[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #8F9F59;”] T [/dropcap]his week’s image for Mum’s Drawer isn’t from Mum’s Drawer at all, but we couldn’t resist sharing it with you.
The photo was taken in the 1960s and is from the collection of Ivan Berndt who used to work at the Warrnambool Drive-In and who still works as a projectionist for Warrnambool’s Capitol Cinema.
Do you remember nights at the Drive-in?
A product of the vehicle boom in the 1950s, drive-ins were once the ultimate in cool, what with their kiosks, speakers that hung from the rear window and the freedom of watching a film in the cosy capsule of a car (although, of course, not everyone went to the drive-in to watch the movie…)
Drive-ins survived the arrival of television, but succumbed to the rise of the VCR in the 1980s: people could watch movies of their choice in their own homes.
The Warrnambool Drive-In was on the corner of Rooneys Rd and Raglan Parade, where an (empty) hardware business now stands.
Author, teacher, speaker and all-round motivator of kids, Matt Porter. www.mattporter.com.au
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DC943C;”] A [/dropcap]nyone who has worked as a relief teacher in a primary school – or remembers their own relief teachers – will know that a sense of humour usually goes a long way in trying to control the classroom.
This week, Michaelie Clark from Warrnambool Books has selected a new book by a dynamic local teacher who has used the ‘relief teacher’ theme for this third successful book aimed at children…
“Local primary school teacher Matt Porter has put his skills and experience – and sense of humour – to extra good use: not only does he educate and inspire the kids in his Warrnambool classroom, he also encourages literacy and entertains children all around the country with his Crazy Relief Teacher series.
The recently released third book, Mr Jackpot and the Stash of Cash, continues the story of the first two books, Mr Sergeant and the Dodgeballs of Doom and Ms Law and the Corn-fusing Case of the Broken Window, where the students of Outback Creek Primary find themselves with yet another strange (and possibly deranged) relief teacher.
Funny and imaginative, the books truly connect with and engage junior readers – and may even impart a few well-disguised lessons along the way.”
You can find Matt’s website at www.mattporter.com.au
[box] If you love books, be sure to visit Warrnambool Books on their Facebook page. [/box]
Okay, maybe that is a tough question, so perhaps we can ask: who are the top 5 songwriters of all time?
If you are a child of the 70s, it is almost certain that your list would contain the name Joni Mitchell.
In 2000, the New York Times selected 25 albums that represented pinnacles and turning points in popular music and Joni’s album Blue(1971)was among the list.
Here is the title track, Blue, which fits perfectly with our Blue Tunes…
Something very troubling is happening in our community when it comes to the local media’s scrutiny of those in power.
Since returning to Warrnambool in January, I have watched with growing disbelief at the apparent reticence of our once-proud local newspaper, The Standard, to go in hard and ask the tough questions of our leaders.
This is what journalists do. This is the role of the so-called ‘Fourth Estate’ – to be the watchdog of the powerful and give voice to the powerless.
It is an essential part of our democracy and ensures that we retain an open, transparent and accountable government – on all levels.
This past week, we saw national scrutiny of MPs’ spending, sparked by revelations that Prime Minister Abbott had claimed allowances for trips to weddings, triathlons and cycling events.
Was our local federal MP Dan Tehan asked by our paper to detail the $873,992.35 that he spent from 2010-12? No, instead this figure was not even mentioned, but rather the paper’s story (10/10) reassured us that he had claimed $321,000 in ‘legitimate government entitlements’. End of story.
There is no suggestion that Mr Tehan used his allowance improperly, but nor is it improper for a journalist to forensically examine this spending. This is exactly what independent journalist Margot Kingston did when she broke the story about Tony Abbott claiming more than $9000 in taxpayer funds to promote his book.
It is only by drilling down into the detail that all the facts can come to light.
Mayor Michael Neoh. Image: ABC.
Earlier this year, Warrnambool Mayor Michael Neoh visited China as part of a Sister City relationship with Changchun. Shortly after his return, The Standard ran a story (29/6) about Mr Neoh visiting his ancestral home in China and catching up with relatives.
Was this part of the official tour for which ratepayers paid $3500 for both Mr Neoh and Council CEO BruceAnson?
Did Mr Neoh pay for this portion of the trip himself? Again, there is no suggestion of impropriety by Mr Neoh, but we don’t know the answer to these questions because, it appears, they weren’t asked.*
And when others do ask the prickly, difficult questions, the response is sometimes extraordinary.
Last month, Cr Peter Sycopoulis and several council colleagues questioned whether Mayor Neoh and Mr Anson needed to attend a Sister City function in Japan – expected to cost ratepayers $4000 – given they had just been to China.
For this, the councillors were chastised by the newspaper as being ‘party poopers’ (11/11). What?
And let’s not forget the infamous ‘Wilma Wright’ letters to the editor. These were published by The Standard for four years – four years – without anybody apparently checking the identity of the author, who was revealed as Mr Anson’s son and who at one point used the cover of his pseudonym to openly attack several councillors, including Cr Sycopoulis, in the lead up to a council election.
(Mr Anson, it must be noted, was cleared of any involvement in his son’s activities).
Cr Peter Sycopoulis
The names in this column – Mr Tehan, Mayor Neoh, Mr Anson – are irrelevant: it is the public, important positions that they hold that makes them open to scrutiny and a higher standard of accountability.
This is the hard work of journalism.
It is much harder, more time consuming and nerve-wrecking than writing story after story about courts and crime (ie. the powerless) where all of the leg work has been done, yet it is critical if we are to have faith in our media as the watchdog it is intended to be.
If it fails in this task, it is nothing less than our democracy which suffers.
* The Warrnambool City Council has since confirmed to Bluestone that Mayor Neoh did fund this portion of his travel.
Disclosures:
I began my journalism career as a cadet at The Standard in 1989.
I was an open supporter of ALP candidate Michael Barling during the last federal election because I thought he was the best option for Wannon. It was the first time I voted Labor in many years: I normally vote Green.
I know Cr Sycopoulis through his family: his older sisters and I went to school together.
Our quiet hero: Susie Alexander
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] T [/dropcap]HIS week’s quiet hero is somebody rarely caught without a smile on her lovely face, even when life throws the greatest challenges her way.
Susie Alexander and I (Carol) went to school together at East Warrnambool Primary and later, Warrnambool High School, and because she was an Alexander and I was an Altmann, we tended to be in the same alphabetical order line-ups for the selection of the fun stuff (sports teams) and the not so fun stuff (innoculations).
I would joke that I was glad Susie had to go first, then I would know if it was going to hurt or not.
Susie was always much braver than me.
When I met Susie again for the first time in a long time, she told me her mother was very ill with cancer and that she was making the most of the time they still had together. We were suddenly at that age, it seemed, when our parents became vulnerable and fragile.
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] E [/dropcap]arlier this year, I saw Susie again and she told me that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. It is the sort of news that shrinks the world down to the small stuff, the important stuff and reminds us that, no matter how old we are, we – as humans – are all vulnerable and fragile.
Despite her diagnosis, Susie has not retreated. She is facing her illness head on and undergoing a series of treatments (including what she calls her ‘cocktail days’) that she hopes will see her well enough to join the Sussan Women’s Fun Run on December 8 in Melbourne to raise money for the Breast Cancer Network Australia.
Yes, you read that right: fun run.
Susie always was so much braver than me. I know that to be truer now, than ever.
We normally donate a coffee and cake voucher to our quiet hero, but this time we have made a donation toward Susie’s run on December 8.
We hope you might do the same by clicking on this link: Susie’s run.
