Mayor4Unley

An interesting meeting last night at Unley Council. Mayor Lachlan Clyne chaired his last meeting. He has resigned; and left the building. Councillor Peter Hughes was elected as Acting Mayor until the Council elections in October 2018. Councillor Michael Hewitson was elected Deputy Mayor; replacing Councillor Don Palmer. The shock news came towards the end of the meeting when Councillor John Koumi advised that he had resigned. So #Unley Council was 13 members and is now down to 11. It will be an interesting journey @ Unley over the next 9 months.

At the Australia Day Ceremony in #Unley, Professor Rob Morrison was the Australia Day Ambassador. He delivered a lively speech that reflected broadly on the make-up of Australia; a character portrayal of what it is to be an Australian. His speech encouraged debate on the subject. However, I disagree with his main thrust that it is too soon, too early to categorise Australia. He said that only just over 200 years had past since colonisation and that it was too early. Nonsense. And there was no mention of the Aborigines who have been here for 65,000+ years. The culture of a country evolves over time, so there is no problem with our perception of our country changing over time; as it will; as it has. Australia has the richest cultural diversity of any country and that adds to the problem of achieving consensus on what it is to be Australian. The problem is compounded by the fact that many of Australia's newer cultures are constrained (or are in silos) in our society and a...

Lachlan Clyne, Mayor of Unley has resigned, effective 31 January 2018. He is standing by his commitment (to resign) given that he is the Liberal candidate for the seat of Badcoe (formerly Ashford). At the Council meeting on Monday 29 January, Council will appoint an Acting Mayor for the period up to the Council elections in October 2018. Voting for the this role may be interesting. If there are 2 or more with the highest and tied votes, then names will be drawn from a hat. The last name drawn will become the Acting Mayor. I decided months ago that I won't be nominating. If it does come down to a tied vote then it will be disappointing for those early names drawn from the hat. This procedure is a requirement under the Local Government Act. I believe there will be 4-5 Councillors nominating for the position. It will take someone special to hold together the Council in that difficult and potentially disruptive period in the lead up to the Council elections later ...

It's a tough time growing zucchinis and cucumbers at the moment; given the heat. Both grow best in the sun with temperatures between 22 and 32 degrees C. I grow my cucumbers in partial shade,  behind a large tree and they are doing well. But fruit setting is halted by the onset of high temperatures. At temperatures higher than 32 degrees the pollen in the flowers dry out. However, I am maintaining a good supply for the fridge. Rather than grow the cucumbers on the ground, let the vines grow on a low trellis. Helps to keep the fruit in good condition with plenty of circulating air. Tip: give the plants a good watering the night before you harvest early the next morning.

DPTI has just contacted me to advise that over the next 3 nights there will be overhead works at the South Road tram overpass. Throw screens will be installed on the recently fixed cycle/pedestrian bridge. I hope that the new throw screens don't cause the same problem as last time. I'm sure that the new design has been carefully scrutinised (and certified). Anyway, there will be night works with noise and some traffic diversions over the next 3 nights. The cycle/pedestrian bridge is due to open in ~ 6 weeks. I understand that it will be a grand opening with dignitaries aplenty; more-so with the approaching SA Election. I will be there in lycra to wave the cyclists through.

There's so much buzz about Bitcoin and other crypto currencies. So much envy about those making an absolute killing on the crypto currency market. There's so much ups and downs. So much desire to get some of the action. But is it too late or do we just wait a bit and then buy in. To compound the situation, there are approximately 1,300 crypto coins and the reality is that most will become zombie coins; so we need to choose carefully with a huge helping of luck. Yes, there will be winners in the crypto space. However, it may not be Bitcoin; despite being the first. But what would I know? To put crypto currency into perspective and to do a bit of a reality check, here's a monkey story to ponder ... A lot of monkeys lived near a village. One day a merchant came to the village to buy these monkeys! He announced that he will buy the monkeys @ $100 each.  The villagers thought that this man is mad.  They thought how can somebody buy stray monkeys at $100 e...

A big crowd #onKWR last night at the #UnleyGala in #Unley for the #TDU. Sturt Double Blues supporters were there in force. Long time Sturt supporter Cr Mike Hudson lined up for a photo with Sue and Jason from Sturt FC. I've never seen Mike so happy.

Dogs just love nuts as a treat, but we should be saying No, no nuts. It seems that there are only 2 nuts that should be given to dogs. Peanuts and roasted cashews. Hazelnuts are ok, but they do pose a choking risk. So for your dog's health, just stick to peanuts for an occasional treat; besides they're the cheapest. Read more ...

The Liberals seem hell bent in beating up on the Councils to get voter support at the fast approaching SA election. It's a cheap and easy tactic. However, I fully support David Pisoni's Liberal election commitment to publish all travel expenses incurred by SA Councils. Of course such expenditure should be available for public scrutiny. However, such scrutiny does not not deter State MPs from taking wasteful and costly jaunts overseas. I rarely see real benefit to the State from such trips.

It always annoys me when you go to buy cucumber seedlings to find that most are labelled as 'Burpless'. I immediately translate that as boring and tasteless cucumbers. A good cucumber deserves a good burp; if it is any good ;) Years ago when vegetables tasted better there no option of a burpless variety. And, I don't recall back then that people burped more. In some cultures, a good after dinner belch is a sign of appreciation for the meal. A belch just, well, happens. Most can be politely suppressed. So avoid those tasteless and burpless cucumbers (you know the type that come wrapped in cling wrap plastic; for your convenience) and look for the heirloom varieties and enjoy the taste. When buying cucumber seedlings, look for the old traditional types with a Diggers label.

Lunch today was home-grown and home-made tabouli. Yum! Stuffed inside a fresh bread roll from the local baker at #BlackForest. Absolutely superb!! Parsley, tomato, cucumber, lemon & garlic ... all from the garden. I must confess to buying a #LocalSA red onion on #GoodyRoad. Tip: pick a 1/2 bucket of parsley early in the day before the heat and soak in lightly salted water for 35 minutes. Leave long stems on the parsley so that after soaking it can be bunched and then shaken outside to remove the water. #EatinUnley #GrowinUnley #ShopinUnley #BestinUnley #iChooseSA #Unley