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ObserverMelbourne

ObserverMelbourne

TED’S

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NEWS

38

ROYAL

ZARA

VISITS

Page 7

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2013 www.MelbourneObserver.com.auPh 1-800 231 311

Fx 1-800 231 312

STATE

EDITION

Vol 45

No 1536

SERVING

VICTORIA

SINCE 1969

NEWS ★ SHOWBIZ ★ LIFESTYLE ★ TRAVEL ★ FEATURES ★ BARGAINS ★ SPORT

TOP VALUE

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HINCH’S SHAME■■■■■ Broadcaster Derryn Hinch has

come under fire from a number

of his former 3AW colleagues

after seeking donations from the

public to pay more than

$100,000 in his legal fees.

Hinch has re-published mes-

sages on Facebook and Twitter,

requesting cash to be donated

into a Commonwealth Bank ac-

count that bears his name.

Hinch says he will be paying

the $100,000 fine ordered by

Supreme Court Justice Kaye, but

says he also has to find up to

another $150,000 to pay in le-

gal and Court-ordered costs,

after he was convicted of breach-

ing a suppression order imposed

by Mr Justice Nettle.

The criticism of Hinch comes

as the public is asked to also

donate to victims of the NSW

bushfires.

Former 3AW news reporter

Kate Murphy said: “There are far

more worthy causes ... donate

the lot Derryn and cop your pun-

ishment for breaking the law.”

●●●●● Turn to Page 13

MELBOURNE’S BEST BUYING GUIDE

144PAGES

‘I'm guessing no tax deductions for

donors either. Donate to NSW

Bushfire appeal instead.

Far more worthy.’

- Glenn Bear, media commentator

‘I'm guessing no tax deductions for

donors either. Donate to NSW

Bushfire appeal instead.

Far more worthy.’

- Glenn Bear, media commentator

- Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, October 30, 2013 www.MelbourneObserver.com.au

Press+Online+Google+SocialMedia+EditorialMelbourne Observer Advertising

Advertisers’ Index

About Myself ..................... Trader P69Adam & Eve Baby Wear .................. P33Adele Video Production ........ Trader P66All 4 Paws and Claws

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This Week’s Issue■ As well as our regular columnists in every edi-tion of the Melbourne Observer, we have somegreat sections in this week’s issue:■ Melbourne Seniors News: Allbright Manor(Page 14)■ Hunting (Pages 16-22), details at right■ Dogs: Catonam/Silver Shade (Page 30),Bateau Chien Kennels (Page 31)■ Buying Guide: Belmondo (Page 32), Adam &Eve Baby Wear (Page 33), Gilmour’s ComfortShoes (Page 34), French Navy (Page 111),Nettie’s Country Creations (Page 112), Forma-tion Flooring (Page 113), Sunshine Trailers (Page114).■ Travel: Broome Beach Resort (Page 115).You will be seeing messages every week fromnow until Christmas. For personal service, speakwith the Resort Manager, Dawn.■ Craft: Silk Wholesalers (Page 122), EleganceWith Style (Page 123).■ Healthy Living: Michelle Francis (Page 124),Footlogics (Page 125), Jackie Wright (Page126), Waverley Medical Centre (Page 127).■ Victorian Rural News: Keepa (Page 128),Wobble Tee (Page 129), Oilman Group (P 130).■ Horses: APA Equine (Page 140), HawkesburyRiver Saddle Co. (P 141), Gutz Busta (P 142).

Confidence up

Barry’s Arnhem hunt

●●●●● Ash Long, Observer Editor

References to ‘Trader’ denote the 76-page liftout in the centre of this edition

KristalBond ....................... Trader P14La Grande, Gold Coast ....... Trader P76Lawrance Odrnance ..................... P22Life Be In it ....................... Trader P35Lilly Jack ........................... Trader P75Lifestyle Awnings ................ Trader P31Londrigan Beef & Lamb ...... Trader P33Lunar Lighting ................... Trader P71Maeburn Cottages ............. Trader P65Maroondah Sports Club ..... Trader P56Maryborough ....................... Trader P1Mattresses Galore ............. Trader P40MCVilly Timber .................. Trader P54Melbourne Boulevard Pharmacy

and Health Foods ........... Trader P34Melbourne Dance Theatre ........... P131Metro Boronia ........................... P143Michael’s Trailers .............. Trader P48Michelle Francis ......................... P124Misty Gully Smokehouse .............. P18Mokutu, Norfolk Island ........ Trader P17Mr Sleepyman ................... Trader P74Muckadilla Safaris ....................... P21Nettie’s Country Creations ......... P112Oilman Group ............................. P130One Stop Caravan Shop ....... Trader P2OzSpy Security Solutions .... Trader P41PC Repair Centre ................ Trader P21Play Rare DVDs ................. Trader P32Practical Legal Solutions ...... Trader P3RDA Mortgage Solutions ...... Trader P10Reef Palms, Cairns ........... Trader P73Rentasaur ........................ Trader P49Robinvale Wines ............... Trader P68Royal Melbourne

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ObserverMelbourne

To advertise anything -from a classified ad toa full-colour full-page,

contact our Editor, Ash Long,on 1-800 231 311 or

[email protected] will look after your

requirements - PERSONALLY!

■ Professional hunter Barry MCVilly has justreturned from a six-day hunt in Arnhem Land.

Barry received an urgent call to hunt aBantous Cinnamon Bull that was causing havocin the region.

Barry explains hunting as the oldest profes-sion in the world (Page 17).

Other hunting operators have joined him inthis week’s Hunting section:■ Misty Gully Smokehouse (Page 18). Speakwith Andrea, phone 0414 984 956.■ Sambardeer (Page 19). Errol Mason offers agreat publication for hunters.■ JS Enterprises (Page 20). Jason offers a greatrange of products, and good old-fashionedAussie service.■ Muckadilla Safaris (Page 21). Speak withGlenn about joining in his Australian buffalohunting expeditions.■ Lawrance Ordnance (Page 22). Simon has agreat range of slouch hats, perfect for summer,and a great Christmas gift for that someone whoembraces the ANZAC legend.

Newest Advertisers■ Hygeia (Page 15). It’s the ‘Wedding Boat’,but it’s also great for Christmas parties and NewYears Eve. Speak with Barbara on 5254 1111.■ Melbourne Dance Theatre (Page 131). Speakwith Michelle. Enrolments are already beingtaken for 2014. melbournedancetheatre.com.au■ Serena Coffee (Page 131). Nader invites youto taste beautiful coffee in his showroom at 15Hope St, Brunswick.■ Triple Ace Tennis (Page 140). Jamie offersreal value with up to 40 per cent off first term(new enrolments only). Ask him about a freeracquet (conditions apply).■ Wombat Gully Plant Farm (Page 130). Takea short trip to 439 Old Geelong Rd, HoppersCrossing - and save!

●●●●● Barry MCVilly

■ At 144 pages, this is the biggest edition ofthe Melbourne Observer in decades. Businessconfidence is high amongst our advertisers.

We are pleased to announce that we havealready signed contracts for weekly advertise-ments to appear throughtout 2014 with a num-ber of our VIP clients including:■ All 4 Paws and Claws (contact Renee)■ Entertainment Australia (Michelle Drinnan)■ Formula Ford Experience Australia (ScottAllen)■ Golden Days Radio (through President LarryJames and Station Manager Alex Hehr)■ Grosvenor In Cairns (Brian Sweetman)■ Maroondah Sports Club (Rebecca Lees)■ MCVilly Timber (Barry MCVilly)■ Metro Boronia (Tom Schouten)■ SGI Consulting Group (Adele Pugh)■ Tilco (Barry McFarlane)

If you would like to promote your business inthe Melbourne Observer in 2014, take advan-tage of the earlybird rates. Contact Editor AshLong on 1-800 231 311, or by e-mail at [email protected]

On the hunt for Barra

■ One of our regular advertisers, Allan Beale, isannouncing the 2014 program for his Darwin’sBarra Base business (see Page 3, at right).

Allan is particularly excited about the 2014Big Barra Run-Of that runs from February to April.

Shady Camp will not have been commerciallynetted for two years, so Big Barra and KingSalmon will be on the bite.

Contact Allan direct on 1-800 777 420, orcheck out the website:

www.darwinsbarrabase.com.au

REAL ESTATEBUNDABERG DA APPROVED

DEVELOPMENT BLOCKBundaberg Regional Council ispromoting attractive incentives toassist in further development of thisregion. For sale 3,739m2 parcel oflevel land.DA approved for 8 x 3 bedroomresidential multi units.Located close to shopping centre &transport.

Not affected by floods.Offered for sale at $449,000

Contact John Fidden Real Estate07 4153 6444

Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, October 30, 2013 - www.MelbourneObserver.com.au

Heavily Discounted RatesOnly $595 per person per day. (Includes all Accom. and Meals whilst on Safari)

Fly in and stay at Darwins Barra Base B&B Lodge for 2 nights for only $80 per person.Being One night prior to the Safari start and the last night when you come back into Darwin after the Safari. Also includes self-serve continental

breakfast; and take away Pizza or Chinese on the last night when we return back to the B&B.

Straight from the heart♥ E-Mail: [email protected]

Mark Richardson

Tony Hadley always gold■ Humility seems to be a commontrait among the biggest and best of theworld's musicians, and Tony Hadleyis no exception.

Receiving the highest of accoladesfor his contribution to world-class mu-sic of many genres, his considerablebody of work with several charities andrecent Reformation and tour withiconic band Spandau Ballet, his lifehas been eventful and enriching.

Known for his contribution to thefabulous 'Romantic 80s' music era,captured in the publication of his best-selling book To Cut A Long Story Short,Tony continues to write and record soloalbums, perform tours across the world,and has a regular radio show broadcastfrom the United Kingdom.

If TV appearances, an award-win-ning brewing business and a careerspanning several decades at the heightof these ventures are not enough, thenbeing 'drop-off Dad' at school for fivechildren must earn him the highestaward for multi-tasking.

Ahead of his Australian tourwhere he'll be performing new songsand the hits of Spandau Ballet, ac-companied by a full orchestra at thePalais Theatre, Tony was behindschedule on the Thursday school run,in his Buckinghamshire village inEngland's south-east.

“After the school bell rings.” Tonyexplained, "I'll be in the recording stu-dio for the next few days, completingthe new album, due to be released earlynext year."

You seem to be a master at bal-ancing your family life and work.Where do you find time to thinkand perhaps just spend time withTony Hadley?

My favourite place for thinking timeor to get away from it all is while walk-ing across the fields in my village. ThenI go to the pub for a drink afterwards!

What do Australian audiencesmean for you?

Spandau Ballet toured in Aus-tralia only once in the 80s which iscrazy, as we'd received such a greatreception. Australian audiences havebeen very good to us, right from the be-ginning with our first song To Cut aLong Story Short.

You've been back to Australiaseveral times as a solo artist, whywill this show be special?

I'll be performing with a wonderfulorchestra and lush repertoire of music.The first half of the show will coversome of the new album, with songs Iparticularly love, and in the second halfwe'll be taking the Spandau Ballethits and arranging them into orches-

School RunPorch

Thoughtstrated songs.

What is your initial feelingabout the upcoming album?

I'm really proud of what we have -a few people have heard the new al-bum and their reaction is "Wow!" It'sgoing to be a very exciting tour.

The Spandau Ballet Reforma-tion Tour was a welcome returnto the magic of the Romanticmusic era of the 1980s. To whatdo you attribute the era's popu-larity among younger people to-day?

It's strange, we were considered abit alternative in our early career, butnow 'Romantic' is 'cool' again. I doloads of festivals all over the world andso many young people come to our con-certs knowing all the songs. I thoughtthey'd just been listening to - or brain-washed by - their parents' records, butkids do seem to appreciate good mu-sic from any era.

Why do you think that is?I think many of them go back to the

basics with great bands that I was lis-tening to in my early years. It's bril-liant that they have access to such var-ied influences, and exposure to the dif-ferent styles of music which have de-veloped over recent generations.

Your upcoming shows rangefrom large to smaller venues andyou've performed on stages ofmany different types, fromWembley Stadium to entertainingtroops on-field. Do you have apreference for any particular per-formance setting?

It's much more about the event forme, really. I found Royal AlbertHall to be one of the loveliest perfor-mance venues, and Live Aid atWembley Stadium was amazing,but I don't really mind. I consider thatregardless of the size of the venue oraudience, I have a job to do and I'm alucky boy with a 'dream-come-true'job!

Do you always prefer to workwith big bands, particularly ontour?

I love working with big bands, andespecially our fabulous orchestra, butone special event I'll always remem-ber was after the London Olympicswhere I was invited to sing at TeamGB House. This was a much smallerroom, with the Prime Minister, movie

stars and members of the RoyalFamily in the audience, as I per-formed Gold to celebrate with theBritish medal-winners.

What circumstances led to theestablishment of your ownrecord label, Slipstream Recordsand your Radio DJ work?

I knew it wouldn't be easy, but itwould provide greater independenceas the music industry developed andchanged.

The big record companies stillhave enormous financial resources,but I was able to have more artisticcontrol, and license the bigger com-panies to take care of the marketingand other busi ness aspects of musicproduction. I also love vinyl as a mu-sic medium, and really enjoy being aDJ.

The lyrics from your hugelypopular song True include:"Why do I find it hard to writethe next line." Have you everstruggled to complete a song orpiece of music?

Oh God, yes - many times. As asongwriter I find coming up with agood idea and melody is not so hard,but coming up with a great one defi-

nitely can be.My writing can vary between con-

ventional love songs, and at othertimes something very unique. If I findit's not coming together as I'd like, Ijust put it aside and come back to it -there's no rush to finish it, and goodsongs need to be carefully written.

Your entertainment careercrosses many genres and variedroles across radio, TV, recordingand stage performance. With somany opportunities, how do youdecide which project has prior-ity for you at any given time?

I 'spin plates' like most people do- family, recording, touring and busi-ness. I sometimes wish I could havea month off, but it's the same for ev-erybody.

Life is crazier now that we haveinstant access to everything. It seemseveryone wants things done immedi-ately and our perception of time hasaccelerated since my early career.When I was here in Australia withSpandau Ballet in the 80s, thethought of phoning home to the UKwas almost impossible - and expen-sive! These days, I could be inTimbuktu and everyone knows

where I am.Your many music industry

awards, accolades and active in-volvement with global charityorganisations must give you enor-mous satisfaction, so what newchallenge or project do you thinkyou could possibly add to yourlong list of achievements?

Well, I really enjoyed playing thecharacter of Billy Flynn inLondon's West End production ofChicago, and I'd love one day to be ina Hollywood movie blockbuster. I'venever had the chance to be in a bigfilm.

What is your Porch ThoughtFor The Day?

I think our message in ThroughThe Barricades says it: Believe youhave the strength to overcome. Enjoyit, and try not to stress - life's goodwhen you do what you love.●●●●● Tony Hadley performs thehits of Spandau Ballet with FullOrchestra Saturday (November2) at the Palais Theatre,Melbourne. For more informa-tion visit www.tony-hadley.com

For bookings visitwww.ticketmaster.com.au

●●●●● Tony Hadley performs at the Palais Theatre this Saturday (Nov. 2)


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Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, October 30, 2013 -

Pride of country music■ One of the world's most loved per-formers, three-time Grammy Awardwinner and most respected member ofthe Grand Ole Opry and CountryMusic of Hall of Fame, CharleyPride returns to Australia for a longoverdue national tour.

Nestled between those of GladysKnight and Leonard Bernstein,Charley's star on the HollywoodWalk of Fame is something to beproud of, and, as part-owner of theTexas Rangers baseball team, his gen-erosity has won the hearts of millionsof baseball and music fans the worldover.

From humble beginnings in hisfamily's home in Mississippi, USA,Charley's legendary music careerwas launched 'accidentally' in the late1950s through his love of baseball, andhas continued over many decades, withunsurpassed success in country musicentertainment.

The launch of his new greatest hitscollection 40 Years of Pride precedesa much-anticipated series of concerts,performed for both new and loyal long-time fans across Australia.

Charley's energy, honesty and lovefor performing make him an unstop-pable entertainer and whilst preparingfor his Australian tour, he recalledhaving some of his greatest memorieson his porch at his childhood home ona cotton farm in country Mississippi.

You grew up in a large familyand enjoyed regular 'me time' onyou front porch. Can you recallwhat you thought about?

I shared a very small space with 10siblings, so sometimes I'd just go outon the porch and look at the clouds, andimagine I could walk on them, dream-ing of what I would do with my life.

How do you imagine your mu-sical life would be, had your earlybaseball playing plans gone theway you intended?

Like most American kids, my goalwas to succeed as a Major LeagueBaseball player by the time I was 35.I was doing pretty well as a pitcher,before a badly-timed injury sent medown a different path.

Instead of playing the game for TheRangers, I wound up off-field singingthe national anthem, or entertaining theteam while travelling betweenballparks.

You've blazed a few trails withmusical and other firsts over your50+ year career. Is there anythingelse you wish you'd been first at,apart from music?

Well, I would love to have gone toHollywood and become an actor likeJohn Wayne. People now say mymusic was meant to be, “otherwise wemay never have heard you sing”. I cer-tainly wouldn't have had much time forsinging with a league baseball career.

Industry emphasis has beenplaced on African-American mu-sicians overcoming cultural bar-riers in their careers. How has thisaffected the path your life hastaken?

Cloud

Porch

Thoughts

I was fortunate not to have any bar-riers, in music or baseball, thanks topeople like Jackie Robinson.

My music career started during theCivil Rights movement, so other en-tertainers before me had also helpedto pave the way.

During my career, I've had not one'hoot-call' from the audience, or anyissues playing with other musicians.

Many people don't believe it, but Iexplain that audiences thankfully fo-cus on my accomplishments instead. Itell them, 'well, maybe MartinLuther King had all the answers, butI don't - I just keep singing and doingwhat I love and what audiences wantme to do.'

You're a great representative ofgentlemen who hail from theSouthern States. Do you believeyour strong spirituality and gos-pel roots were a good foundationto keep you 'grounded' despitethe trappings of fame?

I don't think Gospel was a majorinfluence on my music, but I do feelmy background had something to dowith achieving that balance. Basically,we work with people's feelings andemotions - and I like to do a good jobat that.

The Charley Pride Story was cap-tured beautifully in your autobi-ography that was going to beadapted into a movie some yearsago. Is that still going ahead?

I'd been working on its movie ad-aptation, before the Hollywood ac-tors' strike in 2008. Although Para-mount took on the project, a changeof management had it put on hold.

The new studio mindset favouredmore action 'shoot-em-up'-type mov-ies, rather than biographical produc-tions similar to those of LorettaLynn, Ray Charles and JohnnyCash. That was disappointing, butwe're working to get the movie backon track.

Your album sales are secondonly to Elvis Presley's. What in-fluence did Elvis's music have onyour early career?

I closely followed Elvis's musicand in 1971, after I won the CMA's'Entertainer of the Year' award, I toldmy manager I wanted to perform inVegas. When he suggested a few ofthe smaller clubs there, I said I wantedto play where the 'big acts' play.

I went to three of Elvis's openingsat the Hilton International in LasVegas, and I loved it when he sang aline from one of my songs. My bandand I were invited up to his suites, andultimately returned to play at theHilton.

What was your experience ofcountry music appreciation inAustralia when you were here last,

and what are you expecting to seeduring your tour in November?

It's been 17 years since I've touredAustralia. We enjoyed every townwe played back then, all over thecountry from Darwin to AliceSprings, Perth to Port Hedland,MacKay to Townsville, Mel-bourne and Hobart. Australianaudiences seemed to appreciate ourmusic. I am also hoping to come backto return with my movie completed,to help give me a boost' for the nexttour.

You do realise that you'venever 'needed a boost' withMelbourne audiences?

Well, I can't wait to see myMelbourne fans. It feels good to re-ceive back so much from what I giveto people.

What is the most notablechange you've seen in country

●●●●● Charley Pride performs at the Palais Theatre on Saturday, November 9

music, whether in the US, Aus-tralia or elsewhere in the world?

I've performed all over, includingCanada, Sweden and Tokyo, but Iremember my first tour of Austra-lia, when your population was only13 million people.

Back then, someone had calculatedthat every household must have acopy of one of my albums! A lot haschanged Down Under - includingthe population - but not your appre-ciation for great music.

What's the next project in linefor you after the Australian tour?

Once I'm back home, I'll be goingto Spring Training in Arizona withthe Rangers' baseball team. Afterthat, I'll be performing at some morevenues closer to home.

What is your Porch ThoughtFor The Day?

Take time to look at the clouds.

My best memory of doing that wasyears ago, but it wasn't for musicalinspiration - I sing other people'ssongs.

However, one time on my porch, Iactually did write a song based on anold tale about what would happen tokids if they were awake when SantaClaus came at Christmas time:they'd get ashes thrown in their eyes!

I knew that wouldn't actually hap-pen, but I wrote a song called Santaand the Kids. It was no Help Me MakeIt Through The Night , but it was afun song!●●●●● Charley Pride's new album

'40 Years of Pride' is available

in all major music outlets and

he performs at the Palais The-

atre, St Kilda on Saturday, No-

vember 9. For tickets and infor-

mation, phone 136 100 or visit

www.ticketmaster.com.au

International stars set to shine at the Palais

Straight from the heart♥ E-Mail: [email protected]

Mark Richardson

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www.MelbourneObserver.com.au


AshThe Melbourne Observer

Editor Ash Long is heard:●●●●● 8.45am Wed., with Ron Burke, 3NRG-FM Sunbury

●●●●● 10am Wed., with Denis Scanlan, Pulse 94.7 Geelong●●●●● 9.15am Thu., with Bob and Judy Phillips, 3RPP Peninsula

If you knewSuzie, like we

knew Suzie

Decades offine arts

●●●●● Celebrating the memory of Suzie Howie this week atBistro Guillaume at Crown: from left, Serge Thomann,Paul Taylor, Ann Morrison, Natasha Stipanov and theMelbourne Observer’s Di Rolle.

■ It has been a year sinceMelbourne lost publicity dy-namo Suzie Howie, and therehave been several functions inher memory.

Close friends joined Suzie’spartner Paul Taylor at BistroGuillaume at Crown on Sat-urday.

Guests included society pho-tographer Serge Thomann,publicist Ann Morrison,Natasha Stipanov of Crown,TV producer Pam Barnes,publicist Prue Bassett, and theMelbourne Observer’s DiRolle.

A few of the luncheon guestskicked on with an extended din-ner - Suzie Howie would haveapproved!

On Monday night, a ‘drinks’function was held at the DressCircle Bar of Her Majesty’sTheatre, Melbourne, at afunction whose organisers in-cluded Sue Farrelly andKendra Reid.

●●●●● Suzie Howie

●●●●● Alana Everett, Lauren Langlois, Rennie McDougall, Lily Paskas and Lee Serleperformed in A Small Prometheus, reviewed by Kathryn Keeble in the Observer Show-biz section. Photo: Jodie Hutchinson

A Small Prometheus

Around The World

●●●●● Jim Maumill (left), Bella Wilkey, Allan Spencer andTony Johnson rehearse for Around The World WithMusic And Song.■ The Warrandyte ’55 Plus’ Variety Group this year cel-ebrates the 51st anniversary of the musical arm of theWarrandyte Senior Citizens Club by presenting AroundThe World In Music And Song, firstly as a concert on Saturday,November 16 at 1pm for 1.15pm start and then as a cabaret onFriday, November 22 at 7.15pm for a 7.30pm start.

Selections will be presented from a wide range of music andsongs representing more than 20 countries of the world, in atwo-hour show suitable for all age groups.

Venue is the Warrandyte Senior Citizens Club Hall,1-3 Taroona Ave, Warrandyte and bookings are essential.

Tickets to the concert on November 16 are $14, includingafternoon tea served after the performance. Seats to see thecabaret on November 22 are $10 , with tea/coffee supplied,BYO everything else.

Bookings for the concert and cabaret can be made by callingAllan on 9877 1077.

- Cheryl Threadgold

Alexis Wrightat dinner

Noted speaker■ Professor AmandaNicholl speak on Haemo-chromatosis at the RotaryClub of Rosanna meeting tobe held tonight (Wed., Oct. 30)at the Austrian Club, WestHeidelberg.

The club last week presentedcheques tio School of St Jude($1000), Possum Project($2000), Asylum RefugeesBridging Project ($2000),Rotarians Against Malaria($2500), Holiday Camps forDisadvantaged Kids ($1500),Sing and Grow ($1500), andToys and Tots ($500).

‘Super Discount’ at Malthouse

■ Back to Back Theatrepresents Super Discount fromNovember 13 – December 1 atthe Coopers Malthouse,Merlyn Theatre,Southbank.

In the eternal fight of goodversus evil, the ultimate winnerwill be a new kind of hero – lowfi, profoundly human, and moreresplendent in the strength of hisbeliefs than his natty lycra cos-tume.

This is the world of SuperDiscount, where the super in su-perhuman no longer involvessquare jaws and a set of wash-board abs.

With inspiration from thereal-life passion for comicbooks of Brian Tilley, a Backto Back Theatre ensemblemember, Super Discount teasesout the fictive frontier betweenalternate worlds, and asks theaudience what it means to be ahero.

This riotous new work ex-plores what it means to be dif-

ferent, and how to unleash thecaped crusader in all of us.

Back to Back Theatrewas founded in Geelong in 1987to create theatre with peoplewho are perceived to have a dis-ability.

It has since become one ofAustralia’s leading creativevoices, with a full-time en-semble of five actors, focusingon moral, philosophical and po-litical questions about the valueof individual lives.

Season: November 13 – De-cember 1

Times: Tue 6.30pm,Wed –Sat 7.30pm, Sun 5pm

Opening night: Friday,November 15 at 7.30pm

Venue: The CoopersMalthouse, Merlyn Theatre, 113Sturt St, Southbank

Bookings: malthousetheatre. com.au or 9685 5111

By CherylThreadgold

●●●●● Brian Tilley, Mark Deans and David Woods in Super Discount, opening November13. Photo: Jeff Busby

$4.3 million■ The Ride to ConquerCancer announced 1023 ridershelped raised over $4.3 millionfor the Peter MacCallumCancer Centre as the secondannual ride commenced Satur-day in Melbourne.●●●●● Greta Donaldson

Capt. Baxter■ Melbourne publicistGreta Donaldson says aninvitation-only function willbe held at Captain Baxter,St KildaBeach, on Thurs-day, November 21, for thelaunch of the summer seasonwith Style Melbourne andDrink Melbourne.

■ Miles Franklin Award-winning author Alexis Wrightwill be guest of Eltham Book-shop at Ginger Garlic Res-taurant on Tuesday, November19.

Alexis is author of TheSwan Book, which portrays theworld of an Aboriginal girl,and those around her in the yearsup to 2088, Australia’s thirdcentennial.

The book projects what con-ditions might be like for ideaslittle understood in today’sworld.

Cost: $55 for singles, $85 forcouples, includes a signed copyof the book.

■ Possum GullyGallery - in the Mary-borough region - willagain host its springexhibition and this year willbe the 20th anniversarysince it opened in 1993.

The exhibition willfeature all new works byartists who have contributedart works over the past 20years.

The gallery was built inmud brick and bluestoneand is situated at AdelaideLead in the PaddyRanges.

It started withprintmaking but has sinceextended to include acrylicand oil painting, textile art,sculpture, ceramics, glass,drawing, handmadejewellery and watercolours.

The garden has alwaysbeen a feature of thegallery and the gardensculpture is made by artistsfrom all over Australia.

Work has arrived fromartists who live inMaldon, Bendigo,Daylesford, Ballarat,Ararat, Castlemaine,Woodend, Mary-borough and Melbourne.These are diverse in subjectmatter and use of differentmedia. The exhibition opensat 11 am on Saturday (Nov.2) will remain open duringthe four days ofMelbourne Cup weekendand then every weekenduntil December 1.

PHOTO: FACEBOOK

●●●●● Alexis Wright

City DeskThe hottest news about Melbourne’s A-listers

City Desk

‘Brief Encounter’: charming, funny

●●●●● Michelle Nightingale (Laure) and Jim Sturgeon (Alec) in BriefEncounter. Photo: Leah Robertson■ Wow, what a privilege for Australia that UK-based theatre companyKneehigh brought their charming and funny production of Noel Coward’sBrief Encounter all the way from Broadway and the West End.

Presented by Arts Projects Australia, Brief Encounter played forthe Melbourne Arts Festival until last Sunday (Oct. 27).

Brief Encounter tells the story of Laura and Alec, who meet by chancein a railway station tearoom. From that day, romance ensues but theagonising truth is they are not free to love each other as each is devoted totheir spouses and children.

As the two fight their feelings, we watch two other couples in the tea-room unabashedly embrace their freedom to flirt and love.

Director Emma Rice has adapted the show from Noel Coward’s1936 play Still Life and his screenplay Brief Encounter, filmed in 1945,adding verse and lyrics also written by Coward.

The familiar classic story is shot through with vaudevillian-style musi-cal numbers and the hilarious antics of the supporting cast resulting inmore comedy than romance.

Yet the comedy is not a distraction; it functions to underline the story’stheme of restrain versus freedom. Laura and Alec are locked inside theirreality, unaware that they are a story being played out, while the others arethere to assist in telling that story and can interact with the audience andeven provide the sound effects!

Rice pays keen attention to detail, seamlessly and cleverly integratingfilm with stagecraft and reality with theatre. The product is a brilliantlyentertaining work with surprises and delights throughout. And an extremelytalented cast.

Australian performers join the international cast for this Australiantour. South Australian Michelle Nightingale takes the role of Lauraopposite Scottish-born Jim Sturgeon as Dr Alec Harvey.

Their characters are a little hard to warm to at first as their rigid inten-sity is initially undermined by the charm and warmth of the supportingcast, but their treatment of the anguish and frustration their characters feelis rewarding.

Adelaide-based Kate Cheel also joins the cast as the cheeky butunsuspecting Beryl, alongside the entertaining Joe Alessi (Fred/Albert),and superb musicians Damon Daunno (Stanley), Dave Brown andJames Gow. London-based Annette McLaughlin’s wildly funnyMyrtle steals the show.

- Reviwe by Deborah Marinaro

Melbourne Moments

JMH at Marquee■ John-Michael Howson is guestspeaker at the invitation-only Mar-quee Luncheon Club eing held to-day (Wed.) at Toorak. MC for thefunction is John Blackman.

Dame Kiri to visit■ Dame Kiri Te Kanawa will per-form at the Melbourne Recital Cen-tre on Saturday, May 10, as part of her70th Birthday Gala Tour.

Publicist Prue Bassett says DameKiri perform her own personal selec-tion of operatic favourites accompa-nied by Terence Dennis.

To Singapore■ Melbourne gallery promoterJames Makin will represent artistKristin McIver with her internationalsolo project exhibition in Singapore inJanuary.

Her neon artworks and multi-facetedinstallations focus on the media andadvertising.

Kristin completed her Master ofVisual Art at Victorian College ofthe Arts in 2009.

Kristin is the recipient of an Aus-tralia Council grant.

She won the inaugural MelbourneSculpture Prize last year.●●●●● Kristin McIver

Zara Phillips is patron

●●●●● Zara Phillips

■ Zara Phillips , team eventingsilver medallist at the London 2012Olympic Games and former worldchampion, has been announced asPatron of Magic Millions RacingWomen for 2014-2018.

Her appointment will see her pro-mote and champion the role playedby women in thoroughbred horse-rac-ing.

Ms Phillips was the inauguralMMRW Ambassador in January thisyear.

She is the eldest daughter of Prin-cess Anne.

Under The Clocks

The BuzzWhores and

Weeping Women

OUT OF THE COUNTRY

●●●●● Martin Blum (left) and Matt Dyktynski in Boy Out Of The Country.Photo: Sarah Walker

■ Fortyfivedownstairs presents a Larrikin Ensemble Theatre produc-tion, Boy Out Of The Country, from November 21 to December 8 at 45 FlindersLane, Melbourne.

Written by poet and playwright Felix Nobis and co-directed with FleurKilpatrick, Boy Out Of The Country is a unique drama where an old Austra-lia meets a new Australia: where a country cop comes to terms with catch-ment areas, where a fifth bedroom is more important than a backyard and wherenew technologies have the potential of uncovering old family secrets. A family property, worthless for generations is suddenly zoned as part of aregional housing estate to accommodate an ever-increasing urban sprawl. Aftera seven-year absence, Hunter returns to find his boyhood house boarded up andhis mother in a retirement home. He goes in search of answers, starting with hisbrother Gordon.

Written in Australian poetic vernacular, Boy Out Of The Country tunes intothe rhythms of the country to examine relationships and uncover the landscape.

This production stars Jane Clifton, Matt Dyktynski, Amanda LaBonte,Chris Bunworth and Martin Blum.

Boy Out Of The Country emerged from the Melbourne Theatre Com-pany Affiliate Writers Scheme and was awarded the R. E. Ross TrustScript Development Award.

Larrikin Ensemble Theatre brings together the combined talents, exper-tise and experience of artistic director Chris Bunworth and producer WolfHeidecker who aim to create ‘comedy with a conscience’ for the national andinternational market place.

Preview: Wednesday, November 20 at 8pm. Season: Thursday, November21 – Sunday, December 8. Times: Tuesday - Saturday 8pm, Sunday 6pm

Bookings: fortyfivedownstairs 9662 9966 or www.fortyfivedownstairs.com/buy-tickets/ Tickets: Full $38, Concession $30, Group 6+ $33

Venue: fortyfivedownstairs, 45 Flinders Lane, Melbourne. Duration: 90 minswww.boyoutofthecountry.com

■ Whores And Weeping Women iscabaret of Shakespearean pro-portions, from November 19-24, atThe Butterfly Club, Carson Pl,Melbourne.

Whores And Weeping Womenexplores the archetypes of power-ful and successful women acrossthe course of history.

A premiere season runs for sixshows only, It is described as anirreverent mash-up of contempo-rary music and Shakespeareantext which follows the weakest ofShakespeare’s heroines to theirdramatic demise.

Longer season

●●●●● Miss Fisher■ Due to the success of the MissFisher’s Murder MysteriesCostume Exhibition, with al-most 30,000 visitors in the first sixweeks, the National Trust andEvery Cloud Productions haveextended the exhibition at RipponLea House and Gardens untilSunday December 1 so visitors canenjoy Miss Fisher’s mysteriousways for longer.

ObserverMelbourne


- Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, October 30, 2013

DiTo

For with leading Melbournepublicist DI ROLLE

BUSY MELBOURNE CUP WEEK

●●●●● Jason Singh (see report at right)

■ What goes aroundcomes around I alwayssay, and my point isproving to be right!

The Music Net-work published a won-derful article statingthat 2013 is set to bebiggest sales year forvinyl in over a decade.

I got my turntableout some time ago andspruced it up withspeakers and lo and be-hold the article landedon my table.

According to the ar-ticle, Daft Punk andDavid Bowie are re-sponsible for the UK’shighest levels of vinylsales in over a decade.

Sales of vinylrecords in the UK havedoubled in 2013 so far,spurred by the popular-ity of Daft Punk’s LPmy all-time favouriteRandom Access Memo-ries that I got into inBali, and Bowie’s TheNext Day which is fabu-lous.

According to figuresfrom a music industrysource almost 550,000vinyl albums have soldso far this year andmore than 700,000 al-bums are predicted tobe sold by the end of theyear.

This excited me noend, I have a fabulouscollection of albumsand it is so great to playthem on the turntable.

formation. Wonder-land Fun Park is lo-cated at 120 Pearl RiverRd, HarbourtownShopping CentreDocklands.

Wait there’s more… The Age GoodFood Month andMelbourne CupWeekend there iswonderful high tea atW o n d e r l a n dSpiegeltent.

Ladies who lunch,and ladies who dreamof being ladies wholunch, are in for a realtreat on Sunday (No-vember 3) when Won-derland Spiegeltenthosts WonderlandHigh Tea and for thekids, Mad Hatter’sHigh Tea Party, aspart of The Age GoodFood Month and join-ing in the MelbourneCup festivities.

Situated at the popu-lar children’s attraction,Wonderland FunPark, the entertain-ment hub of Dock-lands, entering theW o n d e r l a n dSpiegeltent is like en-tering an old-timeglamorous world froma bygone era.

This is fun familyentertainment, for theladies to wear finesthats or fascinators fora chance to win a Na-poleon Make-overand Pamper packageand for the kids (14years and under).

Wonderland FunPark will be throwingThe Mad Hatters HighTea Party, where $35entry includes a SuperUnlimited rides pass,iced apple juice and ora babycino with a spe-cial array of favouriteparty treats such asfairy bread, chocolatecrackles.

My mouth is water-ing as I write this. Plusthere are mini cup-cakes! Yum.

Parents accompany-ing their children mayaccompany their chil-dren on the rides, freeof charge.

Book now atwww.wonderlandspiegeltent.com.au/events.html

High Tea settingsare at 1pm and 3pm.

Phone 9602 1311.I am off to buy my

new Melbourne Cuphat!


●●●●● Sarah Polley

■ One of the things I really enjoy is going tothe movies by myself, just popping into a cin-ema and catching up with the latest film.

It is like being on a plane: no phones, noone can find me, and I can just relax for anhour or so. It is so important to do.

The latest film I saw alone was a great film.I laughed, I cried. Stories We Tell is highlyrecommended.

One of the most heralded films of the 2012Venice and Toronto Film Festivals, Acad-emy Award nominee Sarah Polley’s inter-nationally acclaimed Stories We Tell is beinghailed by the critics.

“In a word: Wow. Extraordinary in everyway. One of the best films of the year.” wrotePeter Howell of The Globe and Mail,Canada.

On the prompting of my sister Debi inSydney, who told me I must go and see it, Iwent.

Stories We Tell unpeels the complex life ofDiane, an aspiring actress and mother, and theshockwaves that a series of impulsive actionsunleash on her children, husband and commu-nity.

With this ground breaking new feature thatseamlessly blends past and present, the realand the imagined, Polley’s characteristicallyunflinching yet compassionate gaze delivers alevel of depth and emotions only hinted by heracclaimed earlier directorial works, AwayFrom Her and Take This Waltz.

Making Stories We Tell all the more memo-rable is the revelation that the mother depicted- and family in question - is Polley’s own.“ One of the boldest and most exciting filmsI’ve seen in the last six months, and the kindof experience that has the power to alter yourperception of the world.” said A O Scott ofThe New York Times.

It really is worth seeing. It is now showingat Como Centre, check newspapers for de-tails.

www.StoriesWeTell.com.au

I love my job!I love my job!

The Ring: Wagner Animated■ In our last issue, I mentioned and recommended The Ring: WagnerAnimated. This is an operatic adventure for the whole family.

As part of The Ring Festival in Melbourne, The Ring: WagnerAnimated condenses Richard Wagner’s epic opera cycle The RingOf The Nibelung into a format which everyone can enjoy.

Bridging the gap between opera and the general public, The Ring:Wagner Animated tells the mythical story of The Rhine Gold, TheValkyrie, Siegfried and The Twilight of the Gods through colourful pro-jected animation narration and the best of Wagner’s soaring melodiessung by three accomplished singers.

Voted in the top five of more than 900 presentations at the 2012Adelaide Fringe Festival, The Ring: Wagner Animated is the per-fect way to enter Wagner’s magical world. Meet gods, giants, dwarves,elemental spirits and heroes in a thrilling adventure.

The performance is rated PG and I need to warn you this perfor-mance contains simulated violence, including the slaying of a monster.

When I tell friends about that, they say, oh the kids will love that.This performance is suitable for kids and as I said at the beginning of

the story, it is an operatic adventure for the whole family.Presented by Melbourne Recital Centre and More Than Op-

era. Tickets $45 ($35 concession) bookings melbournerecital.com.auor phone 9699 3333. What fun!

Albare next week■ One of the busiest men in Melbourne isAlbare.

After the recent exciting announcement ofAlbare’s signing to ABC Music in Austra-lia and New Zealand, the jazz guitar virtuosowill perform one intimate show in Melbourneto launch his new album, The Road Ahead, onThursday, November 7 at Bennetts Lane JazzClub.

This year, Albare has achieved successwith his UK tour and is currently on tour inEurope. where he is receiving critical praisefor his live shows and latest album.

“Absolutely terrific guitar playing byAlbare … exceptional,” said SynthesisWeekly, last month.

The Road Ahead was recorded in New Yorkearlier this year, receiving glowing reviews andUSA Jazz Chart success since its interna-tional release through ENJA records, the fa-mous legendary German label.

Joining Albare on stage at Bennetts Lanewill be Phil Turcio on piano, Phil Rex onvass and Darryn Ferrugia on drums, all mu-sicians with whom Albare shares a music his-tory.

Jason set to perform■ Jason Singh is a busy man. The formerTaxiride front man (and rather easy on theeye), Jason has embarked upon the biggest stepin his career to date, releasing his highly an-ticipated first solo album, titled Humannequin,to be launched with an electrifying live showat The Toff In Town on Wednesday Decem-ber 4.

Taxiride fans will be treated to theirfavourite hits, as they discover the renownedMelbourne-based singer/songwriter’s newmaterial on his solo debut.

Produced by the legendry ARIA-Awardwinning Charles Fisher, whose studio pedi-gree boasts such success stories as SavageGarden. Air Supply, Hoodoo Gurus, Aceof Base and Olivia Newton-John (to namea few), Humannequin drips with impossiblycatchy pop, showcasing Singh’s flawless vo-cals and song writing prowess to a tee.

Hold On Forever is the first single off thealbum, and has already been picked up by com-mercial and regional radio stations across thecountry which is a terrific effort, as well asbeing selected as the feature song of SevenNetwork’s on air promos for Million DollarMinute.

As the front man of Australia’s belovedTaxiride, Jason has had extraordinary suc-cess. Taxiride became a hit sensation in the2000s and found national success with Top 5Aria platinum selling albums and six Top 40Aria singles.

Jason has toured extensively throughout hiscareer, including international tours in NorthAmerica, Europe and Asia with Taxiride.

■ Shopping in my lo-cal store I am con-stantly reminded thatnot only is Christmascoming but so is Hal-loween (tommorow,Thurs., Oct. 31).

I never really gotHalloween. My sisterDebi loves it and doesthe whole trick or treatthing.

Australians seemto be really gettinghooked by spooky Hal-loween, so much sothat a SpooktacularScarefest is being heldat Wonderful FunPark tomorrow(Thu.).

Docklands is setto be swarming withminiature witches andwizards. It’s an after-school event for fami-lies to enjoy spookyentertainment; maybe Ishould go along andthrow myself into theface painting, trick ortreating, ghoulish good-ies, crazy dancers andphoto opportunitieswith scary and whackycharacters. There arealso WonderlandFun Park’s awesomerides.

There will be fan-tastic prizes for thespookiest costumesthroughout the day, soall children are encour-aged to let their imagi-nations run wild.

And I believe if I amthere around 4pm onthe day, I might be fea-tured on the Ten Newsweather report! Ten’sweather presenterMike Larkan will bethere with his crew tocapture all the colourand movement of Hal-loween at Wonder-land Fun Park.

Early Bird specialsare still available, of-fering fantastic savingsof $9 off the regularchildren’s ticket price,and $7 off the adultprice.

There are ticket op-tions, visit www.wonderlandfunpark.com.au for more in-

Old worldrecords

ing as I write this. Plusthere are mini cup-cakes! Yum.

Parents accompa-nying their childrenmay accompany theirchildren on the rides,free of charge.

Book now atwww.wonderlandspiegeltent.com.au/events.html

High Tea settingsare at 1pm and 3pm.

Phone 9602 1311. Iam off to buy myMelbourne Cup hat!

Stories We Tell

Latest NewsFlashes Around Victoria

ObserverMelbourne

In This 144-Page Edition

Mark Richardson: Meet Charley Pryde .......... Page 5Observer: If you knew Suzie ....................... Page 6City Desk: Zara Phillips appointed ................ Page 7Di Rolle: What a busy Melb. Cup week .......... Page 8Victoria Pictorial: Camberwell early days ..... Page 10The Barrel: City of Yarra blocks enterprise .... Page 11Melb. TV Memories: Norm Spencer ............ Page 12Melb. Confidential: Hinch’s shame ............ Page 13West Hollywood: Gavin Wood reports .......... Page 24Yvonne: Where are those bloody kings? ...... Page 25Kevin Trask: Robert Newton profile ............. Page 26

It’s All About You!

Sniffer dogs at Geelong■ Geelong Police will bring in sniffer dogsacross the city in an effort to tackle Geelong's‘ice’ epidemic, reports the Advertiser.

Cops back on bikes■ Mildura Police are back out on bike patrol,after a five year break, reports the SunrasiaDaily. Acting Sgt Scott Giles said three po-lice officers, himself included, were adequatelytrained and equipped for the Mildura centralbusiness district and riverside patrols.

Mallee District Aboriginal ServicesCEO Rudolph Kirby said his organisationsubsidised the cost of the new bikes, worth about$1500 each.

Porn arrest at Ess’don■ Detectives from Taskforce Astraea ar-rested a 19-year-old man at an address inEssendon. The man was charged with 35 of-fences including nine counts of rape, two countsof sexual penetration of a child under 16 and onecount of procure minor for child pornography.

Production resumes■ There was no edition of the Melbourne Ob-server on October 23 due to a production diffi-culty. Accounts of advertisers and subscribershave been adjusted accordingly.

Weather Forecast■ Today (Wed.). Mostly cloudy. 8°-21°.■ Thurs. Partly cloudy. 2°-19°.■ Fri. Partly cloudy. 8°-23°.

Murder Is AnnouncedRadio ConfidentialMovies, Top TenLocal Theatre

ObserverMelbourne

Showbiz News

www.MelbourneObserver.com.au Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, October 30, 2013 -

ObserverShowbizObserverShowbiz

■ Italian crooner Patrizio Buanne isin Melbourne this week helping to pro-mote his one night concert at Hamer Hallon Thursday, February 20 at 7pm, whichwill launch the 50th Anniversary of theAustralian Ballet School.

An international multiplatinum record-ing artist, Patrizio Buanne has sold mil-lions of albums worldwide with his uniqueapproach to romantic Italian and contem-porary songs, and has been dubbed 'TheAmbassador of Dolce Vita'.

Buanne has recorded his albums withthe Royal Philharmonic Orchestra atthe famous Abbey Road Studios in Lon-don, and at Capital Studios in Los An-geles.

Buanne will perform in both Englishand Italian a collection of his hits fromthe Italian songbook, such as Il Mondo,Un Angelo, Forever Begins Tonight andSolo Tu My Baby, along with his own origi-nal material, plus recordings from his newalbum which is due for worldwide releaseon Valentine's Day, 2014.

Born to Italian parents in Austria,Buanne spent his childhood growing upbetween two hometowns - his birthplaceof Vienne, Austria and Naples, Italy.

He can speak and sing fluently in sixdifferent languages and has performed forluminaries such as Pope John Paul II,the President of the United States, androyal families.

"Like Chris Botti, Celine Dion andTom Jones, I'm always searching for thatsame timeless quality in a song, convey-ing the sentiments of my music with myown romantic, European approach," saysBuanne.

All profits from this event will be do-nated to the Australian Ballet SchoolCapital Appeal Fund.

Performance date: Thursday, Febru-ary 20. Time: 7pm

Venue: Hamer Hall, Arts CentreMelbourne, 100 St Kilda Rd, Southbank

Tickets: A Reserve $180, B Reserve$140, C Reserve $110

Bookings: www.artscentremelbourne.com.au, or 1300182183 orwww.ticketmaster.com.au or 136 100

- Cheryl Threadgold

●●●●● Claire Edwardes will perform works from her album One

Festival on the Peninsula

■ The 7th Peninsula Summer Music Fes-tival will be staged from December 27-Janu-ary 5.

For 10 days the Mornington Peninsulawill be filled with music; from 1930's Frenchjazz to rarely-heard Renaissance woodwind,fiery fandango 17th century-style, rarely per-formed works by Telemann and Mozart, andendlessly inventive realm of percussion.

Under the artistic direction of JuliaFredersdorff, the festival presents timelessfavourites and long-lost gems, performed by asuperb assembly of more than 50 Australianand international artists from Australia, NewYork, France, Germany, the UK and TheNetherlands, across 26 events.

Program highlights include Dido and Aeneas,directed by internationally-renowned conduc-tor Kenneth Weiss (USA), and starring oneof Australia's most beloved and versatile sing-ers Fiona Campbell in the role of Dido.

The performance features a cast, chorus andorchestra brought together under the FestivalAcademy banner, based on the model of thegreat European Summer Schools that pro-vide talented young singers the opportunity towork alongside leading Baroque practitioners.

One of Europe's leading Baroque cham-ber music groups from The NetherlandsApollo Ensemble joins the Festival directfrom their Sydney Festival appearance.

The unique opening celebration concert, AFestive Rackett, features horticulturally-themedmusic from Renaissance England withSimon Rickard, Jackie Hansen, BrockImison and Kirsten Barry playing a varietyof curtals - the earliest incarnation of the mod-ern bassoon and composed of a single piece ofmaple wood.

On New Year's Day, be transported to themusical hotbed of 1930s Paris with Hair OfThe Dog, a concert featuring the velvet-voicedB.T Baldwin and his band - GeorgeWashingmachine (violin), Peter Baylor

(guitar), Michael McQuaid (reeds), Frenchbassist Sebastien Girardot and Lynn Wallis(drums).

Seraphim Trio (Helen Ayres, TimothyNankervis and best-selling author AnnaGoldsworthy), will draw from the rich legacyof works for piano trio, penned by Mozart andSchubert.

Goldsworthy will also present readingsand perform repertoire from her bestsellingmemoir Piano Lessons.

Percussionist Claire Edwardes will per-form works from her recently released third soloalbum One. Utilising temple bowls, thumb pi-ano, vibraphone, Bunnings variety flower pots,maracas and bongos, Claire leads a surpris-ingly gentle yet penetrating journey through theendlessly fascinating world of percussion.

If That Diamond Ring Turns Brass is a be-witching lullaby performance for adults curatedand performed by Anna McMichael (violin)and Tamara Annna Cislowska (piano).

Performed to overwhelming acclaim at the2013 MONA FOMA Festival and the 2012Port Fairy Spring Music Festival, the pro-gram includes works by Ravel, Saint-Saëns,Stravinsky, Sibelius and Enescu and newworks from Australian composers such asDavid Chisholm, Brett Dean and ElenaKats-Chernin.

A sophisticated late-night series, After HoursAt Port Phillip Estate will feature DonaldNicolson, Christopher Lawrence and theTom Vincent Trio.

International artists include natural hornplayer Anneke Scott (UK), tenor PaulBentley (UK/Australia), Simon Martyn-Ellis (guitar, theorbo, baroque lute, lute); andviolinist Patrick Savage (UK/Australia)and pianist Donald Nicolson (NZ/Austra-lia).

Venues: Across Red Hill, Flinders,Moorooduc, Rosebud, Merricks North andMt Eliza. www.peninsulafestival.com.au

Mike McColl Jones

Top 5THE TOP 5 COMMENTS

HEARD DURING

MELBOURNE CUP WEEK

5. "It's the talk-of-the-town week.Black Caviar pregnant, and Altantic

Jewel leaves town".4. "That looks like Ossie Ostrich heading for the Birdcage.”

3. "They're off! Sorry Madam. Just wishful thinking.”2. "Look. Bart just sneezed and lassoed the Clerk of the Course.”

1. "That's not the daily double. That's Brynne Edlesten.”

●●●●● Patrizio Buanne

ITALIAN CROONERVISITS MELBOURNE

Victoria PictorialCamberwell

Historic Photo Collection

●●●●● Exterior of 'Bethany', Salvation Army Home for the Aged,

222 Camberwell Road, Camberwell. 1962.●●●●● Post Ofice, Camberwell. 1917-18.

●●●●● Laying foundation stone. Our Lady of Victories, Camberwell. 1920.

●●●●● Camberwell Junction ●●●●● View in the Gardens, Camberwell

●●●●● The Gardens and Town Hall, Camberwell ●●●●● Camberwell Junction: Camberwell and Burke Rds.

●●●●● Interior view of Broadway Theatre, 734 Burke Road, Camberwell. 1940s.


STEEL MAGNOLIAS AT ROSANNAObserver

Melbourne

Showbiz News


Briefs


●●●●● Sarah Power (Ulla) and Michael Young(Max Bialystock) star in The Producers, open-ing in Elwood on November 8.

Photo: Trevor Lowther

■ Heidelberg Theatre Company presents RobertHarling’s comedy-drama Steel Magnolias, from Novem-ber 21 to December 7, with 2pm matinees on November24 and December 1, at Heidelberg Theatre, 36Turnham Ave, Rosanna.

Directed by Brett Turner, Steel Magnolias tells ofthe lives of a local hairdresser, her staff and clients inChinquapin Parish, Louisiana.

The all-female cast laugh, cry, humorously comparetheir menfolk and generally endeavour to cope with thehurdles that confront them in everyday life.

Steel Magnolias first opened off-Broadway in 1987,and was subsequently adapted into a popular movie in1989, with the cast including Julia Roberts, ShirleyMacLaine and Sally Field.

Playwright Robert Harling originally wrote the playas a tribute to his sister, telling her story through the fic-tional character of Shelby.

Tickets: $25 Full price, $22 Concession (not includ-ing Seniors’ Cards).

Bookings: 9457 4117 or email: [email protected] - Cheryl Threadgold

The Producers

POETS, WRITERS MEET

Melbourne Observationswith Matt Bissett-Johnson

THE BARREL‘Never pick a

fight with a manwho buys inkby the barreland paper by

the ton.’

Yarra penalises enterprise

●●●●● Brian Hickey at work in Smith St.

●●●●● Lisa Wilkinson

●●●●● Catherine Jardine at left (Annelle), MarianneCollopy (M’Lynn) and Paula McDonald (Truvy)rehearse for Steel Magnolias, opening inRosanna on November 21. Photo: David Belton

Open Channel■ Open Channel is holding itsnext conference series program:Generation Next: Facing Up ToReality at Docklands Studios onMonday-Tuesday, December 9-10.

Launched by comedian andtelevision personality LawrenceMooney and with guest speak-ers including Rory Callaghan andDeb Stewart, the program willexplore the escalating popular-ity of format based, reality andlight entertainment television.

Industry producers andbroadcasters will have the op-portunities to share production,experiences and insights into thepopularity of the reality genre.

■ The Greens-dominated City of Yarra demon-strated its anti-business bent this month by prosecut-ing Observer reader Brian Hickey for promotingspecials at the Sportspower outlet in Smith St,Fitzroy.

Hickey, a professional spruiker, was taken to theMagistrates’ Court for spruiking/touting/solicitingat the retail outlet.

Hickey told the Court that he had set up behindthe leaseline, and was behind a recessed doorway,behind the customers’ security door.

Hickey said he had been told by a City of Yarrainspector in the previous week that it was permissableto promote “inside the store”.

“I was not outside the store at any time,” saidHickey, regarded as one of Australia’s top commer-cial spruikers.

“I have been a professional spruiker for the past 18years and have spruiked from Hervey Bay toHighpoint … Townsville to Tralargon …Armadale in WA to Airport West ... and most shop-ping centres in Melbourne and have never had a com-plaint form any Centre Management,” Brian said.

The Court dispensed with the matter by placingHickey on a good behviour bond, with no conviction.He has to pay the Court costs of $375.

Brian wonders how the City of Yarra can at-tract business to the municipality, when it places ob-stacles in front of enterprise.

“I am a small one man business and the retailsector has been in decline for the past few years.Retailers must be able to promote their business asbest they can.

“How many retail outlets have closed in the pastfew years in the City of Yarra? Would the City ofYarra go into a hotel and tell them to turn the radio orjuke box off?”

Lisa’s ‘fantastic’ speech■ ABC boss Mark Scott sent out a message thisweek about the “fantastic” speech given by Today showco-host Lisa Wilkinson, in the Andrew Olle Lec-ture on Friday night.

It would have been helpful if he pointed out whichpart was “fantastic”. It was a self-absorbed chat,mostly about Wilkinson’s career which started atDolly magazine.

Wilkinson spent an inordinate time sending‘shout-outs’ in her speech to contacts including JanaWendt, Joe Hockey, Mark Colvin, David Marr,Andrew Denton, Tom Malone, Richard Glover,Mike Carlton and Piers Akerman.

Lisa’s speech lacked substance. It was breakfast-time mush.

■ The Brunswick Poets andWriters’ Workshop will next meeton Thursday, November 7 from 7pmonwards, at the Campbell TurnbullLibrary Community Room (atrear), 220 Melville Rd, BrunswickWest.

Writers of all standards have theopportunity to workshop short stories,poems, articles on the craft of writ-ing, even graphics and photos relatedto literature, and bring along a finishedwork, rough draft, or a work inprogress, for feedback and critique.

This positive workshop environ-ment encourages participation fromsemi-professionals and fledgling andpublished authors.

Even published writers appreciate

feedback on newly written work, andthis is a great opportunity to havework workshopped before submittingfor publication.

The non-profit community groupis staffed by volunteers, and the costper session is $3, or $2 concession,including tea/coffee/biscuits.

If unable to pay this amount, thenbarter is accepted, such as donatingan old poetry book, or taking the min-utes.

Volunteers are also sought to editmembers’ work, send mail-outs andwork behind the scenes.

The Brunswick Poetry Work-shop was the first official poetry bodyin Victoria, founded in 1972.

Since then, the name has been reg-istered as the Brunswick Poetsand Writers’ Workshop, to incor-porate prose as well as poetry. Thegroup meets during the year on thefirst Thursday of each month betweenFebruary and November.

Enquiries: 9384 1277 Email:[email protected]

●●●●● By Cheryl Threadgold

■ MLOC Productions presents the MelBrooks's musical The Producers on November 8,9, 14, 15, 16 at 8pm and November 10, 16 at 2pm atthe Phoenix Theatre, 101 Glenhuntly Rd, Elwood.

The show tells of down and out Broadway pro-ducer, Max Bialystock, who coerces his nervousaccountant Leo Bloom to put on "the worst show inhistory". As it turns out, the show is a hit and thereare hysterical consequences.

MLOC's show is directed by Jane Court, withmusical direction by Ian Nisbet and choreographyby Taylor Hollands.

Tickets: $32/$30/$28.Bookings: www.mloc.org.au or 9551 7514

- Cheryl Threadgold

Puppetry

■ Opera’s great ariasare set to bereimagined throughsublime puppetry inAria! by renowned the-atre and puppetry com-pany Black HoleTheatre.

Playing atNorthcote TownHall as part ofDarebin Arts’Speakeasy programon Friday-SaturdayNovember 8-9, ariasfrom Madama Butter-fly, Lakmé, Faust andmore will be retoldthrough beautiful mari-onettes, Japanese pup-pet theatre bunraku andshadow puppetry.

Stunt bike

■ A 12-year-old girland a 15-year-old boyhave been arrested andcharged after the theftof a stunt motorbikefrom the Bendigo Ag-ricultural Show.

Kyle here?■ The RadioToday.com.au website isrunning with specula-tion that Kyle Sandi-lands and Jackie Owill appear on Fox101.9 breakfast showfrom next year.

www.MelbourneObserver.com.au - Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Contents of Court Lists are intended for information purposes only.The lists are extracted from Court Lists, as supplied to the public,by the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria, often one week prior topublication date; for current Court lists, please contact the Court.Further detai ls of cases are avai lable atwww.magistratescourt.vic.gov.au The Melbourne Observer shallin no event accept any liability for loss or damage suffered by anyperson or body due to information provided. The information isprovided on the basis that persons accessing it undertake respon-sibility for assessing the relevance and accuracy of its content.No inference of a party’s guilt or innocence should be made bypublication of their name as a defendant. Court schedules may bechanged at any time for any reason, including withdrawal of theaction by the Plaintiff/Applicant. E&OE.

Thought For The Week■ “Today is a gift from God and I urge you not to waste itbeing sad over something that your sadness won’t changeanyway.” - Joyce Meyer

Observer Curmudgeon■ “Nothing changes a small boy’sw appearance as muchas soap.”

Text For The Week■ “Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and donot forsake your mother's teaching.”

- Proverbs 1:8

ObserverTreasury

ObserverMelbourne

Ash On Wednesday

Long Shots

with Ash Long, Editor

[email protected]

“For the cause that lacks assistance,‘Gainst the wrongs that need resistance

For the future in the distance,And the good that we can do”

CAMP ROCK

■ Our local theatre col-umnist Cheryl Thread-gold was thrilled with theperformance of CampRock. Cheryl reports:

“South Yarra’sRandall Theatre wasrocking until October 27, as60 of Victoria’s eliteteenage musical theatreperformers shared thestage in the lively CampRock: The Musical, basedon a Disney Channeloriginal movie, written byDan Berendsen, KarinGist and Regina Hicks,with book by Robert L.Freedman and FayeGreenberg.

The show’s cast was se-lected from over 350auditionees, under the di-rection of Jess Benneyand David Venn, and mu-sical directors NickHedger and AndrewKroenert.

The Melbourne pre-miere season of CampRock:The Musical wasstrong in high-energy danceroutines and vocals, includ-ing 16 songs, complimentedby vibrant lighting and pro-jected images.

Interspersed with songand dance is the story ofmusic-loving youngstersenjoying spending theirsummer at Camp Rock,but flashy Camp Star hasopened up across the lake,threatening CampRock’s existence. Bothcamps agree to CampWars, a showdown broad-cast live on TV..

A huge coup for theshow was the casting ofadult show-biz profession-als Rohan Browne andCameron MacDonaldplaying camp leaders fromthe opposing camps. Theyouthful performers are in-deed lucky to have suchexpert mentoring.

The cast did great work,with some particularly out-standing performances en-joyed from Wil King(Shane), James Majoos(Luke), Brenton Gar-diner (Nate), BriannaBishop (Tess), MaggieMcKenna (Mitchie) andKurt Russo (Jason) andtheir fellow principal andensemble cast members.

The sound design letsome performers down attimes on opening night.

If the high standard ofyouthful performers in thisshow is any indication,Australian musical theatrehas a great future.

The cast worked hardand deserved full houses.

●●●●● Brianna Bishop (left), James Majoos, MaggieMcKenna, Wil King and Katya Harrop fromDisney’s Camp Rock: The Musical, played atthe Randall Theatre, South Yarra.

Photo: Jessica Charnley

The Melbourne Observer is printed by Streamline Press, 155 JohnstonSt, Fitzroy, for the publisher, Ash Long, for Local Media Pty Ltd, ABN67 096 680 063, of the registered office, 30 Glen Gully Road,Eltham. Distributed by All Day Distribution. Responsibility for elec-tion and referendum comment is accepted by the Editor, Ash Long.Copyright © 2013, Local Media Pty Ltd. (ACN 096 680 063).

The Melbourne Observer is printed by Streamline Press,

155 Johnston St, Fitzroy, for the publisher, Ash Long, for

Local Media Pty Ltd, ABN 67 096 680 063, of the regis-

tered office, 30 Glen Gully Road, Eltham,

Distributed by All Day Distribution.

Responsibility for election and referendum comment

is accepted by the Editor, Ash Long.

Copyright © 2013, Local Media Pty Ltd

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ObserverMelbourne

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MelbourneTV Memorieswith Kenneth Mulholland

Norman Spencerand Alf PotterNorman Spencer, GTV9 / HSV7,

and Alf Potter, HSV7.■ These two men had great impact on early televi-sion in Melbourne and indeed Victoria.

In a time when no-one had the slightest idea ofwhat television was, what it demanded, what it couldbecome, Norman Spencer and Alf Potter wereboth imposing figures.

Spencer, a ground-breaker at GTV9, and Pot-ter, remembered for his early out-side broadcast cov-erages of the VFL football.

Both men were interesting.Norman Spencer had worked in radio, involved

with the production of The Happy Gang, an extremelypopular wireless show, and so was already estab-lished as a proven producer of programs. He, like somany more, adapted to the new, visual concept andactually embraced it and made it work.

Norm was the first television person to whom Iever spoke..

I was aware of Graham Kennedy's presenceon radio, even as Clifford Nicholls Whitta, thebeloved radio star 'Nicky', was developing that pres-ence.

I was, as was my Mum, a 'radio listener', sometime before I went to school aged six. I used to hearall the morning women's serials: Portia Faces Life,A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, Blue Hills by GwenMeredith, as well as Nicky and Nancy Lee, andlater Graham.

I waited eagerly for the afternoon program s withBilly Bouncer (Norman Swain) and BinnieLum. And then on to the 15-minute serials such asHop Harrigan (with Tank Tinker)m Tarzan, TheSea Hound, Superman (“up with this, errgh, win-dow”). I always wondered why Superman gruntedwhen lifting up a window, but it was radio. And, ofcourse, there was The Argonauts.

Mum and I were amongst the crowd that gatheredaround the church in Ivanhoe at 'Nicky's' funeralin 1956. I was 12. That would be as close to Gra-ham Kennedy, the man, as I would ever get.

But, as Kennedy progressed to television, I wasimpressed by the man he often consulted on InMelbourne Tonight. Norman Spencer, the God-like voice from on high.

I began to write to him. Hand written letters ask-ing for the chance to “get into television”, I was 16when he answered. The gist of the letter was that Iwas very persistent and impertinent, however, if Irang GTV9 and made an appointment, he would takethe time to see me.

Mum and I went in to Richmond on the train,found our way to Channel 9, watched a bit of Thurs-day At One or something with Philip Brady, andthen I braved an audience with Mr Spencer, alone,in his office.

It was an absolute disaster. In written words I couldspeak. In person, I was struck dumb.

Spencer took pity on me. “Go back to school andfinish there,” he drawled. “Then apply again. You'rea young man with expectations, but you have to con-tinue your education. All the best ...”

I left, shell-shocked, with Mum. To para-phrasethe Beatles, I wanted to hold her hand.

I plodded on at school, became a Prefect, confis-cated kid's fags, mags and continued my hope thatsomeway, somehow I should break into TV just asyoung, seemingly cocky, Graham Kennedy haddone.

I ignored the fact that I had begun to write andillustrate stories and was beginning to think aboutpainting as a pastime. I also ignored the fact that theguys in my class used to ask our Form Master to letme read my latest during form meetings once a week.

Well, I was a bit unsure to begin with, but therewere 16-18 in the class, and they were happy enoughto hear my stories, so I sat up on a stool, and halt-ingly began to read the rough stuff I'd written.

It was all Boy's Own, Biggles. My class matesactually listened. Actually listened! Pity I didn't getthat.

The lure of television was all I could understand.Vocational guidance tests suggested that I should seekemployment in the print industry. The ‘print what’?

When I answered an ad in the paper to fill in fortwo weeks as Channel 7 messenger boy, I appliedand got it. Turn To Page 25

HINCH’S ‘DONATIONS’ SHAME:PLEA FOR PUBLIC TO PAY HIS BILLS

ConfidentialMelbourne

BitchMelbourne’s Secrets

Whispers

Rumour Mill

Hear It Here First

www.MelbourneObserver.com.au Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, October 30, 2013 -

E-Mail: [email protected]

Talk is cheap, gossip is priceless

■ Derryn Hinch’s per-sonal assistant AnnettePhilpott is makinginternet appeals for thepublic to help pay for thebroadcaster’s legal feesand Court-ordered costsof of more than $130,000.

Hinch has re-circu-lated the fund-raising mes-sages on his Facebookand Twitter accounts,publicising the bank detailsso that people can pay intothe account.

The appeal to membersof the public has annoyedsome of Hinch’s mediacolleagues who point outthat Derryn told theCourt he has a net worthof $1.8 million, and is paid$212,000 annually.

Former 3AW colleagueKate Murphy said:“People are seriously of-fering to help pay forHinch's legal bills?! FFS,there are far more worthycauses.

“And he says he'll con-sider donating what's leftover to the Jill MeagherFoundation!

“Donate the lotDerryn and cop your pun-ishment for breaking thelaw.”

Agreeing with KateMurphy were 3AW iden-tities Selby-LynnNicholas and AngelaMcGowan.

“Self important turd,”said ex-3AW newsmanCraig Wilson, who nowowns a chain of Victo-rian country newspapers.

“Might set up a websiteto see if people want todonate to my mortgage? Ifanyone else did this hewould crucify them,” saidSue Anderson.

Ex-3AW newsmanPaul Bentley said: “ifeveryone who read theblog he was convicted overdonates a dollar...that willhelp cover $220!

“Was most amused tohear so few people read theblog ... hopefully fewer do-nate to the cause.

“Derryn would be out-raged if any six-time,twice-jailed crim ac-cepted donations to covertheir bills.”

Kate Murphy added:“He seems to be justifyingthings by saying he's notreceiving donations for thefine..only his legal bills.Sorry, but he wouldn't havecourt costs if he didn'tbreak the law! Cannot be-lieve how anyone couldjustify sending a cent hisway.”

Chopper

3AW to network into NSW?

●●●●● Neil Mitchell

●●●●● Derryn Hinch: “250,000 problems”

‘King And I’ names soon

■ Laureen Dealeis no longer Execu-tive Media Managerfor the AustralianI n t e r n a t i o n a lAirshow or thePacific Interna-tional MaritimeExposition. PetaRichards is thenew contact.

●●●●● Annette Philpott

The appeal requests askfans to donate to Comm-onwealth Bank account063 806 10048041.

A Melbourne tax ac-countant said donationswere unlikely to be tax de-ductible for donors.

He added that Hinchwas likely to have to paytax - as high as 45 cents inthe dollar - on each andevery donation.

Consumer AfairsVictoria legislation re-quires that fundraising forany cause requires pre-reg-istration.

“A fundraising appealoccurs if a person solicitsor receives money or abenefit on the basis of arepresentation that the so-liciting or receiving is notsolely for the profit or com-mercial benefit of the per-son or any other person,cause or thing on whosebehalf the person is solic-iting or receiving themoney or benefit.”

Hinch’s Facebookpage includes a graphicwith the words “Show yoursupport to DerrynHinch.

“Donate $$ toward hislegal fees and level thescales of justice.”

■ Temporary cost-saving measures by FairfaxMedia may see Melbourne-based radio programsby Neil Mitchell and Tom Elliott relayed intoSydney sister station 2UE early next year.

Sydney ‘drive’ presenter Jason Morrison wastold this week that his services will not be required in2014. The Sydney Morning host Paul Murray isexpected to hear similar news before Christmas.

The Sydney station has lost 30 per cent of its au-dience in the past two years, says former FairfaxRadio General Manager Graham Mott.

The Fairfax Media radio division is understoodto be negotiating a merger with John Singleton’s2GB (Macquarie Radio Network), where AlanJones and Ray Hadley present the breakfast andmorning shows.

It is thought that if the amalgamation takes place,2UE may be sold by Fairfax.

If the Mitchell and Elliott programs are extendedinto Sydney, local ‘inserts’ would be added so thatMelbourne-only segments would air on 3AW, andthat Sydney-only segments would be heard on 2UE.

Meanwhile, there are changes afoot at Magic1278. Brad McNally has been appointed asFairfax Radio Network National Music ContentDirector.

Brad will continue to oversee the day-to-day man-agement of Perth station 96FM, and also be respon-sible for the programming development ofMelbourne's Magic 1278 and Brisbane's 4BH.

Magic 1278 programming has largely been un-der the supervision to date by station manager GaryHoffman.

If the Fairfax-Macquarie merger goes ahead,it is thought that networking and programming strat-egy would be re-worked between the two cities.

●●●●● Laureen Deale

Moved on

■ Ringwood Magistrate James Cashmore hastold local woman Tania Isbester that he wouldhave jailed her if he could have over attacksby her dogs on people. He applied a $550fine, ordered her to pay $7020 costs, placedher on a 12-month community correctionsorder, and required her to do 60 hours work.

●●●●● Lisa McCune

■ Who will be the malelead to play against LisaMcCune in next year’sMelbourne productionsof The King And I. TeddyTahu Rhodes is onlyavailable for the Sydneyand Brisbane shows, sohis replacement will benamed at a media launchto be held at the PlazaBallroom, Regent The-atre on Monday, Novem-ber 11.

Being told what to say■ The Age’s sister newspaper, The Sydney MorningHerald, has given notice that people who write a let-ter to the editor, expressing a view that “there is nosign humans have caused climate change” will notget printed. The notice was published by Letters co-editors Julie Lewis and Marc McEvoy.■ The ABC has told its journalists that they mightnot use the words “illegal arrivals”, whilst acknowl-edging that Federal Minister Scott Morrison is fac-tually correct in the selection of words.

●●●●● Frank Howson■ Melbourne di-rector Frank How-son is putting the fin-ishing touches toChopper The Musi-cal, a tribute to crimi-nal Mark Read. Itis hoped that the pro-duction will launchnext month.

TV change

■ Analogue signalsto older-style TVs inMelbourne will fin-ish on December 10.Viewers with the oldtelevision receiverswill need a new set,or a set-top box, orcable TV, to see free-to-air TV after thisdate.

Apology■ Fairfax Mediahas published a pub-lic apology to Felic-ity Hill, a politicaladviser to theGreens senatorScott Ludlam.“Some readers mayhave understood thearticle as saying thatMs Hill had usedpublic money to fundher private overseastravel,” The Age said.


Melbourne Seniors News


Things To Do

Places To Go

Book forChristmasParties,

New YearsEve


Barry MCVilly Pty LtdBarry MCVilly Pty LtdPHONE 0439 983 151PHONE 0439 983 151

COMMISSIONED HIDES &MOUNTS BY ARRANGEMENT

HIDES & MOUNTS AVAILABLEFOR SALE OR HIRE

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Hunting Feature

Oldest profession in life: hunting

●●●●● Barry MCVilly

●●●●● ‘Django’, hunting dog

■ The oldest profession in life is hunt-ing. The women are the best in theworld: “she goes to the supermarket tohunt for the best prices at the bestvalue, she puts food on the table andthe man hunts for the best job at thebest return to take home”.

The kids go with the females toshow them how to pick the best andhow to make the money go further.

Wild life is the same with the fe-males: they too are the best hunters.Birds are the same; the male sits onthe eggs, like most species.

Wild deer have a life span (males)in the wild of four to six years. But theyare usually killed by other challengers.The buck, the old deer, have a largerack. Small deer (uilings) have twosmall spikes called spikelets.

The old deer lock antlers where thesmall deer have the advantage over theolder males, they all finish to piercethe lungs, and break the ribs. They willdie a slow death.

You will notice all fighting animalslock heads to protect their rib cages.

From April-June, red deer and fal-low are in the rut (mating season) andare dangerous to humans. Be careful Ihave been caught out myself.

I have been hit in the stomach, inthe rear end, and in the arms and legs,and I have also had my finger bittenoff.

But all sports have their problems.You will not come out of your chosensport without having hurt or brokenlimbs.

Man has hunted all his life, but theyhave come a long way from rollingboulders.

Hunting is possibly the largest crowdsport today. Wild life today is out ofcontrol. The deer are destroying pineplantations by the hundreds, and thereare foxes killing off farming animals.

Many years ago I wrote an articleand quoted that in 1859 ThomasAusten imported and released 24 rab-bits for hunting at Winchelsea andWerribee. By 1926 there were 10 bil-lion rabbits in Australia.

I would have to say he is not a goodshot!

I am a firm believer in educatingyour feelings to hunt concretely. I havehunted by whole life, even in my schoolyears.

I had the best collection of birds’eggs. If a bird lay four eggs, I wouldtake one, but she would ideally lay an-other one.

The ultimate and the hardest was themopoke egg. To be a good hunter, youhave to become the animal you arehunting, and take your time.

In the past, Butch Reid and Ihunted for five years before we partedways.

Butch Reid was a friend of minesince we were kids. He was the besthunting mate I ever had. He was anironman.

Early one morning, we had to crossa river. The river was up to our waistsand got deeper. When we got to theother side Butch was laughing his headof.

He said: “Don’t you want to getwet?” In that, he stripped off, rappedhis boots, and all his clothes and hisrifle, and wandered on.

He said something like “now, who’sthe idiot?”

I could write a lovely book on thisman. He would ring up/turn up at allhours and say “what’s going on?”

Within a few minutes he had every-thing organised. He left the world abetter place.

By Barry MCVilly

It was a pleasure to know him.Above all, he played for the GeelongCats.

Here are some hints for those inter-ested in expanding their hunting skills;

Join a club, such as the SSA, orField and Game.

Good magazines to purchase areWild Deer (Daniel Burke, 0419 118810), or Wild Boer (Vic Attard, 0401014 592).

Both magazines will give you all theinfo that you need. Also check out thekids stories in the magazines. All theadults are helping the next generation.

You may be able to go on a dogteam. I had 28 hounds and hunted thehigh country weekly.

The kids that helped in those daysare the adults in the next generation.

As a momento of my invovementwith hunds, I pursued the hunts for theBarwon Hunt Club to keep mydream alive.

From a hunter’s point-of-view,there’s no greater sound that the bay-ing of the hounds when they are in pur-suit.

Take the kids and enjoyment in theexcitement.

- Good hunting, Barry MCVillyProfessional Hunter

High praiseon Safaris

■ Barry MCVilly won high praisefrom Johan Wolvardt of SandRiver Safaris, Musina, SouthAfrica.

Johan has been a professionalhunter for 31 years, specialising in biggame.

Originally with the special forcesof the Rhodesian Govermment,Johan penned his comments aboutBarry in 2010, after a 10 day hunt,“which was in trying circumstances,such as very uncomfortable roads andvery high temperatires.”

Excerpts of his comments aboutBarry MCVilly are reproduced atright.

“I found him that he was a veryaccommodating person, who fittedvery well into the close confines ofnew company and not one who was(as so frequently occurs with overswashunters), the type of person who com-plained at the unavoidable circum-stances we endured as a hunting sa-fari to Africa, where circumstancescan be trying.

“We experience large numbers ofoverseas clientele, and he stands wellclear of many in his accommodatingnature.

“We were amazed that after a par-ticularly difficult stalk, Mr MCVillystood aside to give another of the party,who had hitherto not had a clear shot,the trophy shot.

“This had never to his date and afterhappened on one of safaris before. Onthis tripm he shot 16 animals, of whichtwo were of the Big Five, a Lionessin South Africa, and a Buffalo inZimbabwe.

“He is well versed in the opera-tion of his rifle and not quick on thertigger. He rates as a well above av-erage shot.”


Hunting Feature


UPGRADED BRADLEY TERMINAL OPENS AT LAX

ObserverMelbourne

West Hollywood

$2 billion

spruce-up

www.gavinwood.us

■ The new Tom Bradley In-ternational Terminal at LosAngeles Airport has officiallyopened.

The $1.9 billion project,which has 18 new gates, is nowoperational.

Nine gates are equipped tohandle super-jumbo jets such asthe Airbus 380.

Five planeloads of Austra-lians arrive into Los Angelesevery morning.

The Bradley Terminalwas named after former LordMayor of Los Angeles, TomBradley, who was the first Af-rican American mayor of amajor US city without a blackmajority.

This upgrade is the firstphase of a $4.1 billion LAX im-provement project.

The next phase, expected tobe completed in 2015, includesupgrading the US Customsarea, relocating the securityscreening area and securing pas-sage with Terminals 3 and 4 forpassengers on connecting flights.

Pictured at the Opening Cock-tail Party were outgoing Chiefof QANTAS for the AmeriMr.Wally Mariani, with Manag-ing Director of Ramada PlazaHotel and Suites, AlanJohnson.

Palm Springs

desert fun

■ It's a perfect Desert meta-phor: she came as a tourist anddidn't want to leave.

That's the story of ForeverMarilyn, the 26-foot tall sculp-ture of Marilyn Monroewhich was brought to PalmSprings as an attraction for thetourists.

But Forever Marilyn haslived up to its name since it firstarrived downtown nearly a yearand a half ago.

The local merchants, ofcourse, love the sculpture. Sincecoming to town, Marilyn hasattracted visitors from around theworld, eager to photograph theworld's biggest movie icon at thenorthwest corner of TahquitzCanyon Way and Palm Can-yon Drive, Palm Springs.California.

Initially, the sculpture was tohave left the desert last May,then the date was extended tothis September and now, thedeparture date has been extendedagain.

If you have not visitedMarilyn yet, you should.

After all, she's a girl and sub-ject to changing her mind at anytime day or month.

While you are in the desertat Palm Springs, stop by andpay your respects to FrankSinatra, Jilly Rizzo, JimmyVan Heusen, Busby Berke-ley, William Powell andSonny Bono just to name a fewof the celebrities with a perma-nent place in the desert paradise.

www.visitpalm

springs.com

Gavin Wood

From my Suite at the

Ramada Plaza Complex

on Santa Monica Blvd

Bikes and Hikes LA

Stars film near Ramada Plaza

■ Location filming in West Hollywood has increased withJersey Boys. Yes, they are doing a film based on the hugelysuccessful stage musical about Frankie Valli and the FourSeasons.

You heard it first here in the Melbourne Observer.Another movie in production in West Hollywood is Kitchen

Sink, about a group of teens fighting an alien invasion.Television shows that are in production and shooting around

the Ramada Plaza include TNT’s Rizzoli and Isles andMTV’s Teen Wolf.

Mayor Abbe Land says she will continue to advocate formore local production in West Hollywood.

Special Holiday Offer

■ I have managed to secure a terrific holiday deal for all readersof the Melbourne Observer.

When you are planning your trip to Los Angeles come and stayat the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Suites, 8585 Santa MonicaBoulevard, West Hollywood.

Please mention 'Melbourne Observer' when you book and youwill receive the SPECIAL RATE of the day.

Please contact: Joanna at [email protected]

●●●●● Wally Mariani and Alan Johnson

Best

bookshop in

W Hollywood

From my suite at theRamada Plaza Hotel andSuites comes this week'snews.

Celebration of John Lennon

●●●●● Forever Marilyn

■ Walking down the famedSunset Strip, one turnsthrough an unexpectedentryway at 8826, proceedsdown a few stone steps, goesjust a bit further through aslim, magical passagewayright out of old Europe andis met with bloomingflowerbeds fronting a charm-ing English cottage thatmight well have been pluckedfrom Stratford-upon-Avon.

Inside, mellowed by thesoft and soothing sounds ofgentle classical music, it's asvisitor-friendly as it is atmo-spheric and cozy; threerooms a virtual treasure troveof books - several thousand,each and every one a FirstEdition - immaculately orga-nized, beautifully kept.

You have arrived at Mys-tery Pier Books, Inc, thenoted independent bookshopso often featured on televi-sion and in the major nationalentertainment and newsmagazines.

The shop client list is trulyremarkable from JohnnyDepp, Bono, MichaelCaine, Barry Gibb andCameron Diaz.

The famed bookstore isowned and operated byHarvey Jason and his son,Louis M. Jason.

The owners look forwardto your visit.

www.mysterypier

books.com

●●●●● Johnny Depp at

Mystery Pier Books

■ High-end pen maker Mont Blanc has released its JohnLennon collection of fine writing fountain and ballpoint pens.

Commemorating the life and achievements of the peace activ-ist, this John Lennon edition of fine writing pens does not comecheap.

The standard roll ball pen is $800 and fountain pen is $1000.The limited edition John Lennon collection starts with the

roll ball pen at $2950 and the Fountain pen at $3580.Part of the proceeds of this edition will be donated to carefully

select cultural projects supporting young artists worldwide - help-ing a new generation of rising talents take up the legacy left behindby John Lennon. www.montblanc.com

●●●●● John Lennon

■ When you stay at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Suites justdown at 8743 Santa Monica Boulevard is Bikes and Hikes a brandnew and fun way to get rid of the jet lag.

There are four main tours for your consideration.1. LA IN A DAY! THE #1 WAT TO SEE LA

A walking tour of a famous Beverly Hills mansion, 30+ celeb-rity homes, Santa Monica Beach, Pier and Boardwalk, VeniceBoardwalk, Muscle Beach and Canals, Marina Del Rey,Sony Pictures, Culver Studios and the ultra-chic RobertsonBoulevard.

2. ON LOCATION HOLLYWOOD BIKE TOUR

Walk of Fame, Paramount Pictures, Dolby Theatre,Grauman's Chinese Theatre, CBS Television City, Holly-wood Forever Cemetery, La Brea Tar Pits,The Grove andMelrose Avenue.

3. BEVERLY HILLS/BEL-AIR TOUR

30+ Celebrity Homes, Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills Hotel,walking tour of historic Beverly Hills mansion, 9-11 Memorialand Beverly Hills sign.

4. HOLLYWOOD HILLS HIKE

The Hollywood Sign, Greek Theatre, Griffith Park Ob-servatory, Los Feliz, multiple famous film locations, jam-packedwith Hollywood history, trivia and true tales.

You can also make your tour private.Founder Danny Roman said, "LA has this reputation that it

can only be navigated by a car or toured by a bus.""Dealing with jet lag when trying to enjoy your vacation can be

a total drag. The number 1 way to overcome jet lag is sun expo-sure, fresh air and exercise - this will readjust your body's internalclock quickly and naturally."

You can book your tour on the website: www.bikeshikes.comPart of the proceeds of this edition will be donated to carefully

select cultural projects supporting young artists worldwide - help-ing a new generation of rising talents take up the legacy left behindby John Lennon. www.montblanc.com

●●●●● Paramount Pictures


Playing in the corridors of Channel 7

●●●●● Turn To Page 26

WHERE ARE THOSE BLOODY KEYS?

ObserverMelbourne

Life & Style

Yvonne’s Column

with Yvonne Lawrence

[email protected]

■ Thinking that I would surprise MelbourneObserver Editor Ash Long by filing my columnearly I braved the fierce wind, arrived home earlyand sat before my computer with snippets of newsto tell you, swirling around in my head.

There I sat, fingers poised over the keyboardwhen the heavens opened. Rain poured down, her-alding a fierce storm was imminent.

Now I’m really not an expert when it comesto computers.

I’d like a penny for every time I’ve lost myalmost completed column, and no matter what Ido, it’s gone into the ether, never to be seen again.

Live-in expert needed■ It happens to all people who use a computer,but in my case, I’m illiterate when it comes tothe workings of this modern phenomenon.

If only I hadn’t given away my trusty Olivettitypewriter, I’d never have needed to worry.

If it’s not too late I’ll phone Gigi and ask herwhat to do. She’s an expert when it comes to thesethings. Other than that I have to start again.

And by then I’ve forgotten what I have writ-ten. I really need a live-in computer guru.

Well, today I hadn’t touched a key, when therewas a power failure, and it didn’t come back onuntil late. So again, I’m late filing.

And reading the Idiots Guide To Computerswon’t help me one little bit because there is nopower, and thus, no lights.

Lost and found■ Most of last night was spent trying to locatePeter’s car keys.

His usual habit is to open the front door whenhe comes home and then put the keys in the dead-lock so that he always knows where they are.

We searched high and low for Peter’s elusivecar keys, but to no avail.

How can one lose the keys to the car whenthey were in his hand a moment ago?

So far, Peter has never mislaid them.As soon as he came and asked me where I

had put the keys I knew they were lost.We searched everywhere we thought they

might be. Then we started on the impossible hid-ing places such as the fridge, the pantry, undertables, in the rubbish.

My handbag was emptied out on the bed – twicewith no result.

At 3am I was lying awake trying to think wherethe darn things could be. I got out of bed, and lookedin more unlikely places.

Not one ‘I told you so’■ It a funny thing when you’ve lost something,you are absolutely certain where you had it the

last time you saw it. Peter said he thought I hadforgotten to put them in the door.

So I went back to bed, ready to call out thecavalry in the morning to help to start the car.

But before it turned into a national incidentPeter decided to go and get the morning paperswhich are usually lying under the car, and he casthis eyes around just in case the keys had some-how found their way outside again.

He knew it was futile because they should havebeen in the door.

But lo and behold, there they were lying be-side the car and then Peter remembered that hehad gone out to the car again to get a parcel.

What was so amazing was that there no angryaccusations about who had forgotten to put themback in the door. It was all very matter of factreally. I would have liked one little ‘I told youso’, but wisely kept quiet.

The keys were lying there all night for all theworld to see, so how lucky were we that no onehad discovered them and driven off.

How often does the case of missing car keysblow one’s blood pressure sky high on a schoolmorning?

At least I found some things that were not lostbut put away and forgotten. And I found a coupleof angels that I lost a couple of years ago when Iput them away ready for the next Christmas.

Peace was restored.

Springtime at Spring St■ The high winds have been playing havoc withthe garden. And one tree has shed a few boughs,which makes me nervous in case the entire treecomes down.

It’s always just as the snowball tree comes into

flower that the destructive wind blows a gale. Bymorning, the paths are strewn with white petalslooking as if it there has been a huge dump ofsnow.

It’s been so cold too, and no sign of a warmspring day. It’s been electric blankets on full alert.

Which made me wonder why on earth woulda group of elderly taxi industry protesters con-tinue their protest overnight with only a blanketto keep them warm? I couldn’t think of a restingplace more uninviting or cold than the steps ofParliament House.

Where were their wives for goodness sake?And why would these angry protesters then

think that it was okay to disrupt MP Geoff Shawas he arrived at Parliament House?

Common sense missing■ With the entire ruckus, one of the protesterswho was grabbing at the MP’s coat is pushed over,and all hell breaks out.

These things happen when protesters gather,and feel that they have a grievance. All commonsense goes.

But their excuse for the scuffle was they feltthat the MP should have walked around them andnot through them, and they didn’t like the smirkhe had on his face.

In my opinion their actions were wrong. Notthat they were protesting, but the scuffle that en-sued was disgraceful.

I bet Judge Judy would agree with me.Despite the beat-up by some of the journalists

accusing Mr Shaw of knocking down the eld-erly protester, and injuring him, it now appearsthat from subsequent television footage it wasn’tMr Shaw who struck the first blow.


The media is having a field day and I’m sickof it.

Writers out on control■ And surely with all that is happening in theworld, it is petty to discuss ad infinitum the PM’stravel bills.

Since it was first drawn to our notice, morehas been discovered, and now it’s bigger than BenHur. It appears it has happened with MPs fromboth sides.

Let us hope that sensible new rules regardingpoliticians travel expenses can be laid down with-out delay.

It wouldn’t be so bad if letter writers to thepapers showed a little respect, but it seems thatnow days, anything goes.

Well done James■ Congratulations to Ash and Fleur Long on aquick trip to Townsville and Far NorthQueensland to see their son Sgt James Longinvested with his Conspicuous Service Medalby the Queensland Govenor.

Ash is proud of the achievements of all hisfamily, and justifiably proud of son James.

I’ll close off early■ Here comes another bolt of thunder, and thelights are flickering.

It’s a short column because I don’t want to writeit again when the lights come back on, and thecomputer is ready to receive my written word.

Keep warm.Yvonne.

Contact: Melbourne ObserverP.O.Box 1278, Research, 3095.

ObserverMelbourne

Melbourne TV Memories

That's when I first saw Alf Potter.I was in the Studio 1 bay just insidethe big doors that led out to the sceneryracks.

The show was Lady For A Day, withLarry K Nixon, the big brashAmerican comedian. The band wasled by Kenny Wheate and the direc-tor was Alf.

Larry was warming up the studioaudience before the show, introducingthe band members and others, finallyfinishing with “And here's our direc-tor, the man who directs better than any-one else, MrAlf Potter!”

Larry led the applause, staring upat the control room window as the doorbeside it opened and Alf stepped outonto the gantry above.

The stairs that led up to that plat-form, unbeknown to me right at thatmoment, were to be the same stairs

where, some seven years later I wouldask Alf for a reference which wouldnever be granted.

This time, I glimpsed him betweenthe raised heads of other Seven per-sonnel: he was Olympian, a silver-haired God. He beamed down at ev-eryone, nodded at the clapping of allthe gathered housewives, and withdrewback into the mistery of the all-seeingglass eye that watched benevolentlyover all.

And there lies one major differencebetween Potter and Spencer.

The first bathed happily in the lime-light; always, to my experience, did.

Alf, though he would never admitit, had an exceptionally large ego. Andwas forever endeavouring to prove him-self without ever overtly demonstrat-ing the fact.

Norm Spencer was an animal of

a completely different colour. Possiblybecause he was shy of self promotion,perhaps because he understood thatpower could be commanded by exclu-sion rather than intrusion, he preferredto remain a 'formless voice’. It maybethat his concept was more 'Godlike'than Alf's.

My two weeks as messenger boyended on a Friday at the Teletheatre.

I can't recall much. It was all so in-credible. I was up the back near theentrance to the seating and the ControlRoom door was just to my left. Re-hearsals. Buster Fiddess doing somewalk-through routine. Can't recall thecrew at all, but I knew that NormSpencer was in the Control room.

TV Week, or perhaps Listener-InTV had told us that Norm had leftNine and come to Seven as AssistantManager/Production.

Why did Spencer sever his connec-tion with Nine and GrahamKennedy? Apparently Norm re-signed about the time that Nine wastaken over by Sir Frank Packer, whohad a reputation for being an extremelytough, unrelenting business man, who,if he took a dislike to someone, wouldmake life very difficult for them.

Spencer and he did not like eachother. And also Seven had offeredNorm a very good deal to join.

There was a sentimental reason aswell, in that Norm's radio days hadbeen with 3DB, then owned by Seven.Maybe that connection was enough tosway him.

I left before the audience came inand walked up to Lygon St and gotthe bus home. At 17 I was expected tobe home from my temp job by 7.30pm.But, I had been advised to re-apply at

By Kenneth Mulholland

●●●●● FromPage 12

■ After three sold-out showsat the 2011 Melbourne In-ternational Jazz Festival,the world-famous Sun RaArkestra returns to Mel-bourne for one night only, aspart of the Festival's newSummer Sessions.

“The Summer Sessions inJanuary allow us to bring evenmore great jazz to Mel-bourne's audiences, buildingon the growing success of themain Festival in June," saidArtistic Director MichaelTortoni.

One of the great cult-iconsof jazz, pianist, composer andorganist Sun Ra formed theArkestra in the mid 1950s andled it until his death in 1993.

Date and time: Sunday,January 19. 7pm. Doors from6.15pm. DJ from 6.15pm -Mike Gurrieri

Venue: The ForumCost: $59/$54 conc. Tick-

ets on sale from yesterday(Tues.)/

Bookings throughmelbournejazz.com

- Prue Bassett●●●●● Sun Ra Arkestra

Jazz Festival Summer Sessions

the end of the school year. In earlyDecember 1961 Adrian Miller,HSV’s Chief Accountant, hired me asSeven messenger boy, temporary/per-manent. My weekly wage was £5, less4/- tax. That about covered my board,bus expenses and lunch.

Seven, in those times, was labyrin-thine. Keith Cairns' office, and allthe sales offices faced into Wells St.The other exec. offices faced intoDorcas St. These were on the first floor,along with the record library, variousother show's offices, and the two con-trol rooms for Studios 1 and 2.

The News Department rooms, Pho-tography and Telecine were further in.On the ground floor were Master con-trol, the scenery bay, the product andprops cages, canteen, Studios 1 and2, foyer and reception from WellsStreet.

PASSING POLICE CARS AT 150-KMH


■ Robert Newton was a popular characteractor who was an inspiration to people such asTony Hancock, Oliver Reed, Keith Moonand many others.

His portrayal of Long John Silver in the 1950Walt Disney film, Treasure Island, became oneof the most significant film characterisations ofthe 20th Century.

Robert Newton was born in Shaftesbury,Dorset, in 1905. He grew up in Cornwall andcompleted his education at St Bartholomew'sSchool in Newbury, Berkshire.

His mother was a writer and his father workedas an artist.

By the age of 16, Robert was performing withBirmingham Repertory Theatre.

He became a professional actor working inplays on London's West End and Broadway.

Robert made his first on-screen appearancein a silent film titled The Tremarne Case in 1924.He married his first wife Petrona Walton in1929 and he became a father.

During the 1930s he played significant roles inEnglish films such as I, Claudius, Fire OverEngland, The Green Cockatoo and Yellow Sands.

Robert married for the second time in 1936.In 1939 he worked with the famous director

Alfred Hitchcock on the film Jamaica Innalongside Charles Laughton and MaureenO'Hara - all of these people were to later findfame and fortune in America.

During the war years Robert served in the

WhateverHappened

To ...RobertNewton

By Kevin Traskof 3AW and 96.5 Inner FM

- Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, October 30, 2013

●●●●● Robert NewtonRobert Newton was voted one of the top 10

British money-making stars in the Motion Pic-ture Herald-Fame Poll from 1947 to 1951.

In the early 1950s, Robert Newton starredin a series of films which included Tom Brown'sSchooldays, Soldiers Three, Les Misérables andThe Desert Rats.

Robert travelled to Ceylon to film The Beach-comber in 1954 and later that year he was in Aus-tralia to reprise his famous role in Long JohnSliver.

The film was shot in Sydney and was the firstCinemascope feature made in Australia.

A huge Australian cast were employed - KitTaylor played Jim Hawkins and others in-cluded Grant Taylor, Lloyd Berrell and RodTaylor.

At the time Robert Newton was in Austra-lia he was declared bankrupt and owed a signifi-cant amount in unpaid taxes.

While he was in Australia, 26 episodes of

the children's television series The Adventures OfLong John Silver were filmed at the PagewoodStudios in Sydney.

The series was in colour and made before tele-vision was introduced in Australia - it was aimedat the American and UK markets and did verywell.

His co-star was the American actressConnie Gilchrist. Someone told me he wasrenting a house in Northcote at one stage - Iwould love to know if that was true.

Sadly Robert Newton died of a heart attackin 1956 after filming Around The World In 80Days.

He had become an alcoholic in his later years.Despite the warnings from his doctors he contin-ued to drink and was only 51 when he died.

The Adventures Of Long John Silver wasscreened on the ABC in 1957 and I enjoyed itvery much - it is available on DVD.

Robert Newton was married four times andhad three children. He was officially inducted asa Disney Legend at the Paris Disneyland in2002.

- Kevin TraskThe Time Tunnel - with Bruce and Phil-

Sundays at 8.20pm on 3AWThat's Entertainment - 96.5FM

Sundays at 12 Noon96.5FM is streaming on the internet. To

listen, go to www.innerfm.org.au andfollow the prompts.

■ There was nothing more startling,from an ex-Victorian's perspective,than to be driving along the StuartHighway, coming up behind a Policecar with not a second thought, and, witha friendly wave, pulling out to pass him.

He'd be sitting on about 120-kmh,and you're tootling along at 150.

That was before the Labor Gov-ernment came in, and reduced every-thing to 130.

Lightning Ridge Opals175 Flinders Lane,

MelbournePhone 9654 4444www.opals.net.au

TheOutbackLegend

with Nick Le Souef

gregate at one bar every Friday night,and business would boom, and a fewmonths later, it's time had come, andjust a few stragglers remained.

A perfect example of this wasBojangles, where I would always takeKeith and Angie McGowan whenthey stayed with me.

It had everything - great venue andfood - including Angie's and myfavourite camel fillet, and congrega-tions of backpackers.

Tour bus drivers would bring all theircharges in, and the young ladies wouldattract ringers from the bush, and otheryoung men of the town.

Then, suddenly, after a few years, itinexplicably crashed.

And another one was Uncles -where Ozzie and I would often drinkon a Friday night, and listen to Scottyand Sam Dann warbling and twang-ing away. But now, happily, a newemergence.

Next door was my mate BeatKeller's Swiss-Indian restaurant - astory in itself - and it's now closed, sothey've extended the bar, and with poolcompetitions, and party nights, and anew cocktail list, Uncles is jumpingonce again.

■ Many inventions and innovationsquickly developed into something moreuniversal and practical.

Edison's light bulb quickly lit theworld; silicon chips, from their humblebeginnings; and the internal combustionengine.

However, maybe they're not appli-cable for any practical purpose at all,but solar cars just haven't gone any-where.

Except, it seems, every year fromDarwin to Adelaide, and they seemto perform excellently here.

I don't understand why they haven'tprogressed into something more "ev-eryday" but this hasn't happened.

This year's lot, 38 cars in all, startedin Darwin as usual, and headed southin the Bridgestone World SolarChallenge.

There are teams from all over theworld, proudly displaying and drivingthe space-age type vehicles.

They all sit on about 80kmh, and onecar was even penalised for exceedingthe speed limit.

You'd reckon that at least there'd bea few solar powered golf carts buzzingabout.

- Nick Le Souef‘The Outback Legend’

Royal Navy and was given special leave to actin several films.

In the late 1940s he starred in films such asOdd Man Out, Obsession and played the villain-ous Bill Sykes in Oliver Twist.

In 1947 Robert married Natalie Newhouse.He was cast as Long John Silver in the first

Walt Disney full-length live feature film Trea-sure Island. Had the film failed then the studiowould have reverted back to animated features.

Robert was outstanding in the role and Trea-sure Island became a box office smash.

The film's success led to the Pirates Of TheCaribbean ride at Disneyland and eventually thefilm series starring Johnny Depp and GeoffreyRush.

Now, with the change of govern-ment, it seems that the restriction isabout to be de-restricted, which will fillthe hearts of many a Territory mo-torist with joy.

The distances are so vast, and theroads so straight, that this is not reallya safety issue.

Apparently, even during the non-re-striction era, they were safest in thecountry - and very few drivers seemed

to avail themselves of this freedom,and contentedly sat on about 120.

The most dangerous issue in the Ter-ritory, then and now, is fromunroadworthy and often unregisteredold jalopies, containing about eight un-restrained people, being driven bysomeone with a blood alcohol levelabout four times the legal limit.

These are the problem on the Ter-ritory roads, not any lack of speed lim-its.

■ What's happened to chivalry andcourtesy?

I was driving north along the Pen-insula Freeway near Melbourne theother day when I noticed a car pulledup beside the road, with four young la-dies emptying stuff out of the boot.

Although I didn't see it, I suspecteda flat tyre was the culprit, and that theywere retrieving the spare.

I found the next available cross con-nection to the southbound lanes, and dida quick uie, then down to the next con-nection and then another uie, and cameback to them.

Sure enough, it was a flat, and noneof them had much idea what to do, northe strength to loosen the nuts. So, hav-ing changed a million tyres in my life,I proceeded with the exercise, thenwaved them on their way.

What interested me was that they'dbeen there for a while, with a constantstream of traffic driving past, and nohad bothered to stop.

Happily at least in the Australianbush, there's still a sense of goodwilltowards one's fellow motorist.

Whenever anybody is pulled up bythe side or the road in the middle ofnowhere, there will be a stream ofpeople stopping with an: "OK mate?"

Not any more down here.

■ I would often drink at the ToddTavern in the top end of The Mall inAlice Springs.

Like most other liquor outlets, it hasa drive-through bottle shop.

It seems that there is a situation atthe moment whereby, as with every-where in Australia, intoxicated per-sons are not served, and, in the case ofthe Todd, quite a few past patrons arebarred anyway.

However, by some quirk, it appearsthat anyone driving through can beserved with takeaway booze.

And as a drunk will usually notchoose to hop into his own car, he willgrab a taxi to take him through, and he

obtains his grog that way.So it's now happening that there are

crowds of drinkers milling around in thehotel's vicinity, and grabbing cabs froma nearby rank, and, for a $20 fare, arebeing driven through to get their grog,and then hanging around.

These drive-throughs are at the rateof about one taxi per minute at certaintimes.

So now everyone, except the taxidrivers and the boozers, is complain-ing - not a good look for Alice to havemobs of drunks yelling abuse at eachother in the main street.

■ As I've mentioned before, everySaturday night is family night in AliceSprings - restaurants, movies etc.And every Friday night is pub night.

I don't often go clubbing inMelbourne, but I often see the results- scantily-clad giggling young thingsteetering around little laneways in thecity.

I suppose that the popularity of theseestablishments waxes and wanes -some being "in" at a particular time,and others being "out".

It was the same in Alice. Inexpli-cably a lot of the drinkers would con-

I began at Seven and wasthunderstruck that first Christmas witha £5 bonus. Older employees got £10.I'd been there less than a month.

Good old Herald and WeeklyTimes. How good was that?

Director and Ned Kelly-aficio-nado Ian Jones, and publicity headman Dick Voumard, put together aChristmas newspaper titled TheHair-Oiled, filled with all kind of hi-larious mischief and mayhem.

Frank Wilson bade farewell toSeven on his way to Nine, follow-ing Bert Newton, who had defectedsome time before I started.

I bumped into Norm ...that is, MrSpencer ... during my first rounds asmessenger boy. He smiled, I shiedaway and whenever my duties tookme to his office I never spoke aboutthat first meeting.

He was a big, gruff man. But en-dearing in ways that I would laterlearn.

He was also a very astute fellowwho could see further than most ofhis contemporaries.

Potter earned the plaudits as agreat director of external and inter-nal programs, but Spencer betteredhim with his innate ability to find andencourage talent, and then to bringthat talent to the public.

Yet both remain as early pioneers.There's a story about two young

guys on staging (let's call them Garyand Graeme) kicking about theground floor scenery bay and night-time empty corridors on the floorabove where all the execs and adver-tising/promo/sales people had va-cated.

This pair of hoodlums began agame of hide and seek, tearingaround the halls and diving in and outof places like the mail room and any-

●●●●● From Page 00

where that offered a hiding place.The story goes that one of them,

hiding behind a door, heard footstepscoming down the hallway and as-sumed that it was the other protago-nist.

A s the person passed, the assail-ant leapt out and tackled him,“Gotcha!” only to realise that it wasNorm. Spencer was too hefty tobring down, and was released imme-diately.

Here's how I re-construct the con-versation: “Oh sorry Norm, I thought...”

“Yeah, yeah! Ya Crumb-Bum!Who're the others?”

“Well ... um ...”“Ummm right, I wouldn't dob in

my mates either. If you're all stillworking, get back downstairs and geton with it! If you're not, piss off outof the station and take your mates withyou!”

That story, true or false, went therounds and very much raised the re-spect for Norman Spencer, aboveand beyond his reputation from Nine.

It's worthy of note that neitherNorm or Alf swore overly much.Being both of the School of HardKnocks, there is no doubting that theyknew all the words, but I only everheard Norm use 'Bloody' or his term'Crumb-Bum’.

Alf's favourite was 'Christ!' As in“Christ man, what are you doing tome!' Rarely he used 'Bloody.' Andperhaps when they did use those ex-pressions, people actually took no-tice.

Alf Potter, was solid, stolid, dedi-cated, unswerving. He believed inhimself. His goal, I think, was ego-driven. He was bullish, though not abully.

- Kenneth Mulholland

Melbourne TV Memories

Ob 30oct13 az

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