Mayor4Unley

Major felling of trees at Parkside ... There has been a major uproar by residents about the felling of so many trees at 186 Greenhill Road, Parkside just before Christmas ... and 4-5 more trees are planned to be removed. Residents are just so annoyed by what has happened. It happened without any warning and Council had no prior knowledge of the planned activity. A review has revealed that all the the trees felled were what is classed as 'non-regulated' and the property owner had a legal right to remove them. This is a legal right imposed by the State Government. What was a forest is now just 5 trees. One is scheduled to be removed soon. The other 4 trees are what is classed as 'regulated' and they require planning approval. I understand that approval will be considered in January/February 2018 by the Council Assessment Panel. I am sure that this meeting will be well attended by local residents.

The media is being a bit fanciful of late, building up the high expectations of Nick Xenophon at the next SA State election in March 2018. They now have Nick as possible Premier; if he wins enough seats. The likely outcome is that Nick's SA Best won't field enough candidates to give Nick the numbers to become Premier. Yes, he will win a good handful of seats; but certainly not a bucket-full. Here's a scenario ... What if Labor, Liberal and SA Best each get ~ 1/3 of the seats. It may be that SA Best gets to form a coalition with Labor or Liberal; and with such a deal, maybe Nick would be Premier. A preferable outcome would be Nick getting a handful of the best of Labor (a hard pick) and the best of the Liberals (a harder pick) and getting them to defect from their party and form a Government to truely represent the people. This new coalition Government would have Nick X as Premier, Jay Weatherill as Minister for Energy and Batteries and Steven Marshall as Mi...

Bravo Butcher 👍 On Friday I went to the local butcher at Goodwood; BTW it's one of the best butcher shops in SA! Anyway, I went to collect the Christmas order; before the rush on Saturday. I thought, as a treat I would get the dog a couple bones; some nice beef rib bones; the safest type for dogs. I was staggered to learn that the butcher had no bones; not a single bone. However, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the entire stock of bones had been donated to the RSPCA/AWL. What a nice Christmas gesture. It reflects the general goodwill that pervades the shopping strip @ Goodwood. My dog gets no bone for Christmas, but the dogs at the animal shelters will have a nice treat 👍 When next considering making a donation to charity, why not send a few dollars to the Animal Welfare League. They do so much with so little. It's a great cause!

An Aussie Christmas tradition is to pick your first home grown tomatoes before 25 December. There is often a competition amongst friends and other gardeners in your street. There was much joy (to me) when I picked my first on 14 December. Yesterday I picked another 6. I'm not boasting, but it is now starting to feel like Christmas. No more tasteless tomatoes bought from the shop. Nothing beats a home grown tomato dressed with basil leaves, cracked pepper and a drizzle of good olive oil. A healthy breakfast with toast!

Each week I receive multiple phone calls from scammers. And they get an earful of abuse before I hang up. They are absolute scum; modern day thieves. The banks are concerned and regularly send out warnings. Here's an extract of a recent communication from a bank ... ... The scam involves a caller posing as an employee of a large telco, utility provider or computer company. The caller will usually advise they are calling you because your PC has malicious software, help is needed to catch a criminal, or to recover an outstanding debt owed to a government body. Callers may become quite aggressive, or threaten you with prosecution, if you do not comply with their request. We strongly recommend you simply hang up if you receive this type of call. If you believe the call was legitimate, we recommend you return the call to the company on a trusted number found in the yellow pages or on the company's website. How this type of scam works: The caller will gene...

For years I have been secretly breeding Agapanthus. Standard colours are normally blue and white and a mild pink; with a few other variations. This year I was over-joyed with my bright pink candy striped creation. Those hours spent late at night under a full moon with a fine horse hair brush cross-pollinating and doing the under the leaf tickle, yielded a truly wonderful flower. I have called it  Candy Striped Pink Agapanthus (aka. Aga-BS-729).

I'm just so happy. My Sturt's Desert Pea has started to flower in the garden at home. It will be a mass of flowers in a few weeks. The flowers are just so sensual.

Good news for short term shoppers at Goodwood. Unley Council intends to install four 1 hour parking spaces on Surrey Street, on the north side near Goodwood Road. This will be ideal for short term shoppers eg. people going to the Chemist or Post Office. This has been the outcome of a request to me from a resident. It is good to see Council rapidly respond to the request from the community. ps It is likely that by the time the signs are installed in February 2018, two of the parking spaces will be limited to 30 minutes.

Beware opening a scammer's con this Christmas The ACCC is warning the community to be wary of scammers trying to ruin their Christmas holidays. “Scammers often try to take advantage of people during the busy Christmas period and prey on our vulnerabilities at this time of year. For example, they may take advantage of you looking for a good deal on a family holiday, searching for a loved one’s present at an online store, or even that you’re expecting a present from someone through the post.” Watch out for three common holiday season scams: Travel scams: scammers trick their victims into believing they’ve won a travel prize or scored a really good deal on a travel package, like a cruise. Unfortunately these seemingly too-good-to-be-true holidays are nothing more than a scammer’s con. In the past 12 months, nearly $86,000 has been lost to this scam, with about 1750 reports. Online shopping scams: scammers will set up believable looking online stores to trick pe...

Sam Dastyari must re-affirm his allegiance and loyalty to Australia. He may consider attending an Australia Day Citizenship Ceremony to make the pledge (again). It may be useful in his next job.

I must admit to being surprised that Labor's Jayne Stinson had secured $2.5m to build a new 2 storey grandstand and club facilities @ Goodwood Oval (in Unley and in the electorate of Badcoe, formerly Ashford). Badcoe is a seat that Labor must win to retain Government. It was almost too easy. Normally treasurers put up a harder fight. But when the Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis visited the oval 2 weeks ago in his white car, I knew (in fact I was told) that funding was in the bag; all secured providing Unley Council coughs up another $1m. I had been in deep conversation with Jayne about the urgent need to get new change facilities to cater for the growing number of females in our local cricket and football teams. Everyone else seems to be claiming credit for cracking a deal with Jayne, so I thought I should also lay claim. Whatever, whoever (is not important) - what is important is the outcome. I'm delighted that the SA Government has committed to immediate funding of $2.5...

Golden Gnomes are again popping up across the City of Unley. This time it is official. Council is rewarding residents with a small golden gnome for excellence in landscaping (and greening) their verges. Students from Concordia College assisted by painting the gnomes and creating gift tags. Also, at my suggestion, the students selected the worthy residents to get a gnome. A great outcome in helping to transform dolomite verges to blooming greenery. A year ago I unofficially launched the concept and bought a bag full of gnomes and painted them gold with a few special ones painted a distinctive rose gold. I delivered them to worthy homes across Unley. Residents have been delighted with the recognition. If you missed out in getting a gnome, why not buy one (or two) and paint them gold. They would make excellent Christmas presents.

I grew up with AC/DC; we all grew up with AC/DC; some are just discovering the band. Just going to watch Adelaide United play soccer at Hindmarsh, you get pumped up by loud blasts of T.N.T. It was sad to hear of the death of AC/DC co-founder Malcolm Young. He was aged 64 and had suffered from dementia for several years. He died peacefully. It would have been fitting for the family to crank up the volume and blast out T.N.T. as be climbed the stairs to music heaven. Quite rightly Malcolm Young was described as music royalty.

I received a couple of complaints about Unley Council asking the Church of Trinity (on Goodwood Road) to remove its YES Rainbow Banner. It had been there for months with no complaint. It was a symbol representing its gay community and the church's position on marriage equality. Then after one complaint Council asked that the banner be removed. I explained to the residents concerned that it was simply non compliance with bylaws regarding signs and that it had nothing to do with any personal decision made by Council. In fact, the matter was not determined by Council. Hopefully the banner stayed up in time for the announcement of the same sex marriage postal survey result. Whilst on Rainbow matters ... The City of Unley is flying the Rainbow Flag for the duration of Feast Festival at either end of the Customer Service area of the Civic Centre. 10 November -  27 November . This has been done for several years. Celebrating diversity, the Rainbow Flag represents the six colours of t...

Fantastic news about the Socceroos qualifying for the World Cup. Absolute golden glory for Australia. Top players and a top coach who deserves a bit more respect; a lot more respect. We did what Italy couldn't - and won the qualifying match.

What a fantastic innovation ... and all the way from Iceland. Don't build a speed hump, rather, paint a 3D white Zebra Crossing. It sounds simplistic, and it is but it is highly effective. It reduces vehicle noise (over the hump) and reduces pollution from cars slowing and then speeding. Unley Council is reviewing this concept to see if it is legally compliant in SA It may not not comply with existing Australian standards. If it doesn't then we should be pushing to get it approved. Have a look at the 1 minute video. I would love your feedback. watch the video

A rain garden has appeared on the NW corner of Second Avenue and Everard Terrace @ Forestville ... much to the surprise of the locals. An SA Government grant of $6k partially funded the project. 2 street trees were removed as part of the construction. No trees will be planted in the rain garden. It should be 'blooming' by Christmas. There has been a mostly positive reaction by the locals. Residents in nearby streets are considering asking for one in their street.

Goodwood Oval needs a new grandstand and club and change rooms for the football and cricket players. New change rooms are essential to cater for female players. The trouble is a new facility is hugely expensive; not a cost that Unley Council can solely bear. Labor candidate Jayne Stinson and Liberal candidate Lachlan Clyne are pursing the matter and are drumming up support from within their parties. Jayne recently took Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis to the oval and gave him a tour of the ageing facility. Tom loves his footy and his presence signalled Labor's need to retain Badcoe. Will Lachlan now take Steven Marshall down to the oval to view the facilities? To get the votes, all Labor and Liberal need to do is to commit to funding of $2m+. A big ask, but a win in Badcoe is important to both parties. Thinking about it, I wonder just how many votes are at stake. Will they get more votes from the local residents? I doubt it. The locals probably won't want more sport being play...

Come and celebrate the transformation of Goodwood Road @ Goodwood. The road and footpath works are complete and it's time to party. A huge street party is planned for Sunday 22 October 10am to 2pm. It's a collaboration between the City of Unley and the Goodwood Traders' Association. The official launch will be at 11am in Rosa Street. See you there. Bring some cash to splash on the day and support the local traders.

Funerals are just so expensive. Even when you have a modest one with few frills, the Funeral Directors fleece you with high markups when you are most vulnerable. If you select a cremation at Centennial Park, the Funeral Directors add a whopping $500+ extra; for doing nothing other than making a phone call to Centennial Park. Now there's a new player in the funeral business. A company called Value Cremations will collect the body, handle the death certificate and cremate it for a low cost of $1,500. There is no service or gathering to farewell the person. You simply collect the ashes and do whatever you wish with the plastic urn eg. go for a Sunday drive and scatter the ashes in a nice quiet country setting or from the top of a cliff along the coast; or you can just place the ashes on a shelf at home and wonder for years what to do with them. Will it take off. I'm not sure. However it does have appeal. Instead of paying $12,000 for a modest funeral (including heaps of...

Yes or No for marriage equality? That's your call and not my place to influence. But ... I'm staggered by the money being spent by those opposing or supporting the push for gay marriage. Each day there is a new leaflet in the letterbox; and some are quite nasty. It's all wasted money because the bulk of the advertising started after most people had already voted. The advertising campaign was left too late. In any case, I doubt that any of the advertising will significantly influence the outcome.

Breaking news ... Germany’s Kaufland buys Le Cornu site, Forestville, for $25m to set up giant 20,000sq m supermarket. Wow. That's huge and will probably fill the whole Le Cornu site. Kaufland builds mega supermarkets that are typically 4-5 times the size of a Coles or Woolworths store. A positive outcome is that there won't be an 8 storey building (or will there be apartments above?). A negative outcome is the huge influx of cars bringing shoppers. The traffic impact on local streets will be heavy. Read more ...

Greek food has had a huge impact on Aussie eating. My favourites are charcoal grilled octopus and lukoumades. Lukoumades (or honey puffs as I know them) are made in heaven; Greek heaven. They are commonly described as Greek donuts and are smothered in honey and walnuts; and they must be served hot. Between you and me, the abundance of lukoumades is the prime reason for me attending the annual Greek festival in Oxford Terrace, Unley. I was delighted to find a sign in a shop on King William Road that proclaimed that the restaurant Lukoumades would be opening soon. It should be hugely popular with entrees, mains and desserts of Greek honey puffs. Yum :)))

A fantastic win by Storm last night @ rugby grand final. Yes I was supporting the Qld Cowboys, but we all knew the Storm would win. There were hopes (for the Cowboys), but they were just that; hopes. It was a thrilling 34 vs. 6 win for Storm. It was a master display by the best oiled NRL team; the best team ever.

Football is a funny game, as they say. A team is on top and playing well one week and then fails to perform a week later. The Crows went down today, big time, against the Tigers. They started as favourites and lost the AFL Grand Final. They started well in the first quarter, but then went down hill. Commentators continually said that they were spooked and gave away so many frees. Yes they did, but why weren't the Tigers equally spooked. Both teams were new to a Grand Final. Maybe the Tigers had better prepared mentally. On the day, the Tigers were the better team. A much better team. They played a fast and disciplined team game. The Crows just lost their mojo; and looked spooked, mentally shattered. Given what I saw, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Tigers (Richmond) return next year for a gig at the AFL Grand Final. As a Crows supporter I was devastated. It wasn't just the team not winning; they let us down. It's probably time for a change of managemen...

On Monday 25 September 2017 I moved the following motion at Unley Council. That: The City of Unley Council writes to the Minister for Planning and expresses its concern about the lack of consultation by DPTI with the local community about the proposed Inner & Middle Metropolitan Corridors (Sites) Ministerial DPA, and particularly for the site comprising 12 to 30 Anzac Highway and 6 to 14 Third Avenue, Everard Park between KFC and Solver Paints on Anzac Highway and extending through to the local minor residential street at the rear in Third Avenue, Forestville. Why? Outraged locals in Forestville and Everard Park, especially in Grove Avenue about zero consultation by the Minister for Planning with regard to the mega development on this site. Locals only learnt about the proposal in a recent newspaper article. I would hope that when the Minister gets a letter of concern from Unley Council, he will undertake further consultation with the Everard Park and Forestville residents. ...

Following private chats with Councillors last night I am revising (down by 1) the number of probable candidates who will try to be stand-in Mayor of Unley when Lachlan Clyne resigns in Jan/Feb 2018. Given the high number of candidates, it's relatively easy to determine what the outcome will be. If I'm right, it will be a good outcome. No, I won't share the names.

The Mayor of Unley, Lachlan Clyne, has taken paid leave for 3 months whilst he campaigns as the Liberal candidate for the State seat of Badcoe (formerly Ashford). His stated intention is to resign as Mayor in January 2018. That will leave Unley for a period of 8-9 months without a Mayor elected by the people. The expectation is that Council will elect a stand-in Mayor to captain the good ship Unley. With due respect to whoever gets the gig, we will effectively be leaderless and at times (I suspect) with a broken rudder. With Council elections approaching in late 2018, there normally are some associated disruptions to the smooth functioning of Council which will aggravate the situation. The Council meeting in January or February 2018 should be a real doozie. From chats with some Councillors, I have it on very good authority that there will probably be seven (7) Councillors who will nominate to become the stand-in Mayor. Six (6) are definite starters. I suspect that our current vo...

What a buzz it was at Adelaide Oval yesterday to watch the Sturt vs. Port SANFL Grand Final. A huge crowd of 38,000. It was a fantastic win by Sturt by just one point (50 vs. 49). The first 2 quarters went well for Sturt. Port couldn't kick straight and spent more time going for the man rather than the ball. In the 3rd quarter Sturt could have done better. They lost momentum. The 4th quarter looked more like a 27 minute rugby scrum with very little ball movement and Port increased their attacks on the man. All up, it was a great win by Sturt. We must have an Unley Council function to recognise and celebrate the win.

I hear that Cr Mike Hudson is not wheelie good. Or should I say, his $400 four door car is no longer in good shape. The cops took a dislike, probably attracted by the non functioning brake lights, and defected the car. The cost of repairs was five times the value of the car. So, Mike has decided to walk or try to borrow his wife's car. Which probably explains why I saw Mike window shopping at an Unley bicycle shop. Anyone with a secondhand bike that they want to sell, just contact Mike Hudson at Unley Council.

What to do when pulled over by the police? Know your rights and politely exercise them. I never carry a driver's licence. There is no legal need to in South Australia unless travelling on holiday. Have a read of your rights. Remember to be polite

There's been a lot of comment and debate about the impending postal vote for same sex marriage. I won't go into that. However, an interesting comment I heard from a commentator was that they may need to provide explicit details on how to return the vote ie. How to post the vote back. Many of today's youth have never posted a letter in their life. So they will need to be told to: Mark the voting paper and place in the envelope Lick the back of the envelope and seal it Take the letter to a Post Office or find a red box on the street and insert in the box (before 6pm) Actually, the best way to get the message across is via a video demonstrating how to post a letter on YouTube.

Fantastic news about John Opie bakery on Unley Road intending to stay open later to 10pm. The menu will stay the same with beer and wine available if a liquor licence is approved. Great for locals wanting a low cost night out with a decent pie or pasty (or Danish apple). For a late night pie it will save a long trip to 24x7 Cafe de Vili's at Mile-End. Read more ...

The most interesting news in the paper yesterday ... how to stop hiccups. Research has shown the cause of hiccups to be eating or drinking too much and too quickly. Supposedly the stomach distends which irritates the diaphragm. It has been suggested that to stop the hiccups, eat a spoonful of creamy peanut paste very slowly. It's worth a try; provided you have a jar of peanut paste at hand. Caution (mine): not recommended if you are allergic to peanuts.

It's best to add a dash of water to a whisky to get that extra flavour and taste, according to the dedicated research of two Swedish chemists. A Scottish whisky expert advocates reducing the alcohol content to 20% to hit the sweet spot for enhanced flavour, aroma and taste. There is no mention, but I suspect that the same findings would also apply to good brandy or cognac and other wood cask matured liquors. It's worth experimenting at home to validate the findings 🍷💧 Read the story ...

Following on from the heated racial protests in the US, I noted this article published by the Guardian. It suggested that we may have a similar problem simmering in Australia; because of our statues and memorials of early explorers and pastoralists who inflicted horrors on the indigenous people. I acknowledge these horrors, but the difference (to the US) is that Aussies today don't worship our early (white) settlers and explorers for their past deeds. The reality is that most Australians don't have a good grasp of Australian history and the deeds, good and bad, of our early settlers. The article by the Guardian is worth a read and some reflection. I do like the idea of adding a second plaque on monuments to provide an Aboriginal perspective. Read the Guardian story ...

It's more than 3 years ago that I was part of a vocal group campaigning to re-open the Millswood Train Station. The liberals would not get involved; and probably lost Government because of it. Labor embraced it; and probably won Government because of it. I still have emails that I sent to David Pisoni, Steven Marshall, Steph Key and Jay Weatherill. Putting the politics aside, it is pleasing to see a monthly tally of 1,371 commuters boarding the train at Millswood each month in 2016/2017. A great outcome. But why did the locals have to fight for so long?

The Federal Liberals squandered a real opportunity in their party room debate on Gay Marriage. They had an opportunity to re-gain control and take ownership of the issue. If their push for a plebiscite again fails in the Senate, then it's time for a conscience vote in Parliament. The outcome of a plebiscite by letter won't have the same authority. Australians are tiring of this sad saga. There is strong sentiment to resolve the matter now. It's time to slip on the Nike(s) and 'just do it'.

I write this as the Federal Liberals decide what to do about Gay Marriage, or more correctly, marriage equality. So I don't know the result. My guess is that it will be a fiery debate and the Libs will stick with their policy (and election promise) of holding a plebiscite before bringing the matter to Parliament. I was of the opinion that a plebiscite should be held. However, given feedback from the community and from polling, the majority of Australians now support marriage equality. Let's face it, regardless of the Libs' decision we all know that the next Labor Government will quickly legalise Gay Marriage. If the Libs don't (today) allow a conscience vote then they will be doomed at the next election. They must know this, but I reckon they will pig-headily stick to their now out of date plebiscite policy and struggle onwards severely wounded and in need of a new leader. Today, they have an opportunity and they should seize it. I would have thought that the bac...

INDAILY has followed-up on my earlier blog about UberEATS. Restaurants and eateries are concerned about destroying their quality reputation by embracing UberEATS. The better places won't trust delivery to Uber. According a survey, for some businesses it will work, but in most cases UberEATS is seen as a huge risk. Read the story ... From experiences at home and from accounts of others, try to avoid UberEATS if you want a reasonable dining (at home) experience. If it's a pizza then go for it, but if you pay more than $10 for the food then go and pick it up. Here's my earlier blog on UberEATS ...

Whilst I fight hard to maintain low rates at the City of Unley, I remain opposed to rate capping, an election stunt proposed by the opposition Liberal Party in SA. It is no more than a vote grabbing ploy; which by the way will work in getting votes. What South Australian wouldn't want lower Council rates? Actually what the Liberals won't declare is the cost for the State Government to review the business plan for every Council. It will cost heaps which will be funded by extra State Government taxes. It's a bad idea; but I suspect that it will help the Liberals get elected. What prompted this blog ... I notice that research from University of New England Professor Brian Dollery has confirmed that after 40 years of rate capping in NSW there has been increased local government debt, larger infrastructure backlogs, and increased fees and charges that are passed on to communities. I was impressed by the thoroughness of the research; at least the outcome. Then I read...

Slugs are a gardener's nightmare and efforts are made to eradicate the slugs. Damn things come out at night and munch on the greens in the garden. We squash them and poison them; or at least some people do. But, the humble slug has captivated the minds of medical researchers. The slime of the slug has been studied and now replicated with reasonable success. Its use as an adhesive is a medical break-through. The laboratory made slug slime is now emerging as an adhesive and is being used during surgery instead of staples and stitches. At least, it worked well during surgery on a pig. A great outcome by scientific study of the simple slug. Read the slug slime story ...

The Leader Street Streetscape Project is now complete. Just a bit of asphalt to be laid near the railway line, booked for early August. The transformation of the street is fantastic. Looks great. It's green and cycle friendly with new cycle lanes. Prior to the road works there were no cycle lanes.. Rain-gardens were designed to filter stormwater and remove pollutants that would have normally been washed down creeks and into the ocean. These rain-gardens will filter about 5 million litres of stormwater annually. That's 2 Olympic sized swimming pools of water each year. Also, the new permeable footpaths have provided capacity to store 110,000 litres of water that will be 'soaked' into the soil and provide extra water for trees and vegetation. This streetscape renovation of Leader Street in Forestville is a pilot for transforming streets across Unley. Over time there will similar projects across Unley. It's been a good outcome.

To lose one Greens Senator because he had dual citizenship was unfortunate. To lose a second within a week because another Senator just realised that she also had dual citizenship is totally irresponsible. Obviously the Australian Greens don't check and vet their candidates; at least not very well. Had they checked prior to the last election, then both of these Senators could have quickly dropped their foreign citizenship. The unfortunate aspect is that these 2 Senators were the Greens top performers. Most people actually liked and respected them. They had charm and appeal. I'm guessing that they will attempt a comeback at the next opportunity. Meanwhile, a couple of mediocre Greens will be promoted within the party to fill the void. Promoted through necessity and not by merit. This will probably result in a lower voter support at the next election.

Why UberEats? Why? Why? It doesn't make sense. Just stupid. People are just doing it because it is new (and needs to be tried). My son ordered UberEats (= takeaway, home delivery) from a fav eatery on Goodwood Road, about 4km away. It was a wet and cold night and the food was delivered by bicycle. The food was cold; as you would expect after delivery by bike on a cold and wet night, on a journey from so far away. Stupid! Eat there or drive and pick it up. Just common sense. Yes, my son got Uber credit for a bad experience, but that's not the point. A bad food experience is totally not acceptable. It was all fine before Uber arrived. It hasn't impacted me, but the young are uberising many aspects of life; and creating a new norm. It's a bad business model that delivers cold food, bad service  and leaves the consumer dissatisfied; and reflects poorly on the food outlets. Today, in the junk mail I revived an UberEats advertisement encouraging me to ord...

The road and footpath renovation works are nearly finished. Now the last minute finer details are being done. I was amazing by the art work being installed in the windows set into the seats along Goodwood Road. Absolutely fantastic. It is not often that Council has me down on my knees, but that's the position I was in to take these 2 photos. A passer-by gave me a rather curious glance. For those who want to find the bikini lady, she is in front of the chemist shop.

Nothing annoys me more than an unsigned letter being left in the letterbox. However, the discreet camera out the front revealed who it was. Not that I was surprised; I had already guessed who it was. It just matched the pattern of this woman's past actions; and her past accusations. I just beg of you, this woman from Forestville, not to do what you say you will do. You will end up with egg all over your face; not from me, but from your own hand. Give the world a break and bury the conspiracies. Next time, sign your letter and be accountable for your wild accusations. Regards, Bob Schnell

Surprise, surprise ... Unley has been awarded a start in the 2018 Tour Down Under (TDU). It coincidentally 😉😉 was announced soon after the budget rate rise was endorsed by Council. Unley has been awarded the Stage 2 Start, from King William Road up to Stirling via the long way, a distance of 148.6km. Stage 2 will be held on Wednesday 17 January, 2018. The Gourmet Gala street party on King William Road will be held the night before. For the record, I oppose hosting this event for the 18th time at a cost of $266k. This equates to a cost of about $14 per household, funded by a rate rise of 2.9%. At Council, I opposed this budget expenditure. In my chats with residents, there seems to be little support for the huge cost of hosting this event. Most people would prefer a smaller, cheaper and more family event eg. like Unley Way to Go, like what we used to hold on Unley Oval. I doubt that Unley will host the event in 2019. The money saved can be used to pay off some debt.

Fantastic news that an Australian company has bought Vegemite (from mega USA food giant Mondelez) and brought it back home. Bega Cheese did the $480m deal and now owns Vegemite. It's in safe hands as half of the share holders of Bega are dairy farmers who supply milk product to the company; they were originally part of a local cooperative. Like most Aussies, I enjoy Vegemite on toast at least 5 days a week. The history of Vegemite and its nutrient value should be a question on the new Australian citizenship test. Fail that test and citizenship should not be granted. Bega chairman Barry Irvin is delighted that the deal was done and the iconic product has been returned to Aussie ownership. The company intends to aggressively promote Vegemite in 43 countries across the globe. A great outcome Barry. I anoint thee, Sir Barry of Bega, for services to Vegemite and promoting Australian values. On behalf of Australians, we salute you. What better than a Bega cheddar ch...

The Messenger 'local rag' newspaper must be doing it tough. I've just received a leaflet from the Messenger in my letterbox. It says 'We have identified a group of suburbs that have a lower than average tendency to pick up delivered copies of the paper. Your suburb is in that group.' Messenger wants my feedback. Further, it suggests that in the future the options may be to drive somewhere and collect a paper from a retail outlet or subscribe for an online edition. I gave feedback and replied that I want the delivery to continue. Yes, a high % of people leave the paper in the driveway and mulch it with their car tyres. However, many (and I would suggest a good 50%) do pick it up and read it. Perhaps the high number of flats in the area is distorting the figures and suggesting a lower than average readership. I suspect that when the Messenger refers to a group of suburbs, the size of that group is high and the real push is to stop paper copies and force r...

The new Unley Tree Strategy is a practical blueprint for maintaining and enhancing the green cover of trees across Unley. Ageing and unhealthy trees will be removed, but they will be replaced. Where possible more trees are to be planted, especially in vacant (tree) sites along the streets. Over time, the green (cool and shady) coverage of trees will increase along the streets. It's a great strategy and good outcome; a good long term outcome. Also, it's one of best looking reports I've seen at Unley Council. Read the Unley Tree Strategy here

Got home just in time; only missed 10 minutes. Damn. The Blues were up and it was their half. But in the second half the Qld Maroons did their mighty come-back; and won. Glorious. The final Origin match in 3 weeks will be on Qld turf. Here's hope that the Maroons win and send the Blues back over the border without a trophy. I know they will.

It was a good meeting last night at Mitcham Council. A joint informal meeting of Mitcham and Unley Councillors to review the options for establishing an authority/subsidiary to manage the works to reduce the risk of flooding in the Brownhill and Keswick Creeks. It will be an authority to act on behalf of the 5 Councils affected. It was declared a public meeting (on the night), but there were no residents present. They probably didn't know about it. Anyway, it was a good night with great comraderi between the 2 Councils. Lots of tiny pies and pasties and small talk afterwards. The State Government has 'decreed' that the subsidiary/creek management authority will be operational by February 2018. My reckoning is that it will be quite a challenge to get all 5 Councils in agreement on the responsibility of the subsidiary, let alone appoint appropriately skilled board members, by that date (which is 1 month prior to the SA State election).

The roadworks on Goodwood Road and Leader Street are nearing an end. Both projects will be complete by 30 June. Leader Street is currently being sealed and follow-up plantings will finish the work. After 30 June, the State Government will seal Goodwood Road at night. It's been a major upheaval and a period of frustration for nearby residents and local businesses. On the positive side, it will look great and the charm of Goodwood will return. Thinking ahead 12-24 months, work will commence on replacing the road and footpaths on King William Road. Council needs to learn from the Goodwood Road project and determine how best to minimise impact on the local residents and businesses eg. stage the work in smaller sections and perhaps have more night work.

Last night I attended the launch of the 'Living the DREAM' art studio @ Myrtle Bank. Dozens of friends and art lovers were there. Local visual artist Anthea Jones was celebrating her new studio; full of beautiful art work. My favourite was the charcoal woman with a red balloon; running freely on the beach. I was privileged to receive an invitation to the launch. A fantastic night of celebration. Anthea will open her studio for SALA in August, Thursday to Sunday, 11am to 3pm. Her SALA brochure says to contact her on mobile 0400482189 first to ensure that the artist is in residence. Get there. You won't be disappointed. Put some cash in your purse. I know that you will be tempted to buy.

Fantastic news that harness racing is returning to Wayville @ The Showgrounds. Years ago, many years ago, harness racing was hugely popular at Wayville. It drew crowds of 10,000s. The last trots race at Wayville was held in 1973. Wayville was the trots venue from 1925 to 1973. There will be 8 races over the year. The first event is on Friday 27 October. Put it in your calendar and get there. The first event will be a nostalgic return to the glory days of harness racing from yester-year. I am forecasting a huge crowd for the first race. See you at the track.

The Advertiser headline was Queen's Birthday Honours: SA's Tireless Heroes . It annoys me that people who get the prestigious awards are mostly people just doing their paid job; like the winemaker. Yes, he makes good wines, but he gets paid handsomely for doing his job. And then there's the actor who got a gong. Damn annoying. It annoys me that average Joe down the street doesn't get a mention. He works tirelessly as an unpaid volunteer. He contributes so much to his neighbours and the local community; but he gets no mention. He contributes so much more to the community than highly paid winemakers and actors and others who are just doing their job and earning a huge salary. Maybe it's my fault or your fault. Maybe we should have nominated average Joe or his wife Maud. If we had then Joe or Maud would have maybe got a lowly award; not a big one reserved for the high flyers (like the Qantas boss) with influential friends. It's all a bit sad. I'm sorry J...

En Japanese bar and restaurant on Goodwood Road @ Goodwood. From a recent return visit, my review is 4.9/5. Absolutely superb. Eat as little (or as much) as you like; delivered in small servings - ideal to share. The staff make you feel special and truly provide service with a smile. Nothing is too much trouble. On my recent visit I discovered a sake that I actually like. It's called 'Shirakawago Sasanigori' and comes in a blue bottle. A lovely cloudy appearance and ever so nice on the palate; and a nice empty bottle to take home.