Melbourne Observer. 121107A. November 7, 2012. Part A. Pages 1-16

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SPRING FEVER

■■■■■ Christie Cooper and Lynda Kinkade were at the West End at Crown Melbournefor the G H Mumm champagne event to celebrate the Spring Racing Carnival.More Spring Racing photos are inside this week’s Melbourne Observer.

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Page 2 - Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, November 7, 2012 www.MelbourneObserver.com.au

City DeskThe hottest news about Melbourne’s A-listers

City Desk

Birthday celebrations at Crown

●●●●● Trevor and Kerrie Marmalade at the Club 23 party■ Crown Melbourne’s Ann Peacock hosted an A-list party to celebratethe first brithday of Club 23. Seen at the celebration were Ricky Ponting,Danny Green, Mark abd Toni Skaife, Tim Campbell and Anthony Callea,Rebecca Maddern and Tim Stuckey. more photos on Page 13.

Award finalists■ Victorian Australian of the Yearfinalists are children’s advocateVictoria Anderson, plastic surgeonIan Holten, businessman HaroldMitchell and musician Dr AhmadSarmast.

Victorian Senior Australian of theYear finalists are Graham Atkinson,Dorothy Hamilton, Marilyn King andProf. T John Martin.

Victorian Young Australian of theYear finalists are Hayley Bolding,Simon Griffiths, Kumari Middletonand Dr Linny Phuong.

Victorian Local Hero finalists arePam Adams, Christine Reade, Dr RitaSeethaler and Andrew Taylor.

●●●●● Vince Colisimo and Suzanne Carbone were pictured atFlemington. Yesterday’s Cup meeting attracted a crowd esti-mated at approx. 100,000 people. Photo: Sue Deenim

Moosehead Awards

●●●●● Kate McLennan

■ The 2013 Moosehead AwardsPresentation Night is being held onMonday (Nov. 12) at 7pm sharp atthe Toff In Town, Level 2, CurtinHouse, Melbourne.

The Moosehead Awards are runby an independent comedy industryassociation which raises funds at theMelbourne Comedy Festival eachyear to support the production of newand innovative shows in the subse-quent year.

Hosts are Justin Hamilton andAdam Richard, featuring DaveThornton, Lehmo, Celia Pacquolaand more.

For further details, visitwww.mooseheadawards.com.au

Under The Clocks

The BuzzCharming man

CHARLES, CAMILLAVISIT SOUTHBANK

●●●●● The Prince of Wales andDuchess of Cornwall

■ The Prince of Wales and Duchessof Cornwall are due to attend a youthperforming arts showcase this morn-ing (Wed.) at the Victorian College ofthe Arts Secondary School, Miles St,Soutbank.

Their 11.05am visit will followCamilla’s scheduled visit to the Os-teoporosis Australia 10am receptionat Government House, with Charlesvisiting the Housing Melbourne Sym-posium at the National Gallery ofVictoria in St Kilda Rd.

The Royals are due to depart fromTullamarine Airport tomorrow(Thurs.) at 10.35am.

Charles and Camilla’s scheduleincluded arrival late on Monday night,staying at Government House, a visitto the Australian Tapestry Workshopin South Melbourne, the Prince’s at-tendance at Cricket Victoria’s ‘Har-mony’ program at the MCG, and at-tendance at yesterday’s MelbourneCup at Flemington.

■ Italian fashion designerRoberto Cavalli, 71, has charmedhis way into the hearts of Mel-bourne’s females.

Kissing the hands of many ofthe women in the Lavazza mar-quee in the Birdcage at Fleming-ton, Cavalli also recorded an in-terview with 3AW’s DonnaDemaio.

●●●●● Donna Demaio withRoberto Cavalli

Jon performs

●●●●● Jon English

■ Sixties and seventies musicfeatures in the Rock Revolutionperformances being toured acrossVictoria by Jon English:■ Thurs., Nov. 8. The CapitalTheatre, Bendigo.■ Fri., Nov. 9. Eastbank Centre,Shepparton.■ Sat., Nov. 10. Wangaratta Per-forming Arts Centre.■ Fri.-Sat., Nov. 16-17. Palms atCrown, Melbourne.

Around town■ Stephanie Wood tells us thePicture This exhibition is continu-ing at Gasworks, Albert Park, un-til November 18.■ Melbourne violinist PatrickRoberts is launching his new CD,Vision, says A&R man Bill Duff.■ Condolences to columnist DiRolle on the passing of her motherAllyson.

★ Melbourne Observer Distribution Manager Sam Fiorini is in Bali thisweek for the 50th birthday celebrations of wife Vicki.

★ Radio man Keith McGowan and wife Angela are en route to HerveyBay, Queensland, for the 80th birthday of 3UZ-3AK man Henry Gay.

★ Winner of the Arts Access Australia first prize for artists with a disability is Peter Hughes. Andrew Follows has won the People’s Choice

award.

★ Melbourne entrepreneur Andrew McManus is in Cabrini Hospitalafter contracting meningitis following back surgery.

ObserverMelbourne

Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, November 7, 2012 - Page 3www.MelbourneObserver.com.au

●●●●● Rebecca Maddern with Tim Stuckey

●●●●● Mark and Toni Skaife at the Club 23 celebrations

★ David Kleesh reminds us that the Whittlesea Community Marketwill be held on Saturday, November 17, at the Showgrounds, Yea Rd,

8am-1pm. Arts, crafts, plants, clothes and more. Phone 0419 357 395.

★ The Sunrise team will travel to Melbourne for the Starry StarryNight to be held on Saturday, November 17 at Crown Palladium.

■ The Die-Nasty Soap-a-thon ofimprovised theathre is beingplayed out at the Broken MirrorStudios in Brunswick for 52 hoursfrom November 30 until Decem-ber 2, says Eleanor Howlett.

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

Mark Richardson

LOOK WHO’S COMING TO TOWN

■ If you are driving past the BurnleyOval along Swan St, then pedestrianshad better watch out as they may copa swipe.

They may clench a fist and raise ittwice; they're gonna find out what dis-tracted your eyes.

Cause Mrs Claus has landed intown, yes I'm telling you why; MrsClaus has landed in town.

Santa's Magical Kingdom is aChristmas wish come true this No-vember and December. The event istipped to appeal to all children and thechild within all us grown-ups when itlights up.

The interactive walk-through ad-

MagicalPorch

Thoughts

venture land is a world first and willshowcase everything that we loveabout Christmas; plus dazzle visitorswith a spectacular Christmas themedcircus show.

I caught up with Mrs Claus on hermagical Porch down 'Down Under'in Richmond (I had to check twice)where she was putting the finaltouches to the Kingdom ahead ofSanta's arrival.

The magic officially opens on No-vember 16 and will stay with us untilSanta needs his sleigh back on De-cember 23.

$1 from all ticket sales will be do-nated to the event's official charity

partner, the Lord Mayors Chari-table Foundation, making this fes-tive season a little more special forpeople in need.

Mrs Claus, I am thrilled to havefinally met you. What exactlybrought you to Melbourne for aholiday?

Oh thank you my dear Mark, Imust say that my trip 'Down Under'to glorious Melbourne is anythingbut a holiday. I was actually invitedto be the official Ambassador ofSanta's Magical Kingdom.

How did Santa's Magical King-dom come to be?

For some time now, Santa and Ihave been concerned that the truemagic of Christmas was being for-gotten by the younger, digital gen-eration. We were so pleased whenthe talented team from Santa'sMagical Kingdom came to theNorth Pole to tell us all about theiramazing plan to bring the magicback in Melbourne this Christmas.

I find it odd that you travelledall this way from the North Pole byyourself. Was Santa OK with that?

We could hardly refuse the invi-tation. Santa is so busy and asked ifI would mind coming out a fewmonths early to help with the project- very much like a building site fore-man. We also thought it would be agreat opportunity to share some ofmy Christmas tips with all Victori-ans.

What can families expect to seewhen they come to Santa's Magi-cal Kingdom?

They will see so much, I meanthey will literally feel Christmas hascome early. I suppose anyone couldbe forgiven for making that mistakewhen they see the magic we haveplanned.

What are some of theKingdom's highlights?

There are just so many. Therewill be a magical Christmas walk-through wonderland, a snow- land-ing where artificial snow will fallevery 30 minutes, amusement rides,a spectacular Christmas themedcircus show and roving Christmascharacters. There will also be aMoshi Monsters themed zone, acraft area to make traditional giftsand I will be reading Christmas sto-

●●●●● Mrs Claus

ries and enjoying warm cookies andmilk with all the children, parents andgrandparents. Best of all, my dearhusband will be there to wish every-one a merry, merry Christmas.

What does the magic of Christ-mas mean to you?

I love seeing the all children's eyeslight up with happy and glowingsmiles. That is so magical.

What is your favourite Christ-mas Carol?

Definitely Santa Claus Is Com-ing To Town. Everyone gets so ex-cited to hear that my husband is onhis way. I am excited singing it tooas I know he will be soon returninghome to me!

What do you pack for Santa be-fore he heads off on his sleigh?

Santa needs lots of energy for histrip. I always pack him lots of nuts togive him energy, and always a spe-cial treat. Normally it's my carrotcake which he loves so much.

Besides the weather here inMelbourne, what is the biggest dif-ference between our Christmas andChristmas in the North Pole?

Oh yes, the weather has been adoozey I must say. I wasn't preparedfor the hot weather at all. I packedmy Winter wardrobe and have lovedshopping along Bridge Rd. So wherewas I? Oh yes, I would have to saythe biggest difference is definitelythe food on Christmas Day. For start-ers you all have Christmas Daylunches instead of the big traditionalNorth Pole dinners. I've heard aboutyour shrimps, eskies, great Austra-lian wine and famous laid back atti-tude too.

Have you seen much of Victoria

and what has been a highlight?Yes I have been touring all over.

I loved visiting many wineries alongthe Mornington Peninsula. Themost memorable part of my trip sofar was swimming at BrightonBeach and seeing the colourful andcheery beach huts.

We know what Santa and theElves do, what exactly do you do inthe North Pole?

I helped with sorting all the let-ters Santa receives. I also create newrecipes that are sent to magazinesaround the world for publishing.They don't call me the MarthaStewart of the North Oils for noth-ing.

What is one misconceptionabout giving Christmas presents?

That expensive presents makethe greatest impressions. I encour-age everyone to make homemadegifts this year. I hear all the timethat most people love receivingthem, especially the kind they canreally use. Apply your talents tomaking gifts. If you're a photogra-pher for example, take a one-of-a-kind photo of your family and havethem framed. There is nothing morespecial than receiving a gift from theheart.

What is your Porch Thought ofthe Day?

I hope to find a 2013 subscriptionfor the Melbourne Observer in mystocking on Christmas morning. Iwonder if Ash Long been naughtyor nice this year?

For more magical details onSanta's Magical Kingdomwww.santasmagicalkingdom.com.au

- Mark Richardson

●●●●● Santa, Rudolph and Mrs Claus


Off The Porch Thought For The Day

Jon EnglishMusician/Angler"I first played in Melbourne in 1972 at FestivalHall doing a concert production of JesusChrist Superstar. Being a Sydneysider at thetime, the thing that struck me was howenthusiastic the audience was compared withthe 'shut up and show me' attitude you getnorth of the border. The ensuing years haveshown me Superstar was no fluke!”


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Latest NewsFlashes Around Victoria

ObserverMelbourne

In This 52-Page Edition

City Desk: Melbourne’s A-listers ............ Page 3People: Opening night pictures ........... Page 10News: Matt Bissett-Johnson’s view ....... Page 11Yvonne Lawrence: Life as a carer .......... Page 12Melb. Confidential: Whispers, Bitch ...... Page 13Long Shots: Sorry John-Michael .......... Page 14Travel, Wine: David Ellis reports ........... Page 15Extra: Whatever happened to .............. Page 16Magazine: On the buses .................... Page 17Showbiz: More Sex Please reviews ...... Page 37Observer Racing: with Ted Ryan ........... Page 44

It’s All About You!

Oaks Day forecast■ Min 12. Max 21. Shower or two develop-ing. Partly cloudy. Isolated showers later in theday. Light winds tending southwesterly up to20 kmh during the afternoon.

Where is Dakota’s cash?■ Teenage stroke victim Dakota Duke hasbeen embroiled in a messy fund-raising ven-ture which has left her without some of themoney donated by the Bendigo community.Half of the money raised through a charity golfday and lunch organised by Ricky Nixon andhis assistant Tania Drummond disappeared inthe weeks after the June event, reports theBendigo Advertiser.

Granny crime spree■ Two grandmothers targeted eight Geelongshops during an afternoon crime spree thatnetted almost $2700 worth of clothes. Thewomen, both in their 60s and with prior historyof thefts, now have a suspended 14-day jailterm hanging over their heads for the next sixmonths, reports the Geelong Advertiser.

Mary Smith, 67, of Wallan, and ValerieHillier, 65, of Moonee Ponds, pleaded guilty toeight counts of shop theft.

Charity accused■ Two-time bankrupt Andrew RobertMansell, 52, originally from Bairnsdale, hasbeen accused by Fairfax Media of setting up a''spurious'' aid organisation - World Humani-tarian Aid Foundation - through which he isaccused of defrauding millions of dollars frominvestors.

Movies, DVDsLocal Theatre

TV, RadioMega Crossword

ObserverMelbourne

Court Roundsman

www.MelbourneObserver.com.au Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, November 7, 2012 - Page 9

ObserverShowbizObserverShowbiz

●●●●● Libby Chanter, June Bates, Leila Cohen, Liz Cameron, Olga Pole, Sallie Bates, Andrea Maynard, Chris Beeson,Joan, Bone, Jill Paquin, Jill Tragear, Elsie Rankcom, Barbara Foley, Ina Clive, Edna Hore, Shirley Gladman, MarjRitchie, Anne Patterson, Ursula Griffiths, Dorothy Anderson, Janette Lund, Gwen Bliss, Merle Moule, Beryl Lawton

60th anniversary for Auxiliary

■ The Royal Freemasons Ladies Auxil-iary has celebrating 60 years of dedicatedservice.

The Royal Freemasons organisation hasacknowledged the contribution of more than1000 volunteers since 1952.

Moira Laverty, Executive Manager Stra-tegic Projects, says the volunteers have self-lessly and freely given their time and effortsto provide a valued and dedicated service toresidents, families, relatives and friends.

At the anniversary event held at CoppinCentre in Punt Rd, Ian Buckingham, thenewly appointed Chairman of the Board ofRoyal Freemasons, said that he felt privi-leged to represent an organisation that standsproud.

He said that Freemasonry promotes ide-als of charity and service to the community,and could not do this without our volunteers.

Mike McColl Jones

Top 5THE TOP 5 TELL TALE SIGNS

THAT YOUR NEIGHBOUR

MIGHT HAVE WON MILLIONS

IN OZ LOTTO

5. You notice his in-ground pool is filled with Perrier.

4. Their garbage goes out gift-wrapped..

3. His children have their school-lunches made by Neil Perry.

2. The family sends food parcels to Gina Rinehart.

1. He can afford to fill his car with petrol.

“Each one of our volunteers has an im-portant role in supporting our mission “toassist our elderly clients to live a secure,dignified and rewarding life…".

“The Ladies Auxiliary volunteers areparticularly impressive. They bring vibrancyto Royal Freemasons. They complementand add an extra dimension to the Homesand the lives of our residents.

“They are highly valued and warmly ap-preciated by the Royal Freemasons com-munity, who understand that their contribu-tion is as much personal as professional.

“Royal Freemasons encourages a teamspirit among its staff and volunteers so thatwe can offer older Victorians the best ser-vices possible,” Mr Buckingham said.

“The philosophy of volunteerism isnoble, yet straightforward and it takes a veryspecial person to volunteer.

“Volunteers contribute their unique tal-ents, skills, and knowledge of our commu-nity to provide personalised attention to cli-ents, enable our employees to concentrateon the work for which they were profes-sionally prepared, and educate the publicabout our organisation and its cause,” MrBuckingham said.

“The Royal Freemasons Ladies Auxil-iary has achieved this and much more overthe past decades.

“Through their diligence, enterprise andtireless efforts, the Ladies Auxiliary hasraised and donated more than $1.1 million.

“The Royal Freemasons Ladies Auxil-iary is to be congratulated on this specialanniversary and wished the very best in con-tinuing their very important work,” MrBuckingham said

Payout increase■ A $20,000 payout to GrahamMonks by the Victims of Crime As-sistance Tribunal has been increasedto $33,000, by order by VictorianCivil and Administrative Tribunal Se-nior Member Robert Davis.

Mr Monks is to receive the moneybecause of distress he suffered afterthe murder of his brother Ian.

Graham, 49, was present whenthe murder was committed bynephew Milner Monks.

CHINESE MEDICINEMAN SUSPENDED

■ Chinese Medicine practitioner Tony Lim isto be suspended for six months, commencingtomorrow (Thurs.).

This follows Lim being reprimanded after afive-day hearing before Victorian Civil andAdministrative Tribunal Senior MemberNoreen Megay.

Lim practises from a shopfront in HopkinsSt, Footscray, under the name Bai Cao Tang.

Lim faced VCAT after the Chinese MedicalBoard of Australia accused him of unprofes-sional conduct and professional misconduct.

The allegations related to Lim’s treatment ofa young Somalian man. He has been fined$2000.

Lim must undertake nine monthly supervi-sion sessions including patient communication,‘red flag’ symptoms presentations, referalls tomedical practitioners and hospitals, record keep-ing, receipt issuing, proper labelling and dispens-ing of herbs, informed consent and compliancewith the Board’s codes and guidelines.

At his own cost, Lim has to have reports pre-pared on his progress under the supervisioncourses.

In a related case, practitioner Mei Yang, whoworked at Footscray, must undertake 10 one-hour mentoring sessions at her own cost.

The sessions are to cover record keeping,proper labelling and dispensing of herbs, in-formed consent and the following of guidelines.

More Vizard at 3AW

■ Steve Vizard looks likely to join 3AW as aregular fill-in host, working about 16 weeks ayear in various shifts whilst regular on-air hoststake holidays.

Derryn Hinch alerted his audience lastweek that Vizard was having publicity photo-graphs taken.

Hinch and colleague Neil Mitchell havepreviously said that Vizard’s appearances on3AW “threatens the integrity of the station."

●●●●● Steve Vizard


Melbourne PeopleOpening Night

More Sex Please, We’re SeniorsComedy Theatre

●●●●● Jason, Elaine and David Marriner ●●●●● Lisa Edwards with David Mann

●●●●● Antonio and Karen Zeccola ●●●●● Liz Copping with Val Jellay ●●●●● Joan Brockenshire and Tommy Dysart

●●●●● Carol Smith and Christine Paradine ●●●●● Reg Gorman with John Newman ●●●●● John Wood with Malcolm Cooke

●●●●● Joan and Gary Mac ●●●●● Dennis Smith with Annie Mann ●●●●● Stefan Dennis with wife Gail

DOCTOR’S SUSPENSION REVERSEDObserver

Melbourne

Court Roundsmanwww.MelbourneObserver.com.au

Briefs

Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, November 7, 2012 - Page 11

■ The effective suspension of a Victorian doctor bythe Medical Board of Australia has been reversed bythe Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

But he will be subject to thrice-weekly urine testsand must keep his hair at least 3cm in mlength.

The doctor, who cannot be named by order of VCAT,had had conditions placed upon his practising certifi-cate. The doctor specialises in anaesthesia

The VCAT hearing before Deputy President HeatherLambrick and members B Collopy and B Burge, heardthat the doctor had been accused of discrepancies inrecording and/or disposing of the drug Fentanyl.

A nurse gave evidence that the doctor’s behaviourwas suspicious and erratic.

A second nurse had reported the doctor’s demeanourto her Unit Manager. He was scatching his arms, neck,behind his ears, his abdomen and his waistline, and hispupils were extremely constricted.

On one occasion, a nurse observed the doctor leav-ing with a fully-drawn syringe in his front top pocket,and going to the bathroom. The doctor admitted use ofcannabis and ecstasy 15 years ago.–

The Board said VCAT should consider the doctor’sunaccounted quantity of Fentanyl, his demeanour, bath-room attendances, patient care and a bruise on his arm.

The VCAT panel said it did not believe that the doctor’sbehaviour posed a serious risk to the public.

The doctor said he did not have a substance abuseproblem and had not diverted use of the Fentanyl to-wards his own use.

Evidence was offered that last year the doctor hadself-administered the hypnotic drug Propofol, and hehad been found unconscious whilst on duty.

VCAT was told that the doctor attempted to take hisown life last year, using a hospital needle to cut hiswrist. VCAT was asked to consider if the doctor actu-ally had a substance overdose, rather than had made asuicide attempt.

Next To Normal

●●●●● Mike Menner

Melbourne Observationswith Matt Bissett-Johnson

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■ Back from Europe,one of Melbourne’spopular radio men isreturning to Yarra Val-ley FM 99.1 ̀with MikeMenner Strikes Gold,Thursdays 7pm-9pm,from next week(Nov. 15).

Gold!

Ouch!

■ He swears hedidn’t touch a drop ofthe hard stuff all day,but Derby Day atFlemington was pain-ful for 3AW sportsman Shane McInnes.

Shane split hishead open on a modelhorse head in the stu-dio, bedning over topose for a photo.

●●●●● Shane McInnes

To open■ The Arts CentreMelbourne exhibi-tion War Horse andthe Breath of Lifeopens at 11am thisFriday (November9).

■ Williamstown Musical Theatre Company pre-sents Next To Normal from November 9-24 at theWilliamstown Mechanics Institute, cnr. MelbourneRd and Electra St, Williamstown.

This emotional powerhouse of a musical por-trays the intricacies of a family trying to take careof themselves and each other in the face of amother's deteriorating mental state.

WMTC's show is directed by Shaun Kingma,with musical direction by Tyson Legg and move-ment by Nadia Gianinotti.

Tickets: $35/$32/$28. Black tie gala night No-vember 9 $28 flat rate. Devonshire tea special onNovember 11.

Bookings: 1300 881 545 or www.wlt.org.au

●●●●● Brittany Lewis, Paul Watson and RosaMcCarty in Williamstown Musical TheatreCompany's production of Next To Normal,opening Friday (Nov. 9).

Photo: Gavin D Andrew

Special subsciption offer■ The price of a Melbourne Observer 45-issue mailsubscription rises to $228 on Friday next week(Nov. 16). Our special $99 offer (coupon below)is available for just one more week.

●●●●● Jim Maumill (standing), Alan Rundell, Tom Bone, TonyJohnson and Norm Moore rehearse a number for theWarrandyte 55 Plus Variety Group's Remembering 50Golden Years Cabaret on Friday, November 30 at 7.15pmfor a 7.30pm start at the Warrandyte Senior CitizensClub Hall, 1-3 Taroona Ave, Warrandyte. Tickets: $10donation. BYO food and drink. Bookings: 9877 1077.

50 Golden Years

PHOTO: ALLAN SPENCER

●●●●● Freya Pragt, Susannah Frith, SebastianGunner, Jason Cavanagh and Tom Molyneux.

■ Repertory theatre was something that used tohappen in Australia, and was very much the way tobuild a theatre company. It was also the tradition inEngland in which fine actors like Judi Dench learnedtheir craft and were kept employed.

Having to perform in one production at night whilerehearsing another in the day was the norm, andover a period of a few weeks, actors needed to beable to perform in several shows in rotation.

These days in Australia, repertory theatre is athing of the past, but young theatrical entrepreneurJason Cavanagh, artistic director of 5pound the-atre, is bringing it back at his performance space,The Owl and the Pussycat, in Richmond.

Jason and four other actors, with five directors,are performing in five shows over a five-week pe-riod.

This week George Bernard Shaw's classicPygmalion (think My Fair Lady without the music!)is up and running. Next week, from November 13 -17, the intrepid cast takes on Sally…A Musical, whileNovember 20 - 24 has the play The Unnamed, Nov26 - Dec 1features Falling Petals and the final weekDecember 3 - 8 will have a big finish with a reducedversion of Shakespeare's Hamlet.

At the end of the five-week season there will befive very tired but happy actors!

Jason Cavanagh's idea is to establish strongerroots in the community and expose people to a styleof theatre that has an immediacy and a vibrancy thathe feels is largely lost with more rehearsed theatre.The danger element that anything can and does hap-pen will keep both actors and audiences on theirtoes. If you would like to be part of Jason's excitingexperiment and see live theatre history in the mak-ing, you can find full details at www.5pound.com.au

The Owl and the Pussycat is at 34 Swan St, Rich-mond, opposite Richmond Station.

- Julie Houghton

The Owl and The Pussycat

WELCOME TO LIFE AS A CARER


ObserverMelbourne

Life & Style

Yvonne’s Column

with Yvonne Lawrence

[email protected]

■ The official reason for my non-appearancein the Observer for a couple of weeks was thatI was on leave.

Well, it’s true, I have been on leave.I would love to tell you that Peter and I popped

over to Paris for a few days of shopping and Rand R.

Actually, I’ve been walking the mile in themoccasins of a Carer.

And after my experience, all Carers deservea gold medal.

I’ve been nurse, mentor, chef, personal as-sistant, in fact, I’ve been in my husband’s life24/7.

Being woken up by the person lying besideyou in bed writhing in agony is very alarming.

The first thing you think of is to phone for anambulance. Common sense prevails, and I at-tempted to discover what his problem was.

It was his shoulder and there was nothingelse but immediate medical attention.

I felt so helpless, and thought I should havecontinued with my first aid course. I knew whatto do if he wasn’t breathing, but a screaming inpain body was something else.

And how do I get fresh pyjamas on a bodythat doesn’t want to be touched and thenmanouevre him into the car without causingmore damage and pain, and then drive care-fully to the hospital.

Shouldering the pain■ The Casualty Ward is an interesting placein the middle of the night, and the medical staffon duty should be paid a P.M’s salary to take theabuse they have to suffer.

What is happening to society? Where arewe coming from? The casualty ward used to befilled with people who needed urgent medicalassistance.

The staff is not there to take abuse fromdrunk or drug affected yobbos who feel that it istheir right to immediate attention.

It seems that Peter has done something to hisshoulder that is causing him such agony.

And hours later I took him home with hisshoulder heavily taped, morphine tablets andstrict instructions not to move either shoulderand to rest.

Didn’t leave his side■ It’s ages since I’ve done anything in thekitchen due to my problem, so in a second, Iwas in charge and out of my comfort zone.

Thank goodness I had a few ‘Made For You’frozen foods in the freezer whilst I collectedmy thoughts.

Feeling like an interloper, I navigated my wayround the kitchen. Peter had it set up for his way,and it took me a while to find things in the pan-try. However, although slow, I managed withmy trusty walking stick.

Of course, my mail piled up on my desk be-cause I didn’t have the time to open it. So Isuppose I’ll have bills that should have beenpaid last week.

The doctor has decided on physio for himhoping that the problem will slowly ease and anoperation won’t be necessary short term.

Moosh, our cat, took his responsibility seri-ously because he hasn’t left Peter’s side, ex-cept to rush outside for a wee and then straightback on the bed.

Outside the bedroom window is a grapevinethat is housing a few birds’ nests with very ma-ternal mums keeping the eggs warm.

Bought on a whim■ Usually, Moosh shows great interest in thegrape vine at this time of the year, but his firstduty to Peter is stronger.

He hasn’t even walked to the mailbox withme. And as he likes fossicking in the gardenwhen I’m there, he’s missing me picking a hugebunch of sweet peas every day. I must havepicked over a hundred blooms so far.

I’ve never grown them before, and it was ona whim that I bought a couple of packets ofseeds, thinking that as long as the vines could

climb it would take no effort from me, except adaily chat to them.

Peter made tall bamboo teepees for the vinesto climb, and other than feeding them when weplanted the seeds and throwing a bit of wateraround it took no effort at all.

The perfume from the flowers is so strong,and they come in a myriad of colours that blendswith any décor.

The scent is almost overpowering, but it onlylasts when the flowers are first picked. It adifferent story when you walk past the teepees -even the next-door neighbour tells me she cansmell the perfume.

I just hope they last long enough so that Petercan see what a great idea he had.

Never forgiven me■ Peter is cautious when it comes to me callingthe doctor since I took my duties seriously notlong after we had been married.

My mother taught me the procedure whensomeone was sick: the house should be spot-less, with fresh towels and soap in the bathroom.

And the most important, she told me, was toalways change the bed linen and to finally puton the white Marcella quilt.

My new husband came down with the HongKong ‘flu and I knew that I had to call the doc-tor, but not before I had done all the things thatmy mother had taught me.

Meantime, as I was busy vacuuming the bed-room, Peter was croaking to please get the doc-tor.

The doctor finally arrived and I felt very proudthat I had everything in readiness. It seemedthat Peter had something more than the ‘flu andwhen the doctor pulled back the bedclothes,there, nestled beside Peter was our Siamese cat.

The doctor suggested I remove the cat andtold me that I should get Peter to hospital.

So I suppose I can understand why he si-lently scoffs when I give him my diagnosis. Buthe has never forgiven me.

I did notice he didn’t say anything when Ichanged the bedclothes and put on the Marcellaquilt when I brought him home.

On my blacklist■ I find it hard to comprehend that a restaura-teur would not know that guide dogs were per-mitted in restaurants.

How upsetting that those three unsighted din-ers didn’t even get in the door before they weretold that dogs were not allowed.

Worse, the women were told that the dogswould upset their customers.

I for one will never think of dining at La FourSeasons in Moonee Ponds, and hope that man-agement has the grace to apologise, but not be-fore visiting the Guide Dog Centre and findingout how we respect the dogs and how they bringindependence to unsighted people.

Friends came to visit a few months ago andwhen I answered the door the first one over thethreshold was a big blonde macho and very hand-some Labrador.

He didn’t wait for introductions and went fromroom to room, thankfully not finding Moosh.

I told his owners not to let him outside be-cause being a Labrador I knew he would getinto out fountain and have a swim. He pushedopen the door and was in the fountain in a sec-ond.

He could have come inside but his ownerstold me that they were training him not to comeinside without permission.

It turned out that this boisterous dog, though adropout from the Guide Dogs Victoria, sat whentold, and was the perfect gentleman when in-side.

On his way out he stopped for a wee, I com-mented that he sat down and not lifted his leg.They told me that they are toilet trained that way.You learn something every day.

Finding daytime TV■ Never one to watch daytime television I’veturned into a devotee of television day and nightsince I’ve become Nurse Ratched.

Having Foxtel I can look at some great pro-grams during the night. And, oh joy, I’ve dis-covered an hour of The Bill each morning at6am on UKTV and late at night for an hour on7TWO, and I never tire of Midsummer Mur-ders (I’ve never seen sweet peas equal to minein the glorious English gardens) and a newprogramme on SoHo entitled The Newsroom.

It’s finished the first run, and I’ll have to waitfor the return of the series in the New Year.

I’ve had such support from friends and read-ers. Even Peter has received a few ‘get wellsoon’ cards.

Betty Jeffrey has written me such newsy let-ters and sitting in the sun to read has given me abreather.

I must ask Betty if she has a Marcella quilt.I’m sure she has.

- Yvonne.Contact: Melbourne Observer.

P.O. Box 1278, Research 30953WBC 94.1FM,

P.O. Box 159, Box Hill 3128

ObserverMelbourne

Arts Extra

■ What do you do if you are a strug-gling music student who has thechance to go to a prestigious operasummer school but the lack of dollarsis the stumbling block?

You follow the old advice in thenursery rhyme and sing for your sup-per!

Talented Melbourne singersJosephine Grech and Edwina Dalco,both Bachelor of Music students atMelbourne University's Conserv-atorium of Music, have the opportu-nity to attend the highly acclaimed LisaGasteen national Opera School,which is rather like an opera bootcamp for the most talented young clas-sical singers fro around the country.

During the weeks of the summerschool, students will have masterclasses with major operatic figuresand learn so much that will propelthem to future operatic careers.

But most don't have a lazy $4000

lying around to enable us to pursueour dreams, so Josephine and Edwinaare staging a special concert and auc-tion to raise the money to enable themto attend the Brisbane-based school.

The girls are staging OperaBlooms, a concert which will involvethem singing a concert of favouriteoperatic repertoire and duets on Sat-urday (Nov. 10) at 7pm at All Saints'Church, 2 Chapel St, East St Kilda.

Accompanying Josephine andEdwina will be Jodie Lockyer, andthe girls have managed to secure theservices of mezzo-soprano SuzanneJohnston as compere, so the eveningshould certainly be entertaining andfull of good music.

To help Josephine and Edwina toachieve their dream, and enjoy a nightof beautiful singing, you can book tick-ets at www.trybooking.com/BWZVor call 0402 535 576.

- Julie Houghton●●●●● Josephine Grech

Girls sing for their supperSondheim event changes again

●●●●● Stephen Sondheim

■ A third change has been madeto the Stephen Sondheim event atHer Majesty’s Theatre.

An interview which was to havebeen conducted by TV host RayMartin, will now become a chatwith ABC Classic FM host Chris-topher Lawrence.

One Afternoon With StephenSondheim will now be held at 2pmon Friday, November 23.

Ticket holders are being toldthey can purchase tickets to the8pm performance of A FunnyThing Happened On The Way ToThe Forum at a special price.

Sondheim’s most famous worksas composer-lyricist include AFunny Thing Happened On TheWay To The Forum, Company, Fol-lies, A Little Night Music, SweeneyTodd, Sunday In The Park WithGeorge and Into The Woods. Healso wrote the lyrics for West SideStory and Gypsy.

ConfidentialMelbourne

BitchMelbourne’s Secrets

WhispersRumour Mill

Hear It Here First

DEBT COLLECTOR’S ‘SYSTEMICDECEPTIVE CONDUCT’: COURT

www.MelbourneObserver.com.au Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, November 7, 2012 - Page 13

E-Mail: [email protected]

Talk is cheap, gossip is priceless

■ One of Australia’s largest debtcollection companies, ACM GroupLtd, harassed and coerced debtorsand engaged in “widespread” and“systemic” misleading and decep-tive conduct when recovering money,the Federal Court has found.

The Australian Securities andInvestments Commission broughtproceedings alleging that ACM con-travened the Australian Securitiesand Investments Commission Actwhen dealing with eight debtors.

ACM purchases debt ledgers pre-dominantly of credit card, personalloan overdraft debt and telecommu-nications accounts from financialinstitutions and telecommunicationscompanies then seeks to negotiaterepayment programs with the debt-ors.

The Court was told that the ACMdebt collector training manual thatwas in use made it very plain thatdebtors should be threatened withlitigation.

The Court found several in-stances of undue harassment or co-ercion, including:■ repeated threats to inform adebtors’s husband about her indebt-

Stateside

Club 23 celebrations

●●●●● Heloise Waislitz, Chris and AndrewMoss and Maryanne Giannarelli

●●●●● Gerry Gee andRon Blaskett

■ We enjoyed TerryBrown’s story in Sat-urday’s Herald Sun aboutthe final performance ofMelbourne ventriloquistRon Blaskett, 90, andGerry Gee, at Knox nextmonth. Probus memberswill host the event at theKnox Club.

Did you feel that youread about the story be-fore?

Yes, the MelbourneObserver broke the newsin our October 17 edition- three weeks ago.

Gee, I’d heard that!

●●●●● John Wood

Film project at Wagga■ Blue Heelers starJohn Wood is under-stood to be working on athree-week shoot on amystery Aussie movieproject at Wagga. Andthe Rumour Mill hearsthat the Seekers might beinvolved in some filmingto celebrate their 50thanniversary. But ssssh!It’s a secret.

●●●●● Which Melbourne scribe’s handy camerawork - observing Nicole Kidman at Derby Day -was flashed across the world, including anappearance in London’s Daily Mail?

SCRIBE SHOOTSNICOLE KIDMAN

edness in circumstances where herhusband did not know about her debtand ACM knew that she did not wanthim to know about her debt■ threats to call a debtor’s friendsand employer until the debt was re-paid■ threats to have Sheriff’s officersattend a debtor's home or place ofemployment in a marked car■ telephone calls to neighbours andfriends of a debtor■ a threat to issue a warrant for adebtor’s arrest■ a threat to take action that wouldresult in a debtor’s taxi licence be-

ing revoked, and■ a threat to take action thatwould result in a debtor being un-able to travel overseas.

The Court described the tone ofone of ACM’s supervisors as ‘rude,condescending and vicious, no de-scription of this call (and some ofher later efforts) can adequatelycapture the offensiveness in-volved’.

The Court found ACM persis-tently misled debtors by implyingthat:■ ACM was a firm whichspecialised in commencing legalproceedings for the recovery ofdebts (when it was not)■ ACM frequently commencedlegal proceedings (when it did not)debtors had been referred toACM’s lawyers for the purpose ofcommencing legal proceedings(when they had not)■ ACM had decided to com-mence legal proceedings againstdebtors (when it had not), and■ legal proceedings, includingbankruptcy proceedings, would becommenced immediately (whenthey would not),.

CAROLS TIME AGAIN

●●●●● John Foreman

Thought For The Week■ “The duration of passion is proportionate with theoriginal resistance of the woman.”

- Honore de Balzac

Observer Curmudgeon■ “Humility is no substitute for a good personality.”

- Fran Lebowitz

Text For The Week■ “Honour they father and thy mother.”

- Exodus

ObserverTreasury

The Melbourne Observer is printed by StreamlinePress, 155 Johnston St, Fitzroy, for the publisher, AshLong, for Local Media Pty Ltd, ABN 67 096 680 063,of the registered 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 © 2012, Local Media Pty Ltd

(ACN 096 680 063).

■ How late in the year isit already?

Today marks the end ofthe first week in Novem-ber ... with only six moreObservers until Christ-mas.

We know it is gettingclose to the festive season,because we spotted musi-cal director John Foremancoming out of a planningmeeting for this year’sCarols By Candlelight.

●●●●● John Newman■ Melbourne en-tertainer John New-man (of Tikki andJohn fame) is head-ing to the UnitedStates.

Already in theStates are a group ofsix people includingRachel D Taylor,Ken Mackenzie-Forbes and JohnHay-Mackenziefrom The Produc-tion Company.

They are visitingChicago and NewYork.

Funny line

●●●●● Mark Mitchell■ It has beenslammed by the crit-ics (see Page 14),but the line of thenight at More SexPlease We’re Se-niors belonged toMark Mitchell.

As a retiree, helamented: “I getmore phone callsfrom India than I getfrom my children.”

Suspended■ V i c t o r i a nteacher James Rich-ard Michael Fifordhas been suspenedas a teacher untilApril 30 next year.

The VictorianInstitute of Teach-ing found Fifordwasw guilty of seri-ous misconduct.

Fiford must at-tend six sessionswith his current psy-chiatrist or a psy-chologist to analyseethics, professionalbehaviour, and theimbalance of powerbetween teachersand students.

●●●●● Ricky Ponting, Ann Peacock and DannyGreen at the Club 23 first birthday

www.MelbourneObserver.com.auPage 14 - Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, November 7, 2012

ObserverMelbourne

Ash On Wednesday

Long Shots

with Ash Long, Editor

editor@ melbourneobserver.com.au

“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”

TRUTH AS WE SEE IT■ We have been havingsome spirited debate go-ing on, behind-the-scenes,at the Melbourne Ob-server.

The talk has beenabout how we should ap-proach theatre and restau-rant reviews.

As Editor, I say weowe our readers - who pay$2.95 a copy - the truth,warts and all.

That doesn’t mean be-ing cruel or insulting, butit does require honesty ifsomething is not up toscratch.

Others disagree. Theyargue we have a duty tosupport local enterprise.

In this week’s edition,we have TWO reviews ofJohn-Michael Howson’sMore Sex Please ... We’reSeniors. I have one view,Cheryl Threadgold hasanother.

I first met John-Michael in 1976 on a TVWeek photo-shoot. We’vebeen good mates in those36 yearssince.

He taught me, in printor on air, have an opinion.Say something!

So it saddens me tohave the view that MoreSex was not up to par.

John-Michael will ar-gue that he has written theshow for the audience, notthe critics.

JMH and I will con-tinue to be mates. And inthe end, it’s right that YOUbe the judge anyway.

●●●●● John-Michael Howson

Our Doors are Open!

To find out more about Freemasonry, howto become a member, attend upcomingpublic events, or to take a tour of the

Masonic Centre, please visitwww.freemasonsvic.net.au or 'Like' our

Facebook page, www.facebook.com/freemasonsvic for the most up to date

information.

When the members of Nyah Lodge voted to returntheir warrant in August 2009, finding an alternateuse for their substantial Masonic Centre, a muchloved district landmark, was a significant challenge.

At the time of building, Nyah Masonic Centrewas the largest Lodge room in the district. Withbeautiful 'ceremonial space' and excellentfacilities, the Lodge boasted 120 members. TheChristmas Meeting at Nyah was a highlight of thedistrict's Masonic year.

Nyah Masonic Centre, at 7 O'Connor Street,Nyah West served as a location for the bettermentof men for more than 40 years.

That work continues with the building's new lifeas a Men's Shed. Now, instead of wearing a whiteapron, using stonemason's tools and being guidedby the principles of the square and compasses,the men wear overalls, protective goggles and workwith power tools.

The Men's Shed is the fulfilment of a dream bymembers of the Anglican community in the district,many of whom, like Frank Sharam and Ern Russell,were the strength of both the Church and the Lodge.

With the support of their local Rector, RevGraeme Snell, and the magnificent cooperationbetween Grand Lodge and the Anglican Dioceseof Bendigo in whom the property is now vested,that dream has become a reality.

Freemasons Victoria's Grand Master Bob Jonesofficially presented the building to Anglican BishopAndrew Curnow earlier this year, and interest inthe centre (which also includes a community drop-in centre and opportunity shop) continues to grow.

Former Lodge member Ian Watson said, "Manyof the shed's members are Freemasons and gladto see their building put to good use".

So far, billy-carts, trolleys and pot plant standshave rolled off the Nyah Men's Shed productionline, with a cubby house for the local preschool onthe cards.

The Men's Shed movement has achieved nation-wide success with Nyah the seven hundred andtwenty second established.

They work well in small communities withestablishments in the surrounding towns of LakeBoga, Sea Lake and Birchip but, as you read thisarticle, your closest 'sheds' are probably less thanfifteen minutes away.

Melbourne's inner city has a number of Men'sSheds, all providing the fellowship, skillsdevelopment and community service thatFreemasonry has offered men for centuries.

As the original Men's Shed, Freemasonry ispleased to support this initiative.

New life for NyahFormer Masonic Centre finds a

Anglican Bishop Andrew Curnow, Freema-sons Victoria Grand Master Bob Jones, lo-cal Councillor Gary Norton and FreemasonFrank Sharam

ARIES (MAR 21 - APR 20)Stick to facts. If you even think about telling any lies to your close ones, then you willcome unstuck as what you are really thinking is written all over your face.TAURUS (APR 21 - MAY 21)You are becoming quite a storyteller, but you are getting clumsy and have forgottenwhich lies you have told to who. Why not make a fresh start and tell it as it is?GEMINI (MAY 22 - JUNE 21)If you are going to be venturing out tonight then make sure you put a little extra effortinto the way you look. An important face is around that you are sure to want toimpress.CANCER (JUNE 22 - JULY 23)You really are like a bull in a china shop. A little thought can ensure you get thelongevity you require. Stop asking for what you think others want and tell it like it is.LEO (JULY 24 - AUG 23)Jupiter is bringing you good luck in your work and is putting you into contact withsome people that can help you to utilise your skills to the limit. This is your time. Enjoyit.VIRGO (AUG 24 - SEPT 23)Don't let younger people get you upset, it may be time to put your foot down, espe-cially if it concerns financial issues.LIBRA (SEPT 24 - OCT 23)Old friends seem to be of more importance than usual and many of your sign mayeven find themselves falling quite hard for their charms. Events throughout this weektell you if they're compatible.SCORPIO (OCT 24 - NOV 22)This week marks an important turning point in your love life as you finally speak fromthe heart and let down those defences. This could well be the beginning of a wholenew chapter!SAGITTARIUS (NOV 23 - DEC 21)Your need to blow off some steam is obviously a throwback from recent stress andpressures but proceed with caution, more eyes than you think are watching you. Beproud of what you do.CAPRICORN (DEC 22 - JAN 20)Jupiter is doing a lovely job this month of improving your confidence. So much so infact, that you should finally feel ready to approach the person you have been dream-ing and thinking of.AQUARIUS (JAN 21 - FEB 19)I must say that you have made a lot of sacrifices for your close ones lately, inparticular being nice to someone who is important to them. Gratitude for this kicks intoday.PISCES (FEB 20 - MARCH 20)Are you really interested in the person you're gazing forlornly at? If you're not, you'redoing a very good job of pretending to like them. Flirting for the sake of it deters thereal love matches.

Your Stars with Christina La Cross

Readers’ ClubBirthdays/Celebrations

■ Wednesday, November 7. Ob server reader An-gela Ewan of Ringwood East is 60. PhotographerTracy Ryan, who studied at RMIT, and now lives inDarwin, celebrates today.■ Thursday, November 8. Radio man BruceMcKay is 71, happy birthday mate. Observer readerNancye Redman of Burwood is 66. Triple Brown-low medallist Bob Skilton is 74. Songwriter JohnFarrar was born in Moonee Ponds, 67 years ago.■ Friday, November 9. It is fashion stylist KateBollard’s birthday today. Ad man John Singleton is71. Singer Delta Goodrem is 29; happy birthdayDelts.■ Saturday, November 10. Isobell Tunzi is 95 to-day. Happy birthday to Daniel Humphreys. Manyhappy returns to Herald Sun photographer JulieKiriacoudis. Observer reader Helen Eastwood is52: “happy birthday Helen, oh-oh”. We rememberthat it is birthday of the late Bobby Limb (born 1924;died 1999).■ Sunday, November 11. Observer reader JulieBrown is 56. Our dear friend Fiona Mackenzie is56. Happy birthday to Joy Brown of Lilydale. Musi-cian James Morrison is 50. Avtor Vince Collisimo is46.■ Monday, November 12. Matt Crosina is 33.■ Tuesday, November 13. Observer reader JessieLynch of Clifton Hill is 79. Happy birthday to Ob-server reader Bruno Scarcella of Coburg, 61.Reader Jean Sinnnamon of Braybrook is 83. SingerKamahl is 78.

What the critics said■ Crikey (Byron Bache): “Across theroad from Stephen Sondheim’s A FunnyThing in Melbourne, a new all-Austra-lian musical from John-Michael Howson.To be on the same block is an insult.

“More Sex is dead on arrival ... thejokes come fast, sometimes as many asone per line. Almost none of them land.”■ Man In Chair (Simon Parris): “ Justa show that is over-long, under-rehearsedand generally free from the charm andwit that make musical theatre the greatpleasure that it usually is.

“Pay the extra and see the fabulousfarce playing across the road.”■ The Age (Cameron Woodhead):“John-Michael Howson's musical com-edy about going grey disgracefully is sowrinkled, flaccid and frail, some of ourbetter comedians can't save it.

“The primary problem is the writing:unstylish and uninspired. If this is the bestJohn-Michael Howson can do, it's timehe hung up his tackle.”■ Theatre People (Barbara Hughes):“The producers of More Sex Please,We’re Seniors did well to open the showon Halloween because this show is trulyfrightful.

“Howson willingly sacrifices plot forthe sake of corny one-liners that mighthave been funny 40 years ago, but gener-ally miss the mark here.”■ Herald Sun (Kate Herbert):“Howson’s script lacks development ornarrative, and the gags are wordy, pre-dictable and often unfunny.”■ Stage Whispers (Coral Drouyn): “Ileft the theatre feeling sad and depressed.Whether you like him or not, John-Michael Howson has made a significantcontribution to the Australian entertain-ment industry over the past 50 years. Itwould be a great pity if he were to beremembered for this latest offering.”

new purpose as a Men’s Shed

●●●●● John Gilmour

■■■■■ Happy birthday toJohn Gilmour, ofGilmour’s ComfortShoes of Glen Huntly,West Heidelberg andMitcham. Gilmour’s isa long-time adver-tiser in the Mel-bourne Observer.

www.MelbourneObserver.com.au

Sir Henry’s home, truly his castle

Neil’s bin there, done that

ObserverMelbourne

Travellers’ Good Buys

ObserverMelbourne Wines & Liqueurs

withDavidEllis

withDavidEllis

■ Canadian businessman Sir HenryPellatt firmly believed in every man’shome being his castle, so when heand Lady Mary decided in 1912 onsomewhere new to live, they hadplans drawn up for just that – a castle.

He was not the least phased whenhis architect said he would first need25 hilltop housing lots overlookingToronto to accommodate it, nor that itwould take 300 men three years toput his castle together.

And as for the cost, that was noproblem either: Sir Henry had a looseC$3,500,000 (about $48m in today’sterms) he’d put aside just for his house.Sorry, castle.

Today, as a result of Sir Henry fall-ing on hard times just ten years aftermoving into his castle, inquisitive visi-tors can take themselves on a nostal-gic tour of the Pellatt’s remarkablefairytale home.

They can marvel at its 98Edwardian-era rooms that took 40staff and cooks to maintain and ser-vice, a banquet hall with 18m highceilings, a kitchen with an oven largeenough to cook a whole ox, secretpassageways, artworks, a library thatonce housed 10,000 volumes, threebowling alleys (that were never com-pleted,) and a wine cellar that heldmore bottles than most of us couldcontemplate getting through in a life-time.

There’s also Lady Mary’s personalsuite that alone covers an average

■ When you’ve been making winein the Hunter Valley for 140 years ormore and are simply continuing togrow – expanding into such other re-gions as the Barossa Valley,Coonawarra, Adelaide Hills and EdenValley to name just a few – you shouldbe well-content in the knowledge thatyou are doing things right.

But McGuigan Wines’ ChiefWinemaker, Neil McGuigan while nodoubt content with what he can seebehind him, is forever looking to thefuture, crafting better and better winesand creating new labels to reflect newapproaches to his ever-evolving skills,whilst ensuring only the best contin-ues to go under existing labels. A favourite of ours is his value-priced Bin 7000 Chardonnay, the 2011vintage a stand-out medium-bodiedwine with a creamy mouthfeel andone that’s delightfully fresh and crisp.Its powerful aromas are all abouttropical fruit and lovely citrus over-tones – and yet it’s priced at just$12.99.

Definitely not being in the Not An-other Chardonnay camp – we stillconsider the variety amongst our topthree white favourites – we’d suggestenjoying this one now with a simplechicken casserole, quickly grilledwhite-fleshed fish or creamy pastadishes, or putting it aside for more re-warding drinking in three to five yearstime.

●●●●● Every man’s home is his castle: the extraordinary castle-homeof Sir Henry and Lady Mary Pellatt.

Australian suburban house block, anda couple of secret passages that, ac-cording to legend, were there shouldSir Henry have need to slip away un-noticed..

Henry Pellatt was born into awealthy Canadian stock-broking fam-ily in 1859, and as a young man madea fortune from the family companyand his own investments in everythingfrom railways to insurance compa-nies and founding the Toronto Elec-tric Light Company.

While he chaired the boards of 21companies, he was also very activein the volunteer Canadian Queen’sOwn Rifles, while Lady Mary workedtirelessly with the Canadian GirlGuides, receiving their highest honour,the Silver Fish.

Henry Pellatt was awarded aknighthood for his services both to theQueen’s Own Rifles and for bringingelectricity to Toronto from NiagaraFalls.

The Pellatts moved into their castlein 1914 and named it Casa Loma,Spanish for The House on the Hill.

Because one of his investmentswas the Roman Stone Company, thecastle was built of replica ancient ro-man building blocks the companycast from concrete, with foundationssunk 15m into the ground to support it.

A keen horseman, Sir Henry’sstables had each horse’s name dis-played in gold leaf on their stall’smahogany doors. And in case it rained,a 250m-long tunnel ran 6-metres un-der an outside roadway to link castleand stables.

Although designed externallyalong medieval lines, Casa Loma hadsome amazing mod-cons for its time,including showers with nozzles spray-ing from the top and three walls aswell, and one of Canada’s first pri-vate elevators.

And being keen gardeners thePellatts had a conservatory and pot-ting house with floors and walls ofItalian and Canadian marble, toppingit with a stained-glass dome that wasbacklit with 600 new-fangled electriclight bulbs to show it off by night andday – and promote the product of hisToronto Electric Light Company.

To communicate through thecastle’s jigsaw of rooms and the out-side world, a private 59-line telephoneexchange handled more calls in itsfirst few years than the entire City ofToronto.

But World War I hit Sir Henry hard,his stock crashed, companies foldedand he and Lady Mary were forcedto auction off C$1.5m in art and fur-nishings for a mere C$250,000, aban-doning Casa Loma in 1923 for theirsmall farm outside town; Lady Marydied that same year and Sir Henry in1939.

For a while the castle operated asa luxury hotel and became a popularnightspot. The City of Toronto seizedit for unpaid taxes in 1933 and leasedit to the Kiwanis Club of Toronto (laterthe Kiwanis Club Casa Loma,) whichused it to raise funds for the castle’smaintenance and charitable projectsuntil management was taken overagain in 2011 by the City Council.

Casa Loma is open daily exceptChristmas Day, and the 2ha gardensfrom May to October; for details visitwww.casaloma.org

One For Lunch■ If you are into pork stir-fries, anice wine to enjoy one with is aNew Zealand Riesling from Giesenin the famed Marlborough region.

Their 2011 Estate Riesling that’snow available nationally is slightlymore sweetish than most drierRieslings, which is why it will gowell with that pork stir-fry… thepalate has flavours of tangelo, andtouches of honey. It’s also got aslightly lower than usual alcoholcontent at 10.5 per cent.

Pictured

■ Ideal with a simple chicken cas-serole or quickly grilled white-fleshed fish.

■ Slightly sweeter than usual andlower in alcohol, enjoy with a porkstir-fry.

Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, November 7, 2012 - Page 15

WHY I AM A MEMBER OF THE WOMEN’S AUXILIARY

www.MelbourneObserver.com.au

■ One of the great things about writing this col-umn is that I enjoy writing about people thatmany of our readers may have forgotten aboutover the years.

To be able to bring back the memories isvery rewarding and it is nice to remember per-formers who were a part of our lives.

I can safely say that the first time I recallseeing Denzil Howson on television was as ‘Pro-fessor Nitwitty’ on The Happy Show on GTV -9in the early days of television.

He was a regular performer on the children'sprogram with Happy Hammond, Ron Blaskettand Gerry Gee, Susan Gaye Anderson, ElaineMcKenna, Bernard The Magician, ErnieCarroll and many others.

During his career Denzil became an actor,writer, director and producer in radio, television,film and theatre.

Denzil Edward Howson was born in 1918 inthe Melbourne suburb of Glenferrie.

His father had been an engineer with thePMG and in 1938 young Denzil attended theRMIT with the view to becoming a radio engi-neer.

Denzil served in the Army during the SecondWar World but became ill and was sent to theHeidelberg Military Hospital where he workedin Army education.

Denzil spent four years at radio station 3YBin Warrnambool where he produced many pro-grams.

WhateverHappened

To ...Denzil

HowsonBy Kevin Trask

of 3AW and 96.5 Inner FM

Page 16 - Melbourne Observer - Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Denzil was versatile and worked as a pro-ducer on the famous Christmas pantomimeshows.

Ron Blaskett recalled in his book You, MeAnd Gerry Gee that Denzil produced the filmseries The Adventures Of Gerry Gee and in 1991they were both called into Channel 9 to be toldthat the ‘lost episodes’ had been found in thearchives and thankfully the series has now beenpreserved.

They also produced a series titled AroundThe World With Gerry Gee and toured the worldwith their families filming scenes for the show.

Denzil moved onto producing some of thedaytime programs on Channel 9 such as Thurs-day At One and worked with the famous En-

lish film star Jessie Matthews when she tookover the show from Evie Hayes.

He also wrote comedy for In Melbourne To-night and other programs. When he left Chan-nel Nine in 1963 Denzil worked at AMV4 Alburyand STW9 Perth.

He was an accomplished actor and over theyears appeared in many guest roles in Austra-lian shows such as Homicide, Division 4, MatlockPolice, The Sullivans, Prisoner, A Country Prac-tice and Neighbours.

He was in the play Amadeus for the Mel-bourne Theatre Company and in 1986 playeda role in the musical, Me And My Girl. Denzilalso worked for a marketing company.

In his later years he was a respected adjudi-cator at Malvern Theatre Company. I had metDenzil several times and the last time I saw himwas at the launch of the marvellous book on TheTivoli by Frank van Straten. I was surprisedthat he even remembered my name.

Many people have told me that Denzil was agenuine friendly person and a real gentleman.

Denzil Howson passed away in 2005 at theage of 87.

- Kevin TraskThe Time Tunnel - with Bruce & 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.

■ I noticed a gentleman drinking withmy mate Paul Hassett in Krafty'sOverlanders' Steakhouse one night,and thought he looked vaguely famil-iar.

Sure enough, I was right - it wasTed Egan. I remembered him from aTV series he has hosted on ABC, andalso there was a vague recollection ofhis using a beer carton as an instru-ment to accompany his outback dit-ties.

We got to know each other, and I'dspend many a happy hour in his com-pany, and still do whenever he's intown, or I'm in Alice.

I also introduced him to Keith andAngie McGowan, and Keith often in-terviewed him for his Overnightersshow.

He conducted nightly shows inAlice, originally at the old winery, tell-ing stories of the Outback, and ac-companying himself on his carton.

And then about 10 years ago hewas appointed as the Administrator,the equivalent of our Governor.

I had a permanent invitation to wineand dine and reside in GovernmentHouse, but sadly the opportunity neverarose.

Now he's just turned 80, and ‘HisTedness’, as his friends know him, isabout to be honoured in a ceremonyat the Desert Park.

A worthy man, our Ted (AM)!

■ There's talk about resurrecting theCannonball Run, which reminds meof the last one.

It all began, inspired by the movieof the same name, documenting arace across America, flouting all thespeed limits along the way.

Flouting wasn't necessary in theNorthern Territory at the time, asthere was no speed limit.

The plan was to invite many driv-ers of highfalutin automobiles fromaround the world to bring their ma-chines to Darwin, and drive down tothe Rock at breakneck speeds. Thiswas not to be a race per se, just a highspeed exhilarating ‘run’.

And so it became.I was interested because of the in-

ternational flavour, with hopefully abevy of wealthy potential customers.So I became a sponsor.

Unfortunately the planned interna-tional numbers didn't eventuate - therewere only a couple -and my antici-pated custom failed to materialise.

However, it was an event of genu-

Lightning Ridge Opals175 Flinders Lane,

MelbournePhone 9654 4444www.opals.net.au

TheOutbackLegend

with Nick Le Souef

ine excitement, and each town alongthe way turned out to see the superautos as they sped by.

As is now well known, it unfortu-nately ended tragically. A red milliondollar Ferrari crashed into a check-point just near Jim's Place, 100 kmssouth of Alice, killing the two Japa-nese drivers and two officials.

A very sombre night at the Rock.

■ I've been a member of the Ameri-can Women's Auxillary for a fewyears. Often US businessmen areposted to Australia to work in the USCompany's office Down Under.

Usually these gentlemen will beaccompanied by their wives as theypursue their chosen vocation.

Of course it's not very likely thatthese ladies need to seek local em-ployment, so they bond together as acharitable movement to raise moneyfor various local causes.

One of these causes is the RoyalChildrens' Hospital. The AWA holdsvarious functions during the year toraise funds for this particular institu-tion - there's usually a specific goal inmind - a particular piece of high tech

equipment -the last one was a laserbirth-mark remover. Of course thereare raffles and auctions of donateditems, and we always donate a niceopal to the cause. I have also donatedmyself as a prize!

The highest bidders get me for aweekend at Coober Pedy, showingthem around.

Each such event has been highlysuccessful, with the winner having awonderful time exploring this uniquetown.

The hospital gave us dinner thatweek last week to thank the donors.Jennifer Keyte MC'd the event andEtihad provided the venue, both with-out charge.

I had assumed that institutions suchas the RCH were just automaticallyfunded from Government coffers,with a smidge of outside help. Not so!

They rely on donors such as our-selves for much of their support, andthere wasn't a dry eye as tales of thechildren whose lives they had savedand helped were related, and parentstold their own heart-rending stories ofgratitude.

A worthy cause!

■ The Todd River is of course fa-mous Australia-wide for its presence,running through Alice Springs.

And of course there's always ex-citement when it occasionally flowswith actual water!

However, on occasion, this excite-ment turns to despair as it floods thetown. Every decade or so this addi-tional flow comes cascading down.

Now there's a move afoot to reduceflooding by improving the flow byclearing the river of some excess sand,and some dead branches which haveclogged up the waterway.

However, the Aboriginal AreasProtective Authority has vetoed this,citing sacred sites issues.

I often saw big gum trees burningin the river bed when I was there. Ap-parently two opposing tribal or familygroups would be warring with eachother, and burning down each other'ssacred sites - the big trees.

Now it's down to the branches, ap-parently.

■ Grog again. Or still. It's been re-ported this week that many parents arespending the day drinking in the GapView bar, leaving their little kids andbabies waiting outside.

There are 60 - sixty! - premises in

Alice Springs which have a licence tosell liquor, and many of these estab-lishments experience the same prob-lems.

One judge recently noted that"there is a never-ending stream of vio-lence" when sentencing one offenderfor stabbing his wife three times to"get her attention".

"There is one violent case after an-other, and each case bears a resem-blance and disturbing similarity to theone that preceeded it".

I have previously reported that thereare gangs of kids, often pre-teen,roaming the streets late at night be-cause mum and dad are drunk athome, incapable of any parental careor control. Often these kids are with-out food as well as supervision.As I have often noted, I have seenplenty of attempts to solve the prob-lem, but I've never seen any change,except for the worse, and unfortunatelyI see no solution. Very sad.

- Nick Le Souef‘The Outback Legend’

From The Outer

With John Pasquarelli

ObserverMelbourne

[email protected]

■ Alan Jones has defied the combined carping of Labor and itslickspittle organisations like Getup and those drongos that spend alltheir time tweeting, by clearly winning the latest radio ratings - mak-ing those panicky advertisers who withdrew their sponsorship of 2GBlook like chickens.

What the hell is going on at ACMA - the Australian Communica-tions and Media Authority with its 600-odd employees and hugebudget all paid for by the taxpayer?

ACMA is getting stuck into 2GB over its Ray Hadley publiclyidentifying a serial pest who has been conducting a crazed vendettafor years against Hadley and Jones.

What on earth does ACMA do to justify its existence? TV radioand the print media cannot be allowed to operate like cowboys but618 employees?

Gillard's call for greatly increased media control by governmentno doubt stems from the scrutiny of her past by Glenn Milne, MichaelSmith, Andrew Bolt and others, concerning the alarm bells firstjangled by Bob Kernohan and now Julie Bishop has taken it right upto Gillard in question time, leaving an incandescent PM paddlingfuriously, unable to label her questioner a misogynist!

What might end up bringing Gillard down in the end will be thecover up.

●●●●● Ted Egan

He returned to Melbourne where he beganreading The Argus news services and was heardon several radio stations.

In 1951 Denzil married Dorothy Bradshawand they visited England in 1952 where he stud-ied television techniques.

After the arrival of their son Paul in 1954they finally settled in their family home inMalvern.

Their daughter Clare was born in 1956 and atthat time Denzil became involved in the liveOlympic Games telecasts as a director and cam-eraman.

He became an Assistant Program Director atGTV-9 and spent many happy years at the Rich-mond television station.

●●●●● Denzil Howson

Documents

Melbourne Observer. 121107A. November 7, 2012. Part A. Pages 1-16