Social snapper SENTHAN THANI files from the Property Council of Australia’s Christmas party in Braddon.

Social snapper SENTHAN THANI headed to the UC Graduation Ball at QT Canberra and took photos of students celebrating the end of their degrees. 

SINCE Gillian Horton told “CityNews” in August about her journey collecting and donating breast forms and post-mastectomy bras to women who need them in Fiji, she’s been overwhelmed by donations.

Just last week, she says two women came into her Garran lingerie shop to donate bras inspired by the article. And although she’s amassed four large boxes of donated post-surgery and normal bras, she says she wants to keep sending more to Fiji. 

“I’ll be asking for donations for as long as there’s still a need,” she says. 

Gillian says the phenomenal response she’s received from women around the region, has meant a lot for the women in Fiji. 

“I’ve had so many women coming in to donate their bras and women coming in to purchase post-surgery bras and then donate them,” she says. 

“Ladies would come in and say: ‘I don’t have bras to donate’ and would buy some to donate.

“It’s really making a huge difference, directly from Canberra.”

When Gillian was last in Fiji she spent the day with the Fiji Cancer Society and saw a woman who she had fitted with a post-surgical bra on a previous trip. 

“When she saw me she threw her arms around me and said: ‘You are an angel, I just feel so normal and want to thank the women of Australia’,” she says. 

During that trip, Gillian also saw a need for maternity bras and is now calling on locals to donate used and new maternity bras so she can send them to Fiji, too. 

“So many women in Fiji don’t have bras that fit, so when you have a clean up, it’s great to know they’re going to someone who really appreciates it,” she says. 

Gillian is hoping to return to Fiji in February, which, as long as the need for post-surgical bras remains, won’t be her last. 

“I’m just really passionate to continue the service however I can,” she says.

“At the moment the Fiji Cancer Council would like to be able to purchase radiation equipment but until that time women will continue to have mastectomies and therefore will still need breast forms and post-surgery bras.”

https://citynews.com.au/2019/how-gillian-and-her-donated-bras-make-a-difference/

POLICE believe a suspicious house fire in Kambah late on Thursday night (November 21) was targeted and are exploring links to outlawed motorcycle gangs. 

Police are looking for witnesses and dash-cam footage in the belief one or more people entered the house in Chirnside Place and deliberately set it on fire. Two vehicles at the house also had damage unrelated to the fire.

Two residents escaped the house unharmed with the fire damaging the entranceway and living area of the house.

Anyone with information or dashcam footage from the Kambah area between 10pm and midnight on Thursday night should call 1800 333000 or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website. Information can be provided anonymously.

Music / “Beyond…” composed by William and Michael Dooley. The Llewellyn Choir conducted by Rowan Harvey-Martin. At Wesley Uniting Church, Forrest, November 22. Reviewed by LEN POWER.

LLEWELLYN Choir’s latest concert featured three works by two members of Canberra’s musical Dooley family – “7 Prayers of the Saviour” was an oratorio by up-and-coming 14-year-old William Dooley and there were two works by his father, Michael Dooley, “The Land That Is Very Far Off” and an oratorio, “Perpetua”. Both oratorios were world premieres.

The concert commenced with Michael Dooley’s “The Land That Is Very Far Off”. Described as a Celtic rhapsody for violin and piano, it was performed by Timothy Wickham on violin and the orchestral ensemble with Michael Dooley himself on piano. It was a sweeping, melodic work of great beauty, wistful and nostalgic and it was especially well-played by Wickham.

Rowan Harvey-Martin then conducted William Dooley’s oratorio, “7 Prayers of the Saviour” with the Llewellyn Choir, four vocal soloists and the ensemble. This ambitious work, with recognisable influences from composers of the past, commenced with rather tentative singing by the choir.

It was most successful in the simpler vocal lines of “Prayer For Lazarus” and “Thy Will Be Done”, sung very well by bass Andrew Fysh.

The opportunity to hear his work fully produced would have been of enormous help for this young composer on his journey to finding his own distinctive style in the years to come.

After interval, the choir presented Michael Dooley’s new oratorio, “Perpetua”. The story of Perpetua is from the oldest existing document known to be written by a Christian woman, “The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity”. It was a good choice for the oratorio as it has a strong and emotionally gripping storyline. It tells of an educated woman who converted to Christianity and was ultimately martyred for her beliefs in the year AD202.

Michael Dooley produced a work of great beauty throughout. From the haunting and atmospheric setting of the opening, “Soli Deo Gloria”, the work progressed from one highlight to another. His underscoring of the recitatives was especially notable.

The beautiful, clear soprano of soloist, Emma Griffiths, who sang the role of Perpetua, was most effective in her recitatives and soared above the choir in the “Agnus Dei”. Her singing of “Confitibor Tibi” towards the end was heartfelt and memorable.

Mezzo soprano Veronica Thwaites-Brown was a standout with her singing of the very moving “Felicity” lullaby. Tenor Dan Walker was in fine voice with his singing of “Saturus Vision” and bass Andrew Fysh sang an excellent Narrator 2. He gave an especially well-judged level of drama to his singing in “Day Of Victory”.

The choir sang the work with great confidence and clarity. Rowan Harvey-Martin conducted the whole work extremely well. The standing ovation at the end of the performance was well-deserved.

Photographer SENTHAN THANI files from the ‘Founders Lane’ open day in Braddon.  

UPDATE: Police reported this morning (November 24) that missing teen Jennifer Robertson has been found safe and well. 

SEVENTEEN-year-old Jennifer Robertson is missing.

She hasn’t been seen or heard from since earlier this morning (November 23). She was last seen at a home in Kambah, however police believe she may be in, or making her way to the city.

She is described as being of Caucasian appearance, about 160cm (5’3”) tall, with long brown hair, blue eyes, and of medium build, wearing a black polo shirt, black board shorts and black Converse shoes.

Police and Jennifer’s family hold concerns for her welfare and are requesting the public’s assistance in locating her.

Anyone with information should call 131444.

POLICE believe a man, armed with a knife, is responsible for four robberies around Tuggeranong last night (November 23).

Between around 9.30pm and 11.30pm last night the reported robberies and attempted robberies occurred in Calwell, Chisholm, Erindale and Kambah. Police believe the same people were responsible.

Outside the Calwell Tavern, a man allegedly produced a knife and demanded a woman hand over her handbag. She complied with his demands.

At a carpark near the Kambah Tavern, a man allegedly tried to rob another man, however without success.

At the Domino’s Kambah staff were threatened, but the man fled empty handed. And at the Domino’s Erindale demands were allegedly made to staff, but again the man fled without taking anything.

At the Vikings Chisholm club car park a woman received minor injuries and her handbag was handbag was stolen.

Police want to speak to any witnesses to any of the incidents or who have dash-cam footage of a red or maroon-coloured sedan with no rear bumper in the areas of between 9.00pm and 11.30pm.

Call 1800 333000, or via the Crime Stoppers ACT website. Information can be provided anonymously.

Music / “Messiah”. Canberra Choral Society. At Llewellyn Hall, ANU School of Music, November 23. Reviewed by CLINTON WHITE.

WHEN G F Handel presented the premiere of his oratorio, “Messiah”, in Dublin in 1742, he cobbled together a choir of 16 men and 16 boys, gave some of the men the solo parts, and had an orchestra of strings, two trumpets, timpani, and Handel’s own organ, which he had shipped from England. 

It got only a lukewarm reception, but, by 1750, had grown in popularity and has remained in the “greatest-hits” category ever since.

Handel then set to and wrote some revisions as well as modifications to suit different orchestral and choral configurations.

For the Canberra Choral Society’s performance, the orchestra, led by an exuberant Peter Clark, was enlarged only a little, to include a harpsichord and some woodwinds, but there were around 200 voices in the choir.

The choir’s music director, Dan Walker, had prepared the vocal forces magnificently. There was superb balance across the divisions, entries were solid, and pitch was true, even for the sopranos’ impossibly high notes.

Leading from the harpsichord, the flamboyant conductor, Roland Peelman, directed an almost understated performance. Its understatement was a clever strategy, for it allowed Peelman to draw unparalleled expression, warmth and beauty from this enduring favourite, yielding limitless colours for emotion and dynamic textures. 

In “For unto us a child is born” and “Lift up your heads”, however, the warmth was lost a little to a stiltedness, the notes almost being staccato. But all other choruses had very much a “wow” factor to them.

The four soloists, soprano Amy Moore, alto Stephanie Dillon, tenor Richard Butler and bass Andrew O’Connor, were the jewels in the crown of this brilliant concert. 

Every word could be heard and their voices handled the complex musical structures, particularly the melismas, with fine clarity. Peelman had the orchestra under excellent control such that it never dominated but provided quite lovely support for the voices.

This was tear-jerking stuff right from the get-go. Butler’s “Comfort ye my people” – the opening solo – was full of sensitivity and emotion. The orchestra’s introduction to “There were shepherds abiding in the fields” was exquisitely expressive. Dillon’s “He was despised and rejected” was sorrowful. Moore’s “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion” was triumphant. And O’Connor’s “Why do the nations” and “The trumpet shall sound” were exhilarating, underscored perfectly by trumpeter, Justin Lingard’s unexpected but blazing flourish at the end.

For the future, the Canberra Choral Society should look again at its program booklet layout. The font size made the content impossible to read in the low pre-concert light and certainly during the performance. This would explain the audience’s hesitant applause at the end of the first half.

But the society has made a very fine choice in Dan Walker as its music director. After less than a year in the role, his influence is very evident already and augurs well for 2020. That it is on the right path was proven by the audience’s immediate standing ovation at the end of this performance of “Messiah”.

Craft / “The Teapot Project”, Craft ACT, North Building, London Circuit, Civic, until December 14. Reviewed by MEREDITH HINCHLIFFE.

A set of metalsmithing tools led to the collaborative “Teapot Project” and Canberra-trained metalsmith Oliver Smith was the go-between. Hendrick Forster (Victoria) was asked by a friend if he knew anyone who could use a set of tools which had been inherited but not needed.

He wanted the tools to go to a good home. Forster contacted Smith who immediately thought of Kenny Yong-Soo Son (NSW) who travelled to regional Victoria to collect the tools.

The two metalsmiths discovered they had much in common, despite their differences in age and background.

Both had had rigorous training – Forster in Germany and Son in Korea. They share similar values about hand-working and the importance of the handmade, and their knowledge of metals. After discussion, sharing food and ideas, they decided to embark on a project to design and make 30 teapots – all the same size and form and from brass – in effect a small production line, with numbered editions. They agreed to combine industrial digital precision and hand making.

Difference in each vessel is defined by the surface treatment and the materials used for the handles.

In his catalogue essay, Oliver Smith says that “both artists approach the production of objects with the sensibilities of an artisan with the problem-solving abilities of a designer.” Each has brought his own perceptions to the project.

The artists discussed each element of the design – the short downward end of the spout and the handles which was settled after experimentation. The teapots are nine-sided, an unusual number for a vessel – there are no parallels.

The relationship was more than a mentor and mentee. The project has been about exchange of skills and techniques and about learning. Both artists were students and both teachers,

Each teapot embodies so much more than a vessel to make a humble cup of tea. They are comfortable and easy to handle. The lid lifts off easily to reveal a stainless steel basket to hold the tea leaves – eliminating the need to turn the pot upside down for emptying and thereby risking damager.

Twenty of the 30 teapots are being exhibited in Canberra.  As a “product” it will be a question of personal choice of combination of surface and handle for each viewer.

This was a valuable project bringing together two artists. A video shows each of the processes, adding to viewers’ knowledge of the processes of making.

Columnist MIKE WELSH covers a lot of ground in this week’s “Seven Days”.

MULTI-mammaried, hot-air balloons and iconic artwork dominated the news, eclipsing even the unveiling of the $500 million expansion of the Australian War Memorial.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison described an architect’s plans for the multi-award-winning attraction as “the most significant reinvestment in our War Memorial since it was established after World War I”.

But it was other future tourist attractions exciting locals. An addition to artist Patricia Piccinini’s Skywhale family and a visit to the National Gallery by one of the world’s most famous paintings, Vincent Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers”.

STILL on balloons – of the lead consistency. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s patronising suggestion the over-60s climb off the scrap heap and offer their “unique and special skills” for a few more years of “heavy lifting” has not gone down well. On the same day came the bleak prediction the capital would lose 400 public service jobs to decentralisation.

It may have been more than a decade ago but I can’t forget sobering words from an HR expert on my radio program: “Anyone over 50 in this town looking for a job interview is already screwed”.

A tweet from Gaye Crispin may have nailed the government’s ignorance and total lack of empathy: “Not enough jobs for Australia’s young people who want to work, buy a home, raise a family, so let’s make the over-60s retrain and send them out to compete against their grandchildren for work and watch it for sport!”

But for boomers keen to upskill and remain in the workforce, a new book, “Innovation + Equality: How to Create a Future That is More Star Trek Than Terminator”, co-authored by member for Fenner Andrew Leigh might be worth a read.

IN 2006 I took a punt on a radio rookie straight out of uni with nothing more than a NSW UAI of 99.86 per cent. In the years since, Michael Thompson has climbed to the top of his craft, establishing the “Ray Hadley Show” (networked to 2CC) as the standard in the fiercely competitive talkback radio genre along the way. Farewelling the multi-award-winning Thompson on Friday, Hadley said: “He took a job at 2CC and the rest is history”. Modesty prevents me from revealing from whom Thompson gained the rare skills and exceptional insights necessary to achieve such success.

IT might be my imagination or cynicism but the latest “Our CBR” (Belconnen edition) looks more like hard election advertising material than fluffy community flyer. Featuring a smiling Chief Minister Andrew Barr on the cover, the glossy publication is filled with headlines such as: “We’re building a new emergency, surgical and critical care facility”, “The ACT government continues to invest in policing to ensure the capital remains one of the safest places in the country” and “The ACT Emergency Services Agency is strengthening its firefighting services by hiring new firefighters”.

THE ACT branch of the United Firefighters Union has used the catastrophic early start to the fire season to launch a social media campaign to “rescue Canberra’s future”.

Under the banner “ACT on FIRE”, the union says: “We need more firefighters in the ACT to keep us safe. Help us tell the Barr government it needs a long-term plan to resource Canberra’s fire services”. 

The union urges locals to “Stand Up For ACT Firefighters and Take Action Now” and calls on the government to “invest in fire and rescue support over the next four years”.

AND the overshare of the week comes from the member for Brindabella Mark Parton. On a trip back to the city of churches, Parto shared: “The sun’s setting on another day in Adelaide. I went for a stroll & dropped in on a pub I used to drink at 30 years ago. I have memories of getting drunk with the late David Hookes at the Earl of Aberdeen and of long boozy lunches with the late Vincent Smith. They were good days”.

Social snapper SENTHAN THANI files from the Australia-Thailand Association’s Loy Krathong dinner in Woden. 

UPDATE:

POLICE report that Damian has been found safe and well.

DAMIAN Brown’s missing again and police and his family are concerned for his welfare.

The 46-year-old was last seen in the Woden area on October 17 and now police are seeking the public’s help to locate him.

He is described as being of Caucasian appearance, about 180cm (5’11”) tall, with short brown hair, and of a slim build.

Damian has a distinctive tattoo of skulls on his inner left forearm.

Anyone who may have any information that could assist police in locating Damian is urged to contact police on 131 444 using reference number 6461005.

Cartoonist PAUL DORIN casts his wry eye on the Treasurer’s urging to keep older people in work longer.

Music / “Journey’s End”, Art Song Canberra, at Wesley Music Centre, November 24. Reviewed by ROB KENNEDY.

EVERY concert is a journey, and the voyage in this concert crossed almost 200 years with the music of six distinctive composers taking the audience to a destination of intimate music.

Opening with Henri Duparc’s “L’invitation au Voyage”, husband and wife team of Alan Hicks on piano and Christina Wilson mezzo-soprano set the audience adrift on a sea of gloriously performed art song. The flowing, floating music of Duparc subtly set up this concert of romanticism through song.

While not told as a consecutive story, Robert Schumann’s “Liederkreis” Op. 39 is linked by love and lightness. The 12 songs in this cycle offered a sensitive portrayal of the romantic poems of Joseph Eichendorff, and the love that Robert and Clara Schumann had for one another.

Every song had a high degree of intimacy and came across as a personal tribute. It was like the retelling of the relationship between Robert and Clara was being played out before this audience.

After the interval, moving forward around 50 years were Claude Debussy’s “Chansons de Bilitis”. These were based on mythology, imagination and a sensual mood. The transcendent sound of Debussy’s music, which at times was replete with a powerful tension and always with his suspension of sound, came across as light and playful as air.

Going from the German to French for Wilson posed no problems with inflection or expression. She did seem more at home with the French; it was a powerful and passionate performance.

“La Maja Dolorosa” by Enrique Granados from his 12 Tonadillas en estilo antiguo, represent a journey of loss, anger and sad memories through the three songs performed. The highly dramatic and dark sounds of the music of Granados filled the room with a tragic tale that was palpable in the ears and the heart.

Even though part of the music was quirky with an odd repetitive motive, the songs and the performance remained telling and heart wrenching.

Back to the theme of love with Peter Sculthorpe’s lyrical “Four Shakespeare Songs”. Sculthorpe’s music could be said to be a mirroring of all the music that was previously played in this concert. These songs showed just how good and colourful Sculthorpe’s music is. The character of Australia shone through these songs. That laconic attitude and style attributed to Australian’s was clearly evident, even though the songs were set from Shakespeare’s plays.

It is always a delight to hear Wilson sing and Hicks play. If it’s possible, they seem to be getting better. The concert ended with a tribute to music itself with a performance of Schubert’s, “An die Musik” – To the Music.

OVER the years Canberra artist Michael Winters has been characterised as a kind of “wandering Greek” who surfaces in various part of the globe with his exhibitions.

Although he is justly famous for his serious Cretan works, exhibited at the Australian War Memorial some year ago, the peripatetic artist is especially associated with the Greek island of Leros in the Dodecanese Archipelago, of which he has been a citizen since 1995 when the Leros Municipal Council conferred the honour on him.

In September 2018, Winters took a break from his punishing teaching schedule of weekly ANU classes at Strathnairn Gallery and summer schools in Queensland to take a dozen artists from Canberra, NSW and Queensland on a 10-day drawing and painting “en plein air” trip to Leros.

Overlooked by a castle fortress, with bays, beaches and inlets, blue and white churches, fishing and ferry ports, cafes, bars and farmlets, the island made a perfect subject for artists Amanda Adrian, Anne Balcomb, David Barrett, Lorri Blackwell, Philippa Friend, Sharon Monie, Glenda Naughten, Prue Power, Susan Reynolds, Judith Tokley and Trevor Willson.

During their stay, as well as sketching and painting, they got to meet the island’s characters and hear the inside stories of the island’s extensive and varied history over the millennia.

Now as the culmination of the trip, around 60 sketch books made at the time, linocut and collagraph prints, drawings and paintings influenced by the experience, including some by Winters himself – are to go on display for three weeks at the Q Gallery in Queanbeyan in an exhibition to be opened by the Chargé d’ Affaires of the Embassy of Greece, Ioannis Ferentinos.

“On Leros 2018” at The Q Gallery, 253 Crawford Street, Queanbeyan, November 26 to December 13. Opening, 5.30pm, November 26, all welcome.

TWO Canberra Region arts luminaries, glass artist Jennifer Kemarre Martiniello and glass artist/sculptor Scott Chaseling, are among six Australian glass and ceramic artists chosen by Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum for a group of commissions totalling $180,000 in value.

The Powerhouse Museum has commissioned six works across glass and ceramics to the value of $30,000 each.

The launch of the Willoughby Bequest 2020 Commissioning Program is part of a suite of new programs recently announced by the museum aimed at commissioning new works to build the collections.

The bequest honours the late Barry Willoughby, a Sydney collector of decorative arts, whose passion was not only for celebrating and rethinking sculpture and the vessel within glass and ceramic practice, but in engaging with the studio practice of artists.

Curator at the Powerhouse, Eva Czernis-Ryl, has selected Martiniello, Chaseling, glass artist Tim Edwards, and ceramic artists Renee So, Nicolette Johnson and Steve Harrison, to create new works that expand their current practice while the institution’s chief executive, Lisa Havilah says the museum would be deliberately placing new focus on to the practice of living artists.

It’s an “A”-list of artists, several of them are nationally and internationally-known.

One of the live-wires of the ACT arts scene, Martiniello, is a well-known Canberra glass artist, poet, writer and textile artist of Aboriginal (Arrernte), Chinese and Anglo-Celtic heritage who learnt her craft at the Canberra Glassworks as part of project she spearheaded called ”Indigi-glass”.

A graduate of the old Canberra School of Art, now ANU School of Art and Design, she founded and coordinated the ACT Indigenous Writers Group, received an ACT Creative Arts Fellow for Literature in 2003 and in 2011 was placed on an honour roll of 100 inspirational ACT women to mark the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day.

In 2013, she received the Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award for her work, “Golden Brown Reeds Fish Trap” and her present-day work is inspired by traditional eel and fish traps, and coiled baskets by Kaurna, Ngarrinjerri, Gunditjmara, Arrernte and Northeast Arnhem land weavers.

Chaseling, who worked as a glass artist for years out of a studio at Pialligo, is the first Australian ever to participate in the exclusive 2019 Soneva Fushi Glass Residency held on a remote island in the Maldives. He won the 2017 Hindmarsh Prize for “Adrift”, a spectacular work made out of recycled wine bottles and cable ties.

A winner of the Gold Medal of the Bavarian State Prize in Germany, the Queen Elizabeth Silver Jubilee Award, his artwork is represented in the Museum Kunst Palast, Germany, the National Gallery of Australia and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Japan. He is a PhD candidate in sculpture at the ANU School of Art & Design.

More details of the Willoughby Bequest Commissions will be unveiled in late 2020.

“Hot To Trot”, QL2, Gorman Arts Centre, until November 24. Reviewed by SAMARA PURNELL.

“HOT To Trot” saw a collaboration of young QL2 performers step into the roles of choreographers.

This was the first time for all but one of the dancers to test out choreography, mentored here by Steven Gow and Ryan Stone.

Two short films were included this time around, “Lens” and “We’ll see how long that lasts”. The first, created, filmed and edited by Hollie Knowles, was to experiment with angles and perspective when viewed through the lens. With the complexities and requirements to effectively film dance, this was a way for both choreographer and dancers to gain experience in the pros (spoken about by the dancers as the ability to redo anything you’re not happy with) and cons of filming dance and giving the audience a bird’s-eye view.

“No one thinks to sit on the roof, do they?” explained the dancers. Some of the routine was filmed in monochrome and watching the playful choreography and the floor work of the dancers, dressed in royal blue tops and black and white striped pants. Busby Berkeley’s cinematic dance routines came to mind as possible inspiration for the routine.

One of the great joys of attending a QL2 production is seeing the boys, of all ages, dance, both individually and with each other, and of seeing that encouraged and nurtured. However, the second film was inspired by some of the dismissive or negative commentary around young boys who want to dance.

The filming began with a young boy experimenting with dance and tumbling around on the lawn out the front of the Gorman House theatre. The boy merges into older versions of himself, still dancing, with lovely leaps and jumps, and a sense of freedom and joy replacing the shyness and shame of the young boy.

The action moves into the theatre where all three boys dance together. There was an abrupt contrast from the over-exposed film outside, to the darkness of the theatre space, that felt counter-intuitive. The angles and editing were appealing and this touching piece, whilst not complex, was a joy to watch.

Danny Riley and Penny Amoore partnered each other in a routine trying to find a balance in decision-making when another is involved. The dancers ran toward each other, dodging contact at the last minute, or engaging. Other sections saw them distant and introverted. The transitions were a little clunky and the explanation that it had been put together in three parts because of the complexity of the topic made sense.

Riley also choreographed “Outside the Box” – a really enjoyable piece with quirky humour and good use of the dance space. Six dancers in school uniforms performed solid partner work, with good synchronicity, balance and timing, portraying the process of making work and career choices – the end result being meticulously co-ordinated carnage.

A routine about disposable, fast-fashion and sweat-shops was poignantly danced and choreographed by Amalia Socha and Ela Parsons. The girls gave a strong performance to the repetitive sound effects of sewing machines, swapping into each other’s lives by stepping through the clothes rack prop. A thoughtful depiction of the desire to empathise and connect with another girl.

Girls in colourful raincoats sitting at a bus stop set the scene for Jett Chudleigh’s piece. A soggy scene, but crispy performed, tightly rehearsed and well-coordinated, the dancers performed sets of repetitive patterns. The sound of rain and the internal monologue of waiting, restless passengers provided the soundtrack for people waiting to have their personal space invaded, to eventually proceed, like lemmings, off stage.

A penchant for all things lemons was the inspiration for Sarah Long’s work. Playful and with tongue-in-cheek, (and possibly puckered lips), she loosely wove the concepts of knowledge, power and response into a nicely choreographed piece, set to brass music, with some clunky sound editing. It was flouncy and expressively danced by Alexandra Postai and Pippi Keough, portraying a fixation on one item, even when it becomes prolific.

“Hot to Trot” was another thoroughly enjoyable, well-rehearsed production from QL2, providing a holistic learning experience for young creators, who have done a commendable job.

In this sponsored post DR WANG HAI DONG, of Bring Health, a specialist service of the Capital Health Centre of Traditional Chinese Medicine, discusses parallels between the habits of good gardeners and personal wellbeing. 

WITH summer just around the corner, many of us are preparing our garden plants for its heat and dryness. It’s also a good time to think about taking care of ourselves. 

While it is well known that gardening offers benefits in healing and health, there are other lessons we can learn from it to improve our own wellbeing. 

1. Garden soil types vs our body types

AS we all know, soil provides the base for growing plants and is the storehouse for nutrients. It may vary in depth, texture and quality from one place to another and even from one time to another. Experienced gardeners regularly test the soil types and make adjustments accordingly. However, has it ever occurred to you that, to some extent, our body is our own soil? How much do you know about your own body type? Wouldn’t you want to make adjustments when your body needs them?

2. Different plant needs vs different human needs

PLANTS are kind of like people, or vice versa; each type of plant has a unique “personality” and may thrive on different kinds and amounts of intake (water, sunlight, nutrients, etcetera). Therefore, a best practice for gardening is to cultivate a “lifestyle” that suits the plant you are caring for. 

For instance, sunflowers love sunlight so much that they prefer to be planted in a spot that has six or more hours of sunlight each day. 

In contrast, shade-favoring plants, such as ferns mostly prefer a cool and shady habitat. 

Likewise, our human body differs in preferences, too. One example, which is probably not yet well known, is that some body types welcome green tea while some others cannot tolerate it. Another example is swimming – it can help some people get healthier and feel good while it can also make others feel sick. Such kinds of differing preferences, when combined, form different lifestyles. Do you know what kind of lifestyle suits you best? 

3. Weeds and pests vs diseases

WHEN it comes to weeds and pests, it is true that prevention is better than cure. Some gardeners may install weed matting while others may use mulch. 

Although, of course, if they are already popping up in the garden, we must get tough and get them out. Still, the best time is when the weeds or pests are in their early stage of growth. 

Similarly, do you have any minor problems that have been bugging you but have not yet brought you to a GP? If the answer is “yes”, then – to draw lessons from gardening – why don’t you nip them in the bud when you easily can? 

IN essence, the above lessons boil down to three points: one, each human being is unique in their health setting, or “constitution”; two, people fare better through lifestyles that suit them and, three, prevention should be the rule of thumb when it comes to any unpleasant but preventable situation. 

Based on this philosophy, a team of healthcare practitioners from Capital Health Centre of Traditional Chinese Medicine, a renowned and busy clinic that has been serving Canberrans for 20 years, established Bring Health this year to help people improve their wellbeing and to stay healthy all year round. 

At Bring Health, we take on the roles of “gardeners” to look after you in the way you take care of your garden. 

We operate by membership, and we take a holistic approach. We analyse and monitor each member’s body constitution, we help members adopt lifestyles that suit them best and we make sure that each individual member thrives through personalised healthcare. 

Aside from professional health assessments and treatments, we also provide frequent activities, such as tai chi, table tennis, modern dance, calligraphy and healthy diet dinners (to name just a few) that all aim to help our members to enrich their lives, exercise their bodies and clear their minds. 

Additionally, one of our members’ favorites is the “VIP tea” tailored to their personal conditions inside and the weather conditions outside! 

We are primarily based in Woden, but information is available in all the three clinics – Belconnen, Woden and Civic. You are welcome to drop by to have a chat. We hope you will have your very own “cup of tea” with us soon. 

Bring Health, email info@bringhealth.com.au or call 6161 8898 or 6162 1992. Website at bringhealth.com.au 

The ACT government is pushing ahead of the election two rushed and sparsely-detailed 2016 ALP election promises so they can be “delivered” to the point of no return by October, says letters writer SUE DYER, of Downer. 

THE ongoing SPIRE (Garran) and the Section 72 (Dickson) planning sagas share many similarities, unfortunately. 

Columnist Paul Costigan’s careful analysis of the past three years of SPIRE planning (“The changing hospital promise hurts the locals”, CN, November 21) reveals another hurried attempt to drop a large building and servicing complex onto an inappropriate site. 

The current locations for both major building projects call out for far different treatment that is more in keeping with the adjacent surroundings, and recognises the value of many well-expressed, thought-through inputs from the community about alternative approaches to meeting a range of needs. 

Both areas also lack an overall master plan. But it seems both projects are being pushed so that two rushed and sparsely-detailed 2016 ALP election promises can be “delivered” to the point of no return by October 2020. 

Ticking the “promise” boxes in this way will only add to mounting community concern and disappointment as the ACT election creeps closer.

Many will also be suspicious of any party’s worthy-sounding or hard-to-find promises that are thrust into the public arena at the last minute next October, with either vague locational detail attached or site commitments that could be easily changed in the future, to the disadvantage of other important objectives. 

The risks are now too high for accepting many promises at face value. Giving a personal mental tick to what seems a good idea at election time for a necessary service or facility now seems foolhardy when the subsequent planning and implementation processes can no longer be trusted to lead to sound, sensible and beneficial outcomes for both the proposed service users and the broader community area. 

Many in Dickson and the surrounding suburbs would no doubt wish the newly-formed Garran Residents Association all the best for their endeavours to have their community’s views heeded from now on.

Sue Dyer, Downer

I’m with Costigan on gum-tree dangers

I TOTALLY agree with “Canberra Matters” columnist Paul Costigan’s article about the unsuitability of gum trees in urban areas (“Has Rattenbury picked the right trees?” CN, November 14). 

We have a row of large gums on government land close to the western side of our house in Flynn. On windy days our property is showered with leaves and bark from these trees. 

When I was younger, I was able to climb up on the roof to blow the offending rubbish out of the roof valleys and gutters. Now I have to pay someone to do it. 

Unlike the leaves from many deciduous trees, the bark and leaves from gum trees don’t break down and have the capacity to prevent water draining away which may enter the ceiling. 

Also the limbs of gum trees are relatively brittle and can fall without warning. I witnessed the 2003 catastrophe and now the television images of the fires in California, NSW and Queensland and am looking into installing protective metal mesh against embers entering our roof.

John House, Flynn

Bill’s living in the past

BILL Stefaniak (CN, Letters, November 14) and his extreme conservative ilk never acknowledge or even seem to understand that things change. Quite dramatically in recent years, especially when it comes to renewable energy technology and unfortunately, environmental degradation. 

His claim that developing Adani and other mines will lift 300 million Indians out of poverty is blatantly insincere and totally misleading. He fails to mention the terrible air pollution that is now a regular feature of many Indian cities or the corrupt links that Gautam Adani has with the Modi government. 

Regardless of apparent electoral vindication, the Adani project will be a costly disaster for Australia in all respects. To mention just two; tax revenues may never eventuate and there are increased risks of coal-laden ships travelling through the Great Barrier Reef. 

He is plainly wrong about the solar and wind technology and when he starts raving on about uranium and thorium, he sounds like a lobbyist rather than a former politician living in the past.

John Sherborne, Torrens

Truth first casualty in climate war

AS in war, truth is the first casualty in global warming. During the week ending November 9, large sections of the left-wing media reported 11,000 scientists had declared a climate emergency. 

Following some in-depth research, I discovered the declaration is essentially the product of five people – none being a climate scientist. And it wasn’t signed by 11,000 scientists because one signatory was “Micky [sic] Mouse”. About 1000 identified themselves as students. One must ask that if some people misrepresent, if not deceive, the community on this matter, what else have they done and will do? 

The International Disasters Database reports that deaths from natural disasters have seen a large decline over the past century, from in some years millions, to an average of 60,000 deaths and, in the most recent decade, often less than 10,000. Do these fear mongers know the difference between whether and weather?

Colliss Parrett, Barton

Sprinklers are the answer

WITH regard to illegal flammable panels on building facades (“ACT government moribund on cladding fears”, CN, November 14); to prevent fire spread, to avoid wall-replacement disruption and for economy, external sprinklers could be retrofitted on the subject facades. 

Sprinklers extinguish virtually all fires they detect and, on facades, pipework could be concealed where required. 

Such life (and property) saving work cannot be delayed, and approving authorities must pay for it in the first instance. 

Jack Kershaw, Kambah

Move out or harden up

PAUL Costigan’s column “The changing hospital promise hurts the locals” (CN, November 21) mentions children, parents and traffic, but also hurt residents. How tragic that they have to endure helicopters and sirens from ambulances and all that racket around! 

Well, why don’t they move the hell out, surely the real estate elsewhere will compensate, and they won’t lose too much equity, will they?

On the other hand, we need a hospital and the services it provides us, those kids at school need the hospital, so do their parents and the inconvenienced residents need the hospital, so harden up because lots of people overseas don’t have our luck.

Ricardo Castro, via email