BMW Marque magazine - Winter 2015

sports stars We take a look at the new X5 M and X6 M

high art The PICA Salon returns and with it some unique collector opportunities

THE AUTO CLASSIC MAGAZINE

WINTER 2015

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CONTENTS MARQUE | THE AUTO CLASSIC MAGAZINE | WINTER EDITION

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WELCOME TO MARQUE MAGAZINE

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his winter issue of MQ is packed to the brim with ideas of how to make the most of the cooler months, from taking a drive down south to sample menus (and wine lists) of some of our best wineries, to inspiring contemporary art with a philanthropic focus (the PICA Salon 2015), and even a trip to the sunnier side of the world with a guide to LA’s top five hotels.

As usual, it’s been full steam ahead here at Auto Classic. We’ve hosted some spectacular events at our showroom over the last few months, including an exclusive rosé Champagne degustation with the Champagne Dame and we are looking forward to the glamorous WA launch for Miss World Australia in mid-June, of which we are a proud partner.

There is also a range of new models on the horizon for our customers. We preview the BMW 1 Series LCI and the sporty BMW X5 M and X6 M, and the incredibly spacious BMW 2 Series Active Tourer blows Matthew Mills away.

We meet long-time BMW 2002 collector, Colin Clarke, who shares his love for the vintage model and we shine a light on our much-admired Service Centre through a Personal Tour with Service Technician, Jay Jensen.

There are BMW accessories, property and design ideas, fishing, and even a sneak peek at Wimbledon 2015 through the eyes of a past Australian champion, Geoff Masters, to mention just a few.

Settle down, rug up and enjoy these winter months and we hope to welcome you soon to Auto Classic’s showroom.

52 12 .................. MQ TIPS

he hottest shows, events, travel T ideas and talent around

18................. WHEN IN...

14 WISH LIST A BMW/MINI umbrella for every occasion

Margs, we suggest you go to the Willy Bay Resort

20................ MQ HEALTH

Try your hand at yoga of the

hottest kind

22................ WATCH WATCH

Swiss masters Zenith celebrate 150

years

24................ MQ SPORT

A sneek peak at Wimbledon

28................ LET'S GO TO ...

Rome, the eternal city

30................ MQ PEOPLE

Glenn Martin, inventor of the

Martin Jet Pack

34................ MQ REVIEW

BMW 2 Series Active Tourer

38................ MQ INTERIORS

A look inside the Guildford Hotel

redesign

86

40............... MQ TRAVEL

Darrin Brandon Dealer Principal, Auto Classic

MINISTRY OF FOOD Chef super-star Jamie Oliver talks about his seven deadly sins.

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local’s guide to Bristol, England’s A most important port city

44

MQ TRAVEL

Five Los Angeles hotels for your

bucket list

44 BMW

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MQ PREVIEW

BMW X5 M & X6 M

52................. MQ THIRST

Organic winemaker Blind Corner is primed for the big time

56................ MQ PERFORMANCE

John Frost, Australia’s leading impresario

58................ MQ COVER

The BMW 1 Series has had a makeover

60................ MY MQ

Miss World Australia’s Margy Hegney-Hall marries her two favourite brands

64 .............. MQ APPETITE

70................ MQ PROPERTY 72................ MQ DEBUT

Northbridge’s latest addition, The Alex Hotel

74................ PERSONAL TOUR

Inside the Auto Classic

Service Centre

76................ MQ R&R

Deep-sea fishing in WA

80................ MQ CLASSIC 82................ MQ CULTURE

Pica Salon 2015

85................ MQ BUSINESS CLASS

68................ MQ EVENT

86

The Champagne Dame

Air New Zealand

MQ LAST WORD

Jamie Oliver

Published by Premium Publishers, Freemasons House, 181 Roberts Road, Subiaco WA 6008.

THE AUTO CLASSIC MAGAZINE

Ph (08) 9273 8933 W premiumpublishers. com.au

58

BMW 2002

Three of Margaret River’s

finest chefs

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Boutique builder Averna Homes

Acting Publisher/Editor Kami Ramini | kami@premiumpublishers.com.au Editorial Director Gabi Mills | gabi@premiumpublishers.com.au Art Director Cally Browning | cally@barecreative.com.au Contributors Paul Blank, Norman Burns, Scott Coghlan, Matthew Mills, Gill Pringle, Mal Rogers, Geoffrey Thomas Images Crib Creative, Freedom Garvey, Matt Jelonek Sales Natalie Du Preez | natalie@premiumpublishers.com.au

Lisa Fisher | lisa@premiumpublishers.com.au

Gloria Karageorge | gloria@premiumpublishers.com.au

Chris Le Messurier | chris@premiumpublishers.com.au

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PREMIUM PUBLISHERS

TIPS

The hottest shows, the best new innovations, travel inspiration and performance events

SUIT UP If walking, running or cycling to work is your thing or you prefer to travel light, the Henty Wingman may just turn out to be your new travelling companion.

Designed by two Aussie friends who were getting fed up with cycling to work and having to iron their crumbled suits when they got there, the Henty Wingman rollable backpack presents a way of suiting up once you arrive,

MISSION ACCEPTED High speed, high tech, and high excitement as BMW and BMW Motorrad take pole position in the upcoming Paramount Pictures’ movie, Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation.

BMW will be taking to the big screen once again as the exclusive worldwide automotive partner of the next installment of Paramount Pictures’ legendary action film franchise, Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, in cinemas from July 31. This is the second time BMW has “accepted the mission” to lend its superior technological support for the production of breathtaking automotive stunt scenes. BMW previously partnered with Paramount on the 2011 film, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol.

The film’s official trailer offers fans a first glimpse of the high-adrenaline action that only Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his Impossible Mission Force (IMF) team can deliver – including spectacular driving scenes where the new BMW M3 is put through its paces. Its renowned high performance capabilities made the fifth generation M3 sports car the perfect choice to perform precision driving sequences, the likes of which have never been seen before.

The M division’s philosophy and dynamic design leaves no doubt about the M3’s motorsport genes, while the BMW Motorrad S 1000 RR motorbike, which is also seen in the film trailer, represents the ultimate performance on two wheels.

BMW ConnectedDrive, which offers uniquely intelligent connectivity between driver, car and environment, was always

on hand for the IMF team as they travelled around the globe. This highly innovative system also offers enhanced safety and driving comfort in real life, with features such as camera and driving assistance systems playing an important role.

“We are delighted to again be a part of one of the most exciting action film franchises in movie history,” said Ian Robertson, member of the board of management for BMW AG, responsible for sales and marketing BMW. “Dynamic performance and BMW Connected-Drive make our BMW models the perfect cars for Ethan Hunt and his team, who use the vehicles’ groundbreaking functions and cutting-edge technology to make sure the good guys come out on top. The BMW M3 combines motorsport DNA with everyday practicality in an emotionally powerful concept quite unlike any other car.”

Look out for Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation in cinemas from July 31. Find the official film trailer at bit.ly/1AxPDmN

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without those awkward creases or, worse still, having to get the iron out at your journey's end.

The compact design has both a suit/dress bag in its inner compartment and a gym and/ or overnight bag in the outer layer, as well as having enough room for your laptop or tablet.

The inner bag rolls into a tubular shape of about 25cm, fitting comfortably into overhead compartments on airplanes or across your back for those sporty commutes, while the shape is maintained by PVC ribs that run the length of the bag, so it won’t collapse in on itself and will hold garments in place. Less movement means less creases, according to designers.

The Henty Wingman also comes with a hivis waterproof rain jacket, an adjustable shoulder strap and reflective piping for additional visibility after dark among many other features.

Th e Henty Wingman is available in two sizes, compact and standard. RRP $199 available online from henty.cc. A double-strap version specifically for runners, the Wingman Backpack, is also available through henty.cc for $239.

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DRIVING THE WALLABIES There’s another reason to get excited about the upcoming rugby union season kicking off in July, as BMW has recently been announced as the official vehicle sponsor of the Wallabies and Australian Rugby Union.

The multi-year sponsorship agreement will see BMW as the driving force behind our Aussie players, further strengthening the marque’s international presence on the rugby field, with similar partnerships already in place in England, France and South Africa.

Green machine T

BMW Group Australia general manager of marketing, Stuart Jaffray, confirmed that the partnership was designed to expand the brand’s interaction with the popular sport.

he BMW i8 sports car with pathbreaking overall concept has won BMW its second consecutive World Green Car Award at the prestigious World Car Awards, leading the way in hybrid drive technology and lightweight construction.

For the second consecutive year, BMW clinched victory at the World Car Awards in the category World Green Car. Following the success of the purely electrically driven BMW i3 last year, the BMW i8 won the prestigious award at the New York International Auto Show in early April.

The sports car’s combination of groundbreaking plug-in hybrid drive technology and innovative lightweight construction together with its avant-garde design was honoured by the international jury at the World Car Awards. The BMW i8 was also one of the finalists in the category World Luxury Car, thereby underlining its special position.

“I am delighted to accept this award on behalf of the team in Munich," said BMW’s Dr Ian Robertson speaking at the award ceremony in New York.

“The BMW i8 represents the future with its unique lightweight construction and unrivalled connectivity. To win this award for the second year in a row shows that our BMW i products are truly leading the world.”

The BMW i8 is the first plug-in hybrid vehicle manufactured by the BMW Group.

It combines the performance of a sports car with the fuel consumption and emission

figures of a subcompact vehicle. The BMW i8 can be driven up to 37km under electric power alone, accelerate in the style of a purebred sports car and yet its average consumption is that of a subcompact car.

Its 1.5L three-cylinder petrol engine, equipped with BMW TwinPower Turbo technology, is combined with an electric motor and the battery can be charged at a charging station, but also using a conventional power outlet or simply while driving.

It’s system performance is pretty outstanding too. The BMW i8 boasts a system performance of 266 kW/362 hp and it accelerates in just 4.4 seconds to 100 km/h from a standing start (combined fuel consumption: 2.1 l/100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 49 g/km)*.

The extensive use of innovative materials, as well as the i8’s energy-efficient production processes also underline the overall, future-oriented concept. The optional laser headlights and the services developed specifically for electro mobility by the BMW ConnectedDrive team are further proof of the progressive direction taken by the BMW i8.

The i8 is the third BMW to clinch the sought-after World Green Car award, the first being the BMW 118d in 2008, which represented the BMW EfficientDynamics development strategy. * Consumption values are based on the ECE test cycle and are dependent on the selected tyre size.

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“BMW Australia’s partnership with the Wallabies cements our position as a true automotive partner of the sport, now in four countries around the world.

“And the synergy between the two organisations is fantastic - combining passion and performance both on and off the field, with two of Australia’s most prominent brands,” Jaffray said.

The Wallabies kick start the season in July against South Africa and with the ultimate driving force behind both teams, it is set to be a nail-biting contest.

Watch the Rugby World Cup on Foxtel.

MQ TIPS

WISH LIST Do your best Gene Kelly impression this winter with a top of the range umbrella for every occasion from our in-house BMW collection.

GOLFSPORT UMBRELLA | $119 Sports umbrella with automatic quick-opening function. An ultra-lightweight yet sturdy fibreglass frame ensures excellent handling and durability.

Highlight: a dual canopy which prevents the umbrella from inverting when exposed to high winds. Ergonomically shaped, water-repellent hard foam handle with BMW logo on the underside. Light-reflecting silvercoloured inner canopy.

Outer canopy: 100 per cent polyester Span: 135cm Inner canopy: Silver-coloured PU coating

MOTORSPORT UMBRELLA | $55 This large walking-stick umbrella combines excellent stability with powerful Motorsport looks. The red, plastic-coated steel frame with fibreglass stretchers can withstand even strong gusts of wind.

Highlight: rubberised handle with a tyre-style design and a three-dimensional BMW logo on the underside. Protective sleeve with carry strap included.

Shaft: Steel with plastic coating Stretchers: Fibreglass Handle: ABS, rubber-coated Canopy: 100 per cent polyester pongee

MINI UMBRELLA | $69 An umbrella and walking stick in one. Handle in the style of the MINI gearshift lever.

Highlight: opens automatically – at the touch of a button. Black with white MINI wordmark.

Diameter: 105cm Length: 85cm

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THE EMERALD CITY IT'S THE MOST awarded new musical of the decade and there is less than a month left to see it, so if you haven’t yet bagged tickets to Wicked at Crown Theatre, now is the time.

Departing our shores at the end of June, the multi-million dollar broadway spectacular is playing in all its emerald glory at Crown Theatre in the final leg of the 10th anniversary tour in Australia.

“This will be your last chance to see it in Australia for years to come,” says executive producer Bernadette Hayes.

Awe-inspiring and spectacular, Wicked tells the other side of that much-loved musical The Wizard of Oz, showcasing the largely untold story of the witches of Oz. Long before Dorothy dropped in, two other girls meet in the land of Oz. One, born with emerald-green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular.

Wicked tells the enthralling story of two unlikely friends and how they became the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.

Wicked, Crown Perth, until June 28. Visit ticketek.com.au or wickedthemusical.com.au for tickets and more information.

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WEST AUSTRALIAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

WASO 2015*

Passionate concerts to warm you in winter MACA LIMITED CLASSICS SERIES

CARMINA BURANA Fri 19 & Sat 20 June 7.30pm Perth Concert Hall Mammoth orchestral forces, soloists and chorus bring Carl Orff’s epic blockbuster to life. The themes of Orff’s spectacular choral pageant Carmina burana are timeless, full of raw power and uninhibited passion. Tickets from $55*

THE ROMANTIC CELLO

DIANA DOHERTY

MOZART p la ys

MORNING SYMPHONY SERIES

MACA LIMITED CLASSICS SERIES

Thurs 2 July 11am

Fri 3 & Sat 4 July 7.30pm

Perth Concert Hall

Perth Concert Hall

WASO’s Principal Cello Rod McGrath takes centre stage to perform Saint-Saëns’ Second Cello Concerto, a work of virtuosic brilliance and uniquely French lyricism.

Tickets from $27*

Conductor Vladimir Verbitsky leads the Orchestra in this concert filled with drama and passion.

WASO’s Principal Cello Rod McGrath performs Saint-Saëns’ Second Cello Concerto.

Tickets from $30*

MACA LIMITED CLASSICS SERIES

DIANA DOHERTY PLAYS MOZART Fri 31 July & Sat 1 August 7.30pm Perth Concert Hall Australia’s favourite oboist, Diana Doherty, joins WASO to perform Mozart’s vivacious, sparkling Oboe Concerto. Tickets from $30*

ALCOHOL.THINK AGAIN MASTERS SERIES

Buy 3 or more concerts through WASO and save up to 20%*!

BOOK NOW

SIMONE YOUNG CONDUCTS FAURE’S REQUIEM Fri 7 & Sat 8 August 7.30pm Perth Concert Hall Internationally acclaimed Australian conductor Simone Young leads WASO and the WASO Chorus in Fauré’s timeless choral masterpiece.

Tickets from $45*

Call 9326 0000 quoting 1192 Visit waso.com.au or ticketek.com.au

Simone Young appears courtesy of Lepley Properties.

*Transaction fees may apply. No discount for Premium, C and D Reserve and Choir Stalls.

MQ TIPS

Heirloom kitchen

RULES

MY CITY

BRAD COHEN Artistic Director of the West Australian Opera Born and raised in Sydney and now based in Oxford in the UK, Brad Cohen enjoys Perth as his home away from home and a city which brings great inspiration as the centrepiece to his work.

Perth is full of places and hideouts to discover, and for me its beauty comes from its diversity - on a river, by the coast, with summits and outlooks. There is a sense of expanse, vertically and horizontally, erth was just a name to me for my early years - I which opens my spirit each time I was a Sydneysider and the west seemed very am there. distant. But now Perth has become core to my I am writing this looking out over work as Artistic Director of West Australian Opera, an Oxford garden on an early summer and I have been coming regularly as a guest to the city morning, when England is at its since 2000. most beautiful. But Perth’s beauty is I’m a keen cyclist and swimmer, so the city and of a different kind - frank, primary, surroundings are the perfect arena for early morning open - and as a stage for events like rides - over the Northbridge Plaza to Beatty Park for Opera in the Park, where this year some morning lengths in the outdoor pool (always we performed The Barber of Seville a good place to meet festival directors), then round to 20,000 patrons, can’t be beaten.

Kings Park for a ride and a coffee. Beatty Park, The combination of ‘high art’ like newly refreshed, is one of Perth’s great glories I opera with the beautiful outdoors can think - and describing my backstroke lengths in the be a powerful blend, combining two outdoor pool, under that beautiful azure Perth sky, different sensibilities in an experience to European artists gets me a lot of envious looks. which is simultaneously emotional I’ve got relatives in Fremantle, so I regularly and physical. ride down along the Swan or out to Cottesloe to When I was growing up in visit them. North to Hillarys Boat Harbour or up Sydney, I thought that music and to Scarborough, south to Freo, with the salt wind the great outdoors didn’t mix, blowing and the Indian Ocean on my side - that’s that I would have to decide. What what I think of when I am away from Perth.

Perth has shown me is seeing how But it’s not all about the exercise - I love food intertwined these two aspects can and coffee, and Golden King BBQ in Northbridge is become in the life of a city. one of my private haunts for noodles and BBQ pork.

I want to take West Australian Kakulas Brothers provides me with my steel-cut oats, Opera outdoors, to the quarry, the out of their tubs and dippers - they are unique and beach and the park - to give more of a real flavour of Perth. And Lowdown coffee, just this special blend to Perth audiences. near His Majesty’s Theatre, keep me going between And I hope the next few years will rehearsals and performances - the finest coffee and enable us to do this. the beardiest baristas known to man!

P

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AS PART OF his consultancy with Perth’s five-star Fraser Suites, TV chef and healthy eating ambassador Pete Evans has designed a spectacular five-course lunch and six-course dinner grazing menu for the hotel’s Heirloom Restaurant, available to guests and visitors alike throughout the winter months.

The multiple course menu is designed to invite diners to sample an array of fresh, seasonal and locally produced food in an ultra-refined setting.

In keeping with Pete Evans’ food philosophies, the menu features seasonal, organic and local produce showcasing local WA growers, like Kununurra watermelons, Mt Barker free range chicken and Dandaragan organic beef.

At the time of writing, mouth-watering dishes include slow-cooked market fish with tahini, walnuts, roasted beetroot and fennel and Sicilian braised vegetables with pine nuts, raisins, capers and gremolata. And as the five-star treatment would suggest, guests are offered a glass of sparkling on arrival.

The lunch menu is $49.95 per person and available Monday to Friday. The dinner menu is $69 per person and available seven nights a week. For more information and current menus, visit heirloomperth.com.au

BLACK GOLD

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inter is upon us and with it come those home-grown nuggets of earthy, musky goodness, ready to be hunted out under the trees in our Southern Forests. It’s truffle season and another fantastic reason to leave the city behind and take your BMW for a ride Manjimup-bound, for some well-deserved R n R and a truffle delight or two.

The Truffle Kerfuffle festival, which annually marks the start of our truffle season, will once again be taking place at the historic Fonty’s Pool in the Southern Forests from Friday 26 to Sunday 28 June, kicking off with the Hunt and Harvest gala dinner on the

Friday evening.

The Hunt and Harvest gala dinner will showcase local produce over a five-course menu, prepared by a number of Australia's and WA’s most-loved chefs, including Matthew Evans (Gourmet Farmer) and David Coomer (Pata Negra), Sophie Budd (Taste Budds Cooking Studio), Scott Bridger (Bib & Tucker, May St. Larder) and Kenny McHardy (Due South).

Think roaring winter fires and delicious truffle-inspired goodies, as well as the option of purchasing add-on experiences including lunch events, truffle hunts at local truffieres and masterclasses with some of WA’s top chefs.

MUSIC OF THE MASTERS THE WEST AUSTRALIAN Symphony Orchestra (WASO) will be welcoming oboist, Diana Doherty, to the Perth stage in July with her performance of arguably one of the most important works in the oboe repertoire, Mozart's enchanting Oboe Concerto in C Major.

Born and raised in Brisbane, Diana is currently principal oboist with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and will be performing in Perth for two nights only, on Friday July 31 and Saturday August 1.

Diana has appeared as a soloist throughout the world and performed in numerous festivals to international acclaim, winning prizes at the International Lyceum Club Competition, the International Chamber Music Competition in Martigny and the Prague Spring Festival Competition.

The WASO program, on this occasion, will be conducted

by Australian Nicholas Carter, who has recently been

TRUFFLE KERFUFFLE Southern Forests Food Festival from Friday, June 26 to Sunday, June 28 from 10am to 4pm, at Fonty’s Pool, 699 Seven Day Road, Manjimup.

WEEKEND PASS $20/25 (advance/door - adult); $7.50/10 (advance/ door - under 18s).

SUNDAY ONLY $10 (adult, under 18s free).

HUNT AND HARVEST GALA DINNER on Friday, June 26. Tickets $230 and are on sale now. and include a weekend pass to the festival.

For more information, visit trufflekerfuffle.com.au

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appointed principal conductor of the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra for 2016, and will also include Haydn's Symphony No. 22 The Philosopher and Elgar elab. and Anthony Payne Symphony No. 3.

Diana Doherty Plays Mozart will be at the Perth Concert Hall at 7.30pm on Friday, July 31 and Saturday, August 1, 2015. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit waso.com.au

AUTOCLASSIC.COM.AU

WHEN IN...

when in

MARGARET RIVER we go to ...

WILLY BAY RESORT Metricup Road It’s par for the course to fall in love in Margaret River. Don’t come if you’re not up for a bit of full on passion, that’s my advice.

Of course you don’t have to fall in love with a person - it could be that you fall hard for a scoop of Simmo’s ice cream, or the vistas you spy during twilight ride on the back of a pony or, as in my case, the view from my Willy Bay Resort chalet, early one morning in March.

As dawn’s rosy fingers crept above the horizon, my Vineyard View chalet stole my heart and made this early riser particularly happy not to have snoozed through the whole experience.

The vineyard was bathed in an extraordinary light, golden, refreshing, and entirely peaceful. It was so completely different from my usual early morning routine (slow car commute along the West Coast highway to Subi) that I could have burst into song.

Thankfully for the local wildlife, I didn’t, but even if I had, the serenity of the moment would not have been ruined. Willy Bay is a very special place indeed, but don’t come here expecting an actual bay it’s landlocked (apart from the lake in front of the reception area). If a seaside sojurn is what you crave for the day, don’t worry - there are plenty of other powder white sand bays nearby, of course, which do indeed live up to their name, MARQUE WINTER

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By Gabi Mills

including Bunker Bay and Smith’s Beach over on the Indjidup side of the region.

For me though, I wanted my stay to be all about the township of Margaret River and its vineyards, so opting to stay at Willy Bay was the perfect solution.

The familiar drive down south took me away from my usual Dunsborough turn-off towards Margaret River instead on the Bussell Highway, an easy extra half an hour down the road. I drove on to Margs itself and stocked up on gourmet snacks from the entirely loveable local deli, The Pantry (they put together picnics for local concerts at Leeuwin and Sandalford), as well as a useful stop off at the Settler’s Tavern for a bite to eat.

Then it was back down the highway, past Cowaramup and onto Metricup Road with its stellar collection of wineries so familir to those of us with a passion for WA labels. Evans and Tate, Sandalford Wines, Fermoy Estate - they’re all within this blessed section of the region, and the well-named Celestial Bay vineyard is closest to Willy Bay itself. You’re also a stone’s throw from big hitters like Vasse Felix, Voyager Estate and Xanadu, and exploring

AUTOCLASSIC.COM.AU

the Caves Road bunch of producers is easy too - the Bussell Highway connects to this wine-rich area.

Picking up keys to the chalet, I follow the little winding road up to its front door and, once inside, am just stunned by the beauty of the place. Jarrah woods surround the property and there’s a fair bit of jarrah inside too. There’s top of the range Miele appliances in the generously proportioned open plan kitchen, with stone benchtops, travertine marble floors and a truly stunning bathroom with combined spas and showers. The enormous bath is just the ticket after a serious day of winery exploration, while the living area and bedroom are too good to be true in terms of comfort levels. And then there’s the private verandah and, yes, that loveinducing view.

It’s not hard to see why the resort is popular as a wedding venue, with bridal parties booking the whole place out for their guests to stay and enjoy the festivities without having to move further than from their chalets to the lakeside ceremony spot. In addition to the vineyard chalets, there are also lake view and forest view chalets, accommodating larger groups and families, with the additional wow factor of cosy fires for

SANCTUARY Willy Bay Resort has everything you need for some quality R n R.

chilly winter breaks.

It’s so quiet, so incredibly peaceful that I wake in the night wondering if I’ve slipped into a parallel universe where no clocks tick, no children mutter in their sleep and the fridge

doesn’t buzz annoyingly (like they all do at my house). But no. It’s fine.

I’m just safely curled up in Willy Bay’s perfectly quiet embrace. And then it’s morning, and I’m so glad to be awake and at this exact point on the earth’s surface that I think how fortunate it is to be pulling open my verandah French window on a morning right here, right now, with just a steaming mug of tea, the birds of the jarrah forests and the sunshine for company. MQ Visit willybayresort.com.au for details.

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HEALTH

HOT STUFF It mightn’t be for the faint-hearted, but if you can make it through your first bikram yoga class, chances are the benefits will have you going back for more. By Kami Ramini. Images by Crib Creative.

I

t is hot. No, really hot. And I like the heat and thought my nearly 10 years spent living in Rome would have prepared me for my fair share of humidity, but this is something else altogether.

I am about 20 minutes into my first ever bikram yoga class at Bikram Yoga Victoria Park and I am fighting the incredible, almost carnal urge inside me to take the three or four steps to that door on my right and gasp in the fresh air I know is on the other side of it.

The only thing stopping me are the words of Antonella, the teacher, who told me and Pak, the other new guy, that all we have to manage for this first class is to not leave the room.

Starting out, it sounded like a pretty easy goal. Now? Not so much.

For those who don’t know much about bikram - like me, before I signed up for this gig - it’s one of the most regimented yoga practices there is and really leaves no room for interpretation by the instructor. To be able to call itself bikram, it has to be a 90-minute practice, covering the same 26 postures in the same order, in 40-degree heat and 40 per cent humidity and incorporating two breathing exercises.

It may just sound like a whole host of numbers but believe me, once you get in there, the numbers matter.

The instructors also learn a kind of script which they recite during the class, so, unlike some other

yoga disciplines I’ve pratised, the teacher isn’t actually doing it with you, but instead verbally instructing at an incredible pace and walking the room, correcting students in action.

I can instantly spot the wellseasoned bikram-ites in the room.

They are hot and sweaty like the rest of us, but are effortlessly moving between postures almost simultaneously to Antonella’s words, confident in the order of things in this room, knowing exactly what is coming next.

Owner Hannah Gillette took over ownership of Bikram Yoga Victoria Park in December last year, having practised bikram for over six years, after going along to her first class as a bit of fun with the girls.

“I was working as a flight attendent and got chatting with some of the other girls about it. It just sounded like some sort of crazy yoga in 40-degree heat,” she laughs.

“To be honest, I didn’t expect much because I’d always been into high cardio exercise, but I was blown away at how hard it made me work and just fell in love with it.”

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then went through the rigorous nine-week teacher training program, in which would-be teachers practise bikram twice a day, six days a week and learn hands-on how to teach and practice to allow for every imaginable circumstance.

“I don’t think people realise just what you have to do in order to be a bikram instructor - not only do you have to do a lot of practice yourself but you also have to learn about how to teach people with all kinds of injuries or special circumstances,” Hannah says.

“What I would say to anyone looking to start practising bikram is to make sure the studio you use only employs qualified instructors and practises in the traditional way.”

Antonella, our instructor, is one of Bikram Yoga Vic Park’s travelling instructors, hailing originally from Argentina and currently on a teaching tour of Australia.

She spent six weeks teaching at Victoria Park before moving on to a studio in Melbourne.

Back in the class, I am still repeating Antonella’s first words like a mantra. Other words of wisdom to the whole class at the start were that if we feel light-headed, too hot, or uncomfortable in any way, just to stand still, kneel or even lie if we need to - but not to leave the room.

Just stay in the room. Just stay in the room.

I don’t know how long it has been but we have been

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doing standing postures for what seems like an eternity and I have spent a good chunk of the last section on my knees, concentrating on my breathing. Thankfully, I don’t feel silly or unfit or anything like that, because in the spacious studio about five of the 15 participants regularly take timeouts in one way or another and, somehow, I can just feel that there is no judging.

The demographic in the room is incredibly varied. It’s nearly 50:50 men and women, ranging in age from about early 20s to mid-70s, with the super nimble, beautifully sculpted and scarcily dressed in the front row, and the less adept, slightly puffier participants in the back row alongside me. All of us have our eyes firmly on the mirror in front and are listening intently to Antonella, who is giving posture and breathing instructions at the pace of a racehorse commentator.

Legs hip distance apart, something, something, deep breath, suck in your stomach and [clap] do something else and [clap] switch and do something else.

To be honest, I’m listening as well as I can to Antonella but I am losing

a few of the words because I am fixated on the incredibly lithe, almost super-human guy dressed only in speedos at the very front who is so fluid and perfect in his movements; it’s like watching some sort of supercharged ballet dancer in training.

Hannah had told me during our pre-class chat to wear what I felt most comfortable in but that generally people wore as little as possible - so bra top and shorts or just shorts for men - because of the heat.

At the time, I thought my stockstandard three-quarter legging and vest top would do just fine, but by half-way through with sweat dripping down my nose, chin, shoulders, knees - I didn’t even know knees could sweat - I have rolled my leggings up into shorts and my vest into a crop-top and still feel like I’m wearing too much.

What I also feel is that despite my discomfort, with the heat and humidity I am managing to extend and hold postures far better than I do normally.

My triangle is longer and stronger, my tree pose is steady, and by the third round of balance poses, I am holding my leg out in front of me, clasping onto my big toe, my knee and back

almost completely straight. It is a first for me in over six years of on-and-off yoga practice and I feel chuffed.

Hannah’s words are coming back to me: “It takes some getting used to but it gets easier each time you come back,” she said. “The heat means you can work deeper because your muscles are warmer, you have less chance of injury too because of that, and the sweating promotes T-cell function.

Your body goes through a detox because of the heat.”

Thankfully, the standing pose section comes to an end and the rest of the class is sitting and laying poses, which are much easier to deal with. I manage to (almost) keep up, sitting out a few poses to relax and breathe in childs’ pose or laying flat on my back, hugging my knees and taking a mental re-group followed by a large chug of water.

By the end, when Antonella encourages us to lay a few minutes in savasana (lying flat) and let our bodies recharge and re-energise after our work-out, that desperate need to run has fallen by the wayside and I’m OK to lie a few extra minutes in the heat. Antonella’s turned the vents off now anyway and I can feel the humidity slowly slipping out under the door.

I feel light, slim, stretched, strong, pumped with energy and incredibly satisfied with my resolve. I think I might actually like to do this again, after a lot of water and a cool shower, that is.

Hannah said the best thing to do is practice as many times in the first 10 days as possible, and come back the very next day if I can. She’s teaching the 6.15pm tomorrow, so I guess I’ll be back for round two. MQ Bikram Yoga Victoria Park has a special introductory offer of 10 days unlimited yoga for $20. For more information and the class timetable, visit bikramvicparkperth.com.au

IN ACTION Paticipants move in unison at Bikram Yoga Victoria Park.

Opposite, Hannah Gilette.

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WATCHWATCH By Norman Burns

STAR PERFORMER

What do aviation pioneer Louis Bleriot, India’s great Mahatma Gandhi and the Rolling Stones have in common? They all wore - or wear - timepieces from Swiss watchmaking pioneer Zenith, which celebrates its 150th anniversary this year. By Norman Burns Images courtesy Zenith

Z

enith is probably the world’s best unknown high-end watch brand. Apart from watch cognoscenti, chances are Zenith - and its considerable horological achievements - have slipped under the radar of the general public.

But with 2015 marking the Swiss brand’s 150th anniversary, a new CEO at the helm, and a remarkable legacy to draw on, a new era is looming for the brand’s “guiding star”.

Founded in Switzerland’s Le Locle in 1865 by watchmaker Georges Favre-Jacot, aged just 22, today Zenith is part of the LVMH luxury goods group – which also includes the likes of Hublot, TAG Heuer and Bulgari watch brands. It is, however, a full manufacture - a term which means Zenith designs and manufactures all components for the models in its range.

Indeed, such is the quality of Zenith watch movements it has even supplied them to rival brands.

Producing your own mechanical watch movement is considered the pinnacle in the business, and Zenith has been one of the best at it for the past century and a half. Since 1903, the brand has won more than 1,500 awards for timekeeping accuracy and reliability.

Its El Primero chronograph “engine”, first produced in 1969 – although in development since the early 1960s – is still a mainstay of many of Zenith’s models. The El Primero was one of the first automatic chronograph movements and ticks away at 36,000 vibrations per hour (VPH). Why is this so noteworthy? Well, the high frequency enables greater accuracy, in this case – timekeeping to an astonishing tenth of a second.

New CEO Aldo Magada, who formerly headed Breitling, has a clear vision for the brand - one that means sticking to its traditional strengths.

Zenith may be getting smarter with

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its advertising, sponsorship and worldwide marketing, for example, but that won’t include any ‘smart’ watches anytime soon, according to Magada. As he told International Trade News: “We will never compete with digital or connected watches because it’s not our segment. And our mission is different; Zenith is one of the few manufacturers in Switzerland. We are not living in the past but we are living on mechanical watches. We innovate each year, with new materials, systems and different approaches.”

For Zenith, producing ‘disconnected’ watches based on 150 years’ of craftsmanship and watchmaking nous is its ace in the pack. With dozens of variants and limited editions under various families such as Pilot, Academy, El Primero and Star, Zenith has something for everyone. MQ See zenith.com for more. Zenith watches are available from Hardy Brothers, Shop 107, Hay St Mall, Perth, Tel. (08) 6318 1000.

Such is the quality of Zenith watch movements it has even supplied them to rival brands.

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Watchwatch checks out four of the best EL PRIMERO CHRONOMASTER 1969 Rolling Stone $11,300 (steel) Classic Swiss watchmaking meets classic rock ‘n’ rollers - an unlikely pairing, perhaps, but evidence that Zenith isn’t afraid to think outside the box when it comes to marketing with this chronograph tribute to band The Rolling Stones. With the iconic Stones’ tongue logo taking centre stage on the dial, the sporty looking 1969 Chronomaster (42mm, 50-hour power reserve) ticks away to the precise beat of the El Primero 4061 automatic movement (visible through an opening at 9 o’clock). Also available in rose gold case.

ZENITH STAR OPEN

$30,500 (rose gold, diamond bezel only)

ACADEMY GEORGES FAVRE-JACOT $94,900 This stunning ‘haute horology’ piece (just 150 available worldwide) showcases Zenith’s watchmaking prowess, paying tribute to founder Georges Favre-Jacot and celebrates the brand’s 150th anniversary this year. The venerable El Primero 4810 hand-wound movement powers the watch, beautifully presented in an 18-carat rose gold case. Inside, the movement incorporates fusee and chain mechanism, a 300-year-old design aimed at ensuring precision in a mechanical watch. It took Zenith’s boffins two years of research to figure out how to incorporate the system (with an incredible 575 parts) into the tiny space of a wristwatch.

Zenith says this watch is “an anthem to femininity” and you’d have to agree it is one of the most striking women’s watches on the market. The heart-shaped “window” on the dial reveals the fascinating workings of the automatic El Primero 4062 movement. Of course what really catches the eye of most women is the dazzling array of brilliant-cut diamonds around the cushion-shaped case (the rose gold version has 263 totalling 1.57 carats).

ZENITH EL PRIMERO DOUBLEMATIC $36,700 (rose gold) The trusty El Primero movement is again at the heart of this 45mmdiameter rose gold beauty, the perfect travellers’ companion with its world city and 24-hour dual-time display, an alarm, plus chronograph functions.

Night-time viewing while snoozing in business class is a breeze too, with the Arabic numerals made entirely out of glow-in-the-dark SuperLuminova.

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SPORT

FIRST AMONG EQUALS Break out the Pimm’s, the strawberries and cream, and the umbrellas - it’s time for Wimbledon, the unofficial “world” championship of tennis. And who better to get an insight into this hallowed temple of grass court glory, than Australia’s Geoff Masters, who won four grand slam doubles titles - including Wimbledon - and a US Open mixed crown during his 11-year career on the pro circuit. Now living and coaching on the Gold Coast, Masters will also be working as a TV commentator for The Championships 2015.

By Norman Burns. Images Courtesy of the All England Lawn Tennis Club

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IMAGE AELTC MATTHIAS HANGST

by the num 378 MILLION 290 MILLION

3,391,706.28

Norman Burns Why does Wimbledon hold such a special place for (most) pro tennis players? After all, it is a rather stuffy restrictive environment compared to all the other tournaments.

Geoff Masters Wimbledon has changed significantly in the “Open” era (prior to 1968 it was open to amateurs only). It had been rather stuffy, and seemingly more centred around the officials than the players, but it has changed considerably. The environment is unique (a leafy outer suburb as opposed to the purposebuilt arenas of the other ‘Slams’).

The grass courts of course, as well as the ivy covered walls, and the “predominantly white” rule add to the history, charm and mystique of the place, along with the much talked about “tradition”!

The players’ needs are very much considered these days, as are those of former players, with Wimbledon being the first of the Grand Slams to provide a lifetime of tournament attendance via their

GRASS COURT above, Wimbledon in action.

Below, 2014 womens' champion Petra Kvitova (Czech Republic).

“Last 8 Club” - any player having reached the last eight of the singles, or last four of the doubles events receive attendance passes every year thereafter. Wimbledon (called The Championships) is still regarded by any serious player as the most prestigious event to win.

NB Who is the greatest Wimbledon champion and why?

GM The greatest champion is of course almost impossible to

- prize money, in Australian dollars, the men’s and women’s singles winners each receive

230,000

- glasses of Pimm’s served during the tournament

142,000

- portions of strawberries served at 2012 event (along with 7,000 litres of fresh cream)

54,250

- number of balls used in The Championships fortnight

38,500

- maximum number of spectators in the grounds at any one time

28,000

- bottles of Champagne sold during the tournament

16,000

- souvenir towels sold at Wimbledon 2014

15,000

- bananas eaten by players during the event

7,500

- number of Wimbledon umbrellas that would be needed to cover the same area as the retractable Centre Court roof

500

- maximum number of full, life and honorary members permitted in the All England Lawn Tennis Club

350

- total number of umpires and lines officials

212

- most aces hit in a tournament (Goran Ivanisevic, 2001)

128

- number of players in the main men’s and women’s singles draws

1

025

- number of tennis balls that could fit in Centre Court (completed 2009) with the roof closed

- cups of tea and coffee served during the tournament

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- estimated global TV audience

350,000

9

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- most Wimbledon singles titles (by man or woman); Martina Navratilova (1978, 79, 82, 83, 84, 95, 86, 87, 1990) - number of rain-free tournaments held since 1922 (1931, 1976, 1977, 1993, 1995, 2009, 2010) - only “wild-card” (entry awarded at discretion of Championships Committee) title winner in the tournament’s 137-year history - Croat Goran Ivanisevic in 2001 (def Pat Rafter 6-3 3-6 6-3 2-6 9-7)

IMAGE AELTC MATTHIAS HANGST ●

bers ...

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IMAGE AELTC JON BUCKLE

MQ SPORT

Novak Djokovic is in career-best form and looks a most likely favourite.

determine given the advances in technology etc over time. It might have to be Pete Sampras, who in this modern era was almost unstoppable on the slick grass courts, as they were then. He had the best second serve perhaps of all time, which made him so difficult to beat. If the greatest champion is one who has had the greatest influence on the sport, it may very well be Billie Jean King, who did for women’s tennis, and in fact women’s sport, what no one else has come close to emulating with her ability to ultimately achieve equal prize money, and full equality for

women tennis players.

NB Do you think Australia can ever replicate its Golden Age of tennis despite the surfaces and game being very different now?

GM The golden era of Australian tennis will almost certainly never be repeated. The reality is that, in the 1950s and 60s, Australia had an enormous love affair with tennis, and the climate, and numbers of tennis courts to provide enthusiastic young athletes with opportunities to excel at the sport. There was also a relatively limited number of other countries involved in the sport.

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CHAMPIONS above left, Rafael Nadal (Spain), and right Novak Djokovic (Serbia) have both lifted the Wimbledon Men's Singles cup twice.

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Today, Australia has lost so many of the private and public courts that provide the opportunity to play, as well as now competing with many more countries, with much greater populations than ours. China, Russia, former Eastern bloc countries, South America among others.

NB Any amusing (publishable!) anecdotes from your time at Wimbledon...

GM My first year at Wimbledon I witnessed the great Roy Emerson playing. Roy had a favourite pair of Fred Perry shorts that he played in and all through the tournament he had those shorts washed each night, ready to play the next day. In the semi-final on court number one against John Newcombe, Roy’s shorts finally gave up the ghost, and he was forced to ask if anyone in the crowd had a safety pin he could use to keep his pants up!

These days, most of the top players just bring out a pair of sponsored shorts almost every match.

NB Who do you rate as the greatest competitor (not necessarily based on titles) ever in tennis?

GM Jimmy Connors ranks in my mind as the greatest competitor. He had a memorable run to the semifinal of the US Open as a 39-yearold. Connors had a wonderful return of serve, but lacked firepower on serve or at the fore court, so it was his courage and fight that served him almost above all other attributes.

NB Who are your picks for this year’s Wimbledon? Aussie Nick Kyrgios had a great run last year but can he, or any other Aussies, repeat?

GM Novak Djokovic is in careerbest form and looks a most likely favourite. Federer is still motivated and playing excellent tennis, and grass court tennis serves him well, and he cannot be discounted. Kyrgios has big weapons and is likely to cause upsets but is physically not fully developed enough as yet to expect him to go all the way. Sam

Groth has the potential to do well at Wimbledon, as his serve is as good as anybody’s. In the women’s, Serena Williams is the best female player I have ever seen, and if she is at her best it will take a miracle for someone to beat her. Madison Keys has shown she has the weapons to win in the future, and this year would not be out of the question.

NB What would the 2015 Geoff Masters tell the young pro starting out in 1969?

GM That playing a sport that you love, with the opportunities to travel the world and as such grow as a person, is a rare thing. Grab it with both hands, and make sure your body is as fit and strong as it can be to have as long a career as you wish. MQ ☞ This year’s Wimbledon will be held from June 29 until July 12. Betting agency William Hill (UK) is offering odds of 16/1 that no rain will fall during play this year.

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They said w

hat ...

“You CANNOT be serious!” ~ “Superbrat” John McEnroe’s memorable tirade against the umpire during his 1981 semi-final.

McEnroe went on to defeat Swede Bjorn Borg in the final.

“What would I do to improve Wimbledon? How about moving it to summer." ~ Aussie Pat Cash dishes out some Antipodean wit given Wimbledon’s notorious rain delays.

“This grass is for cows, baby. I ain’t playing here.” ~ Brash American Andre Agassi wasn’t a fan after being bundled out of the tournament as a 17-yearold in 1987. Agassi, a changed man, returned to win the title in 1992.

“New Yorkers love it when you spill your guts at the US Open. When you spill your guts at Wimbledon they make you clean it up.” ~ Dual Wimbledon winner Jimmy Connors nails the ‘Englishness’ of Wimbledon.

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LET'S GO ...

Let’s go to...

ROME T

By Kami Ramini

here’s a reason they say ‘when in Rome, do as the Romans do’. After nearly a decade spent living in the Eternal City, I can assure you those Romans get it right.

Before you get started though, do bear in mind that driving around Rome is not for the fainthearted.

Roman driving is an entirely different experience to what goes on here, so my advice is not to, if you can help it. Stay in the Centro Storico (historic centre) and walk wherever you need to, hopping on and off a bus or into a taxi if needs be. If you do decide to chance the roads, here’s one helpful piece of advice: in Italy flashing your lights at another driver

doesn’t mean ‘after you’, it means ‘I’m going first, so stay out the way!’

Worth bearing in mind.

STAY

The centro storico is packed to the brim with places to stay for a range of budgets. There are, of course, hotels and B&Bs, but if you’re planning on a longer stay and want to get a real feel for the Roman life, an apartment is the way to go. Rental in Rome has a selection of fantastic apartments in the centro storico and elsewhere.

My pick is the Botanical Open Space Apartment in Trastevere. Modern, spacious and sleeping two to four people, it’s a stone’s throw from MARQUE WINTER

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absolutely everywhere and has the bonus of a heated swimming pool – the perfect way to relax after a long day of sightseeing.  For more information visit rentalinrome.com

VISIT

There are many agencies that will do it for you but if you’re happy to take a wrong turn here and there, planning your own two or three-day walking tour of the must-see sights is well worth it. And remember two very important things: look up and get lost. Stumbling across hidden gems is part of the magic.

I suggest you divide your sightseeing into blocks:  The Vatican Museums, the Sistine Chapel, St Peter’s Church, and Castel Sant’Angelo.  Piazza di Spagna, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Piazza Navona and Campo dei Fiori.  Colosseum and the Roman Forums, Piazza del

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Prati or Dar Poeta in Trastevere.

For dessert, there is no place like Pompi in San Giovanni for tiramisu. It’s all it does and it does it very well. Choose the traditional chocolate and coffee or their signature strawberry tiramisu.

And then there’s the gelato. My favourite is Gelateria Oldbridge, in Piazza del Risorgimento, conveniently around the corner from St Peter’s Basilica. But the city is absolutely brimming with fantastic gelateria, just make sure it's artigianale.

DON’T MISS Campidoglio, and onto the Jewish Ghetto for a little bite of something delicious.

ON FOOT Explore Rome’s historical centre at your own pace. Opposte, Castel Sant’Angelo.

Above, Campo dei Fiori, and below, the Trevi Fountain.

If you are visiting during the European summer months, don’t miss out on a night spent on the River Tiber. The Lungo il Tevere festival runs each year from June to September with a host of al fresco bars and restaurants, as well as music, literature and art exhibits.  For more information visit turismoroma.it

EAT AND DRINK

Oh where to begin? Rome is a complete feast for the senses - so follow your nose and your eyes, and you can’t go far wrong.

To do as the Romans do, start the day with a cappuccino and cornetto (croissant) standing at the bar of your local café, then go back the next day and the next day, until the barista pops your preferred breakfast in front of you without you ordering.

Lunch at La Carbonara in Campo dei Fiori for their signature dish, or stop for a traditional Roman filetto di baccalà (deep-fried cod fillet) at Er Filettaro on via Guibbonari, just off Campo dei Fiori.

Come 6pm, join the locals for an Aperol spritz in Campo dei Fiori or at Freni e Frizioni, a bustling Trastevere bar which sees its clientele spilling out on to the piazza and digging into the free aperitivo food buffet. Another night, leave room for dinner and hop in a taxi to La Pantera Rosa in San Lorenzo, a typical, noisy Italian trattoria with easily one of the best antipasto platters on offer. The waiters speak hardly any English but the menu is bilingual. Start with an antipasto misto di terra (a selection of exquisite local cheeses and cold

cuts), alongside a pizza bianca and a couple of suppli (deep-fried risotto balls stuffed with mozzarella). Wait to order your main as you might not have room. If you do, go for the tagliata rughetta e parmigiano (a scotch fillet steak cooked medium rare and sliced on a 45-degree angle, topped with rocket and shaved Parmesan). Pizza is always simple, with a maximum of three toppings and my picks are Da Giaccomelli in MARQUE WINTER

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GETTING THERE

Emirates currently operates in Italy with 49 weekly flights, including three daily flights to Rome Fiumicino.

It's a great excuse to try out Emirate's new A380, the first in Western Australia. There is spacious seating and generous luggage allowances in economy class, access to the world’s only onboard shower spas for first class passengers and the onboard lounge, where first and business class passengers can socialise at 40,000 feet. MQ  For more information or to book a flight, contact Emirates on 1300 303 777, visit your local travel agent or go to emirates.com/au.

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PEOPLE

THE DREAM MACHINE Ever since James Bond took off with his personal jetpack strapped to his back, it’s only been a matter of time before somebody came up with a viable version of the ultimate in personal transport.

Norman Burns reports.

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N

ew Zealand has long punched well above its weight when it comes to inventions and innovation. The Hamilton jet boat, bungy jumping, the referee’s whistle - all are Kiwi ideas that have made a mark on the world. Now Christchurch entrepreneur and inventor Glenn Martin is poised to realise his 34-year dream of making the personal flying jetpack a reality.

It’s a story so crazy even Hollywood scriptwriters may have trouble concocting it.

New Zealand schoolboy, wowed by the 1960s space program and Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the moon, vows one day to build his own portable jetpack, a la Buck Rogers and James Bond.

The years pass and as the boy Glenn Martin - grows into adulthood he goes to university to complete a biochemistry degree, all the while hanging onto his jetpack dream.

While many students concoct ways to sneak OUT of lectures, Martin sneaks IN to lectures on physics and mathematics, as he realises that a portable jetpack will not fly on good imagination alone.

Working out the correct thrustto-weight ratio and other data essential to safe, stable flight, comes down to a solid understanding of mathematics.

Martin spends three years working out the numbers and then another two decades fine-tuning his creation, building scale model test “rigs” before his Martin Jetpack, that can hoist a human pilot safely into the air (and back to the ground), finally takes shape.

And, not wanting to be seen as a “nutter”, Dunedin-born Martin does all this in secret in his Christchurch backyard and Canterbury countryside.

“Some people potter around on old cars or boats in their garage; I was working on the jetpack,” says

the 55-year-old, who drew on input from fellow engineers and scientists (they all signed non-disclosure agreements) as, test-by-thoroughtest, the Martin Jetpack transformed from the theoretical to the practical.

Martin wasn’t the first to think of the jetpack; Bell came up with a “rocket belt” in the 1960s (which was used in a memorable sequence in the James Bond flick Thunderball and at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics Opening Ceremony). But, as he points out, a device that could fly for “all of 30 seconds” wasn’t much use for anything.

“Bell knew (of its limited flight time) before they built it. I wanted something that could stay in the air for at least half an hour and carry a payload of 100kg - because I was 100kg,” says Martin.

He realised the answers lay in improving the “bypass ratio” of jet engines, that is the mass flow of air that bypasses the combustion chamber. Standard engines have an eight or nine-toone bypass ratio; that is eight times as much air

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IN THE FAMILY Martin's wife Vanessa was the first ever pilot for the Martin Jetpack, about six weeks after the birth of their second child.

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bypasses the engine core than is used for combustion.

Martin was looking at a 100:1 ratio, a quantum leap in design, hence the need for some heavy duty mathematics to come up with the right engineering specifications.

This took years of “hard slog”, as Martin puts it. “It wasn’t like the movies; it was more like figuring out 150 different ways of which 149 didn’t work.”

A hang-gliding enthusiast, Martin tested out one of his engines by attaching it to his hang-glider (“thereby inventing the world’s first jet-powered hang-glider”) but he deliberately kept all his work low-key.

By 1997 though, the Martin Jetpack was ready for its first piloted test - and who better to take the controls of the machine than his wife, Vanessa?

“She was a wee bit busy - pregnant with our second son. So I waited until about six weeks after he was born and asked her something like ‘what are you doing tomorrow night?’” says Martin.

MQ PEOPLE

Strapped into the jetpack (which was tethered to a pole for the first flight), Vanessa “took a couple of hops” before she and the machine rose smoothly into the sky.

With proof of concept, Martin was up and running - almost.

Taking his invention to a commercial level required, like all projects, a lot of capital.

Those scientists and engineers who had (secretly) helped him literally get his idea off the ground were first to invest in the fledgling Martin Aircraft Company Ltd. Institutional investors followed (the company got a massive boost late last year when Hong Kong company KuangChi Science Ltd agreed to a $50 million long-term strategic partnership).

Building a “secret” flying machine is the kind of thing that can bring down a mountain of red tape once the authorities get involved, but New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority proved more of a help than hindrance.

“I went to them and asked what I needed to do to get a safe flying machine [to meet legal requirements] and they came back to me and I built it into the program,” says Martin.

However once the cat was out of the bag, Martin's invention was “on the radar” big time.

“We took the jetpack to the Oshkosh Air Show (one of the world’s most popular air shows) and the next day the Pentagon sent in a Hercules full of guys to check us out,” he says.

It’s no wonder the US and many other governments and their agencies are intrigued with the concept.

Unlike the gimmicky Bell rocket belt, the Martin Jetpack’s ability to carry a decent load for a long time in the air makes it a potential life-saver in search and rescue or for “first responder” paramedics. It also has obvious applications for military and police use. Unlike the earlier rocket belt which used concentrated hydrogen peroxide for fuel, Martin's machine

uses Unleaded 95 petrol (you could zip down to the local Shell for a fill-up).

But Martin's initial target market is also the civilian aviation enthusiast.

“It’s registered as a microlight aircraft in New Zealand and will probably be the same in Australia.

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SUIT UP Glenn Martin, above, should see the first models of his Martin Jetpack go on sale at the end of 2016.

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higher specced models for non-civilian use probably US$250-300,000.

Martin expects the first models to go on sale by the end of 2016 but the company, which is now listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, is already fielding inquiries from all over the world.

“We even had one call from someone in Bogota, Colombia, asking if we could supply 100 machines and how many kilos they could each carry.” MQ For more information visit martinjetpack.com

ERS

B

BY THE NUM

50,000,000 value in dollars of long-term strategic partnership signed in December 2014 between Martin Aircraft Company and Hong Kong’s KuangChi Science Ltd

300,000 3,000

1,997

500 120

74

56 30

30

28 1

US dollars, expected price of advanced Martin Jetpack feet, maximum altitude year of first piloted test flight (tethered) by Vanessa Martin feet, recommended cruising altitude kg, payload at full fuel (pilot + equipment weight) kmh, maximum airspeed kmh, cruising airspeed minutes, flight time of the initial Jetpack for civilian use flight range, in kilometres kmh (+ or - 9kmh) take-off wind limit pilot on board

WINTER’S BRIGHT SIDE N E W W I N T E R A R R I VA L S N OW I N S T O R E

2 0 4 S T I R L I N G H I G H WAY, C L A R E M O N T MARQUE WINTER

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REVIEW

COMPACT

COMFORT A The BMW 2 Series Active Tourer makes small spacious with its clever design, says Matthew Mills.

s much as most Australians hate to admit it, there’s no getting away from the fact that the world is shrinking. And, no, I don’t just mean the icecaps melting – an important issue, but one for discussion another time.

Nor even am I talking about the idea that revolutions in communication technology mean that everyone is closer nowadays, in a virtual sense anyway. The cyber revolution, most agree, is basically a good thing – the fact that

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someone can now tweet news of hostilities in a remote corner of the world, outweighing the constant cat pictures that bloke you can’t actually remember friending keeps posting on Facebook.

No, what I mean by shrinking is the literal sense. Things are actually getting smaller, which for a nation based on the premise that big is beautiful, is a worrying trend.

Backyards - smaller. Baby boomers will tell you stories of snapping up a lot the size of Liechtenstein for a

couple of hundred bucks and a crate of VB, but nowadays you’re lucky if your land package offers scope to swing a cat, let alone a cricket bat.

And parking spaces - smaller.

It’s a supply and demand thing, but modern shopping centres are designed to hold a lot of traffic, so the days of being able to park your truck and trailer with plenty of doorroom to spare are definitely over.

OK, so our shrinking world is mainly a metro thing, but it’s an issue that car-buyers have to take into account more and more. Where should they go to find a vehicle that boasts space to spare, but doesn’t cast a shadow the size of a whale?

Impossible? Nope, we’ve found it - and it comes in the shape of the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, a car that simply defies logic.

From the outside, the 2 Series Active Tourer looks like a hatchback.

A pretty hatchback, yes - sleek but stocky, the 218i I put through its paces exudes power and excitement, very much retaining the class that the brand has long been renowned for with its stylish grill and exotic L-shaped headlights - but it definitely looks like it fits into the small car bracket.

All that changes, however, once you get inside and the Tardis-like properties of this front-wheel-drive powerhouse kick in. It is, put simply, wonderfully spacious. Driver and front passenger have ample leg room

and there’s none of that shoulder-toshoulder forced intimacy so often a trait of small cars.

The back seat too is designed to not cramp the style of any adults you may need to ferry around - and it folds down flat should you need to pick up a flatpack wardrobe or two from Ikea.

Look at the stats - the 2 Series Active Tour is just over 4.3m long, but the raised roofline sees it boast a height of 1.55m, which means that both driver and front passenger enjoy a far higher seating position than in, say, a sedan, which means you get a

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INSIDER SECRETS The BMW 2 Series Active Tourer's design provides an interior space and comfort while still slipping into those tight city spaces.

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stunning all-round view. It’s also - and this will appeal to those of us reaching middle age - much easier to get in and out of than the average hatchback.

All in all, this is a car built for the modern city, but designed to put comfort first. I took two of my kids and my wife up the freeway in it to catch a Burswood show and everyone’s reaction was just how comfortable it was - the two kids both finding space to nap on the way the home.

A great urban family car then, but how does it drive? Well, it’s a BMW, so, yeah, it’s still a driver’s car.

Sitting in the driver’s seat,

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INNOVATIVE The 2 Series Active Tourer's 3-cylinder engine will get you all the city speed you need.

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everything is at your fingertips, the clever design of the dash and steering column seems to angle every switch in your direction, making controlling the mass of gadgetry instinctive.

And there is of course the navigation and entertainment system, everything you need controlled by that magic little wheel.

Cranked up, your in-car music is as good as anything you’re going to get at home, and Bluetoothing your mobile is so simple old boys like me won’t feel the need to find a teenager to talk us through it.

On the road, the Active Tourer 218i

hugged the road and felt powerful and secure. Its innovative three-cylinder engine has power enough to get you out of trouble if you need to – it generates 100kW/136hp – and there’s also the satisfaction of knowing that you’re driving something that’s not going to hit your hip pocket too hard at the bowser - just 5.2 litres for every 100kms.

It’s very safe too - the six airbags, front and rear parking sensors and reversing cameras working together to earn it the five crash test stars from Euro NCAP. Other models in the range tick all the other boxes that need to be ticked in this genre - the 225i and the awesome M Sport models bringing the power that will thrill even the most picky of petrolheads.

All in all then, this is a small car that is big in so many areas, the perfect vehicle for everything city life can throw at you. MQ

FAST FACTS BMW 2 Series Active Tourer Drive away prices from:

218i ........................................................ $51,866 218d .......................................................$55,487 220i .......................................................$58,789 225i ....................................................... $63,049

By highest consumer ratings for iPhone, iPad and Android as at 18/9/14

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INTERIORS

OUT OF THE

ASHES The iconic Guildford Hotel is set to reopen later this year, with an interior restoration worthy of its history in the re-making. By Kami Ramini. Images by Crib Creative.

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fter the Guildford Hotel in the Swan Valley was devastated by fire in 2008, many wondered what would become of the 150-yearold heritage hotel, with mounting project costs and development approvals a long time in the making.

Now, nearly seven years on, and largely thanks to a recent partnership between hotel owners and hospitality management company, the Publican Group for the lease of the property, restoration and construction of both the interior and exterior areas of the hotel has recently got underway at the site, with completion pin-pointed for late 2015.

“As well as maintaining the history of the hotel, we think it’s important

to also modernise the space to attract new markets to the Guildford area and we are confident that this can only positively impact the local community,” says Steve Garcia, director of the Publican Group.

Interior architect on the project, Luis Schilling of Perth-based architecture firm, Fratelle Group, says highlighting the heritage of the site and how that history can be linked to a modern aesthetic and design appeal was a key concept in its interior fit-out.

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features,” says Luis.

“We really wanted to highlight that heritage and the beauty of it, so all the original walls and architectural features have been kept where possible.”

That said however, Luis and the team have designed a number of new features which add a contemporary touch and give the pub and restaurant space the modern yet historic edge the stakeholders were looking for.

“All the new additions - like the staircase, bar and bathrooms have been designed with a modern style to generate that contrast between old and new,” says Luis.

“A couple of the main architectural points are the glass floor at the bar, so customers can look down straight into the basement and also a new lightweight sculpture for the main hallway.

“It’s a collection of small geometrical shapes, suspended at differing heights from the ceiling to replicate the swirling of ashes which were propelled into the air during the fire. It also pays homage to the importance the community played in getting this redevelopment underway.

“There were protests over how long the hotel lay dormant and one of these saw locals place socks on the closed gate of the hotel to represent the stagnation of

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the site. We’ve taken those actual socks and incorporated them into the material of the scupture,” he says.

“Everyone laughed at the idea of socks on a sculpture when I first designed it - but looking at it, they all love it because it really does link the story of the building and determination of the community. I hope the community will like it too as it’s our homage to their efforts.”

This area of the hotel is also the only one where customers will be able to see all three levels of the hotel from one spot, explains Luis, thanks to the inclusion of a new glass floor in the hallway.

“During the fire, the central area of the first floor collapsed which we won’t be re-building.

The first floor won’t be accessible to the public other than this visual accessibility from the main hall.

Looking up from that spot on the ground floor, customers will be able to see ‘through’ to the first floor and down, through the glass, into the

basement,” says Luis.

“It gives an incredible accessibility into the expanse of the building and records the effects of the fire.”

As part of the re-design of the hotel roof, the design team has incorporated a retractable roof area over the restaurant to create a link between the inside and outside areas of the building so ‘inside’ diners could enjoy a starlit (or sunny) sky and also take in an uninterrupted view of the hotel’s newly reconstructed belvedere tower, which was gutted during the fire.

“My colleague Steve Irvine, who is project leader, designed the retractable roof to create discorse

between interior and exterior areas of the hotel. It’s above an area of the interior dining room and borders the new beer garden, so it’s really marrying those two areas together,” says Luis.

“The belvedere is also a really prominant feature of the original hotel which was pretty much gutted by the fire and is going to be rebuilt.”

The multi-level beer garden in itself will also be a major new attraction for the hotel alongside an outdoor grill area and a new private dining room.

“We’re working on a wall feature for the beer garden, but I can’t tell you much about that because we’re keeping some elements of the design a surprise for opening night,” says Luis. MQ For more information on the Guildford Hotel project, the Publican Group or Fratelle Group, visit facebook. com/theguildfordhotel or theguildfordhotel.com.au; thepublicangroup.com; fratellegroup.com.au

UNDERWAY Works on the Guildford Hotel are due for completion before the end of the year. Pictured below, Luis Schilling from Fratelle Group.

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TRAVEL

SHIPSHAPE and BRISTOL-FASHION Mal Rogers takes a fresh look at England’s most important port city in the west - Bristol

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n 1491, Christopher Columbus asked Henry VII to bankroll a sea voyage from Bristol to the New World. Henry, a renowned pennypincher, declined what seemed at best a shaky plan — sailing to the horizon, if you please, and then just ploughing right on. Idiots.

But of course they weren’t, and the English monarch thus missed out on all that swag from the Americas.

Instead, it trickled into the greedy, oily, foreign hands of the Spanish.

Henry was incensed — barely got over it. Even worse, although he didn’t know it at the time, he was destined to become the mediaeval equivalent of the man at Decca Records who turned down the Beatles.

Successful voyages did, however, begin on the ancient quayside of

Bristol, including one as significant as any in history.

Although, come to think of it, it didn’t actually take place. Strictly speaking. On May 4, 1699, Lemuel Gulliver sailed out of Bristol Harbour on board the Antelope — bound for Several Remote Nations of the World and adventures that would become a literary mainstay.

Meanwhile, across the road at the busy Llandoger Trow pub, King Street, Daniel Defoe sat drinking with Andrew Selkirk, a shipwreck survivor. Little is known of the meeting, save that Robinson Crusoe emerged from it. Shipwrecked, Crusoe said to a native, “My man! I am going to call you . . . Friday,” to which the obvious reply was, “No, I usually take Fridays off; give us a bell on Monday and I’ll see how I’m fixed.”

Look, enough whimsy.

Further literary fame awaited King Street with the arrival of Robert Louis Stevenson who used the Llandoger as his model for The Admiral Benbow in Treasure Island. Today the venerable establishment has just celebrated its 350th birthday — and it’s easy to imagine the place in bygone days: an ill-lit tavern with MARQUE WINTER

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stevedores and drunken sailors carousing the night away. Long John Silver, deficient in the leg department to the tune of one, would not have been alone when it came to leglessness, in all senses of the word.

Journeys that-might-have-been; fictional journeys, journeys that

formal occasions.

Begun by the Normans, and finished a few hundred years later in jack-the-lad Gothic Revival style, the cathedral features vaulted ceilings, statues and gargoyles, Romanesque gateways, 18th-century belltowers, tall Gothic windows — they seem to have thought of everything.

ended in the all-time bestseller lists.

But now, with the seamlessness of a yard of linoleum, let’s turn specifically to your Bristol journey, and what you might expect from this ancient, ramshackle port — aside from bookish connections, and pubs that (still) operate at full throttle every night of the week.

The city has had over a thousand years to prepare for you. The ancient Saxon name Brycgstow — despite its potentially massive Scrabble score — was ditched early on, ‘Bristol’ getting the nod instead. Search me.

The surviving Old Town doesn’t quite stretch back to Saxon times.

Its mediaeval streets, lined with an intriguing mix of shops, churches, pubs and municipal buildings, are huddled round the 12th-century Bristol Cathedral — or the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, as it likes to call itself on

The sailors pulling into Bristol docks didn’t have far to travel to obtain absolution for any sins committed on their travels, the dirty devils — the Cathedral is hard by the docks. Thanks to Bristol’s idiosyncratic topography, the quays, uniquely, extend right into the city centre.

The docks are now largely defunct; but the whole of the waterfront is totally funct.

Miraculously, and at times quite beautifully, the port area retains its industrial heritage, but today teems with restaurants, cafés, quirky shops and bars. Oh, and you’ll not want to miss the statue of Cary Grant, born Archibald Alexander Leach locally in 1904.

For further elucidation on Bristol’s history head for the M Shed, the city’s industrial museum where 24-carat globules of information spill out of every drawer. And with no airMARQUE WINTER

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OLD MEETS NEW Bristol's port area has retained much of its heritage but comes to life with modern architecture, restaurants and quirky bars.

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brushing: Bristol’s long association with the slave trade — not an enterprise to produce a harrumph of pride in any English throat — is examined in minute, if unsettling, detail. It ceased hereabouts, I hasten to add, in the early 19th century.

More uplifting is the nearby Brunel-built SS Great Britain, the first iron steamer to cross the Atlantic. Today it’s a museum, where, according to their publicity, you can experience what life on board was like for Victorian passengers and crew. As the sailors used to say, in Bristol it was wine, women and song; but back on board it was rum, bum and banjo. Spoiler alert: you don’t necessarily get to experience everything the crew did, me hearties.

We’ll depart the Harbourside now, and walk up Park Street towards elegant Clifton Village, with its Royal York Crescent, one of Britain’s Georgian gems. From here, Brunel’s other Up-Yours project, Clifton Suspension Bridge, heaves magnificently into view. Spanning the Avon Gorge, this is one of the world’s great bridges — up there with the Sydney Harbour Bridge or the Golden Gate. The visitors’ centre regularly receives requests for bungee jumping opportunities; the world’s first bungee jump took place here in 1979. I have to tell you that all such applications are turned down. The nearest you’ll get to bungee jumping here, mate, is to search for the Avon Gorge on Google Earth, and focus in and out very rapidly.

Having recovered from the vertigo, you’ll want to hear about the city’s thriving gastronomy and viniculture. The choice is bewildering, ranging from the world’s finest falafel stalls in St Nicholas Market to speakeasies that serve cocktails so potent they could kickstart a dodo. There’s even a Persian restaurant, Kookootoo’s, where you can order a full English breakfast (egg, sausage, beans, bacon, toast, breeze blocks) or opt for the

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delicacies of Persian cuisine. This, I suspect, is a unique institution — although to be fair, I’ve never been to Teheran; they may have a chain of them for all I know.

Kookootoo’s for breakfast – the Clifton Lido for lunch. Tucked inside a courtyard of Georgian terraces, these Victorian baths, built in 1849, were renovated in 2008. Various deals are on offer, such as a swimand-dine package — granting access

clever!” A replica of the Bristol Boxkite, the company’s first plane, is on show in Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery. They mention the Wright Brothers, and the chocolate thing too.

Bristol’s vibrant arts scene ranges from Banksy the incognito graffiti artist, to every type of alternative music — which by long-established protocol I’m obliged to describe as ‘edgy’, though I’m not entirely sure

Where to stay THE BRISTOL HOTEL Prince Street, Bristol, United Kingdom BS1 4QF. ph +44 117 923 0333, fax +44 117 923 0300, e bristol@doylecollection.com Oddly enough, although around 300 hotels throughout the world are called The Bristol, the city of Bristol didn’t have one until 2007 when this hotel opened for business. The word ‘Bristol’ became a byword for poshness due to the efforts of John Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol and Bishop of Derry, famed as a connoisseur of all good things. Double rooms start around $234. The bishop would have approved of the reassuringly high price.

BERKELEY SQUARE HOTEL 15 Berkeley Square, Bristol BS8 1HB, ph + 44 117 925 4000. w cliftonhotels.com/bristol-hotels/berkeley-square This stylish bolthole, overlooking a lush garden square, occupies several townhouses. It’s a friendly establishment, and, despite it looking nothing like my cottage, I soon felt totally at home. Double rooms vary greatly in price (day of week, time of year, demand) but the price hovers between approx $157 to $274.

HOTEL DU VIN (pictured) The Sugar House, Narrow Lewins Mead, Bristol, BS1 2NU, ph + 44 8447364252, w hotelduvin.com

to the pool, hot tub, sauna and steam room — before a two-course lunch in the poolside Victoria Pub. Before the new wave of pubs, restaurants and cocktail bars swept Bristol, the city had already made one extraordinary gift to gastronomy.

Nay — to all of mankind. The world’s first chocolate bar was made here by Joseph Fry in 1847. Before Fry added to the sum total of human happiness, chocolate was something people drank.

But the city has also shown commitment to innovations almost as significant as chocolate development. The Bristol Aeroplane Company was manufacturing aircraft by 1910 — only half a dozen years after Mrs Wright first shouted, “No Orville! It’s too dangerous! Wilbur, stop right now. Nobody thinks you’re

what it means.

Drama is also to the fore.

The Theatre Royal —the oldest continually operating theatre in England — first opened its doors to the public in 1766, presenting ‘a concert with a specimene of rhetorick’. This would have been in the days before spellcheck.

The venerable building, just across the road from the Llandoger Trow, is home to the Bristol Old Vic Theatre Company. Nearby is The Old Duke, a jazz and blues venue.

The pub began serving pints in 1755, long before anybody even thought of playing a blue note on the old Joanna or vamping on a trumpet. But when the time came, the Duke judiciously jumped on the bandwagon and now hosts music every night of the week.

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The ‘Hotel du Vin’, eh? Those French phrases definitely have a certain I-don’t-know-what about them, as far as I’m concerned. And this hotel definitely lives up to its fancy name. Hotel du Vins have a philosophy of turning formerly unsuitable premises (brothels, madhouses) into offbeat, luxury boutique hotels. Bristol’s version is a collection of Grade II listed former sugar warehouses, refurbished to within an inch of their lives, and providing offbeat luxury and comfort. Double rooms from approx $253.

and restaurants and music, very much. Having recently returned from Bruges (run entirely for the benefit of tourists), Hamburg (run entirely for the benefit of its citizens) and a certain town in northern France (apparently not run for the benefit of anyone), I found it a delight to be in Bristol — which seems to be run on behalf of everyone.

This rugged, cosmopolitan port can provide a break that offers loads of cultural brio, oodles of eating and drinking opportunities, live entertainment by the barrowload, and enough ancient, dramatic cityscapes to satisfy the most exacting flâneur. MQ

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High $2M’s Middleton Beach, Albany

AUCTION “Windsong Valley” Bedfordale

$20M “Maitraya” Albany

Expressions of Interest “Lilybrook Estate” Parkerville DE SIRABLE PROPERTY

View online at mackhall.com.au MARQUE WINTER

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NEIL McALLISTER BOUTIQUE RURAL SPECIALIST

0417 179 218 neil@mackhall.com.au Office: 9286 5555

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Angels' SHARE THE

LA resident Gill Pringle puts her local knowledge to the test and hand-picks five of the very best hotels Los Angeles has to offer.

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s befits a major tourist destination, there are many fine Los Angeles hotels in which to rest your weary head, but only a few are truly special.

Choosing where to stay in the City of Angels is as much about lifestyle as anything: party like a rock star at the Sunset Marquis in West Hollywood, hang out with the hipsters at The Redbury by iconic Hollywood and Vine or rub shoulders with Oscar-winners at the luxury Four Seasons in Beverly Hills. For a stylish but laid-back beach break,

check in at Casa Del Mar in Santa Monica or escape the city altogether for golf, spa and ocean-front trails at The Terranea in up-scale Palos Verdes.

FOUR SEASONS Blackout stretch limos and expensive rides jostle for space at the entrance of this elegant hotel which has probably hosted more celebrities than any other in the world. Having lived in LA for more than 20 years, the Four Seasons is where most of MARQUE WINTER

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my celebrity interviews take place. Even when celebs aren’t meeting with the press or attending some elegant soirée, the Four Seasons is the top choice for most, hence the paparazzi on permanent 24-hour watch, held at bay by the hotel’s elite security team.

Justin Bieber regularly rents out blocks of rooms for his entourage while even US President Obama recently booked out an entire floor. From the moment the doorman opens the doors, greeted by the perfume of many floral displays, a sense of understated luxury descends.

While every room comes with its own small balcony, pillow top bed, snuggly robes and Bulgari bathroom products, it’s the fourth floor outdoor pool, lined with sun loungers and palm trees which feels the most glitzy.

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Tucked behind the pool is a semioutdoor gym where household names rise early, stealing a workout as the sun rises over the pool and the city awakes.

With complimentary coffee and muffins, there’s a shared camaraderie in this early pursuit - especially if you’re working off the overindulgences of the night before, spent at the hotel’s modern Italian restaurant, Culina. Chef Mette Williams offers a unique selection

of ‘crudo’, bringing Italian flair to sushi favourites. Wine director Chris Bradford knows more about wine than most sommeliers, making interesting new discoveries and stockpiling them for his favourite clients. The Four Seasons weekend brunches are also legendary chow-downs for locals, feasting for hours as oysters and roast beef and divine deserts are replenished.

Visit fourseasons.com/losangeles

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SUNSET MARQUIS

LUXE Opposite the Terranea resort, below, the Four Seasons, below right Sunset Marquis.

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In the words of Mick Jagger, “It’s only rock’n’roll, but I like it,” and I guarantee you will more than like West Hollywood’s fabled Sunset Marquis, home to pretty much every self-respecting rocker since it was built as an apartment hotel in the 60s.

With a reputation for sex, drugs and rock’n’roll, actors, comedians, writers, artists, film-makers, billionaires, supermodels and rock stars have long been attracted to the Sunset Marquis, which Bruce Springsteen once described as “overindulgent and hedonistic - the bar, the bathrooms to the pool, it was all going on".

U2 launched their US career headquartered at the hotel, while Jeff Beck has been a repeat resident of Villa 116 since the late 1960s, and Billy Bob Thornton actually lived at the Marquis for six years. As well as the anything-goes vibe, part of the attraction is that it feels like you’re renting your own Hollywood home.

Three floors of traditional hotel suites surround the main pool behind the front lobby, but beyond is a network of pathways shaded by giant ferns and palm trees leading to bougainvillea-covered hidden villas. Having undergone a recent facelift and expansion, today there

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are 154 suites and villas, all with decadently large bathrooms, smoking balconies and walls lined with rock photography. Nestled in the midst of the villas is one of LA’s secret culinary gems, Cavatina, where chef Michael Schlow serves eclectic farmto-table goodies - the homemade potato chips with green chilli onion dip are to die for.

Visit sunsetmarquis.com TERRANEA Just a 45-minute drive from LA, Terranea exists in a whole other world, built on 102 acres of pristine coastal bluffs with sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean across to Catalina Island.

Check in with a complimentary glass of Champagne and prepare to unwind at this sophisticated resort featured in recent movies Horrible Bosses 2 and This is 40.

Celebrated for its natural beauty, the land was originally conceived as a marine park, later re-envisioned as a luxury escape from the city boasting 582 guestrooms and suites, private villas, an award-winning golf course, three swimming pools, kids club,

ecological enrichment programs and drop-dead gorgeous full-service spa and fitness centre with Olympic-size adults-only pool.

One of the top award-winning spas in the US, locals check in just to enjoy a day in this 4,650sqm oasis complete with yoga and pilates studios, private spa pool and 25 treatment rooms offering sumptuous pampering. I have to admit, there’s nothing quite like an outdoor soul cycle class while watching dolphins frolic across the ocean. Clean up afterwards in a eucalyptus-scented steam room or drift off in a private cabana.

There are plenty of other activities including ocean-front trails, horseback riding, falconry, kayaking, and even monthly full-moon yoga gatherings beneath the stars on the ocean lawn.

Debuting in 2009, the Mediterranean-inspired Terranea still feels shiny and new with a relaxed ambiance and panoramic seascapes where celebrities can escape the radar of their daily lives, checking into a four-bedroom beach villa with their own chef. A favourite with local sports teams, the ice hockey-playing MARQUE WINTER

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LA Kings brought their Stanley Cup to the resort’s Nelson’s bar.

Terranea’s signature restaurant, mar’sel, offers a modern twist on Californian cuisine as inventive as its fusion name suggests - mar, Spanish for ‘sea’ and sel, French for ‘salt’. Offering a daily changing farmto-table menu of freshly caught fish, Wagyu beef or slow-braised lamb shank, there is one dish that remains a staple - guests refuse to let mar’sel dispense with the caramel pot de crème, a regular sweet treat since it first opened. Choose from a selection of 427 wines and be sure to select a patio table, as food always tastes even better beneath a twinkling night sky.

Visit terranea.com THE REDBURY Crimson walls, sumptuous velvet couches and muted lighting beckon guests into a bygone Hollywood era full of forbidden intrigue, the sort of place Philip Marlowe might have investigated the disappearance of a starlet while sipping on a cocktail in the hotel‘s ‘library’.

Apartment-style suites boast spacious kitchens built around tall dining tables and bar stools, opening into intimate living areas reminiscent of a bordello with faded red sofas, animal skins, paisley print wallpaper and red tasseled lamps. Just a glance away, a retro record player rests upon a cabinet and, beyond that, a four-posterbed with sexy silvered floor-to-ceiling mirrors. Black and white tiled floors and high ceilings with exposed industrial piping lend the appearance of a converted loft or warehouse It's all smoke and mirrors of course in this

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city dedicated to cinematic sleights of hand - the Redbury actually opened in 2010 all brand new.

A stone’s throw from the crossroads of Hollywood and Vine, we poured some wine and took a seat on our private balcony soaking up a view of the iconic circular Capitol Records building, the Griffith observatory perched on the distant hillside.

A stroll to classic Hollywood venues Pantages Theatre, Hollywood Palladium and sleazy-sexy Frolic Room, the neighbourhood’s sprawling homeless population lives side by side with the nouveau chic who frequent local hipster boutiques, Amoeba Records or Arclight cinemas.

Paved outside the Redbury is an off-shoot of the Hollywood walk of fame, gold stars honouring Judy Garland and Luther Vandross, while inside guests feast on contemporary Mediterranean cuisine at Cleo.

Tom Waits would love this place

or is that the piano talking?

Visit theredbury.com/hollywood HOTEL CASA DEL MAR Every room here feels like your own private beach house - white painted wainscots, soft blue quilts and pastelhued cushions, dressers adorned with coral and starfish, jars of shells and nautically-themed books. Deep recessed windows are built for gazing out at the Pacific and to the ferris wheel of Santa Monica pier beyond, following the paths of lazy seagulls as they squawk above the sands.

Even the Nespresso machine comes with a pair of anchor-inlaid china mugs, a tiny clockwork ferris wheel reminding you of where you are, even when the curtains are closed.

Every evening offers another opportunity to catch a perfect sunset, best enjoyed over a cocktail at the hotel’s signature seafood restaurant, Catch, offering

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BELLA VISTA Below Hotel Casa Del Mar, opposite left, Sunset Marquis, and The Redbury.

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180-degree views across the ocean. I suggest you order the Perfect Pear, a delicious vodka concoction with elderflower and thyme. Capitalising on the fast-growing crudo craze, sushi chefs serve up divine lobster crudo with black truffle, green apple and Californian caviar or hamachi crudo with pickled chanterelles, crispy garlic and chive salt.

The hotel lobby attracts an eclectic crowd drawn by the sunsets, cocktails and nightly live music, ranging from jazz to soul to pop.

The second floor outdoor pool is the perfect way to soak in the view without ever getting your toes cold in the Pacific, although the more energetic may enjoy renting a bike or taking a jog along the bustling beach sidewalk.

A popular wedding destination, stroll along the beach any time of the day and find bridal flowers washed up with the tide. MQ Visit hotelcasadelmar.com

PREVIEW

DIAL

M

FOR MOTORSPORT

The launch of the BMW X5 M and BMW X6 M is here bringing both sport and versatility in their wake.

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ew things in motoring excite more than when a BMW comes complete with a simple, but beautiful addition – the letter M. Everything from the BMW stable turns heads, has been doing so for decades, but somehow the sight of those three diagonal bands nestled up against that evocative initial makes the motoring fan’s heart beat that bit faster.

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It stands, of course, for Motorsport and aficionados of motoring history will tell you it first appeared in the 1960s, the badge of pride for BMW’s racing fleet.

Such was their appeal that the M Series quickly evolved from the track and onto the road. The badge means that the already beautiful model has been modified, kitted out with a superior engine, transmission,

REVVED UP The BMW X5 M and X6 M come complete with all the modifications you'd expect of those three diagonal bars.

interior trim, body mods and aerodynamics.

You see an M and you know it was born in BMW’s private facility at the Nurburgring racing circuit in Germany. You know it’s going to be quality, it’s going to be excitement, it’s going to be fast. Today, an M-series is what true drivers look for.

When a new one arrives, then, it is a red-letter day in the motoring

world – which is why so many people right now are talking about the second generation BMW X5 M and BMW X6 M, the latest models to earn the marvelous M. Of course, the excitement is heightened by the merger of the M with that other dynamic BMW letter, X. What we have here is the ultimate collaboration – the power of the M Series meeting the versatility of the X. BMW’s four-wheel-drive X Series has been an Aussie favourite for a while, combining the luxury and style of the classic German brand with the rugged power, height and space of the classic off-roader capable of taming our country’s challenging landscape.

They feature the most powerful engine ever developed for a BMW all-wheel-drive vehicle, encapsulating BMW EfficientDynamics philosophy, integrating substantial advances in efficiency, with commensurate improvements in power and performance.

That technology means they both boast more than impressive statistics, accelerating from 0 to 100km/h in just 4.2 seconds when paired with standard eight-speed M Steptronic transmission with Drivelogic.

Their 4.4 litre, V8, BMW TwinPower Turbo engines generate 423kW and 750Nm of torque, MARQUE WINTER

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increases of four per cent, and 10 per cent respectively over the predecessor models. Peak torque is accessible over extremely broad rev band – from 2,200 to 5,000 rpm.

The engine incorporates innovative M TwinPower Turbo technology with a pair of TwinScroll turbochargers, cross-bank exhaust manifolds, VALVETRONIC and High Precision Direct Petrol Injection. That kind of technology delivers lightningfast responsiveness, sending two converged exhaust gas streams to drive two TwinScroll turbochargers through four separate exhaust ducts.

Fuel efficiency has improved by 20 per cent, from 13.9l/100km to 11.1l/100km, CO2 emissions are likewise down by more than 20 per cent, to 258 g/km.

Inspired by function-led design, four large air intakes and flaps at the front end, and the diffuser at the rear, feature as an essential element of the engineers’ drive to optimise aerodynamics and ensure efficient cooling.

The BMW X5 M and BMW X6 M are both beautiful cars, but elements which appear as pure design accents in fact fulfil functional tasks, with the M-specific Air Breathers behind the front wheels reducing turbulence in the front wheel arches.

The high-performance engine is underpinned by a newly developed cooling system, guaranteeing optimum operating temperature in all conditions. It features a combination of low temperature and high-temperature radiators, controlling engine water, charge air, engine oil and transmission oil.

The new eight-speed M Steptronic transmission with Drivelogic delivers instantaneous responses, rapid gear changes and super-direct reaction to load changes, while the torque converter auto links up seamlessly with the new higher-torque turbocharged engine.

Activation of the Launch Control system, adapted from BMW’s motorsport program, ensures seamless acceleration, identifying the optimum rev point for

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MQ PREVIEW

SLEEK The X5 M and X6 M combine space and size with speed and luxury.

FAST FACTS BMW X5 M & X6 M Drive away prices: X5 M from $205,133 X6 M from $214,505

maximum propulsion.

The Intelligent all-wheel drive xDrive system employs an electronically controlled multiplate clutch to allow fully variable distribution of drive between the front and rear axles, while the Dynamic Performance control oversees the continuous distribution of drive between the rear wheels, both under load and on overrun.

Optimised Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) allows the driver to choose from three modes: DSC on, MDM (M Dynamic Mode) and DSC off. DSC on counteracts understeer and oversteer to great effect with brake inputs and MDM allows greater wheel slip, enabling the driver to execute mild drifts.

Firmer suspension spring tuning and a 10mm drop in ride height team up with the Dynamic Drive active roll stabilisation system to bring about an effective reduction in body roll and

movement.

Air suspension with self-levelling at the rear axle is standard, while Dynamic Damper Control with electronically adjustable dampers ensures the perfect balance between dynamic flair and ride comfort.

The shared front-end design is a clear departure from standard models and is informed by the classic ‘form follows function’ maxim. However, despite their similarities these are two great cars in their own right.

The upright stature of BMW X5 M contrasts with the unmistakable, MARQUE WINTER

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dynamic lines of BMW X6 M with its gently curved glasshouse, sloping roofline and pronounced wedge shape.

Exclusivity and impressive functionality are defining features of the interior of the cars, with the new M leather steering wheel, featuring integrated aluminium gearshift paddles, fully electric M Multifunctional sports seats in Merino, BMW Individual interior trim and BMW Individual instrument panel standard.

Further standard features include Head-Up Display with M view, Navigation System Professional, harman/ kardon Surround Sound system, DAB+ radio tuner, Adaptive LED headlights with BMW Selective Beam and a full suite of active safety systems, including Surround View, Parking Assistant, Lane Change Warning and Driving Assistant. MQ

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A

THIRST

Margaret River organic winemaker Ben Gould has built his boutique business from the ground up with his sights now firmly set on organic certification by 2018.

By Kami Ramini.

Images by Freedom Garvey Photography.

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outique winemaker Ben Gould's introduction into the wine industry was a serendipitous one. In his early 20s and having recently returned from time spent backpacking overseas, he was working on a farm in Witchcliffe near Margaret River when he responded to a call from his entrepreneurial father who needed a helping hand.

“Dad had always worked in banking and had a real business eye. He called and said he’d bought a vineyard in Yallingup and would I come up and give him a hand,” says Ben. “He was an amazing businessman.

I really learned a lot from him maybe through osmosis, maybe

through actually listening, I’m not sure - but most of what I know today is because of him.”

Ben spent nearly 10 years working at his father’s winery, which would become none other than Deep Woods Wines, one of Margaret River’s finest, working alongside the winemaker and eventually moving up to take over the role of general manager and head winemaker himself.

At 30 years old, working at the winery all the while, Ben had completed his online Bachelor of Science in Wine Science at Charles Sturt University in Sydney. Shortly after, his father sold the winery and it was at that moment Ben realised it

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was the industry he wanted to be in.

“When Dad sold the winery I realised I wanted to go out on my own and I wanted it to be organic. I also wanted to travel a bit too and the new owner, Ben Fogarty, was very supportive,” says Ben. “I sold my house and bought a little vineyard in 2006 and left it under contractor management to begin the organic conversion which takes about three years, with someone to buy the grapes and someone to manage the property.”

Ben says export sales, which he had touched on during his time at Deep Woods, was the last piece of the puzzle, so he and his wife Naomi

travelled overseas to market and sell the Deep Woods label alongside two other Australian labels, Millbrook Wines (WA) and Lake’s Folly (Hunter Vally, NSW) on the European market.

“We were based in Brighton and sold through Ireland and Germany mostly,” he says.

“Before we left to come home, we bought a little builders’ van and surfed every surf break in western Europe’s wine regions. It’s amazing, these incredible wines which don’t travel more than 2km from where they were made.”

Back home in WA and the organic conversion of their vineyard well underway, Ben and Naomi decided

not to carry out the expensive and work-intensive process of organic certification and instead concentrate on launching their organic wine label, Blind Corner, in every which way they could.

With a total land area of only four hectares, Ben was bolstering their bank balance working shifts as a cellar hand at Howard Park and managing his Blind Corner vineyard.

“I just took a low level job as I didn’t want there to be any conflict with me making my own wine, too.

I was working the 7pm to 7am shift.

Working a full night, getting home, having dinner and cracking a beer at 11am then going to sleep, cereal

HANDS-ON left, Ben Gould of Blind Corner wines. Below, Ben's only employee, Simon Bernard.

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at 6pm and going to work. It was a pretty interesting time,” he says.

Despite his efforts, there was no way Ben could produce enough wine to make a living from the couple’s own grapes alone so he turned to his entrepreneurial roots for ideas.

“Some small winemakers buy more vineyards, some lease, or some buy grapes or bulk buy wine from elsewhere. We bought wine which was still in tank, blended it and then marketed it under a second label, Two Brothers,” he says.

“From there we went to sourcing grapes from vineyards, then organic vineyards and making them from scratch. The thing is, everyone knows everyone so just talking about what grapes we were looking for I realised I had a great network I didn’t even know was there.”

Selling both his Blind Corner and his Two Brothers wines through their online store, Ben attracted interest from online retailer Naked Wines

MQ THIRST

in May last year. The retailer funds independent winemakers through its ‘Angel’ scheme, in which interested individuals pay $40 a month in return for ‘insider prices’ on those very wines.

“We stock Naked Wines with our third label, Blind Side, of which two out of four of the wines are made using organic grapes,” says Ben. It was around this time that Ben decided to invest in the interest he was receiving for his organic wines and streamline his business.

“Naomi and I always knew we wanted our home block to be organic because we wanted to raise a family here,” says Ben. “We’ve got two boys and we didn’t want to worry about them playing outside and eating a bit of dirt with pesticide in it and our philosophy grew from there. It’s been a journey and we’ve evolved as we’ve gone along, so now we know our goal is to be certified organic and nothing else.”

He searched out the right block - a 20-hectare vineyard in Quindalup, near Dunsborough. He spoke to Naked Wines about his new plans and that he would have his new Blind Corner vineyard certified organic after three years. Naked Wines supplied their projected purchase orders on those organic-labelled

wines which Ben used to secure a bank loan.

But he still needed the deposit, so in December last year Ben decided to build a secret website available only to those who knew how to search for it, create a mailing list through a social media campaign, and try his hand at tapping into crowd funding.

“It may sound a bit techie but there are templates for all these things now,” says Ben. “We had a bunch of wine specials on the site with cartons for $150 and things like that and, to up our mailing list, we ran a social media competition to win a 30-bottle wine fridge stocked with our wines, delivery to anywhere in Australia. It went viral!

“Every time someone shared the link they’d get five entries into the competition so it just popped up everywhere, people were sharing and sharing - it gave us a big base to MARQUE WINTER

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WATCH THIS SPACE Blind Corner wines will be certified organic by 2018.

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launch our crowd funding story to.”

Within eight days it was done.

Ben had raised the $15,000 he needed for the deposit and on May 1, settlement on his new property went through.

While Ben will continue to produce around 10,000 cases of wine per year between his Blind Corner, Two Brothers and Blind Side labels, his goal is to complete the organic conversion of the Quindalup property by 2018 and have all-organic certified Blind Corner wines grown, produced and bottled on-site for sale in Australia and onto export markets with that all important word “organic”, right there on the label.

Something tells me Ben will do what he says he will, so it’s just a matter of watch this space. MQ For more information or to purchase Blind Corner, Two Brothers or Blind Side wines, visit blindcorner.com.au or Naked Wines nakedwines.com.au

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PERFORMANCE

MR MUSICAL John Frost is an extraordinary example of a childhood dream made real, the kid who wanted to put on shows has become the man who has brought to life some of the most popular musicals of our time. One thing’s clear - Frost’s magic touch is hotter than ever. By Gabi Mills.

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s a journalist, when you realise that you share a mutual appreciation of Petula Clark’s turn in 1981 as Maria in the Sound of Music with an interviewee, you could say that your career has hit something of an unusual high.

It’s not often that I get to share my love of musical theatre -

specifically the London West End musical theatre of my childhood Christmasses - with a bona fide theatrical legend.

But during my conversation with Australia’s leading theatrical impressario, John Frost, that’s just what happened.

Let’s rewind a little and we’ll get to Ms Clark and her favourite things in due course.

In some ways it’s hard to sum up Frost’s achievements without sounding like you’re compiling his Wikipedia page.

For the past 30 years Frost, heading up the Gordon Frost Organisation, he has put on so many blockbuster shows that it’s actually harder to name one he hasn’t been involved with.

In recent years you’ve no doubt seen Annie, Grease, the Rocky Horror Picture Show, The King and I and of course Wicked. And like everybody else, you will have lapped them all up along with a grateful Australian public, thanks to Frost’s extraordinary drive to bring shows he’s enjoyed around the world to our stage.

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As the final few weeks of Wicked here in Perth continue until the end of June, Frost is over the moon that the show, which kicked off to rapturous applause seven years ago, ‘hasn’t aged at all’, despite its numerous curtain calls over the years in a variety of Australian cities.

“It’s been almost continuously running since we opened seven years ago,” he says from his Sydney office where, he admits, he’s watching a DVD of a show he’s considering producing while talking to me on the phone at the same time.

“I do get pleasure from introducing new talent into the show but equally there are cast members still on stage who were in the original production. With each production the cast approaches the show with great freshness and vitality and the balance is still there, even after seven years.”

From a young age, Frost dreamed in technicolour greasepaint, putting on impromptu shows in his back garden for anybody who’d watch.

By the age of 16 he was a dresser on the JC Williamson production of Mame, working his way up the theatre tree, through wardrobe, stage and company management until he finally became a producer.

As passionate about discovering and enjoying theatre productions around the world now as he was then - he’s just back from a jaunt in New York where he trawled Broadway for inspiration - he seems to have a ‘nose’ for a show’s potential which makes him such a favourite with his investors.

That’s not to say that his career hasn’t been without a few mis-steps along the way (his theatrical versions of popular movies An Officer and a Gentleman and Dr Zhivago will probably be forgotten in the mists of time) but in a notoriously unpredictable industry, Frost has an enviable golden touch.

“When I saw Wicked on Broadway I just knew it would be a success,” he says.

“Even so we still prepared audiences a year in advance of its launch here in Australia, talking to the media and educating them about what to expect so that when it opened, people knew what they’d be watching.”

Opening night is still a nerve-wracking experience, he admits, despite what forward ticket sales may be in the bank.

“It’s still scary and harrowing and, of course, nobody likes to get a bad review, but I had no doubt that Wicked would do anything other than be successful.”

Part of that success is due in small part to the original production’s incredible eye for detail in terms of costumes and props.

“The US producers were sticklers for such detail - all of the shoes for instance are hand-made, and to ensure that they always had the correct shade of green material for certain scenes, they set up a whole costume workshop when they realised what a massive hit it was and purchased

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a huge quantity of that green material, housing it in a warehouse.”

Normally for Frost’s productions all costumes are made in Australia by Australian tailors and craftspeople but not in this case.

“The stipulation from the original US producers is that all the green dresses had to be made in New York and they were very particular that the Australian production had to be a carbon copy of the New York one. If any repairs ever need to be made to the costumes, which are now over seven years old, they must always be made with that exact material from the US.” It’s this forensic approach which makes Wicked, Frost believes, so special.

“If you saw Wicked on New York tonight, jumped on a supersonic jet and saw it in Perth a few hours later, you wouldn’t see a detail out of place, from the three buttons on the shoes to the cut of the costumes. It’s a great credit to the original producers.”

Ideas for future productions are put in front of Frost continually, from old favourites - “I’ve just been offered Seven Brides for Seven Brothers; that title keeps popping

up. I thought about it but said no.

Can you think of a single song from it?” - to new ideas altogether.

“When I’m thinking about putting on a show it’s more than just choosing a title. You have to find an Aussie star for it too, ones that the audience will respond too. In any case I’ve got enough shows in the pipeline to keep me going until 2019.”

Apart from his day job as producer of shows here in Australia, Frost invests in shows he sees elsewhere too.

I’m abreast of what’s hot and what’ll work, like just now as I’m watching this DVD of a show and seeing if I could do it, but my rule of thumb for a show being a success with an Aussie audience is this. If middle American audiences like a show - not New York audiences necessarily - then I think Australian audiences will like it too.

“Going to see a show on Broadway is different. You’re caught up in the thrill of being in New York, it’s an experience in itself. For example when I saw The Producers starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick in New York, I loved it,

the audience were on their feet at the drop of a hat. I brought it to Australia and it was a moderate success.

“When we finished the show and analysed the other world versions, the only place it really did well was New York.

“So from now on if a show works on a US tour then it’s a good guideline for failure or success in Australia.”

Frost’s shows aren’t only popular with audiences; he’s also the critic’s darling, winning Tony Awards for the Broadway productions of Hairspray and The King and I, and multiple Helpmann Awards for Best Musical in 2005, 2009 and 2013. Perhaps his most precious gong however is the JC Williamson Award which he received last year.

“It’s the highest tribute that can be bestowed on someone working in the performing arts industry, and to be acknowledged by my peers for a job I love is gratifying and inspiring,” he said on receiving the award.

His name joins an impressive role call of the greats of theatreland in Australia who have also won this accolade Googie Withers, John McCallum, Kenn Brodziak, Clifford Hocking, Tony Gould to name a few.

Once he attends the final performance of Wicked at the Crown Theatre in Perth at the end of June, something which he expects to be a very emotional experience as the curtain finally falls on the two witches from Oz, there’s plenty to keep this creative whirlwind busy.

“We’re working on a new musical at the moment based on Bobby Darrin’s life called Dreamlover. We’re moving ahead with Rocky Horror, Dirty Dancing is coming to Perth in August, there’s a new production of Jekyll & Hyde later too and we’ll be doing a revival of the Sound of Music too.”

Which brings us back to Petula CENTRE STAGE Clark.

I ask him if he’s found his John Frost, centre, Maria, knowing that one of his heroes with Hayley and Juliet Mills from the show, is Julie Andrews. He says yes, he has Legends, which is tourhis Maria, and I mention I saw Petula ing Perth in August.

Clark in the role as a child in London in the 1980s.

“I saw her in the same performance,” he exclaims, “at the Apollo wasn’t it?” We both sigh, briefly transported back to Petula and her brown paper packages tied up with string.

“You know, when I met Julie Andrews when I presented her here in Australia, she was everything you’d hope she’d be,” he said fondly.

The sound of music, then.

Everything about Frost, summed up in one sentence. MQ Dirty Dancing opens at the Crown Theatre, Burswood, on August 4.

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COVER

THE NUMBER ONE

The 1 Series, BMW’s littlest treasure, is celebrating some big news.

T

he ever-popular 1 Series, the compact car that has revolutionised diminutive motoring since exploding onto the scene a decade ago, has had a makeover and the latest evolution of this great little vehicle is in the Auto Classic showroom now.

That in itself is enough to get the attention of the industry, but serendipity kicked in just before the launch in March to deliver another milestone in the history of the car – the news that the two millionth 1 Series had just rolled of the production line.

That’s a lot of cars. To put it in context, if you lined up every

1 Series ever built bumper to bumper they would form a line from Perth to Brisbane.

And back again.

Great news then for the little master, but the icing on the cake was that Car Two Million was one of the first of the new-look 1 Series the industry had been waiting for.

Built at BMW’s famed Plant Resenburg in Germany, the landmark motor is a 120i 5-door, painted in Estoril Blue metallic and equipped with an M Sport package. It’s now on its way to a lucky driver in Japan.

The staggering figure is proof of the success of the 1 Series story so far.

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TRAIL-BLAZER The BMW 1 Series continues to set the pace for the best in compact cars.

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At its premiere in 2004, the BMW 1 Series became the brand’s first model to reconcile sporty and elegant design, dynamic driving properties and premium quality with the functional attributes of a compact five-door model.

Boasting superior powertrain and chassis technology and the rear-wheel-drive configuration that remains a unique selling point in the compact segment, it went on to set the benchmark for sporting ability in its class.

At the same time, it regularly serves as a trail-blazer for the latest BMW EfficientDynamics technology, which ensures the new BMW 1

Series offers an awesome balance between driving pleasure and fuel consumption.

An impressive history then, but the latest version of the little car has somehow managed to pack in even more thrills, quality and style.

It comes in both five-door and three-door body variants; the three-door built exclusively at Plant Regensburg, while the five-door is put together at BMW’s Plant Leipzig.

Both models can be ordered with a selection of powerful and highly efficient petrol and diesel engines featuring BMW TwinPower Turbo technology, including units with three and four cylinders from the BMW Group’s latest generation of engines and a six-cylinder inline engine with M Performance TwinPower Turbo technology.

As it’s a compact car, the new 1 Series is very easy on your hip pocket fuel-wise, with a combined fuel consumption of just 8.0–3.4 l/100 km – and its green credentials are excellent too, with combined CO2 emissions combined of only

listings for the new 1 Series include the standard-fitted iDrive operating system, fullLED headlights (available as an option for the BMW 1 Series for the first time) and the latest additions to the BMW ConnectedDrive line-up.

As well as the radar-based Active Cruise Control system with Stop & Go function and the new-generation Parking Assistant, features such as the camera-based Driving Assistant are also available.

The progressive character of the new BMW 1 Series range is likewise underlined by the standard provision of the Intelligent Emergency Call function and BMW TeleServices. The optional Navigation system Professional also offers automatic map updating (using the embedded SIM card and mobile phone network), which is free of charge to customers for the first three years following registration of the car.

Also benefiting from further expansion is the array of internet-based information, communication and entertainment services, which the driver can integrate into the car with the help of apps, either via the integrated SIM card or using a smartphone.

All in all, then, a perfect little car for the modern world. MQ

Lifetime Guarantee At Peter Wilkinson & Co, we are so confident in the quality of our workmanship that we provide a lifetime guarantee on all of our repair work.

If, in the unlikely event, you are not completely satisfied with the work we have undertaken, simply contact us and we will gladly address your concerns.

Why Choose Peter Wilkinson & Co?

• • • • • • w188–89 g/km).

But, of course, as it’s a BMW, it performs. The M135i M Performance Automobile is a ticket to outstanding dynamics, and the 85 kW/116 116d EfficientDynamics Edition is a joy to drive. What’s more, the M135i, 118d and 120d can all be specified as an option with BMW xDrive intelligent all-wheel drive.

Other highlights of the equipment

All work is factory-backed Lifetime product guarantee on all paintwork 12-month/20,000 km guarantee on all new parts Lifetime guarantee on all repair workmanship No risk of voiding warranty We use only genuine parts

FAST FACTS BMW 1 Series Drive away prices from: 118i........................................................$43,889 118d ......................................................$47,510 120i ...................................................... $49,214 125i.......................................................$56,669 M135i ....................................................$71,579

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Accredited BMW Bodyshop 1 Adrian St, Welshpool WA 6106 ✆ 08 9362 5622

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MY MQ

ELEGANT APPEAL

H

Margy Hegney Hall is a long-time BMW enthusiast and this year, as Western Australian coordinator for Miss World Australia, she has found the perfect marriage for two of her most loved brands. Images by Crib Creative.

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aving worked within the luxury automotive industry for many years before launching her own events business in 2002, At Any Event, Margy Hegney Hall says she has always had a passion for cars.

“I’ve always loved cars - even growing up. I remember I couldn’t wait to get my first car,” she says.

“Initially I was really into vintage cars, which is all

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to drive and I have never looked back.”

And so her relationship with Auto Classic began.

While Margy has had a number of BMWs since that first one, the latest - her “beloved 5 series” is the perfect match for her lifestyle.

“I think a person’s car represents who they are and what is important to them,” she says.

“For me it was elegance, classic appeal with a fun twist and, of course, an amazing drive. The 5 series has all of that and more.”

That first BMW and all the others since have a couple of things in common she says she would never change: the colour and the dealership.

“My BMWs are always charcoal grey - it’s such a stylish and elegant colour,” says Margy.

“And Auto Classic is the other element I would never change. I always do my servicing with them and will always buy my car through them.

“I met Darrin [Darrin Brandon, dealer principal] a long time ago and I have always been so happy with our dealings.

“Take my new 5 series, for example. There was some problem with getting my smart phone and the car ‘talking’. It was a major issue for me because for my work I spend a lot of time driving and a lot of time on the phone so the Bluetooth element was really important for me.

“It wasn’t a BMW issue but the service department didn’t let up until they fixed it for me. It’s that sort of customer service which you don’t get anywhere else in Perth.”

No wonder then, that when Margy was invited by Miss World Australia to be the co-ordinator for Western Australia and head up the WA partnership team, one of the first companies she approached was Auto Classic.

“Miss World Australia made a conscious decision in 2015 to create more of a presence in WA and they invited me to lead this initiative,”

I wanted to drive in my early 20s.

Then after a few years of classic cars, in the early 1990s I bought my first ever BMW - a wonderful 3 series. It had been owned by a BMW exec and had about 5,000km on it.

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says Margy. “We wanted to invite successful, strong, like-minded brands to partner with us, brands which are understated yet elegant and strive for excellence - qualitites we look for in our girls.

“So, of course, Auto Classic was a first pick for me, as both the BMW brand and the Auto Classic dealership are all of these things. I was delighted when they decided to come on board.”

At the time of writing, preparations and details of the partnership are still being confirmed, however one thing is very firmly set in the diary. An elegant launch event will be held on June 13 at the Auto Classic showroom for some 200 guests, to officially introduce the Miss World Australia WA entrants, with tickets available for purchase.

“There really is no better location for the Miss World Australia WA launch than the Auto Classic showroom - not only because they are a major sponsor but also because of the beautiful and exclusive nature of the surrounds,” says Margy.

Alongside the WA launch, Auto Classic will be hosting the WA entrants for a range of other events and appearances, including a ‘multimedia challenge’ as part of the girls’ busy three-month preparations for the state finals.

“As part of their roles as WA entrants, each of the girls is an ambassador for a number of brands - Miss World Australia, Variety Australia, Auto Classic and our other partners - while simultaneously promoting their own fundraising events,” explains Margy.

“For this reason, it’s important they learn and understand the scope of multi-media and are able to use it to their maximum advantage.

“The multi-media challenge will see the girls having to show their skills in order to best promote the BMW brand, they’ll be judged on it and it will go towards their final score.”

That final score is what will determine whether or not an entrant

MQ MY MQ

Alongside the WA launch, Auto Classic will be hosting the WA Miss World entrants for a range of other events and appearances. will progress on to represent WA at the national final stage, and will be judged on a whole range of criteria.

While Miss World Australia is a pageant and how the girls present - presentation, poise and etiquette - is part of the judging criteria, that potentially life-changing final score will be based on a whole lot more than just beauty, says Margy.

“I will be personally mentoring the girls throughout the whole process, which will include a number of workshops to refine a wide range of skills and experiences, as well as fundraising events for our charity, Variety,” she says.

“Last year our WA girls raised over $160,000 for Variety Australia through their own fundraising

initiatives.

“The philanthropic element of the pageant is our true focus. Miss World Australia is best described as a group of extraordinary young women, plenty of excitement and that special touch of glamour on the night itself.

“The girls are working hard throughout the entire process to develop and progress as young women in order to create successful charity events and raise awareness for Variety Australia.”

Margy will be working one-onone with the girls over the next three months in preparation for the state final in early August and, of course, to take successful WA finalists to the national final later that same month.

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PERFECT PAIRING Margy Hegney-Hall is thrilled with the partnership between Auto Classic and Miss World Australia.

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young Australian women who exemplify beauty, talent, intelligence and compassion. It aims to create new role models who will serve as ambassadors to charity, enrich the perception of beauty and enhance a new strength, energy and spirit for the advancement of women while positively impacting their communities,” says Margy.

“It’s such a wonderful and important international tradition.

I am very proud to be aligned with Miss World Australia 2015 and I am thrilled to be part of such a powerful partnership with Auto Classic. Two leading world brands.” MQ Visit missworldaustralia.com.au for more information.

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VISIT OUR WEBSITE exclusiveresidence.com.au to view our collections EMAIL johnd@exclusiveresidence.com.au CALL 08 6164 3098 / 0418 956 815 MARQUE WINTER

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APPETITE

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Thanks to award-winning kitchens and events like the Margaret River Gourmet Escape, what was once a sleepy seaside town is now a world-class foodie destination.

Kami Ramini talks to three of the region’s long-time chefs about why they wouldn’t dream of living anywhere else.

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cenic drives, breathtaking beaches, world-class surf and some of the best wineries our country has to offer, it’s no wonder tourists keep flocking to Margaret River in droves.

And then there’s the food. Fresh produce in abundance combined

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with boutique artisan producers and grocers, there is little you can’t find in Margaret River. No surprise, then, that for three of the region’s longest-standing chefs, Aaron Carr, Dany Angove and Tony Howell, there really is no place like home

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Then there are mushrooms in the forests come autumn/ winter,” he says. “There are seven or eight chefs in the kitchen and we all take turns. Some of the guys are really into it.”

As far as planning the menu goes, there is no set date as to when it changes. Aaron prefers to be led by what is fresh and in abundance.

“We change when things run out or things come in,” he says. “These tomatoes came in the backdoor this week and they are just ridiculous! They’ll be out of season in two months, so we’ll design a dish to use them now.”

It takes Aaron and his team about a week to develop a new dish and go through the tasting and wine-matching process. It may sound like a long time but when you see and taste the precision on the plate, the time spent perfecting each and every last detail definitely pays off.

The menu, which offers a bargain three-course lunch at $65 or the option of ordering a la carte, lists only the key components of each dish leaving a lot to the imagination. The wait staff can explain each and every detail should you require them to, but I loved the surprise of not quite knowing what or how it would arrive.

Barramundi, sweet potato, kale, and mussel emulsion was a crispy-skinned fillet of light, flaky fish, perfectly paired with crispy fried kale and bursts of freshly foraged wild grapes. Exquisite and truly beautiful. Hats off to WA’s number one chef.

NUMERO UNO Aaron Carr’s elegant menu bagged him the Chef of the Year award in the 2015 West Australian Good Food Guide.

AARON CARR

executive chef, Vasse Felix Aaron Carr has three very real loves in his life: food, his family, and surf and for him, there is nowhere better to enjoy all three than Margaret River.

“I just moved here because I wanted to go surfing and luckily there was work,” says Aaron with a smile.

That was back in 1995. It’s his 20th year at Vasse Felix and Aaron, who won the much-coveted accolade of Chef of the Year in the 2015 West Australian Good Food Guide, has watched the region grow up around him as the paddock to plate food philosophy became ever

more popular.

“Everywhere in the world has become more locally driven for produce. People don’t want to come here from Sydney and eat Sydney produce - they want local lamb, marron, truffles. And why not support our local farmers?” he says.

As well as sourcing as much as possible through local growers and farmers, Aaron and his chefs keep a small kitchen garden for flowers and herbs and also forage for much of what appears on the plate at Vasse Felix.

“We picked beach mustard this morning, we got the wild grapes for the fish dish from the beach. They’re just on the beach, everywhere.

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MQ APPETITE

Leeuwin has been trumping the list of culinary top spots for many years now but, for Dany, you’re only as good as your produce so it’s about clean flavours, minimal technique and fresh, seasonal, top quality fare.

“I’m not going to mask anything,” he says. “Less is more sometimes.”

And something as simple as a carrot puree can help him prove that point. Cooked in its own juice, pureed to a smooth silk and lightly flavoured with Middle Eastern spices, it very nearly stole the show next to a beautifully grilled fillet of crispyskinned pink snapper.

Alongside its lunch service and Saturday dinners, Leeuwin also hosts three concerts throughout the year which see some 6,000 guests head to the grounds for world-class music and gourmet food and wine hampers.

There’s never a dull day at Leeuwin, and Dany likes it that way.

TONY HOWELL DANY ANGOVE

executive chef, Leeuwin Estate

executive chef, Margaret River Hospitality Group

One of the region’s very first wineries, Leeuwin Estate, has been on the Margaret River scene for over 30 years, and has recently cemented its place on the international culinary scene as host of the Gourmet Village at the renowned Margaret River Gourmet Escape.

Executive chef Dany Angove, has been heading up the kitchen at Leeuwin Estate for eight years and for him it’s the quality of the produce and spirit of the region which sets it apart from anywhere else in the world.

“I drive back down from Perth and as soon as I hit Bunbury and start to see the trees, I relax again like, I’m home. It’s just such a nice feeling down here and I think that shows in everything we do,” he says.

“During Gourmet Escape when all the international chefs were here, I don’t know if it was Tony [Howell] or Aaron [Carr] or maybe it was me, I said we’d better stop telling them how good it is because one of those

Long-time Margaret River local, Tony Howell, was first lured to the region almost 20 years ago by the promise of great daily surf and a laidback country lifestyle.

“I came down to help a mate out in his kitchen for three or four weeks and get in some good surf back in 1997,” says Tony with a smile. “Well, I fell in love with the life down here, dragged my wife down with me and we’ve never left!”

After that first stint, Tony has enjoyed an incredible career in the region, with a celebrated 15-years at Cape Lodge, then over to the picturesque Aravina Estate in late 2013, where he spent 15 months heading up its fine-dining kitchen, serving some 200 to 300 guests a day in peak season.

His latest venture, which will officially commence on July 1, will see Tony joining forces with local restauranteurs Alex Brooks and Anthony Janssen to form the

guys will come and take our jobs.”

Dany’s passion for the region comes to the fore in his food. Like many of the area’s best kitchens, Leeuwin has built up long-standing relationships with local producers and Dany prides himself on knowing exactly where everything that makes its way into his kitchen comes from.

“An hour down the road you’re getting truffles, they’ll start in June,” he says. “Beautiful boutique suppliers are just rocking up at the backdoor.

We don’t have to research, they come to us. How fortunate is that?”

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GOURMET Leeuwin Estate hosts a range of events throughout the year, including its wonderful concert series.

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Margaret River Hospitality Group for their existing restaurants, Morries Anytime in the heart of Margaret River town, and the Prevelly beachside eatery White Elephant Café, alongside the soon to re-launch (likely under a new name - yet to be confirmed at time of writing) Gnarabar on the Beach.

It’s all new territory for Tony after nearly two decades spent in winery kitchens, but one that he is very excited about.

“You know, I never thought I wanted my own place, but when AJ [Anthony Janssen] approached me to come on board as a partner, it was

too good an opportunity to miss - and now I’ve got three restaurants!” says Tony.

He also says there is already a confirmed fourth venue for the group, which will be opening in Dunsborough in 2016.

Tony dedicated much of his first few years in Margaret River driving around the region, meeting local producers, trialling their produce and building solid relationships that still thrive today. It’s what he did at Cape Lodge, Aravina Estate, and what will be a large part of his new role.

“It’ll still be all about making our local produce shine and I’ll still be on

the stoves,” says Tony.

“I couldn’t not be, it’s like a drug to me. But I’ll also be overseeing the kitchens in each of our venues, continuing those producer relationships and mentoring and helping out the chefs in the kitchen to be making the best food possible.

“We’ll be introducing rolling menus at each of the three venues. So they won’t be seasonal as such, but instead we’ll be led by what is fresh and in abundance at the kitchen door.”

While Morries is “already kicking goals” with its contemporary bar-meets-restaurant feel, Tony says he’ll be concentrating on rejuvenating the menu at the beachside White Elephant and getting the team at Gnarabar off to a fine start for its re-opening on July 20.

“The White Elephant closes each winter, so it’ll reopen in October for the season, but we’re currently building an indoor dining room addition so we’ll be able to open all year round and people can watch winter storms or the waves crashing in.

“I want to see more fresh seafood on that menu. Think fresh crab, chilli jam, black beans and lots of napkins.

“We’ve got the head chef from the White Elephant coming to work with the team at Gnarabar over the next couple of months, so he’ll be ramped up and ready to go for October. Exciting times ahead!” MQ

Where to taste their food AARON CARR Vasse Felix Caves Road (Cnr Tom Cullity Drive), Margaret River Open daily 10am to 3pm vassefelix.com.au DANY ANGOVE Leeuwin Estate 41 Stevens Road, Margaret River Open for lunch seven days and dinner on Saturday nights. leeuwinestate.com.au TONY HOWELL

Morries Anytime

2/149 Bussell Highway, Margaret River Open seven days a week, breakfast, lunch and dinner morries.com.au

The White Elephant Cafe

Gnarabup Road, Gnarabup Open Seven days a week, 7am to 3pm (re-opening in October) whiteelephantcafe.com.au

Gnarabar by the Beach

Margarets Beach Resort, Resort Pl, Margaret River Open for dinner seven days a week and lunch on Saturdays and Sundays. gnarabar.com.au

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EVENT

A RARE ROSE

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he luxurious Auto Classic showroom recently hosted an exclusive Champagne Dame Rosé and the Rosé masterclass, where attendees enjoyed an afternoon spent sampling rare and delicious rose Champagnes paired with elegant food.

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What better combination could there be?

World-class Champagne, a perfectly paired menu and beautiful BMWs to swoon over in between courses. As part of a series of masterclasses to be held at BMW venues around the country, Auto Classic hosted this beautiful event in late March with resounding success.

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Call 9949 0000 or email reservations@novotelningaloo.com.au

novotelningaloo.com.au

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PROPERTY

CUSTOM DESIGN Boutique builder Averna Homes never makes any home more than once due to the company philosophy that a person’s home is their castle, a one-off, just like the owner.

By Kami Ramini.

D

esign by numbers is one thing, but building a truly individual, never-to-be duplicated home is quite another, according to Averna Homes project director, Jamie Sim, who says no matter how many times he is asked, Averna Homes will never replicate any of their designs.

“We always take prospective clients to see one or more of our show homes to give them an idea of the feel and

quality of our builds and often they love what they see so much, they ask to have one just like it. But we always say no,” Jamie says.

“Firstly we say no because that home was designed to specifically fit the family it was built for. And secondly, because we know that after our detailed design consultation with them, we would tailor-design something perfect and unique for them and it would be different to what they saw. Each of our homes is an individual – just like its owner.”

The Belmont-based boutique builder has been constructing customdesigned homes in the $600,000 to $1.6 million ranges for almost a

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decade, concentrating on Perth’s southern suburbs of Applecross, Como, Bicton, and South Perth, and later expanding into Floreat, Wembley and North Beach.

“We are happy to build wherever our clients want to take us,” says Jamie.

Averna Homes is also now expanding its expertise into larger budget ranges.

“We are currently building a $2 million home in South Perth, which will be ready in 2016,” says Jamie.

“We want to show people what we can do with these higher budget homes and a lot of our clients are already eager to see it finished.”

It’s their bespoke approach that

has continued to win Averna Homes its coveted rate of client referrals. As Jamie explains, it’s not only the design that is individual but also the designerclient relationship, which sees people passing on personal recommendations to friends and family.

“Unlike many of the larger builders, our clients don’t deal with sales people. Our designers meet prospective clients at our show homes and are then given the opportunity to visit clients' homes that are currently under construction, so as to reinforce the fact that design features and quality are reflected in all our homes, not just our show homes,” says Jamie.

“Should a client decide to go ahead, they will work with one designer throughout the whole process. No sales pitches, no passing around between contacts - it’s the client and the designer the whole way through until the building contract is signed.”

Averna Homes’ head designer, Sean Brickwood, has been with the company virtually since its inception and says that the client-designer relationship is an integral part of the process.

“It’s a big thing, designing people’s homes, and when you go through that process together you get the opportunity to really know each other,” says Sean. “It’s so great watching your design come to life

and knowing it’s exactly what the clients dreamed of.”

Averna Homes cuts no corners when it comes to the design briefing process because, as Jamie says, it is important to truly understand the clients’ wishlist and their budget and whether those expectations marry as

TAILOR MADE Averna Homes' Villa Serene in Como is a prime example of the builder's award-winning design and style.

a first step.

“We sit with prospective clients for a good two to three hours during that first design briefing and we ask a lot of questions. It’s not that we want to intrude into people’s lives but just to make sure we 100 per cent understand what they’re after - it really streamlines the process moving forward.”

Then it’s on to the floor plans and from there, 3D-modelling and photo-realistic images, or renderings, so the client can see the home from all its different angles and elevations, in different seasons, and even where the sun will hit at different times of the day.

“So often when we talk about floor plans clients ask, ‘how many goes do I get?’,” laughs Jamie. “Well, with us there is no number, we keep going until it’s perfect and because of that detailed design briefing back at the beginning, it really doesn’t take very long.” MQ For more information and to make a booking to view one or more of Averna Homes show homes, visit avernahomes.com.

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DEBUT

A HOTEL CALLED ALEX

It’s the hippest place to stay in the newly hip part of the city - Northbridge and for co-owner Miles Hull, The Alex Hotel has been a labour of love. By Gabi Mills. Images by Crib Creative.

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ome ideas are destined for success even before they’ve left the drawing board and the concept of Northbridge’s Alex Hotel falls firmly into that category.

On paper it’s a win-win Northbridge is an area with so much going on, it’s carving a niche for itself in the city as the new hot spot. Gone are the days of it being the place to avoid on a night out; now it’s all supper clubs and boutique breweries, hipster bookshops and stylish noodle houses. So in terms of location, Northbridge is the perfect choice for a new hotel which resembles more a European boutique place to lay your hat than an anonymous chain

collection of rooms.

Now all you need is a far-sighted, innovative team to bring such a plan together and enter stage left Miles Hull and his friends from Little Creatures.

“We all have a hospitality background,” says Miles, sipping a coffee in the little bookshop/cafe underneath the hotel.

“We’ve all been interested in hotels - they’re an extension of restaurants and bars, and I studied hotel management in Switzerland but up until now, we hadn’t spent much time working on a hotel concept.”

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time, says Miles.

“All the partners in the hotel have loved this particular 1950s facade over the years so when the entire site was advertised, a realisation dawned that perhaps we could create a hotel as well as a wine bar.”

Engaging the right architecture practice was the next step and Michael Petroni’s Space Agency was the obvious choice for Miles and his team.

“Michael really developed the site as an architectural aesthetic. We strongly believe that Northbridge is going to be a new epicentre for the city, with no longer a disconnect between it and the CBD. We’re hoping that the new Yagan Square will become like Melbourne’s Federation Square. So with everything going on at places like the Cultural Centre, the urban orchard, art galleries and restaurants, it made so much sense to house a hotel in this spot.”

Modelled on an old European family-run style of hotel

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- “character not cookie cutter” - Miles wanted the new hotel’s local vibe to shine through.

“We engaged a Sydney-based interior design company, Arent & Pyke, to create a homely, Europeanstyle experience for guests. We love their beautiful, relaxed, contemporary but comfortable approach to design and the fact that we’ve been able to be very hands-on in terms of choosing things like the sheets, furniture and fittings.”

Guests can expect the best when they check in at the Alex, thanks in large part to the personal interest Miles and his team have taken in stocking the rooms with quality accessories.

In terms of choosing the in-room amenities we’ve spent a lot of time researching and choosing items ourselves, for instance 100 percent cotton Beltrami linen from Italy, Bemboka towels and blankets from Turkey and closer to home, Freo’s Sodashi toiletries who co-branded their line with us.”

Intent on delivering a five star experience but at a keen price, decisions such as skipping on equipping rooms with a mini bar were made in favour of a fully stocked mezzanine guest bar.

“You can take drinks back to your room which fits in with the idea of treating the hotel like a home-fromhome.”

There’s no gym or pool either but Miles believes that the hotel will appeal to guests who are keen to experience the neighbourhood’s attractions.

“The public areas of the hotel, like the mezzanine, the lobby and the gorgeous roof top bars will have heaps of books, magazines, even a record player to encourage our guests to hang out in public rather than retreating to their rooms. It’s a real communal style of hotel.”

With rooms available from $200 (and ranging from ‘Nook’ to ‘Comfy’), all the same amenities are available; it’s just the size of the room that will vary.

“All the rooms have windows that open too,” says Miles, clearly not a fan of hotels whose windows remain resolutely locked.

Thanks to their experience as owners of Little Creatures, Miles and the other hotel partners are hoping to replicate the success the little brewery achieved in the hotel sector.

“What we did with Little Creatures was introduce an independent craft product into an industry dominated by big brands,” he says.

“We’re really hoping to do the same with hotels - a craft product taking on city hotels dominated by homogenised brands. We will introduce visitors to Perth to a new kind of hotel, appealing to the ‘inquisitive traveller’ who cares where they stay and wants to get to know the local area. We believe what’s outside the hotel lobby is just as important as what’s inside the hotel.”

With the city being just a two minute walk away and the diversity of Northbridge on its doorstep, Miles has high hopes that the Alex will welcome locals keen to get to know their city again as well as those inquisitive travellers here on business and pleasure from further afield. If leaving the hotel is all too much, thankfully there’s a wine bar in situ the Shadow Wine Bar. “It’ll be open seven days a week from lunch til late at night, for the after show crowd,” he says.

Named after the Venetian tradition of drinking an ‘ombra’ (shadow) which involves enjoying a range of 100ml servings of wine plus little wine-focused bar snacks.

“We’ve got a wonderful selection of WA and European wines and the wine bar team, led by Terri Seeber in the bar from New York and Sue Hutchins in the kitchen, all come from very strong hospitality backgrounds.”

And what about the name?

“We wanted a name which created a culture and a personality all of its own, but wasn’t specifically male or female,” explains Miles.

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INSIDE AND OUT Co-owner Miles Hull up top at The Alex Hotel’s rooftop bar.

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“We researched the history of the area and nothing really gelled.

Then we realised that three of us had a child called Alex, that there was an Alex in each of the founding partners’ families. Internationally Alex exists as a derivative in a number of cultures around the world.

It’s top of the list alphabetically, and importantly doesn’t come with any preconceived notions.

“It’s a blank canvas - the personality of the place is greater than the name.” MQ Alex Hotel, 50 James Street, Northbridge, open for bookings now.

PERSONAL TOUR

SERVICE IN STYLE Auto Classic Service Technician Jay Jensen gives us a personal tour of the service centre

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ay Jensen’s career as a BMW Service Technician has seen him travel the world, but having landed in Perth for his job at Auto Classic in April 2011, he says he’d never dream of going anywhere else.

Having worked with BMW for over 12 years now, Jay completed his ‘BMW passport’ - the BMW-specific training each Service Technician needs to carry out in order to work on the maintainance and repair of BMW vehicles - back home in the UK. “It’s a passport in lots of different ways,” says Jay. “Not only because it means you are fully trained to work on BMWs but also because it is recognised at BMW dealerships throughout the world.”

Jay left England in 2009 for a job at a BMW dealership in Abu Dhabi, specifically at the Alain branch, which saw him posted at one of the remotest

desert-based dealerships in the world.

“You can’t get any further out into the desert than that,” laughs Jay. “But I really enjoyed it - great people and a lovely place to work, but culture-wise Abu Dhabi wasn’t the best place for a single man.”

Chatting on Facebook with an exapprentice who was working at Auto Classic at the time, Jay put some feelers out to see if there might be a job going. There was and the rest, as they say, is history.

“I’ve never looked back since,” says Jay. “I love working on BMWs and driving them too. Sometimes I’ll drive a client’s car home to them if they’re having trouble getting here to pick it up.

“Here at Auto Classic of course we’ve got the product but it’s the team which makes it such a great place to be. There are about 24 of us here on any one day and we all want MARQUE WINTER

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TEAMWORK There are over 20 qualified Service Technicians in the Auto Classic Service Centre on any one day.

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to go above and beyond. We put a lot of pride into making sure we deliver value for money and client satisfaction.”

Travel with the job hasn’t stopped since Jay arrived at Auto Classic. As Auto Classic’s High Security Vehicle Specialist, Jayimage is the dealership's Service Use from page qualified 45 bottom right hand page Technician spring 2014 for work on BMW’s line of

J&W Zarb your North side Accredited BMW Bodyshop specialists

high security vehicles, the BMW 7 Series and the BMW X5, which are used by the armoured police.

Work on these vehicles requires special training and Jay travelled to Singapore last August to carry out the intensive program and then over to Munich, Germany, for a second training session and factory tour in February.

“They wanted us not only to have the training but also visit the factory to see how the cars are made. It was freezing, well minus 11°C actually but it was a fantastic experience,” he laughs.

Jay says the service team will always put their all into providing the best customer experience possible, including a full courtesy interior

and exterior clean of the car during service and turn-around within the day, wherever possible.

Auto Classic also offers what is known as the ‘Good Wheel Claim’, which assists owners with the cost of repairs even once the warranty has expired.

“All of our vehicles here at Auto Classic come with a three-year warranty and the option to upgrade to a service inclusive package, but we go further than that too.

“When a customer has a problem with their car and the warranty has expired, Auto Classic requests coverage of the labour costs and parts from BMW - it's part of our on-going customer service.

“We like to go above and beyond. It makes working here at Auto Classic really rewarding and hopefully gives that special service extra to our customers.” MQ The Auto Classic Service Centre is open Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 7.30am to 6pm, Wednesdays 7.30am to 9pm, and Saturdays 8am to 12.30pm. Contact the team at service@autoclassic.com.au or (08) 9311 7533.

Your North side Accredited BMW Bodyshop specialists Whether a minor scratch or major damage, your BMW is better off in the hands of experts.

Conveniently located in Osborne Park, every paint and panel technician who works on your vehicle is highly trained in BMW repair techniques, ensuring that your Ultimate Driving Machine will be restored back to its factory-quality finish.

Our Services include: • Full BMW accident repairs to the highest standards with genuine BMW parts • Glass breakage repairs • Trim and Convertible roof repairs • Able to liaise with all insurance companies • Glasurit paints, a world class refinish system

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6 Roberts St , Osborne Park WA 6017 AUTOCLASSIC.COM.AU

✆ 08 9443 3434 e jwzarb@bigpond.com

R&R

THE BIG BLUE

handle and the rod buckles, an unseen but obviously substantial predator is trying to free itself of your lure.

Is it a tackle-busting giant trevally, a speedy Spanish mackerel, electrifying wahoo, powerful samson fish or maybe even the fabled billfish? Welcome to the excitement of bluewater fishing in Western Australia.

WA really is the land of opportunity if you love fishing, and particularly offshore fishing.

With more than 10,000km of largely unspoiled coastline teeming with a huge range of popular angling species, it is little wonder recreational fishing is a way of life or that boat ownership per capita in our great state is among the highest in the world.

Wherever you live in WA and whatever your catch of choice, there are reputable charter fishing operators specialising in putting anglers right into the best locations, either for day trips or extended live-aboard expeditions. I’ve been fishing offshore in WA for over 30 years and it is still my top pick of international fishing destinations. With waters this rich, why would you go anywhere else?

Here is my pick of the best of the best locations and the operators to seek out within them.

PERTH

If world-class bluewater fishing is what you’re after, you don’t have far to go here in WA, says seasoned angler Scott Coghlan.

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magine waking up to a stunning golden sunrise on the Indian Ocean, hundreds of kilometres from your real world. You stroll to the back deck of your home for the week, a well-appointed 15m charter boat, pick up a rod and fire out a cast into the glassy calm sea in front of you.

A couple of turns of the reel MARQUE WINTER

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CATCH OF THE DAY WA’s keen anglers won't be disappointed by WA's offshore fishing.

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There are many day charters out of Perth that offer the chance to target popular local demersal species such as dhufish and pink snapper, renowned for their eating quality, in metro waters.

However, if it’s sport-fishing you want then it is hard to go past the annual samson fish aggregations off Perth, which offer the chance to jig for big numbers of fish up to 50kg from November through to February.

For many rookie anglers, samsons are their first experience with big fish and this initial encounter never fails to leave them astounded by their power and size.

Although sharks have become a major issue around the aggregations in recent years, a canny operator like Al Bevan of Shikari Charters, who was one of the pioneers of the fishery, knows how to catch good fish while avoiding the men in grey overcoats.

“The most popular spots are where the sharks have become a real issue and these locations are really not worth fishing anymore,” Al says.

“Fortunately I’ve been fishing these waters for many years and while there is no such thing as a secret spot, I know quite a few that see less fishing pressure and therefore have less sharks, while still offering the chance at a big samson fish.”

Al has been running Shikari Charters for almost 20 years and also specialises in offering exceptional shallow water fishing – a great start for beginners – for dhufish and pink snapper, operating out of Fremantle almost all year.

KALBARRI For those wanting to head beyond the big smoke, one of WA’s best charter skippers can be found in Kalbarri, around 600km north of Perth.

Craig White, or Whitey as he is known by most, is not only a local luminary he is also one of the very best in the world, having won a world offshore fishing championship in South America a couple of years ago.

Few skippers understand their quarry like Craig and for that reason he runs one of the most popular charter operations in WA - Seasport Charters.

“Since moving to Kalbarri, I’ve been blown away with the quality of the fishing around here,” he said.

“Almost every day I find out something new about this fishery and the variety on offer is amazing.”

The range of species regularly encountered by Craig each day includes dhufish, pink snapper, baldchin groper, coral trout and red emperor to fast and furious action on pelagic species like Spanish

mackerel, yellowfin tuna, mahi mahi (dolphinfish) and cobia.

Craig is also developing an exciting new fishery for marlin in the area. Kalbarri has never been known for consistently producing billfish, but he’s finding he’s hooking a fish every time he targets them, offering a new aspect to local fishing.

Craig offers exclusive charters which can be tailored to individual preferences for game fishing, sportfishing or deep-sea fishing, or you can simply book a spot on one of his day trips when he has spaces available.

ABROLHOS ISLANDS When discussing offshore locations in WA, it is hard to go past the Abrolhos Islands, around 60km off Geraldton. It's another one for your forward-planning diary.

The Abrolhos is the heart of WA’s commercial rock lobster industry and is rich in history, having been the scene of the infamous Batavia shipwreck and mutiny in 1629.

The 122 small islands that make up the Abrolhos and the coral wonderland that surrounds them are home to a jaw-dropping array of recreational fishing opportunities.

Because of tight restrictions

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on private access to the Abrolhos, live-aboard charters, generally from three to five days in length, are easily the most popular way of fishing there.

Matt Howard, from Apache Charters, which operates at the islands from March to May, said the Abrolhos was a must-visit destination for any keen angler.

“The Abrolhos brings together the best of northern and southern fishing, with an unparalleled range of species on offer,” he said.

“There is something for everyone, whether you like to bottom fish for a feed or chase hard-fighting pelagics, the Abrolhos has you covered. And it is just a unique place, with all the atolls and islands. If you have an appreciation of the ocean, you have to see it to believe it.”

The scenery is certainly a major part of its appeal, along with the ability to catch a wide range of species including dhufish, pink snapper, samson fish, baldchin groper, coral trout, Spanish and shark mackerel, wahoo, cobia, yellowtail kingfish and several species of tuna, as well as billfish in the deeper water on the west side of the islands.

For many people, the Abrolhos experience is so good it becomes seriously addictive, with many keen WA anglers, including myself, making the trip there an annual event.

EXMOUTH AND MONTE BELLO ISLANDS Farther north, Exmouth is fittingly developing a reputation as one of the world’s best off-shore game fishing destinations.

Nowhere in WA does the Continental Shelf come closer to the mainland. This means apex bluewater predators like marlin and sailfish are within reach of even small boat anglers, and found in high numbers.

There are several specialised sport-fishing charter operations working out of Exmouth that will tailor trips

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MQ R&R

to their clients’ wishes.

Whether you want to cast poppers at big 30kg-plus GTs [KR1] (giant trevally) along the back of the stunning Ningaloo Reef or troll the deep blue current lines for any of at least four species of billfish, On Strike Charters, Peak Sportfishing and Ningaloo Sportfishing Charters are gun local operations at the very top of their game with all the top quality sportfishing boats built for the job.

There are also several charters, such as Fly Fishing Frontiers Exmouth and Exmouth Fly Fishing, offering specialised offshore fly-fishing adventures, including the rare chance to catch a marlin or sailfish on fly.

Exmouth is also the starting point for trips to the magnificent Monte Bello Islands, around 130km off the Pilbara coast, with Captain Bernie Vale and Mahi Mahi Fishing Charters.

The affable Bernie is worldrenowned for his exploits in tagging billfish around Exmouth and the Montes and also has an unmatched knowledge of the waters around the latter, which was the site for three nuclear tests in the 1950s.

From October to April, Bernie offers live-aboard trips to the Montes, where the targets can vary enormously even from trip to trip.

“It is such a great spot and it is so far out of the way it still has relatively untapped fishing,” Bernie said.

“I fish the Montes at a different time of the year to most charters, as this is when I believe the fishing is actually at its best. Some of the things we see are just mind-blowing.”

The beauty of the Montes is the sheer diversity of fishing options, from shallow-water sport-fishing around the islands for trevally, coral trout and spangled emperor, to bluewater trolling for Spanish mackerel and tuna, to bottom fishing for red emperor and ruby snapper, through to serious game fishing for big marlin.

Our most recent trip saw some exciting deep-water fishing for ruby snapper in 350m on one day, while

PEAK FISHING TIMES ACROSS WA No matter the time of year or your choice of catch, there is somewhere perfect in WA APRIL TO OCTOBER Kimberley, fishing for Barramundi AUGUST TO DECEMBER Rowley Shoals, trolling for sailfish OCTOBER TO MARCH/APRIL Exmouth, casting poppers for giant trevally or trolling for marlin OCTOBER TO APRIL Monte Bello Islands, trolling for marlin NOVEMBER TO FEBRUARY Perth, jigging for samson fish FEBRUARY TO APRIL Kalbarri, trolling for Spanish mackerel MARCH TO MAY Abrolhos Islands, jigging for dhufish and pink snapper

the next morning we were casting small lures out of kayaks in a couple of metres of crystal clear water for big spangled emperor, coral trout and even GTs. At other times of the year, Bernie runs highly popular day charters out of Coral Bay and short live-board trips between Coral Bay and Exmouth, both specialising in deep-sea fishing and definitely worth trying.

There are also other operators, such as Top Gun, which run trips to the Montes at different times of the year.

ROWLEY SHOALS No piece on offshore fishing in WA is complete without mentioning the amazing Rowley Shoals and with the season (August to December) approaching, now is the time to get planning. Located more than 260km off the popular Kimberley tourist destination of Broome, the Rowleys are about as remote a fishing destination as you’ll find in WA and the fishing MARQUE WINTER

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is world-class, with big numbers of sailfish and wahoo, and the chance of the highly-regarded dogtooth tuna.

I’ve only been to the Montes once, but I’ll never forget a brief encounter with a GT that was more freight train than fish, or the amazing light tackle session on countless coral trout inside one of the lagoons.

No one experiences more fishing excitement at the Rowleys than Ross Newton and his charter Reel Teaser, which has been visiting the area for many years. Ross is also one of a number of operators that runs live-aboard trips through the Kimberley.

There are numerous Kimberley charters which largely focus on in-shore, estuary and creek fishing with iconic barramundi as the main target, although there are also some bluewater opportunities on offer.

It may sound too good to be true, but it isn't. The reality is that mentioning this handful of charter operations I have only scratched the surface of WA's off-shore fishing opportunities. Just make sure you check the seasonal availability when planning.

For more information, visit popular fishing websites like westernangler.com.au or visit the Facebook pages of the various charter operations mentioned. MQ Scott Coghlan has been editor of Western Angler magazine for over 12 years and also a regular fishing columnist for The Sunday Times.

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CLASSIC

Occasionally a car grabs your attention and you just can’t shake it off.

That’s what happened to Fremantle enthusiast Colin Clarke when he got behind the wheel of a BMW 2002 almost 50 years ago.

By Paul Blank. Images by Crib Creative.

DRIVE OF A LIFETIME “

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orty-seven years ago, I happened to drive a BMW 2002. The one drive in that car never left me,” says Colin Clarke, describing how his infatuation with the classic car began.

Colin now owns four BMW 2002s, and the road to completing his collection has taken him across Australia and around the world.

After that first ever drive in 1968, Colin bought his first BMW 2002 - a bright red 2002Tii - in the early 1990s and used it enthusiastically as his everyday car for about five years.

Then about 15 years ago, he bought his second - a partially restored BMW 2002. He drove

that one a lot too, including across Australia and back, but was still left wanting more.

“It was the late model with the square tail lights, which I never liked,” he says.

So he decided to get serious and go after what he really wanted. He bought two of the round tail light models in 2000. The Sahara beige Tii, in the top specification sold in Australia, with a fuel-injected engine, five-speed gearbox and a factory sunroof. It was what Colin had been after for a long time and it took him to Queensland for the BMW National Rally, covering 16,000km, including laps of the Stanthorpe race circuit.

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COLLECTOR BMW enthusiast Colin Clarke has driven his BMW 2002s across Australia and back.

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A striking Inca Orange 2002Ti moved into Colin’s garage at about the same time. It had some rust and needed attention, so it became a restoration project. It has high specification, with a five-speed

close-ratio gearbox, limited slip diff, twin 45 Webers, Scheel seats and factory sunroof and, today, looks and handles as it did in its prime. Colin says it’s great fun to drive.

But it still wasn’t enough. Colin then set his sights on building a competition 2002. The result is a full-on turbocharged machine with a 225kW output.

“With 300 horsepower it scares me sometimes,” says Colin with a twinkle in his eye. “It feels like you’re taking off in a jet.”

Colin has done a lot of events in that car, but it has spent most of its time in his garage in recent years while Colin travelled frequently overseas.

The latest addition to his collection is a very rare version - BMW’s first hatchback, a 2002 Touring. This model was available from 1971, but was never sold in Australia. No surprise then, that it creates a lot of interest whenever it’s at a car event.

Colin chose his collection well.

The 2002 was a crucial model for BMW. Launched in 1967 as the 1600, the compact two-door was the right car at the right time. The name changed to 1602, 1802 and 2002 in 1968, reflecting different engine sizes.

the same era, the 2002 became the template for BMWs to follow. The nimble handling, eager engines and superior build quality made, and still does make, a very appealing package.

And as the success of the model grew, so did BMW’s reputation, with sales and owner-loyalty growing around the globe. A Cabrio was also offered in some markets, but not

front spoiler, in mirror writing - so other drivers could read clearly what was about to overtake them. Only 1670 were built, and the Turbo was never sold in Australia.

During the model run, just under 700,000 of the series were made before it gave way in 1976 to the first 3 Series.

As Colin can attest, there’s still a whole lot of love around for the 2002 all these years later.

“I don’t get to use them enough, but always enjoy it when I do,” he says. MQ

The 2002 was a crucial model for BMW. Launched in 1967 as the 1600, the compact two-door was the right car at the right time.

It became an immensely successful model for BMW, racking up similar sales numbers to every previous model added together. While technically related to the bigger 1500/1800 sedan of

here in Australia.

The final version was the 2002 Turbo, which was Europe’s first turbo-charged production car, launched in 1973. Cheekily the word “Turbo” was spelt out large on the MARQUE WINTER

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CULTURE

ART FOR ART’S SAKE Returning in early July, the PICA Salon is a much-anticipated event for contemporary art collectors and philanthropists alike.

By Kami Ramini.

IMAGE CRIB CREATIVE

N

ow in its sixth consecutive year, the PICA Salon 2015 is back once again this July. It’s the flagship event for the Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts’ (PICA) philanthropic ART1000 and ART5000 programs and will be the largest one of its kind to date, showcasing unique work from a collection of local, national and international contemporary artists.

The creation of this year’s exhibition and its concept of ‘epic narratives’, exploring recent artistic tendencies towards unconventional and non-linear storytelling, has been a long time in the making.

Curators Leigh Robb and Nadia Johnson were awarded

the rare privilege of an extensive commissioning process, allowing room for creative development within artistic and curatorial practices.

It mightn’t sound like much, says Leigh, but when you are delivering between eight to 15 projects in a year, 18 months dedicated to just one exhibition is a creative luxury. With a focus on WA artists, Leigh and Nadia have used the extended lead time to commission original work from a total of 19 artists, 13 of which hail from WA or have a strong connection to the state.

“The long commissioning process for PICA Salon has been incredible,” says Leigh.

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“It’s all new art, commissioned to a brief and the process has been extremely involved and enjoyable. We’ve done a lot of studio visits and things adapt and change transformations happen with artists really pushing and developing their practice, scaling up or out, or expanding the technologies of their work,” says Leigh.

One example, says Leigh, is award-winning Geraldton artist Clare Peake, whose artistic practice generally centres on drawing and small scale sculpture, but her specially commissioned PICA Salon 2015 collection has taken on epic dimensions.

“Clare was doing a much more contained collection at the start. She kept saying she was too scared to scale-up but then she did it. She massively scaled-up from delicate graphite drawings to structures of organic paper pulp which are much bigger than her,” says Leigh. “Her works for PICA Salon are like a ritual structure for giants, like a sort of Stonehenge.”

It’s PICA’s innovative approach and opportunities to

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curate events like this which drew South African-born, Queenslandraised Leigh back to Australia in 2009, and specifically to her position at PICA, after over 10 years spent working in highly acclaimed institutions overseas.

“Early on in my career I was able to work at QAGOMA (Queensland Gallery of Modern Art) in Brisbane, which is the leading centre of the Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art. It was incredible working with living artists to produce new work, it’s very different to historical art,” says Leigh.

“Then I went on to the Guggenheim in Venice, which is textbook modernist which I loved, and in London I was able to work with the likes of Steve McQueen and Michael Landy – a lot of the YBAs (Young British Artists). It was amazing but I missed working with the public to create new exhibitions with new works.”

A serendipitous meeting with PICA’s departing curator back in 2009, alongside the coincidence that her family had recently relocated to Perth, made taking up the position of curator at PICA her perfect next move, both professionally and personally.

“My mum thought it was meant to be!” Leigh laughs. “But seriously, jobs like this don’t come up very often.

PICA is truly innovative in how it curates and commissions exhibitions.

“It’s very lateral, open-ended and experimental in its approach which allows space for creating defining moments, radical departures from artists’ practices and creating discourse.”

Spearheaded by PICA director, Amy Barret-Gerrard, and PICA development manager, Jo Malone, Leigh was part of the founding team of the PICA Salon series, which is based on a contemporary reworking of the classic Salon exhibition at the Academie des Beaux-Arts in Paris.

Launched in 2009, PICA Salon and its gala opening night event, the Vernissage, were born with a strong philanthropic focus, as the core fundraising event for the notfor-profit institute’s award-winning ART1000 Program.

Now with the accompanying ART5000 Program, that philanthropic focus still remains, but PICA Salon has also earned itself the position of one of PICA’s artistic highlights of the year, says Amy. “It’s now very much embedded in our artistic program, with a very interesting curatorial focus and WA inclination this year - certainly with the selection of artists,” she says.

“This year the PICA Salon will be moved into the main gallery. There are distinctive artistic practices happening here and we will be highlighting these with an innovative curatorial approach.”

Exploring the concept of ‘epic narratives’, Leigh and Nadia only approached artists who already used storytelling as a central focus of their practice and invited them to respond to the theme with bodies of work, especially commissioned for the exhibition. The result is an intense variety of narrative techniques and artistic media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, installation, video and even

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performance.

“Think about epic narratives - heroic voyages that the great Antarctic adventurers, scientists and explorers undertook, who literally went out into the unknown.

These grand undertakings can happen on different scales,” says Leigh.

“Take one of the exhibiting artists, Jacobus Capone.

He’s based in Perth but actually travels to Iceland every five years or so and exposes himself to the harshest of elements to tell those stories, life-threatening encounters.

There are artists who are actually doing that.”

Capone’s original works, alongside the much-

DRIVER'S SEAT opposite, PICA curator, Leigh Robb. This page, right, Tarryn Gill, “White Sphinx”, below, “Habitat Capsule Walking Melbourne” by Gosia Wlodarczak, bottom, “Dust” by Clare Peake.

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MQ CULTURE

» PICA Salon 2015 will run from July 5 to August 16. » PICA Vernissage gala event will be held, July 4. » Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts, Perth Cultural Centre, James Street, Northbridge WA 6003. » For more information on becoming an ART1000 or ART5000 patron and attending the upcoming PICA Salon Vernissage, contact PICA development manager, Jo Malone, tel: 08 9228 6306; email: philanthropy@pica.org. au, or web: pica.org.au/support/ donate-now

anticipated works of all 19 exhibiting artists, will be available for purchase at the exhibition, if they haven’t already been bagged at the exclusive Vernissage event, that is. The Vernissage, to be held on July 4, is an elegant and exciting gala event, open only to PICA’s ART1000 and ART5000 patrons, PICA’s curatorial and fundraising team and the artists themselves.

The glamorous event, complete with surprise artistic installations and performances, fine wining and dining, and the opportunity for patrons to enjoy one-on-one conversations with exhibiting artists, is also a once-a-year collectors’ event where PICA patrons have the all-important first glimpse, and “first dibs”, on the works.

“The Vernissage is a prime opportunity to purchase important works from really relevant artists. We have a lot of tenacious supporters who are there when the doors open.

There have actually been people running in for first dibs on covetable works,” says Leigh.

What may come as a surprise, though, is that PICA doesn’t see any of the profits from the sale of these works. Unlike many other institutes, PICA’s not-for-profit philosophy awards 100 per cent of funds from the sale of works to the artist, on top of the commissioning fee it pays and assistance provided for the cost of materials and shipping.

“All profits go back to the artist,” says Leigh. “It’s fantastic because it really allows the artists to be challenged and excited about creating new work. They’re excited to be involved, you know, because they don’t have to give their work away.”

The funds PICA makes in association with the PICA Salon come solely through its ART1000 and ART5000 Programs which, since their inception, have enjoyed growing and long-lasting interest from invested individuals from all walks of life; from passionate newcomers to established collectors.

For a tax deductable donation of $1,000 for the ART1000 Program or $5,000 for the ART5000 Program, MARQUE WINTER

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ON SHOW Top, Dark Learning” by Jacobus Capone. Above, “I found a fish inside my soup”

by Abdul Rahman Abdullah.

PICA patrons secure themselves an invite to the muchanticipated PICA Salon Vernissage and the collector opportunities it brings, alongside a host of other exclusive events throughout the year.

“The people who get involved have a really varied existing experience in art. Some are very passionate already and keen to expand their knowledge, some are already extremely knowledgeable, sometimes even more than us!

In many ways, it is a knowledge exchange,” says Amy. “Becoming an ART1000 or an ART5000 donor is a great way for people who are passionate about contemporary art culture to get involved and really build relationships, between themselves, with us, and also with the artists.” MQ

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BUSINESS CLASS

SKY HIGH SERVICE

Air New Zealand does it with style, no matter the class, says Geoffrey Thomas.

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ut simply, Air New Zealand is almost faultless. Yes I am saying that but the airline has won so many awards in recent years that it would take another story to list them all.

The banner ones are Air Transport World’s Airline of The Year Award in 2010 and 2012 and AirlineRatings. com Airline of the Year for 2014 and 2015. The reason is simple.

Air New Zealand has empowered the staff to throw away the manual and be themselves while giving them the latest in technology to wow passengers.

And the latest in technology are the Boeing 777-300ER and Boeing 787-9 fitted with award-winning economy and premium economy seats and cutting edge entertainment system.

To design its interiors, that also includes those in its Business Premier, Air New Zealand brought together its most innovative staff with the global think tank IDEO from Palo Alto, California.

The process started in 2008 and took more than nine months to look at every aspect of the airline’s cabins. Passengers, flight attendants and company leaders were interviewed. IDEO told Air New Zealand that with the world’s longest long-haul flights, it had a greater obligation than any other airline to give passengers more.

Core elements of the makeover were the economy Skycouch and the premium economy Space Seat which were designed in-house.

While two adults can sleep in a Skycouch, its perfect niche is for a mother and two children. The Spaceseat in Premium Economy (on the 777-300ER) looks more like

CLOUD NINE Dual dining and a flat bed are just two the perks for Air New Zealand business passengers.

it belongs in Business Class. It is a shellback design so the passenger in front cannot recline into your space, while your feet sink into “Otto” the foot cushion.

The seats are arranged in sets of two, with outboard ones being more private and the middle set more for couples. In the middle two seats a central padded table can be pushed downwards so the two seats form a flat bed.

On the service front, even in economy class, the airline has introduced a timeline for passengers, telling them when meals will be served on their flight. The meal is not served with everything on one tray, but in courses on smaller trays, giving passengers more space to continue what they are doing.

In Premium Economy, passengers enjoy a meal quite different from the normal airline fare, with tapas, pizzas, even gourmet Angus beef burgers on offer, while couples can also share a dessert platter. At snack MARQUE WINTER

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time, toasted sandwiches can be whipped up or perhaps an apple and cinnamon spiced hot cake. Wines are from the Business Premier selection.

The airline’s Business Premier was enhanced with the addition of a really thick mattress. Meal service is on demand and served restaurant style, with no meal trays.

In First, induction ovens were installed, which allows for the cooking of food on board so you can now order a steak the way you would like it or get real poached eggs.

The Air New Zealand 777 has five galleys to improve the speed of delivery to passengers and galley chefs prepare the meals. Some of the galleys have been increased in size and big LCD screens added for passengers to take part in activities such as wine tasting.

The airline is currently refitting its eight 304-seat 777200ERs with the new product.

Air New Zealand operates a daily 787 service to Auckland with connections to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Vancouver. Later this year the airline is launching daily Auckland to Houston and Buenos Aires flights.

But it is the staff that win you over. The welcome is sincere and warm and it seems as if nothing is too much trouble. Clearly they are inspired and as the saying goes nothing succeeds like success. And Air New Zealand is at the top of its game. MQ Georrfey Thomas is aviation editor at The West Australian.

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LAST WORD

(Gluttony) What is the food you could

SEVEN DEADLY SINS JAMIE OLIVER

J

amie Oliver is one of the world's best-known and most-loved chefs. The easy-going Essex geezer is all about healthy, locally sourced food everyone can enjoy, without putting a strain on the hip pocket, and he has restaurants, TV shows and cooking schools all over the world to prove it.

But his philosophy goes further than paddock-toplate. Jamie has combined his passion for food with education on our fair shores through Jamie’s Ministry of Food Australia. As Jamie’s Australian not-for-profit organisation, the program teaches basic cooking skills in an effort to address diet-related disease issues.

During his visit to Australia earlier this year, Jamie launched his global petition with the aim of securing food education on school curriculums everywhere – and with this, to empower the next generation with basic food skills needed for people to lead happier, healthier lives.

FOR MORE INFORMATION visit the goodfoodfoundation. com.au and sign the petition at change.org/jamieoliver, to help make a difference.

eat over and over again?

Chillies, or anything with chillies in it. I’m a little bit addicted but, to be honest, they’re a good thing to be addicted to because they’re really good for you and they also make your body release endorphins, which put you in a good mood so it’s a win-win. I also love my mum’s roast chicken – it’s been a favourite since I was a kid. Just the smells from the kitchen while it's cooking are enough to make me smile.

(Greed) You’re given $1m that you have to spend selfishly – what would you spend it on?

With $1m I’d open more Ministry of Food kitchens in Australia. And if I can be even greedier, I’d love the Australian Government to build on what Queensland and Victoria currently contribute and match it with another $1m allowing us to reach more Aussies across the country, including regional areas, to get them cooking with loads of fresh ingredients. Our research results show the program is effective in getting participants to cook more meals from scratch and to eat more fresh veggies and less takeaway food over the long-term, so we know our program works. And what government wouldn’t want to invest in the health of their nation?

(Sloth) Where would you spend a long time doing nothing?

At my home in Essex. It’s the perfect place to relax with the family because we know where everything is and there’s plenty of space so you can escape if you need to. It’s just outside the village where I grew up so there’s not far to go if you want to drop in on mum and dad at the pub.

(Wrath) Which news story makes you white with rage?

I am most angry about the rise of obesity and diet-related disease around the world and the lack of action to address the problem.

Simple steps can create great

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change, such as adding food education to school curriculums.

Two thirds of Australians are overweight or obese including a quarter of Aussie kids, costing Australia $58 billion dollars a year! That’s why I started my petition at change.org/jamieoliver.

If I get enough signatures then governments will have to start listening. We know how much can be achieved when government and businesses collaborate as we have with Ministry of Food in Queensland and Victoria.

(Envy) Who’s shoes would you like to walk in?

I’m not really envious of anyone, to be honest. There are people I admire like Sir Paul Smith and Gennaro Contaldo, my mentor, but I don’t envy them.

(Pride) What is the one thing you’re secretly proud of?

It’s not really a secret but I’m proud of my Fifteen restaurant in London which is still going strong and still training young people after 12 years. I’m also proud of my Ministry of Food centres and teams all over the world.

Since we opened the first Australian kitchen in Ipswich, our goal has been to expand and we now have four centres and two Mobile Kitchens working in four states and over 20,000 Australians have attended our cooking skills course. As a not-for-profit organisation, The Good Foundation runs my Ministry of Food program in Australia and requires funding to continue teaching so I’m really proud of the contribution our partners and teams are making toward the fight against chronic disease.

(Lust) Who makes your heart beat faster?

Naturally, my wife, Jools, who is the most amazing person. We’re very lucky to have four brilliant kids and a great extended family network around us but we’re also lucky that we have each other. MQ

REAL ESTATE

REMEMBER WITH ONE OF US, YOU GET ALL OF US.

APPLECROSS 9316 8088

CARINE GLADES 9246 0611

DALKEITH 9386 8255

MOUNT LAWLEY 9272 2488

SOUTH CENTRAL 6310 0300

BALDIVIS 9523 3888

CENTRAL 9381 5566

DUNSBOROUGH 9755 3399

NORTH 9285 0111

SOUTH EAST 9497 3773

BUNBURY 9791 5777

COMMERCIAL 9386 9981

FREMANTLE 9319 3022

PROJECTS 9319 3022

STRATA 9468 7705

BUSSELTON 9754 9200

COOGEE 9434 8200

MANDURAH 9550 2000

ROCKINGHAM 9592 8999

VICTORIA PARK 9470 5556

CANNING VALE COMING SOON

COTTESLOE 9384 6999

MARGARET RIVER 9758 8898

SOUTH 9474 2088

WEST COAST 9400 1600

MARQUE WINTER

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