Canberra CityNews January 24 2013

FRIDAY 25TH JANUARY 2013

JANUARY 24, 2013

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CANBERRA CONFIDENTIAL / KAMBAH’S INCREDIBLE PEELING BRIDGE LOSES ITS APPEAL

WeavingTV star Samara Weaving’s

fond memories of Canberra

On with the Show in Bungendore

New cinema steps into the Shadows

Men who turned Canberra green

citynews.com.au win tickets to the

Italian Film Festival

Well written, well read

Dream

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2 CityNews January 24-30

CityNews January 24-30 3

news

EVEN after 125 years, there are some attractions at the Bungendore Show that never seem to lose their spark.

Old favourites such as beef cattle, dog shows and horse and equestrian judging have been around since the show first opened in 1888 – and they never fail to draw big crowds, says show society president Marion Wha-lan.

“You just can’t be an agricultural show without them,” says Marion.

“Some people who won those com-petitions in the 1960s come back now to judge, so it’s great to see the history there.”

Run by volunteers, the Bungendore Show, which is on Sunday, January 27, has put new meaning to the saying “the show must go on”.

When tough times struck during World War II, it was closed for 20 years in the 1940s before reopening again in 1961 with the help of the community.

“I suppose it didn’t run during those years because there were less people who were able to commit to helping out with the show back then,” Marion says.

“So since we reopened after the war,

we’ve technically been around for 52 consecutive years – but we ended up forgetting our 50th consecutive anni-versary two years ago!”

And while they won’t be holding any formal celebrations this year to mark the show’s 125th anniversary, there’s

plenty on offer, including the new dog high jump – “everyone’s pretty excited about that one” says Marion – and scone-buttering competitions.

Surprisingly, the scone-buttering competition “can get pretty competi-tive”, laughs Marion.

“It’s against the clock, so you have your lovely fresh scones from the lo-cal bakery in the middle of the table, you’ve got to cut your scone, butter it, put it in a certain way, tidy up all your crumbs, clean up and rush back and stand to attention at the other end of

the table,” she says. “There’s two teams at once, we have

the children, and lots of adults have a go as well. There’s a winner from both age groups who receive cookbooks.”

With increasing interest from inter-state visitors, the show continues to grow in numbers each year.

“Last year around 4500 people went through the gates, and they just keep coming,” says Marion.

“We get a whole mix of people... par-ticularly families, because kids are free under 15.

“We’re one of the first shows on in the area for the year and we’ve always enjoyed great patronage, because I think people like to be a part of such a long-running show.”

The Bungendore Pastoral, Agricul-tural and Horticultural Society’s annual Bungendore Show, Mathews Lane show-grounds, 9am-4pm, Sunday, January 27. Admission $15, children under 15 are free. Visit bungendoreshow.com.au for more details.

Jumping dogs, buttered scones, horses and cattle... it’s Bungendore

Show time. LAURA EDWARDS gets a preview of its 125th birthday.

It’s Show and tell time in Bungendore

New this year, dog jumping... Show president Marion Whalan puts Blue Heeler Des through his paces. Photos by Silas Brown

Phone 6262 9100 / www.citynews.com.au / Since 1993: Volume 19, Number 2


When can I water my garden and lawn?Remember, Permanent Water Conservation Measures are in place in the ACT and Queanbeyan, this means:

At all times lawns and plants may only be watered without causing pooling or runoff.

A hand-held hose fi tted with a trigger nozzle, a bucket or a watering can may be used to water lawns and plants at any time. Sprinklers and other irrigation systems may only be used to water before 9am and after 6pm on any day.

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@ ACTEWWater

For further information visit

actew.com.au or call the Water Conservation Offi ce on

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For full details of what applies visit our website or contact ACTEW’s Water Conservation Offi ce.@ ACTEWWater

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Does your garden have a drinking problem?

Canberra’s clay soils can only absorb two litres of water an hour. So when watering, apply slowly to increase soil absorption.

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news

TUGGERANONG hairdresser Craig Rhodes will travel to the Big Apple next month to style at New York Fashion Week.

The owner of Smitten Hairdressing will join the team of stylists working with hair-care brand Original and Mineral at the NYFW 2013 fall col-lection shows for the brand’s fashion-designer partners.

“This is what I’ve been striving for for the past couple of years,” he says. “I was excited enough to be working on Sydney fashion week but New York fashion week is the cream of it.”

During the past couple of years, Craig has worked with other salons, assisting with shoots for “GQ” and “Vogue” magazines.

The shows will be under the direction of Original and Mineral creative director Janelle Chaplin, who is based in New York but is a former Canberran. She completed her apprenticeship at Civic salon Axis Hairdressing and, since leav-ing Canberra, has styled backstage for some of the leading Paris fashion shows including Chanel, Lanvin and Louis Vuitton.

Craig, who has been in the industry for about 15 years, agrees Canberra is a great breeding ground for hair-dressers with a wealth of talent in

salons scattered across the capital.“I was a late starter. I was in retail

and the public service – a typical Can-berran – and decided that hairdress-ing would be cool,” he says.

He did his apprenticeship at lead-ing Canberra salon Cataldos and eventually decided to open his own salon.

“Hairdressing can take you lots of places,” Craig says.

And he’s prepared for the experi-ence in New York and the frantic pace of backstage.

“I know it’s going to be a madhouse. No sleeping, no eating, just lots of hair,” he says.

While Craig’s work is all about the hair, he knows fashion week is essen-tially about the clothes.

“Behind the scenes in runway work is hectic. You have to work to the designer’s brief to make sure you complement the outfit and not over-power it.

“Networking will be an important part of the visit for me, but it’s also about making sure that the work’s good enough that you get an invite back next year.”

It’s not just New York he has his

sights set on, either.“Paris would be phenomenal, but

I’d love to go to London fashion week

because it’s got a bit more street edge to it. That’s something to aim for over the next couple of years.”

Buddhists celebrateTHE annual Lunar New Year Eve Festival, a free community and family gathering, will be held at the Sakyamuni Buddhist Centre, 32 Archibald Street, Lyneham, from 8pm-midnight, on Saturday, Febru-ary 9. The festival will feature gourmet vegetarian food stalls; free Buddhism books; New Year gift to all attendees (lucky fruit and personal messages); fire-works at 9pm and midnight; a cultural performance and costume parade, and messages from VIP guests and Buddhist Patriarch and Abbot Thich Quang Ba.

Nuclear screeningTHERE is a free screening of the subtitled Japanese documentary “Nuclear Nation” at the Coombs Lecture Theatre 1, ANU, 7.30pm, on Tuesday, January 29. Its director Atsushi Funahashi will introduce the film, which will be facilitated by Prof. Tessa Morris-Suzuki.

More information about the film at nuclearnation.jp/

Dr Karl speaksSCIENTIST and media personality Dr Karl Kruszelnicki is guest speaker at local children’s charity group Raize the Roof’s gala ball, at the Hotel Realm, Saturday, February 23. Tickets at $160 ($180 from February 1) available from [email protected] or call 0467 055932.

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Hairdresser Craig Rhodes... “I was excited enough to be working on Sydney fashion week but New York fashion week is the cream of it.” Photo by Silas Brown.

Big Apple week calls for CraigLibby Hillreports


news

Save the trees, urges expertCANBERRA’S urban forest of more than 600,000 trees is under threat from neglect, says prominent gardening personality Ce-dric Bryant.

In his “CityNews” column this week, Bryant salutes the work of the national capital’s landscape pioneers, saying it is now up to our government to continue their valuable work.

“Unfortunately, this is in doubt with the decline and neglect of our urban trees,” he writes.

“A great deal of work is being done by a dedicated team for the Urban Forest Renewal Program, under the auspices of Territory and Municipal Services.”

However, this program is doomed to failure if the required finances are not pro-vided to implement such a program.

“We lost many trees with drought and fires and these need to be replaced as well as trees reaching the end of their natural life,” he says. “It is not just about planting trees, but their continuing care and main-tenance, the neglect of which is all too obvi-ous as one drives around our city.

“In this our centenary year it is vital that we preserve our greatest asset. With climate change and global warming upon us, trees and green cover are vital to our survival.”

The men who turned Canberra green, Page 25

Cinema steps into the ShadowsWith espresso, cheese platters and baguettes on offer at the ticket box, seats with wine-bottle holders and a Prosecco bar in the middle of it all, the new Palace Electric Cinema promises not to be your typical movie experience, reports LAURA EDWARDS

“WE’RE not a ‘popcorn-and-Coke’ kind of movie theatre”, says the new Palace Electric Cinema general manager Lavanna Neal.

“We certainly focus more on the entire experi-ence when you’re at the cinema, from the second you walk in.”

The eight-theatre, $5 million cinema, just opened in the ground floor of the Nishi Building, NewActon, will specialise in foreign and art-house films.

Lavanna hopes it will “fill the gap” the long-gone Electric Shadows cinemas left behind.

“The smallest theatre seats 68 and the larg-est is 193, so there’s a wide range of capacities, which means we can show a lot more films,” she says.

“We will be featuring film festivals, which will be a huge part of our lives. I think we’re a bit different because this is a family-owned busi-ness and [owner and founder] Antonio Zeccola is always closely involved.”

With 20 Palace cinemas around the nation, and as the largest independent movie exhibitor, Lavanna says Canberra had the “right demo-graphic” for the business.

“I think it will fit in well with the demograph-ics in Canberra, they’re younger and more afflu-ent than other capital cities in Australia, they’re

culturally aware and they’re interested in inter-esting cultural films,” she says.

Moviegoers will have access to cafe facilities, lounge seating, and the Prosecco bar, offering a range of cocktails and wine.

“We wanted this to be a place where people can actually stay and socialise, not just a place where you see the movie and go,” says Lavanna.

But for the old fashioned movie-goer, the cin-ema does offer the traditional popcorn and choc-tops – they’re just gourmet, says Lavanna.

“We make our own hand-made, connoisseur,

gourmet choc-tops, and we pop our popcorn with extra virgin olive oil, not with hydrogenated fat – it tastes a lot lighter and you don’t feel greasy,” she says.

Lavanna, who moved from Melbourne when she landed the job in Canberra, says she “hasn’t regretted it for a minute”.

“I really don’t see why people bag Canberra,” she says.

“With areas like NewActon, there’s just so much happening and it’s really becoming such an exciting precinct, a hub of activity.”

Palace Electric Cinema general manager Lavanna Neal... “We wanted this to be a place where people can actually stay and socialise, not just a place where you see the movie and go.” Photo by Silas Brown


brieflylettersSafe from bureaucracyBEING an older citizen, I am continually concerned by reports of passer-by bag snatching, bashings, robberies, home invasion, people being king hit for no reason and, of course, road rage.

Well, on arrival home from a hard day’s yakka, many of my fears were lifted from my shoulders when, in my letterbox, I found an envelope marked “responsible person for the vehicle infringement notice”.

Inside was an ACT Government Justice and Community Safety no-tice advising me and, I would assume, my neighbours of the correct ways of parking and correct and incorrect places to park, complete with a diagram that had nothing to do with parking in my area.

I thought how lucky I am knowing that, living in the back streets of Dunlop, I was being advised of problems I may cause and how I could avoid a fine and be safe from official harassment.

The notice claimed I was being advised because the Office of Regulatory Services had received complaints about vehicles parking on the nature strip, footpath and roadside verge around my suburb.

No mention of the continual flow of vehicles that verge to the wrong side when travelling through the kink in the road in the vicinity of my property though.

Tonight I will go to bed a less concerned and safer citizen knowing that the Justice and Community Minister, Simon Corbell is looking out for my good, my neighbours’ good and that of passers by. Michael Attwell, Dunlop

Finally saving the nature stripAFTER years of Labor neglect of the protection of the nature strip, the new Greens TAMS Minister Shane Rattenbury has moved to enforce the law by reminding motorists that they will, in future, be subjected to fines by Parking Operations.

It is to be expected that the small selfish minority that have been parking cars, SUVs and even trucks on the nature strip to the detriment of their local environment will quickly mend their ways. One imagines that such people, whatever their shortcomings, would have functioning hip pocket nerves. Chris Smith, via email

dose of dorin

Just for womenThe first edition of the 60-page booklet “What’s on for Women” for 2013 highlights events around Canberra celebrating the Centenary year. Produced by the Women’s Information and Referral Centre, it contains information and contact details on services ranging from post-natal depression support and anger management, to barbecue lunches and book launches. Copies are available from women.act.gov.au

An eye for Russia

RUSSIAN photographer and traveller Yulia Vasilyeva will present her “Outdoors Russian Style” photo exhibition at the Theo Notaras Multicultural Centre, Civic Square, Civic, until February 3. The exhibition features photos from different Russian seasons and regions such as Siberia, the Caucasus and Kamchatka Peninsula.


cover story

Weaving fame from a passionate past

briefly

Top names...CHARLOTTE and Jack were the most popular names for newborns in the ACT last year. At the end of 2012, there were 2726 birth registrations for girls and 2900 for boys. Also in the top 10 girls’ names are Emily, Sophie, Amelia, Chloe, Grace, Ruby, Mia and Lily. The boys’ list included Oliver, William, James, Lachlan, Thomas, Ethan, Benjamin, Lucas and Samuel.

…and suburbsTHE top five suburbs for numbers of births in 2012, based on the mother’s usual place of residence were Kam-bah, Ngunnawal, Macgregor, Dunlop and Wanniassa.

New chiefSUSAN Helyar is the new director of ACTCOSS replacing Roslyn Dundas. Ms Helyar has most recently been working with UnitingCare Australia. She takes up her appointment in mid-February.

Bush danceTHE “Kick Up Your Heels” Shearers’ Ball, the opening event of the Centenary dance program, will be held at the Yarralumla Woolshed from 7pm on February 2. The low-cost, family friendly, alcohol-free event features bush-music band Franklyn B. Paverty. Dances will be taught and called or led from the floor. A feature of the evening will be shearing and wool-spinning demonstra-tions. Adults are $15 and a family $30.

SHE’S one of the most photo-graphed celebrities in Austral-ia at the moment but, for now, Samara Weaving reckons she’s happy just to land a gig.

She’s being modest, of course – the former Canberra girl has been hot property since she landed the role as Indigo Walk-er on long-running soap “Home and Away” – a show that’s been a launch pad for big-name stars such as Guy Pearce, Chris Hemsworth and Heath Ledger.

It’s not difficult to see Sa-mara’s name in lights, too, but again, she remains modest when asked about plans for Hol-lywood: “I don’t really think about it too much...I’m just go-ing day by day,” she says.

Born in Adelaide in 1995, Samara and her family moved to Canberra in 2005, where she attended Canberra Girls Gram-mar and began taking part in theatre productions, finding her craft in acting.

“I loved acting, I was always getting involved in theatre groups outside of school or short films on the weekends, and I was drama captain at school,” she says.

Her first gig was a role in the television series “Out of the

Blue” in 2008. A year later she was offered a role in “Home and Away”.

Initially a recurring role, it soon became a permanent one, leading her to swap her life in Canberra for “Summer Bay” in Sydney.

Samara says she always wanted to be an actor, despite being withdrawn as a child.

“I was quite shy when I was young, I think a lot of actors are, I think people have the presumption that because we put ourselves out there we must be extravert, but it’s very mis-guided,” she says.

“I really can’t think of anything I’d rather do, acting doesn’t feel like a job to me.”

It’s a career where she’ll never be short of advice – her uncle is actor Hugo Weaving, who has starred in films such as “The Matrix” and “Priscilla: Queen of the Desert”, and her father is former director of the Canberra film festival, Simon Weaving.

“We’re a very creative fam-ily, so of course we talk about what we do and swap stories about our acting experiences,” she says.

Despite moving to Sydney,

Samara says she visits Canberra often, to see friends.

There’s not much downtime with her schedule though – “on a typical work day I’ll either be at Palm Beach or the studio and be in hair and make-up for 40 minutes and then rehearse the scenes with the cast members, discuss it with the director for a few minutes and then we’ll shoot it,” she says.

“In my downtime, I’m usually exhausted so I’ll sleep and eat and watch ‘The Mighty Boosh’ and catch up with friends.”

With acting royalty in her blood and talent to boot, former Canberra girl Samara Weaving’s star is on the rise. She talks to LAURA EDWARDS

Samara Weaving... “I was quite shy when I was young, I think a lot of actors are.”



A peeling bridge loses its appealTUGGERANONG’S new $6 million “Golden Gate” pedestrian bridge, that straddles busy Drakeford Drive at Kambah, is seriously peeling, only months after its pre-election rush to be completed.

The paintwork is blistering and the median strip is festooned with falling shards of poorly prepared paint skin.

CC’s hoarse whisperer from the south thinks the grey undercoat that’s bursting into view looks better than the bright orange colour that’s falling to the floor.

Given the second-class-citizens sensitivity of the voters of Brindabella at the last elec-tion, CC thinks the Government might like to fix this very public, shabby job quickly. Even the graffiti artists are staying away!

Healthy recordsWITH the recent resignation of the SA Health Minister John Hill, Chief Minister Katy Gallagher now holds the crown as Australia’s longest-serving serving health minister. She is also the ACT’s longest-serving health minister, since April 20, 2006; pipping “CityNews” columnist and former politician Michael Moore, who balanced the poisoned chalice for three and a half years.

Leigh’s hot voteWHAT’S my age again? The first order for the day was not business but music for Federal Member for Fraser and young-

at-heart Andrew Leigh, with a blog post revealing his votes for this year’s Triple J Hottest 100. In case you’re dying to know, Calvin Harris and The Black Keys were among his picks.

Silent lightsWITH the PM’s XI about to take on the West Indies in the first match under the imposing new lights at Manuka Oval, on Tuesday, January 29, CC asked if there had been any complaints from local matrons about the effect of the size and scale of the lighting towers on, say, local housing values. Not many, mused Cricket ACT’s barker Dougal

Reed. In fact, he thinks it will increase the value of real estate with the prospect of the lights being used for cricket, AFL and – this is new – concerts.

Brought to bookHELL hath no fury like a librarian... Sydney’s Manly Library was quick to rub salt in Lance Armstrong’s gaping wounds just hours after his Oprah confessional by announcing it will move his motivational and biographical books to the fiction section. Our own Civic Library hasn’t made the move just yet; the disgraced cyclist’s rantings can still be found under “non-fiction”.

Aussie, oh, oh, oh!CC’s stomach was far too delicate to accept the kind invitation from the Grill’d eatery at Manuka for the launch of its salute to Australia Day – the “Coat of Arms” burger, a patriotic blend of kangaroo and emu.

Snags ahead for CamLOCAL butcher Cameron Fenson, of Meatways Butchery, Kambah, will represent the ACT at the National Sausage King Competition in Perth next month. Cameron will compete in the Australian Lamb/Open Class sausage category of the competition on February 9. Happy sizzling.

Wood for the?IT appears you can’t see the foyer for the wood at NewActon’s new hotel, Hotel Hotel, where they seem to have taken planking to an art form. Snapper Silas Brown peeped

through the door of the Nishi Building hotel, which is due to open in March.

Canberra Confidential Know something? / [email protected]

Makes you go hmmm...1. GOOD corporate citizens ActewAGL hoik a million coconuts into sponsoring the Cen-tenary only to have the ACT Government snub its half-owned electricity instrumen-tality (which employs local taxpayers and voters) and award a Queensland reseller with its $16m electricity account for the next two years. Nuts or what?

2. OUT-of-order sign on the door of a stall in the men’s toilet at the National Portrait

Gallery: “Sorry for the inconvenience”.

3. LOCAL four-year-old wearies of his visit-ing grandfather’s enthusiasm to engage him through toys, harrumphs off with the withering salvo: “Play with yourself, grandad!”

4. THEY’RE almost back, but what do we have a parliament of? In the world of col-lective nouns, the answer is owls. Just like an armoury of aardvarks, a gang of alpacas and a weight of albatrosses.


At the NGA Sculpture Bar At the opening of the Airport General Practice

At the opening of ‘Nearly Birds’, Belconnen Arts Centre

scene Canberra’s only locally-owned Subaru dealerBROUGHT TO

YOU BY ROLFE SUBARU

Amy Woods, Catherine Joy, Carolina Barbosa, Elizabeth Tenkins and Kate Moulds

Andrew Wallace and Bonnie Garrett

Shanthini Naigloo and Jennifer Dobbins

Eleanor Kirkham, Cheryl Garton and Siobhan Ion

Rubert Cullen and Bronia Rowe

Greer Versteeg, Melanie Goss and Claire Deluca

Victoria Royds, Paul Hetherington and Judith Crispin

Jordan Williams and Jen WebbClaire Caesar and Michelle Hetherington

Joy Warren and G.W. Bot

Host Dr Tuck Meng Soo with Chief Minister Katy Gallagher, Dr Rashmi Sharma and Mark Cormack

Stephen Byron, Richard Snow, Dr Rashmi Pandey and Dr Liz Fraser

Dr Sarah Martin, Alice Martin and Philip Habel

Daniel Beasly, Ross Feller, host Paul Hartigan, Ben Eddy and Paul Stewart

Dr Shilpa Dahal, Kylee Hjorth, Hallie Butcher and Bridget Agerbeek



scene ROLFE SUBARU AT PHILLIP & BELCONNEN

Shannon Wood, Warren Adair and Jo Cochrane Sally Bieske, guest speaker Michael Caton and Shannon O’Neill Julie Akmacic, Zohara Lucas and Sally Ingham

Magnus and Fiona Shaw Pat and Warwick Wright

Jill Moore and Jane KeoghLyn Stiegler and Vanessa Steer

Jessie and Judy Wilson Joe Gleeson and Kass Scarlett

Jennie, Chris and Ben CurtisBarbara, Pat and Brenay Lodding with Karen Flowers

Madison Parrott, Edward Mowat and Bec James

Hugh Mowat and Andy Coogan

At the ‘Inside Out’ opening, Manuka Contemporary Arts Space

At Springbank Rise’s display village open day with Michael Caton

At The Cashews Summer Sounds concert, National Botanic Gardens



arts & entertainment Dougal MacdonaldWhere good intentions drown

Wild mix of Italian movies

PUTTING aside Virgil, Ovid, Petrarch, Vitruvius, Galileo, Garibaldi, Rossini, Verdi and a few others, one could be forgiven for thinking that Italy’s greatest contribution to world culture has been in modern cinema.

The Lavazza Italian Film Festival, brainchild of the Zeccola family who owns the Palace Electric Cinema chain, will demonstrate that this fine tradition continues into the 21st century, with an eclectic selection of the best movies and an opening night awash with Lavazza coffee, Prosecco, Peroni and gourmet ice cream.

That opening night will feature the box-office comedy “Welcome To The North” (“Benvenuti al Nord”) (M), where the weird and wonderful postal workers from the hit film “Welcome to the South” reverse direction, in a slapstick cultural encounter, complete with Cilentan (Southern)

and Milanese (Northern) dialects. The closing night film, “Passione”, sounds like

a Neapolitan version of “Rom”, as director John Turturro makes a musical journey through the back streets of Naples.

The festival has been curated by Elysia, the daughter of Palace founding father Antonio Zeccola, who put together a wildly eclectic mix of movies before going on maternity leave.

Not just wild, the festival manager for Palace, Genevieve Kelly, points out, but top class, since the Zeccolas are fastidious about their inclusions, which range from farce, to political intruded, ghost story, human studies of multiculturalism in Italy, rom-com and, in what Kelly believes is the greatest coup of the festival, prison-style Shakespeare.

In the 2012 Berlin Gold Bear winner, “Caesar Must Die,” Shakespeare scenes are enacted in prison cells and prison courtyards by real inmates of the high security Rebibbia jail.

“It seems to balance itself out,” Kelly says of the variations. “Elysia selected the best films

from Italy and ended up with a cross-section of the best-quality Italian cinema that’s come out recently.”

I’ve seen four of the movies on DVD already (it’s a tough job but somebody’s got to do it). My favourite was Andrea Segre’s London and Venice award-winner, “Shun Li and the Poet”, where a Chinese immigrant woman befriends an elderly Italian fisherman and encounters hatred and prejudice.

Then there’s Italian-Turkish director Ferzan Ozpetek’s “Magnificent Presence,” which takes a spooky look at a gay man’s angst through his encounters with a group of vaudevillians from the past.

Canberrans will doubtless warm to a tale of conspiracy in high places in Marco Tullio Giordana’s “Piazza Fontana: The Italian Conspiracy”, which looks at the notorious 1969 bank bombing in Milan.

Finally, “One Day More” is an old-fashioned comedy where 40-year-old bachelor Giacomo faces love for the first time.

And there are five more films we haven’t even mentioned!

Lavazza Italian Film Festival Canberra, Palace Electric Cinema, Nishi Building, New Acton, February 5-12. Bookings and information to italianfilmfestival.com.au or palacecinemas.com.au. Tickets at the box office. Win tickets at citynews.com.au/win

Arts editor HELEN MUSA previews next month’s Italian Film Festival

“Magnificent Presence”... a spooky look at a gay man’s angst through his encounters with a group of vaudevillians from the past.

“One Day More”... 40-year-old bachelor Giacomo faces love for the first time.

“Caesar Must Die”... Shakespeare scenes enacted in prison cells and prison courtyards by real inmates

You could be dancing, yeahBy Helen Musa

IT’S a great season to be a dancer in Canberra.

Hot on the heels of the annual Ausdance Master School, Canberra Dance Theatre has announced a suite of summer workshops and forums.

According to livewire CDT artistic director, Liz Lea, the sessions will cater for experienced dancers who might, for instance, have just finished at the Ausdance School, and also for inexperienced dancers.

Then there’s the “Gold Summer Intensive”, aimed at over 55s wanting to prepare for the June performances at the National Gallery of Australia. Newcomers are welcome to join up.

“Advanced Contemporary” is suitable for dancers who have done classes at the Ausdance ACT Master School and who have reached intermediate standard.

As well, CDT is staging elementary ballet and contemporary classes for anyone wanting to learn the

fundamentals or those who just want to enjoy the art of moving.

An exciting option is the African Dance and Drumming Summer School, from February 2 to 3, where tutors, such as Michelle Forman in drumming and Kylee Sharp in dance, teach a range of traditional African dance and drumming styles, dances and pieces, also engaging with African stories and customs.

Registrations for all classes to [email protected] or call 0435 025365.

Canberra Dance Theatre is presenting a suite of summer workshops and forums.

House adThe five winners of the David Attenborough DVDs “Life on Earth” and “Trials of Life” are Gary Barnes, of Ainslie; Silke Smaglinski, Campbell; Andrew Gee, Ngunnawal; Maureen Bell, Cook and Claire Nally, Conder.

Attenborough DVD winners


A new political novel set in Old Parliament House at a time before mobile phones and social media. A politician’s passion for chocolate and an ambassador’s for antiques, a wife absconding and another’s obsession to lose weight; a staffer’s arrogant sense of entitlement and a girl close to death all feature.

The writer is a former ministerial staffer with many years experience in both government and opposition and in Canberra bureaucracies. The story has been described as “eminently filmable”.

Find the Kindle e-book at amazon.com $5.99.

‘The Ministerial Family’ by Sheila C Kellock

arts & entertainment

Improvising in world of the avant-gardeBy Helen Musa

SELF-styled “slave to music”, Richard Johnson is the founder, director, producer, sponsor and curator of “SoundOut 2013”, the festival of free improvisation about to hit Theatre 3.

Johnson, who put a substantial amount of his own money into last year’s festival, believes it’s important to speak out for Canberra musicians who, despite threatening changes at the ANU School of Music, “put so much effort into music for Canberra’s community”.

His festival is determinedly avant-garde. “Explorations in spontaneous, visionary and innovative experimental music,” he says.

And he is sure Canberrans are up for it.He’s less enthusiastic about the year-round

“musical offering” highlighted in the media lately, partly because it clutters up an already crowded music scene and, even more, because nobody gets paid. This perpetuates a common public view that musos and artists come gratis as a kind of optional add-on, he says.

With the centenaries of John Cage and Canberra in mind, an international approach seemed to Johnson to be spot-on for Canberra, so he’s engaged improvisational artists from Australia, Austria, the UK, Brazil, Switzerland, Canada and Germany for the event.

From Brazil come improvisational ensemble,

the Abaetetuba Collective, who explore the saxophone, double bass, Brazilian fiddle and the Japanese “Shamisen”, while from NZ come pianist Hermione Johnson and free-jazz saxophonist Jeff Henderson.

Barcode Quartet features artists from Austria and the UK, as vocalist Annette Giesriegl, violin-ist Alison Blunt, pianist Elisabeth Harnik and percussionist/electronics artist Josef Klammer blend free improvisation and Swiss/Austrian free jazz.

Berlin pianist and composer, Magda Mayas, will perform in an improvised duet with jazz drummer from The Necks, Tony Buck, while young Canadian pianist/accordionist, Charity Chan, will focus on alternate timbres from the piano and accordion.

Electro-minimalists, Stasis Duo (Matt Earle, electronics and Adam Sussman, guitar /electronics), will create “complex webs of psycho-acoustic dynamics”. Canberra film maker Louise Curham creates visual equivalents to music.

And perhaps most exciting of all, the radical “Mr Violin”, free-improvising musician and 2012 Don Banks award-winner, Jon Rose, will play at the festival and guest-curate a number of sets, including one for 25 improvisers.

They’ll all be “opening all artistic valves to find unlimited sounds,” Johnson says.

“SoundOut 2013”, Theatre 3, Ellery Crescent, Acton, February 2-3, 1pm-5pm and 7pm-11:30pm. Bookings to 6257 1950.

We shall have music wherever we go

THE ACT Government appointed Robyn Archer as the creative director of the Cente-nary celebrations, and she has developed an extraordinary array of events.

In an early conversation with her, I suggested that Canberra’s musical community should take part, providing music throughout the year. She blessed the idea, and I went off to develop it.

What came out of the thinking and discussion, and the gathering of like minds, is “The Musical Offering”, an initiative whose aim is to provide a short musical event every day throughout the Centenary year. You would en-counter the music when you were shopping, or visiting one of the national institutions, or outside a government department, or at a hospital. The music would go to the people, rather than asking people to go to the music, as is the usual case.

The music is the offering, and the musicians are giving their music freely, as a gift. No one is paid, and there are no venue charges, although contributions toward the fabric of the church, or the maintenance of a garden, are asked for.

Could we get the support of Canberra’s musicians for such an ambitious venture? I thought so, and so far the response has been enthusiastic. Musicians like to play. They like to be paid, too. But they like to play: making music is their craft and their interest.

Canberra is blessed with excellent choirs, and we found that the High Court of Aus-tralia would allow our choirs to sing in their cathedral-like building on Sunday afternoons. We filled the January Sundays within a day or so, despite so many being on holiday. I spoke to a fine musician whom I had encountered a few years ago when he recorded a CD with another, and asked whether he might be interested in appearing at a certain cafe. He said that he had decided to go to such a place and simply offer to play, for nothing, after work – he wanted an audience and an opportunity to play.

So far the enterprise has taken wings. We haven’t missed a day, and the variety is extraor-dinary: choral music, jazz, solo piano, solo flute, the Japanese shakuhachi, cello and piano. The music attracts an instant audience, even in a shopping centre. One shopper stopped, sat down and said to me: “Isn’t it wonderful – and so much better than the sounds that come through the public address system!”

Our hope is that, among other things, we are helping in the rebirth of live music as something characteristic of the national capital. When the Centenary is over, the pattern that we are developing, of live music in places, will continue. And the musicians will be paid, too!

Former University of Canberra vice-chancellor Don Aitkin and his wife Beverly are at the forefront of “The Musical Offering”, an innovative idea to ensure no single day of the Centenary year passes without music being played somewhere, anywhere! DON AITKIN explains...

The radical “Mr Violin”, free-improvising Jon Rose... will play at the festival and guest-curate a number of sets.

music


arts & entertainment

New Canberra website to seek a job in the arts HERE’S something new. Arts job seekers and employ-

ers are invited to join the Canberra arts freelancers’ website. Canberra artists can create an account and upload CVs in PDF format. Notifications can be set up to receive an email when jobs become listed in chosen categories. Visit canberraartsfreelancers.com

“WEEREEWA – a Festival of Lake George” won’t surface again until 2014, but its busy committee has a visual history project. With support from the Royal Australian Historical Society, they’ve launched a project that aims to present a visual community history of the lake. It’s being managed by Bungendore resident and committee member, Sharon Rasker, who says members of the public

are invited to submit photographs from their family collections depicting the way people have interacted with Lake George. Submission forms must accompany the photos, to be sent as electronic files via email or in person until February 1, 2013.

BELCONNEN Community Centre’s gallery@bcs in Swanson Court, Belconnen, is hosting “Plucked”, a group exhibition by Gavin Jackson, Hardy Lohse, Thea Van Veen, and Charlie White, 2012 graduates of the ANU

School of Art’s Photography & Media Arts department, as part of its “Springboard” series – 9am-4.30pm, Monday-Friday, until February 8.

M16 Artspace, in 21 Blaxland Crescent, Griffith, has two shows providing perspectives on our “sense of place”, both running until February 10. Angharad Dean’s paintings are inspired by the Australian light, colour and landscape and the words of Dorothea Mackellar’s poem “My Country”, and Eva Stimson Clark has drawings and paintings of the vessels that hold our memories of a place.

THERE’S a lot of excitement at Canberra Glassworks at the prospect of “Under My Skin”, a solo exhibition of new

work by artist Kirstie Rea, running until March 21. Rea is, of course, one of our local glass artists who has a huge international reputation. She got her start in 1962 at the Old Bus Depot Market site and is now respected across many continents as an artist, teacher and innovator. This exhibition will express her interest and ideas on the generation of creative energy.

THE unsinkable Carl Rafferty has built a large, loyal audience for his “Opera by Candlelight” productions. In keeping with the motif of the year, he’s calling his ensemble “Centenary Opera”, and will stage “Carmen” at Albert Hall, February 8-10. Bookings to [email protected]

Helen Musa arts in the city

Where good comedy intentions drown“This is 40” (M)

JUDD Apatow’s sequel to “Knocked Up” may well have the 2013 Razzies’ “Worst Movie” done and dusted before any other contenders get released!

That’s kinda regrettable because while watching it is distinctly uncomfortable, a mind prepared to dissect it might conclude that its scarification of middle-class US family life deserves commendation.

Pete (Paul Mann) is about to turn 40. So is Debbie (Apatow’s off-camera wife Leslie Mann) but she’s in denial about the numbers. Their daughters (played by the Apatow children) reflect what’s wrong with how contemporary American (Australian as well) society is raising its next generation. His music-publishing business is floundering. Her casual-wear shop has sticky-fingered employees. Their parents’ lives are disconnected from spouses and grandchildren alike.

Imagine a housewife preparing dinner. But in the savoury dishes she uses sugar and in the dessert she uses salt. The result closely matches how Apatow’s film is delivering ideas that cry out for recognition. The screenplay is not dopey and the acting is not bad. Its behaviours can make a reasonable mind cringe simultaneously with that same mind thinking: “Well done. That needed saying.”

The problem is not the “well done”, but Apatow’s delivery of it. Early laughter generated by vocabulary gives way to audience silence. Good intentions drown beneath the film’s unremitting insistence on Apatow’s core theme – that materialism and lack of intellectual rigour in the home are pushing America toward a societal abyss. That’s not funny.

At all cinemas

“You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger” (M)

EARLY into this film, a whisper got put in my ear – “Am I past Woody Allen or is this just not very good?”

“This” was the tart little observation of relationships and ideas that Allen made in Britain in 2010. And it does get better, with a sparkling cast and a screenplay redolent with Allen’s acerbic talent for sampling humanity’s infinite variety.

Divorced Helena (Gemma Jones) has unquestion-ing confidence in fortune-teller Cristal (Pauline Collins). Helena’s daughter Sally (Naomi Watts) and her aspiring novelist husband Roy (Josh Brolin) stifle their indignation at how Cristal is sucking up Helena’s money. Finding solitude untenable, Sally’s father Alfie (Anthony Hopkins) falls for Charmaine (Lucy Punch) who enjoys spending the funds sustaining Alfie and his financial obligation to Helena and isn’t beyond giving away what she used to charge big money for.

Roy’s publisher tells him to keep trying. In the flat

across the lane, he sees dishy guitar-playing Dia (Frieda Pinto). Sally gets work in the gallery owned by Greg (Antonio Banderas). Helena strikes up a friendship with portly bookseller Jonathan (Roger Ashton-Griffiths).

Films populated by unlikeable characters offer their own kind of satisfactions, as this one confirms. Its characters and opportunities for hanky-panky reek of vintage Woody Allen, developing an agreeable abrasiveness that rather reverses the implications of both the options in that whisper in my ear.

At Greater Union

“Monsters University” (PG) PARENTS should not fear that the scary values in this Pixar animation might emotionally disturb their children, at whom it is most directed.

Compared with classic children’s fiction rich in monsters, ghosts and other scary stuff, “Monsters University” is sweetly benign. Sulley (voiced by John Goodman) and his former adversary Mike (Billy Crystal) join forces to ensure that Sulley stays at the top of the sales honour board at Monsters Incorporated ahead of Randall (Steve Buscemi).

The global business of Monsters Inc, converting screams of frightened children into marketable energy, is doing well. Management’s greatest fear is monsters making physical contact with children. If kids realise that scary is all in the imagination, the firm is in trouble.

Sulley, a large pink and blue buffoon, unintention-ally touches Boo. Inevitably, they form a friendship. Sulley and Mike battle with corporate hierarchy and Randall.

It’s sweet, charming and non-addictive, an ideal escape for kids from the ravages of summer heat.

At Hoyts and Limelight

Dougal Macdonaldcinema

“This is 40”... early laughter gives way to silence.


new year, new you / advertising feature

Experts ready to put your IT’S one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions: lose weight, start eating a healthy, balanced diet and get more exercise. As many of us know, it’s not as simple as just making that decision, so “CityNews” spoke to some of Canberra’s experts about how to make 2013 the year for a new you...

Fitness not left to chance“AT Evo, we don’t leave results to chance,” says director Jason Barry. “Using the results from your body composition, strength and aerobic assessments, we create a customised workout program that ensures you get maximum results for your effort, that builds on your strengths and addresses your weaknesses.”

One of the most important elements of training at Evo is the TGS key, which acts like your very own personal trainer.

“Fitness instructors will then take your customised workout program and download it to your personal TGS key. Once inserted, the key automatically starts your training equipment and will guide you through your session, providing feedback on your technique and execution – just like a personal trainer. In addition, a special reporting function gives your instructor all the information they’ll need to evolve your workout,” Jason says.

“All training data is recorded on the key to allow your trainer to check progress and present results through cutting-edge reporting options. Your trainer has immediate facts at their fingertips to make adjustments to your program… and evolve your workout.”

Evo is also known for Kinesis training. “More than a weights workout, Kinesis is a way to rediscover the

beauty of free and natural movement. An infinite variety of exercises and movements are possible to help develop your core strength and improve your biomechanical efficiency. The experience is enhanced by the unobtrusive nature of the equipment, which adds a sense of freedom to your workout,” says Jason.

Evo is situated in the Hotel Realm in Barton.Phone 6162 0808 or go to www.evohealthclub.com.au


new year, new you / advertising feature

fitness resolutions to work

Andrea and Raquel Paez. Photo: James Wang

Sticking to the plan“FOR many women, managing the simple logistics of sticking to a diet and exercise plan is what defeats them,” says Curves dietitian Nadia Rodman.

“Meal planning and preparation, shopping, designing an effective and age-appropriate exercise plan, coping with everyday emotional highs and lows – it can be overwhelming. Sometimes it seems easier to stick with the status quo.”

The new “Curves Complete” program provides a plan for dealing with all of these diet challenges – and helps keep women on track for success.

The program incorporates three key components of a successful weight management plan and is designed to help dieters lose up to 10kg of body fat and up to 50cm in just 90 days. Women are seeing real results and sharing their success stories with others at www.facebook.com/curves.Australia.

“All ‘Curves Complete’ participants receive a health assessment and a personalised, weekly coaching session with a certified Curves Coach that includes a weigh-in, progress assessment, goal review and monthly body measurements to track results,” says Rodman.

Call 1300 287837.

Dancing back to happiness, fitness and friends“START the new year fresh and make it your new year’s resolution to learn to dance, get fit and meet new people,” urges Salsabor director Raquel Paez.

“Dance is an attractive thing to do. And the thing with dance is,

we don’t get the drop-offs. Once people start, they usually keep going.”

Dance classes at Salsabor include Brazilian samba, salsa, hip hop, burlesque, bachata and zouk.

“Whatever class you do, dance

is a great way to meet people and keep fit.

“All of our instructors are really friendly and passionate about what they teach,” she says.

Term one starts soon. Visit salsabor.com.au

Winners of the five copies of “Wallader 3” DVD series are: Ian McKenzie, of Weston; Jo Jackson, of Kaleen; Laurna Burnham, Stirling; Kaky Henderson, Kingston and Carmel Pedler, Kambah

‘Wallander’ DVD winners


new year, new you / advertising featureFlames celebrates new gym Paul keeps it personal

IT’S the client success stories that motivate personal trainer Paul Slater (pictured) to wake up at five o’clock every morning.

“I’m a people person and I love interacting with clients and seeing amazing stories unfold. Helping people be active and teaching them about nutrition is what I love most,” he says.

“There’s not a day goes by where I wake up and don’t love my job.”

Paul is offering new bootcamp sessions starting from February 4 with one indoor session and two outdoor sessions, based in Narrabundah.

“We try to make the sessions really varied,” he says.At this time of year, there are many people looking to achieve new

fitness goals, and Paul believes he’s well placed to help them stay on track with more than six years’ experience in the fitness industry.

Visit paulslaterpt.blogspot.com.au

FLAMES Fitness has been in the ACT for almost 18 years with clubs in North Lyneham, Phillip and Tuggeranong.

The former club in Calwell has now relocated to shiny new premises in Greenway, which are double the size, according to director Quinten Brown.

“The gym at Calwell was really quite small and this one is more accessible to more people and allows us more opportunity for growth,” he says.

To celebrate the move, Flames Fitness has a special offer of $100 discount on the price of all new 12 or 20-week memberships purchased in January.

“At Flames Fitness, every member and every session is under the guidance of a per-sonal trainer, which ultimately means better results,” says Quinten.

“At Flames Fitness, our cli-ents’ health is just as important as their fitness.” The new Flames Fitness gym at Greenway.


WITH 10 clubs currently in the ACT region and another two coming soon, Anytime Fitness is a better choice than ever, when it comes to joining a gym.

It’s the reciprocal rights that Anytime Fitness offers than make it so attractive to many members, says club manager Mark LaBrooy.

“It’s so easy, with so many Anytime Fitness health clubs in the ACT region, there is every chance there is going to be one near work, home and the kids’ school,” he says.

“There are no excuses anymore for not getting fit. Even if you’re out of town a lot, it’s pretty rare that there wouldn’t be an Anytime Fitness nearby with 234 clubs in Australia and 1821 across the globe that members have access to.”

Mark says the clubs are affordable, clean and friendly, but most of all, conveniently open, 24 hours a day.

“Anytime Fitness is perfect for anyone with a busy schedule,” says Mark. “People with young families, shift workers or those who work long hours can go to the gym at whatever time suits them, and the convenience of that has really been the secret to our success.

“Member success is very important to us at Anytime Fitness, so aside from state-of-the-art equipment we also have a great team available to help members achieve their goals.

“By using one of our trainers any goal can be

broken down into clear, simple steps to success. “We also have an interactive online component

called ‘Anytime Health’. This great program allows users to log their nutrition and training, providing statistics to motivate and guide the member.”

Anytime Fitness health clubs are located in Fyshwick, Civic, Kingston, Queanbeyan, Dickson, Jer-rabomberra, Gungahlin, Woden, Jamison, Greenway and will soon open in Charnwood and Chisholm.

More information at anytimefitness.com.au

Anytime Fitness / advertising feature

Anytime Fitness... affordable, clean and friendly, but most of all, conveniently open, 24 hours a day, says Mark LaBrooy.

Fitness that’s anytime – and everywhere20kg gone, Amanda feels ‘amazing’

Amanda, a member of Anytime Fitness Canberra, shares her story:

“Being at the weight that I was got me down a lot. “I had some pretty bad body issues that led to trust issues

and even depression. I knew that I had to do something about it, but I just never had the motivation to start.

“Last year I dislocated my knee three times playing netball, which meant I wasn’t able to do a lot of exercise. This made me even more miserable and I also gradually put on even more weight. I think my little sister got sick of seeing me so miserable and convinced me to finally join the gym.

“Cue Anytime Fitness! I started with Anytime Fitness in January last year and I was slowly losing weight. However, I wanted to get rid of it faster so I started using Lite N Easy as well. The combination of both was amazing. My personal trainer Matt came up with a circuit for me to do, which saw me at the gym five nights a week (cardio every night). Then Anytime introduced Girls Club. One night a week, for eight weeks, we were pushed to do things we never thought we could do.

“The combination of constant exercise and a good diet have allowed me to lose a massive 20kg in six months, seeing my weight drop from 85kg to 65kg. I feel amazing.

“I’m not quite finished, I’d still love to lose another 5kg, with that in mind I will also be focusing on toning.

“All in all, a very big thank you to all the staff at Anytime Fitness Canberra, you guys make it easier to come to the gym, you’re always happy to say ‘hi’ and have a chat, and also offer advice and support.”



Sudoku medium No. 96

General knowledge crossword No. 392

Solution next week

Solution next week

Crossword No.391 Sudoku hard No.95Solutions

puzzles pageJoanne Madeline Moore your week in the stars / January 28 - February 3 Across

3 Name a strong, bitter, green-coloured, aromatic liqueur.7 Which term relates to the stars?8 Who was renowned as an amorous adventurer?9 Which word describes a visible spirit?10 What are crude representations of persons?11 Name a fortified and blended wine.14 That which is brand new is said to be what?17 To be inflamed with love of someone is to be what?18 Name a more familiar term for titanium dioxide.19 What is the interval between two equal parts of a match (4,4)?20 Name the studs on the soles of football boots, etc.21 What are small writing tablets?

Down 1 Which African bird is closely related to the emu?2 Who was the premier of NSW 1988-92, Nick ...?3 What was the medieval science which sought to transmute base metals into gold?4 Of which nationality was Leonardo da Vinci?5 What do we call the Torrid Zone and neighbouring regions?6 That which has slipped by has done what?11 Name the Australian governor-general 1982-89, Sir Ninian ...12 What is an ornamental shoulder piece worn on uniforms?13 What is the outer part of the external upper covering of a house?14 To disrobe is to do what?15 What is a parvenu more readily known as?16 Name another term for the science of bionomics.

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)Relationships will be tricky on Friday, Rams, and there may be some tension between professional projects and partnership responsibilities. The main way to resolve problems is through calm compromise. Venus visits your peer group zone from February 2 to 26, which is fabulous for your social life – plus focusing on your goals for the future. It’s time to think big!

TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 20)Stubborn Bulls – if you are too set in your ways on Thursday, you’ll meet resistance at every turn. Venus shifts into your career zone on Saturday, where it stays until February 26. So the next three weeks will be the perfect time to spruce up your work space, improve relations with colleagues and (if you’re looking for a job) jump into the employment pool.

GEMINI (May 21 – June 21)Jupiter jumps forwards in your sign this week, which increases your curiosity – and your chatterbox tendencies. Resist the urge to spread salacious Gemini gossip though! Have you been lacking motivation at work? Mars powers into your career zone on Saturday, so the next few weeks is the time to follow your professional dreams with plenty of passion and pizazz.

CANCER (June 22 – July 22)There’s a tendency to overspend cash and be careless with credit – especially online. Cool it Crabs, or you’ll end up in a money mess! If you can, avoid frazzled friends and fractious family members on Thursday and Friday, as you’re likely to overreact to the slightest provocation. Saturday is super for socialising and sporting activities, as you circulate in style.

LEO (July 23 – Aug 22)Attached Cats – with so many planets in your relationship zone, put your partner first. Singles – look for love with a gregarious Gemini or an adventurous Aquarius. Serious Saturn squashes some of your energy and enthusiasm on Thursday, and loved ones may heap responsibilities on you. What’s a lacklustre Lion to do? Accept your extra duties with a sunny Leo smile!

VIRGO (Aug 23 – Sept 22)Resist the urge to criticise others and be judgmental on Thursday. And are you overdue for a career change? With Venus and Jupiter both moving through your work zones, it’s time to make your job a pleasure (rather than a chore). Be inspired by Oprah Winfrey (born on January 29): “Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.”

LIBRA (Sept 23 – Oct 23)Expect some family friction and shenanigans this week, as hidden tensions rise to the surface. If anyone can hold out the olive branch of peace, it’s you. On Saturday you’re in the mood to spend up big, binge on sweet foods or give away sensitive secrets. Pace yourself Libra – and try to get through the weekend without too many indulgences and indiscretions!

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 21)You’re not in the mood for superficial encounters this week, as the Moon and Pluto intensify your feelings. You’re keen to get to the bottom of things, as you connect with others on a deeper emotional level. Scorpios are serious on Thursday, as Saturn puts you in the mood to take care of business, and work overtime. Sunday is super for catching up on correspondence.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 22 – Dec 21)Sagittarians often attract good fortune from faraway. If you nurture your international contacts, you’ll reap the rewards in the future. Jupiter jumps forwards in your relationship zone, which will get partnerships moving in a positive new direction. With Venus and Mars shifting into your neighbourhood and domestic zones, aim to do more at home and in your local community.

CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 19)Thursday’s Sun/Saturn square triggers tension between what you want to do – and what others expect you to do. The more organised you are, the more you’ll be able to multi-task, and the better the day will be. Sunday’s Moon/Saturn hook-up highlights problems within your current peer group. Perhaps it’s time to finally give a fair-weather friend the flick?

AQUARIUS (Jan 20 – Feb 18)With the Sun, Mercury, Mars and Venus all sashaying through your sign this week, you’re inclined to rebellious – even reckless – behaviour. As birthday great Colette wrote: “You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.” Venus vamps into your sign (from February 2 to 26) when your adventurous, artistic and altruistic Aquarian side really comes to the fore.

PISCES (Feb 19 – Mar 20)Have you got itchy feet? With Jupiter jumping through your domestic zone (until June 26) you’ll feel restless and keen to travel, move house or extend your place so you have more space. Plus, with mighty Mars rushing through your sign from Saturday until March 12, it’s time for procrastinating Pisceans to be proactive; get motivated; and start making some decisions.

Daily astrology updates at www.twitter.com/JoMadelineMooreCopyright Joanne Madeline Moore 2011

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home & garden

Solution to last week’s jumbo crossword

PEOPLE love to take a part of their holiday home with them, and keep that holiday feeling alive once back in their day-to-day lives, according to homewares designer Rayna Hooper.

It’s this concept which inspired Holiday, her range of coastal chic-inspired quilts, cushions, rugs and occasional furniture.

“I wanted to create a beautiful product that embodies the spirit of holidays, travel and adventure,” says Rayna.

The idea was inspired when she moved to a small coastal town called Robe in SA.

“I packed up my life in Sydney, married a local boy and moved to the bush,” she says.

As a city girl, Rayna says she could see business opportunities in Robe that would cater to the holidaymakers who flocked there from Melbourne through the summer months.

“I started a property business, purchasing and redeveloping beach houses to cater to holi-daymakers looking for cool, hip places to buy or rent,” she says. “The rental business grew quickly and I still have that today.

“As the business grew, I real-ised our customers wanted to buy all the beautiful things that were in the beach houses. So I decided to start a retail homewares and lifestyle store, with a product that embodies a holiday spirit, but can be a part of everyday life.”

The Holiday range uses all-natural fibres – cotton, voile, jute, leather and bleached timbers. The latest range features paisley quilts and cushions in turquoise, aqua, driftwood and indigo blue that are beautifully soft and light for summer, says Rayna.

Visit www.holidaydesign.com.au

Rayna’s Holiday lifeKathryn Vukovljakreports

Taupe/Dove Paisley reversible comforter, 200 x 210cm, $199.

Rayna Hooper.

Rainbow, Stone, Indigo and Chambray designs, from $139.

Pink Paisley & Fleur cushion covers, 45 x 45cm, $39.


IT is appropriate in our Centenary year to take a look at the great work of our early pioneers in establishing this city.

From a landscaping point of view, the work of such giants as Charles Weston, J P Hobday, A E Bruce and Lindsay Pryor need to be remembered. They had a blank canvas and the challenge was to create a landscaped city from the treeless limestone plains.

Weston had the task of interpreting Walter Burley Griffin’s landscape plans. These were largely based on “garden city” concepts that Griffin was aware of at Yellowstone Garden City in the US, and Letchworth and Welwyn Garden City in England.

WESTON arrived here from England in 1896 and was superintendent of gardens at Government House in Sydney until 1912.

In 1913 he was appointed as officer in charge of afforestation to create an urban landscape for the new capital city. Part of his brief was to estab-lish a forestry industry and the establishment of a propagation nursery. This was originally in Acton and later moved to its Yarralumla site when work started on the lake in 1960.

Weston worked closely with Griffin and, from time to time, had differences of opinion with Griffin on the species to be grown here. In 1926, he moved to Sydney, although he was retained as a consultant to Canberra until 1927.

A E BRUCE succeeded Weston as superintendent of parks and gardens until 1932. One of his major works was the establishment of the rose gardens at the then-Parliament House.

Both Bruce and Weston were awarded MBEs for their landscape work in Canberra.

WORKING with Weston was John Peace Hobday who was the foreman at Yarralumla Nursery in 1913. His mission in life and chief interest was the development of the new garden city. He followed Bruce as superintendent of parks and gardens until his death in 1944.

THIS position was elevated to director of parks and gardens when Lindsay Pryor was appointed to the post in 1944. His contribution to our landscape was possibly the greatest for our city.

Pryor continued the work of Weston and Griffin, and expanded the range of exotic and native species of trees and shrubs for our city’s landscape. In 1958, Pryor was made a professor and appointed to the foundation chair of botany at the ANU.

IT is now far removed from the original garden city concept of the early suburbs of Forrest, Deakin, Red Hill and Yarralumla. Block sizes

have been gradually reduced and trimming front hedges and mowing nature strips by the government has gone by the board.

With the propagation of new varieties of Australian plants, the concept was changed and we started calling it the Bush Capital. In reality, it is a treed city with more than 600,000 trees in our urban streets and parks. This urban forest is our most valuable resource.

It is now up to our present government to continue the work of these landscape pioneers that have created our treed city.

Unfortunately, this is in doubt with the decline and neglect of our urban trees. A great deal of work is being done by a dedicated team for the Urban Forest Renewal Program under the auspices of Territory and Municipal Services.

However, this program is doomed to failure if the required finances are not provided to implement such a program. We lost many trees with drought and fires and these need to be replaced as well as trees reaching the end of their natural life. It is not just about planting trees, but their continuing care and maintenance, the neglect of which is all too obvious as one drives around our city.

In this our centenary year it is vital that we preserve our greatest asset. With climate change and global warming upon us, trees and green cover are vital to our survival.

The dedicated men who turned Canberra green

Cedric Bryantgardening

Weston Park after Charles Weston.

Neglected trees in Civic.

Charles Weston. Photo National Archives A E Bruce. Photo National Archives Lindsay Pryor.




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Canberra CityNews January 24 2013