The Local Paper. Lilydale and Yarra Valley Express Edition. Wed., Dec. 7, 2022

Happy Christmas

The Local Paper

Local Briefs

Christmas events

organised by local community groups, organisations, schools and businesses, have been supported with $20,000 in Nillumbik Council grants, and are designed to increase community connectivity at this time of year.

Activities include Christmas carols, CFA Santa runs, twilight markets, music performances, craft workshops, sausage sizzles, treasure hunts and floral window displays.

Lower Plenty raid

■ A hydroponic cannabis set-up was discovered when Police raided a Lower Plenty property last week as part of a crackdown on outlaw motor cycle gangs.

A 38-year-old Lower Plenty man was found in possession of two firearms magazines and a quantity of ‘magic mushrooms’.

Police also located the hydroponic cannabis set up. The man has been charged with cultivating cannabis, possess drug of dependence, fail to surrender firearm related item on service of FPO and possess prohibited weapon.

At Quarry Hills

■ City of Whittlesea residents are invited to share their ideas on the future use and development of the municipality’s largest regional park, Quarry Hills Regional Parklands.

Located amongst the City’s growth suburbs, the parklands are a striking feature in the area’s landscape, providing spectacular views across Melbourne.

Chair Administrator Lydia Wilson said that the Quarry Hills Parklands plays a significant role in our natural landscape and is a defining open space feature in the municipality.

“The 330-hectare parklands will ultimately expand to cover approximately 1100 hectares, or 2.3 per cent of the municipality, and will be home to a number of new facilities including the Granite Hills Playground and the Aboriginal Gathering Place,” Ms Wilson said.

A draft Future Directions Plan has been developed in partnership with the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation, and the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning outlining the proposed vision that will guide the long-term plans for the area.

Hall of Fame

■ The Alexandra Hotel hasbeen inducted into the prestigious Victorian Tourism Awards Hall of Fame at a function held late last week.

Fair to return

■ There are plans for the Kinglake Country Fair to return in September 2023. Organisers say they have explored the potential of all past sites and the locations don't fit the brief for different reasons. They are putting the call out to our community! If you have a part of your property to identify 10 acres of level, cleared land with access from a sealed road (wo access points preferable for traffic flow) in Kinglake to Kinglake

■ Yea Racing is confident about its picnic meeting scheduled for Saturday, December 17.

Despite no races having been held on Victorian picnic tracks to date, Yea Racing says it feels good about its fixture.

Club curator John Quinlan and his team have been ale to get onto the track between rain events to mow it in a timely manner and the relatively good weather of late has allowed the wet patches to dry out.

In the past two weeks, Ballarat and Traralgon clubs have allowed picnic meetings from Woolamai and Balnarring to be held on their tracks.

However, because of the vast distances between their normal localities, crowds were poor.

It did allow the owners and trainers of picnic horses to finally give them a run, which will assure Yea of good fields for the Reddrops Sister Olive Handicap Day on December 17.

This will be a normal picnic event with free Kelly Sports and pony rides for the children and entertainment for all from Kane Vincent.

“ It was a bit of an eye opener paying $8 for a beer at the professional tracks instead of $5 at Yea, said Yea President Denis Smith, who attended both events.

There are still several shaded sites ,umbrella packages and Early Bird adult admissions at $10 available, as the club is trying to encourage more groups to hold their year end break ups or family gatherings at the picnic races.

Patrons can secure the $10 admissions ( it is $15 at the gate) by going online to Countryracingvictoria/yea

Bookings are already strong for the Nutrien Yea Cup Day on Saturday January 23 and the St Pats Cup on Sunday, February 22. Fashions on the Field will return for both these events.

Child re-elected at Yarra Ranges

■

Sophie

Cr Child said he was humbled and greatly appreciative to be stepping back into the Mayor’s chair for a second term.

“I’d like to thank my fellow councillors for their unanimous support in electing me for another term for Mayor of Yarra Ranges,” Cr Child said.

“I’m extremely honoured and proud to once again be able to lead a Council that is so passionate in their collaborative approach to represent their constituents and community, but above all to protect and enhance this amazing place we call the Yarra Ranges

“Together in the coming year, we will be delivering more than 120 services to our community, and we’ll be delivering them with a passion and innovating on how we are able to keep costs down while still meeting the needs of more than 150,000 residents, thousands of business and countless visitors to our region.”

McLeish wins

■ Eildon MLA Cindy McLeish has been reelected to State Parliament. On a two party preferred basis, Ms McLeish attracted 24,220 votes (57.08 per cent) against Jane Judd (ALP) on 18,214 votes (42.92 per cent). First preference votes included Wil Mikesons (4746), Jordan Rusic (1428), Chloe Bond (1338), Kammy Cordner Hunt (581), Robert Thornton (460).

Slashing begins

■ Murrindindi Council's Roadside Slashing Program is underway. The program is carried out in the lead up to the fire season and is aimed at improving safety for road users and protecting property and infrastructure. It includes Council-managed reserves and roads.

The Council has published its Roadside Slashing Schedule, which provides an indication of when slashing will be carried out.

● Tex McKenzie and Ewen Tait at the Yea Show Fleece Pavilion.

O'Shannassy Ward Councillor Jim Child has been re-elected Mayor of Yarra Ranges.

Todorov, Melba Ward Councillo,r was elected as Deputy Mayor for 2022–23.

Where to pick up your free copy of The Local Paper

■ ALEXANDRA. Alexandra Newsagency. 82-84 Grant St.

■ ■ ■ ALEXANDRA. Corner Hotel. 65 Grant St.

■ ALEXANDRA. Endeavour Alexandra (BP). 10 Downey St.

■ ■ ALEXANDRA. Foodworks. 102 Grant St.

■ ALEXANDRA. Mount Pleasant Hotel. 90 Grant St.

■ ■ ALEXANDRA. Nutrien Harcourts. 56 Grant St.

■ ALEXANDRA. Shamrock Hotel. 80 Grant St.

■ ALEXANDRA. Simpson’s Fuel (Caltex). 25 Aitken St.

■ ALEXANDRA. Totally Trout. 42 Downey St.

■ BUXTON. Blue Igloo Roadhouse. 2200 Maroondah Hwy.

■ ■ BUXTON. Buxton Hotel. 2192 Maroondah Hwy.

■ BUXTON. Shell Buxton. 2093 Maroondah Hwy.

■ ■ ■ DIAMOND CREEK. Diamond Creek Newsagency. Shop 62a Main Rd, Diamond Creek Plaza.

■ DOREEN. Doreen General Store. 920 Yan Yean Rd.

■ ■ EILDON. Foodworks. 18 Main St.

■ ELTHAM. Eltham Newsagency. 2/963 Main Rd.

■ ■ EPPING. APCO Service Station. Cnr McDonalds Rd and High St.

■ EPPING. Epping RSL. Harvest Home Rd.

■ FLOWERDALE. Flowerdale Community House. 36 Silver Creek Rd.

■ ■ FLOWERDALE. Flowerdale Hotel. 3325 Whittlesea-Yea Rd.

■ FLOWERDALE. Hazeldene General Store. 6 Curlings Rd.

■ GLENBURN. Glenburn Roadhouse. 3883 Melba Hwy.

■ HURSTBRIDGE. Hurstbridge Newsagency. 900 Main Hustbridge Rd.

■ ■ KANGAROO GROUND. Kangaroo Ground General Store. 280 Eltham-Yarra Glen Rd.

■ KINGLAKE. Cafe. WhittleseaKinglake Rd.

■ ■ KINGLAKE. Foodworks. 12 Whittlesea-Kinglake Rd.

■ KINGLAKE. Kinglake Pub. 28 Whittlesea-Kinglake Rd.

■ THORNTON. Thornton General Store. 1365 TaggertyThornton Rd.

■ ■ WATTLE GLEN. Peppers Paddock General Store. 13 Kangaroo Ground-Wattle Glen Rd.

■ WHITTLESEA. Champions IGA Supermarket. 2/16 Church St.

■ WHITTLESEA. El Azar Milk Bar. 13 Church St.

■ WHITTLESEA. Royal Mail Hotel. 29 Beech St.

■ ■ WHITTLESEA. Whittlesea Bowls Club. 101 Church St.

■ WHITTLESEA. Whittlesea Court House. 74 Church St.

■ WHITTLESEA. Whittlesea NewsXpress. 45 Church St.

■ ■ WOLLERT. Wollert General Store. 491 Epping Rd.

■ YARCK. Buck’s Country Bakehouse. 6585 Maroondah Hwy.

■ YARCK. Giddy Goat Cafe. 6606 Maroondah Hwy.

■ YARCK. Yarck Hotel. Maroondah Hwy.

■ ■ YEA. Amble Inn Cafe. 24 High St.

■ YEA. Country Club Hotel. 18 High St.

■ YEA. Endeavour Petroleum (BP). 31 High St.

■ YEA. Foodworks. 10 High St.

■ ■ ■ YEA. Giddy Coat Cafe. 94 High St.

■ YEA. Grand Central Hotel. 64 High St.

■ YEA. Marmalades. 20 High St.

■ YEA. Mint and Jam. 46 High St.

■ ■ YEA. Nutrien Harcourts. 52 High St.

■ YEA. Peppercorn Hotel. 21 Station St.

■ YEA. Provender Bakery. 56 High St.

■ ■ YEA. Rendezvous In Yea. 10 High St.

■ ■ YEA. Royal Mail Hotel. 88 High St.

■ YEA. Yea Bakery. 44 High St.

■ YEA. Yea Newsagency. 74 High St.

■ ■ YEA. Yea Take-Away. 68 High St.

■ ■ WARRANDYTE. Warrandyte Newsagency/Post Office. 100 Melbourne Hill Rd.

■ ■ ■ ■ WESBURN. Hotel. 2882 Warburton Hwy.

■ ■ WONGA PARK. IGA Xpress. 70 Jumping Creek Rd.

■ ■ WOORI YALLOCK. Hillcrest Little Store. 1745 Warburton Hwy.

■ ■ WOORI YALLOCK. Woori Yallock Newsagency. Shop 4,1585 Warburton Hwy.

■ ■ ■ ■ YARRA GLEN. IGA Supermarket. 1/38 Bell St.

■ ■ YARRA GLEN. Yarra Glen Newsagency. 32 Bell St.

■ ■ YARRA JUNCTION. Yarra Junction Newsagency. 2454 Warburton Hwy.

Mitchell Shire Edition

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ BEVERIDGE. Beveridge Post Office. Lot 1 Old Hume Hwy.

■ ■ BROADFORD. Broadford Corner Store. 89 High St.

■ ■ BROADFORD. Broadford Hotel. 100 High St.

Court Lists

Seymour Magistrates’ Court

■

■ ■ KINGLAKE. United Service Station. 2 Glenburn-Kinglake Rd.

■ LAURIMAR. Laurimar Newsagency. 95 Hazel Glen Dr.

■ ■ MANSFIELD. Foodworks. 119 High St.

■ MARYSVILLE. Foodworks. 40A Darwin St.

Lilydale and Yarra Valley Express Edition

■ COLDSTREAM. Coldstream Post Office/Newsagency. The Lodge Shopping Centre. 670-672 Maroondah Hwy.

■ MERNDA. Mernda Villages Post Office. 50 Mernda Village Dr.

■

■ CROYDON NORTH. Croydon North Newsagency. 5 Exeter Rd.

■ MOLESWORTH. Molesworth Store. 4353 Goulburn Valley Hwy.

■ NARBETHONG. Black Spur Inn. 436 Maroondah Hwy.

■ NARBETHONG. Black Spur Roadhouse. 264 Maroondah Hwy.

■ ■ PANTON HILL. Panton Hill General Store. 586 Kangaroo Ground-St Andrews Rd.

■ ■ PANTON HILL. Panton Hill Hotel. 633 Kangaroo Ground-St Andrews Rd.

■ ■ PHEASANT CREEK. Flying Tarts Cafe. 888 WhittleseaKinglake Rd.

■ PHEASANT CREEK. Pheasant Creek Store. 884 Whittlesea-Kinglake Rd.

■ RESEARCH. Research Post Office. 1546 Main Rd.

■ SMITHS GULLY. Smiths Gully General Store. 914 Kangaroo Ground-St Andrews Rd.

■ SOUTH MORANG. Milk Bar. 15 Gorge Rd.

■ ■ ST ANDREWS. St Andrews General Store. 10 Caledonia St.

■ ST ANDREWS. St Andrews Hotel. 79 Burns St.

■ STRATH CREEK. Strath Creek Post Office. 8 Glover Rd.

■ HEALESVILLE. BP. 66 Maroondah Hwy.

■ ■ HEALESVILLE. Coles Express. 123 Maroondah Hwy.

■ ■ ■ HEALESVILLE. Grand Hotel.

270 Maroondah Hwy.

■ HEALESVILLE. Healesville Newsagency. 195 Maroondah Hwy.

■ ■ HEALESVILLE. Tobacco Station/Tatts. Shop 11, Healesville Walk.

■ LAUNCHING PLACE. Launching Place General Store. 2200 Warburton Hwy.

■ LAUNCHING PLACE. Home Hotel. 2170 Warburton Hwy.

■ LILYDALE. Lilydale Newsagency. 237 Main St.

■ MILLGROVE. Licensed Grocery. 3043 Warburton Hwy.

■ ■ MOUNT EVELYN. Mount Evelyn Newsagency. 1A Wray Cres.

■ RINGWOOD. Burnt Bridge Newsagency. 434 Maroondah Hwy.

■ SEVILLE. Wooworths Seville.

568 Warburton Hwy.

■ WANDIN. Wandin Newsagency. 18/2 Union Rd.

■ ■ BROADFORD. Broadford Newsagency. 67 High St. ■ ■ ■ ■ BROADFORD. Broadford Post Office. 123 High St. ■ ■ BROADFORD. Broadford Service Station. 165 High St. ■ ■ BROADFORD. Commercial Hotel. 31 High St. ■ ■ ■ ■ BROADFORD. High Street Bakery. 67A High St. ■ ■ ■ ■ BROADFORD. IGA Supermarket. 65 High St. ■ ■ BROADFORD. Stuty’s Bakehouse. 91-93 High St. ■ ■ DONNYBROOK. Donnybrook Hotel. 825 Donnybrook Rd. ■ ■ ■ ■ DONNYBROOK. Donnybrook Post Office. 810 Donnybrook Rd. ■ ■ KILMORE. BP. 102 Sydney St. ■ ■ KILMORE. Kemp’s Bakery. 65 Sydney St. ■ ■ KILMORE. Kilmore Bakery. 54 Sydney St. ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ KILMORE. Kilmore Newsagency. 41 Sydney St. ■ ■ KILMORE. Red Lion Hotel. 29-31 Sydney St. ■ ■ KILMORE. Royal Oak Hotel. 29-31 Sydney St. ■ ■ KILMORE. United Service Station. 127-145 Powlett St. ■ ■ ■ ■ SEYMOUR. IGA O’Keefe’s. 10/115 Anzac Ave. ■ ■ SEYMOUR. Liberty Seymour. 37-39 Emily St. ■ ■ SEYMOUR. Seymour NewsXpress. 66 Station St. ■ ■ SEYMOUR. Seymour South Post and Lotto. 75 Anzac Ave. ■ ■ ■ ■ SEYMOUR. Prince of Wales Hotel. 48 Emily St. ■ ■ SEYMOUR. Royal Hotel. 26 Emily St.

■ ■ SEYMOUR. Terminus Hotel. 26 Station St. ■ ■ ■ ■ SEYMOUR. Top Shop. Cnr Anzac Ave and Delatite Rd.

■ ■ ■ ■ TALLAROOK. Tallarook General Store. 36 Main Rd. ■ ■ TALLAROOK. Tallarook Hotel. 15 Main Rd.

■ ■ TRAWOOL. Trawool Estate/ Hotel. 8150 Goulburn Valley Hwy. ■ ■ ■ ■ WALLAN. United Service Station. 11-14 High St.

■ ■ WALLAN. Wallan News and Lotto. Shop 6, 55 High St.

■ ■ WALLAN EAST. New Rattlers Inn. Station St.

■ ■ WANDONG. Caltex Star Mart. 3272 Epping-Kilmore Rd.

■ ■ ■ ■ ■ WANDONG. Dundee’s Fish and Cips. 3272 Epping-Kilmore Rd.

■ ■ WANDONG. IGA Supermarket. 3272 Epping-Kilmore Rd.

■ ■ WANDONG. Wandong Post News and Tatts. 3272 EppingKilmore Rd.

Plaintiff / Informant / Applicant vs Defendant / Accused / Respondent. Information Division. Criminal Case Listings Thursday, December 8 Bichler, Steven Binks-Brown, William Bond, Jason Bradshaw, Tracey Crozier, Michael Adam Dale, Susan Judith Doody, Natalie Dowson, Hayley Doyle, Christopher Drury, James Michael Eldridge, Peter Farkas, Arpad Laszlo Farrugia, Godwin Fisher, Jordan Fitzpatrick, John Michael Fletcher, Craig Fraser, Grant Gibson, Sarah Louise Grant, Travis Green, Makayla Gurd, Jay Christopher Harvey, Luke Alan Herbert, Diane Hocking, Joshua Hogan, Brett James, Nathan Kilby, Shane Ladiges, Jared Leach, Daniel Lepore, Ernesto Lewis, Jayde Lincoln, Brendan Major, Adam Phillip Margus, David Mataupu, Jerry Matthews, Jade Allan Milner, Leigh Murray, Thomas Neil, Alan Orr, Cameron Neil O'toole, Joseph Paine, Kayd Quilty, Lucas Cameron Schuman, Stephen Simpson, David Lawton Soan, Benjamin Stocks, Jayden Swell, Daniel Taylor, Christopher Tennant, Tayla Thompson, Aaron David Thompson, Ashley Nathan Thompson, Norman Francis Thornton, Tracey Pearl Varol, Can Walker, Jarrod Walley, Ashley Walsh, Peter Watkins, Shane Whiley, Jackson Xmci Equities Pty Ltd Zoiti, Steven Christian Mansfield Magistrates’ Court

The Whip

The Whip

Dan’s fourth term

● ● ● ● The Special Election Edition of The Local Paper last week.

■ Premier Dan Andrews swept home at the November 26 State Election, with the loss of only several seats.

Liberal Matthew Guy resigned as leader, and there is already speculation that Upper House Matt Bach may stand for Guy’s Bulleen seat.

Likely winners

■ ■ TAGGERTY. Taggerty General Store. 26 Taggerty-Thornton Rd.

■

■ THORNTON. 4 Ways Diner.

1369 Taggerty-Thornton Rd.

■ THORNTON. Rubicon Hotel.

1362 Taggerty-Thornton Rd.

■ WARBURTON. Bakery. 3415 Warburton Hwy.

■ ■ WARRANDYTE. Grand Hotel.

140 Yarra St.

■ ■ WARRANDYTE. Quinton’s Supa IGA Supermarket. 1/402 Warrandyte Rd.

■ ■ ■ ■ WANDONG. Kemp’s Wandong Bakery. 372 EppingKilmore Rd.

■ ■ WANDONG. Magpie and Stump Hotel. 3313 EppingKilmore Rd.

Wednesday, December 14 Alam, Mohammad Allen, Dennis Anderson, Peter Bennett, Joshua Desmond Blight, Emily Bolitho, Fiona Clare Canobie, Duane Daniels, Mark Davis, Darren Arthur Elias, Adam Gaze, David Goschnick, Dean Gregory Goss, Joshua Raymond Gove, Charles Robert Gunes, Hasan Jarnestorm, Alfred Kincaid, Jae David Lim, Chung How Mitchell, Matthew Morrison, Neil Motamedy, Shahram Palos, Ibolya Rabie, Stephen John Siddhu, Tejendrasingh Spence, Fiona Thiyagaraja, Sajeev Timmins, Dylan Urbano, Rocco Warner, Reece James Wincer, Jaia

■ Albert Park, Nina Taylor (ALP). Ashwood, Matt Fregon (ALP). Bass: Jordan Crugnale (ALP). Bayswater, Jackson Taylor (ALP). Bellarine, Alison Marchant (ALP). Benambra, Bill Tilley (Lib.). Bendigo East, Jacinta Allan (ALP). Bendigo West, Maree Edwards (ALP). Bentleigh: Nick Staikos (ALP). Berwick: Brad Battin (Lib.). Box Hill: Paul Hamer (ALP). Brighton: James Newbury (Lib.). Broadmeadows; Kathleen Matthews-Ward (ALP). Brunswick: Tim Read (Greens). Bulleen: Matthew Gouy (Lib.). Bundoora: Colin Brooks (ALP). Carrum: Sonya Kilkenny (ALP). Caulfield: David Southwick. Clarinda: Meng Heang Tak (ALP). Cranbourne: Pauline Richards (ALP). Croydon: David Hodgett (Lib.) Dand-enong: Gabrielle Williams (ALP). Eildon: Cindy McLeish (Lib.). Eltham: Vicki Ward (ALP). Essendon: Danny Pearson (ALP). Eureka: Michaela Settle (ALP). Euroa: Annabelle Cleeland (Nats.). Evelyn: Bridget Vallence (Lib.). Footscray: Katie Hall (ALP). Frankston: Paul Edbrooke (ALP). Geelong: Christine Couzens (ALP). Gippsland East: Tim Bull (Nats.). Gippsland South: Danny O’Brien (Nats.). Glen Waverley: John Mullahy (ALP). Greenvale; Iwan Walters (ALP). Hastings: Paul Mercurio (ALP). Hawthorn, John Pesutto (Lib.). Ivanhoe, Anthony Carbines (ALP). Kalkallo, Ros Spence (ALP). Kew, Jess Wilson (Lib.). Kororoit, Luba Grigorvitch (ALP). Lara, Ella George (ALP). Laverton, Sarah Connolly (ALP). Lowan, Emma Kealy (Nats.) Mace-don, Mary-Anne Thomas (ALP). Malvern, Michael O’Brien (Lib.). Melbourne, Ellen Sandell (Greens). Melton, Steve McGhie (ALP). Mildura, Jade Beham (Nats.). Mill Park, Lily D’Ambrosio (ALP). Monbulk, Daniela De Martino (ALP). Mordialloc, Tim Richardson (ALP). Mornington, Chris Crewther (Lib.). Morwell, Martin Cameron (Nats.). Mulgrave, Daniel Andrews (ALP). Murray Plains, Peter Walsh (Nats.). Narracan, Election Failed. Narre Warren North, Belinda Wilson. Narre Warren South, Gary Maas (ALP). Nepean, Sam Groth (Lib.). Niddrie, Ben Carroll (ALP). Northcote, too close. Oakleigh, Steve Dimopoulos (ALP). Ovens Valley, Tim McCurdy (Nats.). Pakenham, too close. Pascoe Vale, Anthony Cianflone (ALP). Point Cook, Mathew Hilkari (ALP). Polwarth: Richard Riordan (Lib.). Prahran, Sam Hibbins (Greens). Preston, Nathan Lambert (ALP). Richmond, Gabrielle de Vietri (Greens). Ringwood, Will Fowles (ALP). Ripon, Martha Haylett (ALP). Rowville, Kim Wells (Lib.). Sandringham, Brad Rowswell (Lib.). Shepparton, Cheryl Hammer (Lib.). South Barwon, Darren Cheeseman (ALP). South-West Coast, Roma Britnell (Lib.). St Albans, Natalie Suleyman (ALP). Sunbury, Josh Bull (ALP). Sydenham, Natalie Hutchins (ALP). Tarneit, Dylan Wight (ALP). Thomastown, Bronwyn Halfpenny (ALP). Warrandyte, Ryan Smith (Lib.). Wendouree, Juliana Addison (ALP). Werribee, Tim Pallas (ALP). Williamstown, Melissa Horne (ALP). Yan Yean, Lauren Kathage (ALP).

Our Spy in Parliament Our in Our Spy in Parliament Our in

Our Spy in Parliament Our in Our Spy in Parliament Our in

within

First published September 14, 1969

Contact Us

Phone: 1800 231 311, 9489 2222, 9439 9927, 5797 2656, 0450 399 932

Reg. Office: 30 Glen Gully Rd, Eltham, Vic 3095 (same address for 28 years)

Mail: PO Box 1278, Research, Vic 3095

Web: www.LocalPaper.com.au www.MelbourneObserver.com.au www.LocalMedia.com.au

E-Mail: Editor@LocalPaper.com.au

Editor@MelbourneObserver.com.au

Editor@LocalMedia.com.au

Easy Contacts 24/7

Read Online: www.LocalPaper.com.au

Free Ads: www.AdvertiseFree.com.au

Subscribe Free: www.FreePaper.com,au

Rebels ‘catch up’

■ The Alexandra Football Netball Club is holding the ‘Let’s Catch Up’ program, continuing this Friday (Dec. 9) and concluding the following Friday (Dec. 16) at the cub rooms.

The ‘Let's Catch Up’ program is aimed to provide everyone with a safe, comfortable environment with an opportunity to catch up, the rooms open from 4pm to 6pm this week, next week open from 4pm to 8pm as the year is celebrated. Entry is free and everyone is welcome.

Saturday, January 14 – Alexandra Rodeo, as per previous years, the Club has been requested to supply staff to operate two bars as well as providing a food tent. Roster to go out after Christmas. If you can assist, please contact Ray Steyger on 5772 2627.

The following coach appointments have been made for the 2023season: football reserves coach Scott Ferrier has been re-appointed with senior coachNickWal already re-appointed; Under 18 football is still pending.

Junior football coachappointments are under 10 Hayden Lamaro, under 12 Ben Broadway, under 14 Rebecca Clark re-appointed, under 16 Daniel Crane and Brad Howell also reappointed.

Junior netball coaches under 11 Phoebe Mortensen and under 13 Emma Kidd both re-

Project job at Dindi

■ Murrindindi Shire Council has employed Project Manager, Matt Thomas, to support delivery of a Local Development Strategy for the communities of Marysville, Buxton, Taggerty and Alexandra.

The State Government announced $400,000 in funding under the Victorian Forestry Plan to support preparation of the Strategy.

This project will assist communities which are directly affected by the transition away from native timber harvesting to identify and develop opportunities for economic diversification.

The community-led project will support growth and job creation in established and new industries and deliver long-term economic and social benefits.

Columnists: Len Baker, Matt Bissett-Johnson, Rob Foenander, Mike McColl Jones, Peter Kemp, Aaron Rourke, Jim Sherlock, Ted Ryan, Cheryl Threadgold, Julie Houghton, Kevin Trask, Gavin Wood, John O’Keefe

Honorary Reviewers: Juliet Charles, Sherryn Danaher, Mary Downie, Peter Green, Lyn Hurst, Kathryn Keeble, Beth Klein, Graeme McCoubrie, David McLean,Maggie Morrison, Peter Murphy, Jill Page, Lyn Payne. Elizabeth Semmel

Logistics: Graeme Hawke, Susan Karolyi, Gary McQuade, Steve Andrews.

Credit Manager: Michael Conway OAM, Fast Action Debt Recovery, 0402 142 866

About Us

The Local Paper is published weekly (FebruaryChristmas) in localised editions covering 40 local government areas in and around Melbourne, the Mornington Peninsula, and periurban areas. It is available in print fortnightly at approximately 700 outlets including newsagencies, milk bars, convenience stores and petrol stations.

The Melbourne Observer is published weekly (February-Christmas). Copies are inserted free in all editions of The Local Paper. Both papers can be read online, free.

Imprint

Printed under contract by Streamline PressPty Ltd, 155 Johnston St, Fitzroy, for the publisher, Local Media Pty Ltd. ABN 67 096 680 063, of the registered office, 30 Glen Gully Rd, Eltham, Vic 3095. Responsibility for election and referendum comment is accepted by Ash Long. Copyright © 2022, Local Media Pty Ltd.

The project will identify and develop regional strengths, assets and opportunities for innovation and will see engagement

and collaboration with community, business, local industries, the education sector and government.

Initial planning has commenced, with drop-sessions planned for mid-December to provide more information about the project and answer any questions. In addition, expressions of interest are being sought from community members to join a Community Reference Group to provide input and advice, and to support the implementation of the project during its early stages.

Murrindindi Council and the Department of Jobs Precincts and Regions will be working in partnership to provide support to this locally-led project.

To learn more, visit theloop.murrindindi.vic.gov.au/ localdevelopment or contact Matt Thomas on 0436 652 129.

Ben to lead Nillumbik

SDCA results

■ A-Grade. Tallarook: Bye. Seymour 108 C Kemp 33* T Shell 3/18 J Jones 2/13 JP Bradshaw 2/26 def by Broadford 9/189(cc) MJ Collier 48 C Mason 27 D McLarty 4/38 S Bruce 2/14. Yea Tigers 57 DG O'Sullivan 5/ 10 J Sutherland 4/8def by Eastern Hill 4/58 L Halford Molinaro 3/13.

■ B-Grade. Pyalong: Bye. Eastern Hill def Marysville District. Broadford 104 J Geldart 3/6 R Andrews 3/37 def by Alexandra 7/ 106(dec) J Leary 30 AD Withers 2/15 AA Gleeson 2/19. Tallarook 9/164(cc) S Topham 53 JJ Rudge 33 C Jones 33 C Thomson 3/20 O Valladares 2/38 def Avenel 31 K Winnell 4/6 C Jones 3/1 BD Trezise 2/8.

■ C-Grade. Yea Tigers: Bye. Broadford 95 P Reynolds 2/5 M Fairweather 2/16 N Ryan 2/25 WJ Wyllie 2/28 def by Pyalong= 0/105 J Pryor 50* D Sowden 47*. Alexandra 7/94 M Mawson 42 J Byers 3/18 A Nash 2/27def Avenel 93 SS Black 29 P Subramanian 3/9 B Christie 3/23 N Hendricks 2/9. Eastern Hill 4/ 196(cc) def Seymour 45.

Yea Golf report Yea Golf report Yea Golf report Yea Golf report

Bro beats Sis on CB

First day of Gender Challenge and Michael Sheather (32) won on CB from his sister Vicki Clements (25) and third Carl Maffei (26) all with 38 points. Fourth overall was Steve Rumney (29) with 37 from fifth Ladies Club Captain Jan Wealands (30) with 36.

Neil Peterson and Jan Wealands were NTP on the 10th and the Club Award went to Michael Spagnolo. Third for the Ladies was Penny Brittain (40) with 35. The Men won the team average with 33.2 to the Ladies 27.6. There were 13 men and 10 ladies in the competition. Gender Points after Round 1 are Men 60 – Ladies 25.

Sunday saw two of the Juniors play at Woodend in a Junior Tournament. Tom White, 14 year old playing in his first tournament, came second in the handicap division. Jen Keast took Archie Armstrong, eight years old to Woodend also. He was the youngest there and really enjoyed it. Archie got NTP on the first and everyone is so proud of him.

★

Men’s Championship

Saturday saw the second of three rounds available for the Mens Championship at Yea. With the warm weather and plenty of sunshine conditions in just two weeks have changed the course into a bouncy track.

Winner of the day was Alan Pell (15) with 82 off the stick nett 67. Second was Carl Maffei (26) with a nett 68 with Rick Wills (10) third nett 70. Fourth was Brendan Chenhall (10) with nett 71 on CB from Phil Armstrong (21) fifth. Carl Maffei was NTP on the second and John Phillips won the Club Award. Rick, Alan and Carl won their respective grades.

There were 27 men and 5 ladies playing on Saturday. Judi Newman (49) won the Ladies Stableford with 43 points. Chooklotto super draw was won by Kevin Coghlan $100. Carl Maffei won the Koala cherries.

Sunday saw the final round played with 17 men contesting the day. Winner of the day was Rick Wills (9) 65 from second Martin Lowe (20) 66 with Rob O’Halloran (20) third with nett 68. Bill Dredge (21) was fourth with nett 69. There was no NTP on the 2nd and Jeff Aurisch won the Club Award. Rick, Martin and Bill won their respective grades.

At 26 years old, Cr Ramcharan is the youngest Mayor of Nillumbik.

“It’s really important to have young people in politics to represent a different side of things and to bring a different perspective and I’m really pleased to be able to do that,” Cr Ramcharan said during his first address to Council as Mayor.

“It’s an honour to be a part of this Council and to work in the interests of our community.

“I think in the first two years we have really changed the direction of the organ-isation. It hasn’t been easy and there is still a lot of work to do, but over time we have put in place plans and policies and shown what our values are.

“It’s quite clear we are a Council that cares about our Green Wedge, about bio-diversity, about action on climate change, action on waste and supporting everyone in our community from all areas in the Shire.”

Overall with the best two out of three rounds to count in the Grade Championships and the best three nett scores for the Clark Trophy, the winners were: A Grade Champion – Anthony Coleman (154), Runner-Up Rick Wills (154), Best Nett – Rick Wills (207). B Grade Champion – Alan Pell (168), Runner- Up – Neil Peterson - (177), Best Nett – Alan Pell (208). C Grade Champion – Phil Armstrong (184), Runner-Up – Bill Dredge – (186), Best Nett – Phil Armstrong(220). Clarke Trophy to Rick Wills -

Yea netball moves

■ Yea Football and Netball Club have announced the appointment of Dakota Griffiths as Head Coach for A and B Grade Netball, and Bec Kirby as Assistant Coach.

Alan Pell

■■ Sugarloaf Ward Councillor Ben Ramcharan has been elected the new Mayor of Nillumbik Shire Council

Wingrove Ward Councillor Geoff Paine was elected Deputy Mayor, at the Extraordinary Meeting of Council live-streamed to the community.

Our Newsroom Team

Cheryl Threadgold, Local Theatre

Julie Houghton, The Arts Kevin Trask, Entertainment

James Sherlock, Movies

Aaron Rourke, Film Mike McColl Jones, Comedy

Ted Ryan, Horse Racing

Len Baker, Harness Racing Gavin Wood, Stateside

Matt Bissett-Johnson, Cartoonist

Art Rob Foenander, Music Editor: Ash Long Features Editor: Peter Mac

Deputy Mayor Cr Geoff Paine with Mayor Ben Ramcharan

● ● Ray Steyger

● Matt Thomas

appointed with Kelly Golland coaching the under 15s. A grade coach NicoleHadgkiss is already re-appointed, B grade to be coached by Michelle Jack with C and D grades and under 17s pending.

- Ray Steyger

Local Sport

Results from Saturday’s local cricket

■ Premier Cricket. Men’s Premier

Firsts. Northcote 9/220(cc) J Lalor 94 JR Koduru 32 GJ Hannah 3/21 KJ Elliott 3/37 JA Prestwidge 2/55 def Melbourne 10/211 BR Thomson 55 Z Keighran 50 KJ Elliott 35 MD Topp 3/42 JC Rushton 3/43 A Crispe 2/35. Geelong 9/307(cc) HW Butterworth 98 MJ Buchanan 77 JJ McDonald 36 D Mehta 32 TC Nelson 2/48 CW Bridle 2/64 WG Walker 2/65 d ef by Camberwell Magpies 7/308 LD Fitzpatrick 91 AW Gorvin 62 BR Shields 41* JW Wiseman 40 CM Thewlis 28 JF Garner 2/ 43 HW Butterworth 2/46. Footscray 1/178 DJ Sartori 103* DJ Brasher 45 def Prahran 9/ 177(cc) L Bangs 50 DT Egan 32 K Scott 30 MC Birthisel 3/41 U Butt 2/39. Ringwood2/ 179 DD D'Silva 66* R Amin 63 TF Rogers 37 def Dandenong 5/178(cc) MN Marinic 64 BS Forsyth 40 A Newman 37 PS Patil 2/32. Melbourne University174 M Hatzoglou 54 M Domann 51 BA Rose 3/19 RT Mark 3/29 M Perry 2/31 def by Richmond7/217(cc) S Singh 54 AJ Humphries 32 Y Pednekar 28 M Perry 27 D Warren 2/28 M Stafford 2/44. Carlton 2/113 J Lemire 51* HJ Smyth 36* SG McNicholl 2/23 def Greenvale Kangaroos 110 JP Trembearth 27 TJ Smyth 3/24 CA Stevenson 2/11 XA Crone 2/13. Fitzroy Doncaster5/214 L Banthorpe 100* N Korkolis 43 DB Webb 3/54 def Casey-South Melbourne 209 LJ Sperling 60 DB Webb 30* K Smith 2/22 C Simondson 2/38 I Dhanoa 2/45. Kingston Hawthorn 9/186 JT Lewis 56 K James 5/52 JG Bartlett 2/26 def by St Kilda 5/241(cc) JG Bartlett 68* LF English 50* HT Dixon 46 RA Majoka 2/46. Essendon219 J Seymour 52 F Chowna 38 N Pottabathini 29 JA Nanopoulos 2/42 J Fowler 2/45 def by Frankston Peninsula8/247(cc) NS Taranto 100* BJ Symons 45 LP Bowe 3/54 T O’Donnell 2/54. Premier Seconds. Melbourne 9/192(cc) AD de Lange 54 HJ Demattia 53 N Pastras 30 DJ Lalor 3/36 def Northcote10/153 EJ Brandon-Jones 55 N Pereara 32 TB Wrigglesworth 5/45 JF Dwyer 2/27 CZ Howe 2/37. St Kilda 3/170 ML Stevenson 56 JF Smith 47* JA Manning 33 def Kingston Hawthorn6/166(cc) J Vincent 39* S Ivetic 30 PD Parsons 30* S Kapoor 2/34. Camberwell Magpies 212 S Challa 58 WK Mazza 35 GR McComb 33 V Huf 3/45 JA Collins 2/15 T Neate 2/27 v Geelong 4/213 O Peake 104* T Courtney 40* H Hauenstein 26 RF Jamieson 2/48. CaseySouth Melbourne 7/200 CG Diston 51 BJ White 37 AA Mehta 29 J Long 26 LJ Myott 2/19 S Kimber 2/31 def Fitzroy Doncaster 5/197(cc) M Jephcott 74* AB Sharma 55 A Adihetty 2/ 28 J Long 2/36. Richmond 6/235(cc) J D'Rozario 72 DA Scholz 53 DJ Tibballs 33 JM Barron-Toop 2/52 def Melbourne University150 AP Young 37 L Bienvenu 34 J Nightingale 32 B Fletcher 3/9 J Hesline 3/27 D Parikh 2/35. Greenvale Kangaroos9/234(cc) N Panaia 96 BR Kelly 62 N Anaan 3/38 D Sullivan 3/51 def Carlton 8/233(cc) TA Mileto 47 J Shepherd 41 I Shaikh 36 NB Markovski 2/28 WJ Dundon 2/43 H Kremer-Slevin 2/59. Frankston Peninsula6/233 NB Mann 94* RM Hammel 66 DP Deasy 3/44 def Essendon 6/229(cc) EE White 109* C Williams 53 V Wickramasinghe 31 BJ Morris 2/26. Dandenong 6/224(cc) D Gamage 96 A Athiththan 69 JM Bowen 2/42 IG Macklin 2/62 defRingwood180 TS Sugumar 87 OG Horlock 28 AB Buch 4/34 B Bhatia 2/32. Prahran7/193(cc) NP Morrey 76* TA Jackson 31 A Price 4/30 def by Footscray8/247(cc) J Doherty 69 J Pace 45 J Brett 42 A Sehrawat 28 J Boyce 3/64 NP Morrey 2/17 AI Wheeler 2/43.

Premier Thirds. Essendon 9/198(cc) v Frankston Peninsula. Kingston Hawthorn 7/ 185(cc) P Mishra 65 O Stalder 47 KH Noronha 26 JB Sugden 3/31 def by St Kilda 5/280(cc) VF Page 151* TI Salwathura 45 P Mishra 3/ 44. Ringwood 144 MJ King 32 EP Walker 26 R Adams 2/22 LJ Sheehan 2/23 J Cameron 2/ 39 C Moloney 2/40 def by Dandenong7/ 194(cc) J Singh 86 A Mohan 36 LM Antonello 27 TL Webb 3/32 ZW Gelsi 2/34. Geelong188 FJ Cozens 58 JJ Mastin 29 T Hewson 27 JT Nevett 2/23 LW Harrison 2/26 J Rigoni 2/36 BL Jowett 2/36 LF Prior 2/38 def by Camberwell Magpies 9/200(cc) DK Walker 57 T Kelly 27 J Thewlis 26 Z Attard 3/21 JJ Mastin 3/32 F

Neeson 2/28. Northcote223 A Sharma 71 M Lawson 38 TW Thompson 2/25 JM Harwood 2/36 OB Warburton 2/44 def by Melbourne4/ 241(cc) HM Pearson 119 MJ Cheesman 61 WD Waters 2/37. Carlton8/190(cc) N Walker 85* L Shinn-Mahony 33 AO Webb 3/42 MJ Netto 2/14 def by Greenvale Kangaroos5/191 M Singh 72 L Filer 46 H Jamieson 2/26 JW Beer 2/32. Melbourne University7/226(cc) AM Khan 71 H Lim 63* HS Thompson 31* NW Ritchie 28 D Mihiripenna 2/29 C Thompson 2/34 def by Richmond5/227(cc) JT Iverson 61 H Gell 48* N Cowling 44 R Martinus 38 H Sheahan 2/46. Prahran7/169 DL Malcolm 35 W Collins 33* N Munasinghe 32* L Hay 5/27 def Footscray168 A Nadeem 53 AA Nadeem 41 W Collins 4/11 LG Brown 2/23 H Birchall 2/23. Fitzroy Doncaster4/187 DJ GregoryFrancis 88* M Sacchetta 56 IC Jassal 2/40 def Casey-South Melbourne 9/184(cc) N Guinea 45 IC Jassal 42 JP Trevenen 3/39. Premier Fourths. St Kilda2/162 A Ashish 75* J Kennedy 56* def Kingston Hawthorn161 Z Arbab 52 S Pathania 26 W Arney 3/21 MA

Fricke 3/25 J McMillan 2/13. Camberwell Magpies6/194(cc) T Mariadason 102* T Farrer 35

J Baldi 2/28 def by Geelong5/195 B Craig 115

J Mallett 38* SA Greene 2/45. Casey-South Melbourne2/199(cc) C Robinson-Cay 107* MJ Walker 74* JD Wessels 2/45 v Fitzroy Doncaster9/174 RJ Sacristani 49 CL Stephens 42 L Hales 27 MR Blanch 4/26 AJ Blanch 2/ 35. Richmond197 F Di Domenico 77 T Cashman 40 A Singh 4/34 TJ Uhr-Henry 2/38 v Melbourne University8/198 HK Preiss 37* G Devpura 36 HC du Toit 36 R Epstein 29 RE Fuller 4/49 KW Rice 3/15. Greenvale Kangaroos175 M Singh 93 N Brennan 4/34 A Sriram 3/18 A Ward 2/42def by Carlton7/185(cc) JW Dean 56 KD Lucas 31 A Mann 2/24. Footscray143 H Doherty 32* M Pritchard 3/ 23 C Graham 3/40 J Rotstein 2/23 H Cummings 2/24 vPrahran7/98 FM Evans 26 G Sapukotana 4/17 J Burns 2/38. Frankston Peninsula8/161(cc) S Clark 4/28 Z Beniwal 2/25 def by Essendon9/198(cc) J Badhaan 36 K Darji 32 SA Draycott 3/18 J Parker 3/37. Melbourne4/229(cc) B Wickham 82 J Rosham 55* NJ du Toit 44 E Stock 2/39 def Northcote7/ 207(cc) B Hosemans 54 JR Shadbolt 46 LD McLean 41 CA Kellaway 3/29 J Rosham 3/ 34. Dandenong83 T Anthony 25 T Nandini 4/ 11 RC Thomson 3/25 v Ringwood5/84 U Raymond-Hoey 29* R Nangle 2/7 ■ Diamond Valley Cricket Association. Barclay Shield. Banyule 142 BA Khan 66 R Tinsley 4/43 BJ McKeown 2/14 AS Cheema 2/ 24 v Epping. Diamond Creek 213 RA Phelan 77 D Kambouris 60 T McLean 42 L Camuncoli 5/19 B O'Donnell 2/48 v North Eltham Wanderers. Macleod vRos anna 9/319(cc) S Sheehan 100 A Ali Firdouse 72 N Horsford 49 R O'Sullivan 35 I Spencer-Jones 3/63 T Wise 2/38. Research Eltham Collegians 230 E Zumbo 57 J Turner 46 J Ward 25 N Martin 4/72 v Riverside 0/13. Heidelberg 236 J Whitcher 76 L Biggs 32 Z Pett 31 P Cashen 30 R Dilshan 4/38 DD Wickramarathna 3/40 v Rosebank

Money Shield. Lower Eltham 8/249(cc) C Clayton 153* J Kulikowski 4/111 S Farmer 3/ 57 v Montmorency. Bundoora United 3/18 v Eltham 177 M Chrimes 46 S Sceney 40 L Wilson 35 RM Gaylard 4/45 L Solar 3/29 A Joshi 2/26. Plenty 0/13 v Bundoora Park 158 KJ Doddato 65 T Herath 44 TK Rajarathna 4/ 39 S Cullen 2/5. Lalor Stars 3/29 v Bundoora 118 PT Singh 53 JJ Nixon 8/52 P Taylor 2/21. Mernda 5/42 BE Lawrenson 3/16 v Laurimar 162 J Zerella 57 JG McAleer 27 AJ Wiseman 2/16 A Mitris 2/18 L Taylor 2/26.

Mash Shield. Panton Hill v Greensborough 6/331(cc) JD Berthet 115* UJ Ranasingha 78 MJ Cheung 45 J Barton 2/70. Hurstbridge 221 T Sanjeewa 54 S Joynson 36 A Caldera 3/28 AC Horner 3/49 HP Jenkins 3/50 v Lower Plenty. Thomastown 8/278(dec) M Di Battista 99 N Somerville 76 O Stoneham 2/48 J Sandford 2/63 v Thomastown United 3/11 S Malalgodapitiya 2/7. Mill Park 129 T Wellington 47 TK Groom 31 N Tsimiklis 3/19 KD Premakumara 3/34 v South Morang 2/56 C Cannata 27* B-Grade. Rosanna 173 S Ryan 68 MW Jackson 30 AF Clarke 25 J Abbas 6/44 v

Lalor Stars 2/72 A Hipkiss 41* AF Clarke 2/ 11. North Eltham Wanderers 1/8 v Diamond Creek 185 L Dwyer 61 J Schaerer 27 NJ Farren-Price 25* C Lyall 5/36 R O'Donnell 2/ 42. Epping 142 P Ratnakumar 57 JA Neilson 6/33 CM Ataryniw 2/42 v Banyule. Montmorency 166 J Harrison 57* CS Bedi 5/27 P Hannah 4/25 v Heidelberg 3/18 JH Andrew 2/ 14. Riverside 8/263(cc) S Money 95 SJ Veal 67 M Zealley 3/78 BJ Giarrusso 2/28 v Bundoora United.

C-Grade. Eltham v Research Eltham Collegians 9/303 D Tobias 76 E McCormack 72 J Gallo 26 C MacDonald 25 B Pilgrim 4/64. Laurimar v Mernda 9/290(cc) D Taylor 100* D Mercuri 59 L Gooch 27 JD Hodgskiss 3/32 CH Lawrenson 3/56 H Boland 2/58. Lower Plenty 8/345(dec) JP Carlyon 115 T Smith 91 ST Staples 53 BJ Lawton 3/35 BM Sier 2/16 JN Wilson 2/67 v Banyule 2/42. Riverside 0/ 24 v Lower Eltham 117 L Morgan 3/11 B Lewis 3/31 N Gleeson 2/24 N Hoobin 2/26. Bundoora v Macleod 163 T Poulsen 54 V Sindhu 6/32 C Jones 3/44.

D-Grade. Bundoora Park 87 A Peters 25 D Cocking 4/19 J Gavin 2/1 A Welsh 2/7 v Plenty. Montmorency v Mill Park 8/239(cc) B Van Driel 85 C Walsh-Queay 51* G Stewart 25 S Woodhouse 3/41. Greensborough 1/52 JL Marenos 25* vDiamond Creek 150 HW Connell 38 JM Stephen 31 T Boland 28 T Perera 5/31 A Choudhary 2/27. Rosebank 5/ 270(cc) S Reid 67 J Carelli 54 J Alonso 51* L Pappas 39 M Browne 25 M Ward 3/61 v Hurstbridge. North Eltham Wanderers 135 D Morter 36 S Knight 36 J Cugnetto 2/14 S John 2/17 C Mamidanna 2/24 L Cope 2/27 v Thomastown 1/23.

E-Grade. Greensborough 223 CO Fernando 62 T Gunatilake 36 K Goonatillake 28 C O'Connor 2/43 M Guthrie 2/47 v Panton Hill. Riverside 9/369(cc) A Nolan 139 TG Money 128 v Bundoora. South Morang 1/61 N Hettiarachchi 34*v Mernda 78 T Luke 3/5 S Nagasanthakumaran 3/24 E Elango 2/1. Thomastown United 0/8 v Whittlesea 149 RJ Pratt 81 A Jhanji 3/22 RG Patterson 2/22 GS Mahal 2/23.

F1-Grade. Lower Plenty 0/4 v Lalor Stars 183 A Joshi 62 M Atmaca 42 JA Griffin 26 NM McGinty 4/42 H Leeds 2/35. Banyule 8/ 86(cc) B Smith 5/32 N Spokes 2/16 v Rosanna. Epping 7/239(cc) A Gupta 70 T Harrower 56 B Matharu 26* C Skiba 2/40 J Ramsay 2/50 C Bragg 2/53v Riverside. Heidelberg 0/5 vBundoora United 184 M Williams 51 R Singh 48 HC Yeats 33 C Mulvey 3/43 M Folliard 2/4 S Pratt 2/9 T Marshall 2/ 43.

F2-Grade. Research Eltham Collegians 6/ 341(cc) W Askwith 99 N Kilby 80 B Jones 44 M Gilbert 26 E Bennett 2/40 v Montmorency. Laurimar v Plenty 6/271(cc) M Tino 91 J FitzGerald 51 KA Ziedaitis 49. Diamond Creek v South Morang 233 K Shah 67 AA Huybers 44* S Rajathevan 38 MP Trainor 7/51. Eltham def Mill Park.

F3-Grade. Macleod 120 S Horn 3/12 A Dodd 2/14 J Rowe 2/48 v Research Eltham Collegians 2/52 D Ellis 32. Bundoora Park 82 M McMaster-Smith 4/15 O Doyle 2/8 v Riverside 7/59. Thomastown United def byDiamond Creek. Rosanna 2/72 Ha Almatrah 43* v Laurimar 9/171(dec) S Whitehead 38 MM Bonadio 37 V Sirikonda 30 Ha Almatrah 5/ 33 J Black 2/31.

F4-Grade. Research Eltham Collegians def by Greensborough. North Eltham Wanderers 172 HI Reid 4/18 JD Mechkaroff 2/33 T Liliyanarachchi 2/38 v Lower Plenty 2/31. South Morang 1/73 M Kay 27 v Bundoora 70 M Devedi 3/15 T Lafford 2/16. Mernda def Hurstbridge.

G1-Grade. Rosebank 6/97(cc) M Cristofoli 40 N Allsop 2/15def by Lower Eltham 7/100 L Pearson 35 J Gilhooley 25 A Wilcox 4/20. Laurimar drew Bundoora Park. Montmorency 168 M Eason 43 L Francis 25 J Muggivan 3/ 24 J Kawhe 2/19 EL Frawley 2/26 def Mernda 79 S Thrower 29 R Watts 5/16 M Siede 3/24 R Plant 2/16. Bundoora def Panton Hill.

G2-Grade. Banyule 6/105(cc) MM Schoen 52* C Webb 2/19 def by Bundoora United 5/ 109 C Sharkey 41 B Gaff 27 MM Schoen 2/

17. North Eltham Wanderers 93 S Tennekoon 28* CD Drake 3/1 D Hoobin 2/4 C Cavanagh 2/5 def by Riverside 5/95 H Dhillon 42 S Tennekoon 2/2. homastown 88 D Fowles 4/2 A Burich 2/2 def by Plenty 8/90(cc) PJ Stewart 2/18. South Morang 5/158 P Narendranathan 34* S Uruththiran 32 def by Laurimar 7/247(cc)

B Demicoli 52* E Keena 52* B Meehan 39 H Rodda 38 JF Heron 36* A Abbas 2/42 N Pal 2/45

■ North Metro Cricket Association. Jika Shield. Reservoir Cobras 6/141(cc) G Saini 3/17 S Sharma 2/15 def byNorthern Socials 5/145 A Sharma 64 G Saini 26*. Preston Baseballers 9/263(cc) D Castrucci 70 M Sortino 63 J Walker 50 A Boughton 40 S Shanley 3/ 15 J Hollaway 3/58 L Boreham 2/45def Old Ivanhoe 130 JB Wellington 35 J Walker 5/22

I Brincat 2/14 TE Volitakis 2/28. Donath 111 J Hopkins 27 D Tatarskyj 27* M Perri 4/8 J Bannister 3/20 C Murray 2/12 def by Rivergum 6/205(cc) N Fowler 67 J Bannister 50* D Sedgwick 3/38. Keon Park 123 P Capaldo 39 AS Jamal 32 def by Holy Trinity 8/186 R Torre 3/36 B Barker 2/26.

Jack Quick Shield. Fiji Victorian 60 def by Darebin Northern Riders 3/62. Cameron 131 J Annetta 34 def by Fairfield 6/132 S Oliver 3/36 A Shortis 2/22. Camrea 5/215(cc) A Fernando 55 BR Dawson 42 RJ Marshuk 37* def Dennis 162 RJ Marshuk 3/21 S Devinda 3/34 B Waligamage 3/40. Lalor Warriors 1/ 127 C Burns 53* S Suri 44* def Preston Footballers 126 S Suri 4/24 BH Gorski 3/32 M Soufi 2/16.

Jack Kelly Shield. Holy Trinity 2nd XI 161 J Papadopoulos 45 B Rickard ACC 29* AM Tariq 3/22 B Ganesan 2/20 M Attri 2/34 def by West Preston 8/222(cc) AC Richards 94 B Maplestone 3/34 S Goodwin 2/37. Heidelberg West 6/168 JP Perko 49 BM Brown 37 KH McCarry 29 K Bibby 2/40def Preston Baseballers 2nd XI 166 C Gillett 31 K Mercer 2/15 B McDonald 2/17 B Byrne 2/38.

Strathewen 255 GD Peiris 70 T Liddicutt 54 T Bennett 37 MJ Howes 26 JT Lynch 3/72 B Stanley 2/28 def Olympic Colts 77 K Massey 37 LT Howes 4/23 M Jones 3/20 T Liddicutt 2/ 16. Rivergum 2nd XI 9/118(cc) PM Unkles 25* S Katikitala 3/31 SP Krishna 2/16 T Lingala 2/ 21 def by Bellfield 3/123 SG Gouni 47 H kavati 43* J Ramadge 2/17.

John Adams Shield - B-Grade. Old Ivanhoe 2nd XI 9/168 D Peacock 35 D Steans 27 T Rasdell 27 D Rathnasiri 3/23 R Fernando 2/ 28 def by Strathewen 2nd XI 5/179(cc) R Fernando 39* S Wijethunga 30. Ivanhoe Mavericks vReservoir Cobras 2nd XI. Dennis 2nd XI v Camrea 2nd XI. Preston Himalayan 153 S Bosnet 28 K Galvin-king 3/17 J Mooney 2/24 S Galvin-King 2/41 def by Preston YCW District 9/158(cc) K Galvin-king 67 KR Pant 3/ 20 n Bhatta 2/24 A Kharel 2/37.

Les Horne Shield - C-Grade. Cameron 2nd XI: Bye. West Preston 2nd XI 6/170 P Kumar 84* S Subramanain 29 def Donath 2nd XI 169 N Subeerkumar 4/24 S Sherani 3/ 23. Rivergum 3rd XI 8/205(cc) A Hopgood 54 C Spaliaras 41 SS Baker 2/27 R McKernan 2/ 51 def by Keon Park 2nd XI 8/206(cc) C Axon 79 S McCleish 59 P Ellis 3/31 D Holmes 2/

33 Meadowglen Reserve. Northern Socials 2nd XI v Fiji Victorian 2nd XI.

Bob Herman Shield - D-Grade. Fairfield 2nd XI 8/181(cc) W Duson 4/28 M Cutler 2/ 18 def by Lalor Warriors 2nd XI 1/184 S Pati 73* AJ Salmon 64*. Darebin Northern Riders 2nd XI 147 P Singh 39 S Sagar Rana 33 R Batra 28def Royal Park Reds 9/112 P Singh 2/14. Preston Footballers 2nd XI def by Holy Trinity 3rd XI.

Les Kemp Shield - E-Grade. Fiji Victorian 3rd XI 7/148(cc) def Dennis 3rd XI 144 . Reservoir Cobras 3rd XI 1/53 H Shukla 31 def Preston Baseballers 3rd XI 48 R Kondru 2/14. Bellfield 2nd XI 8/187(cc) def West Preston 3rd XI 137. Holy Trinity 4th XI 4/214(cc) C Cimoli 70 DJ Wright 55 J Philpott 30 P Stavropoulos 2/22 J Schwartz 2/36 def Old Ivanhoe 3rd XI 139 B Downes 58 P Stavropoulos 29 D Poppleton 27 J Philpott 4/ 5 S Achison 2/21 H Atkins 2/25 I Bartley 2/30

Local Sport Scores from weekend fixtures

■ Eastern Cricket Association. Dunstan Shield. Old Carey and 155 DC Clarke 27 T Merry 25 M De Silva 3/35 JK Donnellan 2/22 TJ Rush 2/29 v Marcellin OC 9/184(cc) D Senevirathna 38 DJ Kiely 32 CR Stewart 30 DC Clarke 3/35 D Kearsley 2/17 S Morarty 2/ 23. Glen Iris 73 def by Mont Albert 3/74. North Balwyn and 4/201 C Sanders 54* L Macciocca 53* N Patel 25* v Bulleen 4/200(cc) SF Guruge 54 T Nimesh 52 J King 42* J Binney 2/46 and 0/0(dec). East Doncaster 6/197(cc) MJ Bremner 75 D Sayer 40 M Chappell 25 A Martin 2/13 CA Moore 2/26 def Canterbury 8/ 196(cc) L King 33 JW Carey 31 R Jones 4/36 D Sayer 2/20.

Wright Shield. Mazenod OC 218 T Burton 73 T Raymond 67 D Lawrence 3/21 JW Cairns 2/27 H Nirmal 2/33 R Ekanayake 2/48 and 0/ 0(dec) vHeathmont and 4/220 TJ Wynne 103* R Ekanayake 37 LJ Grierson 33 R Haydon 3/33. Mulgrave 7/224 DC Berman 73 S Dushantha 67 RE Ryan 3/37 JR McAleese 2/20 defHawthorn 8/223(cc) L Hutchinson 85 RE Ryan 40 SC Caulfield 32 S Dushantha 4/ 33 MR Dean 2/35. St Kevins OC 200 PL Gheller 89 TA Martin 29 A Napier 3/31 P Boyce 2/28 J Tuffin 2/34 N Critchlow 2/36 def Surrey Hills 106 MJ O'Donoghue 30 EP Bourke 3/14 U Indrasiri 3/21 R McDonald 2/13 TS Vanderslik 2/19. Deepdene Bears 106 B Kulasena 3/36 A Ellis 2/10 T De Soy 2/13 C Barr 2/22 def by Ashburton Willows 178. A Turf. Burwood 172 J Wilson 47 B Samarakkody 47 D Jones 4/35 L Jones 3/39 J Speer 2/26 def by East Malvern Tooronga 6/ 173 A Wheatley 60 B Hewitt 43* J Wilson 2/ 24 JJ Miller 2/38 H Mounas 2/43. Ashwood 7/139(cc) TJ Williams 36* T Shepherd 28 def by Boronia 4/209(cc). Richmond City 2/139 def La Trobe University 136. Mont Albert 139 def by Edinburgh 9/140. B Turf. Canterbury 157 H Crothers 72 C Oldroyd 28 W Khan 5/28 J Collopy 2/36 def by Balwyn Saints 7/160(cc) OM Watts 48 W Khan 48 MW Steinschulte 31 S Townsend 3/ 21 AE Hume 2/28. Richmond Union 9/207(cc) TJ Watson 82 C Farley 32 J McLisky 3/29 def Burwood 7/185 A Kenny 50* JH Stacey 45 O Lund 34 H Cullinan 33 D Kenton 2/21 S Musgrove 2/24. Heathmont 6/174 J Moore 59 L Tie 44 Z Dent 39* K Maheshwaran 3/29 def North Balwyn 8/172(cc) J Syslo 56 J Demos 51 B Scholtz 3/24 J Taylor 3/38. Marcellin OC 8/174(cc) J Kazalac 53 D Patel 47 M Knox 2/22 DJ Smith 2/33 def by Old Carey Cricket Club 5/176 D Bulner 50 J Sharrock 36 N Valentine 32* JM Devine 30 D Zachariah 2/24.

C Turf. East Malvern Tooronga 154 MP Nelson 45 T Fish 33 TO Murphy 29 D Rallage 3/17 M Paterson 3/41 def by Deepdene Bears 6/166(cc) H Morris 58 D Sturgess 47 B Hudson 38* D Simon 3/9 A Bharti 2/38. Bulleen 121 M Evenden 34 A Trifilo 2/8 L Hall 2/9 J Seagrave 2/11 SJ Antidormi 2/28 def by Mazenod OC 1/124 M Hancock 56* RA Braganza 32* B Raymond 30. Hawthorn 9/ 203(cc) TN Karunarathne 94 M Phyland 35 ND Imbulana 3/23 DM Greedy 3/25 def Mont Albert 53 CW Der 4/30 A Chauhan 3/7 D Dewage 3/8. Boronia 4/185(cc) E Ward 58 J Smith 47 B Wood 43* def by East Doncaster 6/187 Z Schmidtke 2/30 E Ward 2/32.

D Turf. Ashburton Willows 172 A Rixon 4/ 40 BA De Koning 3/14 W Trewella 2/17 def by Glen Iris 4/213(cc) M Ciardulli 96* BA De Koning 51 L Tong 2/26. La Trobe University 176 def by Mulgrave 9/230(cc). Surrey Hills 9/167(cc) R Kumar 36 J Aanensen 3/28 LD Clancey 2/36 def by St Kevins OC 1/170 J MacKinnon 80* A Fernon 75*. Edinburgh 7/ 209(cc) T Thexton 65 J Fear 59* F Cleary 29 def Old Carey 161 D Wolters 39 I Ahmad 36 CB Angus 33 CJ French 4/33 D DePassey 3/ 26.

E Turf. Deepdene Bears 7/154(cc) def by Richmond Union 4/222(cc). Edinburgh 136 def by Ashwood 7/183(cc). Balwyn Saints 79 S Rodgers 34 H Wallis 3/9 J Yendall 3/17 A Jones 2/11 def byRichmond City 5/252(cc) PA Howe 81 C Lovell 47 J Abooj 30 MJ Murphy 2/49. Hawthorn 175 RI De Silva 39 N Taneja 29 def by East Malvern Tooronga 5/ 178 S Montadka Karunakara 2/12 O Slinn 2/35.

F Turf. Mazenod OC: Bye. Richmond City 6/158 H Ferns 2/27 def Surrey Hills 155 U Kapadia 48 N Taneja 34 BI Grant 28 . Heathmont def La Trobe University. Bulleen def Hawthorn.

G Turf. Mont Albert 120 def by Deepdene Bears 165. East Malvern Tooronga 7/151(cc) M Sargeant 54 R Singh 49 JD D'Alberto 3/30 1/64 M Sargeant 54 R Singh 49 JD D'Alberto 3/30 def by Heathmont 5/201(cc) J Matthews 99* S Cosham 27 I Mumford 25. Surrey Hills 107 D D'Alessandro 31 def by St Kevins OC 7/208(cc) F Kinsella 2/11 D Patel 2/38.

■ Mornington Peninsula Cricket Association. Provincial Firsts. Long Island 7/ 162 A Mckenna 49 T Boxell 35 J Dowling 25* D Jackson 5/17 def Pines 159 N Christides 36 H Peace-Stirling 32 J Warris 26 U Van Duyker 3/34 MM Shimell 2/16 JW Andersen 2/40. Sorrento 9/231(cc) R Musgrave 82* C Harris 65 M Bench 28 G Collett 7/74 def Red Hill 10/209 A Browne 113 G Collett 25 L Janssen 4/48 JG Wood 3/61. Baden Powell 6/260 T Kellerman 83 R Elmi 37 L Long 32 CT Entwistle 32 D Fernando 2/29 C Sattambi 2/49 def Baxter 194 D Warwick 64 D Fernando 43 T Johnston 39 L Long 3/27 BL Frith 2/25 CT Entwistle 2/47. Old Peninsula 8/318(cc) JS Grant 101 D O'Malley 82 T La Brooy 52 JB Curtis 28 MJ Prosser 4/68 D Campbell 2/101 def Langwarrin 95 IA Cockbain 34 J La Brooy 4/15 A Gailitis 3/22 J Dent 2/22.

Peninsula Firsts. Seaford Tigers 154 LS Kranzbuhler 41 BJ Roscoe 32 MC Gardner 25 TA Baron 6/81 R Opatha 2/14 RS Kodithuwakku 2/26 and 0/2 def Mt Eliza 149 R Opatha 32 TA Baron 29* S Glenn 25 RS Kodithuwakku 25 LS Kranzbuhler 3/54 M Carroll 3/57. Heatherhill 0/232 N Cassano 116* M Bishop 107* def Flinders 197 B Hogan-Keogh 110* M Henderson 40 A Hussain 7/44 (inc hat-trick) J Theobald 2/45. Moorooduc 9/236(cc) M Perera 140* M Whincup 33 S Premathilake 28 D Irving 4/47 W Symes 2/47 J Voelkl 2/68 def Dromana 161 A Ciavarella 49 D Irving 34 K Ekanayake 26 S Premathilake 6/45. Somerville 310 C Sharpe 88 B McDonald 81 J Barbour 61 M Davie 31 W Hall 4/63 Z Garnet 3/34 CH Moon 2/67 def Mornington 199 S Hockey 95 JP Small 30 MT Goddard 29. District Firsts. Delacombe Park 9/ 245(cc) J Guthrie 74 B Walker 68 N Hammel 54 G Barclay 4/65 E Andrew 2/20 B Davidson 2/58 defCrib Point 153 B Davidson 40 E Carter 27 F Walker 5/43 D Streker 3/37 B BradleyBridge 2/31. Main Ridge v Rosebud. Hastings 112 S Hewitt 43 J Watters 5/20 R Lynch 3/ 25 L Imlach 2/23def by Carrum Downs 145 L Broomhall 37* M O'Driscoll 30 T Finn 3/29 S Hewitt 2/5 J Rumbold 2/11. Seaford 10/ 275 D Pageni 80 AR Bardwell 57 M Anderson 28 def by Carrum 279 S Foster 111 J D'Atri 92 A Smith 4/58 JM Bardwell 3/62. Sub-District Firsts. Ballam Park 136 D Cross 33 Z Clements 29* WR Palleguruge 4/ 30 JB Blades 2/10 def by Rye 243 WR Palleguruge 72 L Ryan 46 JB Blades 29 t barnes 25 W Borthwick 4/54 T Baron 3/68 and 3/58(cc) T Barnes 29* E Hughes 2/8. Balnarring 7/185 M Walles 53 J Hannah 28 J Greenwood 4/53 L Greenwood 2/5 v Frankston YCW 168 D Salvato 73 D Warmbrunn 3/7 B Taylor 2/44 P Nickeas 2/54. Boneo 148 J Beale 48 C Williams 25 C Taylor 3/19 LF Hose 3/47 def by Tyabb 227 ZD Colvin 48 M Chathuranga 48 PW Nelson 41 ST Holland-Burch 39 C Williams 4/40 S Garner 2/38 J Peet 2/63. Mt Martha 162 M Darville 42 S Ullah 5/41 v Skye 5/32 T Walker 3/23. Pearcedale 47 and 2/11 v Tootgarook 8/147(dec). Provincial Seconds. Baxter 0/35 v Baden Powell 215 J Harrison 64 J Gill 48 J Clark 4/ 28 S Dignan 3/20. Langwarrin 152 T Porter 93 G Prendergast 3/36 BA Payze 3/55 W Forrest 2/6 def byOld Peninsula 9/286(cc) Z Bauer 73 B Lawler 64 BA Payze 35 T Shayler 33* G Prendergast 25 B Poole 3/30 T Porter 3/94. Pines 6/138 C Bartczak 33 JJ Jewiss 30 def Long Island 137 P Hartle 33 J Paxton 25 JJ Jewiss 3/21 J Mason 2/17 J Wilcox 2/40. Red Hill 103 R Di Gregorio 27* MR Bell 25 def by Sorrento 180 MF Walker 84 ZW Wood 26 R Hewitt 4/29 J Hannemann 2/17. Peninsula Seconds. Mornin g ton 5 /

203(cc) AM Gapes 75 S Godkin 57 SJ Green 2/31 and 3/88 defSomerville 109. Flinders 207 C Burgess 53 S Beggs 40 M Mail 28 L Glennie 4/76 T Brown 2/32def Heatherhill 172 JD De-Gregorio 61 B Albert 38 M Burns 3/21 D Field 2/36 M Mail 2/42. Dromana 4/ 182(cc) AD Hunt 72 def byMoorooduc 6/186 M Douch 43 B McCleary 36 N Williams 32. Mt Eliza 141 R Higgins 30* T Threlfall 3/21 L O'Halloran 3/24 JC McIndoe 2/4 v Seaford Tigers 130 LV Chevalier 35 A Cleary 3/26 R Higgins 3/31 O Rivett 2/19 and 2/48. District Seconds. Carrum Downs 170 B Imlach 50 M Wenke 49 C Rice 5/31 J Brand 2/30 RA Regan 2/37 and 0/6(dec) def Hastings 116 RA Regan 35 C Barnes 25 S Din 4/32 D Ponrasa 3/28 H Saigal 2/20. Crib Point 220 C Richmond 100 J Carroll 3/13 S Ruddock 3/ 24 S Blight 2/40 def Delacombe Park 126 S Blight 32 C Richmond 2/13. Rosebud 133 S McWilliams 4/11 J Porter 2/21 def by Main Ridge 7/293(cc) T Barker 128* J Banks 36 S McWilliams 31 M Holmes 28 J Porter 27* O Craig 4/31. Carrum 6/185 A Jones 3/43 def by Seaford 8/369(cc) N Earnshaw 156 C Robinson Jnr 38 J Virgona 31 J Knight 27 A Flakemore 3/32 A Hollingsworth 2/36. Sub-District Seconds. Tyabb 3/184(cc) JR Whitehouse 105* HW Capes 26* L Forde 2/43 defBoneo 159 Z Hewitt 40 P Watson 29 D Smith 27 HW Capes 5/40 JR Whitehouse 2/27. Frankston YCW 71 L Hutchinson 31 C Price 5/30 A Shepherd 4/23 v Balnarring 89 B Fillis 4/22 A Winter 3/33 and 3/69 X Warmbrunn 25* P Filippone 2/11. Rye 52 C Hurford 6/28 D Lefebvre 4/15 and 157 C Wijesekera 42 A Hitchiner 42 B Jones 5/36 S Varvaruc 3/33 D Lefebvre 2/43 def by Ballam Park 148 B Jones 39* and 7/53(cc). Skye 8/ 250(cc) P Higgins 55* N Ahmad 35 N Phillips 33 J McCredden 2/22 J Millington 2/41 v Mt Martha. Tootgarook def Pearcedale. ■ South East Cricket Association. Longmuir Shield. Kingston Heath 1 105 SG Perumpuli 41 H Perera 31 H Munnings 3/ 0 B Gunawardena 2/23 TJ Edwards 2/38 T Malan 2/44 def by East Sandringham 1 3/315(cc) J Munnings 123 C Diggle 69 G Murphy 48 M Harris 33* M Blunden 32* M Fountain 2/79. Brighton Union 1 0/75(dec) DK Pulukkuttiarachchi 42* AM Malhotra 28*def CHAG 1 74 S Kat 32* S Gara 4/25 A Furphy 3/17 WS Dilranga 2/14 and 4/158 WS Dilranga 2/43. Le Page Park 1 149 SW McConchie 28 TR Gramaconi 27* T Bedi 5/ 39 J Murphy 2/7 def by Elwood 1 225 L Harris 62 M McNaughton 36 SA Clark 35 PL Mentiplay 3/18 TR Gramaconi 3/61. West Bentleigh 1 250 C Pap 98* L Healy 34 J Morgan 28 A Poll 25 B De Alwis 4/73 M Silva 3/ 63 def Bentleigh Uniting 1 215 B De Alwis 70 M Silva 66 R Drummond 29 J Murphy 6/59.

Woolnough Shield. Omega 1 5/312(cc) G Beckett 121* KA O'Toole 115 OJ Feakes 26 GA Gallagher 2/91 v Carnegie South 1 9/ 198(cc) JP McMahon 39 T Cameron 34 OJ Feakes 3/37 L Nunn 2/23 BJ Pedder 2/32. Cluden 1 62 A Tyrone 5/20 E Ekanayake 2/12 and 56 SD Udagedara 7/13 A Tyrone 2/27 def by Bentleigh ANA 1 1/128(dec) TK Scott 65* T Bishop 52*. Mackie 1 3/138 B Park 44* def Cheltenham Park 1 136 A Weiss 72* M Hargood 29 J Barker 6/41. Hampton United 1 156 OR Gunning 27 A Woolston 25 M Oaten 6/76 G Slaughter 3/32 def by Washington Park 1 6/158 R Heywood 37 N Khor 33 JM Cusack 30 T Wallace 2/1 G Fry 2/32.

Quiney Shield. Bentleigh Uniting 2 308 P Manakis 61 C Manakis 47 R Wilson 39 C Duke 29 M DeBono 28 k Fuller 27 J Wilson 4/61 A Vanek 2/39 A D'Amico 2/82 def by Omega 2 5/313(cc) J Hampson 73 B Atholwood 64 W Henricus 50* A Vanek 49 HJ Wardlaw 31 B Hibbert 29 A Swann 2/63. Elwood 2 49 M Knight 3/24 J Glazier 2/7 L O'Meara 2/8 O Bolt 2/9 and 7/148 L Baillie 69 B Peace 3/2 def by Le Page Park 2 167 O Bolt 37 SA Shah 29 M Bayer 4/37 A Gill 2/8. Washington Park 2 173 B Middleton 54 F O'Donnell 35 S Boyle 5/27 C Wilkinson 3/23 J Wilkinson 2/72 def by Hampton Central 1 192 N Fallon 70 J Campion 34 C Amoore 34 F O'Donnell 3/27 J Cleary 3/59 A O'Donnell 2/18. East Sandringham 2 224 def byKingston Heath 2 230 S Burke 142 HJ Ryan 2/21.

ARIES: (March 21- April 20)

Lucky Colour: Yellow

Lucky Day: Tuesday Racing Numbers: 2.4.5.6.

Lotto Numbers: 2.14.34.42.22.1. This could be a very emotional period so take care that you do not upset others or yourself unnecessarily. Some luck in your romantic department and special news coming your way.

TAURUS: (April 21- May 20)

Lucky Colour: Blue

Lucky Day: Wednesday Racing Numbers: 8.9.5.6. Lotto Numbers: 8.9.34.42.33.5.

There is a possibility to earn extra money during this period and you could have a plan for your next holiday in mind already, try to get your loved ones interested in it also.

GEMINI: (May 21- June 21)

Lucky Colour: Cream Lucky Day: Thursday Racing Numbers: 7,8,9,3, Lotto Numbers: 1,14,23,34,45,22, Some major moves coming up in your career and you could be required to take on more responsibility. But first its time to have some fun and enjoy life to its fullest.

CANCER: (June 22- July 22)

Lucky Colour: Violet Lucky Day: Tuesday Racing Numbers: 7,9,2,4, Lotto Numbers: 1,15,23,34,41,22, It is time to get back to work seriously and start getting your ideas into practice. If you are planning a holiday make sure you have the means to do it.

LEO: (July 23- August 22)

Lucky Colour: Brown

Lucky Day: Sunday Racing Numbers: 1,4,2,1 Lotto Numbers: 1,12,23,34,37,45, This could be a demanding period. Your special skills of communication are needed. Try not to over do the travelling if you can help it, give yourself a break now and then.

VIRGO: (August 23- September 23)

Lucky Colour: Orange

Lucky Day: Monday Racing Numbers: 5,7,6,2, Lotto Numbers: 1,16,26,39,41,3, You could be lucky in financial matters this period and someone will pay you what they owe you. In your love affairs things should be getting a lot hotter and more fun on the run.

LIBRA: (September 24- October 23)

Lucky Colour: Silver

Lucky Day: Monday Racing Numbers: 2,6,7,9, Lotto Numbers: 1,6,23,37,7,22, Now is a very busy period in which you find yourself coming and going. There is a surprise contact from the past. Lots of problems, but you will find the solutions.

SCORPIO: (October 24- November 22)

Lucky Colour: Lemon Lucky Day: Saturday Racing Numbers: 7,9,2,4, Lotto Numbers: 1,6,23,38,36,30, There is contact from old friends or past loves is indicated. There is the danger of a jealous outburst creating more problems if you let it happen.

SAGITTARIUS: (November 23- December 20)

Lucky Colour: Cream

Lucky Day: Friday Racing Numbers: 1,4,1,7, Lotto Numbers: 1,17,23,38,36,5, Money matters will be more on your mind than usual. Most will be able to cope with many surprises. These are usually pleasant ones. Something you left unfinished should be completed before starting anything new.

CAPRICORN: (December 21- January 19)

Lucky Colour: Green Lucky Day: Thursday Racing Numbers: 5,7,9,3, Lotto Numbers: 1,4,23,28,33,3, Better financial arrangements are indicated and a very good business or career opportunity is about to cross your path. A wish could be granted.

AQUARIUS: (January 20- February 19)

Lucky Colour: Apricot

Lucky Day: Friday Racing Numbers: 4,7,8,9, Lotto Numbers: 1,16,23,35,45,11, Friendships and love affairs bring many surprises, expect the unexpected. Social scene is hectic and there will be many opportunities to spend time with friends and work mates.

PISCES: (February 20- March 20)

Lucky Colour: Fawn

Lucky Day: Wednesday Racing Numbers: 4,7,2,4, Lotto Numbers: 1,16,23,36,41,9, Do not feel that ant chance remark is aimed at you and is aimed to hurt. It is unwise to gossip or to repeat any gossip. There could be a few changes to your travel plans.

Wednesday, December 7, 2022

This is the final issue of the Melbourne Observer for 2022. Our first issue for 2023 is scheduled for February 8.

■ One of Australia’s leading male performers, and the original Raoul in the Australian premiere production of The Phantom of the Opera, Dale Burridge, returns to the stage with a funny, moving, heartfelt exploration of the highs and lows of a life spent on, and off, the stage.

At the Crossroads will be performed at Chapel Off Chapel at5 8pm on Thursday and Friday, December 8 and 9.

This deeply personal and intimate piece covers wild adventures, bullying, sexuality, ageism, depression, backstage stories and, of course, COVID

Above all, it’s a tale of survival and an exploration of the many twists and turns of a life spent across many fields in showbiz.

“We had so much fun putting this show together” said creator and star Dale Burridge. “I can’t believe some of the situations I got myself into and now it’s all in the show for everyone to see.”

Co-written by Dale Burridge and Martin Crewes and directed by Martin Crewes. Musical Director – Bev Kennedy

Dale is backed by Bev Kennedy on piano and Mark Szeto on Double Bass.

Tickets are available from www.chapeloffchapel.com.au For further information – www.atthecrossroads.com.au

A Simple Act of Kindness

■ There is a maniacal absurdity to Ross Mueller’s new play, A Simple Act of Kindness.

In order to secure a toe hold in the property market, Sophia (Lou Wall) convinces her father, Tony (Joe Petruzzi) that she is engaged to Greg (Khisraw Jones- Shukoor) who is actually a gay artist, before telling her mother, Julie (Sarah Sutherland) who happens to be contemplating standing for local government.

Whilst the gay partner deceit is almost conventional, what happens next takes this play to another level.

The house has concrete cancer beautifully depicted by a growing crevasse in the living room of the compact apartment (Jacob Battista and Sophie Woodward) jeopardising the investment which is further compounded by Tony losing his job forcing the parents to share the newly acquired accommodation which is made all the more difficult by COVID restrictions locking everyone down together.

Mueller has crafted this work brilliantly. There is a suggestion of traditional farce that has been reinvented for the current day. The pace of the dialogue is electric but there are also echoes of lines from contemporary films suggesting that our deepest thoughts are but popular cinema tropes.

At the same time Mueller is questioning the social cancer that is the pressure of home ownership. And, just as you feel you have your head around one situation, another emerges; Sophia’s rehab, assistance for asylum seekers, aged care, mortgage stress, parental control, Bitcoin, unemployment – and so it goes.

The cast are having fun. Each exudes an energy of their own in keeping with their role; Petruzzi the proud father, Sutherland a Stonnington matron, Wall trying to find the sensible middle ground and Jones-Shukoor encouraging everyone to voice a whale’s song – surprisingly soothing – as a form of yoga to calm the moment when things get too crazy.

There is, perhaps, a serious centre to this play. It satirises many of the current aspects of today’s society but it’s hard to take anything too seriously when one is contemplating different forms of murder to resolve a financial crisis with the help of the intended victim.

The latter act actually ties the show neatly together as it was something first suggested in the opening scene.

Red Stitch’s latest play – a product of their Ink artists program and a premiere – is diverting and entertaining and a way of rounding off their theatrical year with a good laugh.

Until December 18

Midsumma Festival

■ The Midsumma Festival will run from January 21 to February 12 at various locations.

Midsumma is Australia's premier queer arts and cultural organisation, bringing together a diverse mix of LGBTQIA+ artists, performers, communities and audiences.

The primary event, Midsumma Festival, comprises a curated Midsumma Presents line-up plus the community-driven open-access stream, to share the lived experiences of those voices at the margins, the expression of queer history, and the celebration of new ideas and stories that come to life through world-class art and performance.

The festival program is made up of diverse art forms and genres, including visual arts, live music, theatre, spoken word, cabaret, film, parties, sport, social events, and public forums.

Featuring over 153 events in 2022, 163 events in 2021, and 194 events in 2020 (despite COVID-19 limitations), with involvement by over 5000 culture-makers in over 100 different venues across Melbourne and wider Victoria - to audiences averaging 255,202 attendees over the past four years.

For further details visit www.midsumma.org.au

Talk is cheap, gossip is priceless

Vale Mick Poor

■ Family and friends, many from Heidelberg Theatre Company, farewelled their much loved friend, theatre colleague and artist, Mick Poor.

The moving service was conducted by Cheryl Richards, a long-time and close friend of the family.

Mick was first welcomed to Heidelberg Theatre Company in 1986 when he was cast in Taking Steps. Since then, he has been involved in at least 23 productions with that company, and also had a long association with Eltham Little Theatre.

Mick's vast musical knowledge was called upon by many directors over the years, and his highly valued advice was said to add much depth and richness to these productions.

Also a passionate and accomplished artist, Mick exhibited his paintings three times in the HTC Foyer, most recently during Blood Brothers in 2017.

The management of 96.5 Inner FM also conveyed their condolences to Mick's family. Mick was the host of the radio program Local Theatre for Eltham Theatre over many years.

Mick Poor's smiling face was familiar on opening Nnghts. So much so that the Heidelberg Theatre Company refers to him as 'Our Very Special HTC First Nighter!'

Deepest sympathy to Mick’s family, Gayle, Llaaneath and Anthony.

- Cheryl Threadgold

Cavemxn

■ Cavemxn is an exploration of the intimate lives of four gay men over a span of five years; their desires, infidelities, insecurities and indulgences.

The portraits created by playwright, Angus Cameron, show the private emotional world of Mike (Yuchen Wang), Tim (Patrick Livesey), Chris (Harvey Zielinski) and Oscar (Joss McLelland).

The dialogue is sharp and witty complete as it is with an understanding of the attitudes, practices and places familiar to those within the gay community.

Cameron also details the betrayals, recriminations and narcissism of individuals searching for connection.

The characters, however, tend not to develop nor is there a narrative arc to their lives as each scene extends the exposition that serves as background while we wait for resolution.

The play is replete with issues – AIDs, duplicity, drug use – but despite succumbing to the physical and psychological ravages of their conduct, nothing ultimately changes.

All four characters are conflicted. Tim is a Liberal Party apparatchik. Intelligent and beautiful, Oscar chooses drag over a law degree.

Chris takes to drugs and Mike plays the field. All are unfaithful but seek fidelity from others.

Yuchen, Patrick, Harvey and Joss play these roles intelligently, knowingly and expertly catching the inner turmoil and loss each character experiences.

There are challenges for director Bronwen Coleman. The non-naturalistic scenes – a quick text exchange, a drug trip and a discourse across continents – don’t quite jell.

Whilst theatrically possible, the value of the message we read in to them has to be weighed against what Cameron’s overall intention is in bringing this work to the stage.

Cameron has provided us with an overview of a particular world. Audience identification will be the key to those who appreciate this work the

most. Some will be challenged by the conduct they witness but others will find in it what they already know but haven’t yet articulated.

Performed at The Loft – Chapel Off Chapel, 12 Little Chapel St, Prahran

Scarlet Pimpernel

What’s On

Wild Nights of Youth

■ Cracked Actors Theatre’s production of Bill Marshall’s The Wild Nights of Youth sees energetic committed performers making the best of an ordinary script with direction and staging to match.

The play is set in the early 70s in Melbourne’s Sharpie subculture and follows the trials and tribulations of two neighbours/ friends, Adam Pescado (played by Bailey Griffiths) and Cliff Marr (Tom Pickering).

A range of supporting roles feature Adam’s mother Olivia Pescado (Kirsty White), love interests of Adam viz Sandra McRae (Jelly Vamvas) and Brenda Finch (Montana Papadinis) and three minor characters (played by Aston Elliott).

Marshall’s script won Best Play Award at a CAT reading in 2021; nevertheless, I found it to still be a work-in-progress in dire need of further workshopping.

The structure of the play is solid if predictable and there is, at times, an attempt to use daring bold language through the character of Cliff Marr; more Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange as opposed to Shakespeare

With other characters, however, the text is often cliched in both the language and scenarios the characters enact.

Bailey Griffiths does a great job of portraying the teenage angst of Adam Pescado, showing the sensitive vulnerability beneath the macho exterior.

Tom Pickering makes Cliff Marr’s bombastic language his own, at least in the play’s first half; however, this doesn’t sustain in the second half as his performance becomes too melodramatic. The remaining cast members all do reasonably well with some tired and cliched characters.

Matthew Walsh’s direction also does a reasonable job of bringing to life the underdeveloped script, although there were challenges a-plenty, not all overcome, in character development and portrayal. The primitive set and lighting didn’t help either.

Directed by Penn Valk, with music direction by Matthew Nutley and choreography by Joel Anderson, The Scarlet Pimpernel is an action adventure show based on Baroness Orcy’s 20th Century novel.

Set at the height of the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution, it tells the story of Sir Percy Blakeney, an English aristocrat who, having been betrayed by his French wife, becomes the heroic and selfless Scarlet Pimpernel.

Sir Percy, along with his six closest friends, perform daring exploits as they rescue others from the guillotine — all while having to outwit and outfox Chauvelin, a cunning and ruthless man on a campaign to see every French aristocrat annihilated, and stop anyone who might get in his way.

The Scarlet Pimpernel is an exploration of contrasts: truth and façade; loyalty and betrayal; and what that looks like in individuals, in groups and in society.

It is the story of three people who all have different perspectives and motives in life but their endgame is the same. Loyalty. In this world, the stakes are high and the threat is real.

Performance Details: December 8 - 17 (for show times visit https://osmad.com.au/the-scarlet-pimpernel)

Venue: Geoffrey McComas Theatre, James Forbes Academy, Scotch College Campus, 1 Morrison St., Hawthorn.

Bookings: osmad.com.au

Please Note: This is not a Scotch College school production.

Regardless, The Wild Nights Of Youth is to be applauded as a new Australian play produced by a company that clearly bristles with energy. It’s hoped that future productions might find or develop scripts of a higher quality. -

Review by Peter Murphy

Much Ado

About Nothing

■ The Australian Shakespeare Company returns to outdoor summer entertainment with an adaptation of the Shakespearian classic Much Ado About Nothing from December 17-February4 at the Royal Botanic Gardens.

Audiences are invited: "As the sun sets, pop the cork, sit back and enjoy as The Babes of Disdain perform their hit single, Fair Eyes, before they are upstaged by the return of Benedick and the Love Gods, back from a world concert tour. From here, Shakespeare's battle-of-the-sexes romcom takes flight ... " Director Glenn Elston says,:“There’s nothing quite like Shakespeare infused with hints of pop music, rock imagery, pantomime and sitcom. All tightly linked and true to a clear and well executed delivery of a terrific text, our adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing is for everyone, not just Shakespeare lovers. Our exceptionally talented cast will have audiences bopping along and grinning ear to ear every night of summer.”

There will be on-site catering or audiences are invited to pack their best picnic.

“Bring the whole family and your best friends - this production is great fun for everyone,' continued Elston. "he unexpected edge on this romcom makes this unique production a must see this summer.”

Performance Season: December 17 - February 4

Venue: The Southern Cross Lawn, Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Melbourne Gardens, 100 Birdwood Avenue, South Yarra Tickets: $25 - $110

Bookings: www.shakespeareaustralia. com.au. 8676 7511. Via Ticketmaster. Tickets can be purchased on site approx. one hour before show time, subject to availability.

Running time: 2 hours 20 minutes (incl. 20 minute interval)

- Cheryl Threadgold

Red Stitch Actors Theatre, St Kilda East - Review by David McLean

- Cheryl Threadgold

● ● Mick Poor

● ● Patrick Livesey and Yuchen Wang in Cavemxn. Photo: Laura Du Ve

- Review by David McLean

■ OSMaD presents The Scarlet Pimpernel from December 8 - 17 at the Geoffrey McComas Theatre, James Forbes Academy, Scotch College Campus, 1 Morrison St, Hawthorn.

- Cheryl Threadgold

● Mitchell Stewart (Percy) in The Scarlet Pimpernel.

ListingsObservations

Shows

■ The 1812 Theatre: The Woman in Black (by Stephen Mallatratt) November Until December 10 at The 1812 Theatre, 3 Rose St., Upper Ferntree Gully. Director: Justin Stephens. Bookings: 9758 3964.

■ The Basin Theatre Company: Art (by Yasmina Reza) Until December 11 at The Basin Theatre, Doongalla Rd., The Basin. Director: Graham Fly. Bookings: thebasintheatre.org.au

■ Warrandyte Theatre Company: The Warrandyte Follies (multiple authors) Until December 10 at 180 Yarra St., Warrandyte. Directors: Matt Wallace and Lawrence Phelan. Bookings: https:// www.trybooking.com/CCLXW

■ OSMaD: The Scarlet Pimpernel December 8 (Preview) – December 17 at Geoffrey McComas Theatre, 1 Morrison St., Hawthorn. Director: Penn Valk; Musical Director: Matthew Nutley; Choreographer: Joel Anderson. Bookings: trybooking.com.au

■ PLOS Musical Theatre: The Boy From Oz December 31 – January 8 at Frankston Arts Centre, Davey St., Frankston. www.plos.asn.au

■ Encore Theatre Company: The Wicked Witches of Oz (by Peter Nuttall) January 12 – 21 at the Clayton Community Theatrette, Cooke St., Clayton. Director: Christine Simmonds. Bookings: https:// www.trybooking.com/CDMZK

■ Smile Theatre Company: Murder: A New Beginning (by Peter Eddy and Ian Robinson) January 20 – 29 at the Shirley Burke Theatre, 64 Parkers Rd., Parkdale. Director: Peter Eddy. Bookings: Kingston Council Box Office.

■ Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Victoria: Only Make Believe February 4, 5, 11, 12 at 2pm at The Knowe, Sassafras. Devised and presented by Geoffrey Urquhart and Robert Ray. Bookings: gsov.org.au

AUDITIONS

■ Torquay Theatre Troupe: The Other Place (by Sharr White), December 6, 8 at 7pm at The Multi Arts Centre, The MAC, 77 Beach Rd., Torquay. Director: John Bishop. Audition enquiries: secretary@ttt.org.au

- Cheryl Threadgold

Local Theatre

Spring Awakening

■ Eight-time Tony Award-winning musical Spring Awakening returns to Melbourne this January for a limited season at the Meat Market, North Melbourne.

Presented by the Young Australian Broadway Chorus, Spring Awakening explores the journey from adolescence into adulthood through a compelling fusion of morality, sexuality and rock and roll.

Spring Awakening is a bold musical adaption by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater of German expressionist Frank Wedekind’s controversial 1891 play of the same.

Featuring an electrifying rock/pop score, Spring Awakening follows the lives of a group of adolescents as they navigate their entry into sexual awareness.

This ground-breaking musical, driven by a score that creates a juxtaposition between the world of the play and the genre of music, touches on topics still relevant to today’s youth, reflecting that yesterday’s problems are still today’s concerns.

Spring Awakening was first performed offBroadway in 2006, with leading roles filled by stars including Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff. It was praised as “an unforgettable statement” by the NY Times and “the most gorgeous Broadway score this decade” by Entertainment Weekly

The Young Australian Broadway Chorus, a division of Stage School Australia, has most recently presented sell-out seasons of Broadway hits Cats (2020), Les Misérables (2019) and Wicked (2018) at the National Theatre, as well as many previous productions, including The Secret Garden (Southbank Theatre), Seussical (Malthouse Theatre), The Wizard of Oz (Union Theatre) and the Melbourne premiere of Spring Awakening (National Theatre) in 2011.

- Review by David McLean

Bush Balladeer

■ Australian Broadcasting Corporation Reunion Club members were entertained by bush balladeer Don McQueen at their end-of-year barbecue in beautiful bushland at Viewbank.

Don's quick recall of the poems, passion for Australian history and poetry, and charismatic delivery were terrific, and the background of gum trees and bush was the perfect setting.

Acclaimed on six different occasions as Bush Poet of the Year, Don is also involved in Community affairs, and in 2006 was awarded an Australia Day Citizen of the Year Award by the Shire of Murrindindi

In June 2018, Don was awarded the highest honour in Rotary International for Services to Community, a Paul Harris Fellow.

Word went round at the barbecue that Don has 60 poems impressively stored in his memory for selection when reciting at events.

All in attendance thoroughly enjoyed Don McQueen's bush poetry and hope to hear more of his work one day.

https://thebushballadeer.com/

- Cheryl Threadgold

Monsters

■ The audience are invited into a nightmare in the fusion of light, sound, dance and language that is Emme Hoy’s Monsters

Alison Whyte casually introduces us to the scenario of a landscape full of sinkholes leading to a subterranean world. S

he appears, firstly, as almost one of the audience before the stage offering a Welcome to Country and beginning her narration before taking the stage to tell her tale voicing the other characters along the way.

Her words become a soundscape of thoughts and feelings as she details rappelling into the underworld to find her sister.

It is here where the dancers (Josie Wise, Kimball Wong, Samantha Hines) give form and substance to the doubt, insecurity and uncertainty in the mind of Whyte’s character.

Their physical depiction is equally macabre and elegant – the mind’s thoughts when the boundaries of reality are broken choreographically (Stephanie Lake)

Just as importantly, the light and set (Paul Jackson) compel us in stages into the depths as Whyte scours the recesses of her mind.

The dystopian world of subterranean passages and tunnel make for a multi-dimensional world akin to dreams where reality knows no bounds. The sound (Rosalind Hall, Marco CherGibard) adds to the tension as Whyte searches for her sister.

The work is at times uncomfortable but such is the stuff of dreams where our thoughts and imaginings take hold of us in the dead of night.

Director Matthew Lutton has integrated all the stagecraft at his disposal in a unity of function to create what is a metaphor for a contemporary world where we descend into the depths of despair – think of pandemic lockdowns and global threats of war and a nuclear holocaust.

Think of what possessed Morrison to appoint himself to multiple portfolios. Whyte’s character compelled her and her desire took reason prisoner.

Hoy’s creation suggests much the same for any and all of us. We all have the potential to descend into an underworld. The fact that theatre can show us how and illustrate it so effectively, gives us a modicum of relief allowing us the delusion that we are still in control.

-

Review by David McLean

Wake

■ The People Who Play With Theatre’s production of Wake is one of a number of plays having brief runs under a season titled Explorations at La Mama’s two venues in Carlton, with Wake playing at La Mama Courthouse.

The play is a combination of bunrakustyle puppetry (where the animators/puppeteers are completely visible to the audience) and visual theatre; more of a collage of images and thoughts rather than a traditional three-act play with a linear narrative.

Spoken word and soundscapes are also important elements of the piece; the former ranges from quite mundane language to the poetic while the latter consist of both wellknown tunes (sung acapella) and more abstract ethereal sounds.

Ben Anderson, both the writer and director of the play, has a central narrator who gives the piece a kind of central spine.

They are a conspiracy theorist who is ultimately undone by their bizarre and disastrous beliefs in an approaching Armageddon threatening life on Earth.

Eight puppeteers/actors enact numerous short scenes as the theorist’s life begins to unravel, with a multitude of different ideas and themes touched upon/explored in the work’s 60 minutes.

The puppeteers/actors bring a strong sense of commitment and skillfulness to the work, passionately engaged with the themes that Wake seeks to explore.

Directing one’s own writing is often difficult to do well; being the originator of the text can sometimes, counterintuitively, get in the way of seeing the text for what it is.

I felt this to be the case several times during the play as I was left confused and unable to relate to much of what was being presented.

However, at other times, the disparate elements combined to create powerful, wonderful moments.

Ultimately this means that Wake is a satisfying choice to include in a season titling itself Explorations as it’s a bold adventurous piece; a potpourri of sensations and ideas that sometimes fails, sometimes succeeds, is sometimes tedious, sometimes spell-binding.

- Review by Peter Murphy

■ Stuck on what to give the person who has everything for Christmas?

What about a biography of the late Queen Elizabeth? Before you suggest that there has been so much written about the late queen that it’s all been done before, think again.

English media veteran Gyles Brandreth has just released his view of the late monarch, and unlike many other writers, he has been described by the prestigious Times newspaper as “the writer who got closest to the human truth about our long-serving senior royals”.

This personal yet comprehensive and detailed biography of Queen Elizabeth II tells the story of her remarkable life, reign and times, from a different perspective.

Gyles Brandreth has written the Queen's tale candidly with grace and sensitivity as someone who knew her, her late husband Philip and the wider Royal family personally, rather than from second or third hand sources.

Brandreth says it is a book he has been working on for many years, and the end result is a book with refreshing humour and surprising honesty.

Called Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait this unique biography of the longest-serving monarch in British history is the story of a woman who represented not only her people but stood as an emblem of fortitude and resilience worldwide, throughout her long life.

Queen Elizabeth II was a permanent media fixture in the lives of so many of us, so the chance to see what she was really like rather than an actor’s interpretation of her is a tantalizing opportunity.

Published by Penguin Random House, Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait is out now –just in time for that Christmas shopping list.

Julie Houghton

Summer Shakespeare

■ The Australian Shakespeare Company presents three family shows in Melbourne over the summer holidays.

The first is Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland from December 20 to January 28 at the Rippon Lea Estate in Elsternwick. Audiences are invited to join Alice as she meets new friends and enjoys a colourful and interactive Wonderland.

Also being presented this summer is Kenneth Grahame's Wind in the Willows, from December 17 to January 29 at the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Melbourne Gardens. Enter through F Gate on Birdwood Ave

This production is now in its 37th year. The Australian Shakespeare Company founder and Artistic Director, Glenn Elston, says,:“Bringing The Wind in the Willows back to the Gardens and seeing the joy and delight across our audiences’ faces never gets old for us. It truly is the perfect day out. Pack a picnic, pack the kids, friends and family and be immersed in the antics of Ratty, Badger, Mole, Toad and their friends.”

The third summer holiday show being presented by The Australian Shakespeare Company is Tinkerbell and the Dream Fairies, presented at the Athenaeum Theatre, Collins St, Melbourne from December 24 - January 28.

Alice in Wonderland: December 20January 28 at Rippon Lea Estate, 192 Hotham St., Elsternwick. The Wind in the Willows, December 17 to January 29 at the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Melbourne Gardens. Enter through F Gate on Birdwood Avenue. Tinkerbell and the Dream Fairies, December 24 to January 28 at the Athenaeum Theatre, 188 Collins St.., Melbourne.

Bush poet Don McQueen

Photo: Chris Forbes

● ● ● ● Queen Elizabeth II

Whyte

Best Films of 2022 Entertainment

Peninsula Music Festival

■ The Peninsula Summer Music Festival will be presented from January 1-19 across the Mornington Peninsula.

Co-Artistic Directors Melissa Doecke and Ben Opie are long standing founders and members of Inventi Ensemble which will perform at several locations.

Melissa and Ben are thrilled the event is a nominee in the 2022 Music Victoria Awards for Best Metro Festival.

The Festival will ring in the New Year with a diverse program of contemporary and classical music at the Mornington Peninsula's various locations - its hot springs, wine estates and church gardens.

From January 1, the Festival will feature 21 free and ticketed events over 13 days, including outdoor performances to celebrate summer, life drawing classes of live performing musicians, family events, traditional recitals and more.

Old favourites will return, and the festival tradition of presenting new and innovative programming.

The Festival organisers are also excited to bring new collaborative performances with local First Nations artists and international stars from around the world to the Mornington Peninsula.

Some highlights will include internationally acclaimed recorder musician Anna Stegman - Professor Recorder at London’s Royal Academy of Music.

Anna will be in Australia to perform and teach at the Australasian Recorder Festival, then a concert at Melbourne Recital Centre on January 23.

Stephen McIntyre - known nationally and internationally as one of A ustralia’s most eminent teachers and pianists.

McIntyre is Associate Professor in the Melbourne Conservatorium of M usic at the University of Melbourne. In 2003, he was the recipient of the Sir Bernard Heinze Award for distinguished contribution to music and in 2007 he was made a member of the Order of Australia (AM).

Baroque Chamber Ensemble Accademia Arcadia and Nola Lauch, Archie Roach's niece.

Nola is a Kirrae-wurrung/ Bundjalung woman who lives on the Mornington Peninsula

She is a visual artist, singer and songwriter who is committed to celebrating and sharing Aboriginal music, art and culture.

Andrea Keller will present an intimate evening of solo jazz piano at St John’s Anglican Church in Flinders. Andrea is an Australian pianist, composer and improviser.

For full details of performances, d ates and times, visit: www. peninsulafestival.com.au/ - Cheryl Threadgold

Theatre Works launch

■ Theatre Works located in St Kilda has enjoyed a productive 2022 and it looks as though 2023 will raise the bar once again.

Executive Director, Dianne Toulson said: "2022 saw a great number of successes for us, hosting over 450 artists, tremendous audience numbers across 42 productions, multiple sell-out seasons, our inaugural First Stories Program, the delivery of our exceptional Associate Artists program, the re-introduction of our self-produced and presented works lead by our in-house directors, we secured over a million dollars in State funding (for capital works only) while also being nominated for 12 Green Room Association Awards and winning five.

“We did all this with eight staff, of which I am the only person on full-time. We did a lot. We do a lot, we do a lot on a little. 2023 will be no different."

2023 sees Theatre Works presenting something for everyone's theatrical palette. At the weekend, the company launched their program to a full house of industry and community.

Some highlights of this 2023 program include - fresh looks at plays

by Australian theatre 'giants', Away by Michael Gow directed by visionary director Steven Mitchell Wright (Medea: out of the mouths of babes), In the Club by Patricia Cornelius directed by Green Room Award winner Kitan Petkovski (No Ball GamesAllowed, The Gospel according to Jesus Queen of Heaven), Moth by Declan Greene, directed by Briony Dunn (The Human Voice) and the return of When the Rain Stops Falling by Andrew Bovell with Iron Lung Theatre, new Australian writing including: Nigerian born, Igbo actor and playwright Amarachi's Akaraka, Flick's Slutnik TM:Planet of the Incels, Jodi Gallagher's Prophet , sapphic drama The Milf and Mistress by Jane Montgomery Griffiths and exciting works by established artists such as The Long Pigs directed by Susie Dee, No Performer has ever Performed this Performance Before (NFP) #8 by Born In A Taxi, Songs of the Flesh by The Danger Ensemble for Midsumma Festival and Lyric Opera return to the Theatre Works stage. - and more can be found in the full program.

To see all productions and book tickets visit theatreworks.org.au

■ Yes, it’s the last edition for 2022, and once again it has been a crazy year.

One hopes that 2023 will be a better one, where governments, world leaders and corporations start treating people with more humanity and respect.

Film wise, it has been a fascinating twelve months, with some truly standout experiences.

I’d like to thank our tireless editor Ash Long, and also give a big thanks to my colleague James Sherlock.

Of course, the biggest thanks goes out to you, our readers, who allow us to continue working and informing.

Have a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year, and I very much look forward to coming back in 2023, where hopefully a whole new batch of great films will be coming our way. So, here are my favourites for 2022, along with some others that were less than impressive.

Top 10 Films For 2022.

1) Decision To Leave (M). Master film-maker Park Chan-wook (Oldboy) delivers an outstanding love letter to Alfred Hitchcock, with this mesmerising, visually hypnotic, extremely well-acted drama/ thriller.

2) Vortex (M). Director Gaspar Noe (Irreversible) tones down his notorious excesses for this harrowing, heartbreaking examination of an elderly couple dealing with dementia. Iconic Italian horror filmmaker Dario Argento (Suspiria) gives a surprisingly strong performance.

3) Drive My Car (MA). A multiple Oscar winner that deserved every bit of acclaim that came its way . Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s drama is deliberately paced, very well-acted, and utterly compelling.

4) After Yang (M). Excellent scifi/drama that seemed to come out of nowhere, but proved to be one of the most humane and touching cinema experiences of the year. Director Kogonada’s previous film, Columbus (2017), also went under the radar. Features one of Colin Farrell’s best performances.

5) Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes (PG). Ingenious, microbudget sci-fi/comedy from Japan uses the time travel formula to brilliant effect.

6) Happening (R). Audrey Diwan’s hard-hitting French drama about abortion sadly became alltoo-relevant this year, but was confronting and moving, with a superb lead performance from Anamaria Vartolomei.

7) The Innocents (MA). With generic superhero movies flooding cinemas over the last decade, this much darker examination from director Eskil Vogt of children with superpowers, was an intelligent,

unsettling breath of fresh air.

8) The Power Of The Dog (M). Jane Campion’s much-anticipated return to the director’s chair was a low-key, cerebral delight, subverting the western mythos with skill and style. Oddly unrewarded at this year’s Oscars.

9) Huda’s Salon (MA). Disturbing thriller that charters a young mother’s horrific descent into political manipulation and male oppression. One of those film’s where the less you know going in, the better.

10) Petite Maman (G). Celine Sciamma’s follow-up to Portrait Of A Lady On Fire is an utterly charming, beautiful look at a child’s viewpoint of family, and the device of interacting past and present is exceptionally well used.

Honourable Mentions Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy; Broker; Men; Nope; Crimes Of The Future; Something In The Dirt; Project Wolf Hunting; The Northman; The Sadness; The Sea Beast; The Outfit; Baby Assassins; Hunt; Emergency Declaration; Speak No Evil; The Humans; Wendell and Wild.

Most Over-rated Films For 2022

Top Gun : Maverick; Don’t Look Up; Encanto; Coda; West Side Story.

Most Under-rated Films For 2022

After Yang; The Innocents; The Beta Test; Huda’s Salon; Escape From Mogadishu; Turning Red; Nowhere Special; The Sadness.

Worst Films For 2022

Moonfall, Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022); Ticket To Paradise; Jeepers Creepers Reborn; Ambulance, The Lair; Firestarter; Blacklight.

DVD COLLECTION: Specialising in Classic and Hard to Find Movies, and Latest Releases Classics, Comedy, TV, Drama, Thriller, Action, Music, Adventure, Cult Classics, Horror, Documentary. All Genres for All Tastes - Box Sets and Limited Editions Collections

UNIT 2, 21 FLIGHT DRIVE, TULLAMARINE PHONE: 9338 4879 HOURS: Tuesday-Friday, 10am-4pm vidcoll@bigpond.net.au www.ebay.com.au/str/dvdcoll281

- Aaron Rourke

● ● ● ● Andrea Keller will perform at the Peninsula Music Festival.

● ● Pia O’Meadhra and Ismail Taylor-Kamara in Uncle Vanya Photo: Morgan Roberts

● ● Aaron Rourke

Magazine

■ Strange as it may seem, I did like a song in the 1960s titled I Like It.

It was a fun song and during my life time I was lucky enough to meet the man who sang it and the man who wrote it.

Gerry Marsden was born in September 1942 in Liverpool, England, during the blitz (I am 19 days older than Gerry) and found fame as the lead singer in a rock group called Gerry and the Pacemakers. The composer of the song is my dentist's brother-in-law, Mitch Murray Gerry Marsden grew up with an interest in music and worked in bands from an early age.

During his teenage years he used to buy rock and roll records from Brian Epstein at Brian's father’s furniture shop.

Brian found out that Gerry was playing at a venue called The Cavern in Hamburg and went there especially to see Gerry's group play.

He spotted The Beatles playing at The Cavern and fell in love with them.

Brian went to London and negotiated a recording contract for both groups.

Gerry and the Pacemakers recorded their first hit song, How Do You Do It, after it was initially rejected by The Beatles

Their second No 1 hit was the song I mentioned earlier, I Like It, written by Mitch Murray

Gerry and the Pacemakers were producing ‘The Mersey Beat’ and were a huge part of the British Invasion of popular music into America

Whatever Happened To ... Gerry Marsden

By Kevin Trask of 3AW and 96.5 Inner FM

during the early 1960s. They recorded a string of hit songs which included - You'll NeverWalk Alone, It's Gonna Be Alright, I'm The One, Don't Let The Sun Catch You Crying and Ferry Cross The Mersey

Gerry's first tour of Australia was in 1964 with Dusty Springfield, Brian Poole and Gene Pitney - Gerry has performed in more than 20 tours in Australia since then.

He starred in the film Ferry Across The Mersey and the band continued to perform in concerts for about 10 years.

In 1965 Gerry married Pauline Behan and they have two daughters, Yvette and Victoria.

After the band broke up in the late 1960s, Gerry turned to the West End stage and ap-

peared in shows such as Charlie Girl with Derek Nimmo and Dame Anna Neagle

He returned to Gerry and the Pacemakers after five years of stage work. Gerry received letters from all over the world asking him to reform the group and tour again.

The Liverpool Football Club adopted Gerry's version of You'll Never Walk Alone as their an them and he sang an emotional version of the song at a match shortly after the Hillsborough Disaster in 1989.

He also was on the children's television pro gram, The Sooty Show, for nine years.

In 1993 Gerry launched his autobiography I'll NeverWalk Alone.

In 2003 he was awarded the MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to charity.

Gerry and the Pacemakers were one of the great Mersey beat groups of the 1960s, Sadly Gerry Marsden passed away on Janu ary 3, 2021, at the age of 78.

Kevin Trask

Kevin can be heard on 3AWThe Time Tunnel - Remember WhenSundays at 10.10pm with Philip Brady and Simon Owens.

And on 96.5 FM

That's EntertainmentSundays at 12 Noon. www.innerfm.org.au

Christmas joy at Blender Studios

■ Blender Studios held their Christmas party on Friday, November 18, to which your correspondent and wife were invited.

The studio is situated on the corner of Dudley St. and Money Lane. To enter the studio, one enters via Money Lane. This lane is an amazing site.

As Blender supports street art the lane shows one what the studio can do. It has on both sides works of art and in honour of the occasion, party lights were strung around each painting, and lights were strung overhead from Dudley St to the entrance at the rear of the studio.

Upon entrance you can see a wide entrance with paintings across the entrance and on the walls and floor.

The ex-warehouse is now divided into three wall studios which are rented out to various artists.

This gives artists a chance not only to do their own work but join other artists for swopping ideas, chatting and getting to know other styles and get further ideas.

In one studio upstairs there is a well-lit studio where a jeweller has her studio and creates her own work.

The business is known as Emmarea and Emma Real makes a good living.

Downstairs amongst the many studios your correspondent caught up with Lukas Kasper.

Lukas started his art career interstate as a graffiti vandal but graduated to art. He specialises in murals which he treats as his bread and butter, His delight is painting skateboards; he has a good collection in his studio.

An amazing place and well worth a visit. Dr Adrian Doyle has advised that he is leaving the lights in Money Lane open till Christmas and hopes that families can come and see the display and enjoy talking to the artists.

Blender Studios 33-35 Dudley St., West Melbourne

Inside Out

Callum Morton

These six large paintings have as their starting point the exact scale of the windows in the Sirius Building in Sydney, a subject Callum Morton has been interested in for some time as proof of, more broadly, a catalogue of the lost, ignored and hidden.

The Arts

New at NGV

■ Freedom of Movement: Contemporary Art and Design from th e NGV Collection is a new exhibition featuring more than 60 works of contemporary art and design by some of the most recognisable names working today, including Patricia Piccinini, KAWS, Nendo, Paola Pivi, Nick Cave, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Shilpa Gupta, Alicja Kwade, Daniel Arsham and Alex Prager.

Sad loss of TV pioneer

Some of them are paintings of a window where you are inside a room looking through a window into a room from the inside.

Some of them are paintings of a window where you are inside a room looking through a window into a room from the outside.

Some of them are paintings of things that are in a room that might be empty.

Some of them are paintings of the obstruction of a view inside or inside a room.

These works are paintings, screens, holes and blockages.

Exhibition opens February 11 and closes April 1.

Anna Schwartz Gallery

185 Flinders Lane, Melbourne

At Mildura

Special Forever – Voices of the Children

Sunraysia Primary Schools is an environmental awareness project which features the writing and artwork of the vibrant young voices of children from Sunraysia primary schools.

Exhibition opens December 8 and closes January 29.

Collected Vision iii; Recent Acquisitions

Mildura Arts Collection

Showing some of the latest acquisitions to the Mildura Arts Centre col-

Offering a dynamic survey of the State collection across contemporary furniture, lighting, painting, film, sculpture and installation, the exhibition provides audiences the chance to engage with remarkable contemporary works in new and surprising contexts, as well as to appreciate the spectacular correlations and interrelationships between art and design.

Crossing cultures, disciplines and traditional divides, Freedom of Movement presents a selection of NGV Collection works bound together by ideas of movement – be that physical, technological or geographical.

Presented across four thematic ‘movements’, each anchored by a major work, the exhibition invites audiences to contemplate concepts of movement, change, perception and transformation in contemporary life.

Highlights include Japanese design studio nendo’s iconic Manga chairs, 2015.

Presented in a vast grid that fills an entire gallery space, each chair is a character in its own right, moving between flatness and abstraction.

Inspired by the line drawings of Japanese Manga comics and incorporating their visual vocabulary, such as speech bubbles and movement lines, as a group the work is a study in how furniture can convey gesture and emotion.

- Contributed

Pop culture up for grabs

■ Many of the personal items belonging to Marilyn Monroe are going to auction in New York. Bidding is expected to attract bids worldwide for items: false eyelashes, lipstick tubes, dresses, Actors Guild membership card - in total 175 lots to be auctioned December 17-18 at Julian's Antiques

Good News Week

■ In a heartwarming incident 'The Rock' Dwanye Johnson repaid his petty theft days as a 14-year-old. Dwanye used to steal Snickers bars from his nearest 7-Eleven store. The shoplifting went on for a year with the store staff turning a blind eye .

In later years Dwayne wished to right his wrong, so, unannounced he walked into a 7-Eleven and paid for a shelf full of Snickers bars to be given away to kids for free who patronised the store.

If this sounds like a trumped-up PR story, it wasn't , according to shoppers who saw the random act of kindness unfolding.

Barnesy’s back

■ The iconic rocker Jimmy Barnes has been forced to cancel forthcoming concerts until first half 2023 because of chronic back pain caused from jumping around, rocking the house down over the past 50 years.

Jimmy has no other option than lying down, taking it easy which is not the lifestyle that JB enjoys. Looking at the positives there's a good chance he may write a new book, or two. Get well, Jimmy, take it easy.

- John O’Keefe

lection. Exhibition extended to February 5. Mildura Arts Centre 199 Coreton Rd, Mildura - Peter Kemp

with Peter Kemp

■ Remember when Dr James Wright was the resident medico on TVMike Walsh Show and Midday Show on Nine for a combined 25 years? Dr Wright (Dr John F Knight) died last week, aged 94. The Doc was not only a TV regular as well as a prolific author, radio presenter and businessman with financial interests in elderly care communities, and printing companies.

OK. With John O’Keefe

● ● Gerry Marsden

● ● Dr James Wright

Stateside with Gavin Wood in West Hollywood

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

■ Hi everyone, remotely from my suite at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Suites in West Hollywood comes this week’s news.

Seasons greetings

■ It’s that joyous time of the year and all the management and staff of the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Suites, 8585 Santa Monica Boulevard in the heart of West Hollywood, send their very best wishes for the festive season.

They are all looking forward to welcoming all the Australian tourists in 2023.

Make the Ramada the entry point for your trip to America You will always find a friendly person to help you and they are happy to assist in any way. It looks like 2023 will be the year for travel as everything starts to settle down.

Gavin’s message

■ Once again, we find ourselves approaching the Christmas Festive Season with great speed.

Every year seems to roll around even faster than the year before and I am sure that we will make the best of the most wonderful time of the year.

With the traditional beginning of the holiday season in the US being Thanksgiving Day, we all had the opportunity to reflect on the difficult COVID-19 year that has just passed, again, and we quietly consider all the people and activities in our lives for which we can give thanks.

It is a great tradition and I know that I and Alan Johnson have many people that we wish to thank for support and friendship during 2022.

To all our dear family and friends, loyal clients, readers of this page, fearless editor of your Local Paper, Ash Long, we thank you and make our commitment to serve you, to the very best of our ability, in 2023. Merry Christmas and a Happy and Safe New Year to you all.

Marijuana is winning

■ A majority of people say they smoke marijuana more than cigarettes, based on data from a new Gallup poll.

Sixteen percent of Americans say they currently smoke marijuana with 48 per cent of respondents sharing that they have tried it at some point in their life the highest rate ever recorded by Gallup. Last year, 12 per cent of respondents said they used marijuana.

The poll was part of a study that examined people’s attitudes regarding marijuana’s benefits to society.

Gallup’s poll finds that marijuana use was higher among adults between the ages of 18 and 34 with 30 per cent responding that they smoke pot and 22 per cent consume marijuana edibles.

These numbers are significantly lower in both categories for adults 35 to 54 years old (16 per cent) and Americans 55 and older (7 per cent).

The analytics and research company conducted a related poll on August 26 that collected responses for a survey discussing alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use among Americans

A new record low of 11 per cent of adults reported smoking cigarettes with approximately three in 10 non-smokers stating they used to smoke, a steep drop in cigarette use compared to 45 per cent in the 1950s.

Pelosi attacker illegal

■ The man accused of attacking House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband with a hammer was in the country illegally, ICE sources said.

David DePape, who was hit with federal and local charges over the violent attack on 82-year-old Paul Pelosi, was in the US illegally because he overstayed his visa, according to sources.

The 42-year-old suspect was born in Canada in 1980 and was in the US as early as 2001, sources said, citing his valid Social Security number, which can only be obtained with a job.

The Social Security number was obtained in Hawaii, sources said.

It’s unclear how long DePape stayed in the country past the legal threshold. DePape faces charges from the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office for attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and other criminal counts.

He was also charged federally with attempted kidnapping and assault.

He allegedly broke into Nancy Pelosi’s house in a bid to find the House speaker, but only her husband was home in what San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins called a politically motivated attack.

Gavin Wood

Service fee added

■ You might’ve noticed something you didn’t order on your last dinner bill: a “service fee.” Not to be confused with a tip, the service fee ranges from 3 per cent to 20 per cent of the bill, and it’s becoming increasingly common around the country.

But what exactly the fee represents isn’t always clear. The fee can indicate a range of things, including: A mandatory tip that goes directly to the server. Pay for back-of-house employees like chefs and dishwashers. Funds to cover workers’ minimum hourly wage. Money for a restaurant’s credit card fees or owners. The fees also vary widely by state.

In California, the fees go to the restaurants; in New York, they go to the service staff; and in Florida, they can be used for whatever the restaurant wants. The tab keeps growing.

In September, Americans spent $87B on dining out, up 11.4 per cent YoY, while the price of food at full-service restaurants was up 8.8 per cent YoY. Google searches for “service fee” and “service charge” have hit an all-time high with customers scrambling to make sense of their checks. With all the confusion, the fee can cause diners to tip less, mistakenly thinking the money is going directly to their server.

Out and About

Believe it or not

■ Russian President Vladimir Putin is battling both pancreatic cancer and Parkinson’s disease, according to a new report citing leaked Kremlin emails.

A Russian intelligence source appeared to confirm A messages viewed by The Sun about what has long been rumoured about the 70-year-old strongman.

“I can confirm he has been diagnosed with early-stage Parkinson’s disease, but it’s already progressing,” the security services insider reportedly claimed.

“This fact will be denied in every possible way and hidden,” the source said, according to The Sun.

“Putin is regularly stuffed with all kinds of heavy steroids and innovative painkilling injections to stop the spread of pancreatic cancer he was recently diagnosed with,” the person said.

“It not only causes a lot of pain, Putin has a state of puffiness of the face and other side effects including memory lapses,” the source continued.

“In his close circle, there are rumours that in addition to pancreatic cancer, which is gradually spreading, Putin also has prostate cancer,” the insider added.

Rumours about Putin’s supposedly poor health have been circulating for months, with several unconfirmed reports saying the president is battling cancer.

The Kremlin has always denied that Putin, who likes to project an image of strength, suffers from any illnesses.

No Federal tax

■ Some 72.5 million households or 40 per cent of households will pay no federal income tax this year, down from the pre-pandemic high of 60 per cent two years ago, according to new estimates from theTax Policy Centre.

In 2021, nearly 56 per cent of households or 99 million households paid no federal income tax, down from 60 per cent or 100 million households in 2020, the nonpartisan think tank said in the report.

For 2022, the standard deduction is worth $12,950 for individuals and $25,900 for married couples filing jointly.

People earning below that amount do not owe federal income taxes.

Massive job losses in the pandemic’s early stages sent millions of people to unemployment lines and temporary rules exempted much of 2020 jobless benefits from income taxes, Howard Gleckman, senior fellow at Tax Policy Centre, said.

Meanwhile, there were waves of direct cash assistance that were all technically tax credits – two rounds of stimulus checks in 2020 and another round in 2021, plus a temporarily enhanced child tax credit.

Those waves came and went. The approximate 40 per cent of households projected to pay no federal income tax is back to pre-pandemic levels, and is even slightly smaller than the 42 per cent to 43 per cent range during recent prepandemic years, Gleckman noted.

Flashy show bombs

■ CNN’s flashy new morning show co-hosted by Don Lemon, Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins bombed in its debut episode on Tuesday.

Despite heavy promotion from the network, ‘CNN This Morning’s’ first show drew a mere 387,000 viewers and averaged 71,000 viewers in the advertiser-coveted 25-54 age demographic, according to Nielsen ratings.

By comparison, MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe’ amassed 793,000 viewers head to head from 6am to 9am ET.

Meanwhile, Fox News’ ‘Fox & Friends”’came out on top, averaging nearly 1.5 million viewers.

No show across CNN, MSNBC and Fox News ranked lower than Lemon’s program on Tuesday.

●

If you are considering coming over to California for a holiday, then I have got a special deal for you. We would love to see you at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Suites, 8585 Santa Monica Boulevard, West Hollywood. I have secured a terrific holiday deal for readers of the Melbourne Observer and The Local Paper. Please mention ‘Melbourne Observer’ when you book to receive the ‘Special Rate of the Day’ for your advance bookings. Please contact: Jennifer at info@ramadaweho.com

Dubbed ‘CNN This Morning’, the broadcast was pitched as the left-leaning network’s re-entry into the competitive morning show landscape, and was heralded by Lemon as a “promotion” amid reports that he was being demoted.

The anchor had been moved from his now-cancelled 10 pm primetime show to share the spotlight with two other hosts.

From my Suite at the Ramada Plaza Complex on Santa Monica Blvd

● ● Happy Christmas and a wonderful new year from Ramada General Manager Bill Karpiak and Managing Director Alan Johnson . Maybe you can bring an Oscar home.

Crossroads

By Rob Foenander info@countrycrossroads com.au

Lydia is covered

■ Aspiring Melbourne vocalist Lydia D’Lasselle is knocking on the door to country music stardom.At 24 and with already a decade of performance experience and awards included in her resume, Lydia now has a full length album to add to her achieve- ments. Covered is a 10-track collection of popular songs from artists who have been an influence in her career to date. With a growing fan base, we’re sure to hear more about this young country singer. More info at Lydia D’Lasselle Music on Facebook.

Pop choir

■ Memo Music Hall will play host to Pop Choir on Sunday, January 22, for a special afternoon event where you are part of the show.

International singers Sharon Stokes and Darryl John Moulton will teach you a few simple harmonies, while you sip on some drinks and sing your heart out to a classic well – known pop song. But you won’t know which song it is until the day. It could be anything from the 1960s to a recent classic. The end result is recorded professionally to create an amazing video you can treasure forever, says their media release. Tickets at www.memomusichall.com.au

Award for Destiny

■ Gippsland based Destiny Band Oz featuring husband and wife team Tessa and Thomas Libreri have won the Australian Songwriters Association 'Rudy Brandsma' Award for their song, 'It's the Gift', announced in October at the ASA Virtual Awards for 2021.

- Rob Foenander

Yes Viriginia, there is a Santa Claus

■ "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" is a line from an editorial by Francis Pharcellus Church titled "Is There a Santa Claus?", which appeared in The Sun on September 21, 1897, and became one of the most famous editorials ever published.

DEAR EDITOR: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun it’s so.’ Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus?”

the world if there were no Santa Claus. It would be as dreary as if there were no VIRGINIAS. There would be no childlike faith then, no poetry, no romance to make tolerable this existence.

We should have no enjoyment, except in sense and sight. The eternal light with which childhood fills the world would be extinguished.

Not believe in Santa Claus! You might as well not believe in fairies!

Ah, VIRGINIA, in all this world there is nothing else real and abiding.

No Santa Claus! Thank God! he lives, and he lives forever. A thousand years from now, Virginia, nay, ten times ten thousand years from now, he will continue to make glad the heart of childhood.

★

based upon the special. Two years later, Macy's had the special adapted into a musical for students in third through sixth grade. The company gave schools the right to perform the musical for free and gave 100 schools $1000 grants for performing the musical.

★

VIRGINIA

O’HANLON. 115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET.

★

VIRGINIA, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age.

They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds.

All minds, Virginia, whether they be men’s or children’s, are little. In this great universe of ours man is a mere insect, an ant, in his intellect, as compared with the boundless world about him, as measured by the intelligence capable of grasping the whole of truth and knowledge.

Yes, VIRGINIA, there is a Santa Claus. He exists as certainly as love and generosity and devotion exist, and you know that they abound and give to your life its highest beauty and joy. Alas! how dreary would be

You might get your papa to hire men to watch in all the chimneys on Christmas Eve to catch Santa Claus, but even if they did not see Santa Claus coming down, what would that prove?

Nobody sees Santa Claus, but that is no sign that there is no Santa Claus. The most real things in the world are those that neither children nor men can see.

Did you ever see fairies dancing on the lawn? Of course not, but that’s no proof that they are not there. Nobody can conceive or imagine all the wonders there are unseen and unseeable in the world.

You may tear apart the baby’s rattle and see what makes the noise inside, but there is a veil covering the unseen world which not the strongest man, nor even the united strength of all the strongest men that ever lived, could tear apart.

Only faith, fancy, poetry, love, romance, can push aside that curtain and view and picture the supernal beauty and glory beyond. Is it all real?

The story of Virginia's inquiry and The Sun's response was adapted in 1932 into an NBC-produced cantata (the only known editorial set to classical music).

It has been adapted to film several times, including as a segment of the short film Santa Claus Story (1945). In 1974, a highly fictionalized animated television special titledYes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus, aired on ABC.

It was animated by Bill Melendez and won the 1975 Emmy Award for outstanding children special.

A 1991 live action television film starring Charles Bronson was also based on the letter. In 1996, the story was adapted into an eponymous holiday musical by David Kirchenbaum (music and lyrics) and Myles McDonnel (book).

A 2009 animated television special titled Yes, Virginia , aired on CBS and featured actors including Neil Patrick Harris and Beatrice Miller. The special was written by the Macy's ad agency as part of their "Believe" Make-A-Wish fundraising campaign.

In 2010 a book was written

Laura Virginia O'Hanlon was born on July 20, 1889, in New York City, New York. Her marriage to Edward Douglas in the 1910s was brief, and ended with him deserting her shortly before their daughter, Laura, was born. She kept her ex-husband's surname the rest of her life, styled as "Laura Virginia O'Hanlon Douglas."

Douglas received her Bachelor of Arts from Hunter College in 1910, a master's degree in education from Columbia University in 1912, and a doctorate from Fordham University in the 1930s. The title of her dissertation was "The Importance of Play". She was a school teacher in the New York City Independent School District.

She started her career as an educator in 1912, became a junior principal in 1935, and retired in 1959.

Douglas received mail about her letter throughout her life. She would include a copy of the editorial in her replies. In an interview later in life, she credited it with shaping the direction of her life positively. Douglas died on May 13, 1971, at the age of 81, in a nursing home in Valatie, New York.

Observer

Across Across Down Down

141. Keenly perceptive 143. Raise (children) 144. Belonging to whom? 147. Hopeless wish, ... in the sky 149. Mountains 151. Labours 153. Is able to 155. Lovable 157. Room base 158. Bladder 160. Decorate with pictures 162. Tiny particle 163. Creep (towards) 165. Beast of burden 166. Here ..., gone tomorrow 168. French brandy 170. Additionally 172. Loose hood 175. Hanker after 176. Hatchets 178. Slothful 179. Dodge 181. Plant seed 182. Written material 184. Elect 185. Deciduous tree 186. Woodwind instrument 188. Second-hand 189. Suit-maker 191. Regal 193. Speaking to crowd 195. Fixed procedure 196. Ward off 199. Copious 202. Legacy 204. Traitor 206. Female relative 208. Hunger 209. Wound mark 210. Bombard 212. Residences 213. Beat up 214. Current units 215. Interim 216. Camera stand 218. Arm joints 219. Each person 221. Sped on foot 223. Flightless bird 225. Bore diameter 226. On fire 229. Lungs & liver 230. Plagiarised 231. Home (duties) 233. Single thing 235. Acidic 236. Civilian wartime prisoner 238. Honey drink 243. Heavenly spirits 245. Half 246. Blister-like pouch 248. Gambling chances 249. Extinct bird 254. Inaccurate 255. Free from blame 256. Allow in 258. Enigma 259. Serious-minded 261. State further 262. Undulating 263. Four-door car 265. Straddling 268. Pester 269. Minimise 271. Hosiery garment 272. Improvement (in economy) 274. Beg 276. Skilled 278. Fundamental 280. Die down 282. Flour cereal 283. Promises 284. Schoolboys 288. Geological eras 289. Handle

Bonus Day at 11-card fixture

■ It was VHRC Bonus Day at a massive 11 race fixture at Kilmore on Monday November 28 and local trainer Julie Mifsud combined with niece Monique Burnett to land the $10,000 Alabar Vicbred Platinum Maiden Pace over 1690 metres with 4Y0 Blissful Hall-Modern Mary mare Our Arabella who registered her first success when having start number 31.

Raced by Victor Cirillo, Our Arabella enjoyed a sweet one/one passage from gate five following Keayang Speak which shadowed the leader All Saints Beach (gate four).

Easing three wide on the home turn, Our Arabella finished best to score by a half neck from Social Writer along the sprint lane after following the leader. Keayang Beach battled on strongly for third a neck away. The mile rate 200.2.

■ First starter Northolt, a What The HillS hezoneoftheboyz colt trained by Craig Demmler at Parwan and driven by Jodi Quinlan was an impressive all of the way winner of the VHRC / Aldebaran Park Benefiting Our Members 2Y0 Trotters Mobile (second division) over 2180 metres.

Beginning fast from gate four, Northolt defied all challengers to record an easy 5.8 metre victory in advance of I Dream Of Millie which trailed from gate two. Salski also on debut was third from three pegs a half head back after trailing the winner. The mile rate 2-05.5.

■ Myrniong co-trainers Jess Tubbs and Greg Sugars snared the 2180 metre Benstud Standardbreds 3Y0 Pace with Upsize Me, a Kiwi bred gelded son of American Ideal and Slangevar.

Taken back from gate three as the start was e ffected, Upsize Me settled well back as polemarker General Lincoln led before handing over to Upsize Me racing for the bell which had made a swift move forward.

Untroubled for the remainder of the race, Upsize Me a half brother to stablemate Triple Eight ran out a 2.3 metre victor over Gossip Queen which went forward to race exposed from the extreme draw. Leave Your Hat On (death –one/one) was third 2.3 metres away. The mile rate 1-58.7.

■ Long Forest trainer Andy Gath’s 3Y0 Father Patrick-Gypsy Flair filly Just A Bit Touchy upstaged her older rivals in the 2180 metre VHRC / Aldebaran Park Benefiting Our Members Trotters Mobile giving wife Kath Gath a double for the afternoon.

Restrained from gate three to possie one/one on the back of Sertorius (gate six), Kate vacated the sweet seat to park outside the pacemaker Whizzbang Dan at the bell before surging clear in the last lap to score by 6.2 metres from Tripod (three pegs) and Ebonys Avenger which trailed the leader finishing 4.2 metres back after angling wide in the straight. The mile rate 2-02.

Two meetings

■ Two meetings on Wednesday at Horsham and Bendigo. At Horsham local trainer Janet Exell’s 7Y0 Allawart Ray-Chantivari gelding Show Me The Moolah chalked up his 9th succ ess in 75 outings by taking the ID22 On Trotsvision Trotters Handicap over 2200 metres.

Coming from 20 metres, Show Me The Moolah began swiftly with David Murphy immediately sending him forward to challenge polemarker Aldebaran Rocky for the lead, but not before spending plenty of petrol to do so.

Challenged seriously by TicTok in the last lap which had moved outside him only to go off stride approaching the home turn, Show Me The Moolah resisted a strong challenge by Aldebaran Rocky on turning to gain the day by a half neck. Our Trixter (three pegs) after doing a lot of chasing was third 4.4 metres away. The mile rate 2-05.

■ St Arnaud (Moolen) part-owner/trainer Denis McIntyre landed the 1700 metre Lock In Cup Day 2023 – Sunday February 26 Pace with handy 4 Y0 gelding Captain Pins, a son of Captaintreacherous and Pretty Pins.

Driven by Michael Bellman, Captain Pins who had won on St Arnaud Cup Day ten days earlier settled at the rear from outside the front line. Sent forward three wide solo in the last lap, Captain Pins dashed away on the final bend to score by a neck from Royal Speech which followed him home in a rate of 1-57.2. Morrisons

Harness Racing

■ Smythes Creek trainer/driver Nathan Cahir snared the tab.com.au Pace over 1710 metres with consistent 5Y0 SomebeachsomewhereBring Her Back gelding Nai Harn Bay. Raced by father Gerard, Nai Harn Bay settled midfield in the running line from gate five as old timer Realy Under Fire led from gate two.

Moving to face the breeze at the bell, Nai Harn Bay outstayed his rivals to record a half neck margin over Oscar Bravo which trailed the leader easing wide in the straight. Hand Writer (four pegs) ran on late for third 3.8 metres back. The mile rate 1-59.6.

Inter Dominion

Sulky Snippets Sulky Snippets

This Week

len-baker@ bigpond.com

with Len Baker

■ Dream which had shifted from the rear racing for the bell to be three pegs and held up was third 9.8 metres away, while at Bendigo, Meredith co-trainers Emmett and father Richard Brosnan snared the quinella in the Great Ocean Road Real Estate Pace over 2150 metres with 4Y0 Majestic Son-Calixte gelding Regency defeating Baltic Spirit in a 2-01.3 rate.

Driven by Greg Sugars, Regency first up since October led throughout from gate five to score by 1.8 metres with Baltic Spirit driven by Emmett running on late from three pegs. Polemarker Goodtimedonthesash was third 6 metres away after following the winner.

■ Avenel part-owner/trainer/driver Ian Montgomery returned to the winners list when Heston Blue Chip-Beach Froi colt Cannon Beach first up since March led all of the way from gate four in the Smartline Mortgage Advisers 3Y0 Pace over 2150 metres, accounting for Miki Mahoney which raced outside him by a half neck aftera great tussle in the last lap. Our Mystery Bet (three wide last lap) was third 10 metres back. The mile rate 1-59.

■ Daylesford trainer/driver Anne-Maree Conroy’s Bacardi Lindy-Efficacious filly Constant coming off an eye catching fourth at Melton at her previous start put up a huge performance to capture the Forty Winks 3Y0 Trotters Mobile over 2150 metres.

Slowly away from the extreme draw to settle at the tail of the field with the exception of Alfie Always which galloped away, Constant gave chase four wide in the final circuit to record a stylish victory 2.3 metres in advance of Gaelic Lad which used the sprint lane after trailing the weakening leader Good Heart. Illawaong Larajay ran on late from five pegs to be third 9.6 metres back. The rate 2-01.6.

■ Sutton Grange trainer Clive Henderson’s 6Y0 Pet Rock-My Little Black Dress gelding Rocking Bugatti brought up wins wins in succession when taking the Southern Cross Equipment (SCOE) Pace over 2150 metres.

Driven once again by Michelle Phillips, Rocking Bugatti raced by Clive and wife Rachel was eased to the tail of the field from gate five as Just Ralph led from gate four. Going forward three wide solo in the last lap, Rocking Bugatti sustained a long run to defeat Mister Macedon which followed him home from a one/one trip by 2.8 metres. Just Ralph held down third 7.7 metres away. The mile rate 1-58.3.

At Ballarat

■ On Thursday at Ballarat, Rockbank trainer Freddy Spiteri was successful with handy 4Y0 Used To Me-Bella Cheval gelding Champaign Charley who scored in the Ballarat Tiles Trotters Mobile over 2200 metres.

Driven by Jack Laugher, Champagne Charley raced by Freddy and Brad McMullan was slowly away from the extreme draw settling at the tail of the field as Glengarriff led from gate two but copped plenty of pressure.

Going forward to be four back in the moving line racing for the bell, Champagne Charley ran home solidly out wide on turning to register a head margin over Love Gun which ran home strongly from a mile back after messing up the start. Kyvalley Picasso (one/three – three wide last lap) was third 9.2 metres away. The mile rate 2-01.4.

■ Heats of the Inter Dominion continued throughout the week with Geelong holding the distance heats on Saturday December 3 following the sprint racing at Shepparton the previous Tuesday. Let’s review the meetings.

NIGHT THREE – GEELONG

The build up at Geelong was electric as trainers and owners pulled out all stops to gain enough points to qualify for the $500,000 Pacing and $250,000 Trotting Grand Finals with all races over 2570 metres.

Heat One for Trotters led the Inter program and it was a clash between the two big guns Just Believe unbeaten to date and Bolt For Brilliance who was a nose second at Shepparton after winning at Ballarat and it was Just Believe the victor in a new track record mile rate of 2-00.9. Trained by Myrniong’s Tubbs/Sugars combination with Greg driving, Just Believe a 6Y0 Orlando ViciHeavens Above gelding retained the lead from the pole and after a great drive by Greg greeted the judge by a half neck from Bolt For Brilliance which trailed using the sprint lane with roughie Swiss Miss (three pegs gate two on the second line) 14.6 metres away third. In quarters of 30.6, 31.5, 28.7 and 28.3 after a lead time of 73.9 seconds for the last mile, Just Believe remained unbeaten through the series. Bolt For Brilliance pulled up a little proppy and has to undergo a vets examination to compete in the Grand Final.

Heat two went the way of Toolern Vale trainer/driver John Justice’s 4Y0 Father PatrickParis Metro gelding Mufasa Metro in a rate of 2-01.5. Going forward from gate three to head off polemarker Lotamuscle, Mufasa Metro raced by long time stable client Mark Gurry defied all challengers to blouse a game Queen Elida one/three from gate seven which raced moved to race outside him prior to the bell by metres. Lotamuscle used the sprint lane off the winners back for third 1.2 metres away. In quarters of 30.5, 30.4, 27.9 and 29.1 after a lead time of 76.1

Andy Gath’s 6Y0 Majestic SonRosemaryzluck gelding Majestuoso was a very short priced favourite in the third heat and didn’t let his supporters down by winning in a breeze. Beginning fast from gate five, reinswoman Kate Gath led momentarily but Queenslander Majestic Harry scorched away from outside the front line head him off. Coming off the inside shortly after, Majestuoso was able to stroll to the front on the first turn. Coasting for the journey, Majestuoso greeted the judge in quarters 31.2, 30.6, 28.3 and 29.1 after a lead time of 74.4 by 7.9 metres from from Powderkeg (three wide last lap from the tail). Sleepee (one/four) ran another ripper race off a three wide trail last lap for third. The mile rate 2-01.2.

The first of the pacers heats was also a ‘stroll in the park’ for 5Y0 Somebeachsomewhere-National Gallery gelding Honolua Bay and reinsman David Moran to go through the series undefeated after the second elect Better Eclipse (gate three) galloped wildly shortly after start taking no further part in the race. As expected polemarker Torrid Saint was best to begin keeping out Alta Orlando (gate four), with Honolua Bay wasting no time in going forward to stride clear. Zeuss Bromac (gate six) also went forward to race exposed for Gavin Fitzpatrick with Torrid Saint trailing and Bettor Call Me (one/one from gate two on the second line) and Perfect Stride three back long the markers. After an easy time, Honolua Bay won unextended 2.1 metres clear of Perfect Stride along the sprint lane. Zeuss Bromac battled on bravely to be third 1.6 metres back. In quarters of 32.5, 30.7, 27.5 and 27 even for the last mile after a lead time of 71.5 sec-

■ Meetings for the week : Wednesday –Ballarat, Thursday – Maryborough/Kilmore, Friday – Cobram/Bendigo, Saturday – Melton (I-D Grand Final), Sunday – Stawell (Cup), Monday – Cranbourne, Tuesday – Mildura/ Shepparton.

onds, Honolua Bay returned a mile rate of 158.5.

Four year old Somebeachsomewhere-Mollys Deal entire Act Now has been one of the ‘finds’ of the series and snared the second heat. Driven with aggression from the pole by Jodi Quinlan to retain the lead from The Black Prince outside him after drawing next door before angling to be three pegs. Beyond Delight (gate three) was also quick away to race uncovered after The Black Prince eased back as W-A hope To Fast To Serious pushed through from inside the second line to follow Act Now. Expensive Ego (gate five) was eased at the start settling cosily three back with Bundoran (gate six) ahead of him. Going forward prior to the bell to park outside the leader for the final circuit, Expensive Ego tried valiantly to get on terms approaching the final bend. Kicking clear looking to have the race in his keeping on the home turn, Act Now was almost claimed by Bundoran (one/two) who after easing wide on the home turn sprouted wings on straightening to go down by a nose in a finish which had the crowd on their toes. Expensive Ego battled on solidly for third metres 3.6 metres back. The mile rate 1-54.9 after quarters of 29, 28.9, 27.4 and 28.1 after a lead time of 70.1 seconds. Jodi will be having her first ever ID Grand Final drive.

Heat three went to ultra consistent 5Y0 Mach Three-Bettor Give It gelding Mach Dan giving Cardigan training duo Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin all three. Raced by Danny Zavitsanos, wife Joanne and Kiwi Warren Viney, Mach Three (Mark Pitt) began fast from outside the front line only to be trapped wide as both Petes Said So (gate four) and I Cast No Shadow (gate six) inside him began equallly as fast with Petes Said So leading before handing over to I Cast No Shadow who then allowed Mach Dan to stride clear with Better Be The Bomb from the extreme draw going forward to park in the open being trailed up by Spirit Of St Louis. In a race of changes, Narutac Prince from mid-field was set alight to race exposed racing for the bell giving Spirit Of St Louis one/ one cover. After an easy time in quarters of 29.3, 31, 27.6 and 27.4 following a lead time of 68.9 seconds, Mach Dan safely defied all challengers to score by 2 metres over Petes Said So along the sprint lane after I Cast No Shadow eased away from the markers on turning in finishing third a half head away. The mile rate 155.3.

The Grand Final Fields for both races will be drawn at Monday’s Cocktail Party.

NIGHT TWO - SHEPPARTON

Speed racing over 1690 metres highlighted the second night of the series on Tuesday November 29 with the action on from the start in all races.

PACERS – HEAT 1

Five year old Mach Three-Bettor Give It gelding Mach Dan trained by the Stewart/Tonkin team improved on his opening night third behind Act Now to register a convincing victory. Beginning fast from gate three Mach Dan couldn’t head off the heavily backed Sydneysider I Cast No Shadow from the pole before gaining cover when Expensive Ego (gate five) after being trapped wide was sent forward by Luke McCarthy to join the leader racing for the bell. Easing three wide on the final bend, Mach Dan was strong at the finish to record a half neck margin over Expensive Ego who’s run was outstanding.

Record entries for Blue Diamond

■ There is a big grin on the face of Melbourne Racing Club officials after receiving a record 947 youngsters, confirmed as first acceptors for the Blue Diamond to be run at Ladbrokes Park, Sandown, in February. This is due to Caulfield having a big makeover.

As mentioned in my column recently, leading trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace again top the charts with an impressive 86 first acceptances.

This is 20 more than their nearest rivals, the Godolphin Group, under James Cummings, and leading Queensland trainer, Annabel Neesham, who have both accepted with 66.

The Godolphin Team will be hoping that their current winning spree stretches into the summer with a trio of early season winners among their Blue Diamond arsenal.

This includes the Maribyrnong Trial Stakes winner, Zulfiqar, impressive Cranbourne winner, Remedies, and one-million-dollar, Golden Gift winner, Barber.

Ottawa Stakes winner, Charm Stone , looks one of the top seeds among Mick and Michael Kent Junior, 64 strong entry list.

Mick Price is chasing a third career win in the race winning with the talented Extreme Choice in 2016.

Top Sydney trainers Peter and Paul Snowden have nominated 26 youngsters led by the promising, King’s Gambit, who won the Magic Millions Debutant Stakes in good style.

Maribyrnong Plate victor, Krakarib, stands out among Simon Zahra’s list of 15 acceptors aimed at Sandown.

Ben and W.D Hayes have the promising Arkansaw Kid, being the most noticeable among their 38 entries, and the Hayes camp have won many Blue Diamond’s over the years. I am invincible with 67 nominations, remains the most popular stallion by way of representation.

On the next line is another top stallion, Zoustar, who boasts 59 of his own, including the Gimcrack Stakes winner in Platinum Jubilee.

Crack sire, Snitzel, has 51 entries including the Breeder’s Plate winner, Empire of Japan.

There was one late entry lodged among the 947, entered by Amy and Ash Yargi, who parted with $5500, for the their colt, Gangitano, a placegetter at his first start.

Connections have until 12 noon on Tuesday January 3, to lodge their second acceptances ($480), while punters will eagerly await the start of the Ladbrokes Blue Diamond Stakes Series. The action gets underway with Blue Diamond Previews over 1000 metres on Thursday, January 26.

More information can be found on the Ladbrrokes Blue Diamond Stakes by emailing mrc.racing.com/nominations

Clubs ready

■ City and country racing clubs are keen and ready to celebrate Christmas prior to the big day.

As mentioned in my previous column, the picnics are ready to, swing into action with

Ted Ryan

Always a great day in the picturesque surroundings, and an enjoyable drive from Melbourne.

The Benalla Racing Club is looking forward to their big day on Saturday December 17th.

Another top drive to the lovely spot referred to as ‘Rose City’.

It’s situated around 120 miles in the old, and quite a pleasant drive.

The Colac Club, just through Geelong, are in readiness for their big day on Saturday December 17.

Picnic Racing then swings to Yea, one of the most popular picnic racecourses in Victoria, and many ways you can get there, up through Yarra Glen, or up the Hume.

Back to the professionals, and we journey to Horsham in the Western District on Sunday December 18.

Always a good day and very friendly country people.

Back to the city, and the Werribee Racing Club will holdits pre-Christmas meeting on Sunday December 18.

About a half hour drive from the city with varying distances with their races and always plenty of action.

On the move

■ Popular young racing man, Tom Sadler, according to the mail floating around at the moment, is about to join the training ranks.

The popular young jockey, spent time riding on the flat and over the jumps with success.

With his weight a bit of a worry, he had decided to join his father John Sadler.

Now however he has decided to have a crack at training on his own. I am sure he will do well and there are many years of experience in the Sadller camp. We wish him all the best.

End of an era

■ I was saddened to hear that a historic homestead has been sold. Blue Gum owners, Phillip and Patti Campbell, are looking at where life takes them. The farm has been sold to Trilogy Rural Investments.

I go back a few years in my days with Channel Nine, when the owner, Graham Campbell, ran the show.

I had the pleasure of working with Graham at Channel Nine when he was guest many times on our racing shows.

Some people might not know, but Graham was a top-class golfer, and won many a tournament. He was up there with the best of them.

The Campbells left the Blue Gum on November 3. They got through the final stage with the foaling and breeding season.

We wish them well in the future as my thoughts of working with Graham at GTV9.

Balnarring, with their big day celebrated on December 3.

Kyneton Racing Club and Hanging Rock will celebrate their big day on Thursday December 15.

AIRFARE FLIGHT CREDITS. Virgin. For sale due to health reasons.Worth $829.72, will sell for $350. Need to book by Jan. 31, 2023 and can travel and fly anytime up[ to Dec. 27, 2023. Flight Centre travel agents will transfer credits in person. Mornington. 0490 841 568.XX

ALARM PENDANT. Live life brand. Works anywhere. Still in box. Retail: $500. Sell for $300. Can post. A lexandra. 0419 445 697.RR-XX

ALLY PUTT 12ft long 15HP motor. GC. $120. Altona. 0437 672 039. TT-XX

ALUMINIUM TINNY. 12ft stacker. No motor, as is, age unknown. GC. $500. Arthurs Creek. 0412 104 100.XX

ANTIQUE Dressing Table. EC. $100. Flemington. 0408 539 391. RR-XX

BABY CLOTHES and clothes. Mixed sizes, winter and summer. New and pre-owned. Gifts for clearance. $700 ONO the lot. Richmond North. 9429 6516.XX

BEDROOM SUITE. Near new. QS. Sleigh bed. Quality mattress, 2 bedside t ables, large dressing table, 8 drawers. Large mirrors. $150. Toorak. 0412 728 133.RR-XX

BLOWER Vacuium Electric. GC. Little used. $20. Doreen. 9717 3465.XX

B OAT. 3.6M Savage

Kestral, three seats, 15HP OB Suzuki 40 hrs, safety g ear, 4 pfd’s, Sunbier trailer. Reg., spare wheel, boat not reg. Boat and motor covers two fuel tanks 12L and 25L. Has not bee used for 3 years. $2900. Flowerdale. 0411 577 050.RR-XX

BOAT WINCH. 2000 kg. Never been used. Steel vable. 123 volt with hand held. Remote control. VGC. $300 ONO. Broadford. 5784 1816.XX

BOOKS AND MAGAZINES on the Queen and Royal Family. 15 books, 31 magazines. $50. Mernda. 0402 546 639. RR-XX

BRICKS. Block grey. Ised condition. About 46 in tot al. Used. $60. Cranbourne. 0452 442 561. XX

CAMERA. Brownie. Ant ique. VGC. From deceased estate. VGC. $50. Airport West. 0417 999 224.XX

CAMPER TRAILER.

2005 Tru Blu. Heavy duty construction. Canvas and flyscreens EC. 12V accessory connection to run a fridge. Set up easy annexe. Never used. Registered and ready. VGC. $4000. Dromana. 5981 4517. TT-XX

CARAVAN. Retro. Franklin Inala. Dual purposes annexes, 3 way fridge, deep freezer, sleeps 4, alloy wheels with light industrial tyres. Many other extras too numerous to mention. Ready to enjoy. VGC. $8500. Seymour. 0410 032064.TT XX

CARAVAN CORONAL compact 402, 2010 model. Length 5 metres. Rear back door. Sleeps 2. New awning, solar panels, 3 way fridge 12/240 volt, TV, many extras, always garaged. EC. $17,900. Carrum Downs. 0407 829 700.RR-XX

CARAVAN. Coronal Compac 402 pop top, solar panel, 3 way fridge, 2 x single beds, new awning, 12/240 volt, TV, always garaged. Many extras. $17,900. Carrum Downs. 0407 829 700.XX

CONCERT AND CUSTOM CLOTHING. Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, KISS, U2, Eminem, Pink, Katy Perry, ACDC, Guns and Roses, Pink Floyd, Roger Waters, Bardot, Calvin Klein, Kookai, DKBY, Forever New, Chanel, Country Road, Zara, Hugo Boss, Playboy, Pretty Little Thing, Billabong. VGC. $20$200. Cheltenham. 0401 623 388.RR-XX

COUCH. Gun metal grey, faux leather. Two seater divan double bed with mattress. Cost: $900. As new. Sell for $500 ONO. Wantirna South. Gloria, 0412 713 860.RR-XX

COUCH. 3 seater. Leather. Mid navy blue in colour. No rips, tears or stains. VGC. $200. Epping. 0408 331 699. RR-XX

CRAFTING Lap Tray. Portable. 48 x 37 x 7cm. Adjustable LED light. Sits snugly on your lap. Never used. New in box, Makes great gift. EC. $20. Airport West. 0417 999 224. XX

CRICKET HELMET. Gray Nicolls. White. Med. size 57-58cm. $25. Box Hill North. 0401 494 336. XX

CRUSHING SHREDDER. Ryobi electric. As new. $200. Epping. 0447 492 587.RR-XX

DINNER SET for 10. Made in Japan, pre19675, white with pattern incluides tea pot, coffee pot, sugar bowl, milk jug. EC. $100. Wesburn. 0407 314 246.RR-XX

DINING TABLE. Solid timber with chunky legs with 8 chunky chairs. Leather, dark brown. GC. $290. Donvale. 0418 380 095. RR-XX

DISHWASHER. Smeg. S/ Steel. Free standing. Has been in storage for past four years. As new. $40. Ringwood. 0499 869 975.TT-XX

DRILL PRESS. Sherwood 14-inch. Model DPF 750. Never been used. $400. Lower Templestowe. 9850 7960.XX

ENCYCLOPAEDFIA

BRITTANICA. Complete, full set with 24 volumes of 1965 edition. Maroon ‘leathette’ covers. Original wooden shelving unit. GC. $100. Ashburton. 9885 2203.RR-XX

EXERCISE BIKE. York C720 Platinum Series with manual. As new. VGC. $30. Epping. 0408 331 699. RR-XX

FOOT MASSAGE. Home Medics Unit. One owner. Remote control. Massage function. VGC. $210. Frankston. 0457 047 164.XX

FORD FAIRLANE GHIA. 205 6.4 V8. Immaculate Cond. White leather seats. 188,000 jms. Garaged. Reg: IWJ-1nQ. RWC. $12,000. Wandong. 0418 399 261. RR-XX

FORD GHIA. 2002 sedan, leather black seats. Silver. 20,016 km. Ghia wheels. Rego RVC-765. $3250 ONO. Glenroy. 0417 125 898.XX

FORD TERRITORY. 209. 4L. 6-speed auto. 4WD. Lightning strike. EC. RWC. XAH-924. $10,500. Nunawading. 0400 932 050.RR-XX

FRIDGE. Hauer. 137cm h, 53cm w, 56cm depth. VGC. $200. Reservoir. 9460 8585.RR-XX

GARAGE DOOR opener. Electric. New in box. $300. Hastings. 0418 103 834.RR-XX

GAS COOK TOP. 86 x 60. Underneath 82 x 47. 4 burners and wok burner. Never used, wrong size. Paid $488, sell $400. Brunswick West. 0414 245 680.RR-XX

GOLDEN BOOKS. 10 available. GC. $40. Wesburn. 0407 314 246. RR-XX

GOLF BAG. Leather. Very Old. FC. $175. Doncaster. 0408 308 296.TT-XX

GOLF CART. Parmaker Explorer Ghia with new batteries. Serviced. EC. $2000. Epping. 0447 492 587.RR-XX

GRAB NICOLLS Boys’ white cricket helmet, med. size, 57-58cm. EC. $30. Box Hill North. 0401 494 336.RR-XX

HALF CABIN 500 HP Honda Outboard . 1980s Nautilus. 4.7m. V-hull Cuddy Cabin. VGC. $6500. Dromana. 5981 4517. TT-XX

HOLDEN BARINA. 2door hatch, auto, tidy, runs well. RWC. Six moths reg. Good tyres. 2009 first registered 209 manufactured. Original mags. KL35A086 19B315545 VIN No. VGC $5000. Seymour. 0419 881 573.RR-XX

HONDA motor GX 160, horizontal shaft, little use. VGC. $350. Arthurs Creek. 0412 104 100.XX

HOT HOUSE. 180 x 250 x 20. Steel frame with shade cloth walls. Two shelves inside. Needs to be disassembled. Will need a trailer to remove it. GC. $200. Preston. 0434 086 414.TT-XX

HP INK. 950XL Black, 951XL Yellow, 951XL Magenta, 951XL Cyan. Sell as package. Never used. $75. Mornington. 0493 121 302.RR-XX

INDUSTRIAL Bench Drill. 16mm. Keyless chuck. Approx. 40 inches tall. Little use from new. $350 ONO. Broadford. 5784 1816. XX

JAGUAR XJ6. First series 1973 ex wedding car. 350 Chev V8, roof opens, GC. Tyres GC, some rust in the body of car. No need for a lot of repair. Need space for my house, it’s time to go. VIN IL30107BW. $20,000 neg. Greensborouigh. 0478 702 545. TT-XX

LOUNGE SUITE. Fleur Modular 6-seater L-shaped corner unit with fluro light, sand colour, should suit large room or man cave. EC. $200. Enfeavour Hills. 0468 954 177.XX

LOUNGE SUITE. 6 seater, white L shaped. EC. $50. Mahogany queen bedroom suite, bedhead, base with 4 drawers, 2 side tables and dresser. EC. $400. Glass round kitchen suite with four black chrome legs, GC, $20. Glass rectangular table, with 4 white chairs, GC, $200. Timber TV stand, 3 metres long with DVD space and 3 drawers on each side, EC. $20. East Melbourne. 0438 550 849.RR-XX

MAGAZINES. UK publication History Of War. 33 copies. Quality publication featuring editorial photos and art including new information. Ideal for libraries. EC. $210. Mornington. 5973 4342.RR-XX

MOBILITY SCOOTER.

Akikim. 6 months new, hard top, weather cover, walker frame, storage pod and baskets, seat belts, under guarantee. Will include medi alarm pendant. $3500 ONO. Alexandra. 0419 445 697. RR-XX

NBA BASKETBALL CARDS. Series 11. Skybox Premium. GC. $100. Wesburn. 0407 314 246.RR-XX

NUMBER PLATE. Los Angeles. GC. $10. Wesburn. 0407 314 246. RR-XX

‘ORCHID’ ROCK flowering in wheelbarrow. $50 ONO. Preston West. 0434 085 414.RR-XX

PATTERN BOOK. Madame Weigel wool novelties. 1930s edition. 14 pages. FC. $20. Wallan. 5783 1986.XX

POT PLANTS. Various, cacti all big. GC. $10-$20 each. Preston West. 0434 085 414.RR-XX

POULTRY CRATES, two. Wire. One: 860 x 680mm. Second: 600 x 540mm. GC. $15each. Macleod. 9459 6714.RR-XX

RACK FOR PLANTS. Easily taken aprat. 170 x 90 x 45. Appears to be chrome plated. Has shade cloth walls. Can provide phots. GC. $80. Preston. 0434 085 414.TT-XX

RADIOGRAM. 1930s era. Good restoration project. Solid condition. GC. $60. Greensborough. 0406 939 273.XX

REGISTRATION PLATES. ‘MISUBI’. Slimline BW. Great gift for Subaru owner. EC. $1100 or offer. Frankston. 9789 9634.

RR-XX

RIPPER. 3PL. Heavy duty. GC. $40. Arthurs Creek. 0412 104 100.RR-XX

SEWING CABINET. Horn. Length 96cm, width 44 cm, height 30cm. Blackwood timber. Blonde wood chair. GC. $250 ONO. Somerville. 5916 1516.RR-XX

SEWING CABINET and Singer sewing machine. Assorted cotton, etc. Photos available. GC. $150. Preston. 0434 085 414. TT-XX

SHOW BUSINESS. Programs, South Pacific, Oklahoma, Annie Get Your Gun, Nat King Cole, Camelot, My Fair Lady, Can Can, Call Me Madam. From 1950 etc. Approx 200. GC. $200. Box Hill South. 9890 7904.XX

SOFT TOYS, BOOKS, CLOTHES for kids. Suit single mums, struggling families. Bikes, school bags, caps, hats, posters, stickers, cars, calendarts, cosmetics, car wheel covers, magazines, towels, spare wheels, sunglasses, containers, jars, bottles, glasses, kitchenware,boxes, Goanna fridge magnets. GC. Free. Cheltenham. 0401 623 388.RR-XX

STAG HORN. 20 years old. GC. $50 ONO. Preston West. 0434 085 414. RR-XX

STOCK CRATE. Suit trailer. 8’ x 5’6”. Light weight. Repainted. GC. $600. Arthurs Creek. 0412 104 100.RR-XX

SURFBOARD, used, Trigger Bros. 6’2” long, 20.5” wide. Approx. 41 litres, 5 fin boxes, comes with4 fins and leash. Ideal for all levels of surfer choice, quad or thruster fin arrangement. VGC. $475 ONO. Langwarrin. 9776 6769. RR-XX

TALLBOY. Eagle Remac, five drawers, with two bedside two drawers tables, chocolate with chrome handles, needs varnish touch up, some scrapes. GC. $400 ONO. Moonee Ponds. 0438 762 996. RR-XX

TENSION WRENCH. Dual signal Warren & Brown model 3220. VGC. $30. Rye. 0400 908 813. RR-XX

UNIT. One bedroom. In Alexandra Tourist Park (permanent). Patio (private) (7a). VGC. $45,000. Alexandra. Ellie 5772 1222. Claudia 0409 470 107.RR-XX

VACUUM POULTRY MANUAL. 1945 edition with aerial photo of Carters Poultry Farm at Werribee. GC. $45. Macleod. 9459 6714. RR-XX

VOLKSWAGEN EOS 103TDI 2014 2-door Hardtop convertible turbo diesel 2.0-lt auto. 34,200 kms. Silver. Black leather. MAGGII rego. Immaculate cond. $29,990. Box Hill North. 0425 779 915. XX

WATER TRANSFER PUMP. 3600 L/H. 8 metre lift. GC. $40. Doreen. 9717 3465.XX

WINE. One dozen, cintage 1956 Penfolds Club Port. One pint six fluid ounce bottles. GC. $1200. Wandong. 0418 399 261.RR-XX

GARAGE SALE

SAT. DEC. 10. From 1pm. 14 Penbola Drive, Seville. 40 years of collecting bottles, glasses, LPs, teddy bears, books, spinning wheel, plants, trailer, 1000-litre water tank, metal detector, pumps, fittings, parts and more. XX

WANTED TO BUY SAVE THE DATE

SAVE THE DATE. December 16, 2022. Community Carols. Free Event. 4pm5.45pm: Games, activities, free food and drinks. 6pm-8pm: Carols service. Community singing and special items. Plus Christmas hampers to be won. 43 Monterey Blvd, Frankston North. 0417 513 649.TT-XX

BEDROOM SUITE. Nea new. QS bed. Quality mat tress. 2 bedside tables large dressing table. 8 drawers, large mirro r $1500. Toorak. 041 2 728 133.XX

CARROTS. Secon d Grade. Bulk or bagged Strathbogie. Leon, 0490 522 512.XX

WHAT’S ON WANTED TO BUY

CONDITION

FC - Fair Condition. GC - Good Condition. VGCVery Good Condition. EC- Excellent Condition.

MORNINGTON Dutc h Australian Seniors Club Meets weekly in Tyabb Community Hall Frankston-Flinders Rd Tyabb on Mondays, 10am 2pm. Morning coffee games of Klkaverjas and Rummicub. New members welcome. Nel, 0414 997 161. Paula, 5779 8291

ACCORDION. GC. Mt Martha. 5973 4163. RR-XX SOLOMON ISLAND S Postal items, ephemera and postcards, photos etc. GC. $20. Mill Park 9436 8935.RR-XX

Discounted paid advertising packages are available in The Local Paper. Phone our office on 1800 231 311 to enquire about latest specials. The full cost of the advertising package is charged on the first edition. Therefore we are unable to offer refunds on any portion of pacakages once the advertisement has begun running.

Free ‘For Sale’ and ‘What’s On ads are available in The Local Paper to private parties and community organisations. There are no charges, no fees and no commissions.

5.30pm Mondays Moonee Ponds Baptis Church, 45 Eglinton St supports those fro m Moonee Valley in a tough place. All welcome for a free hot meal from 5.30pm on Mondays. If you have food handling, listening o cleaning skills, then con tact us to help out. 0466 075 820. UFN

SOCIAL BALLROO M DANCING. Lessons and practice, 7.30pm -10pm Wed. Scots Church Hall Yea. $5. Dance: 1st Sat urday of month. 7.30pm 11pm. 0490 42

NOTICE OF ACQUISITION COMPULSORY ACQUISITION OF INTEREST IN LAND

The Manningham City Council (ABN 61 498 471 081) of 699 Doncaster Road, Doncaster, Victoria, 3108 (Council) declares that by this notice it acquires the following interests in the land described as Lot 114 on Plan of Subdivision 082719 being the whole of the land contained in Certificate of Title Volume 08883 Folio 619:

Interests Acquired: That of Neda Nastevski and Nick Nastevski (registered proprietors) and all other interests.

The acquisition is made pursuant to section 112 of the Local Government Act 2020 for the purpose of community infrastructure.

A notice of intention to acquire the interest in the land was not required under section 7(1) of the Land Acquisition and Compensation Act 1986 because the land has been publicly advertised for sale and the Council believes in good faith that the interest is still available for sale.

Published with the authority of the Council. For and on behalf of the Council

Signed: Name: Andrew Day Date: 22 November 2022