Swan Magazine May 2016 by Douglas Sutherland-Bruce

Unit 8 Vale Town Centre 31 Egerton Drive Aveley WA 6069 Phone: 9296 7688

Email: frank.alban@mp.wa.gov.au

If you would like to receive a free copy of the new, expanded digital Swan Magazine sent to you electronically and save a tree’s life, send an email to: editor@swanmagazine.com.au with ‘Subscribe’ in the subject line.

Valley

for

All

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O N LY A N H O U R ’S D R I V E F R O M T H E c i t y

V i s i t w w w. t o o d y a y. c o m f o r f u r t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n o r c a l l ( 0 8 ) 9 5 7 4 2 4 3 5

PETS TAFFY’S TIME

t was Thursday afternoon in March this year and a regular day at SAFE. I had managed to drop kitten biscuits in the hallway while trying to get them into the bathroom for the four kittens that had just been brought in. I knew I had two helpers who would clean them up in a heartbeat. I called Taffy and Bundy in and they went to work tidying up. I watched them and thought how lovely that they could share food with totally gentlemanly behaviour. (I found myself calling them “my old boys”) Since Bundy had come to stay just prior to Christmas he had assimilated easily into the household as Taffy just “knew” Bundy was meant to be with us. Bundy is twelve and has a cancerous tumour and we think he may not be with us for long but he certainly has quality of life so it's not his time yet. Anyway I returned to the desk and Taffy to his bed in the office. I heard the sound of his claws on the floor and saw him moving around. I thought he had an itch that he couldn’t reach and tried to find the spot for him. I soon realized that wasn’t the issue and that his back legs had stiffened up and he couldn’t walk. The vets were called and Kylie drove us to the vets and stayed with us and only left so Melinda could see him and bring his bed. Dr Paul was available to see him immediately and Dr Tim came in on his day off to check on him also. He was given Valium to ensure he stayed calm and his back legs relaxed but then his front legs stiffened. Taffy and I spent a few hours at the vet in

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SUE HEDLEY the hopes that whatever had happened so quickly would right itself as quickly as it had come upon him. This didn’t occur and knowing that this day was possibly his ‘time’ he received visits from those closest to him. Melinda who was a constant source of love (and food)received a loving lick on arrival. Karen (his second Mum) was quick to arrive when she heard that he was in hospital and she too received

the loving licks to which she had become used while he stayed with her when Mum number one was away. He was very happy that Pets and Vets had a bowl of liver treats which he assured us made him feel better by constantly nibbling on them while lying comfortably on his bed. Pets and Vets had allowed me to stay in their consultation room with Taffy to monitor him and adjust to what was seeming like his time to pass. I had time to take this in and to ensure his extra close people had a chance to wish him a peaceful journey. When it was clear that Taffy was not going to regain mobility Dr Tim returned and Karen joined us. He was already relaxed and not stressed by his immobility and a quick humane needle took Taffy back to where he came from. I am so grateful for the last fourteen years that I have shared with him and I know he had many wonderful chapters in his life with me and an array of people who loved him too. I wanted all who have a connection with him to know that his parting was so tranquil and he left his earthly body so his spirit can remain unhampered by bodily form. There is a peacefulness since his parting which I believe is an affirmation that he is with us in spirit and has made the transition with tranquillity.

TAFFYS SAFE BEGINNINGS Taffy was left in a box with his three siblings at the front of Pets and Vets in South Hedland fourteen years ago. Written on the box was ‘Six week old terrier x pups.’ I had rescued Amber, a homeless Kelpie cross from South Hedland some time earlier and was ready to rescue another dog. The vets called and told me about the pups. I thought that they would be easily rehomed and that it was better to take an older dog who was at risk of euthanasia. Fortunately the Vet clinic advised me that pups were at risk too and as I was going to Hedland for work the next day I headed straight to the clinic. I knew straight away who was coming home with me! Because I had to leave Hedland and go straight to Onslow before returning to Karratha (with my work with ABS) the clinic were happy to keep him till I could return Saturday with my partner at the time and pick him up. I always thought Taffy would think that he was left till last so I often told him that he was the first picked even though he watched his siblings find homes before Saturday arrived! He was taken home that day like a new baby into the home and in retrospect I don’t think I really allowed him to grow up. He always felt like my baby/my little boy even when he became an old boy. When he was fearful of such things as a new kitten or the beep of the washing machine he would always end up safely in Mum’s arms. Taffy has been blessed with a chosen life as SAFEs Ambassador and he will be sharing his stories with those he is meeting in a place that we are only aware of in our dreams. SAFE Saving Animals From Euthanasia (SAFE) was founded by Sue Hedley in 2003. Since then SAFE has developed branches and networks across the state. SAFE’s dedicated work has had a positive impact on people, pets and wildlife. SAFE’s innovative foster care program provides temporary care for animals until a permanent home is found. This means there are no cages or time lines on an animal’s life. Your donation or bequest can ensure SAFE can continue its life saving work. Have a look at our website:

www.safe.asn.au

IN THIS ISSUE PAGE

FEATURES

Art in the Hills May at MAC Books Business Card Board Community Tax Relief Unhealthy Habits Ellenbrook Community Weight Loss Club Rock for Cancer Stall Holders Wanted SAFE Roundtable PB Cabaret Charity Dinner What is a a Celebrant? Computers Dining Out Royal Tarka Indian Education Entertainment Broadway Ladies You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown Picnic at Hanging Rock

14 15 32 40 2 5 18 20 20 21 21 22 34 19 29 24 25 41

Finance 35

PAGE Fiction 31 Gardening 30 Get Social with Jay 23 Health Matters Heart Research Required Notes From Parliament

3 5

Pets Inside cover Poetry 31 Reviews Gordon the Optom 26 The Flickers with James 27 SAFE 39 Styled by Kirsty 10 Swan Valley and Regional Network Gateway WA Project 16 Gidgegannup Showgrounds 16 Ellenbrook Community 17 New Aged Care Places 17 The Idler The Voice of Swan Hills Toodyay Feature

37 18 8

Weddings 12 What’s On 36 Writing 33

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COMMUNITY TAX RELIEF FOR SMALL BUSINESSES IN HASLUCK

ederal Member for Hasluck the Hon. Ken Wyatt AM PM said hard working local small businesses will be given tax relief from the Turnbull Government with the small company tax rate being gradually reduced to twenty-five per cent. The Turnbull Government’s 2016 Federal Budget cut the small business company tax rate to twenty-seven point five per cent and makes it available to all small companies with an annual turnover of less than ten millions from 1 July 2016. “This will greatly help local small businesses, including my electorate of Hasluck,” Mr Wyatt said. “We are committed to easing the tax burden and making life easier for our hard working small businesses to ensure they can grow, prosper and create new jobs. “Small businesses are the engine room of our economy. “The Turnbull Government is easing the burden on small businesses by increasing access to a range of small business tax concessions, and expanding these concessions to businesses with an annual turnover of less than ten million. “These changes will make the small

business tax concessions available to over 90,000 additional businesses from 1 July 2016, including hundreds of local businesses.” New changes include: Simplified depreciation rules: including the ability to claim an immediate deduction for assets purchased costing less than $20,000 until 30 June 2017;

the value of their stock has changed by less than $5,000; The option to account for GST on a cash basis and pay GST instalments as calculated by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO); A simplified method of paying PAYG instalments calculated by the ATO;

Simplified trading stock rules: giving businesses Making GST administration easier by the option to avoid an end of year stocktake if simplifying the Business Activity Statement (BAS); and Other tax concessions available to small business, including fringe benefits tax (FBT) exemptions (FBT changes from 1 April 2017) and immediate deductibility of professional expenses. “We are committed to creating the right conditions for our small businesses to innovate, expand and create new jobs. Australia’s hardworking small businesses need a tax system that actively supports them and that is what we are providing,” Mr Wyatt said. These important reforms build on the Government’s biggest small business initiative in our nation’s history, the Growing Jobs and Small Business package, which was a key feature of last year’s Federal Budget. 4 May 2016. ADVERTISEMENT

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HEALTH MATTERS HEART RESEARCH URGENTLY REQUIRED ALICIA MURRAY-JONES

rofessor Peter Thompson, cardiologist and Deputy Director of the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, has called for a renewed focus on fundamental heart research during Heart Week. Professor Thompson said that while WA has excellent clinical research into the treatment of heart disease, basic research into really understanding the causes of heart disease is very limited. “We urgently need to understand heart disease better and tackle the basic causes with an intensive effort to reduce the toll from heart disease in our community,” Professor Thompson said. “A focus on finding treatments for heart disease has produced dramatic results, for example if you had a heart attack thirty years ago your risk of dying in the first week was 13% and now the risk of dying from a heart attack in the first month is down to 4%. “But while treatments have improved, too many heart attacks and strokes are still occurring and we still don’t have answers to some fundamental questions about what causes heart disease -hence why it remains the biggest killer of both men and women.” He said that high blood pressure is one area where a breakthrough in basic research is urgently needed. “Clinical research is focused on working out the best treatment but a far better question is why does high blood pressure occur?”

He said there is a lot of research into treatment of cholesterol build-up but we need to discover much more about why cholesterol builds up in the first place. Other critical questions are why do clots occur leading to heart attack and stroke and how do heart muscles become damaged leading to heart failure. Professor Thompson said that each of these areas are potentially lethal and contribute to the high rate of heart disease deaths in our community. “The fact that we don’t know these answers shows how little we really understand about what goes wrong with the heart.” Each is waiting for a breakthrough moment that will radically change the understanding and the treatment and prevention of heart disease. These major breakthroughs can only come from intensive research into discovering the basic mechanisms of cardio-vascular diseases. He said that the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research is focused on building a critical mass of expertise in heart disease here in WA to answer these questions. “We need the continued support of the community to keep our best heart scientists and doctors here in WA if we want to ensure that we find the answers and at the same time have access to the latest clinical trials. For more information go to the Harry perkins website: www.perkins.org.au.

www.strategies4life.com.au

www.chiropractic-homeopathy.com.au 3

NOTES FROM PARLIAMENT HON DONNA FARAGHER JP, MLC Member for East Metropolitan R egion Parlimentary Secretary to the Premier

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ACTIVE

eing active outdoors is especially important for children and research corroborates the physical and emotional benefits of unstructured nature play. Unfortunately, the majority of Australian children now spend more than the recommended maximum of two hours a day in front of a screen. According to the 2014 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Young People, only ninteen percent of Australian children meet the minimum physical activity guidelines. This increasingly sedentary lifestyle is contributing to higher rates of childhood obesity, stress and anxiety. To help reverse this trend, the Liberal-National Government is strongly supporting Nature Play WA and its core objectives to increase awareness among Western Australians about the benefits and opportunities for families to participate in nature play activities. Like the Government’s popular Kids Sport initiative, Nature Play WA is aimed at building children’s resilience, imagination and creativity

by teaching children and their families about the importance of outdoor nature-based play. With State Government funding of $2.5million over five years, Nature Play WA is a collaborative organisation with seventeen founding partners including the Departments of Sport and Recreation and Parks and Wildlife, the Australian Medical Association and the West Australian

Primary Principals Association. Linking in with Nature Play WA’s objectives, nature playgrounds are also being incorporated into major State Government projects such as the Perth Children’s Hospital and Elizabeth Quay. The new Perth Children’s Hospital, for example, will have more than 3,500sqm of gardens and play areas for patients and their families to enjoy. One of the key recreational and therapy spaces at the hospital will be the main level-four playground overlooking Kings Park which will provide tactile and explorative play experiences for children with custom-made equipment including sensory walls, a music garden, talking tubes and climbing walls. Endorsed by Nature Play WA, the play space will provide areas of rest and retreat for sick children and their families and a very welcome distraction from the hospital environment. The area will also have a dedicated space for allied health and rehabilitation therapy.

UNHEALTHY HABITS KILLING US SLOWLY

he Stroke Foundation is urging Australians to ditch their unhealthy habits in the wake of a new report revealing our lifestyle choices are putting us at direct risk of life-threatening chronic diseases. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report released this week shows that smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, obesity and insufficient exercise are all directly linked to stroke, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and some cancers. Stroke Foundation Chief Executive Officer Sharon McGowan said the increasing prevalence of these comorbidities was alarming. “We know there are increasing numbers of people in our community living with stroke risk factors highlighted in this report, such as obesity, poor nutrition, lack of physical activity and high blood pressure,” Ms McGowan said.

“The good news is most of these risk factors are preventable. Better detection and prevention of chronic disease will help people become healthier and stay out of hospital – saving lives and reducing the burden on our health system. “An integrated health check is the best way to find out your risk of chronic disease by taking into account all risk factors, instead of assessing each one individually. “This report is further evidence the Federal Government must fund the implementation of a nationally consistent program. The sooner GPs routinely offer an integrated health check, the earlier they can act to prevent a life-threatening event,” she said. “This report is further evidence of the benefits which could be achieved through the implementation of a nationally consistent integrated health check program. The sooner GPs and primary care providers routinely offer an integrated health check, the earlier they can act to prevent a lifethreatening event,” she said. Ms McGowan said the report highlighted the direct association between

six of the seven key risk factors and stroke. “Too many families continue to be devastated by strokes that could have been prevented. By making simple lifestyle changes or seeking treatment for chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, people could avoid the suffering and disability caused by stroke,’’ Ms McGowan said “We need to help people understand their risk of stroke and other chronic diseases, and empower them to make the necessary changes to their lifestyle to avoid suffering a devastating health crisis. “Stroke remains one of the leading causes of death and adult disability in Australia. More focus must be given to prevention, earlier diagnosis and referral of patients at risk of chronic disease. GPs and primary care providers play an important role here. “This report highlights the critical need for an integrated health check program to detect the risk of stroke, heart disease, chronic kidney disease or type 2 diabetes. “We must get better at identifying those who are at high risk of becoming sick, and stopping them from joining the more than seven million Australians who are already living with a chronic disease.” 5

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COS02019

Sport is a Hill’s Priority Mt Helena Pavilion

The oﬃcial opening of Mount Helena Pavilion

A chance meeeng with a Mt Helena Football supporter, Peter Valannne resulted in an organised visit to the Mt Helena Elsie Aussn Oval where local footballers and supporters were undertaking a peeeon to the Shire of suppor Mundaring for an upgrade to the clubrooms and the Elsie Aussn Oval. This prompted accon to be taken to improve the facility. A visit by the Premier in February 2013 to highlight these dated and inadequate faciliies resulted in State Government funding support which kick started accon taken by the Shire. The Premier revisited recently, to oﬃcially open the $1.1 million Pavilion project which will provide the local sporrng clubs a focus for their social life, centred around sport.

Chidlow Lighhng Campaign

The Chidlow Oval was also included in the recent visit by the Premier to discuss upgrading the Oval lighhng. With the inclusion of night match capacity lights, both the football oval and sports faciliies have the opportunity to expand services to its local community. This message was reinforced by President Chris Dymek and members who aaended this visit. As luck would have it, the President of the Chidlow Football club is also the local award winning butcher, many a good argument has been successful with the inclusion of food. This meeeng was no exceppon, with the Premier being treated to a sausage sizzle lunch with young sports girls and boys from Year 5, Chidlow Primary School. Within the Chidlow Township there are many sporrng clubs and sporrng pursuits, however the potennal of local community involvement through evening markets or even a Local regional show would be some of the many posiive results of this potennal upgrade. This ma has been another opportunity for the community through their local and State Governments to campaign for improved local Hills faciliies to beneﬁt the growing number of young sports players within their own community.

Meeeng with the Premier and local footballers and Councillor Daw (East Ward) of Shire of Mundaring

Teamwork

Recently three levels of Government; Local, State and Federal, met in my oﬃce to progress night match standard lighhng for compeeon in the Hills...more later.

Year 5 boys and girls from Chidlow Primary School

TOODYAY

Valley

for

All

Seasons

O N LY A N H O U R ’S D R I V E F R O M T H E c i t y

V i s i t w w w. t o o d y a y. c o m f o r f u r t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n o r c a l l ( 0 8 ) 9 5 7 4 2 4 3 5

TOODYAY JOE GOT AWAY .... AGAIN

A melange of photos taken by the public, both professional and family and posted on the Moondyne Festival Facebook page. The happiness, enjoyment and joy speaks for itself. Our thanks to: Ted Leech Vinh Nguyen Tara Steinbrecher Jewelz Cook Rachel Byrom Andrew Jones Tiana Baynes and Shavaun Bropho. 9

STYLED BY KIRSTY

Industrial Chic

www.shopandstylespecialists.com

Winter is often a time when femininity is thrown by the wayside. We’re covered in so many layers that sometimes we can’t even find ourselves. The cold air steals the moisture from our lips, the wind cracks our skin and the chill cuts through us like a knife. It’s not something we admit to in mixed company but take those razor blades off the shopping list, the track pants are on and those white pins won’t see the light of day until spring. No one is making gorgeous winter clothes. We just have to rug up and see through another Australian unfashionable winter. But wait. What? Someone made us pretty clothes this winter. Someone good and gracious and completely fashion forward. And what did you say? She’s right here in Perth?! Well happy day. I know I’m not the only one who gets disappointed with fashion every time the weather gets cold. But this year we all have reason to smile again. Jonté Pike has designed an autumn/winter collection that will leave us looking and feeling fabulous, fierce and feminine. Aptly named ‘Galvanised’ this collection is a mix and match masterpiece. With pants, leggings, skirts, dresses, tops, vests, bustiers, jumpers and kimonos to choose from you can be as individual as you are stylish. The colour palette is grey, navy, black and white. Stunning combinations for a warm and elegant winter so let’s talk about styling with all of these incredible cool colours. For all of those gorgeous ladies with alabaster skin tones, this collection is perfect for you. Your cool skin tones will love the greys and navy’s. The black or white button up shirts will looks incredible on you and you’ll love the two way silver sequin vests and skirt. For all of us with warm skin tones, we’ll have to work a little harder. If your skin tone is olive, yellow or a warm brown then these

Ali Caldwell from Vivien’s Model Management wears Jonté Designs. Hair and Make-up by Zoe Mitchell from House of Haylo. Fashion editor Kirsty Noakes and Photographer Tristan Jud.

colours may leave you looking a little drawn and dark under the eyes. But that doesn’t mean you won’t or don’t already wear black or white. To combat the dark and drawn look make sure you have a well matching foundation and concealer. Always use a skin primer before applying your makeup and you’ll still need to use your moisturiser in winter. Keep your lip colour warm and this will keep your skin tones lifted. Keep eyes nude this winter, it’s all about the lashes and lips. Apply a good treatment to your hair at least once a fortnight and you’ll keep a fresh winter glow even with these cooler colours. Then you can enjoy your fresh winter in these fashion forward looks from a girlboss who wants us all to look amazing this winter. See the full collection www.jontedesigns.com

WEDDINGS

Want Laura and Emmett’s Wedding Style?

All photographs courtesy of Verge Studio. 12

Ceremony & Reception: Celebrant: Bridal Gown: Photographer: Groom’s Suit: Florist: Makeup Artist: Hair Stylist: Cake: Music/Entertainer:

Peel Manor House Maria Goretti Ogilby Bride’s Selection Verge Studio Suits Formal Wear Mizu & Mimosa Belinda Ashlee MUA Mosedale for Hair Cakes by Nina Holt Music

WEDDINGS

LAURA AND EMMETT

MEGAN ZIERSCH

aura and Emmett tied the knot in a celebration with international flavour at Peel Manor House. Laura and Emmett first met in Point Samson, whilst working away, and quickly fell in love. It was on holiday in Malaysia that Emmett popped the question! Laura recalls their jet ski tour of the islands, when Emmett took her away to a secluded beach, dropped to one knee with four little lettered rings spelling L-O-V-E. Apart from trying to put the rings on her right (wrong) hand, it all went perfectly to plan, before the couple took a sunset cruise to celebrate! After returning to Perth, Laura selected a unique antique engagement ring and wedding plans commenced immediately. With the immenent arrival of family and friends from overseas, the countdown was on! Laura’s family was visiting in three months time and with Emmett’s Irish family already in town it was the perfect opportunity for a wedding. Despite the shortest engagement in history, Laura and Emmett maintained their beautifully relaxed approach to the whole affair. Laura’s bridesmaids were her sisters, who live in the UK. Laura gave them free rein to find something they both liked. She wasn't fussed on the colour or style, but did have a preference for pastels. Everything else just came together with what was available at the time - she likes simple, elegant, vintage type things so just went with that. The couple say they created their day with a lot of help from the professionals, as there aremarked differences between Australia and the UK where it is commonplace to get married in the morning and party all day, night or weekend. Laura and Emmett had their entire wedding celebration at the gorgeous Peel Manor House. “We wanted to find a venue that could let us continue to celebrate without sending us home at 11.30pm - Peel Manor was fab for this as everyone stayed the night and relived the events over breakfast.” The day of the wedding everything went perfectly.

The Verge Girls were hilarious and fantastic and calming before the ceremony, as was everyone else involved. Soon the bagpipes began to sound, and the anticipation started to build. The crowd stood and watched the piper, bridesmaids and finally the divine bride walk down the aisle, nerves fluttering. One of the funniest moments was when the Page Boys refused to walk down the aisle, and then insisted on keeping the wedding rings for themselves! Amongst all the excitement, Laura’s dad even tried to give her away too quickly, and the celebrant had to make Emmett give her back! They exchanged personalised vows, shared their first kiss and within minutes were pronounced to be husband and wife! After having celebratory photos with family, the bridal party snuck off for some photos on the grounds and in the Secret Garden. As the sun began to set on the practically perfect day, the newlyweds shared a beautiful kiss, and entered their Reception to the loud cheers of their friends and family! Laura and Emmett had their romantic first dance to You Are The Best Thing by Ray Lamontagne, before an unannounced father / daughter dance to My Girl. It was such an uplifting, and wonderful celebration with the international families coming together. At the end of the night, all the guests even brought out the instruments and had a traditional Irish sing-song! We asked what advice would you give to future brides and grooms? “Don't be afraid to go to the place that could be slightly out of your price range,” Laura says. If it ticks all of the boxes they could be willing to work something out with you.” “As such a relaxed and loving couple, they advise against over-analysing every decision. It will all turn out fabulous in the end and the things that don't, make it all the more fun and interesting! Everyone who loves you will love it at the end of the day so don't stress!” Wise words! 13

ART IN THE HILLS

MUNDARING ARTS CENTRE Come in to discover the latest exhibitions and a wide range of locally made, hand crafted pieces, many of which are exclusive to the Mundaring Arts Centre Viewing Hours

10am - 5pm Tues â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Fri 11am - 3pm Sat & Sun Closed Mon & P/Holidays + 25 Dec-13 Feb

7190 Great Eastern Highway (corner Nichol Street) Mundaring WA 6073 | T: +61 8 9295 3991 www.mundaringartscentre.com.au 14

ART IN THE HILLS MAY AT MAC CLARE STROUD

e are looking forward to another action packed month here at MAC. Our current exhibition Stepping Stones opened to a huge crowd, with solo artist Antony Muia presenting a fascinating talk and guided meditation at the end of April. His exhibition continues until the 22nd May, then we open the highly anticipated exhibition Fusion showcasing the outstanding creative outcomes of the Fusion Art Project held over the past year. Emerging artist Aliesha Mafrici will also take up residence in Gallery 2 as she works with photography and print to create new works that document the fragility of time, memory and understanding. Plus we offer even more great opportunities for kids and adults to take part in visual arts workshops as part of the Make Your Mark project, so be sure to read on for all the details and more. EXHIBITIONS GALLERY 1 - Stepping Stones - Antony Muia Until 22nd May Established as an artist who explores the body and the human condition through expressive drawing, Antony expands this repertoire to include installation and audio work to engage the viewer in an interactive experience that offers “relief from the menial or mundane”.

Antony Muia, Father and Son (detail), mixed media on paper

GALLERY 1 - Fusion - 27th May to 26th June Celebrating the FUSION Art Project and the collective works created in this series of ‘whole of community’ workshops for all abilities, including people with high support needs over the past year. GALLERY 2 - Aliesha Mafrici - 27th May to 26th June Nominated by ECU lecturers as a student with exceptional potential, Aliesha explores the fragility of time, memory and understanding through photography, print and mixed media.

WORKSHOPS & EVENTS Sunday 15 May, 2016 - 11am - 1pm D.I.Y. Silver Earrings with Bethamy Linton At Taylor's Coffee House, 510 Great Northern Hwy Middle Swan. Make a simple pair of textured and embellished silver earrings assembled using components provided. Techniques you will learn include roll-printing metal, riveting and bending sterling silver shepherd (earring) hooks. Cost $75. Materials supplied - Bring your own lunch or enjoy some of the delicious offerings from the Taylor’s Coffee House menu after the session. Suitable for beginners 16+ years.

guiding students is matched by his dedication to his own art practice. In these workshops he will share his knowledge of the benefits of using various brushes, palette knifes, scrapers and the difference between painting on board or canvas. If you have a half completed painting at home which you just can't finish, bring it along and let’s resolve it! Cost $160. Suitable for Adults. Sat 28 May, 2016 - 11am - 3pm Animation Workshops with Steven Aiton Grapevine Community Centre, Ellenbrook Suitable for 5-8 years Create characters and props using coloured card, recycled and found objects - then bring them to life using laptops and mobile technology including iPads and iPod Touches. At the end of the session there will be a short screening of the work that family and friends are invited to attend. Cost $45 Materials supplied - Bring your own lunch.

Sat 29 May, 2016 - 11am - 3pm Animation Workshops with Steven Aiton Grapevine Community Centre, Ellenbrook Suitable for 9-12 years Make a brief stop-motion animated film using the latest digital technologies including iPads and laptops. Participants will be using a layered 2D cut-out style animation using a selection of new and recycled materials. This workshop will potentially help you configure your own animation set up at home. There will be a screening of the work at the end Sat 21 May, 2016 - 11am – 2.30pm of the session in which family and friends are Wire Sculpture And Painting with Louise Cook welcome to attend. For ages 9-12 years Cost $45. Materials supplied - Bring your own At Grapevine Community Centre, Ellenbrook We live in an amazing place full of new lunch. buildings, sculptures and objects. Participants will create an original ink painting of an interesting NEWS object from around the area or from an interior Applications are now open for Expressions of their house or a house from the past. They will of Interest to be part of the exciting exhibition then recreate their work in copper wire, to create program at MAC, for Feb - Dec 2017. a sculptural drawing. MAC is searching for artists, groups of artists Cost $15. Materials supplied - Bring your own and curators to present exhibitions in our two lunch, a picture of either interesting objects from Gallery spaces across all disciplines of the visual your house or historic household objects from the arts. past or photos of objects / sculptures in the area If you have a stunning show to present in our that inspire you. Gallery 1 or need some space to work in residence in Gallery 2 we want to hear from you. Sunday Painting Workshops with Peter Dailey The Application Form with Terms and Two sessions: Sun 22 and 29 May - 1.30-4.30pm Conditions can be downloaded from our website. Midland Junction Arts Centre Forms need to be in by Tuesday the 7th Woodbridge sculptor and painter Peter Dailey June 2016 to be considered.com.au or call 9295 has been making artwork for over thirty years. 3991 if you can lend a hand on the day (setting Well known in Midland as instigator and co- up, assisting visitors and packing down) it can ordinator of the exceptional (but sadly closed) art be as little as a couple of hours or join us for a and environment courses at Midland Polytechnic, memorable day out! Peter is a much loved and respected teacher. Do not miss this opportunity to create your own painting under Peter’s guidance. Peter’s commitment to encouraging and 15

SWAN VALLEY AND REGIONAL NETWORK GATEWAY WA PROJECT COMPLETE HON ALYSSA HAYDEN MLC

nce again I am very pleased to report another substantial road infrastructure project has been accomplished - the Gateway WA project is officially complete, ahead of schedule and under budget. I accompanied my fellow East Metropolitan Members of Parliament to celebrate this great achievement with the Prime Minister Hon Malcolm Turnbull, the Hon Julie Bishop and WA Minister for Transport Hon Dean Nalder MLA. The WA Liberals have invested more in the eastern suburbs than any Government in our State’s history, creating local jobs and delivering modern infrastructure for our growing community. Main Roads WA selected Gateway WA as the alliance partner to deliver the $1 billion Gateway WA Project that comprised five

GIDGEGANNUP SHOWGROUNDS

he City of Swan has completed a $420,000 upgrade to the Gidgegannup Showgrounds. City of Swan Mayor Mick Wainwright said the works were part of the City’s budgeted capital works program and would be a great benefit to the region. “Drainage had become an issue at the showgrounds so the works included the installation of subsoil drainage around the perimeter of the arena,” he said. “The drain which was installed will collect the water from the arena and direct it to the dam in the arena’s north-west corner.” Swan Valley/Gidgegannup Ward Councillor Darryl Trease said the previous surface had also become uneven over the years. “The existing ground of gravel and sand was stripped off and a fresh layer of gravel was laid and graded to the intended level,” he said. “On top of this there is now a layer of cracker dust topped with river sand. “Staff visited numerous equestrian facilities in the outer Perth region to look at how they were constructed and their effectiveness. “We also consulted extensively with the user groups to discuss their experiences and needs for the site. “This resulted in agreement on a design that considered the learnings from other arenas and considered the unique elements of Gidgegannup such as its size, topography and soil type. “Despite the very heavy rain in Gidgegannup on Saturday, the drain worked effectively. “The arena stood up very well, and the City was pleased to receive positive feedback from the riders who took part in a rally there on Sunday.”

industry leaders – CPB Contractors (formerly Leighton Contractors), Georgiou, GHD, AECOM and BG&E. The Gateway WA Perth Airport and Freight Access Project was WA’s largest ever road project

with construction commencing in 2013. It was designed to improve the safety and efficiency of one of the State’s most important transport hubs. Road users are now experiencing reduced congestion and travel times. Cyclists and pedestrians have also benefited from the upgraded infrastructure with more than twenty-one kilometres of shared path and local connections installed. Approximately seven kilometres of new noise/screen walls were constructed to help reduce traffic noise to local residential areas. INTERESTING DESIGN TIT-BITS The project provides an iconic entrance to Western Australia that is the first impression of visitors to our State. The inspiration behind the urban design was created through intensive community consultation

and has used the colours of the landscape and the unique flora of Perth and Western Australian for plantings. The landscape design creates a strong green spine along the length of the corridor to integrate the project into its natural setting and merge the ancient and contemporary references of our State. The urban design features a “Ribbons through the landscape” theme, which draws from the natural Perth landscape setting, representing the earth, sky and fauna of the Swan Coastal Plain. The colour scheme was deliberately chosen to provide subliminal navigation towards the city, river and range. Yellow in the Western Zone depicts the Sunset Coast and Perth’s status as the beach capital of Australia. The blue in the Northern Zone is inspired by the Swan River, its importance to Perth and its people and water being the essential element necessary for Perth’s settlement. The red in the Southern Zone is inspired by the earthen tones of the Darling Range and the red-tailed black cockatoo. I am sure you will take more notice of these colours and plantings the next time you transit through the Gateway roads.

SWAN VALLEY AND REGIONAL NETWORK ELLENBROOK COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE NICOLETTE WARD

ver the years Bev and Brian Chitty have build support, gathered a wonderful group of friends to their cause, and continued to host wonderful, warm Biggest Morning Teas, each year growing their donation to the Cancer Council WA. Last year they achieved the number three position in WA with $21,000 raised over the year. Bev and Brian have been supported and sponsored by many different local businesses, local members of council, and the general public. It’s their unselfish love for Ellenbrook, and passion for the Cancer Council that attracts the calibre of respect they hold amongst their peers. This, 2016, will be Bev and Brian’s last year hosting the event in Ellenbrook as they will be moving closer to the city to be with family.

The Ellenbrook Community Collective have taken on Bev and Brian’s “baby” with the goal to nurture and grow what they have started. They wish to continue their legacy and hope that Ellenbrook as a community will remember these dedicated two local legends. THE ELLENBROOK COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE In February this year a meeting was attended by representatives of the Ellenbrook Lions Club, Ellenbrook Rotary, Friends of the Arts and Ellenbrook Theatre Co. Supported by key local businesses, the Ellenbrook City of Swan and even Frank Alban, they have started official proceeding to register themselves as an Official Not-for-Profit organisation and planning the 2016 Christmas

NEW AGED CARE PLACES IN HASLUCK

lder Australians in Hasluck will benefit from a substantial increase in funding for aged care services, with the Australian Government announcing over 17,000 new care places across the nation worth an estimated $910 million. Following the announcement of the 2015 Aged Care Approvals Round (ACAR), Member for Hasluck Hon Ken Wyatt AM MP welcomed news of one hundred and fifty-four places that have been created locally following a competitive application process. “There is a strong demand for aged care in Hasluck and these additional places are essential in ensuring our elderly receive the quality care they deserve,” Mr Wyatt said. “It will either help expand existing services or create new places in priority areas of need, including Amana Living in Lesmurdie, Amaroo Village in Gosnells and Villa Maria in Lesmurdie.” This is the last ACAR to include home care places. From February 2017 funding will follow the consumer not the provider, allowing people to choose the care which suits their individual needs, to then direct funding to that provider. “Australians want greater choice and control

over the care they receive and the changes to home care we’ve created do exactly that,” Mr Wyatt said. “The fifteen home care places announced in this round of funding will help older Australians stay in their homes longer.” More information about the results of the 2015 Aged Care Approvals Round is available at www.dss.gov.au/2015ACAR Applications for the 2016 ACAR round will commence in June and focus on the provision of residential aged care places and capital funding, as well as introducing, for the first time, short-term restorative care places. Short-term restorative care provides an eight week programme, designed with the care recipient, which provides re-ablement and restorative care services in a home setting, a residential setting, or combination of the two.

Festival. With the enthusiasm this group shows for running cost effective events with a strong “local” focus they will sure to gain good support from the public. As a farewell to Bev and Brian Chitty, The Ellenbrook Community Collective will be hosting a Biggest Morning Tea for Cancer Council WA on the 21nd of May at The Brook Bar and Bistro. This event has usually been held at the Woodlake Community Centre and has been a highlight in Ellenbrook for a number of years. However, as Bev and Brian Chitty are unable to continue hosting. As a lasting legacy the Collective have taken this on out of sincere respect for Bev and Brian. The Brook Bar and Bistro have offered their venue and staff at no charge and all proceeds will be donated to The Cancer Council WA on behalf of Ellenbrook Cancer Council. Raffles, Silent Auctions and door prizes will be on offer at the event. Tickets are on sale for $49 and available through The Brook phone 08 6296 5699 or online. here: www.rollerdigital.com/ thebrook/#/event/3736/73907/20160521.

COMMUNITY ELLENBROOK COMMUNITY WEIGHT LOSS CLUB SHIRLEY SARDELICH

ack in 1969 weight watchers clubs were formed around Western Australia by Ms Daphne Hugo. Her very first club meeting was in a hair salon in Joondanna in 1968. Back then there were very few Weight Watchers Groups to help and encourage people to lose weight. She put an advertisement in Tom’s Weekly and expected five or six phone calls expressing interest. Never in her wildest dreams did she expect the one hundred and fifty-four calls she actually received. Within four years forty-three clubs had been formed around the State and she had realised the necessity of forming a state body - the Weight Watchers Federation (W.A. Inc). At present there are fifty clubs in the Federation throughout the metropolitan and country areas. I was serving as State Federation Secretary in 2007 and took a large number of phone calls enquiring if there was a low-cost weight watchers club in either the Ellenbrook or surrounding districts. Although at that time I was connected to the Dianella Weight Watchers Group I decided to open a club in Ellenbrook as I could see this was a growing area. I held the very first meeting at Charlottes Vineyard in Ellenbrook on the 16th May 2007. To start with we had only three members, but numbers grew pretty rapidly. In 2008, within a year as the club grew we decided to move meetings to the Woodlake’s Community Hall, meeting rooms 1 and 2, where we still meet on Wednesday evenings from 6:30pm to 8:00pm. The group is run by volunteers through a big committee. Over the years we have had tremendous success in the club, with members losing an amazing amount of weight over the years. Our very first Graduate of the club was Norma Wilkes who joined in January of 2008. Her original goal was to lose 8.6kg but within fifteen weeks of membership she actually lost 11.2kg. Our second Graduate was Jean Fisher a year later in January 2009. She lost an impressive 20.1kg. Our first Slimmer of the Year was Margaret Demeza with a total weight loss of 31.1kg. The club nominated Margaret to the Weight Watchers Federation Slimmer of the Year Competition, where she won, competing against fifty other clubs’ slimmers. She received a sash, a cash prize and a trophy. Margaret was one of the success stories of our fledging club and a great inspiration to all members. Margaret continued to lose weight and was presented with a further cash prize a year later

by the Weight Watchers Federation for having managed to keep the 31kg off for twelve months. Another success story was that of Caroline Blake and her husband Ian. They joined on the 7th January, 2009 when we were meeting is somewhat unusual surroundings. Our usual meeting hall was being re-varnished and so our first meeting of that year was held in the park under the gazebo near the car park. Despite the odd conditions of their start Ian and Caroline have become stalwart members and have both become Graduates of the club, still

Naomi Phillips before and after

regularly attending for weigh-ins. Caroline graduated on the 7th October with a huge loss of 26kg. She was nominated as our representative for the 2010 Weight Watchers Federation Slimmer of the Year where she achieved equal second runner-up. Both she and Ian have maintained their goal weight after seven years. These are just some of the success stories we have had over the years, but possibly our greatest success story was that of Julie Clark, who lost 50kg overall. In 2013 she came second in the Weight Watchers Federation Slimmer of the Year with a weight loss of 33.5kg. She continued to lose weight and the following year competed again, having lost a further 16.5kg. She continued to lose but, sadly, had to move to the country and left the club. Recently, one of our young mums, Naomi Phillips, has lost over 30kg during the last twelve months, despite having had a second child and is looking stunning. She has only five kilos to lose to get back to her pre-pregnancy weight. Naomi is just so determined to achieve this self-set goal. This year our nomination for the Slimmer of

the Year has been Kerry Carmen. She joined the club just over a year ago and has lost 16kg. We are very proud of Kerry, who came sixth in the Slimmer of the Year and was presented with a medallion. The Weight Watchers Federation (W.A.Inc) clubs differ from other Weight Watchers clubs in that we a not-for-profit organisation and not a business. We are inexpensive and don’t charge a fee if you are unable to attend a meeting. Our club caters for men and women of all ages and while we are nominally the Ellenbrook Club, members travel to us from Chittering, Noranda, Ballajurra, Beechboro and lots of other areas. We hold regular competitions to help motivate and encourage our members to lose weight. We have guest speakers throughout the year talking on a range of topics relating to well-being and good health. I encourage our members to make Wednesday evenings their night and, even if they feel they may have gained weight, it’s important to come and have their weight recorded. Obesity is a huge and growing problem in our society and we need to nip it in the bud before it becomes a major problem. Losing weight has a range of benefits other that just looking good - it reduces stress on your joints, in some cases can reduce blood pressure or the risk of diabetes, and alleviate a large range of weight-related problems such as lethargy, headaches, depression and so on. New and past members are cordially invited to join our friendly club of likeminded people with a common desire - to improve their health and reduce their weight. For more information please ring me, the President, on 9276 7938 or email me at shirleysardelich@aapt.net.au.

ELLENBROOK COMMUNITY WEIGHT LOSS CLUB

This low cost, not-for-profit, Weight Watchers Club has been running in Ellenbrook for nine years this May. We are supportive, low cost and friendly Club meetings are held every Wednesday from 6.30pm to 8.00pm at the Woodlakes Community Hall, Ellenbrook. We invite men and women of all ages to come and join our club. For more information phone Club President Shirley 9276 7938.

DINING OUT

The Thoughts of an Ageing, Balding Foodie

ROYAL TARKA INDIAN RESTAURANT DOUGLAS SUTHERLAND-BRUCE

have spoken elsewhere, and at length, about my love for the cuisine of the sub-continent. Growing up, as I did, in South Africa, we were all exposed to delicious curries at an early age. The curries were mostly Malayan and South Indian as those were the origins of the indentured workers imported for the sugar cane industry. As has happened more than once these imported cuisines were rapidly absorbed into the local culture and became an essential part of it. The famous Durban Curry, used in the Bunny Chow, is now a dish in its own right, but owes it roots to Malaya. This familiarity and love of curry has led me to explore the many and varied incarnations of this superb meal and the very large numbers of Curry Restaurants here in Western Australia. I have found some average restaurants, some excellent restaurants and a few absolutely superb curry restaurants. For its size, Ellenbrook has a staggering number of curry restaurants and I’ve been working my way through them and so far have been very pleasantly surprised at the overall quality. Curry Lovers in Woodlake is outstanding,

but the Royal Tarka Indian Restaurant in Ellenbrook town center proper is pretty much in a category of its own. Not for the decor so much, which even the most charitable would call ‘sparse’ but for the food - which I found stupendous. We dined there with friends and ordered a variety to swap and share. With the benefit of hindsight this was a mistake. The flavours of each dish were so individual and so uniquely spicy that they did not blend at all well. I shall know better next time and not share, he said greedily. We started with a mixed entree of onion Bhajis (5 pieces for $10), Vegetable and Meat Samosas (4 pieces for $10). These were wrapped in a somewhat unusual pastry, insofar as there is a ‘usual’ pastry for widespread a tasty treat, which originated not in India, but the Middle East in at least the tenth century. The Royal Tarka’s were delicious, the pastry crisp, the fillings moist and succulent, just spicy enough to justify the raita they were served with and the Onion Bhajis were out of this world with flavour and taste. We polished off the entree in double-quick time and our bowls of curry arrived very swiftly, together with some garlic ($3.50) and aloo naan ($4.50) and saffron rice ($4.50), which came studded with cashews and sultanas. We chose an eclectic mix of traditional and apocryphal. I’m sure everyone knows that Chicken Tikka Masala ($16.50) originated in Glasgow, not New Delhi, but is no worse for that. As well we chose Lamb Korma ($17.50), Beef Rojan Josh ($16.50) and Prawn Curry ($18.50). Let me say at once that all were delicious in their own, highly diverse styles. I found the Prawn Curry to be at the hot end of the

spectrum I like - just this side of sweaty hot, if you know what I mean. The Lamb Malai Korma was just superb, a mouthful of that, nestled atop some saffron rice, neatly enveloped in garlic naan is as near cooking heaven as I expect to get in this lifetime. We ate, and ate, and ate. Four of us ate enough food to sustain a small Indian village for a week, but it was just so good. The service was pleasant, incredible swift and polite and the food just delectable. Prices I thought were very reasonable (four of us ate, very well, for $128). Indian desserts are something of an acquired taste and we were far too full anyway so I can’t tell you what they taste like. But I expect if they’re the sort of thing you like, you’d enjoy them. We dined in, but the restaurant runs a busy, but unobtrusive, take-away service. Our friends accompanied their meal with Löwenbaraü beer - a good rich decision but we drank a lightly sweet, fruity Rosé from Upper Reach, which was a perfect choice. Very Highly Recommended Indeed. All prices quoted are off the take-away menu. Dine-in are a dollar or two more.

COMMUNITY ROCK FOR CANCER

he Crack Cycling Team are once again presenting Rock For Cancer at the Railway Hotel North Fremantle. Now in it’s fourth year, Rock For Cancer raises vital funds for the Harry Perkins Institute in its quest to find a cure for cancer. Two of Perth’s hardest coffee drinking bands supply the music for a night of fun while raising much-needed funds for the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research. Crack Cycling Team member Damian Williams and his band Random Axe, will once

again headline the show with good friends Time Machine in support. Time Machine will kick off the night with their mix of old school rock and Random Axe will then bring it on home with a selection of songs from the ‘60s to now, including crowd favourites Sweet Caroline and Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again. The night promises to be one of great music and fun. All door sales will go to the fundraising and there will also be raffles and door prizes on the night.

Crack Cycling are hoping to raise over $60,000 for the Perkins Institute before October when they will ride over 200 kms in the Macca Ride To Conquer Cancer. Rock For Cancer is a wonderful opportunity to let your hair down, sing and dance the night away. Crowd participation is encouraged. May 28 is the date to mark in your diaries and tickets are just $15 each available at the door. For updates or more information visit www.crackcycling.com or Random Axe at https:// www.facebook.com/theRandomAxeBand.

STALL HOLDERS WANTED

tirling Markets are seeking expressions of interest from those artisans with quality, unique handcrafted/made products along with locally produced edible products to join us at the new Stirling Square Market, Guildford. The markets are for all things, vintage, retro and upcycled plus handcrafted and locally produced wares. There are free children’s activities and playground, live entertainment along with a Foodies Hub all make for a great day out. Guest attractions and workshops monthly and are held on the third Sunday of the month from 9:00am - 3:00pm. Stirling Square is situated across from Guildford’s main shopping strip, alongside the Guildford Train Station, in the picturesque grounds of Stirling Square, its large network of pathways enable families with prams and those in wheelchairs to move about with ease. Dogs on a leash are welcome. For further information email ghf1829@gmail.com or call 0449 615 059.

Photograph by Forbidden Outcast Photography 20

COMMUNITY SAFE ROUNDTABLE

aving Animals From Euthanasia Inc (SAFE), Western Australia’s largest foster care based animal rescue organisation, held its inaugural Round Table Conference in Perth recently, marking an amazing moment in SAFE’s history with all of its coordinators under one roof for the very first time. SAFE Inc. is the Western Australian arm of Animal Welfare League Australia. Its founder, Sue Hedley said, “SAFE began in 2003 to address the lack of animal rescue services in WA’s northwest. “I truly could not have imagined that thirteen years later we would have ten branches across the state saving thousands of lives each year.” It has has grown into a successful multi-faceted animal welfare organisation with regional entities in Broome, Bunbury, Busselton, Carnarvon, Esperance, Hedland, Kalgoorlie, Karratha, Kununurra and Newman. In Karratha alone SAFE has now saved over 6,000 cats and dogs. The conference was a fabulous opportunity for people from different branches to meet each other and share ideas. There are such huge distances

between the branches, with many volunteers also working from home from all over WA andFinal interstate Perth Blood Institute Logo OPTIONS | 25 MARCH 2014 | Page 1/1 – such a meeting of minds was invaluable for sharing information and experiences and contributing to SAFE’s exciting future. The weekend con200% ference brought the SAFE team together to finalise an operations manual for existing branches and in preparation for future ones to be established. Ms Hedley said, “Having a manual to guide new branches will grow the foster care model of whilst permanent homes are sought. The primary animal care and adoption. We will be able to reach goals of SAFE are an end to the over-population of pets in Australia, zero euthanasia of rehomable so many more animals in need of rehoming”. SAFE’s network of temporary foster carers pets and a good quality of life for all companion open their homes to homeless cats and dogs animals. For more on SAFE visit - www.safe.asn.au. Red C: 15 M:100 Y: 90 K: 15

Grey C: 0 M:0 Y: 0 K: 50

Black C: 50 M:50 Y: 50 K:100

PBI CABARET CHARITY DINNER

he executive of the Perth Blood Institute invite you to a night of glorious entertainment and a delicious three course meal to help raise funds. Guests will be treated to a three course dinner accompanied by quality Western Australian specially selected wines (or beer and soft drinks) at the University Club of Western Australia, Hackett Drive in Crawley. Entertainment will be provided by DJ Tino, Little Miss Squeezebox (Nikki D'Agostino) and a troupe of dancers. In addition there will be a silent auction and a raffle with fabulous prizes donated by our generous supporters. The funds raised will go to 'raise invaluable funds to support our research and clinical trials as well as strengthening families and increasing community awareness that blood disorders can develop in any one, any age, at any time and with no real warning!.' The Perth Blood Institute fund magnificent research to help patients and their families to help patients coping with blood disorders. The research is on-going and recently Perth scientists had a major breakthrough in the link between women who take the pill and suffer blood clots. Tickets cost $135 per head and the event, which requires cocktail dress, begins at 7pm for pre-dinner drinks. Tickets are available from Adriana Filippou on 9200 4904 or by emailing adriana@pbi.org.au.

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Cabaret CharityDinner This event is in support of the wonderful work of The Perth Blood Institute research team to help patients and their families living with blood disorders and blood conditions. We hope to raise invaluable funds to support our research and clinical trials as well as strengthening families and increasing community awareness that blood disorders can develop in any one, any age, at any time and with no real warning! Guests will be entertained by DJ Tino, Little Miss Squeezebox, Nikki D’Agostino with a floorshow of Dancers taking the party well into the night. Other highlights include a silent auction as well as a raffle where guests will have the opportunity to bid and win some amazing prizes!

When: Time: Place:

Friday, 22nd July 2016 7pm pre-dinner drinks for 7.30pm start University Club of Western Australia, Hackett Drive, Crawley Tickets: $135 each Dress: Cocktail

rsvp Adriana Filippou

adriana@pbi.org.au or (08) 9200 4904

Little Miss Squeezebox - Nikki D’Agostino 21

COMMUNITY WHAT IS A CELEBRANT? CAROL ASTBURY

eople often ask me: ‘What is a celebrant?’ Which is a good question. However, my first response is always: ‘It’s probably one of the best jobs you could ever have. How many people do you know who can justly say “I’ve had this job for forty-one years and I can honestly tell you there hasn’t been one day when I’ve regretted it, or failed to love my job?”’ Here is a definition of a celebrant: A person who officiates at a religious or civil ceremony or rite - especially a wedding. Civil Marriage Celebrants are people in the community who are professionally trained to perform a variety of ceremonies including: weddings, renewal of vows, commitments, baby naming, coming of age, significant birthdays, anniversaries, funerals and memorials – and many more ceremonies to celebrate life and events. A celebrant's aspiration is to create a ceremony that reflects the needs of the client(s) and respects the individual’s cultural background, traditions and values. The Celebrant will guide the clients in choosing rituals, readings, symbols and music; assist clients to either author their own ceremony, or craft a ceremony after consulting with the clients to establish their needs and choices. There are around 8,000 celebrants in Australia now, however, back in 1974, shortly after the Marriage Celebrant Program commenced, there were just a handful. In Western Australia, I was one of four. We were a diverse group, ranging in age from twentythree (me) to sixty-five (Councillor for South Perth, Cliff Harris). We came from contrasting backgrounds. My background was fine arts and music which came in handy for crafting ceremonies but hardly relative to the formal aspects of solemnisation. We pulled through those early months and soon formed an alliance with celebrants in the eastern states – we were on the way. You may be interested to know how and why the Marriage Celebrant Program came into being. Did you know that prior to 1961 each state in Australia had its own Marriage Act? That meant that the requirements for marriage in individual states was very different – this caused some confusion. So a great achievement occurred in 1961 when Sir Garfield Barwick, Federal Attorney-General, unified the Acts and

Train to become a Marriage/Funeral Celebrant Quality Training based in WA

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Enq: info@qualtrain.com.au Carol Astbury 9299 7770 22

the Australian Marriage Act 1961 was created. The Civil Marriage Celebrant Program was established in 1973 by the then Attorney-General, the Hon. Senator Lionel Murphy, to provide a secular alternative and freedom of choice for marrying couples who did not want to have a religious ceremony and yet did not want a registry wedding. It enabled the appointment of suitably qualified people to perform marriages and provide couples with a meaningful alternative to Registry Office and mainstream religious weddings. Now, you have to think back on these times – the late ‘60’s and ‘70’s were a time of enormous social change. Consider the rise of the Feminist Movement, the Vietnam War, Flower-Power, the Beatles and Rolling Stones … and so on. Society in Australia changed rapidly during these years. In 1997 the Government commenced a review of the Marriage Celebrant Program and a proposals paper for reform was released in November 2000. The review carefully considered the opinions and experiences of marriage celebrants, celebrant organisations and the marrying couples who used celebrant services. The review identified a number of deficiencies in the program requiring reform. A package of reforms was developed that aimed to raise the professional standards in celebrancy services provided by marriage celebrants appointed under the program. The reforms were designed to broaden and enhance the role of celebrants to include the provision of information on pre-marriage and other relationship services. Thus ensuring celebrants play an important role in developing longer lasting family relationships and stronger communities within Australia. The Marriage Act 1961 was amended and program commenced on 1 September 2003. So times have certainly changed! Now aspiring celebrants need to have completed an approved, competency-based training course, Certificate IV in Celebrancy, or have been independently assessed against the competencies in order to be eligible to apply for registration as a Commonwealth Marriage Celebrant. Sometimes I feel my whole life has been wrapped around celebrancy and in many ways, I guess that is true. I was a very young woman when I was first appointed, naïve certainly, but passionate about the opportunity I had been given. In all these years I have poured that passion into my work, whether it be a joyous occasion such as a wedding, or the deep level of honour and respect required for a ceremony at the end of life. Since 2005 I have poured that same passion into training new celebrants. Now in my midsixties, I have handed the role of celebrant to those people and hope they will continue to craft deeply rewarding, personally meaningful ceremonies to all their future clients.

GET SOCIAL WITH JAY like you’re creating copy simply to include the keyword terms. You might come across a few sites that all of a sudden sound a little odd; “Best Fish and Chips in Perth because we are the best fish and chips in Perth with the Best Fish and Chips in Perth. Our customers say we are the Best Fish and Chips in Perth.” That’s not cool. These keyword phrases should be written naturally in your content so that search engines can find the phrase but it also reads as normally

WHAT ON EARTH IS SEO?

ometimes someone leans over to me at a workshop and whispers; “what the HECK is SEO and how do I do it?” SEO is Search Engine Optimisation. If you’ve been on the internet in the past decade, you’ve probably heard the term, at least in passing. And it sounds pretty spiffy. I mean, just say it out loud – Search Engine Optimisation. I feel like that’s the sort of thing that you’d find in, like, a giant robot. “Captain! The Search Engine Optimizer is on the fritz!” It’s nothing quite so cool or dramatic, unfortunately. When you break it down, it’s pretty straightforward. A lot of this many people will probably already know, but I’m going to assume that you are totally new to content creation and copywriting. A search engine is basically how you find stuff on the internet. Google, Yahoo, AOL, Bing – these are all search engines. Google is our favourite, because it treats us well, tells us how to make it happy, and is most folks’ preference for searching. SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) can help your site climb up search engine results pages and catch the eye of more prospective customers and clients. Making sure that your site and content is search engine friendly and optimised for them is important if you are trying to increase your site’s traffic. SEO writing focuses on ensuring that keywords and keyword phrases are included in your content (words and images!) so that search engines will index your site on their search results pages. For example, if a user wants information about chocolate made in Australia, they will most likely type the phrase “Australian Made Chocolate” into the search engine. The search engine will then search the internet for the phrase “Australian Made Chocolate” and every website that includes that keyword phrase will show up in the search results with the sites that fit their algorithm the best appearing at the top of the results. The trick is to incorporate your SEO writing naturally into your content, so it doesn’t sound

also creates content that visitors are likely to share with their social media networks so that you can grow your user base that way. This will also increase the longevity of your site as visitors will be returning to your site to read your new content, so that you don’t have to rely purely on new visitors finding you through search engines. Finding the balance between focusing on SEO writing and providing compelling content is important. Both of these things are important to your site but can have very different effects on your site. However, if you think about how you can optimise your content for search engines then including the keyword phrases into your work can be easy. If you know what keywords you want to include then you can write these phrases into your content naturally so that the search engines can index your site as highly as possible without your content seeming unnatural. The more you do this and the more you keep SEO in mind, the more natural it will sound. Making a habit of SEO writing can increase the quality of your SEO content and minimise the unnatural sound of keyword phrases being forced into the content. Think of SEO as the pretty lure at the end of your fishing line for the big fish to see. He loves that flickering lure, but he’s hooked by the gills when he gets to your line because of something much more solid. Sorry, fish activists. I’ll think of another metaphor.

as possible so that your readers can still read high quality, natural content. Quite simply, engaging content rules over SEO every day of the darn week. Optimising your site purely to ensure the best SEO results possible without providing quality content at the same time are unlikely to reap the full benefits of the optimisation. High quality content is key for ensuring that visitors return to your site. Because, if you are relying on new, unique visitors to your site rather not return visitors then growing your audience will be difficult. Your content is the most important thing about your site. I’m not just saying that because I’m a copywriter. It’s absolutely true. Excellent content keeps users coming back for more; it 23

ENTERTAINMENT BROADWAY LADIES

ome years ago a group of highly talented singers and dancers got together to sing and perform a medley of Broadway favourites under the name of Broadway Ladies. The performances were sold out and phenomenally successful and the ladies, and coordinator and director Barbara Bain, vowed to repeat it as soon as possible. As is often the way in these cases, that was easier to say than do. Barbara went off to the Eastern States for a few years, all the ladies are professional singers with busy careers and so it has taken until now to get them all together in the same place at the same time. Barbara has managed to get some of the original cast and fill in the gaps with highly talented replacements. The cast of singers includes mezzosoprano Sonni Byrne, a singer with eight years at the West Australian Opera, a singer/director/writer/actor who also is a much-loved jazz performer. Re-joining the cast is Kathy Freind, well-known in both professional and community musical theatre and half of Bel Canto Promotions with her husband Justin Freind. Kathy has been performing since she was seven years of age in community and professional theatre and as a solo performer as well as directing and teaching. And the mother who gently steered the young Kathy in her first steps is legendary Perth director, actor and singer, Neroli Burton. No one in community theatre does not know and revere her name. As a singer of comic songs with

impeccable style and timing, Neroli has no peer. In addition there is Kylie Isaia, a wonderfully gifted actor and a singer who trained as a dancer and who has worked for fifteen years in Music Hall as well as singing vocals for Ain't Misbehavin' and Le Jazz Hot. Julie Fedele (My Fair Lady, Jesus Christ

COR Studios Dance School

Superstar and more); Zachery Gower and Christine McGarrity and another mother and daughter duo round out the cast - Christine Hillan (The Sound of Music, Oklahoma, Brigadoon and many, many more) and her daughter, Gilbert and Sulivan soprano, Catherine Archer. Christine started even younger than Kathy, first treading the boards at four as a ballet-dancing daisy. The ladies are accompanied by accomplished pianist Lea Hayward and dancers in a selection of Broadway musical favourites from hits old and By r n e i new, from Mame to Wicked. n n o S There are two dance troupes - Swing Zing Dance School and CORstudios who will be providing terpsichorean and pulchritudinous excellence. Broadway Ladies is on for two performances only at 2:00pm and 7:30pm on Saturday the 28th May at the Kalamunda Arts Center, Canning Road, Kalamunda. Tickets cost $25 for adults (concession $23) and may be obtained Glamorous and Intimate Evening by ringing 0408 910 656 or on the Trybooking Website. Eight Beautiful Ladies

BroadwayLadies A

along with Dazzling Dancers Performing a Selection of Broadway Favourites Accompanied by Lea Hayward Kalamunda Performing Arts Centre Canning Road, Kalamunda

Two performances only

28th May, 2016

Curtain Up: Matinee 2:00pm Evening 7:30pm Co-ordinated & Directed by

Barbara Bain-Gilbery

Tickets $25 (Concesssion $23) Group Bookings available Book through TryBooking: www.trybooking.com/LCWN

or 0408

910 656

Catherine

Archer

ENTERTAINMENT YOUâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN DOUGLAS SUTHERLAND-BRUCE

hen Charles M 'Sparky' Shultz created Li'l Folks in 1947 and named one of the kids Charlie Brown, he little realised that he had found his life's a career - a career that would span more than fifty years and give joy to many millions of people. With the creation of Charlie Brown and his little sister Sallie; brother and sister Lucy and Linus Van Pelt; Lucy's crush, the Beethoven-loving Schroeder and always, always, the super beagle Snoopy and his hippie sidekick, the beaded, wildfeathered Woodstock, Shultz entered the popular culture and the consciousness of the world.

At its height, Peanuts was published daily in 2,600 papers in seventy-five countries, in twenty-one languages. The original strip branched out into marketing, TV, films, songs, books and stage musicals. You're A Good Man Charlie Brown was written and set to his own music by Clark Gesner in 1967. It opened offbroadway and has never been out of production ever since. A long-time favourite of community theatre because of the small cast and simple settings as well as the quality of the show itself, Guildford's Garrick Theatre is taking a novel approach to the classic musical. The director, Celeste Underhill has cast young actors in the lighthearted musical which shows a day in the life of Charlie Brown and his gang in a collection of short scenes and songs based on the popular comic.

Charlie Brown (Liam Gobbert); Charlie's litter sister Sally Brown (Tania Morrow); Lucy van Pelt (Brittany Isaia), the crabby, bossy and opinionated older sister of philosopher and theologian Linus (Charlie Darlington). Precocious Schroeder (Caleb Stevens) distinguished by his skill at playing the toy piano, as well as by his love of the composer Ludwig van Beethoven. Mazenod student Liam Borbas is Snoopy, Charlie Brown's pet beagle. Director Underhill said "The familyfriendly production will be a hit for all ages. I love the songs and the fact that it is a small cast. There are great character roles for actors to sink their teeth into." You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown opens on

June the 2nd and runs until the 18th at 8pm at the Garrick Theatre, 16 Meadow Street, Guildford. Tickets cost $25 for adults (Concession $22) and may be booked by phoning 9378 1990 or emailing bookings@garricktheatre.asn.

REVIEWS THEATRE WITH GORDON

room is desperately in need of cleaning. As he is reading, a young girl, Alice (Gema Seenarain) wanders into the room. He has never seen her before. It becomes clear that she is the new girlfriend of his lazy, useless son, Cameron (Steve Anderson). Barry and Sally’s elder daughter, Alisha (Natasha Van Odyck) is madly in love with an obsessive conservationist, James (Kieran McDonald), whilst the younger daughter, Kya (Neve Havercroft) is happy just to annoy everyone in order to get her own way. When Grandad Albie (Jim Chantry) arrives, Barry’s influence in the house seems to finally evaporate. Two other love interests are played by Melissa Skeffington and Carole Wilson – and there is little Chanel.

sound effects (operator Jane Sherwood). This play was a huge amount of fun, very near the bone for many families, but one that I can recommend for a good night of entertainment. The script is a Peter Flanigan triumph.

ou Can’t Have One, a World Premiere of Peter Flanigan’s latest family comedy. Peter is one of half a dozen Western Australian playwrights who regularly produce top-notch comedies and farces. He has written around one play a year for the last fifty years – this is one of his best.

Few directors are capable of writing and directing their owns plays. Peter has had years of experience at both and although now proficient enough to tackle this play himself, he has recruited the help of an assistant director, Jann Rutherford. The script was very well written, with the dialogue

This two hour, hilarious show by the ever-reliable Stirling Players, can be seen at the Stirling Theatre, in Morris Place, Innaloo on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights until 14th May, with curtain up at 8.00 pm. There are also matinees on Sunday 1st and 8th May at 2.00 pm. The main set is of an untidy, family home sitting room. On the apron at the side of the stage, is a Marriage Counsellor’s consulting room (Jim Chantry). There is a surprise set in the final scene (artwork Margot and Luc Watkins).

and attitudes of the young and old perfectly observed. I could hear the play dividing the audience, with the women commenting (during the play) ‘of course the house is dirty, men never do any housework’. Whilst the men could be heard sympathising with Barry, and commenting on the kids being glued to their mobiles. The acting pace was superb, but although the scene changes were good, they could possibly be better planned. The fast moving stage team could carry props onto the stage when entering to clear the previous set, instead of making two journeys. On a floodlit stage, don’t worry about chair positions being correct to the centimetre. Even slowish scene changes can make it hard for the cast of a comedy to bring the pace back up. This show was very well acted, almost the whole cast had to have ‘attitudes’, from anger to that of the 13-year-old going-on-23. Very good comedic delivery and body language. Michelle Tennant’s costumes clearly stated the personalities. Ian Wilson’s tech design was above average, with good use of lighting and crisp, realistic, stereoscopic

A man (Luke Fewster) enters the stage and states that in the same way as the brave pioneers came to Australia 200 years ago, the world is now looking for new pioneers to venture to Mars and populate. At a public meeting, young and enthusiastic ‘self-help’ guru, Robin (Will O’Mahony), bounces onto the stage and immediately engages the audience members; telling them that the selfcentred ‘Me first’ approach is how they should be thinking. Continuing, he gives the onlooker five important aims in life. The lights rise to show us a domestic sitting room, where an exasperated father (Steve Turner) and his distraught wife (Andrea Gibbs) are discussing their autistic son, Sam (Luke Fewster). They are wondering why Sam and his visits to the ‘character developing’ special school seems to be having no affect whatsoever, whilst other youngsters improve greatly. There are students such as autistic Billy (Will O’Mahony), who seems to have conquered every known fact relating to the planet Mars. Sam’s twin sister, Wren (Felicity McKay) finds herself being in the last 200 applicants for the Mars expedition, however, Sam relies heavily on her love and care.

Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. - Helen K eller

YOU CAN’T HAVE ONE

The curtain opens to reveal a Marriage Counsellor (Jenni Glassford, continuing her everyday occupation?) chatting to a couple with marital problems. Barry (Tim Riessen) has been married happily for many years to Sally (Janet Weston – excellent), however, he has now retired and cannot understand why his domestic tasks should be increased, even though Sally is still in fulltime work. We flash back three months and find Barry languishing in his armchair, even though the 26

THE MARS PROJECT

Written by local award-winning playwright, Will O’Mahony for ‘The Skeletal System’ production company, these fast moving, sixty-five minute performances are nightly at 8.30 pm until Saturday 7th May. For the set, all of the walls are painted black – effectively a black box. Along the rear wall hang four brightly coloured, hula-hoops. The mood lighting has been well-designed by Chris Donnelly and smoothly operated by Meabh Walton.

This is a beautiful tale that will connect with almost everyone. Writer / director, Will O’Mahony has just the right balance between humour and tragedy. The facts are fed in a way that the audience can accept and yet not feel lectured to. The cast, each of whom plays several very different characters, are magnificent, displaying the subtle twitches of a nervous autistic child’s hands, to the inconsolable parents’ tragic life – an extra special performance from Andrea. Then there is the distressed sister who wants to do her best for her brother, but all he wants to do is orbit around the room with his hula-hoop (incredible control). This was an unusual play, reaching out to new boundaries, capturing emotions and blending them with hope. A first class play presented lovingly by a brilliant and talented team. This is the kind of play that will be remembered for years to come.

REVIEWS - ‘THE FLICKERS’ WITH JAMES MARGUERITE

s it true? Do certain cultures have a stranglehold on certain types of humour? The Americans with cartoon slapstick; the British with sexual innuendo and double entendre? If so, then the French have mastered the art of the droll gentle satire with deadly shafts aimed at the arts. As evidence, I tender Xavier Giannoli’s film Marguerite. The film is inspired by the true story of Florence Foster Jenkins, a wealthy New York socialite of the inter-war years whose biopic (starring Merryl Streep and Hugh Grant) comes out later this year. Poor Florence truly believed she had a magnificent voice as a coloratura soprano and would give private recitals in benefit of various charities. The audiences were restricted and polite in their applause. Sadly she appears to have been tone-deaf with little sense of pitch or rhythm. She was unable to hit or sustain particular notes. Her recordings can be heard on YouTube and elsewhere. I can commend her Queen of the Night aria from Mozart’s Magic Flute as representative of her awful vocal technique. Marguerite Dumont (an exceptional performance by Catherine Frot) lives in a large

his feel-good South Australian film is big on real estate and optimism. It has a simple, slow moving (at times slightly ponderous) story. Frank Mollard is a mid forties real estate salesman. And in echoes of Glengarry Glen Ross it is clear that he has lost his edge (if he ever had one). Ground down by the death of his mother, the separation from his wife and the alienation of his son, life looks pretty hopeless. Through it all, he struggles to maintain a sense of humour. He quips to his wife that they are going to have to try harder if they are going to make this divorce work. And while other agents drive sports cars and Audis, Frank is a Mazda man. Then one day he gets a phone call from his mother’s ghost. Or at least a lady named Sarah who talks just like his mother and has dialed the wrong number. He calls to see her and life lurches in a new direction. For Sarah is a member of that generation which was born into the Depression and the hardships of the Second World War and will continue to work for good come hell or high water. We need more films with librarians as heroines. Matthew Saville has written and directed a medium budget, white-middle-class Australian movie. It has the feel of a real-estate brochure promoting the dream of owning a small brickand-tile in a quiet leafy-green suburb where you can do your own thing. And don’t throw your cigarette butts over the fence because it annoys the Tai Chi ladies.

chateau just outside Paris. It is 1920 and her wealthy husband, Monsieur le Baron (André Marcon), is engaged in rebuilding northern France after the Great War. That is when he is not with his mistress. Marguerite lives for her art. She has a large collection of opera recordings and practices her singing five or six hours a day. In this she is supported by her butler (Denis Mpunga) who surreptitiously issues cotton wool earplugs to the other servants. Everyone is colluding to maintain

A MONTH OF SUNDAYS What holds it together is the acting. Anthony LaPaglia as Frank carries that same rumpled James Stewart look he had in the superb Lantana. And he is supported by great performances from Julia Blake as Sarah and John Clarke as Frank’s boss. In lesser roles are Justine Clarke as Frank’s actress ex-wife and Indiana Crowther as their son – who breaks down when Frank finally gets

Marguerite’s illusion as a great soprano. Then one day, a private recital at the chateau is gate-crashed by two young spivs associated with a Paris newspaper and the avant-garde. Sensing an opportunity to access her wealth, they publish a rave review of her performance. Marguerite is drawn into their corrupt world where money, personal career and sensationalism are much more important than the art itself. She is coaxed into singing La Marseillaise in a cabaret satirizing the establishment. Soon she is planning a public recital in a large concert hall. Behind the scenes, the butler blackmails a has-been opera singer (Michel Fau) into becoming her vocal coach. When the latter tells her that her voice is unique, she takes it as a compliment. You know that it can only end in tears. Throughout the film, as so much of the music scene is pilloried, Marguerite alone stays true to her art - and her love for her husband. As an audience member whispers, “Why does she do it?” another answers: “to make him look at her”. Marguerite was recently included in the French Film Festival. It opened at Luna Cinemas on April 21.

around to telling him he is good, really good. Leave behind the big issues of social change, aboriginal welfare, asylum seekers, terrorism or politics and spend an hour considering the small ways your life impacts on the world around you. You will be rewarded with a big dose of optimism. A Month of Sundays opened at Luna Cinemas on April 28.

EDUCATION

ENTRIES NOW OPEN

STRUGGLING WITH ADDICTION?

o know someone who is struggling with drug addiction, or are you a parent struggling with a child in addiction. DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO HELP? We will also be hearing a couple of testimonies from parents and exaddicts who have come out the other side. Anyone is invited, male or female, young or old. You will also have an opportunity to ask questions on the day. Want to know what to do and the best way to help? Information Day â&#x20AC;&#x153;Shalom Houseâ&#x20AC;? Date: Saturday, 28th May 10:00am Address: 462 Great Northern Highway, Midland RSVP: Peter Lyndon-James - 0404 654 004

uthors, poets, illustrators and historians could share in a total of $600,000 in tax free prize money in the 2016 Prime Ministerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Literary Awards which is accepting entries. Now in their ninth year, the Awards recognise the best literary works of the year in six categories and celebrate the remarkable achievements of the Australian literary sector. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These Awards acknowledge excellence and play an important role in supporting a national appreciation of Australian literature,â&#x20AC;? Federal Member for Pearce, Christian Porter said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They recognise the role Australian writers play in enlightening and entertaining us, reflecting on our history and taking our stories to the world.â&#x20AC;? Experts from the literary sector will judge the entries and make recommendations to the Prime Minister. Ms Louise Alder AM will continue as chair of the Fiction and Poetry judging panel, with panel members Mr Jamie Grant, Mr Robert Gray and Mr Des Cowly. Dr Gerard Henderson will chair the Non-Fiction and Australian History panel with Dr Ida Lichter, Mr Peter Coleman AO and Professor Ross Fitzgerald AM as panel members. The Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and Young Adult Fiction panel will be chaired by Mr Mike Shuttleworth with panel member Ms Kate Colley, Dr Mark MacLeod and Dr Irini Savvides. Entries must have been published in 2015 and journals, magazines, websites and multimedia works are encouraged to enter in the Australian history category. The winner of each category â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Fiction, Non-Fiction, Australian History, Poetry, Young Adult Fiction and Childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fiction â&#x20AC;&#x201C; is awarded $80,000, with shortlisted entries each awarded $5,000. Entries close on 20 May 2016. Entry forms and guidelines can be found on the website at http://arts.gov.au/topics/pms-literary-awards

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GARDENING MAKE ‘EM EARN THEIR KEEP GRACE AHERN

quaponics is a good way to get something out of those spoiled little fish. When you think about it all they do every day is relax, get some food thrown their way, get to chill with their mates and people stare at them because they’re pretty. Why not try and gain something from them? We have discovered how we can make them work for their feed, and by ‘we’ I mean some smart Aztec people back in the days of 1,000CE, until some other smart people officially named it Aquaponics in the 1970s. Aquaponics is an integrated system to grow fish and plants for consumption. Aquaponics works with the aid of the good bacteria in your ponds, which converts the ammonia and waste

need the cooler weather and Barramundi the warmer weather. If there is one thing I can suggest to anyone starting up with Aquaponics, it would be don’t name the fish! I’ve had people walk out of the shop looking through the bag at their newly bought Silver Perch ‘Fred’ and they are so excited. They can’t wait to show ‘Fred’ off. ‘Fred’, he is going to do his part in society and feed his people in say eighteen months. Eighteen months later, you won’t be able to do it. ‘Fred’ is a part of the family and as the Littles say, ‘We don’t eat family.’ There’s no law saying you have to have fish that you can eat in your system, you can just have decorative fish, such as Goldfish and Koi, which are going to get the job

produced by the fish into nitrite and then into nitrate, which plants use as a main growing nutrient. This nutrient rich water is pumped to a grow bed for the plants, which then filter and clean the water for the fish. If you’re wanting to grow fish you can eat, Silver Perch are a fresh water fish that are ideal for aquaponics as they can handle a wide range of weather conditions, although in the cooler weather their growth can be slow. Rainbow Trout and Barramundi are both a faster growing fish, but both are seasonal. Trout

of growing plants done just as well. Aquaponics requires a lot less work than your average gardening and is water efficient. The fact that the water circulates through the plants which purify it for the pond means the only reason you’ll need to top it up will be because of evaporation. It reduces the menace of weeds and any soil-based pests that you may encounter in soil gardening. The most common media used with aquaponics is expanded clay. These light weight clay pebbles are perfect as they retain moisture and provide proper drainage for the roots, as well as providing the plant root systems with aeration as the pebbles are porous. If you have quite a large system and are concerned about the cost of filling the entire bed, you can substitute some of the clay with cheaper options, such as cracked pea-gravel, spongelite or zeolite, which have their own advantages. When adding plants to your system, you want to remove any excess soil from the roots to avoid any fertilizers within the soil from contaminating your system. Continued on the next page ...

HYPERLINKS You will notice in some advertisements and articles that some web addresses are blue. These are hyperlinks and if you click on that link your browser (Outlook, Opera, Firefox) will open that page for you providing you have permitted it in the browser’s ‘Preferences’.

What You’ll Need

Silver Perch Expanded Clay 50l Grow Beds High Protein Food Bacteria Air Pumps THE POND SHOP 30

$4.95 From $36 From $129 From $9.95 $25 From $69

FICTION STOCKTAKING SUE MORLEY

“H

ow are you feeling today Jack?” He felt the cool hand upon his burning forehead, and listened to the calming voice, the effort it would take to open his eyes was too much for him. “Your daughter phoned Jack, she says her and Alan will come to see you tomorrow, that’ll be lovely won’t it?” He really didn’t want to see anyone, he hated the fact that visitors sat in the room, staring at the bed, feeling sorry for him. He always felt the need to make them feel better, after all, they’d travelled so far to come and see him, but it took so much of his remaining strength. Since being in the hospice he’d been taking stock of his life. His whole world had shrunk down to this room, this bed. He no longer even wanted to watch television, although it was there, just needing a slight movement of his hand on the remote control for it to burst into life. He felt that it was no longer of any value to him, no concern of his, that the world was going to hell in a hand basket. Jack’s former bulky frame was now reduced to skin and bones, the cancer now unstoppable. Although he’d done his best to send it packing it had won in the end. He’d always prided himself on his fitness. He’d been a career soldier since being eighteen, travelled to all parts of the world, had been respected for his leadership capabilities and decision making skills. To be lying helpless in a hospital bed, depending on others for everything, was unbearable. He’d seen plenty of death in his life; it had given him an awareness of his own mortality, which in turn had encouraged him to make the most of his life, knowing it could end at any time. He’d done his utmost to instil the same attitude into his three children, told them not

they’d not worked so hard, spending so much of their time on the treadmill of work” “They also regretted not fulfilling their potential, and most of all they wished they’d let themselves be happier. Not realising until too late that happiness is a choice. Jack lay listening to Jane’s soothing voice. “Stocktaking Jane, we should all do it every so often, just like the shops.” He smiled at the nurse. “We’d discover what’s gone missing, who took it, what we need to discard, and what to keep for the future.” “You’re a wise old man Jack.” She patted his hand. “I don’t think you have too many regrets.” He leaned back into the pile of pillows that the be satisfied with unfulfilling careers and bad nurse had fluffed up for him. relationships. “Life’s too short to live with bad choices.” “Just the one.” He thought sighing deeply. “I He would often say “Best to realise when you’ve wish I had more time.” made a mistake and do what you have to do to make things better.” The hospital staff was all handpicked for their compassionate natures, as all their patients were reaching the ends of their lives, but his favourite JOHN TAYLOR was Jane. She always had time to sit with Jack, somehow knowing when he needed to talk. They spoke of death often; it wasn’t a taboo Tops o’ cloud banks flyin’ by subject here, unlike when his wife or children Desert stretches to horizons rugged ranges rise up front as visited. “You’re looking better Dad; you’re going to jet stream races out full pace. beat this. We know how determined you are, South over mountain bullhead clouds you’ll be home for Christmas.” They didn’t want to face the fact he’d not be clear blue skies and sea grass green, smoked horizons leading out. leaving the hospice, at least not vertically. Jane spoke to him one day about some of the regrets she heard from her other patients, not Descending through storm clouds surprisingly they were never about undelivered shot through with stark white light, revenge, or not being the prettiest, thinnest, or of suns last hurrah not becoming famous. “The biggest regrets I hear from people.” she Split second timing, spoke softly, holding his hand, are that they wish straighten up ‘n’ drop her down a three point landing on the strip.

You can plant almost anything in the aquaponics system, the easiest being herbs and leafy greens, such as kale, lettuce or silver beet. There will be a number of factors involved in what will grow best in your system depending on where you’re located, how much sun it gets and the amount of nutrients produced by the fish. There are numerous ways to set up Aquaponics in your yard, the most common being a continuous flow. The constant flow set up is the simplest version of aquaponics, all that is really needed is a pump to push water to the grow bed and it will gravity feed back into the pond providing the plants and fish with that needed oxygen. Aquaponics can be a simple and exciting project to undertake. If you’re keen to get started, don’t forget The Pond Shop are there to help. They have a couple of working aquaponics set-ups in

their showroom to get you inspired. Visit their website www.thepondshop.com.au or go along to their store and speak to friendly staff who can advise you on how to begin. Courtesy of The Pond Shop (Photographs courtesy of The Pond Shop)

POETRY

CLOUD BANKS

Storm clouds banked up, clear white light, from wing tip arced to fuselage. Seated in their cabin keep Profiles traced in stark relief Ground crew muffled ‘gainst the storm, baggage trailers arc a course, wheels cut waves roped Tarmac bay’s, markers, signs ‘n’ paddle boards. Evening storm abates ‘n’ brews fresh turbulence firing soon. Wet weather gear streams rivulets sloshing cross wet streaming ground. Smoked horizons blurred from view. Taxis queued, past carousel and airport lounge. 31

BOOKS REVIEWS Title: Brotherhood In Death Author: J D Robb Publishing: Piatkus Books Reviewer: Karen R Treanor his is the forty-first in one of the most popular and consistent crime series of this or any other century. I have read all of them at least twice, and reviewed many, so count myself as something of a connoisseur of the work. All the books feature Lt. Eve Dallas of the New York Police and Security Department, her upbeat sidekick Delia Peabody, and her incredibly rich and handsome husband (and retired criminal) Roarke. Not all of the books in the series have had the same appeal; there have been a few where I’ve skipped pages due to the awfulness of the villains—it isn’t a deficiency in writing; rather, a personal distaste or a raw nerve, perhaps. Brotherhood in Death has its awful moments, but when you discover the reason behind the horrific murders, you can’t help but have a bit of empathy with the perpetrators, and understand why Eve is similarly torn between duty and something much more personal. The story opens with Eve’s being contacted by Dr Charlotte Mira, the police department’s star shrink and profiler. Mira’s husband, the lovable, mild-mannered and harmless Professor Dennis Mira has been attacked at his grandfather’s old brownstone when his cousin Edward was kidnapped. No ransom demand is forthcoming, which makes the crime look like something personal to Eve, who tries unsuccessfully to pry some

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information from Edward Mira’s wife, a woman as cold as a repo man’s heart. Edward turns up dangling from the chandelier at the grandfather’s mansion, horribly dead after what can’t have been a very enjoyable twenty-four hours. A post mortem shows a tiny tattoo in a sensitive spot, and the same tattoo turns up on the next corpse to be found. What do these men have in common? When a third man goes missing, the common thread is been identified. (One trusts author Robb’s legal team has advised her well about naming one of the most venerable Ivy League schools as the site of an old crime and a modern conspiracy.) Eve discovers the motive for the murders and it has a loud resonance with her own early history. In a tragedy

of errors, while trying to comfort Dennis Mira she reveals to him her own pain and misery—and completely melts at his reception of the story. We can see in Dennis Mira the father that Eve (and every abused child) should have had. Eve’s emotional maturity in dealing with her past has been growing over the period covered by these books, and despite the resurgence of the awful nightmares which once bedevilled her, we can hope that at long last she may get out from under the dark and bloody shadow of her childhood. As usual, there’s a lot of hard support work by Eve’s team of detectives and her clever husband; together they pin down the location of the murder

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site and the murderers, but will they get there in time to save the current victim? And if they do, does he deserve saving? You be the judge. -oOoTitle: Abbott’s Gold Author: Alan Perrie Publishing: ex Libris Publishing lan Perrie releases his debut fiction novel set in the time of chaos and conflicts between the colonial Australia and the imperial India. The hero of the tale Major Rory Abbott is a soldier with a great motivation of surviving and acquiring wealth through means that may put his life at risk. He is energetic, strong, witty and opportunistic. When the Indian rebellion is staged, he seizes massive wealth of gold and together with his wife, seeks refuge in the underdeveloped Swan Colony in Western Australia. They stay in hiding, hoping to escape the pursuing British Intelligence he has cheated. In this fast moving chase, the author offers a fresh kind of escapism for the readers as they witness a hero turn into a villain in the story; a fiction tale closely knitted with rich history. However Rory, his wife Martha, and their children may try to outrun their chasers, they become subjected to persistent and ruthless attempts to recover the wealth by corrupt and violent methods. What will become of them? About the author: Alan Perrie was born in Penzance, Cornwall, but moved to Uganda when he was seven and Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) at eleven when Colonial Africa was undergoing great change. He completed his education in Cape Town. Perrie was also a chaplain in the Rhodesian Armed Forces. At the age of thirty-six, he moved with his family to Western Australia and has been successful in business and real estate as well as Christian ministry. Currently retired, he enjoys sports, history and travelling for several months each year.

WRITING ICI ON PARLE SISWATI KAREN R TREANOR

n 1970 we went to work in Swaziland, a tiny independent kingdom in southern Africa. Part of the job requirement was to learn the local language, siSwati, a cousin to siZulu. The Swazis often laughed at our efforts, but were unfailingly enthusiastic and helpful, and many impromptu tutorials were delivered by friendly strangers at the market or bus station. The spelling of siSwati was slightly unusual. The letter k was used in words where one would use a g in English. Thus, the word make, mother, was pronounced ‘mah-gay’. A final "e" was often pronounced like the French é, as in our friend and language tutor Sonile’s name: So-nee-lay. When being formally introduced to a person, manners demanded that you respond with his sinonatelo or praise name. If you didn't know it, you used the praise name of the royal family. Praise names were often quite long, and it was usual to abbreviate them. The all-purpose phrase for people whose praise names you didn't know was Wena wegunene, from the Dlamini sinonatelo. It could be used as a form of ‘thank you’ for someone who did you a service or favour, and translated roughly as "Oh, thou of the Right Hand". Right-handedness was important in Swaziland. Anything someone passed to you must be received with the right hand, or with the right hand and the left hand grasping the right wrist. For a left-handed person like me, it was a problem. The second phrase I learned after Sawubona was Ncesi nesincele, (Forgive [my] left hand). I knew I was bound to commit lefthanded sins, and thought it best to be forearmed with an apology. When I asked Sonile to teach me the phrase she asked why. I explained I was lefthanded. She said that would never have been allowed had I been raised in Swaziland. A caring mother would have guided me firmly to right-handedness, knowing what a handicap I'd face as a lefty. I moved my bracelets to my right arm, to remind me not to pass or accept anything with the left hand, but even so I made the occasional slip. The apology phrase was used more than once in our time in Swaziland. There was one completely unforseen complication of language that only slowly made itself apparent. Erin, known only as Njabuliso, “the bringer of happiness”, was about eighteen months old and under the kind but firm care of Mrs. Zwane, (ZWAnee) who thought she was the world's best baby, possibly excepting her own nine children. She would sit for ages tempting the fussy eater to consume enormous bowls of baby cereal, whereas I, the birth mother, usually got it spat back at me. Gene was working long hours and often didn't get home until the baby had gone down for the night, and usually managed to sleep through her midnight calls for company and amusement. Days went by without his seeing her awake. One long weekend, when he had spent more

time with his younger daughter than was usual, he said "Shouldn't that child be speaking by now?" "Why should she speak? Mrs. Zwane and Bethany anticipate her every whim, so what's she got to ask for?" I asked. "She doesn't seem to respond to much we say; do you suppose she could be deaf?" Gene persisted, watching the little girl chase sun sparkles on the polished floor. "She's not even two yet. The doctor says she's healthy, if still a bit small, but she was three weeks premature and that takes a bit of catching up," I said, but in a rather unsure tone. The idea that something might be wrong had taken root and would bother me until I got the baby to the doctor for her next check-up. Gene disappeared into the kitchen and came back on tiptoe with a pot lid, which he dropped on the floor behind the unsuspecting baby.

As I tried to quiet the ensuing roars, he said, "OK--so she's not deaf. Could she be slightly retarded? " I sneaked away, patting the howling baby on the back. Mrs. Zwane came into the kitchen with a fierce look. "What has happened to Njabuliso?" "She's had a little fright. Treanor thought there was something wrong with her, and he scared her by accident," I explained, verbally distancing myself from the wicked parent. "Hau! She's a lovely baby. She's a good baby. You tell him he must not say things like that!" she replied huffily. I later reported to Gene,"Mrs. Zwane doesn’t like you casting slurs on her baby." "Her baby?" "Well, you know how it is," I said. "After all, she spends a lot more time with the baby than we do, since most of the time Njabuliso is awake, we're at work." Mrs. Zwane brought the subject up again the next day. "What makes Treanor think there is something wrong with the baby?" "Well, she doesn't speak, and she doesn't respond much when we talk to her," I explained. "But she does," insisted Mrs. Zwane, "She talks to me, as much as any baby that age talks. And she always does what I tell her right away." I reported this to Gene, who said he'd be happier if I took her to the doctor for a check-up anyway. The doctor found nothing amiss and when I said she didn't respond much to our requests, suggested that she was just stubborn. This we already knew, but it wasn't the answer to the present problem. I was still concerned, so I arranged to have half a day off work. I sat in the kitchen and watched Mrs. Zwane and the baby. Njabuliso toddled around,

prattling away happily, playing with spoons, and "helping" Mrs. Zwane by fetching small things and mopping a spill off the floor. It took about half an hour before light dawned. I hugged both Mrs. Zwane and the baby and went back to work happily. That evening I kept the baby awake until her father came home. As he was sitting down with his after work drink, I said, "I think I've solved the problem about the baby. How is she different from other babies we've known?" "What is this, Passover?" he asked. "No, I'm serious." "OK. She's smaller, louder and better looking," he said, after a bit of thought. "And--?" I prompted. "She's the youngest member of the Peace Corps that I know of," he added. "Getting warmer. What else?" He couldn't think of anything else. "Watch this," I instructed. "Njabuliso!" I called. She looked up from her toys. "Buya-la," I directed. She got up and came to me. I put a book on the floor. "Tsatsa incwadzi," I ordered. She picked up the book. "Ngi cela unike incwadzi na Babé." She toddled over to her father and gave him the book. "Buya enza weni yakho, Hlala-pansi," I said. She returned to her toy box and sat down. Gene was amazed. "She did what you asked!" "Why?" I asked. "Well…er…godalmighty, you were speaking siSwati!" he said as the realization hit him as it had me earlier that day. "Right. I sat in the kitchen and watched Mrs. Zwane with Erin today, and after a while it hit me: when there's no adult here, Mrs. Zwane doesn't speak English; why should she? “And her predecessor, laDlamini, had a frail grasp of English and most likely never spoke it to the baby. Bethany mostly bosses her around and that doesn’t take many words, and anyway, she’s at nursery school half the day. So why should Erin respond to English?" Taking a deep drink of his gin and tonic, Gene said "So you're telling me that our child's mother tongue isn't English but siSwati?" "That's what I think. All we have to do is ask Mrs. Zwane to speak more English to her and I think the problem will solve itself." "Somehow that seems odd," said Gene, "having to ask your Zulu housekeeper to teach your American baby to speak English in Swaziland." And so it happened that Mrs. Zwane, in addition to her duties as household manager, babysitter and resident expert in African lore, became an English tutor. It worked out quite well: Mrs. Zwane's English was very precise and almost accent free. In less than six months, Njabuliso was on a par with and perhaps even ahead of her peers. The only slightly embarrassing times were when someone would drop in and enquire where the baby was, and I'd have to explain she was out on the porch having her English lesson with Mrs. Zwane. 33

COMPUTERS HOW TO GET PEOPLE TO YOUR WEBSITE JESS SUTHERLAND-BRUCE B.W.

The story so far ... ou’ve done your homework and employed a professional to design a website for you that includes all the extra necessities you may need. It’s already online and raring to give people the information that they need. But what’s next? How do you go from website to business? Now read on ...

effective to reach more people than just posting the information once (especially on Facebook with its impossible to understand algorithms). As well as being a fast and effective communicative tool, social media sites also aid in assisting search engines in ranking your website higher, which means that it will be easier to find in the long run. Remember to also add or update your website link on your social media if it is new or has BUSINESS CARDS AND ADVERTS Like anything new in your business, people changed! need to know about it before it can do you any EMAIL PEOPLE ON YOUR SUBSCRIBER LIST good at all. Updating your business cards and already If you have a subscriber list, you’ve got to use placed advertising is the first port of call. it! It would be a disservice not to use it! Especially if the new website has included re- Like social media and advertising it to your followers there, a subscriber or email list is going branding, consistency is key here. Nobody likes to see a website of one style to be your best friend. with stationary that has another, and the business This needs to be an interesting and eyecard not relating to either. It may feel like a catching email that your subscribers open to see waste of time and paper, but it does wonders the hook: a new website – go visit it and see all the for professionalism and keeping your brand in a new and interesting information we have to offer you. Don’t let it be just another email that fall by person’s mind. the wayside with all the junk mail that is sent to people every day, make it interesting and make it SOCIAL MEDIA Social media is an excellent place to update stick. your regulars on the current situation of your TELL PEOPLE WHO WALK IN THE STORE website. You’ve spent good money on it, so you If you’re lucky enough to have interaction may as well show it off! This can mean posting to your wall, with people on a day-to-day basis, make sure they Instagram-ing photos of the new site or tweeting know about the new website. If you don’t feel comfortable telling people it, #NewWebsite. The great thing about social media is that about your new, shiny website, put up a sign in you can tell your followers over and over again the shop window or on the front counter. about your news. I’m not saying having five posts But it is something that can strike up a in a ten minute period saying the same old ‘we fantastic conversation with a customer that would have a new website, this is the address’ shtick, but inform them about goings on in your store that integrating the information in organic posts that they would necessarily ask or know about. would already be occurring that simply also add This is extra important if you have an e-commerce website that you sell your goods in the idea of the new-look website. It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s going to be more from. The more people you have knowing about it, the more ‘word-of-mouth’ revenue you are going to generate for your business.

LAUNCH OR ‘RE-LAUNCH’ PARTIES Outside the website, a relaunch event can have the best bang for your buck! If your business has just changed so considerably, you may just need a re-launch. For example, you’ve moved locations and rebranded dramatically, possibly including a sparkly new website that is the focus of a new media campaign (hint hint). It’s a great way to get everyone on your doorstep, both physically and digitally, make new friendships and cement old ones. While a re-launch party isn’t for everyone or every business, it can definitely be a jumpstart for a media campaign, all you have to do afterwards is sustain it. Courtesy of Hawk’s Web Workshop

NO-NO’S ON INSTAGRAM PATRICIA GUEVARRA

ith everyone so insta-obsessed these days, it’s no wonder why we’re all on the app 24/7. But if you’re committing any of these faux paus, it’s time to put your phone down and take a break! Excessive pictures. We all know that one person who doesn’t post anything but selfies and #MCM’s/#WCW’s. I think there’s something special about someone feeling confident enough to flaunt their selfies online (just refrain from posting hourly, please). Over-the-top filters that ruin the picture. Sometimes, less is more and this definitely applies to Instagram. Don’t ruin a decent picture with X-Pro II, Lo-Fi, Hefe or any other filter that screams, “I have no idea how to edit pictures!”

Collages that are so crowded, you can’t see any of the pictures. We have gotten to the point where double posting on Instagram isn’t uncommon, so don’t feel the need to cram all your pictures into one post. I’m CREATE A LIVING WEBSITE sure I speak for your followers when I say I’d Websites can be very boring places to visit. rather see two decent collages than one collage Mostly, content doesn’t change and they can be with photos that might as well be pixels. just large amounts of information dumps. Maintaining a living website is more of a Videos that should’ve been left on Vine or workload than the traditional site, and often it has Snapchat. to be done by you, not a designer, but the effort It’s rare to find a video that is Instagram worthy can pay you back in spades. these days. Instagram is pretty void of videos, and A living website is a website that changes if you’re going to post one, it better be quality! Use constantly. It’s something of a lovechild between apps like PicPlayPost, Flipgram or Cameo to make the blog and the traditional site. your video the best it can be! It incorporates readily changing blog posts, information updates, and media updates, into #Telling #your #life #story #through your run-of-the-mill website. (This is also where #hashtags. a good ol’ CMS system is a necessity instead of a There’s always that one person whose picture luxury, unless you’re super interested in learning comes with a huge paragraph made up entirely code.) of hashtags. “#selfie #selfiesunday #nofilter While this is the hardest of all the above #nomakeup #latergram #instagood #instadaily mentioned, it has the best long-term return on #girl #cute #smiles #happy #hatersgonnahate your website investment. #haveagoodday.” Please. No.

FINANCE BUDGET 2016: HOW TO PREPARE FOR MAJOR CHANGES STEVE BLIZARD

reasurer Scott Morrison has announced the biggest shake-up to Australia’s superannuation system in a decade, with his pre-election budget targeting high-income earners while retaining concessions for the lowest paid. With many of the changes set to begin on July 1, 2017, such an array of unexpected large and complex changes to super will ultimately see many investors having to adjust their financial affairs. So with a July 2 Federal election ahead, and the fact that it’s not unusual for budgetary changes to be amended or dumped before being legislated, here are some ideas to help prepare over the next 14 months and beyond. MAXIMISE PRE-TAX CONCESSIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS For those aged forty-nine (and above) on June 30, the maximum pre-tax contribution that can be salary sacrificed is $35,000 and $30,000 for everyone else. On July 1, 2017 these levels will drop to $25,000, irrespective of age. For small business owners this takes into account any super contributions claimed as a tax deduction, and for employees this is the total, including the employer Superannuation Guarantee Contribution (SGC) of nine point five percent plus any salary sacrifice amounts made into super. When including the super guarantee (SG), employees with annual income over $250,000 may already be in excess of the $25,000 concessional cap. Known as the Division 293 tax, an additional fifteen percent tax is currently levied on concessional super contributions when the income threshold exceeds $300,000. It is proposed that this threshold be lowered to $250,000 from 1 July 2017, also matching one of Labor’s policy commitments.

More exotic strategies such as the new “angel investor concession” laws, offering twenty percent tax offset for investments of up to $200,000, will also attract more interest from high net worth investors. The new laws, which emerged as part of the National Science and Innovation Agenda statement and passed by the Senate on May 4th, seek to reward investors with additional tax benefits for investing in early-stage technology. This initiative includes a twenty percent nonrefundable carry forward tax offset on investments in qualifying companies, capped at $200,000 a year, and a ten year exception on capital gains tax, providing they are held for twelve months or more. LOW INCOME EARNER SUPER REBATE In a fairness measure, the Turnbull government will continue Labor's low income superannuation contribution scheme but renamed as the low income superannuation tax offset (LITSO). The re-named scheme will ensure that workers earning less than $37,000 a year will continue to receive an automatic rebate worth up to $500 annually, directly into their super accounts. CO-CONTRIBUTION SCHEME CONTINUES The co-contribution scheme has been left unchanged in the budget. Adrian Raftery, a senior lecturer in financial planning and superannuation at Deakin University, says: "It's surprising how few people actually take advantage of free money from the government." If your income is under $35,454 and you contribute up to $1000 of after-tax income into your super account, the government will match each dollar with a payment of fifty cents. The incentive shades out at income of $35,454 and cuts out altogether at $50,454. The income thresholds will increase slightly for the 2016-17 year.

have their spouse pay into their super account. The higher earning spouse can pay up to $3000 in the lower-paid spouse's super account and they receive a rebate, which is worth $540 on $3000. MAXIMISE NON-CONCESSIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS In a rare move of retrospectivity, with the clock started in July 2007, from May the 3rd the non-concessional cap (NCC) that can be contributed post-tax to super over an individual’s lifetime, has been slashed to the ridiculously low amount of $500,000. Before budget night those under sixty-five were able to contribute $180,000 into super each financial year or make use of the ‘‘three year bring-forward rule’’ of $540,000. Fund members that have already made NCCs above $500,000 cannot make any further contributions, the excess NCCs won’t have to be withdrawn from the super system and won’t be subject to penalties. There is no doubt the new rule is unnecessarily harsh and it won’t be a surprise if it is watered down in the future. One option is to wait to see what happens and then contribute more if possible.

LARGE PENSION FUNDS To date, there has been no limit on the super balance an individual can transfer into the pension phase tax-free. However, from the 1st July 2017 pension account balances will be limited to $1.6million, so those with larger account balances need to plan carefully. Where action is necessary, one potential option is may be to take some of the account balance out as a lump sum and then, if possible, contribute that into your spouse’s name. This option has been made more attractive with the removal of the work test applying to nonBEATING THE THRESHOLD mandated super contributions (including salary Family trusts and gearing into property and sacrifice and personal contributions) for those shares are set to return as popular strategies as SPOUSE SUPER aged sixty-five to seventy-four (inclusive) from the investors look to sneak in under the new $250,000 The budget increases the income threshold to 1st July 2017. threshold. $37,000 from $10,800 for a low-earning spouse to Another option may be to increase pension payments now so you fall under the $1.6m limit by July next year. The new caps may also see couples re-visiting “spouse splitting” rules, where it is possible to allocate up to eighty-five percent of before-tax super contributions with a spouse before the financial year. However with Australians facing stricter controls on the cash they can add to their retirement nest eggs, Scott Morrison’s major budget saving from super may trigger a backlash from voters preparing to leave the workforce. Courtesy of Roxburgh Securities REGISTER TO VOTE NOW 35

WHAT’S ON IF YOU WOULD LIKE AN EVENT LISTED IN THIS COLUMN RING OUR OFFICE ON 6296 5161 Entries for non-profit entities are free, commercial entries are welcome at $10 per fifty words. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS Glen Forrest Group Every Monday evening We meet at 7.00pm at the Glen Forrest Uniting Church, Mc Glew Rd, Glen Forrest. Call Dermot 0488 905 211 or John 0448 074 536 or the Perth Office (all hours) 9325 3566. AUSTRALIAN BREASTFEEDING ASSOC. Discussion groups, guest speakers, morning tea. Free breastfeeding counselling. Expectant mothers, mothers, babies and children welcome. National Breastfeeding Helpline 1800 686 2686 is a 24 hour 7 days a week service. Swan/Mundaring Group meets every Monday, 9:30-11:30am at the Gumnuts Family Centre, 8 Mudalla Way, Koongamia.  A qualified ABA counsellor is present at each meeting to give confidential information and support on breastfeeding issues. Contact Natalie 9572 4971.

With a diverse and unique array of locally handcrafted products and produce, there will be something of interest for all. From garden ornaments, homemade jams and relishes to handmade soy candles, cards, bags, cushions, children’s toys, bears, baby and children’s wear. Individually designed and crafted glassware, jewellery and beautifully made wood products and so much more to tempt you. Make a day of it, stroll around the markets and then take the time to wander about the heritage listed town of Guildford. Enjoy a picturesque Heritage Walk Trail or pay a visit to the antique, art and craft shops along the cafe strip. Enquiries: Bromwyn, 6278 4252.

on 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th. Tuesday, and at 7-00pm. on 2nd Tuesday of each month. A demonstration and cuppa are the norm. Men and Women are welcome. Enquiries to Ted 9295 4438. TALKING HORSES Wednesday evenings 6:00pm The WA Horse Council equestrian radio program is now in its seventh year. The programme is broadcast on the Community Radio Station 91.3 SportFM. To ensure that your club, event, breed or business gets coverage, call Diane Bennit 0409 083 617. SWAN VALLEY COMMUNITY CENTRE Monday Mornings The Art Group meets at Baskerville Hall from 9am – 12pm for just $5.00 per session. The group leader is Gilly, she can help and advise with most media. Feel free to come and have a look and meet our local artists – they are a very friendly lot, new members welcome! For more information call 9296 1976 or email enquiries@swanvalleycommunitycentre.com Web: www.swanvalleycommunitycentre.com.

MORRIS DANCING All welcome. It’s like bush dancing, with sticks and bells. It’s aerobic exercise and great fun! Tuesdays 7-9pm practice, Guildford Town Hall, cnr James St and Meadow St, Guildford. And Kalamunda Group meets fortnighly on a drinks later at the Woodbridge Hotel with live Thursday, 9:30-11:30am at the Maida Vale Baptist Irish music Church, Edney Road, High Wycombe. For more information please contact: Contact Jenny 9252 1996. Christine Hogan: 9279 8778 Email: madtattersmorris@iinet.Net.Au Northam Group meets each second Tuesday of Website: madtattersmorris.Myclub.Org.Au TUESDAY BADMINTON CLUB the month at the Bridgeley Community Centre, Tuesdays Wellington Street, Northam 10am to Noon. Join us for Social Badminton from 9am - 11am BASKERVILLE FAMILY PLAYGROUP Fourth Tuesday each month at Toodyay Playgroup, EMPTY SESSION – at Brown Park Recreation Centre. Beginners Stirling Terrace, Toodyay. Noon to 2pm. Please Friday Mornings Welcome. Contact Miriam 9274 5058. phone Louisa 9574 0229. Baskerville Family Playgroup has a free session on Friday mornings in a ‘ready to play’ SWAN HARMONY SINGERS HILLS CHRONIC PAIN SUPPORT GROUP facility, great toys and resources as well as a Wednesdays 1st Wednesday of each month fenced playground. Set in lovely rural surrounds, Come and sing with us! Swan Harmony Singers is a Hilltop Grove Estate, 1645 Jacoby Street, at Baskerville Memorial Hall, Baskerville. community choir that meets, 7-9pm, to sing music Mahogany Creek. Morning tea provided, between Normal playgroup costs apply. ($25 per family/ ranging from jazz to pop, plus the occasional 10.30 - 12.00 noon. term, $30 annual insurance fee to Playgroup WA) classic. No auditions. Join us at the Salvation Army Enquiries Terina 9572 1655. Phone 9296 1976 or 0419 922 791 or check our Church Hall, 371 Morrison Rd, (opposite Swan webpage www.swanvalleycommunitycentre.com View Primary School), Swan View. Enquiries: call Anna on 9299 7249, or Chris on 9298 9529 or THE HILLS CHOIR Monday Evenings MUSTARD SEED - DISCOVERING COMPUTERS 0435 062 728. Do you enjoy singing and joining with others Mustard Seed is a non-profit organisation to make beautiful music? Come and join the Hills and caters for all aspects of everyday computing. ELLENBROOK AND DISTRICT MENS SHED Inc. Choir. We meet from 7.30 to 9.30pm at the Uniting Ability levels from beginners onwards. Do you Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday Church on Stoneville Road, Mundaring. Contact want help with Windows 10? Have an iPad and We are open at 4 Transit Way Ellenbrook from Margie on 9295 6103 for further information. don’t know what it will do? We can help. Cost is 10.00am to 3.00pm. Potential members can turn $3 per session. To gain a place enrol now. Forms up on those days and there will be someone to explain what we do and give membership details. and information are available. SWAN VALLEY SQUARES – ELLENBROOK Annual fees are low and members can do Phone 9299 7236 or 0416 815 822 or Every Friday Night their own thing, participate in projects for the Modern Australian Square Dancing from E. mustardcomputers@gmail.com community or simply just come in for a chat and a 8.00 pm – 10.00 pm Woodlake Community Hall, cuppa. 1 Highpoint Blvd, Ellenbrook. Friendly, fun and ELLENBROOK COMMUNITY We are considering extending our days to low cost. No previous experience necessary. All WEIGHT LOSS CLUB include Saturdays or evenings if there is enough Welcome. Contact Greg Fawell 0417 912 241 or Every Wednesday evening www.swanvalleysquares.weebly.com We meet from 6.45pm to 8.00pm at the interest. Woodlake Community Hall, Meeting room 1. Highpoint Blvd, Ellenbrook. Friendly support SWAN VALLEY COMMUNITY CENTRE STIRLING SQUARE MARKET group and low cost. Male and females of all MUSIC CLASSES Third Sunday of every month Tuesday mornings At Stirling Square, Corner of James and ages welcome. Contact Shirley 9276 7938 Learn to play tunes on piano or keyboard shirleysardelich@aapt.net.au. Meadow Streets. 9am - 3pm. immediately – the SIMPLY MUSIC method. Play Situated in the heart of Guildford, within five songs, chords, blues and classical in small groups minutes walking distance from the Guildford SWAN WOODTURNERS GROUP at a reasonable price. Train Station, a visit to the Stirling Square Market The group meets in the rear hall of The Senior Call Heather 9296 4181 for more details. is sure to please. Citizens’ Centre, The Avenue, Midland, at 1-00pm. 36

THE IDLER The Idle Thoughts of an Idle Mind

DECISIONS, DECISIONS

GLENNYS MARSDON

ave you ever had to make a big decision? I don’t mean whether to eat a glistening chocolate infused morsel by Adriana Zumba or a green apple. I mean a really BIG decision. One that could affect the future of not one but four people, two couples to be precise. Two couples who’ve thrown down their livelihoods, their reputations, their futures, leaving you to decide their fate. One couple, let’s call them Tracee and Marge, are middle aged friends, both mums of monosyllabic teenagers. They took on your challenge as a break from the monotony of their lives, and a hankering to do something for themselves. It was Marge’s dream really, Tracee just agreed in a weak moment after one too many chardonnays. After an hour and a half the ladies fate rests on the plate before them. A rack of lamb sporadically covered in a mint and macadamia crust that’s clinging on for dear life, as it leans up against a mountain of pummelled lima beans. Beside it lies four undercooked pieces of broccoli drowning in a citrus inspired pomegranate jus, that’s been hurled at the plate making the whole dish look like a crime scene. The other team Jewel and Pete, are a young married couple negotiating an impending sevenyear itch. Pete has become increasingly bored in the sanctity of his well-paid job, a job that’s taken him ten years and a lot of compromising to obtain. A job that Jewel loves, because it will help them save for IVF, after a few more house payments hit the bank balance. A few months ago Jewel noticed a dull glaze pervading Pete’s previously sparkling eyes, and suggested they enter a competition, your

competition, in the hope that it could change their lives forever, or at least for a few weeks. Jewel and Pete opted for a sweet offering. A luminous, saffron infused canary yellow blancmange, that’s currently threatening to dissolve the back of your retinas. The yellow glow is surrounded by two misshapen profiteroles that give the plate an R rated dimension. Completing the picture, a ragged collection of icing offcuts that, if you squint like you’re looking at one of those optical illusion photos, could possibly resemble a red rose. Viewed together the whole collection is reminiscent of something you’d find in a three year olds playdough box. Both teams stand before you anxiously waiting your decision. The winners will go on to fight for the ultimate glory of being named Culinary Champions. The runners up will plummet back to obscurity, after the odd shopping centre appearance if they’re lucky. Pete’s mind wanders. He secretly dreams of

packing up everything and moving overseas to work in a seaside Doc Martin style café. As the minutes tick by Jewel notices a perplexed look on Pete’s face, so she gives his hand a reassuring squeeze. The added pressure jolts Pete’s deliberations making him solidify the decision he was grabbling with. A lightning bolt, he thinks. A black and golden lightning bolt would look great plummeting down his right tricep, but what else? A heavy duty chef’s knife; a pigs’ nose smelling a pigs’ tail to represent his nose to tail cooking philosophy; some grey swirls symbolising Italian meringue; a towering erect croquembouche cake complete with a spun sugar star on top; and a red rose to remind everyone of his excellent icing work that scored a perfect ten in the first round. Maybe he’ll buy a small Scotty dog to keep him company at the café. Maybe he should change

his surname. Pete Brittendown doesn’t have the same ring as Rick Stein or Jamie Oliver. Something short, food related … Pete Juniper, Pete Feijoa, Pete Pumpkin … it needs more work. Meanwhile Tracee strangles Marges tuckshop arm tighter remembering her husband’s scoffing laugh and comment about making a fool of herself. Why couldn’t he be more like Marge’s Bill who’d sent her off with a cheery wave and a suitcase full of his own ‘winning’ recipes, most of which centred around re-imaging a Swiss roll. Marge thought about Bill, the man she’s watched across the breakfast table for nearly thirty years, maybe they could open a little Tudor cottage B and B in the hills after all. Have you ever had to make a decision like that? Well if you did I bet you’d take your time, weighing up all the options, even scribbling down a few pros and cons. Either way I bet you’d eventually come up with a winner, a decision. With so much riding on the outcome you couldn’t sit on the fence, right? What if your deliberations were broadcast on television? Perhaps you’d take a little longer to cement your choice before announcing the winners. What if the broadcast wasn’t limited to your home state? What if it was beamed across the whole nation, in prime time? Pressure much? Yes, it’s a lot of pressure but you’ve got something going for you. You are an expert in your field. You’ve spent years reading cook books, hour upon hour refining your technique, perfecting your craft, even travelling the world learning from people you admired and some who you now can’t abide. Now you are that person. You are the expert. Everyone is relying on you to make the right decision. There’s something else which helps alleviate some of the pressure. You’re being paid …a lot. So what to do? There you stand with two options in front of you, each waiting for a score out of ten. But wait. You’re not alone. Four of your peers are gathered around you. Experts like you, they too wield the power of a score out of ten. Eventually after much fork lifting, head nodding and a mountain of advertisements the time has come to announce the winner. Judge one scores Tracee and Marge a seven and Jewel and Pete a … seven Judge two scores Tracee and Marge a six and Jewel and Pete a … six Judge three scores Tracee and Marge a six, Jewel and Pete a …six What?!? Hang on haven’t these experts been brought in to made a decision. Surely the ability to make a decision is inherent in the very definition of being a judge. A cursory look at the word ‘judge’ in the dictionary would suggest so … A public officer appointed to decide cases in a law court; Form an opinion or conclusion about (verb) That’s what I thought. But maybe these experts aren’t to blame. Maybe they too have no control after sacrificing their own reputations in exchange for greater exposure, increased book sales, more patrons at their restaurants and let’s not forget … money. 37

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

ake a scroll through the animals available for adoption on SAFE’s website and you’ll see an array of interesting and unique names from Aries to Cardoman and Teruo to Lynx.

She’ll greet you at the door, follow you around the house and likes to sit beside you at night for a pat. Foxy is usually the initiator of any high jinx she and Yang get up to. They sleep together, eat

ing? We have volunteers working effectively from all over the country performing all sorts of tasks. Our overheads are kept low as we rely on volunteers to care for the animals, take photographs, write profiles, coordinate photographers and profilers, do website content management, write stories for publications, do public relations and administrative work. This article, for example, was reviewed by our communications expert in Melbourne and written by our Karratha based photographer. Email and internet makes volunteering possible from anywhere. SAFE is a not for profit organisation that saves rehomeable animals from euthanasia. We have ten branches around the state and are always in need of donations to pay vet bills - every rescue animal has to be desexed, vaccinated and microchipped. We are in need of fundraisers and marketers to help raise these much needed funds. If you’d like to donate, information can be found on: http://www.safe.asn.au/How_to_help/

Donate.html

If you’d like to make a difference and join our team of volunteers and foster carers, please email karratha@safe.asn.au or phone us at SAFE Karratha at (08) 9185 4634. Photographs by Emilie Cowell and Helen Osler

Yang and Foxy

Choosing a suitable name SAFEs homeless pets is just as important a task as writing profiles and taking animal portraits. Many of the older animals that come into our care already have names which they have learnt to respond to but the younger puppies and kittens often need to be named. Just like the naming of cyclones, SAFE volunteers follow the alphabet when naming litters. Recently we had the ‘L’ puppies in SAFE Karratha: Lily, Levon, Lottie, Lena, Leon, Lemon, Logan and Luther. It’s no easy task to choose eight L names which suit the personalities who will own them and we like to make sure the names are distinctive and unique as well as descriptive. Lucky for us Google has a wealth of ideas for names and our network of foster carers, knowing their foster pets personalities can provide some great suggestions. Kittens Amelie and Armand were names inspired by their French-born foster carers. Yang and Foxy are two uniquely named young, one and a half year old female cats who came from challenging beginnings and met when placed in foster care together. Yang is inquisitive, playful and affectionate and a wee bit naughty too! She loves to pull tissues out of the tissue box and shred them with her best buddy and fostersister Foxy helping alongside her. Confident Foxy is a fun girl with a special goodnight signature cuddle - a snuggle into your chest before settling on the end of the bed to sleep.

together and play together. SAFE would love to find these two best-buddies a permanent home together. They have been vet checked, desexed, microchipped, vaccinated and are toilet trained. If you’d like to consider adopting these two cheeky young lass’s then email karratha@safe.asn.au or phone (08) 9185 4634. If you are interested in helping SAFE find foster or permanent homes for our older animals there are many ways you can get involved. We’d love to welcome more foster carers to our network in Perth and across the state. Fostering is a vital role as it provides rehabilitation, training, caring and loving of animals to prepare them for their new lives with permanent owners. Have you considered volunteer-

Volunteering - ordinary people performing extraordinary tasks to help others There are so many opportunities for you to help those in our communities! For more information or to make an appointment, call us now on 9278 9690. Swan Volunteer Resource Centre (Midland) 9278 9690 10am-4pm, Monday to Friday (closed Wed)

Ellenbrook Pop Up Volunteer Centre 9207 8787 10am-3pm, Wednesdays

swanvolunteers@swan.wa.gov.au www.swanvolunteers.com.au 39

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