Entertainment COUNTRY music performer, journalist and author Jim Haynes has released a moving tribute to our soldiers who served in World War II with the release of his new book On All Fronts (ABC Books). Jim said: “On all Fronts is a book l had to write. It’s an account of Australia’s participation in World War II, written for all Australians, not just war and history buffs. It looks at Australian involvement in the major theatres of World War II. “l grew up in the aftermath of World War II and wanted to give accurate and simple accounts of the battles as well as glimpses into the human and social impact on Australians. The book attempts to explain to ordinary Aussies what happened and why it was important. On All Fronts rrp $35.00 would make a great gift. Jim is also the author of The ABC Book of Australian Country Music containing more than 250 biographies and photos of country music artists. Jim dedicated his “bible” of country music to Slim Dusty and Smoky Dawson. He covers everything from the international success of Keith Urban and the iconic Aussie status of John Williamson to the spectacular rise
of Kasey Chambers, and lists all the Golden Guitar winners since the beginning of the Country Music Awards of Australia. Jim has written more than 100 published and recorded songs including the novelty hits Don’t Call Wagga Wagga Wagga and Since Cheryl Went Feral. He has also served on the board of the Country Music Association of Australia for more than 12 years. Both books are available now. Some of his best recorded material is available on The Jim Haynes Collection containing 14 funny songs including Cricket out the Back, Since Cheryl Went Feral, Wagga Wagga Honeymoon, Rindercella – A Fairytale, I’ll Have Chips and many more. For more info, www.jimhaynes.net, www.ourcountry.com.au and www. harpercollins.com.au *** ABC Music has released the new Jasmine Rae single Hunky Country Boys, the first single from her forthcoming album Listen Here, the follow-up to her ARIA-nominated album Look It Up. Listen Here, produced in Nashville by Grammy-nominated Australian
with Gary Turner
Above: Jasmine Rae and your columnist.
producer Mark Moffatt, will be released on 4 March. The album is released on the day of her first sold out Arena show with Alan Jackson and Miranda Lambert at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena. I caught up with Jasmine at Bonnie Doon last weekend and she was excited about Tamworth and her new album. We finished the last Planet Country gig for 2010 to a crowd of 1200 people at Bonnie Doon, 170 kilometres from Melbourne. I look forward to hosting the Toyota
Prado Lee Kernaghan and Friends concert at Tamworth in January. For info, www.jasminerea.com.au www.theresmoretocountry.com *** FUNNY man and talented country singer-songwriter Pete Denahy will release his first DVD All You Can Eat directed by Ross Wood and shot in Pete’s hometown Yackandandah, Victoria. It features well known and loved tracks such as the popular Sort of, Dunno, Nothin’, which reached a million hits on YouTube, The Target
forms of gambling. Will they go ahead with the scheme? Not under a Liberal government. Freedom for us to lose at will and for them to get richer and so on. Should they? I can’t see it producing the result they’re after, as in curbing the gambling instincts of the addicted. How about the gambling advertisements on direct telecast football matches? At racetracks – a sport? Who for? Centrebet, online gambling and Betfair. Yeah, very fair – for them. And on it goes, a gambling tsunami. The poker machine problem is but a drop in the ocean. The psychiatrists support the proposal. They would, of course. Professor Patrick McGorry reckons 4.4 million Aussies confront mental illness every year. Numbers, pulled from a rabbit’s hat. Are we the rabbits? “What’s up Doc?” *** TELSTRA is closing its Moe call centre and axing 114 jobs. The good news, so they tell us, is that the Melbourne Docklands and the Philippines call centres will be able to take up the slack. Good old Telstra. And good old Marius Kloppers, the BHP chief executive in announcing
their $11 billion profit. More good news in that Marius and Co are “thinking about” expanding coal operations in the Illawarra, building out Newcastle ports and expanding rail ports in Queensland, not to mention their commitment to Bass Strait oil and gas fields. My heart gladdens for all those phantom Mum and Dad shareholders, none of which I’ve ever met, but I surmise that fresh fruit followed by eggs benedict with a latte would be their breakfast of choice. *** DANIEL Andrews, state Opposition leader, said it would be good for Broadmeadows to have a Labor candidate elected because the Coalition would do “nothing for Broadmeadows, absolutely nothing”. And tell me, Daniel, what did your party do for the Mornington Peninsula during the past 10 years? During “Mr Freeway” John Brumby’s reign, I only had a vague idea of who his deputy was. Not so with Teddy’s lot. The dasher himself, smiling Police Minister Peter Ryan (I think he’s smiling?) is in our faces almost every day. Watch him, Teddy; he adores that camera.
Song, Petrol Head and many others. For info, www.petedenahy.com.au *** CROONER Johnny Mathis, best known for his hits, Chances Are, Wonderful! Wonderful!, and Twelfth of Never, has recorded an album in Nashville called Let it Be Me (Sony). It’s a recording of classic songs such as Let It Be Me with Alison Krauss, Crazy, Southern Nights, Shenandoah, Love Me Tender, Please Help Me I’m Falling and many more including What a Wonderful World (Christmas version). The San Francisco-born Mathis was signed to Columbia Records at age 19 and has been recording since 1956. A legendary career.
A Grain Of Salt THE Ides of March already. Poor old Julius Caesar, stabbed 23 times 2055 years ago this month. For me another birth month – 70! Enough to make a man take stock, if I had any stock to take. They had a 105-year-old Chelsea woman on radio station 774 (Jon Faine) recently, as bright as a button. That same evening on Australian Story an 85-year-old was riding his motorbike around Australia. Does this make me feel young? No! Press on. Birthdays? Yuk! On the other hand, the Rye 150th birthday celebrations were a treat despite the cold weather. I couldn’t help but admire the efforts of all those people involved, young, old, bands and even Clydesdales. Well done. *** THE 17-year-old female in the St Kilda and Ricky Nixon fiasco may well be naive or even predatory, but with St Kilda paying for her accommodation followed by News Limited and the Herald Sun, the whole saga is laced with hypocrisy coming from all forms of the media. Then we have the vitriolic Caroline Wilson from The Age getting stuck into tricky Ricky. Until Sunday night’s
60 Minutes, the teenager couldn’t be identified by name or photographed, so the TV stations show footage of her from behind or in a form of darkness. Mind you, she appears to actively seek publicity. The earthquake must have disappointed her. I love it. Don’t you just love it? *** THE owner of the former Ansett property at Mt Eliza wants to build a fence to privatise the beach area in front of his mansion. Apparently he and his family were frequent witnesses to “full homosexual acts on the beach, which of course can be confronting. I have no idea of the exact location of this beach, nor am I likely to be confronted, nor am I really interested, always assuming they refer to male gays. My “shadow aspect” (look it up) is well under control, due no doubt to my age. *** I’M always doubtful about any new laws, particularly under the guise of what’s good for us. And so it is with the proposal of a compulsory precommitment scheme for pokie players. They’re talking 95,000 problem players (who does the counting?) but no mention of numbers in other
Breast Wishes An Uplifting Musical Theatre Wednesday 16 March @ 8pm, Thursday 17 March @ 1pm* & 8pm
BOX OFFICE cnr Davey and Young Streets Mon to Fri, 9am-5pm; Sat 9am-2pm and one hour prior to ticketed performances.
Mornington News 10 March 2011
cliffie9@bigpond.com
SEE Breast Wishes and WIN Pink Sapphires... Win one of two beautiful pink sapphire rings or gorgeous drop earrings when you see Breast Wishes. Jewellery donated by
“The man in front of me was laughing fit to bust, as were most people of both sexes.” The Australian, May 2009
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Image: 2009 Production Cast
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WHERE did North Melbourne Football Club president James Brayshaw spring from? I quite like the Shinboners, but Brayshaw? He became co-host of The Footy Show, then he kicked aside a good host in Tony Jones on the Sunday Footy Show, then a cricket commentator? He must know someone high up at Channel 9. Let’s face it, his good looks aside, he must be way up there at the top of the list as Australia’s most boring, most bland television persons, ditto Karl Stefanovic. “You should not trust an autobiography that doesn’t reveal something disgusting about its author.” George Orwell People fall in love with what they can’t have.
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Bookings and enquiries: 9784 1060 or www.artscentre.frankston.vic.gov.au Principal Partner
with Cliff Ellen
Tickets: Member $40, Full $51, Conc $47, U26 $26, Matinee $44, Group 10+ $42 ea
* Captioned performance