate and let the kids enjoy their favourite food – be it a sausage sandwich or fish fingers. Tiredness is a big thing in our household. Always has been. Perhaps it’s my obsession (I love my sleep!) but I have found that to be the biggest factor for stress as a mum. Some families either have fixed bedtime routines (like ours) or are super relaxed for their kids to stay up later and their kids tend to sleep longer in the morning, and they don’t understand why my kids can’t sleep in, cause their kids do easily.

Sadly, try as I might, my kids are early birds and have never slept in despite what hour their bedtime is, and can’t manage a late night without completely stuffing up their sleep routine and being nightmares to manage the next day. That’s just where they are right now.

So I have just decided to give events such as carols by candlelight a miss this year and wait until the kids are older and can manage a later bedtime better. I have ended up saying no to events that are later at night as preserving the kids’ bedtime routine is important to us as a family.

Does that make me a “mean and inflexible” mum? Maybe. But I know what works for my family and if that means declining a couple of Christmas

events I now have the confidence to stick to my plan.

And lastly, with all the new toys and fun of the season, boredom doesn’t strike as hard as hunger and tiredness, but it’s a good reminder to check in with the kids – they might be playing beautifully with their siblings one moment, but when things start to get out of hand, and the silly behaviour leads to crazy and rough play, it’s time for us parents to step in and redirect the play.

Lego or craft have been a good choice for giving the kids some quiet play time to recharge batteries. Nipping those squabbles before they become major meltdowns help keep us all in the happy Christmas spirit. Good luck – and Merry Christmas!

Wind howls as flames threaten Queanbeyan

AT first light on Friday, the flames rear. After weeks where rain’s been little more than an unfulfilled promise, the surrounding bush, for which the area’s so known, is parched.

Grass crackles underfoot and the boughs of non-native trees, withered and crisp. As temperatures push beyond 40C, the danger approaches from the west, aggravated by a “strong nor-west gale”.

It’s January 25, 1952: recorded as Queanbeyan’s “Black Friday”, when the town was “nearly destroyed” by fire.

It’s a time of timber buildings as the norm, few sealed roads and a patchy water supply – despite a river through its heart.

With one blaze put down, another springs up on the eastern side of the watercourse, behind the main street itself.

The smoke intensifies, closing workplaces; kids are sent home from school, pets and livestock rounded up.

Local fire-fighting units are bolstered by business and home owners, personnel from down the road at HMAS Harman and Duntroon military cadets.

The nerve-centre of operations, the manual telephone exchange, fields “nearly 5000 urgent calls”.

Canberra isn’t exempt; conflagra tions swelling along its verges, two of its most “exclusive suburbs” under threat.

Near Narrabundah Road, a young farmhand making for the dam is overcome. His body won’t be found for three weeks.

Over the ensuing days, back southeast of Queanbeyan, a fire roars along an eight-kilometre front. Yet another races towards the forest-encrusted hamlet of Captains Flat. More than 200 of the trained and untrained eventually quell the threat.

Four days on, it’s the turn of the similarly rural Burra.

Old-timers recall the event of eight years before; a wildfire taking hold at Woolcara Station, also in the

Days after that, more than 500 Canberra citizens rally to deal with another fire that descends on them from the west.

As the summer of 1952 ends, it’s declared “the worst bushfire season most people could remember”.

Of course, it wasn’t the last.

In early 1979, the capital is beset by fires “influenced by abnormally high fuel levels”, admits the Department of Territories and Local Government.

Some had been lit by children; at least four the work of arson.

Black Mountain and Tuggeranong

beginning of the 1984-85 season, which turns out to be worse still.

Captains Flat is again one of the primary worries with some 13,000 surrounding hectares destroyed.

By early March of ‘85 comes the addition of Canberra fire outbreaks, parting on two fronts – one towards Sutton, the other, south of Queanbeyan. A state of emergency is declared by the council areas ringing the ACT.

Huge swathes of the Majura and Kowen pine plantations are left smouldering; numerous properties and stock lost. The naval base of Harman is in the fire’s path as it heads to Googong Dam. A 650-hectare property there, “Wellsvale”, is destroyed.

Volunteer Malcolm Allen, of Burra, loses his life combating a fire near the dam.

The inherent natural dangers were long a known quantity, though attendance to it a haphazard affair. It had taken almost 60 years for Queanbeyan to have anything resembling a fire brigade – and only after a conspicuous major blaze, right in the middle of the borough, in 1885. By 1892, they’d boast 37 volunteers, a tin shed for a station and two fire engines.

Following a 1903 outbreak in the area that would be given over for the national capital, the Limestone Plains Bushfire Brigade was established. The first of its kind in the wider

district, it was largely geared to selfpreservation: although boundaries were defined, whoever arrived first or had property the nearest, was in charge.

It was 1926 before they were really tested. In the same year, Queanbeyan’s “professional” firies faced their greatest challenge when the top floor of the Royal Hotel, of 1850, caught alight.

Notwithstanding the fact a new fire station had opened just down the way on Crawford Street in 1925, the damage was enough that a rebuild was required.

The next largescale fire was just a year later. With the subsequent happenings thereafter, conferences aimed at prevention became increasingly regular.

of 2003; four deaths, 490 injuries, 470 homes damaged or destroyed. Close to 70 per cent of its pastures, pine plantations and nature parks severely impacted.

The extent of the disaster deemed a result of lack of adequate preparedness for the “risk that exists as a consequence of the siting of the city in a bushland setting”.

It had taken almost 60 years for Queanbeyan to have anything resembling a fire brigade – and only after a conspicuous major blaze, right in the middle of the borough, in 1885.

Fourteen years later, February, 2017: an errant spark, again out in the area prone to the problem, 3500 hectares at Carwoola was burnt out and eight homes lost.

Now, with a horrendous beginning to the 2019-20 season in terms of sheer scale, we watch, wait, remain on alert – and hope history doesn’t repeat itself.

The ACT established a Bushfire Council and in 1977, the Queanbeyan City Bushfire Brigade was added to local firefighting resources.

After almost five decades with the only intervening event that of the mid-80’s, it would be the beginning of a new century before the area was subject to another.

Then came the Canberra firestorm

/ the ‘Healthy Canberra Plan’

First steps, but no plan for a healthy Canberra

ALTHOUGH the newly announced “Healthy Canberra Plan” provides a framework, it is not a plan. As a framework, it is an important step forward. However, in terms of preventive health, there are some serious omissions.

According to ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith, her government “wants all Canberrans to enjoy the highest standards of health at every stage of life and to participate fully in the opportunities our city has to offer”. A lofty ideal.

She continues: “The Healthy Canberra: ACT Preventive Health Plan 2020–2025 (the Healthy Canberra Plan) sets the foundations for achieving that goal”.

Former ACT chief planner Peter Harrison (after whom the suburb in Gungahlin is named) once explained that an effective plan identifies “how much, where and when”. The “Healthy Canberra Plan” does none of these. In its own words it is a “framework for action” with a “prevention focus”.

The framework is welcome. And it does largely set the foundations for a preventive health approach identifying “what we want to achieve”. The planning will come later. At the very end, the framework announces “Action Plans”. The “Action Plans”, that are intended to build on each of the areas identified earlier in the document, will be delivered in two stages: the first will be 2020-2022, and

Preventive health planning puts the lie to all politics being simply focused on the next election. Working to ensure healthier people and a healthier community will not only reduce pain and suffering of Canberrans but will reduce health care expenditures.

the second from 2023-2025.

Preventive health planning puts the lie to all politics being simply focused on the next election. Prevention is a long-term process to improve health with outcomes well into the future. Working to ensure healthier people and a healthier community will not only reduce pain and suffering of Canberrans but will reduce health care expenditures.

The “Healthy Canberra Plan” is established on four important guiding principles. The first is being evidence based, the second is health at every stage, third is equity and finally being innovative. So far so good.

This “framework” is aspirational. It identifies the importance of a population health approach to fitness and improving diet. The dietary goal is to make healthier food choices easier choices.

This includes empowering individuals with knowledge and understanding. Most of us understand the difference between healthy whole foods and discretionary foods. The greater, and more important chal-

lenge is changing the environment in which such decisions are made.

Aspirational targets such as “lower intakes of energy-dense, nutrient-poor (discretionary) foods and drinks” and “increased consumption of vegetables” are ideal. However, excessive marketing and ready availability dominate the market, making the healthier choice so much more difficult. This framework does not identify “how”, much less “where” and “when” these will be tackled. There is a similar story with countering risky behaviours in areas such as tobacco, electronic cigarettes and alcohol. Individual knowledge and education are critical. However, government campaigns are most effective only when combined with other interventions such as regulation on access, availability and price. There are some significant gaps in the framework. Immunisation is an important preventive measure across the life course, but

is not mentioned. Note, for example, the measles outbreak in Samoa with more than 65 people dead –mostly under five years old. Although early childhood vaccination is well understood and largely successful in Australia, vaccination of adults is less well understood.

Infections such as flu, pneumonia and shingles have a devastating impact on quality of life, they hospitalise and kill many older people. For each of these diseases there is a vaccine that can prevent or lessen the impact of the disease.

Climate change has a major impact on population health. It is being addressed generically by the ACT government but really should form part of a preventive health strategy.

And what of gambling? The impact on health is well recorded. Betting agencies and poker machine outlets overwhelmingly resist even the most modest of interventions (such as precommitments). Education has a place, but it is not enough. What is required is sensible regulation.

A preventive health plan is well overdue. Rachel Stephen-Smith has taken this on despite being recently appointed to the health portfolio. Even though it has some gaps, this is a sensible framework. Addressing these gaps and moving quickly to “action plans” will establish the ACT as a leader in preventive health.

Michael Moore is a former member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and an independent minister for health. He was part of the early consultation of the “Healthy Canberra Plan” and was invited to the last session, but was away and unable to attend. He was president of the World Federation of Public Health Associations (2016-2018).

Safer nuclear power offers carbon-free future

Emeritus professor ERICH WEIGOLD, of the ANU Research School of

Physics

and

Engineering,

says there is an argument for nuclear energy to support Australia’s ambitions for a carbon-free baseload power future.

THE Chief Scientist, Dr Alan Finkel, considers that de-carbonisation of Australia’s energy needs should be technology neutral. Nuclear energy should be part of that consideration.

When the ABC polled Australians for “Australia Talks”, 34 per cent of respondents named nuclear as the preferred energy source, after solar, wind and hydro, ahead of gas, biomass and coal in that order.

A reliable future electricity system needs dispatchable baseload power to back up the renewable energy sources. When renewables are not delivering the necessary power, storage batteries are totally inadequate and far too expensive as replacements.

System stability needs large inertial power sources. Currently this means gas, coal or hydro power. Of these, only hydro is carbon neutral. But existing hydro power cannot adequately provide Australia’s baseload requirements if carbon-emitting power decreases.

The only other proven “carbon-free” baseline power source is nuclear. Currently some 30 countries use nuclear to provide some of their power needs.

In 2017, 13 countries produced at least one quarter of their electricity from nuclear. Bangladesh, Belarus, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are constructing their first nuclear power plants. More than 50 countries, includ ing Australia, utilise nuclear energy in research reactors.

Public concern for the safety of nu clear reactors is understandable. The major nuclear disasters at Chernobyl and Fukushima were caused by mis takes in safely closing reactors down.

At Chernobyl, a safety test was delayed by 10 hours by which time the operating shift that had been prepared for the test was not present. The test supervisor then failed to follow procedure, which combined with the intentional disabling of several nuclear safety systems and some faults in reactor design, led to the disaster.

The Fukushima disaster was triggered by a tsunami sweeping over the plant’s seawall and knocking out emergency generators needed to run pumps supplying cooling water to the reactors, which had been shut down automatically when the earthquake

was detected.

TEPCO, the operator, had ignored warnings that the seawall might be inadequate protection from predictable tsunamis and that the back-up generators and electrical switching equipment needed to be located in a flood-proof environment. It has also been said that contributing factors to the accident were Japan’s rigid bureaucratic structure, the need to save face, a reluctance to send bad news upwards, and TEPCO’s very hierarchical management culture.

The probability of core damage or loss of structural integrity (CDF) for

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modern nuclear reactors is close to one in a million years. Small Modular Reactors (SMR), which have safely powered submarines, aircraft carriers and icebreakers for several decades, are even safer. SMRs, built by American company NuScale Power Modules, have CDFs of only one in three billion years.

Built in a factory, SMRs cost less and are truckable to underground sites where they can be passively cooled in water. They do not need back-up power supply or proximity to a large water source. As demand for power increases further modules can be added. They can be designed for load-follow, making them suitable for use in power systems with significant variable renewable power.

NuScale power plant reactors are designed to hold up to 12 Modules each delivering 60 MWe. NuScale’s first SMR 720 MWe (gross) power plant is scheduled to begin commercial operation for the Utah Associated Municipal Power System in 2026. The target “levelized cost of electricity” of around $A95 per MWh compares with estimates of $A84-$A94 per MWh for conventional power stations burning supercritical black coal, not including any additional cost of managing the emitted carbon dioxide.

There is also public concern about disposing nuclear wastes in ways that safeguard human health and minimise

environmental impact. Many countries are already doing that safely.

Large geological radioactive sources have existed naturally for billions of years. In Gabon, about two billion years ago, a rich source of natural uranium deposit produced spontaneous large nuclear reactions which ran for many years. Since then the long-lived radiation produced by those naturally occurring nuclear reactors has migrated less than 10 metres despite thousands of centuries of tropical rain and groundwater exposure.

We should be able to ensure even better containment than that achieved by such a random natural event. To say that storage in stable geological deposits is unsafe for long term storage of radioactive waste is a fallacy.

We need to convince our elected political representatives that Australia’s future may well depend on amending the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999 to facilitate establishment of nuclear power using SMRs, as part of the next national energy strategy.

This is an abridged text of a submission by Emeritus Professor Erich Weigold, of the ANU Research School of Physics and Engineering, to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on the Environment and Energy Inquiry into the Prerequisites for Nuclear Energy in Australia.

LETTERS

ICU nurses are under emotional pressure, too

I REFER to the article regarding Prof Imogen Mitchell (“Breaking bad news can be bad news for doctors”, CN, November 28).

I was a registered nurse with two decades’ experience working in ICU, including a period as the charge nurse at the Canberra Hospital ICU, where I worked with Prof Mitchell during her tenure as medical director.

I was pleased to read her acknowledgement of the emotionally challenging and demanding personal costs when talking to relatives and family concerning the grave prognosis of their loved one.

Prof Mitchell’s increased awareness and sensitivity in this area has no doubt been influenced and enhanced by her interactions with the many experienced and skilled nurses she has worked with who care for such patients and families on a daily basis.

Although the article’s focus was on doctors and Prof Mitchell’s personal experience, I was disappointed that she failed to at least acknowledge the work of ICU nurses and that they face the same emotional impact as they, too, care for critically ill patients and their families.

Nurses are on the front line 24 hours a day, every day, providing direct care, monitoring and immediate response to any changes in the patient’s condition. Medical staff can leave the ICU confident that the patient is under the care of a nurse. ICU specialists work on rotation, as they did during Prof Mitchell’s tenure, where after a week they

were relieved of clinical responsibilities for a number of weeks.

Nurses provide support and comfort to families long after the demanding discussions Prof Mitchell so eloquently describes. Nurses, who also routinely attend these meetings, provide ongoing support to families as they try to come to terms with the news they have received.

During my time in ICU I was privileged to work with many exceptional nursing colleagues, highly skilled and experienced in both the clinical and emotional care of critically ill patients and their stressed and grieving families. This undoubtedly took a toll on them but, as with today’s nurses, it did not prevent them from coming to work each day and providing ongoing care and support.

The Canberra community can be very proud of these nurses, their many years of dedicated service and commitment, and of the legacy that today’s ICU nurses have inherited from them.

dose of dorin

Anthony Noakes, Florey

We’re not fear mongers

I SEEK to respond to Colliss Parrett’s comments in his letter (“Truth is the first casualty”, CN, November 28) concerning the Declaration of a Climate Emergency by more than 11,000 scientists published in the journal “Bio-Science” on November 4.

I have also done my homework upon reading Colliss’ letter. I have downloaded and printed the entire list of signatories,

affiliations. All were in some way involved in humankind’s relationship with the planet, including a vast number of climate and earth scientists, as well as geologists, atmospheric chemists, ecologists, plant biologists, animal species specialists and some medical doctors. There were also PHD students and other undergraduates. There was NO “Mickey Mouse” in the list! As I went through the lengthy process, I thought: “Why are these people putting their names, affiliations and possibly their careers/reputations on the line?”

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attempts to silence scientists in recent years who dare to speak out about “climate change”. Fortunately these experts care more for the planet than their positions.

The decline in deaths from natural disasters that Parrett mentions is, in most part, due to advances in our understanding of the physical processes that cause catastrophic natural events such as floods, cyclones and storm surges etcetera that impact civilisation.

The very same studies, programs and theories that enable science to warn of these events, so we can prepare for, or mitigate,

their impacts, also give us the data to predict future developments in the earth’s changing climate and severe weather events that will impact us all, if we don’t curb our use of fossil fuels.

I have spent most of my working life, spanning half a century, in the study of weather and climate. I became aware from reading scientific studies that our climate, which is always changing, was now changing at an unprecedented rate.

Since 1985 I have devoted much of my spare time to the study of this phenomenon. Now retired, I devote most of my time to this concern. I fear my grandchildren will bear the inevitable cost, if we do not act now!

Colliss Parrett, we scientists are not fear mongers. I strongly refute your inferences on behalf of my concerned colleagues.

What’s the justification?

THE people and lobby groups wanting legalisation of illicit drugs readily admit that licit drugs kill more than illicit drugs. So on what basis of reasoning, compassion, and social conscience can they even attempt to justify what can only mean more deaths?

Colliss Parrett, Barton

CHRISTMAS INSPIRATION

Clock’s ticking, time to get those presents sorted

The gift of virtual flying

EVER fancied being the captain of a commercial jet plane, cruising over the Swiss Alps or making a tricky landing in a major city airport? A virtual flight with Jet Flight Simulator Canberra makes a unique Christmas present, where people can “fly” around the world without leaving town, says owner Trevor Vickers.

It’s as close to the real thing as it gets, he says, with a cockpit of screens and indicators that need to be monitored and all real-life aircraft check-lists required.

People can pretty much go anywhere they like, with 22,000 airports in the database, he says.

“Some people want to do daredevil stunts and fly under the Sydney Harbour Bridge, or land in the old Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport, which closed in 1998 as it was so dangerous,” says Trevor.

“Others want to fly along the Thames or go to Paris.”

Trevor says they have just moved the business from Fyshwick to north Lyneham, where there’s plentiful parking and it’s more accessible, being on the ground floor.

The flight simulator is based on the Boeing 737-800NG and is run by professional pilots who, Trevor says, will show “captains” a few of the basic checks and relevant features needed to be ready for take-off. People can even choose the weather conditions for the flight, he says.

Jet Flight Simulator Canberra, 4 Montford Crescent, Lyneham. Call 0438 834026 or visit jetflightsimulatorcanberra.com.au

Mike’s got Christmas covered inside out

WITH 300 different types of Christmas baubles, the Christmas Emporium has everything needed to decorate and celebrate Christmas in style, says owner Mike.

Having recently expanded to an exciting new location on Gladstone Street in Fyshwick, Mike says the shop is unlike any other Christmas store.

“This year, due to demand we have included a select range of outdoor lights and decorations,” says Mike.

This includes a new line of neon Christmas light strips, which Mike believes can’t be sourced in any other shop in the ACT.

The theatrical gift that brings lasting cheer

A GIFT certificate from “The Q”Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, is a great present for anyone at Christ mas, with a range of performances to choose from its 2020 season, says a spokeswoman from The Q.

“A gift certificate gives ongoing Christmas cheer and people can choose the show they want to see during the year,” she says.

“It’s just the ticket for those who are hard to buy for.”

“We have increased our range of outdoor lighting and also stock dual solar and electric outdoor lights, curtains and icicle-style lights, some with remote controls,” says Mike.

“We also have some lovely Canberra themed baubles and decorations that feature images of Canberra which are perfect gifts for visitors.”

And, in popular festive shapes such as a santa in a sleigh, the lights make attractive and sophisticated outdoor displays, says Mike.

Christmas Emporium at Hang Ups, 72 Gladstone Street, Fyshwick. Call 6280 0312 or email info@hangups.com.au

From “Spice Night”, starring Singa porean YouTube star Hirzi Zulkiflie, and “Playlist”, in which five young women talk about their favourite female pop stars, to a variety of immersive comedy theatre, scripted plays and musicals, 2020 is set to be an exciting season, she says.

In the lead-up to Christmas, The Q says “The Divine Miss Bette Christmas Special” is a festive treat with Catherine Alcorn’s fabulous homage to Bette Midler revamped to be bigger, better and even more impressive as she oozes charm and charisma channelling her idol.

“With lots of Miss Midler’s well known songs and well-presented patter, Catherine Alcorn’s show is guaranteed to warm the coldest of Christmas nuts and her live band promises to jingle your bells”, says The Q.

“The Divine Miss Bette Christmas Special”, at The Q, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre, December 18-21. Bookings to theq.net.au or 6285 6290.

Christine’s retro ideas for the Christmas table

MAKE the Christmas table more festive with antique or retro crockery, glass and silverware, says the owner of Down Memory Lane, Christine Lund.

“Vintage cutlery, glassware and china look wonderful on the festive table and can make great gifts too,” she says.

Located in Fyshwick, Christine says the family-run collectables store has Royal Doulton dinnerware sets in at the moment, which are perfect for adding that extra special twist to a festive gathering.

It also sells other collectables

such as kitchenalia, linen, lamps, pictures, mirrors, glass, silver, crystal, china, cameras, tools and radios, as well as furniture, clothes, jewellery, accessories, books and toys.

“We specialise in secondhand antiques that are usable as well as beautiful and unique,” she says.

“We also stock good quality new items that are useful or decorative.”

Christine says she grew up with her aunts having antique stores so it’s something she has always loved.

“It you’re downsizing, moving or cleaning up, and you have anything suitable, please give us a call,” Christine says.

“We can also make house calls.”

She says the store will be open every day until Christmas Eve, and will only close on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Down Memory Lane, 34 Geelong Street, Fyshwick. Call 6228 1048 or visit downmemorylane.net.au

Drought-hardy trees for a native Christmas

THERE are lots of native plant alternatives for Christmas trees and plenty of drought-hardy gift ideas in store at Cool Country Natives in Pialligo, says owner Karen Brien.

Karen suggests Woolly Bush, NSW Christmas Bush or Grevillea (“Lady O”) as a native Christmas tree.

With a growing team of 10 knowledge able staff, Karen says the whole team takes the time to happily talk to customers and help them with any queries.

Shoppers can find groundcovers, grasses, ferns, climbers and small-to-large shrubs and trees such as acacia, banksia, crowea, daisies, ferns and grevillea.

Cool Country Natives also stocks and propagates a range of locally endemic species to the Canberra region.

“Native plants are drought hardy and the choice is getting bigger every year with the increase of good wholesale growers,” she says.

Karen says they give a discount to members of the Australian Native Plant Society and Friends of the Australian National Botanic Gardens.

And if people can’t get to the nursery before Christmas, Cool Country Natives will be hosting markets in the New Year on the first Saturday of February, March, April and May.

Cool Country Natives, 5A Beltana Road, Pialligo. Call 6257 6666 or 0402 307275, email retail@coolcountrynatives.com.au or visit coolcountrynatives.com.au

David’s got scooters to ‘envy’

COOKIES Cycles is making gift buying easy by offering shoppers the option to layby items from the store’s large range of skateboards, scooters and bikes, says owner David Cook.

And he says he can store any items on layby right up to Christmas Eve.

“Now is the time to come in and layby for Christmas,” he says.

“We have the new ‘2020 Envy Prodigy Series 8’ scooters which are really popular.”

Cookies Cycles stocks everything from balance bikes and three-wheel scooters for the little ones, up to larger scooters to skateboards, mountain bikes, electric bikes and road bikes, BMX bikes for the racer as well as street and park riders.

“We’ve got folding electric bikes, low step and flat bar, and kits that you can use to convert your current bike into an electric bike,” says David, who’s been in the industry for 35 years, and opened the shop in September 2015 to cater for the family cyclist.

He says they also have a large range of parts and accessories for all the products they sell.

For Trees, Ornaments and all things Christmas

SCHOOL HOLIDAY FUN

Locals make learning fun over the long, hot summer

SCHOOL’S out for the year and the long, hot summer holidays beckon. With plenty of time off, it’s a great opportunity to learn new skills for life, whether it’s learning a new language, playing with Lego, gaining drama and performance skills, exploring history, getting up close to birds or taking in some of the best kids’ theatre shows of the season.

This week

“CityNews” speaks with locals who make learning fun.

classes for three years old up to teenagers and adults.

“We welcome all ages and abilities and our teachers are skilled at teaching different levels in one class,” Nancy says.

“We are passionate about teaching French to everyone.”

The holiday program has a focus on fun, with plenty of games, songs and cooking, according to Nancy, who says children also come away from the program having learned something.

“Games like Twister are great for learning colours and we’ll also learn a simple song or performance that we put on for parents,” says Nancy.

“We make madeleines, small sponge cakes with a shell-like shape, which we dip in chocolate, or other gâteaux.

“The kids learn a lot and it’s also a fantastic way for those who do French at school to immerse in the language again before term starts again.”

And, Nancy says all programs are run by native and experienced French teachers.

Alliance Française de Canberra, 66 McCaughey Street, Turner. Call 6257 6696 or visit afcanberra.com.au

Enjoy the best of birds

GET up close and personal with a range of birds at the Canberra Walk-in Aviary.

The aviary is a 1000sqm planted walk-in enclosure that has more than 500 birds from about 65 different species from Australia and the world.

“The aviary is great fun for all ages. You have the chance to get up close and personal with a range of birds,” says Mick Logan, owner and manager of the aviary.

“While not all birds will interact with you, you get the chance to observe, up close, species of birds that otherwise would be hard to see in the wild.

“We give you a small plate of food and a tub of mealworms and you can wander around and feed the birds.”

Mick says that people are welcome to take photos of the birds.

“Providing the weather is fine you can have a great time feeding the birds or just observing our feathered friends,” Mick says.

The aviary is operating its summer trading hours of 10am-5pm, with the last admis sion at 4.30pm. It will be open every day, including public holidays, except Christmas Day.

Free

exhibitions let kids be spies

CHILDREN will be able to see genuine spy equipment and hear the stories of real intelligence officers at the National Archives of Australia this summer, says curator Emily Catt.

The stories of spies can be stranger than fiction and the archives’ new exhibition “Spy: Espionage in Australia” reveals the personal experiences of secret agents and the history of espionage and counter-espionage in Australia.

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

“We’re offering two interactive family trails for kids, one for five to eight-year-olds and another for older kids aged eight to 12,” Emily says.

“Kids can play the part of a secret agent in the trail and test their skills at codebreaking and reading invisible ink.

“The exhibition is free and the trails are self-guided so no bookings are needed.”

There is genuine spy equipment on display, as well as surveillance images and candid interviews with ASIO

Also, Café Constitution has re-opened, Emily says, located in the gorgeous heritage-listed building in Parkes offering a unique dining experience by local operators TreeEightyThree.

National Archives of Australia, Kings Avenue, Parkes. Call 6212 3600 or visit naa.gov.au

Archive has unmissable events for gamers

GAMING fans won’t want to miss out on the special events happening at the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA), says an NFSA spokesperson.

Older kids aged 15 and over can attend the NFSA’s “Friday Lates” event, “Local Heroes of Gaming”, from 6.30pm, Friday, January 17, hear from Canberra gaming legends, and learn the history and aesthetic of the Game Boy.

“Indie Game: The Movie”, a documentary about making video games, will be showing in the Arc Cinema, too.

The Game Masters exhibition will be open daily from 10am-4pm until March 9 with school holiday family passes now available, with unlimited attendance during the summer holidays, and a “Pay What You Can Day” on December 21.

Christmas films “Home Alone”, “Die Hard” and the Frank Capra classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life” will be showing from December 20-21, each one with a festive surprise.

And then Pixar films, which showcase the heroic power of kids, will be screening movies such as “Coco”, “Brave”, “Happy Feet”, “Up!”, “The Incredibles”, “The Neverending Story”, “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”, “Matilda” and “Where the Wild Things Are”. $8 per movie but underthrees are free.

National Film and Sound Archive, McCoy Circuit, Acton. Call 6248 2000, email enquiries@nfsa.gov.au or visit nfsa.gov.au

Lego program builds on creativity SCHOOL HOLIDAY FUN advertising feature

A LEGO brick-building school holiday program will keep children entertained, engaged and away from screens, says Bricks 4 Kidz director Mark Jeffries.

Each session is structured and themed, says Mark who co-runs the business with his wife Mary.

“We create several stations and rotate the kids through each one,” he says.

“It could be normal Lego bricks with our Bricks 4 Kidz instructions, motorised models, 3D models, free play where the kids can make whatever they want, or Lego mosaics of favourite superheroes, games characters and movie heroes.”

The days are screen-free, Mark says, with a focus on creativity, think ing, problem solving and working collaboratively.

The holiday programs will be held at four locations these holidays including Belconnen and Hughes from January 7-31, Forde from January 13-17, and Gungahlin from January 20-23.

Mark says the school holiday activities are designed for kids ages five to 11 and are staffed by trained Bricks 4 Kidz instructors.

Overall, Bricks 4 Kids say their programs provide a great atmosphere for students to build unique creations and have loads of fun using Lego bricks.

“Building models provides opportunities for problem-solving and helps kids develop an appreciation for how things work... in a non-competitive atmosphere,” say Bricks 4 Kids.

Bricks 4 Kidz, 125/99 Eastern Valley Way, Belconnen. Call 0422 083883 or visit bricks4kidz.com.au

and Wags the Dog, new wiggly friend Shirley Shawn the Unicorn, as well as Santa Claus and dancing reindeers. And, created for children aged three and up, the Storytime Ballet is presenting a brand-new production of “The Nutcracker” from January 16-18. Joe says it features a colourful cast of characters in a spellbinding, magical adventure that kids will love.

Canberra Theatre Centre, Civic Square, London Circuit, Civic. Call 6275 2700 or visit canberratheatrecentre.com.au

Kirsty empowers kids through theatre

DRAMA holiday programs provide a great introduction to theatre and are also ideal for performers who want to develop skills intensively, says owner and founder of Budding Theatre, Kirsty Budding. Kirsty says Budding Theatre provides high-quality, themed holiday programs (and term courses) which encourage creativity, confidence and practical skill development and culminates in a performance for

“Kids and teens love our theatre courses because we respond to the characters they want to play, the stories they love and the themes they are passionate about,” she says.

“If a young performer wants to play Thor, I write their role as Thor and provide range in the role for them to develop acting skills.”

Kirsty says the holiday program themes for this holiday are “The Greatest Showman”, “Comedy, Magic and Musicals”, “Harry Potter Parody” and “DC versus Marvel!”.

“The level of input from performers varies; for established works or my own plays [where] I write the scripts,” Kirsty says.

“For themed courses like ‘DC versus Marvel!’ or parody courses like ‘Harry Potter Parody’, performers bring their own ideas with them and I synthesise those ideas to write a new play.”

Kirsty says her programs use engaging themes to connect with young performers, foster teamwork, creative collaboration, confidence and self-esteem building.

“I enjoy seeing young performers feel empowered in their roles and develop a love of performing even if they were initially shy,” Kirsty says.

Playing Field Studio, 2 Kingsley Street, Acton. Email submissions @buddingtheatre.com or call 6153 0007.

EXHILIRATING ENTERTAINMENT FROM THE PRODUCERS OF CIRCUS 1903 AND THE ILLUSIONISTS

10-21 DECEMBER

CHRISTMAS / relationships

Plan to give the kids a stress-free Christmas

By Danielle Nohra

CHRISTMAS and the holiday period can be a complicated time for separated parents but Julia Tutty, of Relationships Australia, says planning ahead is key for a happy holiday.

Julia is the practice manager of post-separation services in the organisation’s national office in Deakin and says: “Christmas and the holidays can be one of the most anxious times for parents, especially if you don’t have any documents or parenting plans in place to focus on what the children need at the time.

“Emotions can run high over the Christmas period and if there’s nothing in place then that’s when things will esca late,” she says.

“Talk as early as possible and make sure you’re on the same page with the same plans for Christmas and the school holidays.”

Part of Julia’s role at Rela tionships Australia is provid ing mediation for separated parents and helping parents get a plan in place that they both agree on, that suits them.

way so the children aren’t picking up on any tension.

“We want children to be children and if they pick up on that tension then they’ll be worried,” she says.

“Focus on the kids. Kids don’t want or need the conflict so don’t argue in front of the children, avoid uncertainty and don’t chop and change plans on the day.”

It really all comes down to communication, according to Julia, who says it’s good to ask questions such as: Are they doing joint Christmas presents?

“It’s about compromise. Don’t compete with each other but instead look for solutions,” she

“Christmas Day means different things to different people,” she says.

“If it does mean a lot then it would be looking at coming to a compromise about what the day would look like.

“The difficult thing about Christmas Day is that traditionally people have a Christmas lunch.

“It’s important, whatever arrangement you’ve come to, that it’s one that’s agreed by both parents and it’s in the best interests of the children.”

If there’s a change over between parents during the day, Julia says it’s important to ensure that the change over is done in a calm

“Arrange to meet the child’s other parent at a convenient time, in a neutral place.

“Keep to the topic at hand and be direct, clear, specific and non-blaming, and stay calm and listen without blaming.

“When the going gets too tough then that’s when mediation can help.

“Christmas can be a sad time and we have to acknowledge that. We don’t want children caught up in the conflict otherwise they might feel anxious, sad or confused.”

And, if a child or a parent ever feels unsafe, Julia urges the parent to contact the appropriate agencies or authorities.

“Safety is paramount. It might mean saying:

‘I can’t have this conversation’,” she says.

“It’s important that people access services if they need them and they look after themselves.

“There’s always counselling available. Lots of organisations like ours shut down over the period but there’s 24-hour lines that people can access if they need support.”

For parents thinking ahead to next year, Julia says have the conversations about the holidays early in the year and if that doesn’t work, consider mediation.

Dreaming of a red Christmas

THE colour red is synonymous with Christmas, and real red flowers will look wonderful on the festive table this year.

Old-fashioned pinks, or dianthus, are flowering in many gardens at present, looking quite spectacular en masse. They also make a lovely border along the path to the front door.

I recommend two absolutely stunning, deep red dianthus, namely “Passion” and “Rebekah”. Both grow to about 30 centimetres high with a 50-centimetre spread. After decorating the Christmas table with the pot wrapped in colourful paper, you can either plant in the garden or balcony and continue to enjoy them in pots. Dianthus has been grown for many hundreds of years, made famous in Shakespeare’s plays as the gillyflower. They are renowned for their subtle fragrance.

The bright red bracts of poinsettia are popular around the world for the festive season, or for a true Aussie theme, try the red flowers of callistemon or bottle brush, one of the brightest reds being “Endeavour”.

Another option would be the gorgeous bright red and white flowers of feijoa.

Deep-red geraniums are also in flower and will continue so for the rest of summer.

“THE Waterwise Australian Native Garden” is a practical guide to garden design, plant selection and more. Written by Angus Stewart, one of Australia’s most knowledgeable native plant experts, and co-authored by AB Bishop, who was a researcher on the ABC’s “Gardening Australia” program for five years, this is an excellent Christmas gift for anyone starting their first garden. Profusely illustrated with nearly 300 pages of text and photos, it costs $39.99. I’ve known Stewart for many years and cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Do you want to get out of the house and meet new people?

We provide engaging mental, social and physical activities that help our Clients to stay in touch with the community including: reminiscing, current affairs, craft, music, games, exercises, visits by entertainers and places of interest. We would love you to join us!

Belconnen Day Centre is funded by the Australian Government Department of Health under the CHSP program.

ANOTHER essential addition to the bookshelf is the Horticultural Society of Canberra’s popular “The Canberra Gardener”. It is written by longtime members of the society especially for our climate of four seasons. Available from bookshops and newsagents for $29.95.

I’VE BEEN urging gardeners to mulch

without delay ahead of this long, hot summer and suggest using mushroom compost. It’s a combination of various items from horse manure to peat moss, with lime added to neutralise the acidity. The Mushroom Growers’ Association suggests avoiding using mushroom compost near acid-loving plants such as camellias, azaleas, rhododendrons and most natives.

POTTED plants will almost certainly need daily watering. If left too long, the potting mix dries out and shrinks back from the sides of the pot.

This means you may think you are watering the plant thoroughly as water runs out of the bottom of the pot. However, the water is simply running down in the gap between the inside pot edge and dry potting mix. Watering every day will prevent this. Deep red geraniums.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Kirsty can’t get enough of Christmas

By Helen MUSA

DIRECTOR and scriptwriter Kirsty Budding is happy to admit that she just can’t get enough of Christmas.

She’s been staging silly season shows since 2013, making mincemeat of the season’s theatrical potential with shows such as “Unwrap Me”, short plays under the title “Santa Baby”, a straighter (more or less) version of “A Christmas Carol” played by children, and Budding’s own scripts “The Night Before Christmas” and “The Christmas Channel”.

Now it’s time for “A Christmas Carol Goes Horribly, Terribly Wrong”.

“This is my own script, too,” she says. “I’ve seen quite a few of those plays, like ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’, and every time I thought to myself: ‘I could write this’.”

“In those commercial productions there’s always a big set falling apart, whereas the joke in this one is that we can’t afford a set, so have to improvise in all sorts of embarrassing ways.”

Actors and backstage crew miss cues or enter too early, set pieces and props end up in the wrong place, forcing inept performers to improvise and the technical operator plays the wrong sound files so that when a bell is supposed to toll to announce a ghost, the audience hears a Nokia ringtone.

Budding’s been having a lot of fun with this one, casting familiar locals as characters from “A Christmas Carol”, as well as a backstage team, technical operator, directors, producer, theatre judges and a reviewer.

Sue Gore Phillips, who in real life stagemanages for Canberra Rep productions, plays the hapless stage manager and Rep leading lady Kate Blackhurst is the over-the-top Mrs Cratchit.

“There are a few new faces, a few young people and quite a few people who have been in my shows before, like Rob Shiells and Matilda Saddington as the pair who’ve fallen in love backstage but have to play brother and sister on stage,” she explains. You can never have enough ghosts in any stage version of Charles Dickens’

novel, so we’ll see Marley’s Ghost, the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Future and the Ghost of Christmas Present as well as all the other Dickens characters and the supposedly diminutive Tiny Tim played by 28-year-old Jake Revill.

A familiar trope in all of these playsthat-go-wrong is the egotistical director. Not content with just one, Budding has written two, played by Bertram O’Brien and Canadian newcomer Robert Karlen who, unaware that the audience are already in the theatre, are caught dressing down the cast by telling them that they just can’t act.

The actors in her script, she says, are

a mixed bunch, some with big egos but some who aren’t used to the stage at all. In the Cratchit family for instance, the mother and sister are over-actors, but the brother is only going on because his mum forced him, so he’s completely robotic.

One of her favourite characters is a stage mum who complains about her child not having enough lines and Budding reveals that she got the idea after a conversation on 2CC’s “CityNews Sunday Roast” a couple of months ago when the interviewer cut in: “You never know, the kid might want to do horticulture” – that had got her thinking about a new character.

Having put the boot into just about everyone in the Canberra theatre scene,

including theatre critics like me, Budding realised she had to let herself in on some ridicule too, so cast British actor Caitlin Addinell (Budding is noticeably English) as the drunken producer.

“That’s a joke on me, she comes in with a blonde wig,” she tells us. “I’d satirised a lot of things about Canberra theatre in the play, so I really had to make fun of me.”

Budding Theatre’s “A Christmas Carol Goes Horribly, Terribly Wrong”, Belconnen Theatre, December 11, 13, 15 at 8pm, and December 14 at 11am. Tickets at buddingtheatre.com or at the door. The show contains strong language and is suitable for teenagers and adults.

Omar’s escape to Leopard Beach

OMAR Musa will explore longing and escapism in his one-night only exhibition and performance at M16 Artspace, “Welcome to Leopard Beach”. Along with his 30-minute set of poetry and music, which Omar says will be “hopefully poetic, at times moving and mostly tonguein-cheek”, the exhibition will include Leopard Beach woodcuts, combining poetry and pop iconography with techniques he learned while visiting his homeland of Borneo, East Malaysia, where woodcuts are a popular art form, especially in the punk rock scene.

The author, poet and rapper says Leopard Beach is a place he once invented in his head to escape to when he was feeling depressed.

“In Leopard Beach, the weather is sweet as a kiss. It is plastic-free, hater-free and 100 per cent body positive!” Omar says.

“The endangered clouded leopard of Borneo flourishes here, the ocean is full of fish and the laksa is free-flowing.”

In “Welcome to Leopard Beach”, Omar asks whether escapism is merely a distraction, a suppressant, a fearful response to the brutal, banal reality of our lives. Or is it expansive, something that can be used to set the templates for social and environmental change and imagine worlds in the way they could be?

DJ Roshambo will play a tropical-themed music set, and there will be catering and piña coladas.

“Welcome to Leopard Beach”, M16 Artspace, Griffith. Wednesday, December 18, 6pm-9pm. Tickets $15, bookings to eventbrite.com.au

Would you like to watch those old family videos once again, or listen to your favourite records on CD?

We can take your vinyl records or cassette tapes and put them onto CD and we transfer VHS tapes onto DVD.

When two, old-bloke popes start talking morals

ANTHONY McCarten has written a convincing but largely fictional screenplay for Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles’s film about conversations that might have taken place between the German pope Benedict XVI and the Argentinean cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio who, after Benedict retired, succeeded him as Pope Francis. Benedict is the first pope to have retired since the 15th century. In papal history, Francis represents a choice collection of “firsts” – Jesuit pope, from the Americas, from the southern hemisphere, from outside Europe since the 8th century (the Syrian Gregory III).

Whatever religion we profess (or not), the Pope is an important figure. If nothing else, he heads a tiny state that’s the world’s largest and probably wealthiest corporation. But more than that, that state exercises moral guidance over more than 1.28 billion people (that’s a 2018 figure – latest trends say the number is falling, but that’s not the subject of the film, which tells about events in 2012-13).

A film about two old bachelors mulling over each other’s moral attitudes may not sound like much fun and jollity. But in the

hands of Anthony Hopkins as Benedict and Jonathan Pryce as Bergoglio, who became Francis, they come across pretty convincingly. They form what on screen looks like a quite genuine friendship. They debate the moral issues confronting the faithful, which is not surprising. What is surprising is how entertainingly the film delivers their debates and private conversations (fictitious though they may be). And it leaves it to filmgoers to form their own opinions about Vatican panoply in a world where poverty is rampant.

At Dendy

“The Addams Family” (PG)

I OWN a folio-sized volume of some of “New Yorker” magazine cartoonist Charles Addams’ choicest imaginings of how things might have been in a household where macabre is the norm, cruelty is good, satire of contemporary society is the driving emotion.

Imitating Addams’ drawing style is a doddle for somebody with sketching skills. What marks his work was not so much the drawing style but the message each frame was sending. And Matt Lieberman’s screen -

JUMBO SOLUTION

play for Greg Tiernan and Conrad Vernon to bring to the screen just doesn’t cut it.

The family has moved to a new old mansion on top of a hill. In the valley below, real estate developer and local reality TV show host Margaux (screeched by Allison Janney) is stirring community opposition to the ugly building. Margaux’s daughter and Wednesday Addams become chums and oppose Margaux’s campaign.

Frankly, I can’t understand why any self-respecting cinema chain would bother with this movie. The basic plot avoids taking risks. Words like “hackneyed” and “dull” come readily to mind. The egregious eye might discern some cleverly distasteful moments and images, but they don’t endure. Consequently it’s very bland and not really a reflection of Charles Addams’ style.

At Dendy, Palace Electric and Capitol

“The Good Liar” (MA)

TO get the most from Bill Condon’s film adaptation of Nicholas Searle’s novel, it’s helpful to be aware that its denouement embodies a sort of reverse McGuffin (an object, device or event that serves to keep the plot in motion despite usually lacking intrinsic importance).

All I’m prepared to tell you is that it’s a beaut and knowing that much about the story will be beneficial to watching it. At least, that was what I was feeling as I watched conman Roy (Ian McKellen) prepar-

DINING / terra, civic

ing to swindle Betty (Helen Mirren) of all her funds and possessions.

I knew that Betty had a McGuffin up her sleeve, but not what form it was going to take. That knowledge sharpened the tensions growing in me as I waited for it to burst out and reveal itself. And I hope that knowing this much will do the same for you.

“The Good Liar” unfolds in 2009. It begins on an internet dating site. It starts to coalesce when Roy meets Betty for the first time in a restaurant. Both are in their seventies. The friendship grows. She’s not on for a sexual romp; he doesn’t press her. She allows him into her house after he falls over. Stephen her grandson (Russell Tovey) doubts the wisdom of such a concession toward a stranger. As well he might, because Roy and his accountant pal Vincent (Jim Carter) are building a big swindle against a quartet of equally bent investors.

That much of the plot will, I hope, sharpen your appetite for what is a quite delightful, intense combination of thriller and romantic styles. You will be in the presence of two of British cinema’s greats each in top form. McKellen is just on the credible side of seedy. Approaching her mid-70s, Mirren is luminously lovely as a generous and mysteriously simple woman who asks little for herself.

Until…

“Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord” (Deuteronomy 32:35). And it’s a dish best served cold. Enjoy.

At all cinemas

Celebrating all things fresh

By Wendy JOHNSON

TERRA is smoking. It’s one of the city’s fave lunch hangouts, and it didn’t take long before diners were demanding Terra open for dinner too, which they did some time ago.

It was a balmy evening and we luckily landed a table outside watching city life flow by – a steady stream of pedestrians, buses, taxis, cyclists. Okay, it’s not downtown Sydney or Melbourne but there is a distinct city feel to the location.

While Terra’s fitout is schmick, there’s nothing pretentious about the place. The food is the focus, with smoked and charcoal meats top picks.

The menu changes to keep tastebuds on high alert and to celebrate what’s fresh at the markets, so what we ate you might not be able to eat. That’s half the fun.

Sharing is the name of the game – snacks, small plates, a “smoke and fire” section, sides and desserts.

We started sharing the kingfish crudo, beautifully presented with black pepper oil and burnt scallion sauce ($19). It was a memorable beginning – the dish delicate but still a statement.

The fried octopus was divine –

Also exciting were the perfectly shaped square pig tail croquettes ($6 each) with tasty romesco and a scamorza custard (superb).

It was challenging to choose from the smoke-and-fire section which, on our visit, included five options ranging from $32 to $110. The top end is a one -kilogram, 450-day dry-aged tomahawk steak (retired eight-year breeder cattle). Smoked lamb ribs, spit-roast porchetta and wagyu rump are also on the line-up.

We couldn’t resist the jerk chicken with hot sauce made in-house ($19 for half and $33 for whole). The sauce wasn’t overly hot but tasty and the chicken super moist. There wasn’t a bit left.

The staff are efficient, knowledgeable, friendly and couldn’t do enough to please. The well thought through wine and beer list ensures no-one leaves thirsty.

Terra has a great possie in the No Name Lane precinct. It keeps good company with other eateries such as Baby Su and Mayfair Espresso. This area used to be fairly quiet but is now one of Canberra’s most dynamic wining and dining precincts. Our only concern was a slightly disturbing exhaust smell. Not sure what that was about…

THEATRE / The Q’s new season

Salty, twisted, year of theatre

By Helen Musa

THE Q’s Stephen Pike has confirmed his position as the canniest and most imaginative theatre programmer in town with a mix of camp comedy, nights of song, musicals and hard-hitting drama for its 2020 program.

He’s also “finally cracked it” by snaring Sydney’s Hayes Theatre Company with a re-imagined, “gender-bending, hyper-theatrical and kinky” version of “HMS Pinafore”, directed by Kate Gaul and featuring our own Tobias Cole as The Captain.

As Pike explained to guests at his two showbiz-style previews, 2019 had been a daunting year, with unexpected cancellations common to many regional theatres.

However, it had come up trumps in a nationwide survey, proving a high rate of audience satisfaction and a preference for musical theatre and contemporary plays.

Pike is particularly proud of having snared “Spice Night”, starring Singaporean YouTube star Hirzi Zulkiflie, Malaysian comedy queen Joanne Kam, India’s only out, gay, stand-up Navin Noronha and Filipino-Australian Margot

Tanjutco in a salty style of comedy.

PYT Fairfield, who brought “Jump First, Ask Later” this year, will bring in “Playlist”, in which five young women talk about their favourite female pop stars and how these narratives inspire and shape their personal worlds.

A recurring motif this year is “immersive comedy theatre” to be seen in “Don Juan”, where actors with bad French accents take turns to play Don Juan in sunglasses and a baseball cap, and also a twisted version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Jekyll & Hyde” with more bad French accents.

Next year will see a serious move by The Q into sharing the two spaces that they have at hand – the purpose-built theatre itself and the adjoining Bicentennial Hall, transformed earlier this

“The Hall” will be packed with variety shows, including Canadian singer Lisa Budin Price’s “Remembering the Carpenters” and Eddie Daniels’ “The Battle of the Voices”, where he pits Roy Orbison against Gene Pitney. It will also have Everyman Theatre’s acerbic version of “Romeo and Juliet” directed by Chris Zuber.

The Q continues to feature local work, with both Everyman and Echo Theatre in the season.

Echo director Jordan Best this year presents Hilary Bell’s disturbing “Wolf Lullaby”, revolving around the murder of a small child in a bleak, remote town.

For those who love scripted plays, both serious and comic, it’s a feast.

In “Hell Ship”, author, actor and

vessel Ticonderoga.

“American Song”, written by Australian playwright Joanna Murray-Smith, will be directed by Canberra-raised Tom Healey for Red Stitch Actors Theatre. Also from Red Stitch will be “Lamb”, in which playwright Jane Bodie and songwriter Mark Seymour tell the story of one family on an Australian sheep farm over generations.

“Grace under Pressure”, a verbatim work by David Williams and Paul Dwyer and staged by Sydney Arts & Health Collective reveals the hidden stories of health professionals.

The Q, Queanbeyan Performing Arts Centre 2020 Season. Book at theq.net.au or 6285 6290.

ARTS IN THE CITY Heavenly voices herald the season

By Helen Musa

LUMINESCENCE Chamber Singers and Luminescence Children’s Choir are working hard to herald in the festive season with their heavenly voices. All Saints’ Anglican Church, 9 Cowper Street, Ainslie, 7pm, Friday, December 13 and Saturday, December 14. Book at eventbrite.com.au

IN “A Very NFSA Christmas” the National Film and Sound Archive will screen Christmas favourites “Home Alone”, “Die Hard” and the Frank Capra classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life” on December 20-21. As part of the festive mood, they’re also having a “Pay What You Can Day” for entry to the Archive’s big “Game Masters” show on December 21. Book at nfsa.gov.au

ADHOC Baroque will celebrate the festive season with a concert of Baroque gems, and will be joined by bass Andrew Fysh in a cantata by Stradella portraying the angel appearing to the shepherds, as well as Christmas and Epiphany trios by Charpentier. Guests include Bianca Porcheddu and Dan Russell on violin, Clara Teniswood on cello and Rachel Walker on viola da gamba. At the Chapel of the Annunciation, Canberra Girls Grammar School, 3pm, Sunday, December 15. Tickets at trybooking.com or at the door.

CANBERRA singer/songwriter Lucy Sugerman will be the first youth ambassador for the National Folk Festival. She’ll work with “The National” on its inaugural youth concert for the 2020 Easter festival’s opening night, featuring young performers from across the local region.

“ON Course” is QL2 Dance’s annual showcase of new contemporary dance works created by students at university or universitylevel courses from around Australia and NZ. This year there are 13 young choreographers at work, mentored by Alison Plevey and Steve Gow. QL2 Theatre, Gorman Arts Centre, December 14-15. Book at ql2.org.au or 6247 3103.

JUMBO CROSSWORD

PUZZLES PAGE

Joanne Madeline Moore

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

Rams are natural entrepreneurs. Jupiter links up with Uranus, so it’s a wonderful week to initiate an exciting business venture or head off in a brand new direction. Fortune favours the bold and the brave! It’s also the perfect time to celebrate the Wild Woman (or Man) within, as you connect with your inner daredevil and follow your ambitious and audacious dreams. You have the fiery energy to get a passion project off the ground. Now all you need is the persistence to finish it.

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 21)

Hey Bulls… intrepid Uranus (which is transiting through your sign) is making a magical connection with adventurous Jupiter. So bust out of your comfort zone and do something daringly different as you travel, explore, experiment, kick up your heels (or should that be hooves?) and have some fun. Venus (your patron planet) shifts into your career zone on Friday. So fire up the festive charm as you party with work colleagues and improve relations with clients or customers.

GEMINI (May 22 – June 21)

It’s time for Geminis to get cracking! When it comes to work, habits, health and fitness, the more proactive and organised you are, the better the results will be. Friday looks tricky though, when a lack of focus, direction and discrimination could temporarily side-track and confuse you. And don’t let a dubious acquaintance lead you down the primrose path to trouble (romantically or professionally). Make sure you keep your trusty truth detector set on high.

CANCER (June 22 – July 23)

You can’t escape relationships this week! Don’t approach things with the same old attitude. A fresh approach is required. If there is a problem: fix it. If there is a misunderstanding: sort it out. If there is too much distance between you and a loved one: get closer. The more positive energy and hard work you pour into partnerships, the more beneficial they will be. So your motto is from Henry Ford: “If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.”

LEO (July 24 – Aug 23)

Courtesy of Jupiter and Uranus, it’s a terrific week to make a brilliant business move or a positive professional decision. Big and bold brushstrokes are required at the moment. Plenty of entrepreneurial enthusiasm and Cat confidence will get you where you want to go! Venus visits your relationship zone (from Friday until January 13). So a problem with a loved one should start to improve, as you see things from their point-of-view and have a new appreciation of their perspective.

VIRGO (Aug 24 – Sept 23)

Early in the week an exciting friendship, creative project, sporting activity or spontaneous adventure will get your Virgo adrenaline going. But expect some drama and confusion in Virgo Love Land later in the week. If you’re attached – are you making erroneous assumptions about your partner? Singles – you’re drawn to someone special but are you seeing them clearly? It’s time to take off your rose-coloured glasses and take a second (more realistic) look.

LIBRA (Sept 24 – Oct 23)

The Jupiter/Uranus connection is fabulous for family life and spontaneous celebrations. Matters involving communication, travel and work are highlighted but – if you don’t check all the facts thoroughly – mistakes are likely. Venus (your ruling planet) shifts into your love zone on Friday, where it stays until January 13. Attached Librans – plan something extra romantic with your sweetheart. Singles – look for lasting love with a lusty Leo or an amorous Aquarian.

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 22)

The more proactive and productive you are on Thursday, the better the day will be. But, in the busy lead-up to Christmas, are you feeling tired and fragile? Pleasure planet Venus shifts into your domestic zone on Friday. So spend the weekend at home, complete with yummy food, comfy cushions, relaxing music and your favourite books or TV shows. Follow the sensible advice of writer (and birthday great) Jane Austen: “There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.”

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 – Dec 21)

Lucky Jupiter is still forming a fabulous aspect with entrepreneurial Uranus. So this week you need to be more adventurous, extend your horizons and experiment with innovative possibilities. Thursday is the time to tie up loose ends before you launch exciting new projects. The more energy and focus you put into financial, business and work matters, the more successful you’ll be. But you must do your homework and check all details thoroughly before you proceed.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 20)

You need to be extra adaptable because it will be a stop/start kind of week. Jump out of a conservative Capricorn rut on Monday, when Jupiter (which is in your sign) forms an auspicious aspect with Uranus. So it’s time to look to the future with innovative and adventurous new eyes. Whereas Thursday’s Mars/Saturn connection is good for working patiently towards your goals. If you double-check everything before you take action, then you’ll meet with success.

AQUARIUS (Jan 21 – Feb 19)

The week starts well as lucky Jupiter links up with entrepreneurial Uranus. So some Aquarians will change jobs, start a home-based business or launch an online enterprise. Then Mars and Saturn encourage you to consolidate your strengths and work on your weaknesses. And don’t be too disappointed if you make messy blunders. Your motto is from birthday great, actress and activist Jane Fonda: “You only learn from wounds and scars and mistakes and failures.”

PISCES (Feb 20 – Mar 20)

This week’s stars encourage you to bite the bullet and make some firm and focused decisions (especially involving your goals, hopes and dreams for the future). You’ll also shun superficial encounters with others, preferring serious and philosophical conversations with family, friends and colleagues. So your motto is from birthday great, writer Jane Austen: “My idea of good company is the company of clever, well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation.”

Copyright

Joanne Madeline Moore 2019

from the sea by low banks? (6)

9 Who invented the safety-razor, King Camp ...? (8)

10 What are shoulder firearms? (6) 11 Which teeth in the anterior part of the jaw are adapted for cutting? (8)

14 Name dogs of mixed or uncertain breed. (8)

18 What is a sudden strong wind of brief duration? (6)

19 What is a decorative design used on the title page of a book? (8)

21 Which other term describes a pill? (6)

22 Name a person abandoned by society. (8)

23 How many players are there in a soccer team? (6)

Down

1 Name an alternative term for a dance hall. (8)

2 Who was the god of light, healing, music, etc, etc? (6)

3 Which are the best seats in the house, at a boxing match? (8)

4 Name the fold of flesh hanging from the jaw of a fat person. (4)

5 What are potatoes also called? (6)

6 Name one who has defeated an adversary. (6)

12 What is a tape recording container known as? (8)

13 What is the bony framework of a body? (8)

15 Which Dickens orphan “asked for more”? (6)

16 Name the river that flows from India to the Bay of Bengal. (6)

17 What is a small globule called? (6)

20 Which term indicates a group of three? (4)