Gold Memorial at Fourth Hill in Warrandyte

It's a little-known fact that Warrandyte is the site of the first gold discovery in Victoria. Gold Heritage Walk at Fourth Hill in Warrandyte State Park commemorates the event in little more than an understated whisper. Here you can wander bushland to the soundtrack of native birds, peer into old mine shafts, consider gnarly old trees and former dwellings while pondering the uncertain prospects of the early colonial gold diggers. My review of this wonderful walk is published on the Weekend Notes platform. To read the full article, click here.

Edwards Point Reserve

Edwards Point Reserve is a 4km long sand spit, and the last remaining coastal woodland on the Bellarine Peninsula in Victoria. It is playing a vital role in the recovery of the critically endangered orange-bellied parrot. 

My review of this wonderful walk is now published on the Weekend Notes platform, click here.

Born To Achieve: A Little Sister Proves Her Big Sister Wrong

On The Fence Productions continues to poke a stick at little visited worlds in their latest offering. 

Playing as part of The Fringe Hub, Born To Achieve delves into the real-life personal diaries of Ruby Johnston, who conducts this one-woman show with grace, honesty and courage. Its is a study in self-reflection and poignant reminders for all those who've ever suffered through adolescence and early adulthood. More

Bread Crumbs: World Premiere at 2017 Poppy Seed Festival

Once upon a time there was no happy ever after....

"Fairytale", "crass" and "black comedy" are not terms you'd usually expect to find in the same sentence. But they're essential ingredients in BREAD CRUMBS, a new dramatic recipe that has been cooked up for this year's Poppy Seed Festival in Melbourne. 

In this original play by Ruby Johnston and Benjamin Nichol, the familiar fable Hansel and Gretel, provides a conduit into an exploration of the relationship between gender roles, domestic abuse, and the scars they grind. Continue reading

Alexithymia: Audiences Look At Life Through An Autistic Lens

Alexithymia is not one the title of an innovative new theatre experience, it is a state that affects around 85% of people on the autism spectrum. Alexithymia is the inability to name or describe feelings, and the focus of a new theatre experience on the 2017 Poppy Seed Festival program.

A_tistic artistic director and Alexithymia playwright, Tom Middleditch, who is diagnosed on the autism spectrum, says alexithymia can be best thought of as the distance one is from what they feel. 

 “Alexithymia is structured to encourage autistic thinking. Each piece explores a theme borne from the condition, alexithymia, but the full experience only emerges once the audience starts to recognise the patterns between the short works. You often hear people say we are all on the autism spectrum and by experiencing this play, audiences will not only learn about autistic thought processes, but also learn how it feels and how they may have experienced these feelings themselves,” said Middleditch. Read the preview here

Peaceful Origami At Melbourne's Shrine Of Remembrance

There is a certain irony. In an act of peaceful meditation, children are invited to Melbourne's Shrine Of Remembrance these school holidays to fold paper cranes.

Origami, a distinctly Japanese art form, is widely regarded as an act of meditation or mindfulness. Read the full article on Weekend Notes

Advent Cafe Experience

If you're looking for something different this Advent season, you won't do better than the pop up cafe at Ringwood Uniting Church in Melbourne's eastern suburbs.

The cafe is providing training for home-grown baristas, using fair trade coffee from Wild Timor Coffee and, wherever possible, sourcing food from within a 100km radius. As a not-for-profit venture you pay for your food and beverage by donation.

What does your Advent smell like? Sensory table (26th Nov)

What's more you can choose to get a new insight into Advent by attending a different input session each week until Christmas.

From sensory experiences and theological reflections to hip hop artist Dylan Joel on offer, this event has something for pretty much everyone.

Find out more about the cafe, the input and operating times here.  

'Wagner Roos' Welcome 'Ring Nuts' to Melbourne

It's big, it's showy, it's long and it's here.

In the Northern Hemisphere they’re called “Ring Nuts”, but the Australian cohort have been dubbed “Wagner Roos”. Whatever you call them, they are unique breed, travelling whenever and wherever Wagner’s Ring Cycle is being performed. “Wagner Roos” are in heaven as The Ring comes to Melbourne, courtesy of Opera Australia, The City of Melbourne and patron Maureen Wheeler. But what is all the fuss about? And are these Wagnerian enthusiasts, with apparently more money than sense, more than a little loopy? Continue reading

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Review : The Mountaintop (MTC)

Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr

On a long stormy night in 1968, Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr (Bert LaBonte) is holed up in his Memphis hotel room, weary, alone and downhearted. After years of preaching, ‘testifying’ and advocating for an end to racial inequality what does he have to show for it? Camae, a maid (Zahra Newman), arrives with coffee and the evening plunges into a series of revelations, confessions and surprises.

What was King like when he wasn’t preaching to the thousands? Egotistical? A philanderer? Driven?  Neurotic? A sell-out on West End and Broadway, Katori Hall’s entertaining script hones in on King’s personal despair in the hotel room, opening to a bigger picture perspective towards the close. Historical footage alongside the recitation of names of leaders and achievers is captivating. Continue reading

VCA Theatre Students Strut the Boards at Year's End

This past week I have reviewed two quite astonishing plays by third year theatre students, and production students in all three year levels at Melbourne University's VCA.  Both reviews are now published by Stage Whispers.

It's an Earthquake in my Heart

Its all about responding to calamity, to events beyond one's control that impact negatively on our life. It's about regret and grief and trying to make a fresh start. Directed by Robert Walton, and staged in Studio 28, this is a boots-and-all kind read more

Eddie Goes to Poetry City

A pleasing randomness pervades this production as everyman Eddie (Alistair Frearson) visits a city of poetry and is swept along in its frustrating labyrinth of dreams, nightmare, displacement, intrigue and desire. It is as though we too have read more 

Review: Children of Eden (Stephen Schwartz and Magnormos)

Children of Eden, is all about the beginning, but it played last in the triptych of Stephen Schwatz’s musicals, preceded by Godspell and Pippin, all presented by Magnormos at Elizabeth Murdoch Hall in the Melbourne's Recital Centre this September. 

Read the full review here

Luna Park: 100 Years Old and still laughing

There's a new thrill ride at Luna Park, and with extended opening hours until 11pm some evenings, the days really are longer.

Find out about what's happening at Melbourne's most iconic family attraction this school holidays here.

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Spring into ANZAC this School Holidays
10 Fun Study Break Ideas

10 Fun Study Break Ideas

Fun Study Breaks can make exam season bearable.

If you're a VCE or University student you'll know about study pressure. Swotting for exams is a particularly difficult time for many, as connections with your support base of friends and family are reduced just when you need them most.

While a great deal of talk and energy is invested into maximising study time, far less has been written about how to do study breaks really well.

Of course your study practices are important, but consider this. If the science is to be believed some of these breaks may have added cognitive, physical and mental health benefits. After all, what you do in your break can determine how well you approach your next study block.

Relax and have some fun with these 10 Fun Study-Break Ideas. Oh, and good luck with the exams. Continue reading

Spring into ANZAC at Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance

Spring into ANZAC, a free program designed with families in mind, is worth a look these school holidays.

Held at Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance, families are encouraged to begin at the Visitor Centre where maps for the School Holiday Trail are available and staff will be on hand to answer questions. 

Be brave and let the kids take the lead, using the map to pick their way away around the displays, in no particular order.

Think on the “Spirit of Anzac”, learn about Australian military history, visit the Shrine’s building, gardens and memorials, find out about wartime jobs for men and women, and learn how animals played a part in wartime. A short commemorative ceremony featuring the Ray of Light will be a highlight for many. The whole program is expected to run for 45-60 minutes. Continue reading

Other ideas for the school holidays

Pirate Sundays at Polly Woodside

Federation Playspace at Warrandyte

Top Family Activities in Barwon Heads

Dandenong Creek Trail

Ringwood Lake Park

McAlpin Reserve