Darlington Review - September 2016 “Whilst there will some inconvenience in the morning when riders come through no residents will be ‘locked in’,” he said. While on the positive side Councillor Lavell said it was hoped local businesses such as 2 Café, The Pines and art galleries, would benefit from increased patronage in the area, not everyone is convinced the event will be well managed especially after the last debacle. Michelle Osborne from the Darlington Estate Winery on Nelson Road will have the race literally flying past the winery’s doorstep. She said Father’s Day was traditionally busy with lunch starting at 11.30am and 50 odd guests expected to arrive between then and noon. She said while the Shire had reassured them the roads were not closed, rather manned contra flows, they were worried any glitches such as delays could impact on the day or that some may simply stay away. Stay tuned.
Gotta catch ‘em all
A group of Darlington youngsters trying to catch Pokemon outside the post office.
The Pokemon Go craze sweeping the world hasn’t escaped our quiet neck of the woods with a slew of hotspots to catch these seemingly addictive virtual creatures. This wildly popular augmented reality game is luring young and old out and about, faces buried in their phones, trying to catch and battle these pocket monsters outside bus stops, the post office, tennis club, Darlington Primary School, Maya’s Nest, Darlington Hall and the bridle path to name a few. While on the plus side this has got kids off the couch and on their feet exploring their surroundings and interacting with their community, it does pose some real world dangers.
Reports of injuries from falling into ditches and walking into natural dangers such as trees aren’t uncommon. And there are even reports of players wandering like zombies into the middle of the road in their quest to catch a rare Pokémon. Watch out.
Festival welcomes artistic heavyweights to the team
With major art prizes on offer at this year’s Darlington Arts Festival, including the $10,000 Robert Juniper Art Prize, two eminent judges have been appointed by the Darlington Arts Festival committee. DAF President Peter Nicholls said UWA Chief Cultural Officer Ted Snell and Marlene Stafford, past Chair of the Foundation of the State Gallery of WA, would both bring a wealth of qualifications and experience to the task.
this year is no exception. For the first time the red carpet will be rolled out for a special premiere screening of the winning clips from the annual Quick Flicks competition run by Seen & Heard. The screening will be held at the Darlington Hall on October 27 and if the night is successful looks set to become an annual event. The Pavlova Tent will also be first, featuring short entertainment skits for the kids throughout the weekend. It will be somewhere for the kids to have fun while the adults peruse the art exhibits.
Great big life of Michael Palmer
Peter said Robert Juniper was one of Darlington’s favourite sons and they were very grateful to Trish Juniper and proud that the festival, through the art prize, would keep his memory alive. This year’s retrospective artist Hans Arkeveld is expected to attract strong interest. The renowned Hills artist draws, paints and sculpts in bronze, wood, wire and wax and any other object he can repurpose. Peter said Hans’ work is deeply influenced by his outrage against cruelty and social injustice including the illegal trade of Australian fauna and the plight of Vietnamese boat people. Leading Hills’ artists are also being asked to contribute to the Open Art exhibition and are encouraged to consider the theme, A Sense of Community. Meanwhile the Youth Art exhibition will again showcase an extraordinary range of emerging and inspirational talent. The Festival’s new patron is distinguished artist Ben Joel who is well known for his commissioned portraits, which can be found in local, interstate and international collections. In 2012 he received a Lifetime Achievement Award through the Artsource organisation for his contributions to art and education here in WA. Since the Festival started 53 years ago as a fundraising event for the local bush fire brigade it has grown each year and
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Michael Palmer entertaining at one of his popular Pub Nights
Locals are recalling the long, and often hilarious, contribution in our community of Michael Palmer who recently passed away. Michael is well remembered for comparing the annual Christmas Carols on the Station Reserve. Every year he would lend his magnificent speaking voice to the occasion, and add a little, by always singing Good King Wenceslas with input from a youth of the day to sing as The Page. Michael is however probably best remembered when he joined forces with Pip Colbourne, Robert Kay and Iain Martin to provide the entertainment for the hugely popular and long-running