Australian Times weekly newspaper | 21 February 2012

21 February - 27 February 2012– Issue: 400

The secret to scallops

Chris Ark dishes out his favourite recipes VOICES P4

Let it snow

The simple pleasures of London snow VOICES P6

Super 15

Season starter Rugby Special SPORT P14

THE “AUSSIE MAN AND VAN SHAM” n

Australian expats are left stranded after Aussie Group “goes bust”.

Rudd rules out a challenge - for now

from former employees that pretty much they knew that the company was going under as they were still taking money from us all and taking on international consignments,” Mr Braybon said.

Investigating the matter further, Australian Times made contact with the company that had essentially bought the ‘Aussie Group’ and ‘Aussie Man & Van’ brand names.

It emerged that Ward Thomas Removals has acquired the brands and assets and started a new trading company called Aussie Man And Van Ltd. Following our investigations, the story took a happy twist.

Speaking to Charles Richards, Chief Financial Manager of Wards Thomas Removals, Australian Times learnt that the inconvenienced Aussie Group customers may actually now be close to

FOREIGN Minister Kevin Rudd has ruled out a challenge to Julia Gillard, for now, as the prime minister maintained she had the strong support of caucus.

After a day of political toing and froing among their respective supporters, Mr Rudd landed in Mexico for a Group of 20 foreign ministers’ meeting and denied a spill was in prospect when federal parliament resumes next week.

The shift in momentum for the Rudd camp on Monday came as Ms Gillard insisted she didn’t need to put her leadership to a vote because she had the “strong support” of the Labor caucus and was getting on with the job of government.

“I’m getting on with the job with the strong support of my caucus colleagues,” she told reporters in Canberra.

“I’m getting on with my job.

Kevin Rudd’s getting on with his.”

Later, Mr Rudd referred to her remarks when asked if he would challenge Ms Gillard.

“That is not in prospect, because we have a prime minister and I am the foreign minister,” he told reporters.

Mr Rudd’s apparent climbdown comes after a weekend in which persons unknown released a video on the online portal YouTube of the then-prime minister swearing and banging a table in frustration while trying to record a message.

It’s not clear when the footage was recorded, but it was before Mr Rudd was rolled by Ms Gillard in June 2010 amid MP complaints about his leadership style and the government’s decline in the polls.

The video release heightened expectations Mr Rudd would soon challenge Ms Gillard, who is herself presiding over poor polling for Labor.

...continued on p3

...continued on p3

By Tim Martin EARLIER this month, a reader alerted Australian Times to a disturbing piece of news that should alarm expat Aussies looking to ship their goods back home.

Commenting online to a story we ran in August last year, about how Aussie Group (formerly Aussie Man & Van) and their chairman Brian Burgess were willing to give “anyone” a chance and a job in the wake of the London riots, one disgruntled Aussie Group client let rip.

“Brilliant stuff Brian. I’m on the verge of rioting too. I entered into a contract with your company in August 2011. I paid you to ship my entire household contents from London to Melbourne.

“I paid for this service in full but unfortunately never saw my household contents again. They were never shipped to Melbourne. I believe they remain in London.

“I emailed / phoned your company; even asked to speak to you numerous times but never received a reply to my enquiries. I am at my wits end with trying to get my entire household contents back.

“You quote that all people need to do is get off their backsides. Well Brian, can you get off your backside, do the right thing and ship our things to Melbourne, just like you promised….please ?”

The comment was posted by Sonya Rand, an Australian mother of three.

After Australian Times got in contact with her, Ms Rand told us she posted the above comment on our website after she had “had a gut full” of getting the run around from the company she had entrusted to move her family’s belongings home.

Her next comment on our website was much more of an emotional plea to Aussie Group and their chairman.

BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE

Las Fallas and the festival of fire | P9 It was also a warning to other expat Australians thinking of shipping their goods back to Australia.

“I am writing this story to hopefully help others who wish to undertake international removals. Engage with any company carefully and ensure that you are confident that they will fulfil their contractual obligations.”

She went on to post, “I see from the [Australian Times] article that Brian Burgess has a place in Bali.

“Brian, would you mind if my family and I camp out there, because it’s lonely in our house with no furniture, toys or clothes.”

Not long after Ms Rand made contact with Australian Times, another Aussie expat made contact with our offices.

Matt Braybon had a similar story.

“I’m an Aussie, I moved back to Oz from London late last year. I shipped stuff with Aussie Group and had no

end of trouble with them.

“I escalated my complaints and dealt with the [General Manager] Sean Tillery to try get things on track. My stuff was picked up [from London] in August,” Mr Braybon informed both Australian Times and the BBC’s Watchdog program.

“Cut to now, I›m in Oz and have just found out that Aussie Group have gone bust, though there are still websites in operation and a company trading as ‘Aussie’. The phone is answered Aussie.

“All of my worldly possessions are currently god knows where…”

After some quick investigation, Australian Times found that Aussie Group had indeed actually “gone bust”. They were entered into administration on 23 December 2011.

Mr Braybon said the whole ordeal was akin to an “Aussie man and van sham”.

“Some info that I gathered from other people involved included admissions

2 | News

21 February - 27 February 2012

Shame on you Ryanair - how dare you try and sell sex! n

Publisher: Bryce Lowry Editor: Tim Martin Production/Design: Tamzyn Brookson Australia Editor: Ashlea Maher Music Editor: Paul Judge Contributors: Shannon Crane, Kate Ausburn, Sara Newman, Justin Ng, Phill Browne, Kristy Kenny, Carmen Allan, Mario Hannah, Amy Fallon, Rose Callaghan, Lesley Slade, Simon Kleinig, Kris Griffiths, Guy Logan,

Nathan Motton, JP Breytenbach, Cameron Jenkins, Will Denton, Leigh Johnston, Lee Crossley, Shane Jones, Adrian Craddock, Liam Flanagan, Emily Banyard, Mel Edwards, Raquel Messi Advertising Manager: Dominic Young Directors: P Atherton, J Durrant N Durrant, R Phillips and A Laird Additional content:

WHO ARE WE? Australian Times is written and compiled by young Australian journalists living in the UK. Contributing on a volunteer basis, they are uniquely placed to reflect the interests, opinions and attitudes of our community. If you would like to join us, contact info@australiantimes.co.uk ADDRESS: Unit 7C, Commodore House Battersea Reach, London SW18 1TW TEL: 0845 456 4910 EMAIL: info@australiantimes.co.uk

WEBSITE:

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DISCLAIMER The printed opinions of advertisers and writers are theirs and not necessarily shared by Blue Sky Publications Ltd. Unless otherwise stated, copyright of all original materials is held by Blue Sky Publications Ltd. OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSORS OF THE FOLLOWING ORGANISATIONS:

PR genius or foolery? Either way these ads are anything but offensive. It isn’t about ‘horny men’ ruling the world, but about Ryanair doing exactly what everyone else does. Selling sex. the hard word > NATHAN MOTTON

“THERE are far more horny men than staunch feminists so they’ve probably got more to gain than to lose.”

This was the response from a very learned PR pundit when quizzed about Ryanair’s latest slip-up with the Advertising Standards Authority.

The budget airline was last week forced to scrap its latest ad campaign after 17 complaints were brought against it claiming the ads were sexist, objectified cabin crew and were “offensive and unsuitable” for the likes of national newspapers. Hysteria soon typically followed with 11,000 people signing a petition to remove the ads.

The Irish company was unrepentant, saying the images were taken from its latest charity calendar and the girls were able and willing participants. As part of its ruling the ASA said: “We considered that most readers would interpret these images in conjunction with the text... and the names of the women, as linking female cabin crew with sexually suggestive behaviour.”

The Hard Word doesn’t consider itself a raging chauvinist and is even willing to admit it is sometimes sympathetic to the plight of staunch feminists. But this scribe is perplexed.

If these ads ‘link female cabin crew with sexually suggestive behaviour’ surely the same could be said for underwear models, makeup models or even shoe ads. Heck even coffee, icecream, perfume, soft drinks, crisps... oh how the list continues... all use... ahem... sex to sell their product.

I get what the ASA is saying. In fact its ruling was frankly (almost) spot on.

Your Say On: Finding a job in London? You’re kidding right!

I found it just as difficult during the boom times (2003-2005) - UNTIL I had my first local job and promptly put it on my resume (which took over 1.5 months to get and I was willing to do almost anything!). Temp/ Contract/Pub your way to employment. Sit on the bench at a temp agency for a morning: be agressive with the search as there should be “something” for you. Dont expect to walk into a dream job during this financial crisis.

Liam AustralianTimes.co.uk/voices

Of course it’s sexually suggestive but that’s what works. There are tens of thousands of ads strewn as far as the eye can see featuring men and women promoting such behaviour. But the idea that these ads are objectifying female cabin crew is absurd.

The ASA revealed late last year it would be taking a “firmer line” on sexualised advertising and would deal with complaints on a “case-bycase basis”. I have no problem with clamping down on some of these ads, many featuring the sexualisation of children are simply outrageous.

But I just don’t get how there is anything wrong with the Ryanair ads in question. If we’re going to jump up and down about a woman seductively holding the top of her pants with her thumb, while wearing rather modest lingerie, where will the nanny state clap-trap end? It is nothing more than a bit of fun.

The initial complaint was allegedly brought about by a disgruntled female staff member who cried “safety is our number-one priority, not the brand of our underwear”. Please. Could it just be a sad old case of the green-eyed monster.

The text screams ‘RED HOT FARES and crew’. Why is this something some of us want to shy away from? The industry is full of beautiful hostesses and good-looking men. This has been celebrated since the days of Don Draper. But so is every other industry. The ads don’t objectify female cabin crew staff any more than beers ads promote all us men as clueless, deadbeat, beer swilling yobs.

Ryanair has attracted its fair share of controversy in the past. It was

I’ve experienced underemployment and I can agree it is soul-destroying.

But some jobs are so straight forward no one finds them exciting!

Aussie Expat AustralianTimes.co.uk/voices It took me 6 weeks to find a job. That was in early 2007. Back then it still wasn’t easy, but the work could be found. Then the recession happened. Immigrating to a country in recession is a very risky decision. Australia is booming, so while you probably love London life you need to face facts career wise.

Mike AustralianTimes.co.uk/voices

On: Australian cities more expensive than London and New York

Each time I go back to Oz, I’m amazed at how expensive things are from petrol to the cost of a pie from the deli.

Michael AustralianTimes.co.uk/news

investigated last year again by the ASA for promoting ‘cheap flights to the sun’ which turned out to be anything but warm destinations. It was also ordered to pay £45,000 in 2008 after using a picture of French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and his wife Carla Bruni in an ad.

Generally speaking the airline is acting within the boundaries of the law, while cleverly bearing witness to its own storm in a teacup.

PR genius or foolery? Either way they are anything but offensive. It isn’t about ‘horny men’ ruling the world, but about Ryanair doing exactly what everyone else does. Selling sex.

Bring back the ads!

Do you agree with The Hard Word?

Comment at...

AustralianTimes.co.uk/voices

I’m an Aussie but live in London. Every time I go back to Oz I think I’ll stock up on loads of basic stuff like makeup, skincare products etc but end up buying it all in Central London as it is loads cheaper.

Tarah AustralianTimes.co.uk/news

On: Kevin Rudd sees indigenous light on the hill

Congratulations Kevin on the anniversary of the speech for the ‘Stolen Generation’ it brought a tear to my eye hearing it and the sincerity behind your words. I admire you and wish you all the best in the days that lie ahead.

Liz Mac AustralianTimes.co.uk/news

?

What’s your view

Every day on …

Share your comments on these and more stories online: AustralianTimes.co.uk

News | 3

AustralianTimes.co.uk

Aussie Group fiasco Continued from p1... being reunited with their belongings. It seems this many months long saga may be actually heading towards a solution.

“As you already know, Aussie Group went into administration on 23 December 2011,” Mr Richards told Australian Times.

“The owner, Brian Burgess, bought it out of administration. Basically, he then approached us to see if we could help. They bought themselves out of administration but were short of cash so we acquired the assets of the new company they had established.”

Mr Richards said it was not a very hard decision for Ward Thomas Removals to step in and buy the beleaguered company.

“We looked at it and saw it was a good company with a good reputation so we said ‘let’s give it a go’ and threw some money at it.”

When drawn on why he thought Burgess and Aussie Group had gotten into trouble in the first place, Mr Richards said it was a case of wanting to be ‘too successful’.

“Here was a very successful company who were running 70 vans a day through summer last year. That was from a standing start of just one van seven years ago.

“They were going on all cylinders but they expanded too quickly. They tripped up and got into trouble.”

He said that it was lucky Ward Thomas Removals stepped in at all.

“We saved most of those jobs that would have been lost.

“Not all jobs but we saved about 40 or 50.”

Mr Richards wasn’t too keen to comment on doing business with Mr Burgess, who has a very chequered history, because he said he had only known the convicted drug trafficker “for a couple of weeks”. But he said that “he showed signs of being a reformed character” and that Burgess was now only involved in the new company in a “consultancy role”.

The good news for Ms Rand and Mr Braybon is that Mr Richards said their individual situations were now being looked after.

“As you can imagine, when a business goes bust it gets a bit messy but we›re

trying to do the right thing by getting everything to its end destination.

“Two or three people were caught in the trap [when Aussie Group went into administration]. They›d paid their money in full into the Aussie Group bank account and their goods were still in transit when the company went into administration.

“Two very nice people came out saying ‘we paid our money in advance and our goods weren›t shipped...’.

“The first person, we have located their goods and it turns out the goods had already been shipped to Australia.

We’re now arranging to get them from Sydney to Adelaide.

“The second lady, we are making very good progress with.”

Australian Times confirmed this was the case with both Mr Braybon and Ms Rand who were equally ecstatic that their “Aussie Group ordeal” may now finally be over.

However, Mr Braybon had some sage advice for those thinking of engaging in an international shipping contract.

“I would recommend that people be very careful with people who claim to ship stuff anywhere and only use internationally affiliated and recognised shipping companies.

“If something like this happens and you are faced with replacing your much loved stuff, you actually realise the costs of doing so will be way more than you imagined.

“I used Aussie Group because they purported to be Aussie and as an Aussie living in London not only do you feel ‘safer’ thinking you are dealing with Australians, you clearly also want to support fellow patriots.”

Aussie Group were trading on the well known ethos that Australians are hard working and reliable, and therefore any brand or business built on this premise is ‘reliable too’.

Unfortunately, events like Aussie Group “going bust” can threaten to tarnish the hard earned ‘Australian reputation’. The irony in this instance is that it took a British company, in Ward Thomas Removals, to save the ‘Aussie’ way.

AustralianTimes.co.uk/news

Is Rudd just biding his time?

Continued from p1...

Rudd supporters told AAP on Monday they have mustered 30 votes in the caucus - well short of the 52 needed for a win.

Backers of the prime minister dispute this figure, saying Mr Rudd more likely has 20 votes, against Ms Gillard’s support base of around 50. A further 20 to 30 are undecided.

One senior Labor source said it was in neither Mr Rudd nor Ms Gillard’s interest to have a leadership vote next week.

“If Rudd gets 30, that kills her in the long term,” the MP said.

“Her best strategy is to ignore the elephant in the room.

“Kevin’s best tactic is to wait. He is picking people up ... and will keep picking up people.”

He said many of those who currently back the prime minister have set her an August 2012 deadline - after a budget surplus and carbon tax compensation are delivered - to improve the party’s stocks or face a challenge.

On Monday, cabinet minister Simon Crean again went into bat for the prime minister, saying Mr Rudd was not a team player.

Mr Rudd said he was disappointed by Mr Crean’s remarks because “they are based on an untruth” that he had raised the leadership issue with independent MP Andrew Wilkie last November.

“Can I say with absolute clarity, at no stage during that conversation - or any other conversation - have I sought anyone’s support for any concern on that matter as far as the leadership is concerned,” Mr Rudd said.

Mr Wilkie concurred, saying he had raised the issue when chatting with Mr Rudd about other matters and at no stage did the foreign minister ask for his support.

However, Mr Crean warned Labor was in danger of “mutual destruction” if the leadership question was left unresolved.

Queensland Labor backbencher Graham Perrett repeated his threat to quit if Ms Gillard was dumped, which would trigger a by-election in his seat of Moreton that could threaten the government.

On Monday, he used Twitter to reinforce his message: “Looking fwd (sic) to a late election campaign in 2013 with PM Julia Gillard out front of a great Labor record and team”.- AAP AustralianTimes.co.uk/news

4 | Voices

21 February - 27 February 2012

Slang ie s s u A o t e id A Gu PART 3 n

Last week you got Part 2 of our A Guide to Aussie Slang. Head online if you missed it and get reacquainted with phrases like “fair suck of” and “had a gobful”. Don’t dismay because this week’s is just as good. And don’t forget to check out next week’s edition for Part 4 or head to AustralianTimes.co.uk/ voices for all the action so far

L

Laughing gear: your mouth (“wrap your laughing gear around that one”) Larrikin: a bloke who is always enjoying himself, harmless prankster Long paddock: the side of the road where livestock is grazed during droughts Lucky Country, The: Australia Lunch, who opened their?: OK, who farted?

M

Maccas (pron. “mackers”): McDonald’s restaurant Mappa Tassie: map of Tasmania – a woman’s pubic area Mate: buddy, friend Matilda: swagman’s bedding (a swagman is a nomadic farmer), sleeping roll, swag Metho: methylated spirits (pictured) Mexican: a person from south of the New South Wales border Middy: 285 ml beer glass in New South Wales Milk bar: corner shop that sells takeaway food Mongrel: despicable person Mug: friendly insult (“have a go, yer mug”), gullible person Mystery bag: a sausage

N

No drama: same as ‘no worries’ No worries: no problem; forget about it; I can do it No wuccas: same as no worries (from ‘no wucking furries’) No-hoper: somebody who’ll never do well Nun’s nasty: dry (“as dry as a Nun’s nasty”) Nut out: hammer out or work out (an agreement, say)

O

Ocker: a stereotypical Australian (“that bloke was so ocker”) or strong Aussie accent Old fella: penis Olds: parents (“I’m taking the new missus to meet my olds”) Op shop: opportunity shop, thrift store, place where second hand goods are sold Open slather: free-for-all, anything goes

P

Pash: a long passionate kiss, snog Pav: Pavlova – a rich, creamy Australian dessert

Perve (noun & verb): looking lustfully at the opposite sex Piece of p*ss: easy task Pig’s ar*e!: I don’t agree with you Piker: someone who doesn’t want to fit in with others socially, leaves parties early Pink slip, get the: get the sack/be made redundant (from the colour of the termination form); also to get approval from your missus to have a boys’ night out Pokies: poker machines, fruit machines, gambling slot machines Porky: Lie, untruth (pork pie = lie) Pot: 285 ml beer glass in Queensland and Victoria Pozzy: position (“We got a great pozzy at the MCG”) Prezzy: present, gift

Q

Quid, make a: earn a living – “are you making a quid?”

R

Rack off: push off! get lost! get out of here! also “rack off hairy legs!”.

Rapt: pleased, delighted Rego: vehicle registration Rellie or relo: family relative Right, that’d be: accepting bad news as inevitable (“I went fishing but caught nothing” “Yeah, that’d be right”) Righto: used to express cheerful concurrence, assent, or understanding (“Righto mate, head this way”) Rip-snorter: great, fantastic (“it was a rip-snorter of a party”) Ripper: great, fantastic (“it was a ripper party”) Ripper, you little: exclamation of delight or as a reaction to good news Roadie: a beer you buy to take away with you for the car/train/ general journey Roo: kangaroo Roo bar: tout bar fixed to the front of a vehicle to protect it against hitting kangaroos (also bull bar) Root (verb and noun): synonym for f*ck in nearly all its senses: “I feel rooted”; “this washing machine is rooted”; “(s)he’s a good root” Ropeable: very angry Rort (verb or noun): cheating, fiddling, defrauding (eg. expenses, the system). Usually used to describe politicians’ actions Rotten: drunk (“I went out last night and got rotten”)

Compiled by Rob

Flude

The secret to scallops n

The main man behind the hot plate at Claridge’s Restaurant, Aussie chef Chris Ark, tells us if you haven’t had some UK scallops, well, you basically haven’t lived.

chris’s

kitchen > CHRIS ARK

THIS week I am going to sing my praises about one of the UK’s finest ingredients harvested from the ocean.

While English and Scottish oysters are ranked up there with the best in the world and back in Oz we hold our own with oysters, crayfish and fresh fish - here in London, I can never pass up hand dived scallops on a menu or freshly available at my local fishmongers.

Fresh hand dived scallops from the pristine waters off the coastline of Scotland are considered the best in the world. So much so, suppliers to our restaurants have to divide their catch when delivering so no one will miss out.

This makes for a lucrative industry but one not without its hazards. Teams of divers will spend hours collecting

scallops in freezing waters and traitorous conditions in near blackout conditions on the sea bed.

Hand dived scallops are more environmentally friendly than the dredging method that will destroy the precious ocean floor. The effects of scallop dredging means the sea floor can take years to repair - so when buying scallops make sure they are “hand dived scallops”.

The distinctive fan shaped shell is home to the succulent flesh/meat of the scallop. The firm white meat is easily removed from the shells and in our kitchen alone, we will open up to 300 scallops per week.

Most scallops are sold already removed from their shells. However scallops purchased in their shells are the best for guaranteed freshness and most likely found in a good fishmongers or farmers market!

Choose scallops that have a creamy white appearance and smell of the sea.

If you are feeling confident, you can

clean and open the scallops at home. I would suggest having the fishmonger do this for you as opening scallops can be quite dangerous and not worth the tears and cut fingers.

Ask to keep the shell, as we are going to serve the scallop in its shell for this week’s recipe.

You can also keep the orange roe (soft scallop eggs), which makes a fantastic addition to sauces when serving fish or you can even pan fry the roe gently and serve with the scallops. It may be an acquired taste but is well worth it.

Once you have the scallops at home give them a quick rinse in cold, cold water to remove any sand and shell.

Rinse and scrub the shell with a course scourer until clean. Set aside for serving.

Now we are ready to prepare this week’s feature recipe. Lets get started and enjoy one of the best ingredients this great ocean has to offer. Enjoy and happy cooking!

s p o ll a c s d e iv d d n a h d e k Ba ger and chili...

What you need

• ½ dozen hand dived scallops • 1 thumb size knob of fresh ginger finely grated • 100ml sesame oil • 2 tbls of soy sauce • 1 tsp of fish sauce • ¼ bunch of spring onions finely chopped • 1 small chili finely chopped • ¼ bunch of fresh coriander leaves • ½ teaspoon of white sugar

What to do

• A real easy no fuse recipe this week.

• Turn the oven up to 200 degrees.

• Take a mixing bowl and combine all the herbs and spices.

• Mix well until all the ingredients and blended together.

• Place the white scallop meat back into their shell and spoon over the mixture. About a table spoon each.

• Place the scallops onto a baking try.

Place the tray in the oven.

• Cook for about 5 mins. They won’t take long and will continue to cook once out of the oven. Scallops are best eaten on the rare side otherwise they become tough and tasteless.

• It’s that simple, so open a bottle of white and enjoy!

with gin

Voices | 5

AustralianTimes.co.uk

Getting physic-al in Chelsea’s Garden n

London is host to many gorgeous parks, gardens, squares, heaths and commons but the Chelsea Physic Garden is what they call the “secret garden of London”. It’s also #11 on London’s Top 100 list and our resident adventurer had a peek.

What’s in a name? n

A guide to getting it right in Britain

bron in

the don BRONWYN SPENCER

FOUND behind a squared wall tucked in behind Kings Road in Chelsea and backing onto the Thames, the Chelsea Physic Gardens are a special place. Maybe because they are less crowded than many others in London as you need to be a member to visit frequently.

If you aren’t a member there is a fee of £10 to get in however they often have fairs, markets and special days where they encourage the public to come in to view the gardens. Luckily for my friend Shea and I we decided to check out the gardens on a gorgeous sunny winters day and stumbled across a market fair and were encouraged upon entry to take up one of the guided tours. We soon found our guide – a rather eccentric but very passionate lady whose accent (whether real or put on) was extremely posh and therefore extremely entertaining. We set off about the gardens for a bit of a guided tour.

We soon got stuck into the history of the gardens and I was surprised to find that they were called the Physic Gardens because they were used to grow medicinal plants – as in for ‘Physicians’ and ‘Apothecaries’. To be honest I just thought it was one of those weird and wonderful names that pop up around London. Once I learned where its name really came from, I was pretty interested in what kinds of plants and herbs they grew to use and how they developed them.

However after a little while, my interest started to fade for as much as I love sitting and appreciating pretty gardens – I’m not one for growing plants and once our lovely tour guide started her detailed talk about why certain plants were pruned a certain way we decided to ditch the tour and

wander ourselves.

We wandered through the gardens chatting and pausing occasionally to look at a certain plant or read a little plaque but as neither of us are particular green thumbs we had little or no idea exactly what we were looking at. I did manage to find a section dedicated to Sir Joseph Banks – who most Aussies know was a part of the ‘Endeavour’ crew (and on our old five dollar notes).

During the winter the gardens are popular for their ‘Snowflakes’ which are little white flowers that come out after the cold in early spring. The gardens are currently hosting their Snowflake Extravaganza with two for one tickets and tours of the snowflake trail. Unfortunately when Shea and I went there were none to be found.

The gardens really are gorgeous and extremely interesting if you are into

By Nina McGrath

science and gardening however for those of us who like their gardens and parks for sitting on benches, laying on the grass or walking around for fresh air, you’re better off sticking to the not so secret gardens.

AustralianTimes.co.uk/voices

All atwitter about the Tweet spot right said ed > TIM MARTIN

IS IT just me or is Twitter all the rage at the moment? From multinational companies being globally embarrassed thanks to the millions of tweeting tweeters (see Qantas, Skittles, McDonalds) to the little blue bird phenomenon seemingly becoming more popular than a Mr Zuckerberg Facebook ‘Like’. The world is currently atwitter about Twitter.

I guess that is the age we live in. An age where headlines can break around the globe because old Rupe Murdoch has something to say on the social media site. An age where ‘trending topics’ are more frequently discussed in the workplace than that X Factor performance from the night before.

An age where ‘followers’ are an even hotter commodity than FB ‘friends’.

If you want to hit the current Tweet spot and be in with the cool crowd, well, you better get on Twitter. And get on it quick.

Twitter is a wonderful resource. For breaking news stories and getting information out there quicker than even the most lightening-speed newsrooms. For checking out what bizarrely insane acts and comments our comical celebrities are coming up with now. For seeing what your mates are up to or into, or where they are, or who they are with, or what they had for lunch (yep that’s where Twitter can let itself down a little). In the age of instancy - Twitter is currently king. Hey, where else can you learn 100 quick, weird and wonderful facts, in the time it would take you to type “T-w-i-t-t-” into Google.

People have found themselves jobs on Twitter. Hell, people have been accepted for jobs via Twitter. People have proposed via Twitter, broken up via Twitter, found partners through Twitter. It’s incredible the powers this little media platform holds across the world.

So, don’t be a Twit. Get on Twitter, get tweeting and tell the world what you know. Just not what you had for lunch...

Follow Australian Times on Twitter @ AustralianTimes or check out what’s hot on Australian Times twitter on page 7 AustralianTimes.co.uk/voices

WHEN I arrived in London, my knowledge of the countries making up the United Kingdom was derived from the elastics rhyme ‘England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales; inside, outside, on the rails’. I’d heard the terms United Kingdom, Great Britain, Britain and British but wasn’t exactly sure what they each referred to. I was sure however, that there would be a faux pas to avoid (similar to confusing Americans and Canadians, or Australians and New Zealanders).

Most of these terms are geographical.

The British Isles refers to the two large islands of Great Britain and Ireland, and many smaller surrounding islands.

These include the Isle of Man (which is known for the Bee Gees, motorbike racing and tax evasion), Jersey (which is known for its cattle, dairy products and tax evasion) and Guernsey (which is known for its cattle, blue post and telephone boxes and tax evasion).

Great Britain is the largest of the islands, encompassing England, Wales and Scotland. Ireland is the second biggest and is directly west of Great Britain, however, geography won’t save you if you get the political terms wrong.

The ‘political boundaries’ work like this: the United Kingdom encompasses Great Britain and the north-eastern part of Ireland, or Northern Ireland. Ireland refers to the southern part of the island of Ireland, sometimes called the Republic of Ireland or ‘Éire’, but never Southern Ireland. ‘British’ is an adjective pertaining to the United Kingdom, e.g. the British people, however people from Scotland, Wales and particularly Ireland would generally prefer to be referred to as Scottish, Welsh or Irish rather than British.

It is fairly easy to brush up on these geographical and political terms prior to arrival in the UK. What really got me were the small, everyday terms I didn’t know. To add insult to injury, people in customer service have mastered ‘The Look’ – a facial expression that conveys ‘what on earth are you talking about, you must be an idiot’. I have been given ‘The Look’ on a number of occasions, usually for using an incorrect though similar term for a product or service.

The first occurrence was at the Post

Office where I asked for a money order. The Post Office sells insurance, internet access and exchanges foreign currency but a request for a money order earned me ‘The Look’. I tried to explain the concept but was briskly told they didn’t provide that service while the cashier looked over my shoulder for the next customer. I later found out that they do offer this service, but it is called a Postal Order – thanks for nothing Royal Mail.

At the local supermarket, I’d managed to negotiate the fruit and vegetable aisle where capsicums are peppers, eggplants are aubergines, mandarins are clementines or satsumas, snow peas are mange tout and zucchini are courgettes, but earned ‘The Look’ at a checkout by asking for ‘cash out’. I knew this service was available, as the woman ahead of me had used it, so I explained that in addition to paying for my groceries I would like some cash.

“Oh, you mean cash back,” corrected the check-out girl.

I thought about telling her that in Australia a ‘cash back’ offer involves buying a product and then sending away proof of purchase and a completed form to get a cheque in the mail. I could have added that ‘cash out’ is a much more logical term than cash back, as the cash is coming out of my account not back from anywhere except perhaps the back of the till drawer. However I spared her my soapbox rant, as by working out what I wanted and giving me the correct term to use in future she had actually provided outstanding customer service by supermarket check-out standards. I then tried using the term ‘cash back’ a few days later at another local supermarket.

“Nah, we don’t do cash back, there’s a hole in the wall outside,” replied the check-out lad.

I couldn’t understand why some sort of vandalism or construction issue prevented them from providing this service and stepped outside to see the extent of the damage. There I discovered that ‘hole in the wall’ is an English term for an automatic teller machine. Good thing I hadn’t tried to give ‘The Look’.

AustralianTimes.co.uk/voices

6 | Voices

21 February - 27 February 2012

London snow n It may have warmed up ever so slightly around the UK (though we doubt the ‘Siberian Freeze’

has actually left for good) but nothing will diminish the memories and the experience that this year’s early February snowfalls had on Australians living over here. Everybody remembers their first real snowfall and for some of our writers, this was it! Enjoy their experiences below and if you want to share in the magic, please comment online at AustralianTimes.co.uk/voices

Snowflakes are falling on my head

By Lisa Neale

EXCITED like a schoolgirl doesn’t even come close to explaining the feeling I experienced after seeing snow for the first time, and the fact it was in London, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, made it even better.

Finishing work at Harrods, one of the most quintessentially British places – I caught my first glimpse of the snow falling in the street. Unlike rain, the snowflakes glided softly to the ground – not sideways, or in a heavy downpour, but calmly and blissfully.

The snow itself was glisteningly white in colour, light and fluffy,

and instead of running for cover or reaching for the umbrella, I embraced it, walking through Knightsbridge wide-eyed with a huge smile on my face.

My commute home that night took double the time it usually does. Not because the snow had caused delays to London’s tube system, but simply because I was taking it all in. I pulled out the camera at any opportunity to grab a snap to gloat to everyone back home.

I didn’t feel the cold that night either. The excitement of the snowfall quickly erased the freeze factor. For a first timer, to hear the crunch under your feet as you navigate your way through the snow was truly amazing.

The streets were also quiet, as only the very brave ventured outdoors.

To wake up the following morning and to see the street covered in beautiful white snow was also memorable.

Rooftops, cars and trees – all covered in a deep layer of snow. Kids were playing in the street carefree, running and sliding through the slippery conditions. Snowmen in all shapes and sizes also appeared out the front of houses.

As I write this, it’s snowing once again, the second time in less than a week – what more can a girl dream of?

Only maybe a few degrees warmer…

AustralianTimes.co.uk/voices

Simple snow pleasures

By Rebekka Hodges WHEN I woke up on the morning of Sunday, 5 February, I looked out of my bedroom window, saw an amazing backdrop of brilliant white snow and was instantly transported back to my childhood.

I am six-years-old and am having a pillow fight with my older brother.

He has three years on me, and easily an extra foot. Every time our pillows connect with one and other, the slip rips a little more, until finally the cover explodes, and as we look up, we throw our hands into the air and allow ourselves to be blanketed by a light dusting of feathers.

This month’s European snow dusting was not the first time that I had seen snow. In fact, I spent a few years of my childhood living at the foot of Mount Hotham in Victoria.

But as I stared out the window, I found myself hypnotized by the enormous snowflakes tumbling from the sky, and for those few moments, everything seemed to be perfectly silent.

As is the case for many Australians, the sight of snow is a rarity. So, when it does happen, it tends to send us a little mad. Despite the fact I’d just risen from bed and was dressed for the balmy temperature created by the indoor heating, I raced out of the house and threw myself into the already ankle deep powder, waving my arms by my side like a lunatic to make angels in the snow.

“Rentre a l’intérieur, tu vas mourir de froid,” the woman I was staying with yelled from the comfort of her house;

warning me that I may freeze to death.

Continuing to lay there, oblivious to the cold, I let the snow fall down on me, trying unsuccessfully to capture a flake in my hand to see the unique form of its crystals.

I never thought that I would say it, in fact I have until this day always be a selfprofessed beach girl, but there is something quite special about the cold. Something so magical that reverts you back to that feeling, that moment when you are young again, carefree and having a pillow fight with your brother.

AustralianTimes.co.uk/voices

Let it snow

By Brittany Engeman

ALMOST six weeks ago I arrived in Surrey (for a year working as a ‘Gappy’ at a school with one other Australian, a Kiwi and three South Africans) to a so called ‘mild’ English winter. Despite constant assurances about my luck to be enjoying toasty five degree days, I was freezing, not to mention bewildered at how shy the sun was.

Skyping home made the winter even more difficult to come to terms with, as I was graced with the beautiful sight of my family back in Brisbane relaxing beside the pool in their bikinis (and yes, my dad was rocking his standard budgie smugglers) at the bright hour of 6.30pm.

However, once my new flatmates and I had finally accepted the cold (or at least stopped sulking about it); had finished marvelling at the frosty mornings; tired of trying to smash the frozen pond; and had celebrated our first time below the zero degree mark with a victory dance and an impromptu party; we were presented with a completely new and even more shocking phenomenon: snow.

It started when one of our English neighbours came into our flat one night and casually mentioned that it was snowing outside. He›d barely closed the door before we›d raced outside to see, to our utter disbelief, a few tiny, barely visible snowflakes falling around us.

I must confess to becoming just a tad obsessed by checking the weather forecasts after that night. I was really quite addicted. Whether I was comparing the ‘real feel’ to the ‘recorded temperature’ or analysing the hourly predictions to decide how many layers to wear, I felt like an absolute expert in weather forecasts. I even tried to learn what actually makes it snow, and in considering this, realised that I›d spent my whole life completely unaware of something so normal to so many.

And then suddenly it was ‘snow day’! Upon hearing that snow was on our way, we cancelled our plans for the evening in favour of a girls night in with some quality rom-coms, popcorn and the key ingredient - snow.

For us, and I›m sure most people from the Southern Hemisphere, this was a massive deal. The light

snow of the early evening was exciting enough, but we were in for even more of a treat.

After our first movie we went out to a new world, and danced about in freezing temperatures with this strange white powdery thing we’d never properly seen before (and would soon learn was actually very wet and cold, much to our displeasure). Then we settled down and watched Love Actually into the early hours of Sunday morning, while it snowed. It felt like we were in the movie. I half expected Hugh Grant to rock up at our door and start singing Christmas carols, or even a Portugese proposal from Colin Firth.

Sunday morning was, if possible, even more strange, as the morning light proved I hadn’t simply imagined it all. The brightness was also very convenient for the taking of hundreds of photos to make everyone back home jealous of the snow.

The prospect of having to actually shovel the stuff on Monday morning was not quite as thrilling as our expeditioning around the school grounds, but after our solid efforts to make as many snowballs as possible, luckily most of it had melted away and we were spared.

In addition to being totally stunned by the snow, it has really made it clear to me just how quickly significant changes can feel normal (or at least not totally wrong), and how skilled we can be at adapting to new people and things, especially when we don’t have a choice.

Just last week I was walking across a field back to my flat, and it was snowing again. While it was exciting, it was nowhere near as big of a deal as it had seemed less than a week ago. Now I find it more annoying than exciting.

But whatever inconveniences the snow may cause, the transformation of the school grounds that initial weekend to a winter wonderland has led me to believe that, despite a lack of pool side cocktails, I think I might really love it here.

In the time it took me to write this, outside has once more become covered in this white powder that I’m rapidly becoming familiar with. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

AustralianTimes.co.uk/voices

Entertainment | 7

AustralianTimes.co.uk

Letting Sleeping Dogs lie in London n

We’ve all got a chequered Australian past. But could yours destroy your life?

By Karl Mathiesen SLEEPING DOGS is a new play

by Canadian come Australian come English playwright Brenda Gottsche.

The play enters the lives of a London family just before everything falls apart.

Roz (Barbara Hatwell) is a celebrity psychologist. Her husband, Australian expat Leo (Edmund Dehn) has just penned his first novel. Their son Alex (Joel Dyer) is the most levelheaded 19-year-old you could ever meet.

The household is successful in the stumbling, dysfunctional, loving way of most families. Until one day, a letter arrives with Leo’s Australian ghosts contained within. A truly bizarre secret is revealed and the family is crushed beneath the weight of Leo’s concealed past.

There are plot devices in this production that feel like a love child of Mad Men and The Truth About Cats and Dogs. However, the play is original. The reason we know that, says writer Gottsche, is because it is a true story.

“The real details were so complicated and so unbelievable that I had to tone the whole thing down,” she says with a laugh.

I found the momentum of this play

a little difficult. At first it meandered as the characters slowly introduced themselves. It was evidently all too much for the girl behind me who promptly feel asleep, snored and spilled her Jagerbomb – seriously, she had a Jagerbomb in the theatre and she wasn’t even Australian.

I also thought that the ending seemed desperate to answer every question, rather than leave some things unsaid.

However the guts were… well… gutsy.

As Leo’s lies started tearing apart his relationship with Roz, I was absolutely attached to the fate of these people.

It was emotionally gripping theatre with the accessible human dialogue and characters that are hallmark of Australian playwriting.

The question that Roz and Leo were fighting about was whether Leo’s lies changed who he was. That is also the question, Gottsche says, that she wants the audience to ask themselves.

“It’s just information. It’s not who you are. That’s the question I think I’m asking. Who are you? Are you what you say you do? Are you what you don’t do? Or are you something much deeper than that that doesn’t depend on information about you?”

That is exactly what my friend and I were arguing about as we walked back

High flying Aussies rock Camden

What we’re following #Ricky Ponting

@Sandra_Sully Punted! After almost 400 games, Ricky Ponting sacked from Aussie 1-day side, which he once captained. Is he considering his future? @TomMoodyCricket The dropping of Ricky Ponting is sad but inevitable Aust 1st step in build for the World Cup 2015. Big question who’s going to bat 3? Watto?

A BITE IN THE PAST: Barbara Hatwell as Dr Roz in Brenda Gottsche’s new play Sleeping Dogs. to the tube.

Theatre is good. Pubs are good. So a theatre in a pub is a sure thing. Baron’s Court Theatre is in the cellar of the Curtains Up pub in the West London district. London’s pub theatre tradition is one of its best opportunities for cheap ‘kulcha’. Tickets are generally less than £15. While the quality of the onstage fare can be hit and miss, you

know that there is always a bartender next door and very possibly a girl doing Jagerbombs.

Not that this was a necessary course of action at Sleeping Dogs. This was a play that offered a very human drama.

The characters were sympathetic and flawed. It asked searching questions and threw in a few laughs to boot. Did I mention that there was a pub upstairs?

AustralianTimes.co.uk/entertainment

Do you know an outstanding Australian woman in the UK?

@cricketwallah Ponting’s out from ODI side suggests Oz already planning for 2015 World Cup.But Ricky shud play Tests till Ashes 2013-unless he goes himself @diogeneb Guess CA finally decided to go by the #anagram of “Ricky T.Ponting” to “try not picking” him @abhijitmajumder By dropping Ricky Ponting, Australia has eased out a generation. He is last from the greatest Aussie squad ever @TheCriclover Certainly, it’s end of the road for Punter the great in ODIs... take a bow Ricky Ponting #17GloriousYears Check out what we’re following today on AustralianTimes.co.uk and follow us on Twitter @AustralianTimes

What’s On The Jezabels 22 Feb @ Koko Bleeding Knees Club 23 Feb @ Old Blue Last Gotye 29 Feb @ SheBu Empire

PHOTOS BY JUSTIN NG

n

Cloud Control @ Electric Ballroom, 17 February TO headline your own NME Awards Show in London is no mean feat.

Especially if you’re a relatively unheard of Australian band. So you could have been forgiven for thinking there may have been a bit of pressure on Cloud Control’s shoulders last week. But when the Aussie indie quartet took the stage in Camden on Friday night, there was no mistaking that these guys are consummate professionals, and they are here to stay on you music scene!

To a packed out Electric Ballroom venue with over 1000 Brits and Aussies side by side, Cloud Control reeled off their hits that have made them the talk of the town in Australia (and now Europe) the last couple of years. Established tunes like ‘Gold

Canary’ and ‘This Is What I Said’ had the place thumping and when ‘There’s Nothing In The Water We Can’t Fight’ belted out, you were almost swept off your feet as a fever surged through the excited crowd.

Cloud Control gave us a taste of what’s to come with a few new songs (one unnamed beauty that is sure to be a hit) as they now head into hibernation to write and record their second album. While the smoke on the stage was a little thick (or was that low lying ‘Cloud’?), so much so we could only occasionally make out the drummer Ulrich Lenffer (and even then it was just his mop of hair swishing about to their infectious beats) it was an awesome display from the young Aussies. Hopefully they can get the much anticipated follow up to Bliss Release out quickly so they can return to a stage near you!

Check out our cool video interview with Cloud Control at...

AustralianTimes.co.uk/entertainment

Kate Miller-Heidke 6 March @ Monto Water Rats DZ Deathrays 7 March @ Old Blue Last Qantas Australian Woman of the Year in the UK Award 2012 8 Mar @ The Langham London Australian Pink Floyd 24 Mar @ Hammersmith Apollo Parkway Drive 7 April @ Indig02 Tracer 24 April @ Islington O2 Academy Bogan Bingo Every Thursday @ The Underdog, Clapham Common

For full details... ...and more Aussie gigs go to: AustralianTimes.co.uk/entertainment

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8 | Entertainment

21 February - 27 February 2012

Stuffing Aussie music sounds into your London backpack n

THE DARK LIGHTS

Nick Killham - Backpack Sounds music from the

motherland

> BACKPACK SOUNDS

GROWING up in Australia, even in rural New South Wales, it was easy to immerse yourself in fresh Aussie music. Thanks to the nearly national coverage of the sainted Triple J, and the thriving gig and festival culture, any interested punter could stay on the cutting edge of cool. It was almost as if we used to listen to bands that didn’t even exist yet.

After half a decade doing the London thing though it can get a little tricky to keep a finger on the Oz music pulse.

Who are these whipper-snappers Cloud Control? What’s a Gotye?

Ok maybe it isn’t quite that dire, but if you really want to stay plugged in to the current musical renaissance at home you need to devote a lot of energy, and as energetic as Aussie expats can be, there are also plenty of distractions. That’s why, in a particularly industrious drunken fit of productivity, two London based Australians decided to fight the good fight and make things a little easier for all you Antipodean music fans.

Enter BackpackSounds.com London’s newest music site and the only one dedicated to unearthing Oz music gems, wrapping them up nice and presenting them to the Australian population in the UK’s capital, and

beyond. It’s like if Australian Times just did music!

We founded Backpack Sounds in January 2012 with two main goals; promote the acts from home that European based audiences might not have heard yet, and let people know which Aussie artists are touring around our way. And, so far, we’ve had a hell of a time making it happen.

We aren’t talking about gig listings for your local AC/DC cover band, or even reviewing the latest Hilltop Hoods album - for us this is about what is new, exciting and surprising in Australian music. Of course this means we’ve expanded our social lives to encompass a lot more shows; from watching London based Aussie band The Dark Lights to catching Grinspoon’s acoustic set at the Walkie - we’ve been out and about trying to find the best content for our growing reader base. And God bless Spotify, we’ve been getting our listening on too, with new music coming from some of our hot tips for 2012 - try Jonti, Seekae, Steve Smyth, San Cisco, Lanie Lane and Jack Ladder for a start (and come back each week for more).

We’ve met some great people already, just by being out and about, getting to gigs and dropping in on other events in the UK. You’ll hear from some of these new friends over the coming weeks as Backpack Sounds guest edits your Australian Times Music From The Motherland

entertainment section. We’ve got London based Bonfire Nights, tickets in hand for this year’s South by South West, ready to talk to you. We’ve harnessed our favourite Antipodean electric-harpest Tara Minton. APRA’s London rep Cathi Ogden is going to give you the lowdown. And maybe, just maybe, we’ll have some other big surprises in store for you. It has been exciting to see the community of Aussie musicians and music-lovers that already exists in London. This community is thriving, and believe it or not, it parallels the incredible scene our friends back home are enjoying.

It hasn’t all been giggles - for a couple of technological novices it has been a challenge beating Wordpress into a shape we liked, the page design took some work and the hangovers have been encroaching with greater frequency. We’ve had a lot of help from friends though and couldn’t be happier with the response we have been receiving. There is so much love and positivity for a project like this and it has made all the hard work worthwhile.

2012 is going to be a massive year for Australian music, and with a bit of luck it will be immense for us as well. Come check us out at Backpacksounds.com, follow us on Twitter @backpack_sounds (don’t forget to follow @AustralianTimes too) and come say hi at the next great Australian gig in London. We’ll be there. Enjoy!

STEVE SMYTH

SAN CISCO

SEEKAE

TARA MINTON PS. Come back next week for an astounding anecdote on harp-life from Tara Minton. It’s one not to be missed.

AustralianTimes.co.uk/entertainment

travel

Travel | 9

AustralianTimes.co.uk

valencia

tting This week we’re pu

ON THE MAP

Las Fallas the Festival of Fire n

For one week every year Valencia is transformed into an hallucinatory spectacle of giant papier-mâché statues. SIMON WEST was one of the millions who flocked to watch the Ninots set alight, as well as the parades and other festivities that engulf this Spanish town in the south.

SPAIN is a country renowned for its unique festivals and distinctive culture. Of course, what comes most immediately to mind is the Fiesta of San Fermin (Running of the Bulls) and La Tomatina, that outlandish event where people pelt, and get pelted with tomatoes. With the spotlight firmly pointed at these it seems that Las Fallas has taken a back seat. This fact would surprise anyone who has attended the event, as it is an explosive, smokey, rowdy five-day celebration of fire where the beautiful coastal town of Valencia is set on flames.

Well, the town itself is not actually sent burning to the ground but a few hundred large statues called Ninots are. Ninots are made from cardboard, wood and plaster and depict either people or scenes of current or historical interest, which obviously gives quite a lot of scope. Local and international celebrities may find themselves depicted in a colourful satirical form while scenes of recent events, local customs or the economy may also be made into an elaborate, creative satire.

Combine this with around the clock festivities and you have Las Fallas Europe’s, not to mention Spain’s, most wild Spring time festival.

Valencia is burning

Valencia is Spain’s third largest city and although it has a reputation for a frenzied nightlife, Las Fallas brings a totally new dimension to what is already there. The population of roughly half a million erupts to three million during the festival, so it is not surprising that the town has an anarchic feel to it during this celebration.

The history of this distinctly wild event is somewhat distorted. Put simply, it officially begins on the first Sunday of March to commemorate St Josephs Day, for the patron saint of Carpenters. This however, doesn’t start to explain or justify why large sculptures need to be set alight and destroyed. The connection apparently comes from the towns older times when wooden lamp posts were burnt as the days became longer and they were not seen as necessary. This happened at the beginning of spring, and St Josephs Day became the logical day with which to mark it. ...continued on p10

10 | Travel

21 February - 27 February 2012

Continued from p9...

More than just a Fire Festival

There is however, far more to Las Fallas than fire and the burning of Ninots. They are placed around the city from 15 to 19 March, and it is only on this final day that they are set alight. There is plenty to do during those days leading up to ‘La Crema’ or the final day. Daily events consist of bullfights, paella contests (Valencia is the unofficial paella capital of Spain), beauty pageants, outdoor concerts and street parties so the city has a buzz, and an atmosphere of constant excitement.

One of the most popular events takes place at 2pm each day. This is where the Mascleta are held in the cities main square, Plaza Ayuntamiento.

Mascleta is a series of smoke bombs and firecrackers which draws loud crowds that wait in anticipation. The event is certainly not hard to hear as what begins with a few ‘pops’ or ‘bangs’ escalates into what sounds like a firing squad. A competition is held each day, as groups try for the loudest and most impressive fireworks, usually creating the type of explosion that causes a shudder through the ground.

To Ninot or not to Ninot

When not involved in one of the many Las Fallas events, it is a good idea to make time to simply walk the streets and get a good look at as many Ninots as possible before they are destroyed. They vary greatly in colour, decoration and complexity so if you have seen one, you certainly have not seen them all. Each year people vote for one Ninot to be saved from a fiery conclusion and it is later displayed in a museum along with other winners saved from a fiery end Although some of the Ninots are difficult to comprehend and may require some understanding of Spanish, they are so elaborate and interesting it does not really matter.

Teams of local artists, craftsmen and

carpenters design and create them all and whether you do find them either grotesque or beautiful, they are at the absolute least very impressive. It is the sheer size and cost of these statues that truly amazes, they range from a few feet to around fifteen metres (city building size) and can cost more than £80,000! A few require cranes to move them, while others are on wheels and work like a float from a Mardi Gras parade.

The BIG day

19 March is the big day every year, and is the day that puts other firework orientated holidays to shame. Local neighbourhoods labour for months on end to create the Ninots only to have them stuffed with fireworks and left to burn to the ground – all the hard work usually disappears in mere minutes!

The days schedule runs surprisingly smoothly and work finishes early as the community is brought together for the spectacle. The small Fallas are burnt down at around 10pm and they work towards the large figures that garner the most attention.

These are set alight at midnight. The firing sequence is quite basic, little explosives are ignited and fireworks catch the original flames that burn down the Ninots at rapid pace.

Staying safe amongst the chaos

The obvious question arising once hearing about all these events is how can all this happen without widespread mayhem and the city burning down along with the arty structures? Well, despite sounding incredibly dangerous and hard to regulate this festival is actually well managed and kept under control.

Teams of firemen control the route and guard the flames, which prevents any surrounding infrastructure from catching alight. The firemen also try to keep the people safe although this is much harder given the partying nature of the festival. Regardless of the mindset of the revellers, the flames are not so much an issue for the claustrophobically packed crowds as when a decent amount of smoke floats into the masses.

For this reason, ambulances are close by, with it not uncommon for people to faint, especially pregnant women, asthmatics or young children lost in the commotion and abundance of cheering bodies. This however, should not deter people from going to Las Fallas, but is meant to warn that this fun-filled festival is not for the faint hearted or the holiday maker planning to lie on a beach away from distractions.

Valencia bound

Unfortunately, getting to Valencia for Las Fallas is not nearly as cheap as you may find at other times of the year. If you can go a couple of days early and maybe come back a day later – you may just save yourself quite a few ppunds.

Las Fallas is an event that Valencians take great honour and satisfaction in.

It is a festival that is marketable yet feels less commercial than others.

Revellers will find it well-organised but also run to keep a free-spirited smorgasbord of tradition and passion that the Spanish are so well known for.

If your idea of a decent few days away is a loud, explosive and non-stop party then Valencia during Las Fallas could be just your kind of holiday.

AustralianTimes.co.uk/travel

Travel | 11

AustralianTimes.co.uk

Promotion

Burn, baby, burn n

Monday 19 March, close to midnight, Valencia

A PYROMANIAC stands in the street. There’s a party going on, but he doesn’t notice. He is focused on an immense statue fabricated with timber. Smoke starts to fill the Valencian night sky. A bulge forms rapidly in his pants.

Las Fallas is about burning stuff. Burning extravagant, beautifully crafted, timber statues to be precise (and all types of firecracker wicks). It’s the biggest fiesta on the Valenciano calendar, a festival that takes the best aspect of rioting (burning shit) and combines it with the best aspect of being black-outdrunk (kissing strangers). Las Fallas is a street party the likes of which you’ve never seen, an extravaganza of building and burning, of love, life and lust, of sangria and the sanguinity associated with the end of winter.

They say Las Fallas is a celebration of carpentry and of the decline of winter. We add to that and say that it’s one helluva grand old time. The Valencianos close the city to all vehicles that aren’t associated with the extinguishing of infernos, so the streets are claimed by the drinkers, the dancers and the

maker-outerers. We party the night away with the locals, we drink until we’re sure we can tango, we lock lips with señors and señoritas and we have a whale of a time.

Stoke Travel hearts Las Fallas. Like all of our festival setups we pride ourselves on having the best pre and post festival parties, on you getting more bang for your buck, on creating a truly international environment and on making our number one priority having FUN. We’ve been coming here for a while now, so we know what’s going on. And we have an open bar, so

you can drink all the beer, wine and sangria you can stomach (or liver) for only 5€ a day.

Stoke Travel runs its Las Fallas camp from 15 - 20 March. The big nights are the Saturday night, duh, and the Monday night, which is when they actually burn the statues. Trips start at 25€ a night. For more information visit StokeTravel.com AustralianTimes.co.uk/travel

12 | Travel

21 February - 27 February 2012

This week’s top Travel Deals 20% off Ultimate Egypt

Topdeck are offering 20% off their 19 day Ultimate Egypt tour, departing 27 March.

Discover the land of the pharaohs, with excursions to the Egyptian Museum, Pyramids, Sphinx, Abu Simbel, Kom Ombo, the Valley of the Kings plus the Karnak and Luxor temples.

Includes fifteen nights twin share in 4 star hotels, two nights aboard a felucca sailboat and one night aboard a first class overnight train.

Was £599. Now just £479 plus local payment.

For full details, go to: Topdeck.

Travel/africa-trips/egyptpyramids-red-sea-resortshtueg/ultimate-egypt-tour

Buy one, get one free Peru

Until the end of March, you can book the trip of a lifetime to Peru with Intrepid and take a friend for free!

The deal is available on four of Intrepid’s best Peru adventures: Classic Peru, Inca Trail Express, Majestic Peru, and Sacred land of the

Australia on the Western Front, 1916-1918

Incas trips, plus selected departures on some others.

Tours must be booked by 31 March for travel by 30 September 2012 to get the buy one get one free offer. If you’re a solo traveller though, you can still receive a 30% discount off one of the 4 trips.

For details go to: IntrepidTravel.com/perusale

Save on Uncle Sam

£80

As part of their The Great Adventure Sale, Round The World Experts are offering up to £161 off trips to North America.

From sunning it in Miami, to dancing in New Orleans and trekking the amazing landscapes of Yosemite National Park; live the American Dream.

Tours start from £569.

For full details, go to: RoundTheWorldExperts. co.uk/features/adventure-sale/ north-america

Find more great travel deals this week on: AustralianTimes.co.uk/travel

per person including lunch on the Somme

Guided day coach tours of Australia's Western Front Battlefields: Fromelles, Pozières and Villers-Bretonneux.

Departing Central London, travelling in executive comfort, join Battlefront Exploration for a guided tour of Australia's Battlefields on the Western Front. We visit:

MACHU PICCHU: VIA WIKICOMMONS T029248

AustralianTimes.co.uk/travel

Fromelles: ‘the site of Australia's bloodiest twenty-four hours’ Pozières: ‘more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than any other place on earth’ (Australia's Official Historian) Villers-Bretonneux: ‘the final defeat of the 1918 German Spring Offensive’

Further details, tour dates and payment information can be found on our website www.battlefrontexploration.co.uk.

Jobs & Money | 13

AustralianTimes.co.uk

Dollar Review New networking event for Australians in London Payroll Data has positive impact on the Aussie

n

Aussiepreneurs will be hosting London drinks for entrepreneurial Australians and those who wish to help them.

IF YOU have your own business, want to start one someday, or if you’re keen to know which businesses in the UK are owned and run by Aussies – so that you can get behind them and help them get ahead – have a drink with Aussiepreneurs at Match Bar in London on 29 February.

As well as being a fun and lively meet up, Aussies with businesses in the UK will tap into an experienced and connected community to get known, win more business, find great suppliers and team members, sharpen skills, celebrate successes, and get an all important a boost when things get tricky.

Aussiepreneurs was started by Stephanie Beitzel in 2007 to meet other like minded entrepreneurs as a social and support group. After a few years under the radar Stephanie has now energised the business and considers 2012 to be a pivotal year for Aussiepreneurs.

“I am launching Aussiepreneurs as a stand alone business to support,

promote and inspire the growing number of gutsy Australians who set up their own businesses outside Australia each year, and to also support those who bring home grown ventures off shore,” Stephanie told Australian Times.

“Our members are small start-ups all the way to multi million pound listed companies, and all share a vision to make waves around the world - and are on their way to achieve that.”

Watch this Australian Times space for features and interviews with budding Australian expat entrepreneurs and if you wish to head to the Aussiepreneurs network night – see the information below.

Save £5 when you book and pay £15 in advance. Includes a welcome drink, hot finger food, structured networking, munchies from Australia Shop. To register for this event, visit Aussiepreneurs.com or email register@aussiepreneurs.com.

AustralianTimes.co.uk/jobs-money

THE Aussie dollar continued to rise this week after the nations statistics bureau was cited as saying that payrolls have increased by 46300 over the last month. This is the largest increase we have seen in over a year.

The unemployment rate has slide to 5.1 percent, down from the estimated 5.3percent.

With the market looking secure it is unlikely that the Reserve Bank will enforce any further rate cuts. Kara Ordway, a foreign-exchange strategist said “It looks less likely that we will see a further rate cut. Going forward over the next 12 months, I’d expect the Australian dollar to remain strong.

Everything is pointing in its favour.”

The continued upswing in the Aussie has been enhanced by the growing hope that the final detail on a second bailout plan for Greece will be announced early this week.

The Aussies leveled off at 0.68 to the British pound this week and 0.933 to the US dollar. Market sentiment seems to be that the Aussie will continue to

GBP vs AUD

hold the ground it has gained over the past few weeks. The head of Australia’s Treasury Department Martin Parkinson was cited as saying that it is hard to see that the currency would fall dramatically, so one would have to think that the currency would stay in this sort of region.

GBP/AUD: 1.4772 EUR/AUD: 1.2266 AUD/USD: 1.0716 AUD/JPY: 85.2320 Exchange Rates at 09:55, 20 February 2012

Composed by Monique Chapman:: Note: The above exchange rates are based on “interbank” rates. If you want to transfer money to or from Australia then please register/login on our website, www.1stcontactforex.com, or call us for a live dealing rate. Make use of a Rate Notifier to send you alert when the Australian exchange rate reaches levels you are looking for.

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Join us at an Australian Business event in 2012

My sister is planning to come to the UK in order to do a degree at a UK university.

What are the current rules regarding working whilst on student visa, and do you foresee any changes to the rules on student’s permission to work?

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Your sister will be allowed to work up to 20 hours per week during term time and full-time during vacations.

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14 | Sport

21 February - 27 February 2012

Super 15 Rugby Special Salary cap makes Super Rugby harder in Australia n

Rugby World Cup winning coach Jake White thinks he has discovered an Australian rugby leader of the future in new Brumbies captain Ben Mowen. But he’s also discovered why Australian teams struggle to win the Super Rugby tournament.

JAKE White, former World Cup winning Springboks coach and current man in charge of the ACT Brumbies, has said that it is more difficult for Australian Super Rugby teams to win the title because of player restrictions and an uneven playing field. ”It is so much tougher for the Australian teams because there is a salary cap and you can only have 30 players,” White said. ”There is no academy – so there’s no junior age groups you can pull players from. So you really can’t underestimate what Ewen McKenzie did with the Reds last year – for an Australian team to win the title was a fantastic achievement.”

White said that a lack of young players or youth development options for the state and territory based teams has made his task at the Brumbies much harder than elsewhere. ”The main difficulty I am having is when you don’t have an academy and you don’t have an under-21 side it makes it tough to have the required depth. [South African] teams, like the Bulls and Sharks, can draw on under-21 players, while New Zealand teams can draw in players from their provincial competition. ”The Blues can drag in players from North Harbour, the Chiefs can get players from Taranaki and so on. And in South Africa, they can bring in players from other areas. But here it is different.

That is the difficulty of coaching an Australian franchise team. You are playing in the competition involving 15 teams and five teams have restrictions the other 10 don’t have.”

At least White is happy he will be able to field a team at all. While the Brumbies have lost a tribe of Wallabies including Rocky Elsom, Adam Ashley-Cooper, Matt Giteau and Stephen Hoiles, White argues they are still better off than some other provinces.

When asked if he had a lot of talent to choose from, White said: “We are as good as we can be in that framework … At this point in time, the Brumbies have a lot of positives other teams don’t have. I have 32 guys fit and ready to play, whereas other franchises have a lot of injuries. As much as the squad is inexperienced and

We won’t win the wooden spoon: Force

WESTERN FORCE forwards coach Nick Stiles says punters will be foolish if they put their money on the Perth-based franchise to finish last this Super Rugby season.

The Force have been installed favourites by at least two Australian bookmakers to win the wooden spoon in 2012.

The Brumbies, Lions and Cheetahs are also tipped to struggle.

But it is the Force, who lost star Wallaby James O’Connor and firstchoice five-eighth Willie Ripia over the off-season, that many expect will prop up the table.

The Force’s pre-season form, in

which they copped hidings at the hands of the Brumbies and Reds, certainly haven’t changed wider opinions.

But Stiles said betting on the Force to finish last would be as good as flushing money down the toilet.

“You’d be wasting your money I reckon,” Stiles said on Monday.

“So keep your hard earned in your pocket or put us to finish a bit higher than that.”

Former Brumbies prop Salesi Ma’afu, who switched to the Force over the summer, was also surprised how quickly everyone was writing off the Force.

“It makes me feel good if all those

people are going to put their money on it and lose their money,” Ma’afu said.

“I think we’ve got a good team.”

Ma’afu will temporarily put friendships on hold on Friday night when the Force take on the Brumbies in Canberra.

The 28-year-old notched 52 games at the Brumbies, but felt the time was right to switch to the Force.

“I’d been there six years and things seem to get pretty dull,” said Ma’afu, who has tallied 14 Test caps since making his Wallabies debut in 2010.

“That’s the way life is. I needed a change. I’m happier now with my rugby and my life and enjoying it.” - AAP

Reds eyeing off more Super success new, there are bonuses.”

As for a skipper to lead his new look Brumbies squad into the 2012 Super 15 tournament, White has chosen former NSW enforcer Ben Mowen.

“There are a lot of guys here who have leadership potential but the most important thing is that I’m looking for a captain who complements me and brings the best out in the group.”

Mowen, who was unwanted by the Waratahs at the end of last term, replaces departed skipper Stephen Hoiles and narrowly edged out Australian hooker Stephen Moore for the top job.

“With so many new faces it’s taken time for the team to settle, but from the time he arrived you could see that Ben is a leader and that he has the respect of the team,” White said.

“He has a long history of leading teams. In particular, his work with the 2005 Australian Under 21s was impressive.”

And despite the relative inexperience of the Canberra based Brumbies outfit this year, the new skipper feels that the 2012 season does not constitute a rebuilding year for the franchise.

“I’m excited because I believe in what the team can do,” said Mowen.

“We have been together for close to nine months now as a team, and we have seen the benefit of those combinations through the trials.

“We have spoken about the need to be desperate as a group, and what we will and won’t accept from each other as our standards for 2012. I feel very fortunate to be chosen to represent the group, and I can see a huge self-belief building within the team.”

The Super 15 competition starts 24 February. For all fixtures, head to AustralianTimes.co.uk/sport

NSW on Saturday night, Genia indicated motivation wouldn’t be a concern following Matt Burke’s comments at last week’s Waratahs season launch.

Former Test and NSW fullback Burke, the Waratahs kicking coach until this year, tipped the Reds would stumble in round one without injured five-eighth Quade Cooper and struggle to continue their success.

“They have obviously fired off the first shot by saying we will have second-year syndrome so we’ll just wait and see,” Genia said.

“We are so young and we’re not like older players who have won a title and we’ll rest our careers on that.

“We’re still full of motivation and still want to play well and do well for Queensland.”

The Reds have acknowledged they flew under the radar for much of 2011 as they swept the competition with a 15-3 record and must step up further going from the hunters to the hunted.

But Genia also didn’t mind pointing out they have sipped from a trophy the Waratahs have never touched.

“The Brumbies are the only other (Australian) side to have won a title so it’s better to be a one-year wonder than a no-year wonder,” the Wallabies No.9 said.

Cooper (knee), winger Rod Davies (hamstring) and reserve lock Adam Wallace-Harrison (knee) will miss the ANZ Stadium grudge match.

Queensland coach Ewen McKenzie indicated flanker Scott Higginbotham was likely to overcome a back

RUGBY BOYS WILL SUPER BOYS: James O’Connor (Melbourne Rebels), Berrick Barnes (NSW Waratahs), James Horwill (Queensland Reds), David Pocock (Western Force) and Stephen Moore (ACT Brumbies) share a laugh at the Australian Super Rugby season launch. Each is expected to be a pivotal player for their teams this season. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins) problem while hooker Saia Fainga’a (ankle) is also desperate to start.

Former Waratah Robinson is adamant the Reds will lift to another level in 2012 if they’re attitude is right.

“Why not? That’s the question that I pose to people. Why wouldn’t it be?” he said.

“The blokes here are better, fitter, stronger, faster so that (motivation) would be the only thing that would be stopping us.”

The workaholic back-rower said

a season-opener against NSW was ideal considering Queensland were smashed 30-6 in the corresponding match in 2011.

“A few of the boys might have been a little complacent last year due to how well they’d improved from the previous year and played entertaining rugby,” Robinson said.

“They were just hoping it would all come together again without putting in the hard work.” - AAP AustralianTimes.co.uk/sport

Y B G U R 5 1 R round 1 fixtures...

SUPE Fri 24th Fri 24th Fri 24th Sat 25th Sat 25th Sat 25th Sat 25th

6:35AM 8:40AM 5.10PM 6.35 AM 8.40AM 3.05PM 5.10PM

Blues v Crusaders @ Eden Park Brumbies v Force @ Canberra Stadium Bulls v Sharks @ Loftus Versfeld Stadium Chiefs v Highlanders @ Waikito Stadium Waratahs v Reds @ Sydney Football Stadium Stomers v Hurricanes @ Newlands Stadium Lions v Cheetahs @ Coca-Cola Park

Sport | 15

AustralianTimes.co.uk

Ponting considering cricket retirement Continued from p16...

Inverarity described Ponting as a gem of a human being, and said the Tasmanian took the news of his dumping “on the chin”.

But he added the decision to axe Australia’s finest player since Don Bradman was a unanimous one.

“You don’t put your heart to one side, but the head has got to dominate,” Inverarity said of Ponting, who captained Australia to World Cup crowns in 2003 and 2007.

“In elite sport, there’s no place for sentiment.”

In other big team news, Inverarity confirmed Matthew Wade had

officially taken over from Brad Haddin as Australia’s preferred ODI wicket-keeper.

Haddin’s demise was poorly handled

by Cricket Australia, who initially claimed the 34-year-old was rested for the start of the triangular series before later admitting he had been dropped.

The 43-Test veteran made a pair of ducks in NSW’s Sheffield Shield loss to Western Australia last week, and faces a fight to retain his spot in the Test XI ahead of Wade.

Meanwhile, skipper Michael Clarke is on track to make his return from a hamstring injury against Sri Lanka at Bellerive Oval on Friday after being named in Australia’s 13-man squad.

But fit-again allrounder Shane Watson, who also earned inclusion, is more likely to return against India in Sydney on Sunday.

In the other change to the squad, paceman Ryan Harris replaced Mitchell Starc. - AAP Australia’s squad to play Sri Lanka in Hobart on Friday and India on Sunday in Sydney: Michael Clarke (capt), Shane Watson, Dan Christian, Xavier Doherty, Peter Forrest, Ryan Harris, Ben Hilfenhaus, David Hussey, Michael Hussey, Brett Lee, Clint McKay, Matthew Wade, David Warner.

AustralianTimes.co.uk/sport

Finsbury Park Tag Rugby Festival back in March

By Phillip Browne IN LAST week’s winter Tag Rugby action across the capital, players were glad to be back playing above zero degree temperatures with last Thursday producing a lovely 10 degrees!

With only two more rounds remaining in most winter leagues, this week we head into the business end of the season.

At Borough, Scrum & Coke (Mixed) and The Hardy Boyz (Men’s) are still undefeated, producing some great form of late and are both favourites to take out the title.

Across at Rotherhithe, Finished Roving Your Mum is back on top and looking in fine form to defend their autumn title. Three teams are equal in front over at Wood Green with this evenly fought out competition looking like any team can win on their day!

Moves Like Tagger (Barnes), Double Scrum & Coke (Bermondsey A grade) and The Try Tag Cobras (Bermondsey social grade) all lead their respective competitions.

In other news, Try Tag Rugby’s most popular venue, Finsbury Park will be

WHO WILL BE THE 2012 CROP?: Finalists from the 2011 Finsbury Park Tag Rugby Festival. hosting London’s first one day Tag Rugby festival of the year. The Finsbury Park Tag Rugby Festival will be held on Saturday, 31 March. The day will include a round robin Tag Rugby tournament with great prizes to be won and a legendary after party at one of London’s best pubs, The Faltering Fullback! Registrations are now open and all details can be found at Trytagrugby.com Meanwhile, the registrations for the Spring Tag Rugby competitions

starting 4 March are now open. If you would like to get involved in one of the fastest growing sports in London, new team and individual registrations are welcome. This is a great chance to develop a network of friends if you are new to London.

To register for a Try Tag Rugby competition, go to www.trytagrugby. com or email info@trytagrugby.com for more details.

Waratahs smash Tonga, now want Super season

BERRICK Barnes’ early departure from Friday night’s trial demolition of Tonga appeared precautionary, but the Waratahs will still be holding their breath ahead of next week’s Super Rugby opener against Queensland.

The NSW star playmaker was only down to play 40 minutes at the Sydney Football Stadium, but was replaced in the 30th minute, nursing a groin complaint - as the Waratahs cruised to a 52-0 victory.

NSW were confident Barnes was just experiencing tightness in his right groin, with the stand-in captain having the area strapped as soon as he was replaced by Daniel Halangahu.

Barnes’ departure came quite suddenly, given the five-eighth had just thrown the last pass for Rob Horne’s try and potted his third conversion for a 21-0 lead.

Halangahu didn’t even have his shirt on when Barnes came from the field, and because of the delay, the Wallaby five-eighth even motioned to play on - a good sign the problem isn’t overly serious.

But if Barnes wasn’t able to back up in time for next Saturday night’s blockbuster against the Reds, it would push the Waratahs injury troubles towards a crisis.

Already missing the likes of Rocky Elsom (March return), Dan Vickerman (April return), Lachie Turner (season) and Drew Mitchell (possibly April), NSW will be desperate for their No.10 to steer the ship against the defending premiers.

The news was better for giant No.8 Wycliff Palu, Horne, prop Benn Robinson and Adam Ashley-Cooper on his Waratahs debut, who all got through unscathed.

Impressive South African No.9 Sarel Pretorius showed off his brilliant running game, scoring the first try of the night and was named man of the match.

With the match broken into a first half and then three periods of 20 minutes for a total playing time of 100 minutes, confusion set in at the SFS when half the crowd of 4063 stood up and walked out after a hooter was blown at 80 minutes.

Even the match officials left the field and had to be called back.

Waratahs coach Michael Foley said Barnes would be fit to play and at this stage there’s no doubt about his availability for the Reds match.

“It was really just the kicking that was irritating his groin and when that started to flair up a little bit we took the

precaution of taking him off the field before it became more serious,” he said.

“There’s a couple of niggles that will be assessed but we actually got through a game without any so that’s a good thing.”

After last week’s 83-5 smash up of Samoa in the opening trial, it’s debatable whether the trial matches against the Pacific Island nations have been the preparation the Waratahs would have been hoping for leading into round one.

But Foley said he’s happy with where stars like Ashley-Cooper, Palu and Robinson are at.

“You saw a bit of impact from Cliff at times, Adam made a couple of incisive runs and certainly Benn scrummaged well, so a good start for all of those guys,” he said.

“I think we probably came out of that feeling like there were times when we didn’t control the ball well enough ... some things for us to work on next week but generally some pleasing things.”

Can the Waratahs win their first Super Rugby title in 2012? Have your say with our online poll...

AustralianTimes.co.uk/sport

Fiery Johnson awarded with Tendulkar and co Continued from p16...

the fourth-best figures in Australia’s one-day history to set his team on the path to a seven-wicket victory over Sri Lanka. It was taken for granted that spin would be the dominant force - so much so that Johnson was only the sixth bowler Michael Clarke turned to after losing the toss. Johnson struck with his third delivery, and ran through the middle order to finish with 6 for 31 - figures surpassed for Australia only by Glenn McGrath, Andy Bichel and Gary Gilmour.

Established in 2007, this year’s ESPNcricinfo Awards were voted on by a jury of cricket greats and experts, which included Ian Chappell (former Australia captain), Sanjay Manjrekar (former India batsman), Geoffrey Boycott (Former England opener), Ramiz Raja (Former Pakistan cricketer) and Russel Arnold (Former Sri Lanka allrounder).

Chappell said this particular devastating display by Johnson showed what the Aussie fast bowler is capable of.

“With Mitchell Johnson, it seems to be all or nothing when he’s bowling. He’s either very, very good, or very, very bad. On this day at Pallekele, he destroyed Sri Lanka with some magnificent bowling.

This was the day when Mitchell Johnson was really on. He had the ball swinging into the right-handers, which is when he’s at his best. He was also fiery, bowling at good pace, and as we all know, he can get the odd ball to lift off a pretty good length and cause the best of batsmen

problems. He came into the attack bowling well down the order.

He was used late but boy was he successful. Ten overs, one maiden, 6 for 31. He destroyed Sri Lanka after they’d made a good start.”

The other winners were India’s Sachin Tendulkar, winning the best individual Test Batting performance for his 146 against South Africa in the Third Test in Cape Town.

Ireland’s Kevin O’Brien claimed the best individual ODI Batting performance for his 113 against England at last year’s ICC World Cup in Bangalore. And Doug Bracewell from New Zealand was awarded best individual Test Bowling performance for his 6 for 40 against Australia in the Second Test in Hobart.

AustralianTimes.co.uk/sport

London Broncos fall short against 12 man Hull Continued from p16...

lead. Danny Tickle missed the conversion.

Broncos had struggled to get a foothold in the game but a moment of class from Aussie duo Chad Randall and Michael Robertson leveled things up. Randall received the ball from captain Craig Gower and looped it out to Robertson on the right wing who squeezed over tight to the touchline. After much deliberation from the video ref the try was awarded but Michael Witt failed with his conversion.

Hull quickly regained their lead after a smart offload from former Cronulla Shark Brett Seymour allowed Joe Westerman in to score.

The try however came at a cost as Joe Westerman immediately left the pitch with a dislocated shoulder. Tickle converted.

The Black and Whites increased their lead before half time as a smart kick from Richard Horne on the fifth tackle was deflected into the path of Australian journeyman Wade McKinnon who ghosted in for the try. Tickle again converted to take the scores to 16-4 at the interval.

Hull FC were quick out of the traps in the second half. A powerful run from Willie Manu opened up the Broncos defense and he released Kirk Yeaman for the try.

The tide of game changed however in the 60th minute when Sam Moa saw red for a reckless high tackle on Julien Rinaldi. The big Tongan led with his shoulder and the tackle left Rinaldi out cold.

With Hull reduced to 12 men London Broncos came back into the match and enjoyed a great amount of possession in the home team’s half.

Luke Dorn capitalised on a gap in the Hull defense and jinked his way through to score his first try of the season.

As the Broncos began seeing more of the ball, Gower’s influence on the game grew. The former Penrith man followed up his own grubber kick behind Hull’s tryline and his tackle on Will Sharpe saw the ball spill kindly for Chris Melling to score the simplest of tries.

The Broncos went out in search of further tries but were met by a resolute Hull backline and any thought of a comeback was dashed when a promising move was called back for a dubious forward pass decision. The London team were unlucky to finish eight points short at 14-22 but showed a lot of promise and that first elusive win won’t be too far away.

AustralianTimes.co.uk/sport

FREE DAYS FOR THE LADIES Marching onto Finsbury Park Tag Rugby giving it to the girls Getting ready for the first Tag Rugby festival of the year P14 P15

CHAPPELL SAYS SWITCH PUNTER PUNTED HIT IS ‘RIDICULOUS’ Only way is up for hungry Queensland

n

The international career of former captain Ricky Ponting could be over after the 37-year-old was dumped from Australia’s one-day squad.

n

Australian cricket legend blasts cricket’s ‘unfair’ switch hit technique and says Australia still has a way to go to before reclaiming top Test team status

JUST a day after standing in as skipper in Australia’s crushing 110 run victory over India at the Gabba, Ricky Ponting was informed his services in the one-day arena were no By Martin longerTim required.

Ponting’s tri-series return of 18 runs FORMER Australian captain Ian at an average 3.6 against Chappell hasof never beenIndia one and to Sri Lanka proved to he’s be hisnow downfall, mince words.

And come with the 37-year-old now considering out firing about the polarising ‘switch whether it’s worth staying onWarner in the hit’ technique, which David Test arena. pulled off with aplomb in Australia’s National selector John Inverarity recent T20 win over India. said it was unlikely Ponting would “I think I wrote it first in the 1990s, be able1990s, to force wayridiculous,” back into early thathisit’s the one-daytold set-upAustralian given the need to Chappell Times. prepare aheadskill of the “I meanthe it’ssquad a terrific but2015 can World Cup. someone explain to me how it’s fair? he hoped Ponting IfBut the bowler has got to tell you would which continue Test -career after the way he is his bowling over the wicket, batsman’s stunningright return to left formarm in round the wicket, arm, this summer’s - how can it be 4-0 fair Test if hewhitewash then placesofa India. fielder for a left hand batsmen and just is expected willball, holdthe a asIthe’s about to Ponting deliver the press to discuss his future batter conference becomes a right hander. inChappell Sydney on Tuesday. said he “admires” the skill is goingbutto has consider of“Ricky the technique called his for future next couple of days balanceover to bethe maintained. and“There’s he’ll talka it thing over with hisbalance family called and with his between batmanager,” and ballInverarity and to said me on Monday. that’s the most important thing that “He made a double century administrators have got to doin– his to last andpretty we areeven. hoping that keepTest thatmatch balance Now if he remains available forand Test match I was playing the game someone cricket, there can guarantees did thatbut [switch hit],beI no know exactly in elite sport and in theI’d Australian what I would be doing. make it cricket known team. that I’m very unhappy about the ODI team it “If andheIdrops thinkout it’sofunfair.

And I’dthen do there’s a possible lackget of momentum something to try and it changed. there.

I’m not in any doubt at all, sure it’s “There are but three matches in very skilful, no Test way in the wide the West world is itIndies fair.” (in April), then as I understand it there are no and more Test The cricket legend now matches October or November.” televisionuntil commentator said he’s Ponting’swith 13,704 at an average impressed the runs Australian team at of in but 375he’s ODIs ranksif second the 42.03 moment not sure they’re only Sachin Tendulkar, while his back to their world beating best.

13,200 runs have over certainly 162 Testsfound makesa “Australia him third highest scorerand in pace the attack during thisrun summer Test history. they’ve been well captained and that’s the way to turn things around quite ...continued on p14 quickly. That’s not to say they still

SUPER RUGBY champions Queensland have scoffed at NSW’s barbs the Reds in are on set Schwarzer closes for second-year syndrome and World Cup history warned they’ll only get better defending their title. Socceroos EVERGREEN Reds halfback Genia and goalkeeper MarkWill Schwarzer is flanker Beau targeting a sliceRobinson of World both Cup stressedafter on reiterating Monday there was history his desire plenty improvement to come to carryof on for Australia until from a2014. young squad which is Brazil virtually unchanged 2012.40 in The Fulham keeperinturns And with defence October but their wants title to continue kicking for off atagainst arch-rivals playing least another two seasons as he eyes an international ...continued on p14 swan song in South America.

Should Schwarzer make it to Brazil, he would become

Mitchell...continued Johnson on p15 gets top ODI gong AUSTRALIA’S Mitchell Johnson

has been awarded honours Ponting couldtopbe in One Day International (ODI) captain bowling at again the ESPNcricinfo

AUSTRALIA cricket celebrate captain Awards 2011, which Michael hopes to miss just the best Clarke individual performances one international in thelimited-overs past year by batsmen and due to hisin legTests muscleand injury. bowlers one-day Clarke said scans on Monday internationals. returned “goodthe news” by Johnson won award for revealing just Bowling a slight strain best ODI for to his right hamstring. performance against Sri Lanka have hamstring in“Ithe firsta grade ODI inonePallekele in strain will be out ofproduced Friday’s Augustso2011.

Johnson game,” Clarke posted on Twitter. p15a Australia will ...continued be forced to on name

AUSTRALIA AGAINST ENGLAND The road to London starts now | P15

don’t have some flaws there which have next summer, if they all get fit, have to reinvest in youth for the future.

I’m sure they’d like to fix up, some of nine or 10 guys who have all played “Australian cricket has got to get the top order batting leaves a bit to be a bit of international cricket with a bit back to finding young batsmen who desired and I’m sure they’d like to see of success and all looking to be in the are good enough for first class cricket some young batsmen coming through Test side which is a very good thing. and ready for first class cricket at age but it’s a hell of a lot better than it was “But I don’t see a batting lineup at 18. And that’s when you start to get 12 months ago.” the moment. If you look at some of the a few guys coming into the Test side Yet he wouldn’t go so far as to say heavy lifting in the Test series against at age 20-21-22. Ponting and Clarke Australian cricket was entering a new India, apart from Warner, a lot of the both came in at around that age and golden age. heavy lifting was done by [Michael] you’ve got to have those guys feeding “No. No I wouldn’t say that.

Clarke, by [Ricky] Ponting and by through and I don’t see those guys at LAST GOODBYE?: Does Ricky Ponting’s axing from the Australian one-day team spell the end of his Certainly – our bowling, it’s very [Michael] Hussey.” international career altogether?

(AAP Image/Dean Lewins) good, very strong. You are going to And Chappell agrees that Australia ...continued on p14

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Craig Gower almost inspires Stewart back Broncosnearly upset to best: Broncos Tooveyheaded LONDON

to Hull FC looking pick up their MANLY coach toGeoff Toovey first of the season butand it says victory Brett Stewart is leaps was the ahead home of side thathis claimed bounds where fitness both points as they out the was at this point lastsaw season and game with 12the menNRL to winwill 22-14. he expects see It took until minute the best of thethe star16th fullback in for the following first score an of the match.

2012 injury-free After some sustained pressure preparation. from Hull, who Tom missed Briscoethe stepped Stewart, 2009 inside man with justsuccessive metres and 2010hisseasons from the try that line threatened and touched knee injuries his down give theinhome career,toreturned a big side way the last ...continued on p15 ...continued on p15