Canberra Snippets – Page 10 – a website by Geri Bryant-Badham

Ageing – perhaps not

On May 6, 2015

Stay working

The Federal Age and Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Susan Ryan, notes that Australia’s economy needs 70 rather than 60 as the average retirement age. She reminds us of health experts’ opinions that the working older person is healthier and happier than the non-working older person and that this should provide a constructive context for the Intergenerational Report about the long-term budget implications of the ever-rising number of people living on the age pension and using public health systems. … Read more.

Keeping fit

By Geri Bryant-Badham

On May 3, 2015

In Health & Lifestyle

Canberra and surrounds are ideal for walking and cycling as the publications below show.

Walking and Cycling Canberra’s Centenary Trail, Nina Hvoslef and Tallis Didcott.
Walking Canberra: 101 Ways to See Australia’s National Capital on Foot (2014), by Graeme Barrow, Dagraja Press, Canberra.
Canberra’s Best Bush, Park and City Walks (2^nd edition) (2012), by Marion Stuart, Woodslane Press, Sydney.

Books

By Geri Bryant-Badham

On April 29, 2015

In Writing

It’s impossible to compile a list of favourite books but here’s a few:

My Place by academic Sally Morgan outlines aspects of her life, but in particular, events in the lives of her Aboriginal ancestors in Western Australia and exploitation at the hands of white station owners and pastoralists;
Chloe Hooper’s The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island details day-to-day events and important legal issues and trials related to the tragic death of Cameron Doomadgee on Queensland’s Palm Island;
The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan (awarded the 2014 Man Booker Prize) focuses on the experiences of Australian Prisoner of War, Dorrigo Evans, and is based on Flanagan’s father, Arch as well as the sacrifices of Dr Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop.

Music

By Geri Bryant-Badham

On April 19, 2015

In Contemporary Canberra

Jon English and his eight-piece band’s Trilogy of Rock at Queanbeyan’s Q Theatre served as a reminder of Australia’s wonderful depth of talent. Their renditions of 1960s, 1970s and 1980s music of The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks, The Beatles, The Easybeats, Pink Floyd, Queen, AC/DC, Joni Mitchell, The Doors, David Bowie, Billy Joel, Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, Tina Turner, Janis Joplin, Bob Dylan, The Eagles, Simon and Garfunkel and The Mamas and the Papas, made for a fantastic night enjoyed by the very enthusiastic crowd. … Read more.

Radio

By Geri Bryant-Badham

On April 12, 2015

In Contemporary Canberra

ABC radio provides great daytime listening but Nightlife and Overnights programs are musts for night owls and favourites of many people including truck drivers, shift workers and people who may be socially isolated.

Presented for many years on week nights from 10pm by Tony Delroy, Nightlife is now fronted by Philip Clark. … Read more.

Obituaries

By Geri Bryant-Badham

On April 3, 2015

In Writing

Dating back to the 18^th-century, in England, America and Australia, obituaries seemed to have gone in and out of fashion, perhaps in line with media outlets’ budgets. What is divulged and the writing styles have also varied, with Americans more likely to be frank and colourful. As Nigel Starck (whose doctoral studies covered many aspects of obituaries) noted in The Canberra Times [Panorama], August 24, 2002, American newsrooms are better resourced and they often receive payment for obituaries where families and friends spend large sums on these columns. … Read more.

Language

By Geri Bryant-Badham

On March 30, 2015

In Writing

Stories abound about the demise of the print media as circulations shrink and readers gravitate to social media. Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald in 2013 about having kicked her four-newspapers-a-day habit, journalist, Anne Summers, described digital as “less about news and more about knowledge”. But whether about knowledge or news, many people still like the language and style of the long form, and find that some social media writers are lackadaisical when it comes to content, attention to detail, grammar and style. … Read more.

Canberra Now

By Geri Bryant-Badham

On March 27, 2015

In Contemporary Canberra

Canberra is a unique city, built more in a hurry post 1950 than incrementally which perhaps happened with other Australian cities.

Canberra does not a CBD similar to other Australian cities with their tightly-packed historical buildings. It does not have the wall-to-wall funky shops of Melbourne’s Brunswick or Coburg with their eclectic mix of nationalities, cultures, apparel and foods, Sydney’s glamorous beaches and harbourside attractions, Brisbane’s warm climate and riverside life or other attractions unique to other Australian cities. … Read more.

Earlier-Days Canberra

By Geri Bryant-Badham

On March 19, 2015

In Contemporary Canberra

When Australia’s provisional parliament house was opened in 1927 in Canberra, by all accounts the ceremony took place in empty paddocks amid scenes of grazing sheep and dogs sniffing at dignitaries’ legs. Over the years, the city’s growth patterns fluctuated and during the 1930s Depression and World War II eras, building and other activities slowed down considerably. … Read more.