CityNews 210121

BILL STEFANIAK / GOING SOFT ON POSSESSION WON’T FIX CANBERRA’S DRUG PROBLEM JANUARY 21, 2021

Well written, well read

The stacked boards killing Canberra

PAUL COSTIGAN

Time captain Tim declared his innings

ROBERT MACKLIN Why seafood beats meat next Christmas

CLIVE WILLIAMS

BUILDING, A FUTURE

JO FARRELL wants more women to take up the tools

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NEWS / confessions of a snake catcher

Stay calm, brown snakes are scared of you, too

By Nick

OVERALL THE Eastern Brown Snake is one of the most feared creatures in Australian wildlife. It can grow to 2.5 metres and strike at a metre a second. And Gavin Smith can’t get enough of them.

An associate professor of social science at the ANU and owner and operator of ACT Snake Removal, Gavin wants to foster a safer relationship between people and snakes.

“I’m fascinated by snakes and their behaviour, as I am our response to the animal. I want to really help people understand snakes better,” he says.

It might seem improbable that Gavin’s two passions, sociology and snake catching, would overlap, but he’s fascinated by the social relationship people have with the serpents.

“Part of why snakes are so terrifying to us is their complete disregard for the societal structures that we ourselves place so much importance on,” he says.

“I’ve had to remove snakes from embassies, places we as people very much understand to stay away from. For snakes, there’s no respect, no awareness of our constructed boundaries. It’s this collision of wildlife and social life that really makes us terrified.”

INDEX

Gavin also thinks it’s how our cultural representations of snakes throughout history have further contributed to our fear of the reptiles.

“We’ve seen them represented as evil in history as far back as the book of ‘Genesis’ with the snake that manipulated Adam and Eve. There’s also examples like the serpents that make up the hair of Medusa,” he says.

Gavin’s had to remove snakes not only from backyards, but car parks, a soccer team’s kit bag, a weapons bunker and even multiple major shopping centres.

“The Eastern Brown is the most common type found here in the ACT, but there’s still plenty of other snakes around that we also deal with when needed,” says Gavin.

While he’s had a slightly quieter summer, he says people still need to be conscious of snake activity.

“We’ve had a wet summer and so we’ve seen a lot of growth of tall grass and plant life. I think that the snakes might be using that as camouflage and so might be being seen less. People should be very cautious around tall grass,” he says.

After catching the snakes, he relocates them to a more suitable, non-residential environment.

He says brown snakes play a crucial ecological role by eating vermin, such as mice and rats, help with the control of numbers of other native species and provide a food source for other animals.

Gavin is part of a team of researchers conducting a study that will soon track the movements of 12 brown snakes in the

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The study aims to understand how far the snakes travel, the time of day and temperatures at which they are active, and where they go dormant in the colder months.

“We are hoping the study will help educate the public about how snakes operate in the suburbs and inform translocation policies and conservation efforts,” says Gavin.

He also wants to teach as many people as possible how to be more safe around snakes.

“Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to present them as cute and cuddly. These are dangerous creatures,” he says.

“But what a lot of people forget is that they’re terrified of us, too. If you have a snake in your house or if there’s conflict with pets of course give us a call, but at many times when seeing a snake the most important thing to do is remain calm and leave it alone.”

Gavin thinks that slowly but surely people are becoming more aware of the importance of protecting these creatures.

“During the devastating bushfires last year Australians saw our beautiful wildlife so tragically destroyed,” he says.

“I think that event might have made people a little more conscious of caring for our wildlife.”

Ultimately Gavin loves what he does as a snake catcher because it means he gets to serve his community.

“It’s knowledge that breeds greater tolerance,” he says.

“The better we understand snakes, the less we might fear them.”

Managing Director: James Anderson, 0404 077605, james@citynews.com.au Director: Kate Meikle, kate@citynews.com.au Senior advertising account executives: David Cusack, 0435 380656 Tracey Avery, 0477 939999 Advertising account executives: Damien Klemke, 0439 139001 Editor: Ian Meikle, editor@citynews.com.au Digital news editor: Danielle Nohra, danielle@citynews.com.au Journalists: Andrew Mathieson, andrew@citynews.com.au Nick Overall, nick@citynews.com.au Belinda Strahorn, belinda@citynews.com.au; Nathan Schmidt, nathan@citynews.com.au Kathryn Vukovljak, kathryn@citynews.com.au Arts editor: Helen Musa, 0400 043764, helen@citynews.com.au Production manager: Janet Ewen Proof reader: Glenda Anderson

Catcher Gavin Smith with a brown snake… “The better we understand snakes, the less we might fear them.”

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SEVEN DAYS

Deflowering, definitions and diare… diarrhoea!

SO, how was the break? Mine was highlighted by not one, not two but three enforced COVID-19 up-yer-nose tests, for no particular reason.

I was deflowered, so to speak, in a shipping container at a roadside testing facility at Tailem Bend on the way to Adelaide where a charming young woman took a retchworthy throat swab then inserted the same cotton tip deep into the nasal caverns of my cranium, where she spun the lot for three insanely itchy seconds.

Too much TV, but I thought they used two ends of a swab separately. However, on enquiry I have discovered mucus mixing is definitely de rigueur in the ACT, Victoria, NSW and Queensland… and SA. Driving untroubled across a veritable garden of green zones from Canberra and armed with the requisite “passport” that promised “unrestricted access to South Australia” whistling through the Pinnaroo checkpoint was going to be a breeze. Except it wasn’t.

Under questioning by a plump policeman, I was told I was required to take a covid test on days one, five and 12. Why, the borders are open? “Because we don’t know where you’ve been,” he said. There was no direction to isolate until the inevitable negative results came back, just compliance would do.

“The coppers will be checking on you,” Constable Plod brightly threatened. No one did and I sullenly presented myself for the

monly misspelled word has been revealed as “diarrhoea”. Some people just can’t work it out, for which I have some sympathy; the word’s five vowels and a double “rr” stumped 122,000 Google users in the last month.

Next was a personal favourite (that I can spell), “separate” (eluding 90,000 people) and in third place, “zucchini” (57,500).

Depressingly, the research found that only 28 per cent of people own a dictionary and 64 per cent of participants relied on technology such as Siri and Alexa to help them spell words.

The rest of the words on the list are: “Potato” (46,000 times wrong), “Questionnaire” (31,500), “Definitely” (13,100), “Embarrass” (13,000), “Conscience” (12,600), “Unnecessary” (9270), “Bureaucracy” (4770) and finally, another five-vowel challenger, “Manoeuvre” (750). subsequent swabbing at drive-through testing points and complied with this abundance of not caution, but wasteful obsession.

There seemed to be no point to it, an observation confirmed by my never receiving results for tests two and three. Roll on the vaccine.

ON a (much) lighter note, once again “The Washington Post” has published the winning submissions to its yearly “neologism” contest, in which readers are asked to supply alternative meanings for common words.

I can’t resist sharing the 16 winners: 1. Coffee (n.), the person upon whom one coughs.

2. Flabbergasted (adj.), appalled over how

much weight you have gained.

3. A bdicate (v.), to give up all hope of ever having a flat stomach.

4. Esplanade (v.), to attempt an explanation while drunk.

5. W illy-nilly (adj.), impotent.

6. N egligent (adj.), describes a condition in which you absentmindedly answer the door in your nightgown.

7. Lymph (v.), to walk with a lisp.

8. Gargoyle, olive-flavoured mouthwash.

9. F latulence (n.), emergency vehicle that picks you up after you are run over by a steamroller.

10. Balderdash (n.), a rapidly receding hairline.

11. T esticle (n.), a humorous question on an exam.

12. Rectitude (n.), the formal, dignified bearing adopted by proctologists.

13. Pokemon, a Rastafarian proctologist.

14. Oyster (n.), a person who sprinkles his conversation with Yiddishisms.

15. Frisbeetarianism (n.), the belief that, when you die, your soul flies up on to the roof and gets stuck there.

16. Circumvent (n.), an opening in the front of boxer shorts worn by Jewish men.

Ian Meikle is the “CityNews” editor and can be heard weekly on the “CityNews Sunday Roast” on 2CC, 9am-noon.

AND while on words, Google’s most com-

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NEWS / Global School Partners

Schools charity turns to soap and hand sanitiser

By Kathryn

VUKOVLJAK AS part of its support for remote schools in Kenya, Global School Partners has been raising money for hand-washing stations, face masks, thermometers, soap and hand sanitiser so that schools forced to close by covid can safely reopen, says CEO Simon Carroll.

“While we’re usually looking at ways to improve the learning environment in schools, now we are supporting them to reopen, with covid precautions in place,” he says.

Simon says they were aiming to send $1500 a school to start them off in terms of the PPE that’s needed, and have mostly met that goal.

“All the schools we support have water tanks in place now, so installing hand-washing stations is relatively straightforward, but we are very aware that they’ll need more supplies soon,” he says.

While Global School Partners hasn’t been able to host its usual fundraisers because of covid, Simon says they have done a raffle that raised “a lot, not enough, but it helped”.

“Of the money we’ve been able to send so far, eight or nine schools here

in Australia have done fundraising, and we make sure 100 per cent of that goes to the partner school,” he says.

“We also appeal to private donors and corporate sponsorships.”

The schools supported by Global School Partners have been closed since March, and Simon says that most students, except year 8, will have to repeat the year as they weren’t able to do school work at home.

“The families live in remote villages, without electricity or internet, so they couldn’t go online to study like we did here,” he says.

“We initially sent photocopies of lesson plans, but then it was decided by the government that they would repeat.”

Over the past 10 years, Zimbabweborn Simon and his wife, Dr Jann Carroll, who’s from South Africa, have supported 27 schools through creating partnerships between primary schools in Africa and Australia, connecting thousands of students from Canberra, Sydney and SA with about 17,000 students in Kenya.

The couple started Global School Partners in 2010 after Jann, while working as a volunteer teacher in Soweto, was shocked that some children were not attending school because they didn’t have shoes.

“Three children had stopped coming to class, and when I found out why, I bought them the $20 shoes,” she says.

Co-founders of Global School Partners, Dr Jann Carroll and Simon Carroll… “While we’re usually looking at ways to improve the learning environment in schools, now we are supporting them to reopen.”

Photo: Kathryn Vukovljak “When I came back to Canberra, Simon and I talked about it and we knew we wanted to do whatever possible to improve education in Africa. We have a connection and understanding of the country, and felt so privileged to have had the education we did there.”

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Simon says that sadly, two of the 27

schools supported by Global School Partners look likely to close, one of which has been part of the program almost since the beginning.

“It’s a rip to the heart to potentially lose two of our schools, and there are so many in need,” he says.

“There are thousands of schools that don’t have access to water, and there’s a very real danger that many will never reopen.

“There might be other schools out of the area that they could access, but it’s a fear that many children won’t realistically be able to get to a school.”

Pre-covid, Global School Partners would visit and vet each school to ensure eligibility and sustainability.

Simon hasn’t been able to visit Kenya since January last year, but says while he was there he lined up three more schools that are awaiting partnership, as well as building a list of 10 to 12 more eligible schools in desperate need.

“We’re always looking for more school partners in Australia,” he says.

“We want to be able to maintain the one-to-one school partnerships, so it stays a personal, ongoing relationship that benefits both sides, rather than a transaction.

“The schools in Kenya are going to need more PPE very soon, in order to be sustainable and safe, and stay open.”

Get involved or donate at globalschoolpartners.org.au

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THE GADFLY / cricket

It’s time captain Tim declared his innings closed TIM Paine, the Australian cricket captain has done his country a great service and should feature prominently in the next honours list.

But cricket is essentially a game about timing; and the time has come for Tim to declare his innings closed.

His career has been a kind of poetry in motion. At 16, he was the youngest ever to score a $10,000 Cricket Australia contract in 2000. At the time he said: “These new contracts are a great idea. It’s good to give young players something to show them that they’re in the back of the minds of the administrators and the coaches.”

His good “cricket brain” and steady hand on the field suggested “foreman material” and he captained most of his young teams as he rose through the ranks. He first played for Tasmania in 2005 and not only impressed behind the stumps, he peeled off a one-day century followed by a double-century in his next innings.

However, at the Test level, Queanbeyan’s Brad Haddin was firmly ensconced as a

At 36, Tim Paine has two options: to soldier on until the selectors have no real choice but to drop him or to make a gracious exit to the applause of a grateful nation. wicket-keeper who could score muchneeded quick runs in the middle order.

It was not until he was injured in 2010 that Tim had his chance to show his wares in a series against Pakistan and then India before Haddin resumed his place for the 2010-11 Ashes series.

But he had tasted life among the elites and for the next six years, despite injuries he struggled on until at 33 in 2017 he’d pretty much decided to retire. That was when the Tasmanian fast bowler turned State coach, Adam Griffith talked him out of it and in a surprise move the Test selectors chose him over the better credentialed Matthew Wade. Nevertheless, when the team set out for South Africa under captain Steve Smith he had still not proved himself as a settled member of the elite fraternity.

Then came disaster. To the astonishment and horror of the cricketing world TV cameras picked up the images of young Australian opener

Cameron Bancroft rubbing sandpaper (kept in his underpants) on the ball to assist its swing in flight. Smith confessed that he and “the leadership group” were party to the cheating. He stood down and along with vice-captain David Warner (and Bancroft) he was subsequently banned for a year.

Tim Paine took the mantle and with it the anguish of Australian Australian cricket captain Tim Paine… he should be fans and international invited to join the ranks of Cricket Australia as an administrator. followers of the great game. With the support Lanka, then in 2019 he retained the of a new, respected coach in Justin Ashes in a series in England, the first Langer and the brilliant Pat Cummins captain to do so since Steve Waugh in as vice-captain he set about restoring 2001. Back in the winning circle, he the team and the country’s pride on led the team to more victories against and off the field.

Pakistan and NZ, now ranked the top It was a long, hard road. AusTest team in the world. tralia lost an ODI series to England By then he welded Smith and 5-0 followed by Test losses to Pakistan Warner back into one of the better and India. But then came the slow Australian teams of recent cricketing turnaround with wins against Sri history. More importantly, he had

established an on-field cordiality between his players and the opposition not seen for a generation.

But while he had scored his 150th dismissal – in his 33rd Test, the fastest ever – with a brilliant catch of Indian batsman Pujara, the strain had begun to tell. He dropped two others in the third match; his batting was inconsistent and at one stage he not only “sledged” the ageing Ravi Ashwin, but swore at an umpire.

Indeed, he admitted he “was made to look a fool” and was “bitterly disappointed” at his own performance.

At 36, he has two options: to soldier on until the selectors have no real choice but to drop him or to make a gracious exit to the applause of a grateful nation.

In his wake, Smith should return to the captaincy, the brilliant Alex Carey (a true captain in the making) should take the gloves and be part of the rebuilding with Cameron Green and Will Pucovski at its core.

Unlike some of his colleagues, Tim’s game didn’t attract the million-dollar bids from the 20/20 game – but that simply means he should be invited to join the ranks of Cricket Australia as an administrator with the best possible experience of the game and all its wild ups and downs.

We should be so lucky. robert@robertmacklin.com

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CANBERRA MATTERS

The stacked boards that are killing off Canberra THE sad but unsurprising news is that the aspirations of local residents are being trashed by the collective membership of the boards of three agencies.

Collectively, the boards of the City Renewal Authority, the National Capital Authority and the Suburban Land Agency have little connection to the everyday life of residents.

Yet their presence is very relevant to the future of the bush capital. They occupy paid positions that significantly influence the shape of this city and the wellbeing of residents.

These boards are appointed from well-established business networks and mates’ clubs. There is little about these appointments that points to a commitment to and having a background in this city’s urban planning or heritage.

A couple of the appointments

seem to be specialists at being on corporate boards. What a life!

They must work hard each day to remember which board they are attending while munching on the daily corporate lunch and morning tea. I haven’t included afternoon tea, as it is more likely that, having a paid ride to Canberra, the afternoon is devoted to taking in the latest at the National Gallery before zipping home on a late flight.

Some have experience and qualifications in planning and development – and/or sit on other cities’ development boards or similar agencies. Several are from Sydney.

Given how badly development and planning is happening in Sydney, with the city being killed off due to inappropriate over-development, anyone with such experiences should be listed as coming from a toxic environment and banned from entering this city, let alone be allowed to influence Canberra’s urban character.

These boards have been stacked.

There would be no-one invited to join who had a reputation for representing the well documented aspirations of Canberra residents.

Anyone who had served successfully on a local community council would be automatically excluded.

These are not boards that the residents of Canberra could say are working to benefit the city we love. These agencies and board members have other agendas (and who knows what that is). At times their incompetence is obvious.

Take something as simple as influencing public art – in particular statues honouring people.

The latest in Civic is of another white male who helped out with something important. But why was he considered ahead of the long list of women, indigenous peoples and people of other backgrounds (not Anglo-Celtic)? These agencies do not understand how equity works. It is not only who is appointed today but about taking every opportunity to correct the rewriting of history that has white men still being the figures to be recognised today.

These bobble-headed boards have given enthusiastic nods to projects that are destined to be listed as examples of how to get community engagements wrong (think North Curtin Horse Paddock land swap), how to deliver urban follies and mistakes (think West Basin) and when is the Kingston Arts Precinct to appear?

If there is anyone among the ACT and federal politicians who cares about our city, they should have these board memberships changed – pronto!

Then there is the lingering question – do we need the City Renewal Authority? It is hard not to forget that statement by the City Renewal Authority board member about how West Basin was an opportunity for another South Bank. Was that stupidity, naivety, ignorance or yet another City Authority “let-them-eat-cake” moment?

The city no longer needs agency board members who are filling out their dance cards as they move from one corporate board to another. Canberra will be better served when these faces represent a cross section of this multi-cultural society, including local community representation as well as a few outsiders who respect this built environment’s green infrastructure, biodiversity and heritage and understand the uniqueness of Canberra when viewed alongside other capital cities.

Paul Costigan is an independent commentator and consultant on the visual arts, photography, urban design, environmental issues and everyday matters.

Another white male… the new sculpture of Andrew Inglis Clark in Civic. Clark was an Australian founding father and co-author of the Australian Constitution.

Photo: Paul Costigan

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NEWS / cover story

Determined Jo’s spent her life building a future

By Belinda

STRAHORN JO Farrell, 42, always wanted to be a builder.

At school when most girls were scribbling boys’ names on their books, Jo was drawing buildings and bridges, dreaming up designs to make in the back shed of her parents’ Wollongong home.

More than two decades later, Jo’s a titan of the Canberra building industry, spending most of her time managing building sites and encouraging girls to take on a trade. What’s more, she’s worked her way up from unpaid lackey, to general manager of a multi-million-dollar construction company.

Jo is part of a new generation of lady tradies hard at work across Australia, who have got the tools to reshape traditionally male-dominated trades.

But her journey hasn’t been easy.

“I started my carpentry/ building apprenticeship in 1996, but found it very hard to break into the industry and get an apprenticeship,” she recalls.

“When I left school all the

boys would go and work for BHP in Wollongong and all the girls would get jobs as hairdressers, I knew I always wanted to be a builder but found it really difficult to get in.

“Eventually I wore down a builder who offered me a threemonth trial, if I was willing to work for free; free doesn’t pay the bills, but finally I had been given an opportunity and so I ran with it.”

Female construction workers are often seen as an anomaly – on her journey to secure an apprenticeship, Jo says she lost count of the times people said: “We don’t employ girls”, “You’re not strong enough”, “Girls are a distraction”, “It’s a man’s job, not a woman’s job”, “If you want an apprenticeship, go and be a hairdresser”.

In response, she’s set up Build Like A Girl, a program for women who want to become tradies, and to champion other women who want to work in trades. The not-for-profit organisation, to be launched soon, matches 22 females with pre-apprenticeship and entry level training, with the aim of securing them an actual job in the construction industry and mentoring them along the way.

out of this world

Jo Farrell, centre, with fellow female builders, from left, Michelle Tifan, Rhiannon Sutherland, Elissa Pirotta, Anita Hac, Tush Gerebtzoff, Kiah Marshall, Sophia Sako and Jules Bedin. Photo: Holly Treadaway Put simply, Jo’s newly founded organisation is designed to “give girls a go”.

“There’s been many times I’ve walked in a room full of men and they think I’m the coffee girl,” she says.

“Sadly, young women are still faced with the same challenges I was faced with 24 years ago, which is just horrendous.

“There are so many industry bodies out there trying to create initiatives for women and they are all doing well, but it’s just not collaborative enough to capture everything we need

to do, and there’s not the support network there that young women need in the industry.

“The difference with Build Like A Girl is we stick with our candidates right through their training and apprenticeship; what I have found is the first six months is the hardest and there’s a big drop-out rate during that time, so supporting the candidate right through their apprenticeship is really important.”

Despite changing social attitudes, women still account for fewer than two per cent of tradespeople in Australia.

But, there are signs of positive growth; nearly a quarter of the 266,565 apprentices and trainees in training across the country are female, according to data from the National Centre for Vocational Education Research.

And if COVID-19 has been good for one thing, it’s been boosting the number of women taking up trades.

“There’s been a lot of women who have come from other sectors that have been affected by covid financially who always wanted to try a trade and this was a catalyst for them to step outside their comfort zone,” says Jo. “We are seeing more female painters on building sites, we have six female apprentices on

one of our sites varying from electricians to carpenters and we have women returning to the workforce once their kids are at school.”

Jo is currently the general manager of Kane Constructions ACT. Along with operations manager Philippa Seldon, the pair are the only female duo at the helm of a Canberra construction company.

Jo says social attitudes towards females in trades are changing, albeit slowly.

“We are moving, but at a glacial pace, the changes are only very minute and very incremental,” says Jo. “Sometimes, some employers have never had a female apprentice before and so they don’t understand how to cater for a female, there might be something specific that that young lady might need and that’s where we can support and give guidance around what employers might need to cater for women on their site.

“A lot of building sites around Canberra don’t have female amenities so a lot of young girls have to trek around the corner to the local shops to go to the toilet or they have to run the risk of sharing a bathroom with men, and that’s not okay in 2021.”

Despite a challenging start,

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Jo has enjoyed a rewarding career, filling her resume with roles as a qualified carpenter, licenced builder and certified building designer. She’s worked on iconic landmarks, such as Sydney’s Pitt Street Mall, Sydney Airport, the cross-city tunnel and, more recently, the ACT’s light rail project.

In 2009, Jo was the only female employee in a construction-based role to work on a European nuclear decommissioning facility in Lithuania.

“Here I was, a girl from Wollongong who had not really travelled much, ending up over there in the middle of winter. I had to learn to speak Russian to communicate with the guys on site and to learn what they were saying about me... that was a big learning curve for them and me,” she says.

In 2013, Jo moved back to Australia with a mission to see more women flourish in trades. In her role as general manager of Kane Constructions ACT she’s increased the female workforce by 48 per cent, a number she hopes will climb even further.

“By June 30, 2021, we want 50/50 male and female representation within the company,” she says.

A tall order, maybe, but this lady certainly knows how to stand up to the big boys.

“We cop plenty of flack from people saying we are just employing women for the sake of it; I say, no we are not, we are employing talented females and giving them the opportunities they are overlooked for in other companies,” says Jo. And this building industry leader has some last-minute advice for budding female builders.

“Never take no for an answer, keep striving for what you want, love what you do and never give up.”

To participate in the program visit buildlikeagirl.org

Owners of Alexanders Furnishings Lew and Roz Rebbeck.

ALEXANDERS FURNISHINGS advertising feature Queanbeyan and ACT cricket legend Peter Solway… “I’ve played on a lot of pitches, but to actually prepare them is a challenge.”

Photo: Belinda Strahorn

Cricket star has grounds for a whole new career

By Belinda

STRAHORN HE may have pulled up stumps on his longstanding career in the public service, but Queanbeyan and ACT cricket legend Peter Solway is embarking on a new innings.

Solway, renowned as a swashbuckling batsman, has turned his hand to rolling out wickets as curator of Queanbeyan’s Brad Haddin Oval.

“I’m no expert at this, but it’s a lot of fun… it sure beats sitting behind a desk all day,” Solway says, midway through preparing the wicket for the under-19’s NSW country championships.

It’s Solway’s first season tending the turf at Brad Haddin Oval, after recently retiring from a 35-year career pushing papers around a desk.

With a bat in his hand, Solway was all but a Canberra Comets master. But with a roller in both hands, he is a self-confessed curating “rookie”.

But for one of the region’s greatest ever cricketers, clocking up nearly 10,000 club runs in his four-decade long career, it’s all part of a new challenge.

“I’ve played on a lot of pitches, but to actually prepare them is a challenge. But it’s really rewarding and I’m finding it a lot of fun.”

Solway’s impressive cricket career features 270 first-grade games for Queanbeyan, ANU and Eastlake and 183 matches in ACT colours.

He’s probably won more grand finals and scored more runs than any other cricketer in ACT first-grade history and his astonishing high score of 339 is testament to his reputation as a master of his true love.

Perhaps his biggest claim to fame was playing in the 1993 Prime Minister’s XI clash against South Africa, exchanging high fives and pats with the likes of Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer.

“The top order was Hayden, Langer and Ponting, but that was when they weren’t established players – they were up and coming at that stage,” says Solway.

“To be honest, the day was a blur, I batted sixth, I think – it was pretty cool.”

Despite the great memories he has created in the middle, Solway prefers to keep his head to the ground.

In the lead-up to each year’s new season, soon after footy posts are pulled out and replaced by sight screens, the work begins on the wicket.

Solway rolls, paints the lines on the pitch, and manages the under-soil drainage, ensuring the multi-use ground remains at its peak.

The man who was born in Coffs Harbour and raised in Queanbeyan says it didn’t take long to get hooked on the job.

“I love it,” he says.

“The idea is to try and make it hard, so the ball can bounce evenly, you want a nice cover of grass, there is a knack to it, but it’s not rocket science.

“The Manuka curator Brad is awesome at this stuff, he’s probably sick of my calls, and Ron Bates up at Freebody Oval, he’s been good too and is helping me out.”

Solway, who still plays grade cricket, has watched the career progression of many famous ACT-raised and adopted cricketers such as Brad Haddin, Michael Bevan and Nathan Lyon.

In fact, it was Solway who helped give Lyon, a groundsman himself, his first big break into cricket.

“The selectors from Canberra changed his career because we picked him from SA to play for the Comets, and he had a good game in that Comets game and so we take full credit for Nathan.”

Family plays a big role in Solway’s life.

His sons Dean, 27, and Mark, 25, made their cricket debut playing together for the ACT recently and daughter Abby, 17, is playing basketball in the US – and wife Julie is a constant support.

“I’ve been really lucky to play in an era where ACT cricket was moving forward all the time – we had country championships as a young fella and the Mercantile Cup, which I was involved in for three years.

“It’s a shame Canberra is not in that anymore.”

In recent years, Solway captained the winning Australian team at the over-50s World Cup, beating Pakistan in the final. He was also selected for another World Cup to be played in South Africa, but the tournament was cancelled because of COVID-19.

But for now, Solway is enjoying the challenging task of creating a pitch.

“I hope to do this for as long as I can – I’m loving it.”

Curtains keep the home cool NOW summer heat has arrived, it’s time to ensure the windows at home are well insulated with curtains, say Roz and Lew Rebbeck, owners of Alexanders Furnishings.

it’s returned we spray it with disinfectant.”

When it comes to curtain systems, Roz and Lew recommend “EVO”, a curtain-heading system which they say is extremely effective at preventing loss of heat or cooling, whatever the time of year.

“You can choose any fabric you like, as the key is the EVO tracking system,” Roz says.

“It creates a track close to the window which helps keep “With the Canberra region warming up now, and warm or cool air inside and allows for a smaller stack when with the February heat just around the corner, cooling open, which lets in more valuable winter sunlight.” systems will be working hard and also bumping up Roz says EVO has developed new track sections that household summer bills,” Roz says. incorporate a sleek and “invisible” pelmet system, which “Quality window curtains are the most energymeans there’s no need to install a traditional bulky efficient way to keep the house cool and comfortable timber pelmet over the top of the curtains. in summer, and come winter can save up to a third on “It can also be used as curtains with sheers behind for heating bills.” added privacy,” she says.

Operating at full hours — 8.30am-5pm, weekdays, Alexanders Furnishings, which has been in business and 8.30am-1pm, Saturdays, Alexanders Furnishings for more than 50 years, provides a free measure and has been open throughout the coronavirus crisis, while quote. Roz says they also offer other curtain systems to observing all the required safety measures, Roz says.

“Throughout the crisis we have continued to still hang suit personal preferences, and a wide range of blinds and curtains and blinds in peoples’ homes and maintain strict accessories. hygiene measures while ensuring we stay the correct Alexanders Furnishings, Shop 5, Paul’s Centre, distance apart,” she says.

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OPINION / decriminalising hard-drug possession

Going soft on drug possession won’t fix problem BILL STEFANIAK lost a son to the effects of drug abuse.

He finds it painfully hard to see any virtue in a move in the Legislative Assembly to decriminalise hard-drug possession...

NO parent expects to have to bury their child, but three years ago, on January 2, 2018, my 24-year-old son Jozef said what were to be his last goodbyes to my wife and me when we left for a holiday near Pambula.

At about 6.10 the next morning, Joe’s older brother John appeared in our bedroom doorway to tell us Joe had been killed in a car accident about 12 hours earlier.

His mate’s girlfriend had driven the car while high on the drug ice.

At about 137kp/h on Yarra Glen, she lost control of the car. Joe and his mate were the other passengers in the car.

She was jailed for culpable driving and leaving the scene of an accident, and is due to be released on parole soon. Her time in prison has hopefully cured her drug addiction.

There are no safe drugs. Even basic cannabis can cause mental health problems and is far more likely to give the user lung cancer than cigarettes. Hydroponic cannabis is 20 times as strong as basic cannabis and causes significant mental health problems, as does heroin, cocaine, ice and other hard drugs.

Cannabis – thanks to MLA Michael Pettersson, the proponent of the new Bill decriminalising ice and other hard drug possession – is already legal to possess in small quantities. It is inconsistent with Commonwealth law.

Mr Pettersson’s proposed new Bill will make it a basic infringement notice offence to possess small quantities of hard drugs. For example, a person can possess up to half a gram of ice and still only get an infringement notice of one penalty unit – less than a parking ticket.

Naturally, all the local mayors and the Police Association (AFPA) are ropeable about this Bill. It also appears no-one appears to have been consulted. One might think the Labor backbencher would at least have consulted fully with the AFPA and the ACT branch of the AMA. Naturally, ACT Labor and the Greens did not take this Bill to the local election, but it would have to have been ticked off in cabinet to have got this far.

The main rationale behind the Bill seems to be to stop anyone convicted of possession of a small

Resolve to move for life in 2021!

quantity of these hard drugs to avoid the “stigma” of a conviction and also to direct the user to seek help from health professionals – a noble aim that can be achieved at present by a court – as regularly happens with drug offenders.

Young Mr Pettersson seems to think that there are hundreds of users out there who have gone to court (and possibly jail) for possession of small quantities of hard drugs. As a former prosecutor, defence counsel, ACT Attorney-General and Police minister who still occasionally goes to court these days as a solicitor, I can say this simply is not the case.

Indeed, I struggle to think of anyone in the last 20 years in Canberra who would have been jailed just for possessing a small quantity of hard drugs alone. Maybe Mr Pettersson should supply court figures for the last 10 years on this point.

I also presided between 2009 and 2016 over many mental-health cases as a presidential member of ACAT and, sadly, a good many of our clients had their mental-health problems worsened by taking hard drugs such as heroin and ice. I’d say probably as many as half the people who appeared before me fitted into this category.

Ice especially is a particularly nasty drug. The AFPA said on radio

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2CC recently that under Mr Pettersson’s Bill possession of even half a gram is enough for 10 hits which would put the average user into a bender for several days.

It’s the police, ambos and first responders who will bear the brunt of Mr Pettersson’s folly. He and his government colleagues will not be the ones who have their faces punched in by ice users on benders.

Any benefits from his Bill can and do already happen (the rehab etcetera). All Bills like this do is tell vulnerable young people it’s okay to use hard drugs. Bills like this trivialise the problem.

We in the ACT and in Australia have not tried the one potential solution that should be obvious to us.

The extensive national advertising that accompanied the campaign against AIDS in the 1980s and the successful blanket campaigns against smoking over the years (including the great indigenous messages by Winnunga that are currently streaming ) should be tried.

Blanket advertisements showing how dumb it is using hard drugs and messages in our schools may well

have a great effect in turning young people off usage. A potential answer is staring us in the face.

Maybe if young Michael changed tack and withdrew this stupid Bill and replaced it with a well thought out blitz advertising campaign led by the ACT we would most likely gain a lot of support and respect from our local region and be seen as leaders and not a bunch of decadent trendies living in a Canberra dream world introducing schemes that stuff up further the lives of our fellow Australians across the border Nothing will bring my son Joe back, but my wife Shirley, his brother and sisters and I would love to see fewer people take hard drugs so more parents can be spared the pain we have felt at losing our son.

Bill Stefaniak is a former Liberal ACT opposition leader.

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LETTERS

Why can’t they just get the ‘forest of weeds’ cut?

FOR many months, the strip of land between Athllon Drive and the rear of homes in Pridham Street, Farrer, has not seen a grass-cutter.

The grass on the slope beside Athllon Drive has been cut as has the strip right along the back fences of the properties in that street. Between them is a thick, tall forest of weeds that could prove to be a fire hazard in the summer and also a haven for snakes.

I understand that the areas concerned are the responsibility of different cutters and this untended area is the responsibility of Forestry. Well, they are certainly not doing their job. Is it that what you don’t see from the road doesn’t matter?

It is ludicrous to have two different organisations undertaking this work. Why can’t one group cut the lot? I certainly do not wish a fire hazard left at my back door nor do I wish to be confronted by a snake slithering out to sun itself on the cleared area or coming into my backyard.

It would be appreciated if those responsible for this fiasco could get their act together and get this grass cut.

Daphne Harding, Farrer

‘Scary’ skin-cancer rise THE information that ACT hospital admissions for skin cancer have risen by 300 per

Send Parto over border Brothers’ amazing story ARE there lessons that the ACT government, and its planning, environment and city services directorates in particular, might learn from the Queanbeyan Palerang Regional Council (“Queanbeyan parks still rate the best“ and “Council nabs ‘most progressive’ prize” (CN January 7)?

Perhaps Mark Parton MLA could lead a bi-partisan, fact-finding trip over the border after he returns from losing track of his New Year border-hopping in NSW and WA. Sue Dyer, Downer

Phill fixes Manly fans

I know it sounds strange, but I count myself very lucky: both my brother and my sister have had serious melanomas operated on in recent years. The last was just last week, on top of my brother’s head.

The message is clear: if you have skin with a Celtic connection, like mine, keep it covered as much as possible. Whenever you do expose your skin to the sun use a broad spectrum (UVA and UVB) sunscreen with an SPF of at least 50+.

FURTHER to Belinda Strahorn’s story about the Queanbeyan swimming pool (“Big birthday looms for the pool full of memories”, CN January 14) that quotes local history buff Phill Hawke. During the ‘60s, Phill had an early morning job cleaning the Queanbeyan pool.

My young brother and I often swam laps at this time. We supported the unpopular Manly rugby league team and had bought Manly jerseys, which we wore to the pool to Phill’s chagrin.

After our swim, as I struggled to get into a Manly jersey, I noticed my (smaller) brother was wearing one several sizes too big for him. While we swam, Phill had swapped the positions of the two jerseys!

Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin

Russell Wenholz, Holt

dose of dorin cent in just the last five years (“Skin-cancer numbers on the rise... or are they?”, CN January 7) is scary.

It’s certainly cause for extreme caution about sun exposure by me and my family, which seems particularly susceptible to skin cancers, including the most malignant of all: melanoma.

I have had four identified and one suspected basal-cell carcinoma (BCC) excised – fortunately from my thighs rather than my face or other very visible areas of my body – but never a melanoma.

I READ with interest, and enjoyment, the piece by Belinda Strahorn about the Alrajab brothers (“Escaping a broken world for hope in Canberra”, CN January 14).

I have met both Mohamad and Ali at Big Barber in Jamison and Mohamad has cut my hair more than once.

They have an amazing story, which should be recognised and celebrated. Also, well done to the owners of Big Barber for providing these two lads with the opportunity to work and learn a trade.

I have no doubt that given their work ethic and appreciation of their adopted city, they will both be contributors to Canberra for many years to come.

Ben Jones, Dickson

Cost of closing Civic?

FOR four days, a quarter of Civic’s roads were closed off for a one-minute-37-second clip of a film featuring a well-known actor.

No doubt this blockbuster will be seen by thousands worldwide who will be irresistibly drawn to visit Civic and make us money.

Meanwhile, could an Assembly member be bothered to ask the cost of closing the centre down and the yellow and orange workforce guarding the closures?

Greg Cornwell, Yarralumla Write to us: editor@citynews.com.au

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14 CityNews January 21-27, 2021

SKETCH / goodbye to turkey dinners

Why seafood beats meat next Christmas OUR family’s New Year’s resolution is to have a less extravagant Christmas lunch in 2021. It will have no poultry or red meat and instead just have Australian and NZ seafood.

Years ago, we also stopped giving presents at Christmas for a considerable economy in unwanted gifts.

This year we started our Christmas lunch with a few Sydney rock oysters, then (for the first time) had gravlax (raw salmon – ours was from NZ – marinated in vermouth, with garlic salt, sugar, and dill), followed

by Australian cooked prawns with sourdough and butter, and a selection of salads.

After that we had pretty much run out of appetite for ham and turkey and could have had a nap and gone straight on to Christmas pud and brandy butter.

There are, of course, more basic reasons why many people don’t ever eat poultry or red meat

– including ethical, moral, environmental and health reasons. Some simply don’t like the taste of meat.

An ethicist would say that raising an animal for slaughter is a clear violation of an animal’s right to live its life in a natural way.

A moralist’s argument is that raising and killing animals for human consumption is morally wrong.

An environmentalist will argue that land clearing Goodbye to the Christmas turkey dinner. for farm animals is causing is not very logical. It’s considered devastating damage to the environment. Animal agriculture is said acceptable to eat cattle, sheep, goats, deer and kangaroos, but not dogs, cats, to be responsible for more greenhouse gas than all the world’s transportation horses, wallabies, wombats, possums or most wild animals. systems combined.

For those who like meat but are On the health front, medical bothered about eating our wild or research shows that people who eat domesticated animals there are red meat are at increased risk of meat-substitute alternatives. Most death from heart disease, strokes and supermarkets stock them. diabetes. Processed meats further In Australia, in 2019, CSIRO in partincrease the risk of death from these nership with fast-food chain Hungry diseases.

One would assume that butchers eat Jacks launched v2food, a plant-based meat alternative. Both Woolworths a lot of meat – and when did you last and Coles carry it. see a healthy-looking butcher?

The manufacturer notes: “v2mince Which animals Australians eat is our most versatile product yet.

Designed to look, cook and taste like beef mince, v2mince delivers on the flavour you know and love, in a format that lets you experiment with a range

of cuisines and recipes. Whether you’re whipping up a pasta sauce or dumpling filling, v2mince is a seamless and delicious choice.”

Quorn is another meat-substitute. It originated in the UK, and again is sold

by Woolworths and Coles.

All Quorn foods contain mycoprotein as an ingredient that is derived from the fusarium venenatum fungus.

The fungus is fermented in order to grow the mycoprotein, which is then made into various Quorn products, including quite tasty “meat” mince and sausages.

The next development could be lab-grown meat, or “clean” meat. It’s produced by taking a small sample of animal cells and then replicating them in a lab. Clean meat is healthier, produces far fewer greenhouse gas emissions and has many advantages over conventional meat, including less saturated fats, no antibiotics, no bacterial or viral contamination and no growth hormones.

The main challenge will be reducing the cost of clean meat to be competitive with conventional meat and meat-substitute products. For health reasons alone, clean meat could change the way we eat meat in the future. Perhaps “Star Trek’s” food replicator is not so distant a possibility after all.

Clive Williams is a Canberra columnist.

BRIEFLY Committee faces the members MEMBERSHIP of the Gungahlin Day View Club committee will be resolved at its next lunch-time meeting at the Gungahlin Lakes Golf Club, from 11.30am, on Wednesday, January 27.

RSVP to 0458 012402 before 9pm, Sunday, January 24. Cost is $35 and interested ladies are welcome to attend.

New View for Gungahlin MEANWHILE, a new View Club is planned for the Gungahlin area. View clubs offer a network for women to connect with each other, while supporting the work of The Smith Family. More information on the new club from june3@iinet.net.au

Budding speaker...

FLORIST Nip Wijewickrema is the guest speaker at the next meeting of the Weston Creek View Club at the Canberra Southern Cross Club, Woden, from 11.30am on Tuesday, February 2. RSVP to 6286 4626 by 5pm, Thursday, January 28. The cost is $30 and the meeting is open to visitors and interested ladies.

Sieving for sapphires VISITORS can sieve for sapphires and pan for gold at the Canberra Lapidary Club’s next “Rock Swap” gem show to be held outdoors at EPIC on March 13-14. The show will feature minerals, fossils, opals, rough and cut gemstones, beads, jewellery, lapidary equipment and supplies for sale. Entry is free.

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CityNews January 21-27, 2021 15

Beginner World Dance Classes DANCING TO WONDERFUL MUSIC FROM COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD!

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16 CityNews January 21-27, 2021

‘CITYNEWS’ SHOWCASE

Passionate experts with skills OVER the years, many expert Canberra businesses have chosen “CityNews” to get their story out to the community.

And now they’re telling them again.

From dance to IT, to property specialists, here are some Canberra locals with skills to share...

Developing kids’ confidence and creativity

Exploring the world through dance

LEARNING dance can help nurture children’s natural creativity and give them the physical skills to enhance their abilities and develop their confidence, says QL2 Dance artistic director Ruth Osborne.

QL2 Dance runs innovative, challenging, diverse and rigorous dance and artist development programs for young people, with a staged progression over several years of their lives, she says.

“We develop the next generation of dance makers, supporting, nurturing, mentoring and coaching them through their critical early years and as they emerge as professionals, beyond and alongside other learning they gain from universities and elsewhere,” Ruth says.

“In our core programs, we provide and support an ever-changing balance of taught skills, rigorous challenge, creative practice, disciplined activity, and provocative guidance.”

Ruth says the company offers training programs for young dancers who will eventually participate in its performance projects.

QL2 Dance has been offering programs from ages eight to 26 but next year, a new program called “Creative Moves” for ages three to five and five to seven, will be offered.

Ruth says QL2 prioritises choreographic literacy, intellectual engagement, and the discipline of creative process.

“We enable growth and development for young dance artists, emerging choreographers and our audiences, producing thoughtful and challenging dance works,” she says.

“We present immersive, creative and demanding performances by emerging and established artists.”

CANBERRANS can experience the world through dance, in the safety of Hackett Community Centre, at Folk Dance Canberra, says the dance hall’s publicity officer Lynette Aitchison.

Operating for more than 26 years, Folk Dance Canberra offers classes to all ages and skill types in dance styles that span the globe, from Russia and the Balkans, to Israel and Turkey, and even Samoa.

While the classes can vary in complexity, Lynette says they’re all fun and good for physical fitness.

“Some of the dances are quite easy, some are more complicated. Some are like village dances, others are more choreographed,” she says.

“The music is really interesting and different, and often has inspiring stories behind it because it’s related to an event that’s happened in that country, or it’s part of the culture.

“A lot of us are travellers. It takes you to another world.”

Personally, Lynette, who joins in on the classes, too, is a fan of Balkan dance and has even travelled to Bulgaria to participate in a dance workshop there.

“I think I like dancing from the Balkans region more, but I do everything, even dances from the Samoa islands,” she says.

QL2 Dance, Gorman Arts Centre, 55 Ainslie Avenue, Braddon.

Call 6247 3103 or visit ql2.org.au

Folk Dance Canberra, Hackett Community Centre, 114 Maitland Street, Hackett. Call 6286 6401 or visit folkdancecanberra.org.au

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“The Canberra property market is actually a quiet achiever,” Kim says.

“With the majority of the territory’s population employed at a state or federal level, Canberra’s property market hasn’t been as affected by the [coronavirus pandemic] as the rest of Australia.”

Kim adds that housing values have grown more than 4.7 per cent in Canberra over the past year and experts are predicting this high will hold, even if the country is hit by an economic downturn.

“Now is the time to invest in your property by renovating in order to sell for more and sell faster,” says Kim. “Buyers are returning to the market and they’re looking for value for money, so the need to have your property looking its absolute best and stand out has never been greater.”

Kim and her business partner, Sophie McLean, make renovating accessible to everyone through their company, Your Property Profits.

They say they can cover all the upfront costs of the renovation for their clients so they can sell their home faster and for a higher price, though conditions apply.

A LEADING provider of professional IT support services, OmniIT has been serving businesses across Canberra, Queanbeyan and surrounds for more than 20 years, says partner Michael Warnock.

As well as making IT security simple, Michael says helping clients with their IT policies and procedures adds additional value to the IT support role that OmniIT offers to their business clients.

OmniIT helps their clients with day-to-day IT issues, too, and IT solutions are tailored to the clients’ requirements as each client needs something different, he says.

It’s about making the most of their IT environment and helping their staff be more productive and the business more profitable, he says.

Michael and the team of nine are based in Mitchell and provide fixed price IT support services to their many business clients.

“We monitor the clients’ IT environment 24/7 looking for issues and fixing them before they go wrong,” he says.

Michael and OmniIT have been in business for more than 23 years and have changed their skills as the IT industry has changed.

“We started when the internet connected PC was a stand-alone computer sitting in the corner of the office.

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“It’s a great time to be in the IT industry.”

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CityNews January 21-27, 2021 17

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Great time to grow natives AUSTRALIA Day is a great time to grow an Aussie plant as part of the celebrations.

Aussies are indebted to famous botanists, including Joseph Banks and Robert Brown, for introducing our plants to the Western world.

Since then, a tremendous amount of work has gone on behind the scenes with plant breeding in developing and promoting new varieties. Some of this activity is quietly happening just outside Canberra; in the Bywong Nursery started by Peter and Jennifer Ollerenshaw in 1984.

Previously, Peter worked at the Australian National Botanic Gardens for 20 years and during that time collected Australian plant specimens for future plant breeding. Bywong Nursery isn’t open to the public, but is a wholesale nursery

specialising in the breeding of new plants. One of the most important plants bred there was Correa “Canberra Bells” to celebrate Canberra’s centenary in 2013. Its red and cream flowers appear in profusion in autumn, growing to about 70mm x 50mm.

Another plant bred at Bywong Nursery is Grevillea “Lady O”, a cross between G. victoriae and G. rhyolitica and named for Ollerenshaw’s mother. This is only a selection of natives that are bred locally and available from garden centres to celebrate Australia Day. The Botanic Gardens is a living museum of Australian plants; the largest collection in the world. Many of its plants are rare and not available in garden centres.

It was unfortunate that the Yarralumla retail nursery, the main local source for native plants, closed to the public some years ago. Fortunately, Cool Climate Natives in Pialligo is a specialist native plant nursery where they grow most of the plants for sale, so they are perfectly acclimatised

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for this area. I highly recommend the nursery, which also has an extensive range of unusual grafted native plants.

Buxus, or box hedging, originated in the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean and has been popular since Roman times. However, for those developing an all-native garden, there is an alternative, Baeckea imbricata, also known as heath myrtle.

This was first described by German botanist Joseph Gaertner back in 1788, based on a specimen in Joseph Banks’ herbarium. Growing to just one metre with tiny leaves and white flowers from spring, it is the perfect alternative; seen here at the Eurobodalla Regional Botanic Gardens at Batemans Bay. Several other varieties grow in this region.

For more information on local native plants, read “Australian Plants for the Canberra Region”, published by the Society for Growing of Australian Plants [Canberra Region]. For the serious native plant buff, “Australian Native Plants” by Wrigley and Fagg is a more comprehensive tome and considered the bible of native plants.

Visit the Botanic Gardens website and click on the “Flowers, Fruits and Foliage” section for a pictorial list and descriptions of plants of interest, week by week. There are always exhibitions at the Visitors Centre, too.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

INSIDE

An unexpected love does unexpected things

DOUGAL MACDONALD

Free film fest features women in the reel world

By Helen

MUSA THE second annual, free Kambri Film Fest at the ANU has been curated to celebrate creative women in the film industry.

While the 12-day festival is not entirely family-friendly, the titles of some kids’ films, such as “Frozen II”, “Moana”, “Dora and the Lost City of Gold”, “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” and “Little Women”, suggest that the children’s movie sector has moved faster than its adult counterparts. But fear not boys, “Scoob!” (Scooby-Doo) and “Shaun the Sheep: Farmageddon” will also be on the list.

Kids’ films start from 3pm, while the evening sessions begin at 7pm and are geared towards adults.

Thursday nights will highlight the work of Australian women in film, including directors Catherine Dwyer (“Brazen Hussies”), Gillian Armstrong (“Starstruck”) and Jocelyn Moorhouse (“Proof”).

Friday and Sunday nights will offer femaledirected films from very recent years, including Golden Globe winner “The Farewell”, written and directed by American Lulu Wang.

Saturday nights are more blokey and reserved for blockbusters, like sci-fi time-travel adventure “Tenet”, written and directed by Christopher

“Frozen II”.

“Rams”, starring Michael Caton and Sam Neill.

“Dora and the Lost City of Gold”.

“Shaun The Sheep: Farmageddon”.

Jo Kennedy as Jackie Mullens in “Starstruck”.

Nolan, and the Australian comedy-drama “Rams”, starring Sam Neill and Michael Caton.

Best news of all, it’s free and everyone who attends will get a complimentary popcorn and soft drink.

2021 Kambri Film Fest, Kambri Cinema at ANU, January 21-February 7. Free but registrations essential at eventbrite.com.au

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briscolapizzeria.com.au CityNews January 21-27, 2021 19

CINEMA / reviews

An unexpected love leads to unexpected things “Ammonite” (M) “AMMONITE” is the second feature by English writer/director Francis Lee. His first was “God’s Own Country” (three stars in 2017).

Their shared attribute is finding unexpected love with somebody of the same sex.

You might expect that a period film (its principal character died in 1847) about two women finding love would have the cheap-thrill market as its target. Especially if the writer and director is a man.

Behind its enigmatic title, “Ammonite” does unexpected things for its viewers.

More later about its one explicit love sequence. Getting there and discovering its aftermath is a film-watching experience that for delicacy and perceptiveness has few equals.

The West Dorset coast near Lyme Regis has yielded a wealth of ammonites, which are fossilised relatives of extinct sea creatures of phylum Mollusca, class Cephalopoda such as the modern Nautilus that lived during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, a time interval of about 140 million years.

So what does same-sex loving have to do with fossils? Francis Lee’s film centres around Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) and Charlotte Murchison (Saoirse Ronan). Mary’s ground-breaking paleontology was real; rather less so was Charlotte’s. The two certainly knew each other. But their becoming lovers is perhaps a dramatic invention.

The power of “Ammonite” movie comes from the intensity of that invention. Lee tells how it developed in unhurried close-ups

Kate Winslet as Mary Anning, left, and Saoirse Ronan as Charlotte Murchison in “Ammonite”. showing the growth of the relationship.

Roderick Murchison (James McArdle) comes to Lyme Regis to engage Mary to care for Charlotte while he swans off to the continent after their recent loss of a child. Our first glimpse of the marriage is one-sided, portending a significant change when Mary is freed of her husband’s dominating control.

The film’s dramatic power focuses on how the two women interact after a less-than-promising first meeting. Winslet portrays Mary’s dominance with sympathetic strength. Charlotte yearns to be free not of her wealthy husband but of his confining control of her life. The film treats the sexual resolution to their separate yearnings with gentle respect, great visual beauty and unchallengeable credibility.

At Palace Electric and Dendy

“The Dig” (PG) “THE Dig” was filmed around the place in the south of England where in 1938 a story that began more than a millennium ago, rose from the grave.

Edith Pretty, the widow of a battalion commander in the Suffolk Regiment, lived on an estate at Sutton Hoo where there was a small number of barrows (burial mounds, usually of somebody important, for example, a king).

Edith (a lovely portrayal by actress Carey Mulligan of a disabled woman with a strong sense of public

responsibility) had learned various tales about barrows and their contents. And she engaged local self-taught archaeologist and astronomer Basil Brown (Ralph Fiennes) to lead a group of men to excavate one of the largest.

Basil and his team unearthed a complete buried ship.

And visitors to the British Museum today can see its contents.

Which didn’t get there without a measure of friction between Edith and Basil and Charles Phillips (Ken Stott), who has gone down in mainstream archaeological history as leader of the 1939 excavation of the Sutton Hoo burial ship, an intact collection of Anglo-Saxon grave-goods, possibly that of the 7th-century East Anglian king Raedwald.

Australian director Simon Stone’s filming of Moira Buffini’s screenplay, based on a novel by John Preston, seeks to set the record of that achievement straight. A series of titles in the closing credits explains why and how.

“The Dig” is a very pleasant little movie that tells an important story. I liked it.

At Dendy

“My Salinger Year” (M) DIRECTED by Canadian Philippe Falardeau, who also co-wrote the screenplay in conjunction with Joanna Smith Rakoff, who wrote a

novel about the New York book-publication community in the late 1990s.

This is a pleasant enough coming-of-age film telling how Joanna, fresh out of university, took a job at New York literary agency Harold Ober Associates, one of whose clients was novelist JD Salinger. Most of her job involved answering fan letters with a generic explanation that Salinger did not read fan mail.

“My Salinger Year” offers a view of a craft that seldom exposes what goes on between writing a book and its appearance on a retailer’s shelves. Much of that is a closed book. We must assume that the film’s autobiographical flavour comes from the writer’s personal experience and her scarcelyconcealed reasons for telling.

Playing Joanna, Margaret Qualley is credible enough. But the character best symbolising the film’s conflict elements is Margaret who takes the newbie on and turns her loose to navigate company politics and acquire industry know-how with the option of sinking or swimming. Just like life, really.

Playing that Margaret, Sigourney Weaver, now in her 70s, in her 88th acting role, delivers a subtle portrayal of a woman skilled in all the tricks of the publishing trade.

At Palace Electric

WATCH IT! / streaming and stuff

sundayROAST Witty and the weird and wonderful STREAMING news certainly took no holiday break.

IAN

MEIKLE Talking to the names making news.

Join the ‘CityNews’ editor and 2CC personalities Sundays, 9am-noon.

20 CityNews January 21-27, 2021

Over Christmas, Netflix released a doco comedy hybrid called “Death To 2020” that’s seen it in the spotlight of entertainment news for the last few weeks.

It’s a little tricky to describe what it actually is.

Think along the lines of a theatre revue except in TV format. It’s a sketch comedy satirising the year that was, wrapped up in a 100-minute run-time stacked with as much star power as possible – Hugh Grant, Lisa Kudrow and Samuel L Jackson to name drop just a few.

The production was led by British television writer Charlie Brooker, best known for creating another of Netflix’s hits, “Black Mirror”– an anthology series about the dangers of the technology we see rapidly evolving in front of us.

The originality of “Black Mirror” carries over to the writing he’s done for this new production.

Brooker has earned a reputation for the way he’s trying to change how we interact with entertainment, particularly his work on “Bandersnatch”, an episode of “Black Mirror” that allows the audience to respond to the story of the show by mashing buttons on their remotes.

While not quite as interactive, “Death To 2020” certainly has its own original edge that’s seen it popular with “Netflixers” around the world.

Despite the film’s high level of viewership, it’s also borne the brunt of backlash with much of its audience believing the satire isn’t as “politically impartial” as the writers would like to make out.

The question is, does it successfully offer the comedic catharsis from the crazy year that it claims it does? Despite its ambition, I don’t think it quite hits the bullseye of witty relevance, though it does land somewhere near the target.

Jude Law in “The Third Day”... another example of how streaming tech is bringing audience immersion to a new level.

What’s more interesting about the film is the uniqueness of its concept. With a little more finesse, productions like this could be a new way that streamers come to engage with current affairs with roll outs of comedies or commentaries focused on newsworthy events.

SPEAKING of unique ways to watch television, the strange and surreal new show from American production giant HBO landed in Australia on Foxtel Group’s Binge over the break.

It’s called “The Third Day”, and stars Jude Law of streaming fame for his role in “The Young Pope” (currently on SBS On Demand).

Law plays Sam, a man who visits a strange

island to participate in a ritual to help him with the grief he faces over the loss of his son who was murdered nine years earlier.

The events that play out of course get weird, with Sam becoming entwined with the strange and mysterious characters of the island and $90,000 that’s gone missing from him and his wife… or so he thinks.

“The Third Day” is six episodes broken up into three parts: Summer, Autumn and Winter, each crafted by a different director.

Part two was what the producers called a “live theatrical event”.

An all-day religious festival plays out on the island he visits. The festival itself was actually filmed and streamed live as it was performed. All of it done in one continuous take for a mindboggling 12 hours.

I’m doubtful anyone would sit through the entire thing, it’s more of a “drop into for a moment” kind of deal, but the level of world-building it achieves nonetheless is a remarkable thing.

Similar to what’s seen in Brooker’s work as mentioned above, “The Third Day” represents another example of how streaming tech is bringing audience immersion to a new level.

More of Nick Overall on Twitter @nick_overall

MUSIC

Love at all costs heralds opera’s grand return

By Helen Musa

WHEN Opera Australia emerged recently from a year of closures and lockdown, it did so in a grand manner.

Earlier this month was a revival of Graeme Murphy’s glitzy “Merry Widow”, which saw patrons flocking back to the Joan Sutherland Theatre and now, in a collaboration with La Scala in Milan, it’s presenting one of the most extravagant swashbucklers ever created by Verdi.

“Ernani” is based on a play by Victor Hugo (think “Les Miserables”) which caused literary riots in Paris when the classicists fought it out against the romanticists, for whom Hugo was the apostle.

Honour, duty, vengeance, love at all costs – these were the themes of the romantics, picked up by Verdi in 1844 for his fifth opera, hugely popular then but now rarely performed and scorned in operatic circles for its improbable plot, although in 1904, it became the first complete opera ever recorded.

It was Verdi’s first collaboration with librettist Francesco Maria Piave, who would go on to write the libretto for works such as “La Traviata” and “Rigoletto”. Oddly, the Teatro La Fenice, where it opened, wanted a woman to sing the role of Ernani but Verdi insisted on a tenor.

Years ago, I saw “Ernani” on stage at Sadler’s Wells in London with the Australian

Armenian-Australian soprano Natalie Aroyan has scored the plum role of Elvira.

Photo: Keith Saunders tenor Donald Smith singing the role in English and hadn’t particularly noticed any improbability, or no more so than in many operas.

Very briefly, bandit-hero Ernani is caught in a four-way tussle with Don Carlo, King of Spain, the conniving Don Ruy Gomez

de Silva and Elvira, the girl he loves who, bizarre to us now, has been forcibly betrothed to de Silva, her uncle.

Armenian-Australian soprano Natalie Aroyan has scored the plum role of Elvira for the coming OA production, and I caught up with her as she was deep in rehearsals with

Laura Galmarini, the revival director sent out from Italy by La Scala.

It’s a great role and may partly compensate for the cancellation in early 2020 of Verdi’s “Attila”, in which she was playing the lead, after just two shows. A rising star, she will also be performing the title role of Aida for OA and Opera Queensland later this year.

Aroyan knows all about the problems with the storyline of “Ernani” and, as a modern woman, says: “There’s a lot we can’t relate to in the 21st century… Elvira is betrothed to her uncle, the man in her life chooses his honour over his love for her and kills himself on his wedding day and Elvira is a damsel in distress, who needs to be watched over”.

It’s because of the storyline, not the music, that it’s not done very often, she believes.

“That’s why the original director [SvenEric Bechtolf] makes it a play within a play, it’s a clever way to approach the story,” she says.

“The stage will initially be set in the 19th century when the cast come out ready to put on a play, ‘Ernani’. A lot of stage hands are fixing things and dropping things and then we go back in time.”

It’s an excuse, OA is saying, to embrace the melodrama, and allows for lavish period costumes, masks and headdresses which mix in the 16th century setting of the tale.

Pulling out all the stops, OA has engaged Verdi expert Renato Palumbo to conduct.

The play within a play allows the

director to intertwine the themes of love, honour and vengeance with contemporary observations of those emotions.

“It’s a case of playing the role but feeling the emotions,” Aroyan says.

“It will be clear once it’s on stage.”

So, what is the attraction in playing Elvira? Aroyan says it’s very simply because the vocal range of this central character, which veers into dramatic coloratura, “is extraordinary enough to get me very excited”.

It fascinates her, because as one of Verdi’s early operas, he’s made it very hard to sing.

“It’s a bit of an adventure,” she says.

“For the soprano there are a lot of low notes while the tenor is singing high – a lot of ups and then down to your chest. It’s a marathon.”

Playing Ernani is long-time OA colleague, Mexican tenor Diego Torre, familiar to Canberra audiences from “Voices in the Forest”.

“In the rehearsal we realised how some of our duets start off very quietly then we are joined by the orchestra, it’s very personal and unique,” she says.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for me, very rewarding, very similar to my role in ‘Attila’, where I came in all guns blazing and jumped two octaves – this kind of singing is great. I love that… I keep going for the music.”

“Ernani”, Sydney Opera House, February 2-13, bookings to opera.org.au

ARTS IN THE CITY

Light work with a message

By Helen Musa A LIGHT installation created for the National Portrait Gallery by artist Jonathan Jones reflects on the importance of community and, with a 1.5-metre diameter, acts as a prompt to maintain social distancing. “Bogong Cluster” is projected in high-traffic areas throughout the gallery. Jones’ design, inspired by his Wiradjuri and Kamilaroi heritage, draws on the phenomenon of the annual bogong moth migration to Ngambri country.

AFTER five years of running the incredibly successful Mother Tongue Multilingual Poetry, founder Jacqui Malins is planning to step back later this year, arguing that it’s time for fresh energy and ideas. There will be a meeting in January to discuss Mother Tongue’s future, and anyone wishing to get involved should email mothertonguemic@gmail.com GALLERY Bodalla has re-opened following a year of struggle through fire and pandemic, with a collection of portraits, landscapes and works inspired by the theatre by NZ-born artist Justin Pearson. “Bitter Sweet Melody”, at Gallery Bodalla, Old PO Building, Bodalla, until February 14, Thursday to Sunday, 11am-4pm and by appointment to 0421 238174.

REJOICING in the “civilised pleasure and mindexpanding challenges” of running the ANU Drill Hall Gallery, director Terence Maloon has announced that the position of curator of the University Art Collection, vacated by David Boon last January, was filled by Oscar Capezio, who has already adorned the new Research School of Social Sciences Building with artworks.

“BRAVE-Bottomed Wombat” is the wonderful title of a new children’s book by author, food stylist and recipe writer Jody Vassallo from Tilba, who experienced the black summer fires not just as a resident but also

Tilba-based author Jody Vassallo with “BraveBottomed Wombat”. as an RFS volunteer. “Kids would always ask me about the animals,” Vassallo says. “The only animals I’d seen were so badly affected by the fires, I didn’t know how to answer positively.” The book, her 41st but her first children’s book, is illustrated by Cara King and will help raise funds for the Firesticks organisation. Available at chuffed.org/project/bravewombat, rrp $30.

FROM the Canberra light rail schedule to eclipse cycles, Anna Madeleine Raupach’s exhibition “Unequal Hours” intends to appeal to the broader community.

It’s a kinetic installation which uses altered clocks to physically represent multiple different timescales and aims to realign our technology-driven sense of time.

CMAG, January 23-May 15.

CityNews January 21-27, 2021 21

JUMBO CROSSWORD

Solution Page 15

ACROSS 1 Circled around 6 Supernatural acts 9 Slight error 11 Let in 15 In a league 19 Something added 20 Leave out 22 Long-legged bird 24 Smell 25 As written 26 Church law 27 Make sterile 28 Previous to 29 A donkey 30 Prized fish 31 Rescue 32 Name 33 Water bird 34 Checked ledgers 35 Loved 36 Before then 37 Cook in oven 38 Made use of 39 From the Orient 40 Two (Archaic) 41 Part of the ear 44 Corrects 47 Bank workers 50 Wet lump of dirt 52 Join in garment 54 Wanting too much 57 Corrected 59 Stops suddenly 60 Lacking substance 62 Open forest spaces 65 A tree 68 High ground 69 Metal fastener 70 Mesh together 71 See in the mind 74 Run hastily 75 Diminutive suffix 76 Open to view 78 A narrow boat 79 Occurrence 80 Nominate for 82 One inheriting 83 Speak against 85 Bad behaviour 87 Old throwing weapons 89 Distant 90 Living 91 Car accident 92 Quick shower 93 Squalid 95 Straddle 96 A meal 99 Rationed out 100 Pass 104 Keep in action 106 Eat greedily 107 Cut shorter 109 Acid-alcohol compound 110 A moving staircase 113 A flag 114 A new word 118 Lack of energy 120 Catch 121 Sth American country 123 Take revenge for 124 Informal restaurant 126 Finger parts 127 Close to 129 A protector 131 Untidy 135 Lacking forest growth

139 A fever 140 Attempting 142 More reliable 143 Throbs 144 Proper in attitude 145 Lengthways 146 Mean dwelling 147 Determination 148 Robs 151 Clothing component 155 Vessel made of alloy 157 Separately 158 Detested 161 Rub out 162 A relative 163 Tree sap 165 Rim 166 Unreliable

22 CityNews January 21-27, 2021

167 Outlaw 168 Save from wreckage 169 Amount owed 170 Wrongful act 171 The deep 172 Critical time 174 Playhouses 176 Transparent 177 Deeply respectful 179 Ship’s steering device 182 Take food 183 Eradicate 184 Underground rooms 189 Lures 192 Walked heavily 196 Important 197 For personal use 198 Farm vehicle

199 Happen twice 200 Result 201 Crescent-shaped 204 Solitary dweller 205 Circles 206 Freezes 207 Inspired by fear 208 A girl’s name 209 Employ 210 Smallest lot 211 Fall over 212 Nimble 213 A doctrine 214 Raised ground 215 Finished 216 Check printed work 217 A compound 218 Lack of moisture

219 Uninteresting 220 Animal feet 221 Throw out 222 Long paces

13 14 15 16 17 18 DOWN 21 1 System of water removal 23 2 Tone modulation 42 3 Having made a will 43 4 Solver of secret writings 45 5 Speak hesitantly 46 6 Road material 48 7 Power supplier 49 8 Seek advice from 50 9 Riding horse 51 10 Small part 52 11 Slander 53 12 Dampened

Tease cruelly Be manager of Easily broken Leaves illegally Went backward Those hearing Enter wrongly Women to be married Unnamed person Sales ticket Reasons Lingered Sheen Be sorry about Lying passively A fault Lifting frames An optical illusion

55 Dismisses some of staff 56 Legendary treasure place (2,6) 58 A diary 61 Aces 63 Used normal amounts 64 From outside 66 Repair clothes 67 Single person (coll) 72 Spread a rumour 73 Work too much 77 A watercourse 81 A direction 84 Ascend 86 Many times 88 Attendance 93 Completely sacred 94 Consistent timing 97 Personal maids etc 98 Rotating record players 101 Great courage 102 Most ordinary 103 Entrance to garage 105 Treats as a celebrity 107 Surprisingly soon 108 A condiment 110 Sicilian mountain 111 Ragged rock 112 Maori symbol 115 A killer whale 116 Man’s name 117 Tiny piece 119 Relating to annual times 122 Rodeo horseman 125 Unbeatable 128 Following 130 A cosmetic 131 Non-believers 132 Taut 133 A fold 134 Gave back money 136 Demote 137 Quite slack 138 Very grand 141 One retired from work 149 Smart 150 Unknown to others 151 A brand 152 Able to be stretched 153 Lack of ideas 154 A vegetable 155 Annoy 156 Lost energy 159 Wrestle with 160 Of teeth 163 Had a break 164 In short supply 172 Spoke together 173 Immediately 175 Statement of reasons 178 Make prey of 180 Came down 181 Returns to bad habits 184 Final act 185 Makes a mess 186 Is in plenty 187 Put off work 188 Doorman 189 Remove from copy 190 Cooked by boiling 191 Right to administer 192 A gift 193 Perform 194 Gods 195 A visionary 202 Remove forcibly 203 Stories

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Your week in the stars

By Joanne Madeline Moore

General knowledge crossword No. 765

January 25-31, 2021

6pm – Late, Thu 11 February 2021

ARIES (Mar 21 – Apr 20)

Tuesday looks rather chaotic, as unpredictable aspects upset your previous plans.

So expect the unexpected – especially involving finances and/or friends. It’s time to banish boredom and extend yourself in challenging (and covid safe) new directions. With the Full Moon, adventurous Jupiter and restless Uranus activating your aspirations zone, your mantra for the moment is from birthday great Oprah Winfrey: “The biggest adventure you can ever take is to live the life of your dreams.”

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TAURUS (Apr 21 – May 21)

With the Full Moon heating up your home zone, tread carefully with a fragile family member. It will be easy to say the wrong thing to the wrong person at the wrong time, so try to be a super tactful Taurus! Karma and transformation play an important role in proceedings this week. The more generous you are, the more the Universe will bless you in return. A friend or lover from the past could also re-enter your life… but do you really want to travel down that bumpy road again?

GEMINI (May 22 – June 21)

The Full Moon fires up your brain power so it’s a good week to focus your mind, research a subject that has always fascinated you or enrol in a course of study for 2021. Jupiter and Saturn also push you to consider more adventurous options. So your motto for the moment is from birthday great, writer Lewis Carroll: “Sometimes I’ve believed six impossible things before breakfast.” But expect a rather wobbly weekend, as Mercury turns retrograde and plans stall (or even go backwards).

CANCER (June 22 – July 23)

Thursday night’s Full Moon shines a bright spotlight on self-esteem, finances, core values and trust issues. It’s also time to don your Crab detective cap and turn on your x-ray vision, as you zero in on the cause of a problem and come up with a satisfactory solution. With Venus and Pluto pairing up in your relationship zone, make it a priority to do more for your nearest and dearest. As birthday great Lewis Carroll wrote: “All that is really worth the doing is what we do for others.”

LEO (July 24 – Aug 23)

Lions love to hog the limelight and be the centre of attention – especially when the Full Moon’s in Leo. But this week, the focus shifts from you onto the significant people in your life. Perhaps it’s time for your partner or your best friend to shine?

Putting others first puts a spring in your step and a smile on your dial. But be extra clear in the way you communicate on the weekend. If you are petulant, pretentious or impulsive, then relations with other people will be strained and unpredictable.

VIRGO (Aug 24 – Sept 23)

Your days are often organised with military precision as you try to get everything 100% right. But this week there’s a fiery Full Moon, plus Mercury (your ruling planet) slows down, stations and then starts moving backwards through your daily routine zone. So strive to be more spontaneous as you toss your usual timetable out the window and stretch your adaptability muscles in unfamiliar directions.

Whatever happens… expect the unexpected and prepare to pivot!

LIBRA (Sept 24 – Oct 23)

Librans possess a natural talent for procrastination. But this week Venus (your patron planet) pairs up with powerful Pluto, so it’s time to be strategic and focused. If you have a passion that you want to pursue (or a decision that needs to be made) then resist being distracted by other people’s agendas. And make sure deep contemplation is closely followed by decisive action. As birthday great Oprah Winfrey observes: “Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you.”

Solution next edition

Across

Down

1 Name the early Christian theologian, writer, and teacher, at Alexandria. (6) 8 What is an ulster, or a raglan? (8) 9 To be entombed, is to be what? (6) 10 Which term describes a thorough, violent, disturbance? (8) 11 Name a world-renowned tower, situated in Paris.

(6) 12 Who is Australia’s self-styled Dame? (4) 13 Name an obsolete Australian copper coin. (5) 16 Which plant, similar to the waterlily, is considered sacred in India? (5) 19 What is a set of six bowls known as? (4) 21 Which animals have eight sucker-bearing arms? (6) 22 To which animal class does a spider belong? (8) 23 What do we call the smouldering remains of a fire?

(6) 24 Which term describes a company of male singers?

(8) 25 To separate the wheat from the chaff, is to do what?

(6)

2 What, in poker, is a straight flush? (7) 3 Which mythical monster has the head and wings of an eagle, and the body of a lion? (7) 4 What is a small rounded mass, or lump? (6) 5 Which team won the 2005 English FA Cup? (7) 6 Name a community of nuns devoted to religious life under a superior. (7) 7 Name the printing type in which the letters usually slope to the right. (7) 13 What is voluntary self-punishment to atone for a sin, etc? (7) 14 Name the Native Americans found in New Mexico and Arizona, now constituting the largest tribal group in the US. (7) 15 Which prepared food of custard-like consistency is made from curdled milk? (7) 17 During which month does the zodiac sign Libra mostly lie? (7) 18 Which is an alternative term for referee? (7) 20 To which animal kingdom does the beaver belong?

(6)

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Sudoku medium No. 283

SCORPIO (Oct 24 – Nov 22)

SAGITTARIUS (Nov 23 – Dec 21)

The fiery Full Moon heats up your adventure zone so your hasty Sagittarian side will be switched to full throttle as you power ahead at top speed. But expect a frustrating slowdown on the weekend, when Mercury starts reversing through your communication and travel zone. Don’t worry if your spontaneous approach results in some messy mistakes along the way. In the words of French writer Colette (born on January 28, 1873): “You will do foolish things but do them with enthusiasm.”

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AQUARIUS (Jan 21 – Feb 19)

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CAPRICORN (Dec 22 – Jan 20)

PISCES (Feb 20 – Mar 20)

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You’ve got so many serious responsibilities, commitments and must-do-tasks that the last thing you need is a financial drama. But that’s what you could end up with, as the fiery Full Moon and retrograde Mercury shake up your money zones.

Saturn (your patron planet) encourages you to be cautious and conservative in the way you spend cash and communicate with other people. So – when it comes to finances and business matters – slow and steady wins the race this week!

If you are responsible and well-informed, then it will pay off further down the track. But don’t put your head in the sand and avoid facing problems Pisces! The Full Moon urges you to be physically fit, focused and fabulous. It’s also time to reach out to influential friends and positive colleagues who are going places, as you network up a storm. Your motto for the moment is from birthday great Oprah Winfrey: “Surround yourself with people who are going to lift you higher.”

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Thursday’s Full Moon sees you swing between being sexy and secretive; and being passionate and possessive. You could also be thrust into the public spotlight, so make sure you’re putting on a good show. But are you stuck in a career slump? If you resist changes at work, then you’ll just be left behind in the backwash. Look for creative ways to adopt fresh ideas and pivot in your professional life. And make sure you consult with colleagues and include them in your plans.

Prepare for a wild week as the Sun sashays through avant-garde Aquarius and squares disruptive Uranus. Plus Mercury slows down, stations and then starts reversing through your sign. So it’s the perfect time to tap into your Gypsy Soul and channel your Inner Bohemian! You’re also impatient to make some snappy decisions but resist the urge to be too blunt. With the Full Moon revving up your relationship zone, consider the effects your words and actions will have on those around you.

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