Queanbeyan-based writer, researcher and advocate, Gerry Gillespie, has recently written The Waste Between Our Ears, a book outlining ways to rethink rubbish disposal. “[We need]…to think differently about discarded materials – about how to focus on their economic value rather than on how they simply are waste. To do this, you will need to be able to put your mind in a different place”, says its Foreword. … Read more.
With 2020’s Floriade held across Canberra rather than at its usual venue of Commonwealth Park, many Canberrans have been able to enjoy colourful displays of magnificent blooms in their local areas. Weston Creek is one such beneficiary and FLORIADE: Re-imagined in Trenerry Square has added a much-appreciated splash of colour. This “new” Floriade is perhaps akin (though on a much smaller scale) to Toowoomba’s annual Carnival of Flowers where residents and tourists can enjoy a wide range of events across Toowoomba, including chances to visit spectacular private and public garden displays and the iconic street parade and food and wine stalls. … Read more.
Named the 2011 Senior Australian of the Year and with many other awards and accolades, Professor Ron McCallum AO, recently spoke about his memoir, Born At The Right Time, at a radio for the print handicapped (1RPH) lunch at Canberra’s Ainslie Football Club. Having a distinguished career as a lawyer and academic, Professor McCallum was the first blind person to be appointed as Dean at an Australian University (Sydney University). … Read more.
Recently in his regular Weekend Australian Magazine article, broadcaster-journalist, Phillip Adams, cited some memorable openings from novels: “…Melville’s elemental ‘Call me Ishmael’; Austen’s elegant ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune might be in want of a wife’;…Tolstoy’s ‘Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way’”. … Read more.
As anyone who has lived with chronic pain (classified as pain which lasts for three consecutive months or more) knows, living with ongoing pain can change one’s life from situations of being able to participate in a wide range of leisure and work activities, to experiences of excruciating pain, immobility, and a need to rely on others and make many lifestyle adjustments. … Read more.
The owner of Lava Espresso café in Phillip, Lincoln Fairleigh, has set up the website Canberra Still Open “dedicated to supporting restaurants and cafes in the Canberra region”.
It’s an information hub about available eateries across the ACT and region, categorised under the headings: City, North Canberra, South Canberra, Tuggeranong, Woden, Weston Creek, Gungahlin, Belconnen Greater Region, and allows easy access to information on the cuisine, location and opening hours of a wide range of cafes and restaurants. … Read more.
Staged in Canberra recently, David Williamson’s play, Family Values (Lee Lewis (director); Griffin Theatre Company) presented a mix of poignant and lighter moments, its wonderful cast laying bare some of Australia’s not-so-pleasant aspects about the treatment of refugees and boat people. Just to set the scene. Recently-retired 70-year-old federal court judge, Roger (Andrew McFarlane) clearly hopes to enjoy some birthday celebrations with his family including his lively (very much a “doctor’s-wife” type), Sue (Belinda Giblin). … Read more.
The AFL Community Series (pre-season warmup games) in Wagga Wagga on Sunday included the 2019 grand finalists (Richmond and Greater Western Sydney) face off for the first time since last year. And while not as intense as regular AFL footy, the game depicted a willing contest with the full range of Australian rules skills on display. … Read more.
Former federal parliamentarian and Keating government minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Robert Tickner, recently shared his story from the warm summer’s day in 1993 when he was re-united with his birth mother. Speaking with Canberra Times journalist, Karen Hardy, Robert read from his book, Ten Doors Down as, describing his mixture of happiness and “roller coaster of emotions” as he waited near Sydney’s Opera House and “magnificent harbour” for the mother who had last held him as a tiny baby some 41 years’ previously. … Read more.
Many service centres along the Hume Highway on the drive from Canberra to Melbourne provide a vast array of fast-food options. But small towns and villages off the highway have much to offer travellers, including the chance to stretch their legs and take in local attractions and learn a little more of an area’s history. … Read more.