ROYALTY is again gracing us with its presence in the capital. For those on the dignitary trail, you can see the arrival and departure of Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark when they visit the Australian War Memorial this afternoon.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
A War Memorial spokesman said the public should arrive by 4pm if they wish to secure a good vantage point.
''After arriving at the Memorial, the Royal couple will make their way through the Commemorative area to the Hall of Memory, where they will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier,'' the spokesman said. ''Before leaving, they will also sign the Memorial's visitor's book.''
It will be the Royal couple's second visit to the War Memorial. Their first was in 2005.
Investing in art
THIS is for those who want to hang something a little different on their walls.
Art collector Bernie Ayers is teaming up with Michael Cammack, who runs the Canberra City Framing Gallery in Hobart Place. The two want to give locals the chance to buy affordable artworks by Australia's emerging artists. They will be featuring affordable works by a different young artist each month.
The monthly series starts this week with a $650 signed, limited edition print Virus, by this year's Archibald Prize winner Ben Quilty. In the months to come, works by artists such as Sam Leach, Anthony Lister and Michael Zavros will be featured.
''Works by these frontline artists are not generally available through other galleries in Canberra,'' Ayers said. ''Works by Ben Quilty rarely come up for sale and his exhibitions usually sell out before opening night, making his works extremely good investments.''
Underground Ark airing
BRUCE Hoogendoorn's latest play The Underground Ark will have a staged reading at The Street Theatre on Friday at 6.30pm. The reading will be directed by Fiona Fox and performed by Brian Kavanagh, Hugh Bosman, Jonathon Garland, Hannah Wood and Miriam Miley-Read.
''The time of the play is post-climate change - the world is now too hot to live in and most people are dead. But a small group of people hand-picked by the prime minister are living underground, with the goal of re-populating the country when, and if, they can return to the surface,'' Hoogendoorn says of the play.
Screaming Jets' final gig
HARD-HITTING rock band The Screaming Jets will make one of their final appearances at Summernats in January, lead singer Dave Gleeson revealed during an interview with The Canberra Times this week. In the meantime you can catch Gleeson heading up The Angels at the Canberra Southern Cross Club on November 25.
Wool for labyrinth
WEIRD, I know, but read on. The National Folk Festival is looking for wool to use as a part of a community project.
Organisers are asking people to donate a ball of wool, which will be used to decorate a labyrinth at the festival. During the festival, patrons will be invited to contribute to the labyrinth by weaving, twisting and knitting around the trees that define the space.
Today has been told, ''We are asking for wool of any colour and thickness.''
Please send your wool to PO Box 179, Mitchell, ACT 2911.
Raiders ad jogs memory
THE Canberra Raiders are on the verge of another era of greatness if their television commercial for season 2012, launched yesterday, is anything to go by.
In a memory-jerking 30-second clip, the advertisement compares club legends Gary Belcher, Laurie Daley, Ruben Wiki and Brett Mullins to their modern-day counterparts in Josh Dugan, Terry Campese, Josh Papalii and Blake Ferguson.
Season 2011 may have been a write-off for the Green Machine, but players assure us they've all moved on and that next year will be much better for the fans.
Louie the Fly lives on
IT may have looked like the Purple People Eater on the lawns of Parliament House yesterday, but it was actually Louie the Fly, made famous for his starring role in the Mortein TV adverts.
The fly, known as ''Aussie's best loved pest'', could be no more after Mortein suggested he ''be killed'' from the adverts. He's on a three-month nationwide campaign tour to woo fans after Mortein set Louie a target of 250,000 public votes to save himself and keep his job.
The fly began his attempt to save his starring role at Parliament House yesterday. I'm told, ''People can vote to kill or save Louie the Fly at his Facebook page at www.louiethefly .com.au or at the tour locations themselves via ballot machine.''
Apparently the fly's Facebook page is gaining more than 1000 fans a day.
Action on bus app
ZAKARIA Bouguettaya, a final year software engineering student at the Australian National University, created quite a stir recently when he and his friends questioned why ACTION's digital timetable data available through Google Transit took so long to be created.
Bouguettaya and some other students created their own smartphone app designed to track and provide information about ACTION buses, their routes and timetables.
Bouguettaya has taken out the top Unleash Your App award for his app for public transport users. The ANU student won $5000 among other prizes.
