Canberra CityNews November 3, 2011

Robbo says goodbye, again

For more than 0 years “Robbo” has been a big player in Canberra’s radio and television landscape. But, he tells FREYLA FERGUSON, it’s all about to end, again

GREG “Robbo” Robson, a veteran of Canberra’s electronic media scene for more than 30 years, has resigned from the breakfast chair on 2CA.

A part-owner of design and advertising agency Coordinate, Robbo wants to shorten his working hours and concentrate on his “day job”. He will leave the station amicably next month.

But he might be leaving his options open: “In some stupid way I was born to do it,” he said. “It will always be in my blood. Most people in radio would say, you can’t get it out of your system. And it’s the listeners who make it.”

His broadcasting career in Canberra began in 1979, when he scored a gig at 2CC as the midnight-to-dawn announcer. He was quickly moved to the breakfast timeslot to create the first male and female breakfast team with Donna Lynch.

They soon did the unthinkable, and signed on to host breakfast for rival station 2CA.

But when it came to make the move, Donna unexpectedly pulled out and Barry Casey was put in her spot.

Robbo made various moves since then to 104.7FM to a 17-year-long

INDEX

November 3-9, 2011

Since 1993: Volume 17, Number 42

Arts&Entertainment 17-19

Body 21

Canberra Confidential 10

Cinema 18

Crossword 24

Dining 19

Fashion 20

Home&Garden 22-23

Horoscope 24

Letters 8

News 2-9

Politics 9

Property 30-40

Social Scene 11-12

Sudoku 24

FRONT COVER: Dr Kate Haggar, from

“Young Doctors” program. Story page 6.

career in television then back to 2CA from 2002 to 2005 and again last year.

“My love is music and that’s why I have never ventured outside of music radio,” he said.

“They asked me to do talk back on numerous occasions, but the reason I became a disc jockey in the first place was because as a kid I used to take over the parties and play the records. That’s how it started.

“In the end it goes back to me enjoying myself and I do. I love playing music to people.”

Over the years, he has interviewed talent from Barry Humphries through to music legend Brian Cadd.

He was also on air during some major events in history including the day of John Lennon’s death (“…people still tell me I was the one who told them John Lennon had died”) and the 1993 “siege” when a man tried to blow-up the Jolimont Centre (where 2CA and 104.7FM were located).

And the key to 2CA’s longevity?

“We are the incumbent radio station,” he said.

“We were here guiding the planes in from the start. We have a loyal au-

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dience that have stuck with so many programming changes.”

Greg “Robbo” Robson and radio pioneer George Barlin will host 2CA breakfast on the station’s 80th birthday on November 14.

Editor: Ian Meikle, editor@citynews.com.au

Journalists: Freyla Ferguson, freyla@citynews.com.au

Kathryn Vukovljak, kathryn@citynews.com.au Libby Hill, libby@citynews.com.au

Lisa Ridgley, lisa@citynews.com.au

Arts editor: Helen Musa, 0400 043764 helen@citynews.com.au

Design and photography: Silas Brown, 0412 718086 Graphic designer: Louise Brooks

Accounts manager: Bethany Freeman-Chandler accounts@citynews.com.au

Distribution and circulation: Richard Watson, circulation@citynews.com.au

Contributing photographer: Andrew Finch

Prize for Village people

THE Village Building Company has won the Housing Industry Association ACT/Southern NSW Affordable Home of the Year for 2011 for its Parkside development near the Belconnen Town Centre. The award is sponsored by the ACT Government under its Affordable Housing Action Plan, which provides an opportunity for the local building industry to implement innovative ways to achieve affordable homes for Canberrans.

Katy introduces Ronald

THE site of Canberra’s Ronald McDonald House, an accommodation centre to assist families with seriously ill children from the Canberra and greater ACT community, has been launched by Chief Minister Katy Gallagher. With 11 guest rooms, all with ensuites, a communal kitchen, lounge and dining rooms, a playroom and laundry facilities, it will be located in the new women’s and children’s building at Canberra Hospital. More information on Ronald McDonald House charities, at www.rmhc.org.au

Mint salutes Triple Zero

THE Royal Australian Mint, at Deakin, is holding an open day from 10am to 2pm on Saturday, November 5 with a theme of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the emergency number Triple Zero (for which the Mint has produced a commemorative colour-printed coin). There will be opportunity for the public to inspect a fleet of emergency service vehicles, including fire engines, a 44 metre-high fire-fighting appliance and the SnowyHydro Southcare helicopter.

Little looms large for Patrick

By Rafiqa Fattah

AT 12, Patrick Walker knows exactly what he wants to do with his life and is determined to take his new job as a litter boss very seriously.

After being named the ACT representative for the Keep Australia Beautiful’s Little Committee, Patrick and his fellow anti-litter experts have started their 12-month term by shooting two TV commercials as a part of their national advertising campaign.

When “CityNews” called Patrick, a Year 7 student at Lyneham High, he had taken the day off from school after three busy days for the Little Committee.

“I’m feeling a bit tired today, I didn’t go to school because I needed to rest,” he said.

Being a part of the Little Committee requires Patrick’s effort and time, but the aspiring politician says he’s okay with juggling school and the committee.

“Usually, school isn’t so hard but the last few days means I have to catch up,” he said.

Patrick revealed that he and his fellow nine members of the Little Committee were taking a subtle approach in the Little Committee’s new commercials. Membership of the committee is limited to children 15 years and younger.

“We’re trying to be subtle with our message. Only 1.5 per cent of litterers are under 15 so we think it’s our job to educate adults about what happens when they litter,” he said.

Patrick said he had always felt strongly about

the environment and would like to become involved with politics so he could help make Australia a better place. For Patrick, everyone should work to protect the environment simply because “we live in it!”

But becoming a member of the Little Committee isn’t the only change impacting Patrick’s lifestyle. When he was six, he had made the decision to become a vegetarian.

“When I told my parents I wanted to be a vegetarian, my mum was very, very happy,” he said.

“Me and my dad were fighting over some pork that morning, so when I told him, my dad said he was happy there would be more meat for himself.”

Turning away from needles

IT’S easy to understand why many parents find their baby’s first immunisation a bit daunting.

No one likes the idea of inflicting pain, no matter how fleeting, on their child; or the thought of some artificial substance being injected into that perfect little body.

And over the past few years, there has been plenty of controversy and many scary stories about vaccinations.

I remember my own dread and a sleepless night before I took my baby boy for his first vaccination. But with each trip to the doctor for that dreaded needle, the dread got less and the relief that he was covered from getting a whole range of nasty diseases grew. By the time it was number two child’s turn, there were no dramas and it was all pretty perfunctory.

So, the other day, when I was talking to a dad who had not immunised his son and wanted to rely on “natural remedies”, I sort of understood where he was coming from.

But it also got me wondering whether the whole “go natural, if it’s natural it’s a good thing” might be going a bit far – especially in the case of vaccinations.

For us, after we had done some research, we knew we had to bite the bullet and get our kids immunised. We accepted that there was a very low risk of adverse reaction and agreed with medical advice that the benefits of immunisation far outweighed this.

According to the Australian General Practice Network vaccination rates have fallen over the last seven years with only 83 per cent of fouryear-olds currently being vaccinated. However, it appears that due to the past success of Australia’s childhood immunisation

programs, contagious diseases that once routinely killed and maimed are now so rare that unvaccinated children are still protected by a measure of “herd immunity”. But not getting your children immunised can still have disastrous consequences.

Recently, Dr Jane Collins, a GP writing in “The Sydney Morning Herald”, noted that there are now a number of teenage and young adult Australians who have never been immunised who are now travelling overseas.

She advised parents that had not had their children immunised to tell them before they travel so they could get “routine” vaccinations. She also warned of the increased risk to even those who stay home, citing the death of an unvaccinated 22-year-old woman who caught diphtheria from a friend recently returned from abroad.

It would seem in the last few decades as things “natural” have come to be seen as the safe, tried and true options; it’s easy to forget that modern science has extended our life span by decades and enabled us to leave behind so many of the terrible diseases that killed, maimed and destroyed the lives of many children.

It does amaze me that so many people are prepared to turn away from the benefits and security provided by the past two centuries of progress in medical science.

So, please, parents seek advice (at least some of it medical) and do your research, otherwise old enemies can make a reappearance with tragic consequences.

The ‘Mo Show’ gets off to a clean start

By Libby Hill

MOVEMBER is here and with it is a new exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery telling the story of facial hair through the years.

“Jo’s Mo Show (with beards)” traces and celebrates the changes in facial hair fashions from the 1780s to the 1980s, connecting these changes to the social, cultural and political conditions that initiated them.

The paintings, prints, photographs and sculptures from the collection in “Jo’s Mo Show” create a visual timeline of changes in facial hair fashion.

The launch of the exhibition was used as the official Movember launch in Canberra with plenty of clean-shaven men in attendance preparing their upper lips for a month of fuzz.

Last year, TransACT CEO Ivan Slavich raised more money for the cause than anyone participating in Movember worldwide. This year he hopes to beat his $65,000 record.

“I’ll be sending an email to every single person who supported me last year and asking them to donate again,” he says.

The month-long, charity initiative aims to raise

awareness, support and funding for men’s health issues, specifically prostate cancer and male depression. Men grow a Mo (moustache) for 30 days to become walking, talking billboards for men’s health causes, and women support their Mo Bros efforts by registering and recruiting teams and fundraising.

“The cause has really captured people’s imaginations and I think it’s partly because all men secretly want to grow a moustache and also because men are notoriously bad at looking after their health,” Ivan says.

“Personally, I have mates who have had prostate cancer and also known guys who have committed suicide because of depression.

“TransACT has a pretty large male workforce so Movember provides us with an opportunity to get everybody together in the company and talking about these things.”

To date, more than 1.1 million Mo Bros and Mo Sistas across the world – from Hong Kong to Antarctica, Rio de Janeiro to Mumbai – have supported Movember, raising over $178 million.

More information at www.movember.com

Launch socials, Page 12

Why Movember matters, letters, Page 8

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cover story

Dr Kate gets a dose of fame

THE thing that surprised former Canberran Dr Kate Haggar the most after watching the first episode of WIN TV’s new documentary series “Young Doctors” was being characterised as the “clucky, wannabe mum”.

The program follows seven young doctors, including Dr Haggar, as they complete their three-month posting at Newcastle’s John Hunter Hospital. Not only do the doctors work together, but live together.

“I was very surprised to see my tagline was ‘clucky, wannabe mum’,” she said.

In the program, Dr Haggar works in obstetrics and gynaecology, hence the “clucky wannabe mum” tagline.

“When working in obstetrics it’s a bit hard not to be clucky, you are surrounded by the miracle of childbirth,” she said.

“It’s an amazing, beautiful part of people’s lives. I don’t think I’ll ever be blasé about childbirth.”

Dr Haggar, who grew up on a hobby farm between Canberra and Cooma, went to school at Tharwa Primary School (she was the only girl in her year of three students), Alfred Deakin High School and later Canberra College.

Former Canberran and sudden TV star Kate Haggar tells FREYLA FERGUSON she is learning not to take herself too seriously

“It was a long search for me to find out what I wanted to do,” she said.

“At first I wanted to be a carpenter, then a mechanic. I wanted to do something that involved using my hands and brain, but also had a social aspect.”

It was an incident when she was swimming in a lake with a group of friends where she found herself cleaning up a friend’s head wound after he made a dive into the water and hit a rock.

“He had gaping wounds,” she said.

“But I didn’t faint at the sight of blood and loved being able to use my hands.”

After scoring outstanding marks at college, Dr Haggar had the choice of universities and chose Newcastle university to complete her medical studies.

Little did she know that years later she would be starring in a reality TV show about her career.

But with all new-found fame also comes negative attention. Since the first show aired, Dr Haggar has already copped flack for making comments about “pulling a baby out” and correcting a patient who thought she was a nurse.

“What I have learnt from the show is to not take myself too seriously,” she said. “And not to be too concerned about what people think.”

Dr Haggar is still tossing up whether to pursue obstetrics or to pursue her other passion to become a GP. And as for coming back to Canberra?

“I love Canberra,” she said.

“If I could convince my husband to move there I would, but I’ve married a man who needs the ocean!”

“Young Doctors” airs on WIN, 8pm on every Thursday.

dose of dorin

letters

Why Movember matters

I HAVE been supporting Movember for the past six years because I have seen the fantastic results it has achieved in improving men’s health particularly in the regional areas.

I had a good friend who suffered silently from depression with tragic results for his family and friends. Movember has made discussions about depression much more open than ever before with support from beyondblue, the national depression initiative. There are many men that I know of who are living with prostate cancer. Movember has funded cutting-edge prostate cancer research projects and provides men and their families with educational tools including the Blue Prostate Cancer Pack. Hopefully, there will soon be a cure for prostate cancer;

it is not a death sentence. New trial drugs and treatments are having many positive results.

The biggest positive to come from Movember has been to make it easier for men to talk about their health and make them more likely to seek help.

You become a walking billboard for Men’s Health while you have a mo. People notice the change in your appearance and ask why you’ve got involved and how much you have raised.

There’s also the lighter side of Movember, it’s a good chance to see what you look like with a moustache and then shave it off after a month. There is a great bonding experience for teams instantly recognising fellow MoBros everywhere around the world.

Peter Barclay, King O’Malley’s, Civic

More seizures mean more drugs

I AM not disappointed that the AFP has in the last 12 months made large seizures of illicit drugs, but I am disappointed that Colliss Parrett thinks it proves that prohibition is working (Letters, CN, October 27).

The percentage change of drug seizures from one year to the next can indicate increased police activity, but given that police numbers and price of the drugs are relatively stable, then there must be another explanation.

Drug seizures amount to only between 5 and 25 per cent of total supply. If this holds true as a constant and seizures have gone up by over 300 per cent, then one must conclude that the quantity of drugs coming into the country has also gone up by over 300 per cent.

Statisticians who have studied hidden populations (and prohibited drugs is a hidden population) will understand the validity of this conclusion. Take, for example, the hidden population in a fisherman’s favourite fishing spot: if his catch is better than before then he can conclude that there are now more fish in his favourite fishing spot to be caught.

Instead of reporting annual fluctuation of seizure amounts, the average reader would better be able to judge the effectiveness of drug seizures if the amounts captured each year were expressed by the AFP as a percentage of the estimated total supply.

Brian McConnell, president, Families and Friends for Drug Law Reform, Higgins

Free parking at Manuka

MANUKA Terrace shopping centre has introduced one hour free parking. Marketing manager Kim Burns says there is plenty of signage within the car park listing the new rates.

Workshops for parents

THE Association of Parents and Friends of ACT Schools, a peak body representing parents and carers of students attending ACT non-government schools, is hosting a series of youth transition workshops for parents with children in Years 9-12 next month. Designed to help children succeed through high school and beyond, the workshops will be run by education adviser and author Angie Wilcock.

Bookings to www.apfacts.org.au/site/ events or call 6287 3538

Masterclass with the stars

TV’S “Junior Masterchef” Isabella Bliss and her twin sister Sofia will join the winner of the Cooleman Court’s “Kids ‘R Cooking” promotion at a school assembly masterclass. The shopping centre is giving local schools the chance to host a masterclass as part of an initiative to get kids active in the kitchen and enjoying fresh food. There are also 75 kids’ cooking packs valued at more than $170 to be won. Marketing manager Julianna Debreczeni said: “Cooleman Court now guarantees that fresh food purchased at the centre is 100 per cent fresh or customers are eligible to receive their money back.” Entry details for “Kids ‘R Cooking” are at www. coolemancourt.com.au

Charity Christmas cards

SIXTEEN local charities, including ACT Rescue & Foster, the Cancer Council, Epilepsy ACT and Amnesty International, are selling Christmas cards and calendars at Wanniassa Shopping Centre, Sangster Place, Wanniassa and in the Good Guys store, Tuggeranong Hyperdome Lifestyle Centre until December 21, Mondays to Saturdays, 10am-4pm.

Young carbon ideas

AN exhibition of the Festival of Young Ideas, which celebrates the best ideas to meet the emission reduction targets set for 2020, will open at the Legislative Assembly on Monday, November 14. Featuring exhibits from more than 18 ACT schools, it will be on display to the public for a week. Co-ordinated by local sustainability group SEE-Change, chairman Prof Bob Douglas says: “The Festival of Young Ideas shows our community and our political leaders how young people can help to meet ambitious carbon reduction targets by 2020.”

Crime of bad punishment

PENALTIES! More and more! Bigger and bigger! It seems that every time a parliament sits, someone is moving an increase in levels of punishment.

And now there is an election coming, fines go up and custodial offences increase in number and length.

The Productivity Commission’s annual “Report on Government Services”, of January 2010, found Australian prisons were ineffective in tackling the causes of crime and provided overcrowded warehouses for indigenous Australians.

The same report found that Victoria and the ACT, having low imprisonment rates by comparison to other States and Territories, also had low recidivism rates. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics for 2009-2010, “the highest proportional increases in prisoner numbers were for the ACT.” The increase was 38 per cent and followed the opening of the Alexander Maconochie Centre.

The next highest was for WA at 8 per cent, and then Victoria and the NT at a 4 per cent increase.

The ACT figures provide a weighty warning to some myopic members of the Assembly who, a year out from an election, think action on crime is achieved simply by increasing penalties.

Credit does go largely to the Stanhope Government in retaining the percentage of prisoners at about the same level of around 100 prisoners per 100,000 of the population over the 10 years to 2010. At the same time the NT recorded the largest percentage, rising from 469 to 663 prisoners per 100,000 of the adult population. SA increased from 113 to 153.

However, with a new prison in the ACT and “tough-on-crime” talk, how long will the ACT retain sensible rates?

A comparison of NSW and Victoria is telling.

It’s time for a proper look at crime and punishment, says political writer MICHAEL MOORE

NSW went through a series of “tough-on-crime” elections with major parties outbidding each other for the popular vote. That State now has a rate of 196.6 per 100,000 of its population. This is nearly double the rate of Victoria at 105.5 per 100,000. With 21,334 prisoners in NSW at June 2010, think of the costs to the taxpayers at over $100,000 per prisoner per annum!

Recurrent expenditure on prisons in Australia in 2008-09 was $2.8 billion compared to $400 million spent on community corrections. Don’t hold your breath for an election fought on increased community corrections.

According to the ABS, between 2000 and 2010 imprisonment rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians increased from 1248 to 1892 per 100,000 of their adult population. Over the same period the rate for non-indigenous prisoners increased from 130 to 134 per 100,000 for other Australians. This means that, 20 years after the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, we incarcerate our original Australians at a rate 14 times greater than other Australians.

The ACT does so at just beyond the national average with a ratio of 14.8 indigenous people to every non-indigenous person. Things are getting worse, not better and it should be a great embarrassment for Australians who have a shred of empathy.

Michael Moore is a former member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and an independent minister for health in the Carnell government.

Canberra Confidential

Top chef sniffs foreshore

RUMOUR has it, award-winning chef and MasterChef judge George Calombaris could be opening a restaurant in Canberra.

“CC’s” heard whispers the Channel Ten personality is currently in “talks” with Aurora developers.

And while negotiations remain top secret, Calombaris, 32, has apparently expressed a keen interest in opening a restaurant along the promenade of the Kingston Foreshore development.

The $50 million Aurora project includes a mix of apartments and cafes and is due for completion in July, with the entire precinct finished sometime in 2014.

Calombaris currently owns six restaurants in Melbourne, including Maha, The Press Club and Hellenic Republic and one in Mykonos, Greece.

Fans can catch the famous chef for what may be a timely visit to the nation’s capital, when he appears at the Hellenic Club at the end of November.

Red card for Rattenbury?

ACT Liberal MLA Alistair Coe is in hot water for allegedly using the ACT Assembly logo without approval. But it seems someone’s got it wrong!

Assembly Speaker Shane Rattenbury has written to Coe after “CC” reported the member for Ginninderra was sending hand-written 21st birthday cards to his electorate constituents.

In the October 17 letter obtained by “CC”, Rattenbury states Coe cannot continue to send the cards until the use of the Assembly logo, for this purpose, has been approved by the Speaker.

“Should you wish to continue to use this stationery, it would be appropriate for you to seek permission, in writing, from my office in accordance with the guidelines,” writes Rattenbury.

But it seems Shane has forgotten that he already approved the use of the Assembly logo more than two years ago.

Coe’s told “CC” he sent Rattenbury the proposal and birthday card design for the Speaker’s approval in June 2009. And emails released to “CC”, show Rattenbury gave the final nod to Coe on July 1 that year.

“Rather than spending time sending me letters about an issue that was resolved more than two years ago, perhaps Shane should use his resources as Speaker more constructively,” says Coe.

Queen distracts big surprise

IT was meant to be a surprise birthday party. But, thanks to the Queen, the lavish celebrations organised by Mark Santos for his partner Prof Anthony Hill, didn’t quite come off as planned.

The former London hotelier, now owner of Teatro Vivaldi, had been planning the party at the

Breakfree Lakeside Apartments’ penthouse for months.

But “CC’s” been told guests were awaiting the arrival of the professor when the Queen interrupted their plans.

Apparently, Her Majesty’s cavalcade drove past the apartments on the way to Government House. And, as guests clambered about the balcony trying to get a peek of the Queen, the guest of honour arrived completely unnoticed.

Party-goers turned to see the birthday boy in the doorway and realised they’d missed their “surprise!” cue.

Despite the disaster, a bewildered Hill maintains he was surprised.

The ANU professor was under the impression he was attending a wine tasting.

A star turn for adoption

MEANTIME, Deborra-Lee Furness is on her way to Canberra for an appearance at the National Press Club as part of National Adoption Week (November 6-13).

In her address, the Australian actress and National Adoption Week founder will encourage politicians, media and policy makers to change adoption laws in this country making it easier for Australians to adopt.

There are currently around 37, 000 kids in our foster care system and that number is increasing. And Australian families currently have to wait an average of six years to adopt either locally or from overseas.

Furness has raised two adopted children with her husband Hugh Jackman. “CC” has been unable to confirm if the “Real Steel” star will accompany his leading lady to the Press Club.

For tickets to Furness’ Breakfast Summit Address, November 9, visit www.npc.org.au

Swinging for the heart

GUNGAHLIN Lakes Golf Club may never be the same again!

“CC” hears that the likes of Ainslie Football & Social Club CEO Richard Hogg, Bluestar Print GM Sean O’Neill and Heart Foundation ACT CEO Tony Stubbs are set to tee off for the Gungahlin Lakes Inaugural Heart Foundation Golf Day, on Tuesday, November 15.

And if this crowd’s anything to go by, no doubt they’ll be “on par” for the 19th.

To get a sponsorship “slice” of the action, to support the Heart Foundation continue to save lives from the number one killer of men and women in the ACT, call Brooke McIlveen on 6282 5744 for details.

Seen at the Eden Monaro Cancer Support Group fundraiser dinner, Hellenic Club, Woden

Christmas functions

all about Taste of Christmas is in the air

With decorations already up in the shops, it’s time to start thinking about what’s just around the corner... Christmas! Here’s the “CityNews” guide to the venues offering great packages and menus for Christmas functions...

Taking care of Christmas

CONNOISSEUR Catering at Kamberra Wine Company provides a scenic winery setting with rural charm, frequently used as a venue for weddings, conferences, parties and, of course, corporate Christmas lunches and other events.

The Christmas menu selection allows groups to design their own menus from a range of traditional Christmas treats including cold meats, hot roast turkey and lamb, Christmas pudding and brandy custard.

Located in North Lyneham, the venue offers three modern rooms, each with full-length glass windows opening out on to covered verandas with expansive views of the vineyards, rose gardens and a reflections pond. The team don’t just cater at the Kamberra Wine Company – they can help create events in your home, office or exclusive off-site location and will even take care of the Christmas decorations.

More information at www.connoisseur.com.au or call 6262 2144

Delights of enjoying the deck

FORREST Hotel and Apartments are offering traditional (and not-so-traditional) cuisine for Christmas functions.

If the office Christmas party calls for turkey, ham, roast vegetables and Christmas pudding, there is a full buffet and if drinks are in demand, there are options, too.

“We have a beautiful venue for cocktail parties or afternoon drinks on the deck overlooking beautiful parkland,” says Forrest Inn’s Dorothy Barclay.

“We have a really nice, intimate space here and we’re very close to Parliament House while being kind-of tucked away, which is part of our appeal,” she says of the venue’s National Circuit location.

The venue caters for up to 120 people.

More information at www.forresthotel.com or 6203 4300

No sitting at this busy Duck

THINGS might be starting to wind down in workplaces across Canberra, but in the lead up to Christmas the pace picks up at Sitting Ducks catering.

“We have to hire extra staff – a lot more waiters and chefs – because we are so busy with Christmas functions,” says office manager Sasha PosthumaGrbic.

Sasha says that since her family took over Sitting Ducks two-and-a-half years ago, each Christmas has been busier than the last.

“Word-of-mouth is spreading like wild fire and we are booking up quite fast,” she says.

There are extensive menu options available for private parties or corporate functions with buffets, canapes and take home Christmas feasts.

More information on www.sittingducks.com.au or call 6282 1631.

Christmas functions advertising feature

Christmas functions

Taste of different Flavours

WHY not try something different to the traditional Christmas cuisine this year, asks Flavours of India owner Vikas Randev?

With a buffet lunch serving five dishes of regional Indian food for $18, Vikas says his two restaurants are ideal for Christmas functions.

Vikas has been a chef for two decades and opened Flavours of India 12 years ago.

“Flavours of India draws its inspiration from flourishing traditions of mughlai cuisine in northern India with spectacular meat preparation, curries, roganjosh, kormas and exotic biryanis. Kebabs are made from marinated and minced meats, and claypot cooking (tandoor) is used.”

More information at www.flavoursofindia.com.au

Everything plus the Girl

WHEN Andrew Hollands was given an opportunity to take prime real estate in the historic Melbourne Building on Northbourne Avenue, he then recruited chef Derek Brown and Grant Macara and Soju Girl was born.

Brown’s resume reads like a dream holiday itinerary from five-star resorts and venues spanning the globe, and Macara returned from Melbourne to take part in the creative process.

Soju Girl is a modern re-invention of the pub concept, with a dining room, lounge and bistro facilities as well as a soon-to-be-unveiled gallery space.

With a sharing menu of modern Asian fusion, done in small and large plates, fresh and fun cocktails and a comprehensive wine list. It can cater for cocktail and canapé groups of more than 300 people or sit-down dining for up to 50.

Dining writer Wendy Johnson reviews Soju Girl, Page 19

Party with a little temptation

IF ever you needed an incentive to book the office Christmas party, Rydges Lakeside has a tempting offer.

Sales and marketing manager Carley Simpson says there are three levels of venues at Rydges Lakeside with Locanda Italian Steakhouse, first floor function spaces and Skylines on the 15th floor with spectacular views over the city and lake.

“All packages vary and we can cater it to you depending on your requirements,” she says.

Book a Christmas party or event with Rydges and receive an additional free cocktail hour with your very own Rydges mixologist. Plus, make your booking before November 30 to receive your choice of either a case of Rydges Boutique Wines or a Lavazza A Modo Mio coffee machine.

For information email sales_canberra@rydges.com or call 6267 1243

all about the arts

David’s artistic ways with wood

By Helen Musa

WOOD artist David Mac Laren was having it three ways when he decided to title his newest exhibition “Design Innovation Play”.

For the show, billed as his first solo exhibition, is the result of a collaboration with expert wood-turner Jim Homann and precision driller Jamie Prior, who assisted him in exploring his radical ideas.

Central to these ideas is the increasing scarcity and preciousness of wood itself.

Mac Laren has made use of

salvaged west African ebony and, heavily influenced by the late George Ingham, has challenged current perceptions, using solid timber rather than the veneer that he believes is more costly in terms of energy use and carbon emissions. A beautifully asymmetrical table, “Partial Ellipse”, in jarrah and burl, illustrates his rejection of veneer.

With a career spanning 40 years, Mac Laren came to Australia from New York many years ago and, in 1994, created the hugely successful Bungendore Wood Works Gallery as a centre where wood becomes art.

While some of the artworks in this exhibition illustrate principles of innovation, notably the “Marble Towers” invented by artist Anton Meerman, in which solid pieces of wood are machined and cut open to reveal the interior of the wood, for the larger part, Mac Laren has occupied himself in “play”.

Several mischievous pieces toy with the idea that tables have “shoes” – one table has stiletto heels. What would Queen Victoria have thought?

Elsewhere, he plays with the theme of chairs and seating, the stock-in-trade of any wood artist. One of his more impossible creations,

the swan-like “Leda Chair”, was his contribution to an international forum on woodworking culture in Sweden during 2008.

Another has jarrah bobbles, like those on a jester’s hat. You wouldn’t want to try sitting on any of them.

David Mac Laren believes he has now reached the stage where he doesn’t need to make his art to a deadline. With an estimated 10 years of his working life ahead of him, he says: “I may as well just go with it”.

“Design Innovation Play”, Octagon Art Space, Bungendore Wood Works Gallery, until November 21.

When the Raj went home...

THEATRE

“The Dark Side of Midnight” By Tessa Bremner, directed by Anne Somes for Free Rain Theatre, Courtyard Studio, until November 13.

Reviewed by Helen Musa

WHEN Salman Rushdie wrote about “midnight’s children”, he was thinking about the Indian and Pakistani children born in India at midnight on August 15, 1947, when it was divided into two countries.

Playwright Tessa Bremner was thinking more about the English people who, like her parents, were caught in the middle of this conflict. Using family letters and diaries, she creates a rip-snorting melodrama that begins in India and ends in Sussex. You can almost hear the cheers as the virtuous are rewarded and the villain punished.

Bremner fills out her play with accurate and humorous observations about life in the Raj, drawing murmurs of recognition from older audience members.

Lainie Hart, as the young wife Geraldine Lucas, leads an able cast of performers, all of whom make a good fist of portraying English manners. Hart shows us the conflicts experienced by a kind-hearted young woman eager to know more about an unfamiliar country and its people. The racism she encounters returns to haunt her years later in Enoch Powell’s 1967 England. In both places, her views are balanced by her less-susceptible sister, played forthrightly by Andrea Close.

Eliza Bell has the lion’s share of laughs as the upper-crust Mrs Coke-Symonds and later the English servant Edie. Josh Wiseman doubles effectively as Geraldine’s husband and an ancient survivor of the Raj, Bertie. Brian Kavanagh is consistently unnerving as the villain.

Director Anne Somes sets a cracking pace that makes for an entertaining evening with serious undertones. This is an impressive new play from Bremner, and should travel further afield.

Songs with spontaneity Brothers with eyes on the prize

“WaRRIOR” (M) cinema

A MIXED martial arts, cage-fighting contest with a winner-take-all, $5 million prize underlies Gavin O’Connor’s film. Its rules are simple. No eye-gouging or scrotum twisting or kicking.

Obey the referee’s orders: “Go to war.”

O’Connor’s screenplay well understands that a 140-minute film showing exclusively cagefighting would have difficulty finding audiences. So he gives “Warrior” a double whammy with credibly-delineated family issues.

Former prizefighter Paddy (Nick Nolte) lives alone, proud of not having drunk alcohol for 999 days. That’s the day his younger son Tom (Tom Hardy) turns up after a decade’s unexplained absence seeking a trainer. Despite Paddy’s older son, secondary school physics teacher Brendan (Joel Edgerton), and his wife having three jobs, the bank is about to foreclose.

All that prize-money and two brothers, each with compelling reasons for earning it, might point to a predictable outcome, but arriving there is a less discomforting cinema experience than it might have been. When men aren’t beating each other up to entertain a screaming audience of both sexes, resolving family issues forms a solid emotional foundation.

At all cinemas

Dougal Macdonald “DRIveR”

IN this flawed yet perversely engaging blood-and-gutser, a reticent, laconic, careful young man (Ryan Gosling) drives stunt cars for movie-makers and getaway cars for bandits. Driving fast and surviving danger are his only interests. His partly disabled manager (Bryan Cranston) has a mobster manager

(Albert Brooks) who has a money man (Ron Perlman). In the apartment along the corridor from him lives a young mother (Carey Mulligan) whose husband (Oscar Isaac) is about to get out of jail.

To this tree of criminal personalities, novelist James Sallis has grafted a plot about a heist that goes awry, a battle for the loot between the bad guys and a burgeoning relationship between the driver and the woman.

US-educated Danish director Nicholas Winding Refn and writer Hossein Amini have fashioned those elements into a crime thriller with enough excitement and tension to ameliorate its defects.

These are of minor importance and many people won’t notice them. But it does annoy me when an in-car camera films Mr Super-Cool, one hand on the 12 o’clock position and the other on his lap, guiding a souped-up Yank tank, a species never known for handling merit, through corners in a high-speed chase along urban streets without braking, changing gear or varying engine speed. Any qualified police or rally driver will understand what I’m saying.

At Greater Union, Hoyts and Limelight

THIS monster-free, earth-bound sociological thriller is science fiction for people to whom reality-based science offers better stimulation.

The only universal currency is time. Everybody gets 25 years at birth and year 26 in which to accumulate enough further survival

time. When your timer shows zero, that’s it. No appeal, no avoidance. Dead.

Andrew Niccol’s film is an uncomfortably relevant paradigm for a world still working out how to recover from the GFC and arrange the wealth system to avoid another, where the Occupy movement is struggling to be heard, where choices are becoming fewer and some of George Orwell’s forecasts in “1984” are again rumbling not far beneath society’s surface.

Will’s (Justin Timberlake) mother dies before he can deliver a top-up to her time account. The man he saves from a street gang has a 25-year-old body but his 110-year-old mind has had enough; he gifts all his time to Will and jumps from a bridge.

Will persuades Sylvie (Amanda Seyfried), the daughter of a squillionnaire, to join him in a bid to cripple the system. The chief time keeper (Cillian Murphy) is determined to block this attack on the established order.

Exploring implications of an official determination of how long life lasts, the film invites the audience to form responses to its questions or formulate questions to explain its events. “Logan’s Run” explored a similar dramatic thesis. Niccol’s film sounds a warning for humanity by proposing a scary and provocative analogy for money that does not admit of poverty.

At Dendy, Hoyts and Limelight

MUSIC

“Afroditi Sings”

Angela Giblin and Margaret Legge-Wilkinson

Teatro Vivaldi, season closed

Reviewed by Clinton White

CABARET entertainers get a chance to present a variety show and interact with and engage the audience with a liberal sprinkling of spontaneity.

The intimate surrounds and rather nice setting in Teatro Vivaldi lends itself perfectly.

This show, by mezzo-soprano Angela Giblin and pianist Margaret Legge-Wilkinson, had all the variety but, in the first half at least, little of the other elements that make for good cabaret.

The opening piece, a piano solo of Oscar Peterson’s arrangement of “Tico Tico”, while played accurately, stifled the freedom of jazz.

And the popular songs, such as “So in Love” and “Do Nothing Till You Hear from Me” were stiff. But there were special moments – the songs by Robert Schumann and Spanish composer Manuel de Falla were performed with sensitivity and passion.

After interval, Giblin and Legge-Wilkinson settled into a much more relaxed, personable and engaging style. It started well with another solo piano piece; a sensuous but sultry performance of “Malaguena”, by Isaac Albeniz.

Special treats were the premiere performance of “I Carry Your Heart”, by Canberra composer Stephanos Malikides, and Legge-Wilkinson’s beautiful setting of an Irish poem, “Donal Og”.

The final song, “La Vie en Rose” was a bit too operatic for me. But the encore, “You Go to my Head”, was certainly the best of the popular songs on the program, performed with all the spontaneity, audience engagement and freedom that cabaret demands.

dining

Wendy Johnson

LET’S start with the name. Soju girls are the beautiful stars who appear in Korea’s soju commercials, but that’s a coincidence.

One of Civic’s newest dining destinations – Soju Girl, in the historic Melbourne Building – is really named after the signature cocktails they make with soju (Korean vodka) and Shochu (a Japanese equivalent). This is a place that dares to be different – the menu, the décor, the concept.

The massive lounge features leather furniture, including reclining chairs. Vases with hot-pink bamboo stalks add a funky element. So does the fluorescent, limegreen graffiti art by Dai Cameron – recently back from freelancing in Beijing, including for Mercedes and Adidas.

In the bistro you’re surrounded by stunning dendrobium orchids and this area will soon become an art gallery.

The dining room can be divided into two sections and features intriguing black and white stencil art by Canberra’s Dale Newberry. It’s worth a visit just to soak it all in.

And then there’s the food. Executive chef Derek Brown has worked in classy opera -

tions and has lived in Thailand working with locals. Sous chef Yarek Masier is also on deck.

The menu stars modern South-East Asian and Japanese dishes and we decided to order small plates to share, a wonderful way to explore the food.

The smoked trout with coconut chilli dressing, presented on betel leaf ($6.50 each), was our first small plate and it was outstanding. The char-grilled prawns, with deconstructed crispy bits of wonton and a melon-coloured spicy foam, was a perfect combination of tastes and textures ($18 for four) and the crispy pork hock, red date puree and black vinegar caramel tender as and rich as ($15).

We gave top marks to the Eden mussels, on the specials’ list, and then shared a main, which was to die for. The beef cheek was melt-in-your-mouth and cooked in a Penang cashew curry ($35).

Other mains, ranging from $30 to $36, include kaffir scented pumpkin in a coconut broth and whole baby snapper with chilli jam and Thai herbs.

Desserts are a must. Again we shared and were delighted.

The show-stopper was lemon-grass brulee, with pineapple salsa and ginger syrup ($13) was creamy, earthy and intriguing. The chocolate fondant, with salted caramel and peanut-butter ice cream, was decadent, but worth every bite ($16).

At Soju Girl you can pop in for a quick beer and some chilli-salt cashews, order

an expensive bottle of champagne with oysters, enjoy a casual meal in the bistro or linger over lunch or dinner in the dining area. You won’t be disappointed. We weren’t.

Soju Girl, 41-43 Northbourne Avenue, 6257 5328. Open weekdays (except Tuesday) 11.30am to 11pm; Saturday and Sunday 2pm to midnight.

The Girl worth the time Crean gets creative over policy

FEDERAL Minister Simon Crean sounded an artistic note at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting about the National Museum’s attendancebreaking show “Yiwarra Kuju: The Canning Stock Route”, now on tour. Mr Crean used the occasion to signal the imminent release of his new National Cultural Policy, the first since Paul Keating’s 1994 “Creative Nation.”

INDIVIDUALIST Canberra artist David Sequeira is opening his new Everything Nothing gallery on November 8 at Level 1 of the Centre Cinema Building in Civic. First up is an exhibition of works by the late Australian expatriate John Vickery in the op art (optical art) style. Sequeira says “Vickery’s calculated precision is dazzling.” Noon-5pm Saturday and Sunday

arts in the city

(and by appointment).

A SAD note with the final tour in the 2011 Selby and Friends season, “A Change of Seasons”. It marks the final series of concerts for Australian piano trio Trioz, as violinist Niki Vasilakis and cellist Emma-Jane Murphy are leaving – Murphy to return to her native Ireland. Fairfax Theatre, NGA, November 7, bookings to www.selbyandfriends.com.au

THE Q is presenting “The Mousetrap” in its 2012 season. Tempo Theatre’s recent production was a hit in Belconnen, so why not do it across the border? Auditions are on November 8 with call-backs

Until November 12 are all the following:

a show

Next door Nomad Art has fine prints by Fiona Hall, Judy Watson and leading Yolgnu artist Djambawa Mirabilis, the results of a creative exchange involving artists, scientists and printmakers.

Up the road at Canberra Grammar School Gallery, veteran modernist painter Garth Dixon is showing 50 years’ of artworks.

And Sue Gascoigne is exhibiting “Heart + Wood” at Dunstone Design, corner of Townsville and Albany Streets, Fyshwick, 10am-4pm, Tuesday to Saturday.

on November 10. Email jordan. best@aapt.net.au to book.

HERE’S something special. On November 9, ANU masters student in flute Leah Jilovsky and American harpist Krysten Keches will perform a 20th century flute and harp concert in the Wesley Music Centre Lunchtime Live series, 12.40pm1.20pm. At Harvard, Keches was principal harpist of the HarvardRadcliffe Orchestra. $2 or paper note entry. No bookings.

EDGARD Varese’s “Amerique” and Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” will be the highlights of the final Canberra Youth Orchestra con -

cert of the year, with Dominic Harvey holding the baton at Llewellyn Hall, 7pm, November 1. Bookings to 132849.

MR Green Teal is a “drag king,” the imaginary creation of visual artist Megan Munro, whose new exhibition at ANCA gallery in Rosevear Street, Dickson, until November 6 gives a visual interpretation/history of “Mr Green Teal and his Friends”. Also until November 6, at Watson Arts Centre is veteran ceramicist Greg Daly’s exhibition of new ceramics, “Shades of Light”, 10am-4pm, Thursday to Sunday.

The new world of news

Stripe me lucky!

A KEY pattern of the spring season is stripes. While the sailor stripe is not going anywhere, designers are also showing stripes across the board from skinny,

–Libby Hill

Perfume, bronzer, rouge and gloss

NAPOLEON Perdis Better off Red Double Agent Rouge: Inspired by vintage palettes, this semi-matte, poured lipstick sits with a mattifying powder. The result is a velvety, full-bodied red pout that won’t move.

BETTER off Red Lady in Red lip gloss and Front Row red lip gloss: Napoleon Perdis Front Row red lip gloss is a long-lasting gloss with a creamy, high-pigment texture. The Lady in Red lip gloss applies as a glossy fluid, but has the finish of a lipstick lasting up to six hours.

Becca Mineral Bronzer/Illuminator, $68.

BECCA Lost Weekend mineral bronzer/illuminator – Serrana: This lightweight bronzing and illuminating duo sculpts and defines features with warmth, while imparting flaw-minimising radiance to the complexion. Great as a bronzer, blusher, highlighter or combination of all three.

MICHAEL Kors eau de parfum spray: Classic tuberose is transformed into a modern fragrance by surrounding this floral with spices and smoky incense. Michael Kors has re-invented and harmonised some of the world’s most delicate, dreamy florals and sparkly citrus notes balanced with exotic spices, gentle greens and smoky incense into a captivating, contemporary, sensual fragrance.

Going Green for personal style

FORMER model Karen Green is offering her expertise with two approaches to personal styling.

Her complete personal style session offers a complimentary half-hour consultation to determine how a client would like to proceed and to choose two-hour sessions that may include make-up, wardrobe or deportment.

“Or you can host a style workshop with your friends or colleagues and I will share some tried and true style techniques and tips,” she says.

Subjects include make-up, wardrobe and deportment.

Karen began her career as a model when she was 13 in Canberra, more than 30 years

ago. After completing college, she moved to Sydney to work full time with an internationally respected modelling agency.

At 25, she was still working as a part-time model when she began a new career in the retail sector specialising in make-up, fashion and fragrance.

It was during this period that she was tagged with the nickname “Miss Green” and it has followed her ever since.

Karen returned to Canberra, aged 30, to add the art of floristry to her repertoire, was the manager of a popular designer menswear boutique and began exhibiting and selling her original artwork.

For two years, she worked as a project officer on a multi-cultural health program.

The smiling face of Magnolia

gardening

Cedric Bryant

“THE banana-like scent, the chief appeal of this plant, is very faint in the morning, but intensifies during the day.”

So wrote Peter Valder in “Garden Plants of China”. This plant, also known in China as “Smiling Face”, perfumes the air in spring continuing into summer. Its tiny brownish-purple flowers were sold in Hong Kong as hair ornaments and the flower buds are sometimes used to perfume hair oil and tea.

So what is this delightful plant? Port Wine Magnolia ( Michelia figo), a member of the magnolia family, but not strictly a magnolia, differing most noticeably in the flowers being borne in the axils of the leaves. A medium-size, evergreen shrub to about 2m tall and wide, this is a sheer delight and is suitable for every garden. This Michelia was introduced back in 1798 from China.

ANOTHER variety to think about is M. doltsopa, a magnificent small-to-medium, semi-evergreen shrub or small tree with 15cm-18cm long, distinctive leathery leaves and buds that form in autumn to burst into flower in spring.

The multi-petalled white, heavily scented flowers open about this time here. Native to West Yunnan, Tibet and the West Himalayas, it was introduced into western gardens in 1918, and given the prestigious Award of

by the Royal Horticultural Society in 1961, a guarantee of an outstanding plant.

TWO unfamiliar varieties have been bred by Bob Cherry, of Paradise Plants, at Kulnura, north of Gosford. Cherry, famous for his breeding of Camellia sasanquas, has been on plant-hunting expeditions to China and other regions in the Himalayas dozens of times looking for rare plants he can develop and bring to the public.

Michelia yunnanensis or “Paradise Perfection” as Cherry says “embodies the timeless mystery and peaceful contemplation of the temple slopes of China”.

This is a relatively new form with all the elegance and perfume of the common Michelia with the added bonus of more flowers and compact dense foliage.

M.y. “Starlight”, a seedling selection from Paradise Plants, has lime-green buds opening to a profusion of starry, lemon-white flowers, 5cm across. The long flower time and delightful fragrance lasts from winter to spring.

Both these can be grown as a specimen plant or in a group to make a real statement in your garden.

GOULBURN is known as the Lilac City and last month had its Lilac Time Festival. Here we are a little later with our flowering time of these absolutely delightful shrubs now coming into full bloom.

Lilacs or more correctly Syringa vulgaris are hardy, drought-resistant, deciduousflowering shrubs that perform extra well in this district.

The fragrance, it is said, becomes an

inseparable part of their magic. Mostly native to China some varieties have been bred in England since the mid-17th century. That Yunnan name crops up again and again in the plant world with lilacs being no exception. Syringa yunnanensis was discovered by the Abbe Delavay in 1887 and introduced into western gardens by the great plant hunter, George Forrest in 1907 and given the Award of Merit in 1928. It is impossible to even begin describing the hundreds of varieties of lilac, so now is the time to check out colours at your local garden centre.

Decision time

Inspect your garden for vacant spots and plant any or all of the above. Do check the ultimate size of plants and allow them space to grow.

Remove violas and pansies and replace with summer-flowering petunias.

Wash infestations of aphids off plants with a strong jet of water. Plant out tomatoes if you are game, but continue to cover at night. For your diary, The Horticultural Society’s Spring Exhibition and Rose Show, Wesley Church Centre, National Circuit, Forrest, noon-5pm, on Saturday, November 12 and 11.30 to 4pm, Sunday, November 13. Great show, great plant stall and great garden advice.

Open gardens with good intentions

THE annual “Weekend in the Gardens – connecting communities” open garden exhibition, will be held on November 12-13.

There will be two gardens open to the public – 8 Torres Street, Red Hill and 17 Stokes Street, Griffith.

Organiser Jane Scroope says: “This weekend raises funds and awareness of the life-changing work of Sister Anna Warlow, at The Good Samaritan House of Welcome, Three Springs, WA.

“The target of this outreach is the Aboriginal community living in and around Three Springs.

“One of the focuses is to send young indigenous girls to boarding

school at Nagle Catholic College, Geraldton, which has an indigenous program. This is an attempt to break the cycle of teen pregnancy and poverty.

“Sister Anna is also mentoring indigenous women to be leaders in this community. Two of these women will be with us over this weekend. As will Sister Anna, who was awarded an Order of Australia Medal this year.”

Weekend in the Gardens, 8 Torres Street, Red Hill and 17 Stokes Street, Griffith, November 12-13. Refreshments, jams, preserves and plants available to purchase.

Small world at Campbell

HERE’S the chance to explore a series of courtyard gardens in the upmarket Dominion complex in Key Street, Campbell.

Open as part of the Open Gardens Australia program on the weekend of November 12-13, the landscaped communal areas, with appealing plantings, winding paths and gazebo, complement the inspiring diversity of styles of the individual villa gardens.

The 18 villas at Dominion are built on the site of St Anne’s convent that was demolished in 2007.

A residents’ garden committee manages the development and maintenance of the common area and gardeners add to plantings in the vicinity of their homes.

The courtyards open for viewing vary in size and design. They differ in many ways and present ideas of what can be achieved in small areas.

Gardens at Dominion, 12 Key Street, Campbell, open 10am-4.30pm, November 12-13, entry $12, children free (charity St Vincent de Paul). Refreshments and plants available to purchase.

Courtyard No.4; designed as a minimum maintenance garden, this courtyard has three “rooms” within it, the living area, the decorative space and the productive veggie garden.

Garden construction began in early 2010 with the in-situ rocks being used to build freestone walls to create raised

your week in the stars

With Joanne Madeline Moore November 7-13

ARIES

(Mar  – Apr 0)

Hasty words and actions could land you in a heap of trouble on this crazy Full Moon week. Think things through before you act (especially when you go shopping) and avoid buy now, pay later offers. Be realistic about your financial situation, otherwise there could be serious consequences in the months ahead. Don’t believe everything a child or friend tells you.

TAURUS

(Apr  – May 0)

The Taurus Full Moon links up with Jupiter and Pluto which encourages indulging in beauty, romance, music, fine food, fun and hedonistic hijinks. If you are stubborn with loved ones this week you’ll get nowhere fast, so aim to be more flexible. Don’t limit your peer group to the same old safe crowd. New friends are waiting to add interest and zest to your life.

GEMINI

(May  – June )

Can you keep a secret? Gregarious Geminis are real chatterboxes but remember – loose lips sink ships! Over the next seven days watch what you say, how you say it, and who you say it to. Your quote for the week is from Scorpio singer Joni Mitchell (born on November 7): “There are things to confess that enrich the world, and things that need not be said.”

CANCER

(June  – July )

Are you ready for your monthly dose of Full Moon madness? Expect a rollercoaster ride, as your moods run the gamut from A to Z. If you pace yourself (and avoid touchy subjects and vexing people) then you’ll get through the week without tantrums and tears. Thursday is your best day, as flowing Jupiter/Pluto aspects promise good times with convivial company.

LEO (July  – Aug )

Expect dramatic developments at work, as Friday’s Full Moon fires up your creativity – and stirs up petty jealousies and insecurities. Use your talent for self-promotion to shine in the spotlight, but avoid antagonising others with bossy behaviour. Gung-ho Mars marches out of your sign on Friday, and into your money zone. So it’s time to be financially proactive.

VIRGO (Aug  – Sept )

Calling all Virgo fuss-pots! You have high standards and a critical eye, but try not to be too hard on friends and family this week. With the Full Moon in fellow earth sign Taurus, let non-essentials go and focus on what’s really important to you. Mighty Mars moves into your sign (from Friday onwards) so it’s time to tackle challenges with plenty of energy and enthusiasm.

LIBRA (Sept  – Oct )

Friday’s Full Moon stimulates your sex/money zone. Attached Librans – expect plenty of passion with your partner. Singles – love, lust and travel are lusciously linked. And how’s your budget and bank balance going? The full moonbeams highlight hiccups in your financial management. Aim to be less extravagant with cash, and more cautious with credit.

SCORPIO (Oct  – Nov )

Partnership problems (and unresolved issues) come to a head this week, as the Full Moon stirs up your love and marriage zone. A stubborn, fanatical attitude will only lead to a fraction too much friction for everyone. If you are patient and understanding, then your personal relationships will gradually improve. Don’t be selfish Scorpio – cool compromise is the key.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov  – Dec )

The Moon and Jupiter energize your wellbeing zone, so focus on health and fitness. Make a resolution to swap sleep-ins for gym sessions, and cream buns for carrot juice! If you’re looking for work, don’t wait for jobs to be advertised. You have to be one step ahead of the competition. With a practical and proactive approach, you’ll get through this feisty Full Moon week just fine.

CAPRICORN

(Dec  – Jan )

With Friday’s Full Moon activating your romance zone, it’s time to flirt up a storm and have some fun! In the words of birthday great Albert Camus (born on November 7): “Charm is the way of getting the answer yes, without having asked any clear question.” Mars and Neptune are stirring up your financial zones, so save big money moves for a more auspicious week.

AQUARIUS (Jan 0 – Feb )

Have you been neglecting home and hearth? Friday’s Full Moon lights up your domestic zone, so it’s the perfect time to lavish your Aquarian abode (and your loved ones) with plenty of extra TLC. On Saturday, you’re restless and ready for adventure. Your words could be misinterpreted on Sunday, so it would be wise to embellish them with some tactful sugar-coating.

PISCES

(Feb  – Mar 0)

Fish are trusting creatures, but don’t let a smooth operator lead you down the primrose path to Piscean trouble. And don’t confuse fact with fantasy. Keep it real, as you put your nightly dreams into daily practice. Think before you speak on Friday (and allow plenty of time to prepare for meetings and appointments) as the Full Moon shakes up your communication zone.

Across

1 Name the locomotive invented by George Stephenson.

7 Who is renowned for his theory of relativity?

8 Name the Australian prime minister 1903-04, 1905-08, 1909-10?

9 What do we call a soldier or sailor who runs away from duty, without intending to return?

10 What is a burnt-out piece of coal, wood, etc?

11 Which body part replacements are surgically inserted?

14 Name a popular style of coffee making.

18 What is a sensation of sickness at the stomach?

19 Which device controls the amount of fuel being fed to an engine?

21 What is the flag of a nation called?

22 Which term is descriptive of shoes and their like?

23 Name small, herring-like marine fish.

Down

1 To make fun of someone is to do what?

2 Name the National Park established in 1979 in Arnhem Land, NT.

3 Which organs of climbing plants attach themselves to other bodies, so as to support the plants?

4 What is a term used for bowling segments?

5 Name another word for breastbones.

6 To assimilate mentally, is to do what?

12 What are early settlers called?

13 What are plains, characterised by coarse grasses and scattered tree growth?

15 In which establishment is instruction given?

16 What do we call the perches upon which domestic fowls rest at night?

17 Name the treasurer of a college or university.

20 What is another term for a layer or level?

property

Changing the face of housing

By Catherine Carter

THE Federal Government’s recent report, “State of Australian Cities 2011”, provides a foundation for building and growing sustainable and productive cities for the future.

It identifies two areas of housing concern: delivering new suburbs and regenerating existing inner-suburban communities.

Except for Sydney, families are still choosing to live in newly-established suburbs – a choice that brings its own infrastructure challenges.

The report says that capital cities are rated highly for recreational opportunities, natural environments, entertainment, education and cultural activities. But they rate poorly on congestion, transport, climate change and affordability. Greenfield developments are less

expensive, except in Sydney, where the cost of land and associated infrastructure charges raises prices to more than some infill developments. And the survey finds that the ACT is the only jurisdiction where approvals for apartments exceed approvals for detached dwellings (by 1855). This is likely because there is demand for apartments in the ACT, with new urban apartment developments in the ACT typically selling rapidly off the plan.

An effective city offers a range of housing choices and there is some catching up to do before Canberrans can access the full range of home types, locations and prices they are entitled to expect.

the Property Council of Australia.

Canberra Region Property Summary

BONYTHON

CAMPBELL

CHIFLEY

CHISHOLM

CASEY

Montefiore Cr Peter Blackshaw Tuggeranong 0412 726 025 4BR A

Pl Ray White Canberra 0412 851 139 6BR C

DEAKIN

Canberra Region Property Summary

DICKSON

2/77 Zakharov Av McGrath Belconnen/Gungahlin 0407 777 601 3BR H

12:00-12:45 29 Amy Ackman St Ray White Canberra 0438 580 310 4BR H Sat 12:00-1:30 Block 5, Section 107 First National Gungahlin 0408 413 405 4BR G Sat 12:00-12:45 13 Bromham St First National Gungahlin 0417 687 379 4BR B Sat 12:00-1:30 44 Turbayne Cr First National Gungahlin 0414 249 449 4BR G

Sat 12:00-1:30 65 Turbayne Cr First National Gungahlin 0408 413 405 4BR H Sat 12:45-1:45 5 Ray Ellis Cr Kool Real Estate 0408 805 408 4BR E Sat 1:00-2:00

FORREST

GLENEAGLES

FRANKLIN

GORDON

HACKETT

Canberra Region Property Summary

HARCOURT HILL

LATHAM

LYONS

MACARTHUR

NGUNNAWAL

Canberra Region Property Summary

O'MALLEY

PALMERSTON

NICHOLLS

0405 610 912 2BR J

Cct

Call Agent 5/85 Port Jackson Cct Peter Blackshaw Tuggeranong 0401 354 540 2BR B Call Agent 11/140 Port Jackson Cct Ray White Canberra 0420 635 415 2BR J

QUEANBEYAN

Sat 9:30-10:10 38 Pindari Cr L.J. Hooker Tuggeranong 0419 492 079 4BR H

Sat 10:00-10:45 8/17 Carinya St McGrath Belconnen/Gungahlin 0413 503 312 3BR A

Sat 10:30-11:00 117 Ross Rd Maxwell & Co Real Estate 0416 182 379 3BR A

Sat 11:00-11:30 52 Derrima Rd McGrath Belconnen/Gungahlin 0413 503 312 4BR I

Sat 11:00-11:45 82 Stornaway Rd Maxwell & Co Real Estate 0416 182 379 3BR A

Sat 12:00-12:30 7/74-78 Crest Park Pde Maxwell & Co Real Estate 0416 182 379 4BR A

Sat 12:00-12:30 2/12 Nimmitabel St Maxwell & Co Real Estate 0416 182 379 2BR K

Sat 12:00-12:45 5 Symonds St McGrath Belconnen/Gungahlin 0413 503 312 2BR A

Sat 12:15-1:00 117 Morton St McGrath Belconnen/Gungahlin 0418 624 913 4BR H

Canberra Region Property Summary

TURNER

WEETANGERA

Dr First National Gungahlin 0408 413 405 4BR H

12:30-2:30 87b Plimsoll Dr First National Gungahlin 0408 413 405 2BR J Sat 12:30-2:30 91 Plimsoll Dr First National Gungahlin 0408 413

12:30-2:30 103 Plimsoll Dr First National Gungahlin 0408 413 405 4BR G Sat 1:45-2:30 11 Pender St Independent Dickson 0417 710 772 4BR H Sat 2:45-4:00 33 Ronald Walker St

Gungahlin 0433 557 337 3BR I

28 Victoria Owen Cct First National Gungahlin 0417 687 379 4BR H Sat 3:00-4:30 Blk L Section Cd First National Gungahlin 0433 557 337 4BR H Sat 3:00-4:30 Block C Sec Cd First National Gungahlin 0433 557 337 4BR H Sat 3:00-4:30 Block G Section Bh First National Gungahlin 0433 557 337 3BR I

Sat 3:00-4:30

Gungahlin 0408 413 405 4BR H

Sat 3:00-4:30 87b Plimsoll Dr First National Gungahlin 0408 413 405 2BR J

Sat 3:00-4:30 91 Plimsoll Dr First National Gungahlin 0408 413 405 4BR H

Sat 3:00-4:30 97 Plimsoll Dr First National Gungahlin 0408 413 405 3BR I

Sat 3:00-4:30 99 Plimsoll Dr First National Gungahlin 0408 413 405 4BR I

Sat 3:00-4:30 103 Plimsoll Dr First National Gungahlin 0408 413 405 4BR G Sun 12:30-2:30 Blk L Section Cd First National Gungahlin 0433 557 337 4BR H Sun 12:30-2:30

WARAMANGA

WESTON

WATSON