The Byron Shire Echo – Issue 38.35 – February 7, 2024 by Echo Publications

Mungo MacCallum’s Crossword #529 1

Cryptic Clues

Quick Clues

ACROSS

1. Robber first gentle, then angry (6) 5. Corrupted smile set forever (8) 9. Without any reason, a cat grabs libertarian Ayn (2,6) 10. Social insect, game of chasings, suggested Spooner as a short cut to a hot drink (3,3) 11. Rabin, an unexpectedly brilliant idea (10) 13. Current Australian politicians (4) 14. Fight down (4) 15. Cleaners put off by lavatory (10) 18. French magazine is in even contest (5,5) 20. Pleased for good boy (4) 21. Run down and turn back savage beast (4) 23. Very small units of radiation for grandmother, with love and remedies around India (10) 25. Fight back at belligerent state (6) 26. Get to the front – not so much, having been decapitated! (8) 28. Response to a sneeze: bad smell, turn over fewer! (5,3) 29. Better bottom, not many available (6)

1. Corsair (6) 5. Enduring (8) 9. Haphazardly (2,6) 10. Sachet to make brew (3,3) 11. Solve problems as a group (10) 13. Units for measuring electricity (4) 14. Depressed (4) 15. Washing powders (10) 18. French glossy magazine (5,5) 20. Delighted (4) 21. Stream (4) 23. Units of radioactivity (10) 25. Ancient Greek city-state (6) 26. Without a leader; foolish (8) 28. Gesundheit! (5,3) 29. Meagre (6)

DOWN

2. Among other things (Latin) (5,4) 3. Cupidity (7) 4. Finish (3) 5. Speed of a musical piece (5) 6. Rock formed by the action of heat and pressure (11) 7. Seepage (7) 8. Rascal (5) DOWN 12. Rock formed from compaction of 2. Among other things, retail in a separate particles (12) shake-up (5,4) 16. Dram (3) 3. Australian right into a habit of evil 17. Passes over (9) – greed (7) 19. Towards the interior (7) 4. Close aim (3) 5. Turn up for work, came across beat (5) 20. Great ape (7) 6. Encountered a rich Pom – ready to 22. Folded part on front of coat (5) 24. Indian jacket style (5) rock! (11) 7. Shelter, confined space, they said – 27. Donkey (3) but it isn’t secure! (7) 8. Little, affected, mischievous boy (5) Last week’s solution #528 R U B B E R A D D E N D U M 12. I am into sitting on a rock! (12) O R U O U I U 16. Little drink for little child (3) A N A G R A M U P R I S E S 17. Lift art with poems and crosses! (9) D V O I B O H E S C O O P X Y L O P H O N E 19. Where you find the patients – not I E E E E N outside! (7) D R U G A D D I C T B E A N 20. Silverback to turn brook over E N N B R O S E Australia (7) S I D E B L O O D B A T H S E R E S S T 22. The French friend turned up a sort N A R C I S S U S T O T A L of collar (5) O L G S E A R I 24. Indian premier raised domestic T R I P O L I S E C T I O N fowl and game (5) E N U N L P G S T E E R A G E D E F E R S 27. Fool, like son (3)

STARS BY LILITH Boom crash! Enter the Eastern new year of the mighty Dragon. Stupendous successes, spectacular collapses and massive natural catastrophes are all traditionally predicted for this swashbuckling and heroic year...

AQUARIUS THE WATER POURER

www.echo.net.au/soap-box

To Hall and Back T he floods of 2022 have taken our history. Taken our stories. Taken not just the places where we live, but also the places where we gather. It’s a loss that is felt deep in the heart of our communities. And as we rebuild, we stand in the grief, in the absence of what was, and we reflect on what we once had. Recently I went to book a comedy show into Corndale Hall. A small but vibrant country hall close to the Bexhill shop. It’s a magical meeting place, where locals and hill tribes rub shoulders with Lismore and Clunes, with drop-ins from Bangalow and beyond. Corndale is an unlikely remarkable place. I rang the booking number only to be told ‘the hall was washed off the stumps love’. It took me a while to register. The hall was dead. Oh. Really? How had I missed that? In all the drama and loss, I had forgotten to check if the hall had made it. It hadn’t. The February flood sent 2.7 metres of water through Corndale Hall. This water of biblical proportions reached to the roof. It wrenched the modest little building from its footings and set it free. It collided with a power pole and was broken into pieces. Such a violent and unexpected death for such a magical place. It made me enormously sad. That little hall that stood over 130 years, gone. The hall that has seen funerals and weddings, 21sts, wakes, concerts and possibly the most legendary comedy nights in regional NSW, gone. It was like another death. My dear friend Jonathan Atherton, a wildly funny irreverent soul, started Corndale Hall Comedy Night in 1993 when his friends, macadamia nut farmers Chris and Pat Jung, asked him to put on a show. And wow did he put on a show. Jonathan invited comedians from around the national circuit to drop in and perform in what became a legendary gig in comedy circles. It ran for decades. I remember my first Corndale Hall Comedy Night. I had three small

ARIES: Being passionate, direct and decisive, it’s no surprise the confident Dragon’s flash and dash corresponds to Aries in the western zodiac: so far, so fabulous. Just one caution though, and it’s significant: don’t be so intent on your forward progress this year that you neglect to protect your rear.

Corndale Hall. Photo by Kate Nutt

The February ﬂood sent 2.7 metres of water through Corndale Hall. This water of biblical proportions reached to the roof. It wrenched the modest little building from its footings and set it free. It collided with a power pole and was broken into pieces. children in tow, the youngest still on my breast. I navigated the dark roads and found what must have been the hall. I felt like I was in a paddock. I was expecting two farmers and an esky. I walked straight on stage to face 200 people. It was like an image from a Bruegel painting. Bearded men holding beers, women nursing children, women in the kitchen cutting cake, men in flannelette shirts squashed next to city types, all ruddy-faced and bright. All laughing together making this giant organism of joy. That was the phenomenon of Corndale Hall Comedy Night. I stood there for a moment blinking in shock and asked ‘Where did all you people come from?’

CANCER: The sometimes pompous and overbearing Dragon isn’t sentimental, romantic or caring about whose sensitivities it offends. The good news is that its unsinkable buoyancy invites your inner entertainer out to play, which is set to lift and disperse those recurring periods of Cancerian pessimism.

TAURUS: Methodical, cautious Taureans aren’t likely to go overboard, even in the daring and showy Dragon year, though they could become more flamboyant, take bigger risks and venture way past their normal comfort zone. Biggest no-no this year? A stubborn, inflexible, ‘I know best’ attitude.

LEO: Majestic and dazzling, Dragon’s a born leader: charismatic and demanding, whose presence and magnetism can attract spectacular good fortune. Or, for those Leos straying into its negative qualities of being headstrong, stubborn and wilful, it can mean calamitous losses, so for a successful year, best keep egos in check.

GEMINI: The magical Dragon is full of vitality, constantly on the go, enthusing and inspiring everyone, surrounded by admirers. But unless this fiery year is contained and not dissipated, its grand plans can go up in smoke. Dragon year’s most rewarding focus for Geminis will be discipline and regularity.

VIRGO: Not bothering with trivialities and small stuff, the daring and ambitious Dragon rushes in where angels fear to tread. So you may have already guessed that this makes for a year in which your sterling Virgoan virtues of attention to detail and perusal of the fine print will be absolutely invaluable.

24 The Byron Shire Echo DĕćſƖëſƷ Ǯǽ ǩǧǩǫ

MANDY NOLAN’S

LIBRA: Providing you can manage to stay stable and reasonably unspooked by the Dragon year’s dramatic fireworks, your Libran skills of tact and diplomacy – negotiating, conciliating and resolving conflicts – are likely to be in big demand, and you may be a premium peacemaker during this tempestuous year. SCORPIO: The Dragon is a powerful force, but not a subtle one – nor is it cunning, contained or particularly interested in keeping secrets. So, wily ones, if you can direct this tremendous and intense energy towards projects that benefit the greater good, this will definitely be a year to remember. SAGITTARIUS: The direct and forthright Dragon, like your Sagittarian self, operates best when devoted to a goal or working for a committed cause, so this year’s set to keep your inner fires stoked on that special mission or project. Your personal challenge? Staying open to differing or opposing viewpoints.

Everywhere. This hall was a meeting place for people from our entire region. Jonathan knew that. It’s why even when he moved to Singapore and created a comedy scene there, he kept coming back. Corndale Hall Comedy Night was one of my top five gigs, ever, and I’ve performed thousands of gigs over 38 years. Hearing Corndale Hall was gone shocked me. It was hard not to see the death of the hall and the death of my friend as one giant metaphysical tragedy. My friend Jonathan sadly passed on 8 February 2022. Just weeks before the beloved hall where he did his finest work was destroyed. My friend was washed off his stumps too. Cancer has a way of doing that. Suddenly and with cruel ferocity. He was gone so suddenly. We must rebuild Corndale Hall. It is a cultural keystone in our region. It’s a place where magic happened. And when it is rebuilt, I promise to put on a comedy show that would do Jonathan and the old hall proud. My flood reflection is that it is not enough to just rebuild the places where we live and where we gather. We must also rebuild the stories of who we are. Stories that reach back into the history of the loss, but also into the narrative of who we are now, and who we will become. Halls are places where stories are made. Where stories are told. They aren’t just buildings. They are us. CAPRICORN: The Dragon has high standards and thinks big, just like a Capricorn. But it’s also imperious, impetuous and uncontrolled, so if you’re tempted to splash out and take a big risk this year, know that while Dragon fortunes can be enormous, failures could be on a similarly grand scale. AQUARIUS: Like water pourers, the Dragon’s a natural pioneer, innovative and independent, but too headstrong and bent on doing things its own way to be sympathetic or nurturing, making this definitely a year for tempering Aquarian gusto with kindness and humility. Let boldness be your friend, but tread gently. PISCES: Mutable Pisceans could easily get swept up in grandiose Dragon dreams. But be aware that the tidal momentum of this motivational, inspirational year can take you for a glorious ride, or dump you unceremoniously. That said, stay open to facing new opportunities and experiences with grace and determination.