A Cracker Of A Weekend Around The Fire

Over the past decade, Orange has become recognised as one of Australia’s finest culinary regions. The first ever Orange Winter Fire Festival will have the town bursting with great food, drink and cultural events, all with a wintry flavour from 3rd to 5th August. The festival will capitalise on the town’s winemaking status as some of the best local drops are showcased at events inspired by classic Australiana images, such as crackling bonfires and chargrilled feasts.

The festival kicks off on Friday with the nearby village of Millthorpe being transformed into a winter wonderland as country-folk duo Smith and Jones light up the stage and Pym Street bustles with food and wine market stalls. Meanwhile, back in Orange, Ross Hill Wines will host acclaimed chef Michael Manners, who’ll serve up a casual meal of soup and paella by an outdoor fireplace.

The fire theme continues on Saturday. The standout event sees Small Acres Cyder, See Saw wines and Canobolas Dance Hall join forces for a raucous night of ‘wassailing’ by the bonfire in preparation for spring. For the uninitiated, wassailing is an ancient act of chanting to trees, thus ensuring their prosperity. There will be poetry sessions, ‘astronomical journeys’, char grilled feasts and rich red wines under expansive starry night skies, huddling up to a fireplace in a country pub or restaurant for a Sunday roast plus so much more over the festival. A road trip to the Orange Winter Fire Festival would make for a pretty perfect winter weekend.

Orange Winter Fire Festival 2018 will take place from Friday, August 3 to Sunday, August 5. Head to www.orangewinterfirefestival.com.au for event and ticket information.

A Trove Of Beauty

Discover a treasure trove of beautiful crystals, fossils giftware and unique jewellery sourced from around the world. Semi-precious stones of every colour, unusual silver pieces, quality statues and funky costume jewellery. Be tempted by Worldly Treasures in Orange.

Unique Rings And Other Collectables

If you need shelter from the cold, Second Chance Collectables is a good place to go browsing. It is a licenced second-hand dealer for furniture, ceramics, silver and silver plate, glass and crystal, jewellery and watches, metals, kitchenware, artworks, clocks, toys, militaria, books and ephemera, precious objects, religious works, and other goods with age and interest. While most antique items date from before 1900, you will also find more contemporary items including Australian handmade jewellery and Moorcroft ceramics including current open ranges, numbered editions and limited editions. The resizing of jewellery is also available in store. The store, with clients Australia wide, is open seven days a week.

Make A Statement With Cinnabar Clothing

Winter does not need to be dull. Head into Cinnabar for an eclectic, funky mix of random goodies including clothes from Ruby Yaya, Boom Shankar, Lola Soul and many other great brands. There are scarves for every day of the year. It’s hard not to want everything in the shop. It’s a great place to be with lots to look at.

Dinner, Damper And Dessert With Poetry

Head to Molong on Saturday, 4th August when the Freemasons Hotel hosts a Winter Fire Festival event from 7pm. Enjoy a night of original contemporary Australian poetry and music provided by renowned storyteller, Frank Povah. Frank is an experienced character that will leave you captivated and in laughter. He will sing, tell stories and much more while you enjoy a camp oven dinner, damper and dessert. Call the Freemasons Hotel to book on 6366 8512. Tickets $30 pp. The Freemasons Hotel and Accolades Restaurant are located at 1 Bank Street Molong.

Currajong Disability Services (CDS) has again felt the generosity of the community with the Parkes Painting Group making a donation.

The group donated $1,000 raised from their exhibition held in late April this year. Kim Chambers and Helen Huntly, whose grandson Blake is at Currajong, handed the cheque to Currajong Chairman, Neil Unger.

“We continue to be overwhelmed and appreciative of the kindness of the Parkes business community,” said Neil. It is quite unbelievable to amount of donations and generosity we have received in the last six months.”

More than 40 care packages were distributed to drought affected farmers following the initiative of a Parkes woman asking for donations.

“It has been pretty amazing,” said Karen White who created a Facebook page last month to ask people to donate items to make up care packages.

She said many people made up smoko packages, one woman donated $100 worth of dog biscuits and the Rural Fire Service at Forbes arrived with a vehicle loaded with everyday items, such as rice, pasta and sugar.

“We did not have enough room to fit everything in for the first drop off.” Karen teamed up with the NSW Farmers Association’s representative in Parkes and she took all the packages to the central distribution point in Cobar.

They have already received very good feedback from farmers. A couple who had received a package with home made fruit cakes sent a message saying, “It gave us a lift when we thought the world was against us.”

According to Karen the greatest need is drinking water as many farmers’ household tanks are running low. She said large water jugs or slabs of water bottles would be most welcome to farmers at this stage. “I am happy to keep going as long as there are donations,” Karen said.

Go to the Facebook page Central West Drought Care Packages for more information, or drop off donations at 172 London Road or at Kadina B & B at 22 Mengarvie Street.

The discovery of pulsars was announced fifty years ago and it has since become a major field of astronomical research, especially at the CSIRO Parkes Radio Telescope. As the Parkes telescope has discovered more pulsars than every other radio telescope in the world, combined it was only fitting that the keynote speaker at the 15th annual CWAS AstroFest last weekend was the discoverer of pulsars.

Dame Jocelyn Bell-Burnell said she was very excited to visit the Parkes Radio Telescope for the first time. “It is one of the major cutting edge telescopes in the world doing very important work.”

It was whilst spending endless hours analysing reams of paper chart recordings as a young research assistant at Cambridge University in 1967, where Jocelyn was helping to build a large radio telescope, that she noticed what she referred to as ‘scruff’ in the recordings.

This scruff was a pulsating radio source which reappeared exactly one Earth rotation later every day making it unmistakably a sign of a celestial object. Jocelyn had discovered a rapidly spinning neutron star, later termed a pulsar.

The discovery, hailed as “one of the most significant scientific achievements of the 20th century”, was recognised by the award of the Nobel Prize in Physics to her thesis supervisor Antony Hewish. Another highlight of the AstroFest is the David Malin Awards for astrophotography presented by world-renowned astrophotographer, Dr David Malin, himself. This competition has become the premier event of its kind in Australia with 260 entries this year.

“Two categories had some of the best images I have ever seen,” said David at the prize giving ceremony. The overall winner was Luke Tscharke with his entry titled Crescent Moon at Lake Oberon entered in the Night Scapes category.

An array of international and local guest speakers filled up the programme for the rest of the event attended by over 100 people.

There is something special sitting around a campfire, but sharing the experience with Australia’s country superstar could be extraordinary. This is exactly what Parkes residents will encounter tonight when Kasey Chambers is at the Parkes Services Club with her Campfire tour.

The Aussie country icon is just over halfway touring the country since the release of her 12th studio album in April. “I haven’t been to Parkes for a long time and is really looking forward to the show,” Kasey told The Phoenix earlier this week.

“We are mostly doing old songs and including new ones form the album.” She said the audience should expect a real
campfire atmosphere as she and her band, The Fire Side Disciples, use acoustic instruments. “A lot of my songs work acoustically, so it was not a huge stretch to make the change. That is how they all started any way,” she said.

Making the tour extra special for Kasey is her dad Bill Chambers, a Golden Guitar Award songwriter, who also plays in the band. “He gave me an unusual childhood growing up around campfires and was the inspiration for the album. We share so many stories.”

Kasey grew up on the Nullarbor Plain and the tiny fishing village of Southend, South Australia. They were touring as a family band, The Dead Ringer Band. With the 20th anniversary of her debut album The Captain Turns coming up next year, Kasey said she always wanted to make this record and it was the right time to strip back to the sounds she grew up with.

She realised another dream on the Campfire album doing a duet with her childhood idol Emmylou Harris. “She is probably the voice I heard the most growing up. She has been a great influence on me and doing a duet with her on my album made me so happy. It is so incredible that I’ve had the opportunity to work with so many of my idols. It is such a thrill.”

Living such a busy life, the campfire is a place where Kasey feels she can be present in the moment. “Sitting around a
campfire is one of those places where you never wish you were somewhere else. It is the perfect place to be in the moment.

“This is what we are creating with this gig and I hope everyone will enjoy it like they would sitting around a campfire.”

By Maggi Barnard

It was a big week for Parkes and it kicked off on Monday with the good news of a multi-million dollar grant to reinvigorate the CBD. Member for Riverina and Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack was the bearer of the news delivering more than $4.2 million towards an upgrade of Clarinda Street and a multi-purpose centre to
be constructed in Cooke Park.

The project, at a total cost of almost $8.5 million, will re-develop southern Clarinda Street with footpath upgrades, lighting and smart technology, street furniture and green areas to feed into Cooke Park to the new multi-use function and event centre.

“Congratulations to the Parkes Shire Council on its progressive attitude,” said Michael. “It is a great town indeed and will only prosper into the future looking better, prettier and more attractive for tourists and locals. It is money well spent.”

Parkes Mayor Ken Keith OAM said the project followed on from the CBD vibrancy strategy with “community groups screaming out for cultural facilities”. He said the new multi-purpose centre would not only provide a new and professional stage for the Elvis Festival, but also attract more cultural events to town and create new events, while the development of lower Clarinda Street would encourage business opportunities.

The multi-purpose centre will replace the current community hall in Cooke Park. The project is expected to be completed in two years’ time.

By Maggi Barnard

The Consumer Credit Code – Protection For Borrowers
Most credit arrangements, or contracts, are covered by the Consumer Credit Code (CCC). Before a credit contract is offered, the borrower must be given a statement by the credit provider. A document that sets out the borrower’s rights and obligations must also be provided.
Some of the items which must be disclosed under the code are:
• The amount of the credit;
• The interest rate, and how it is to be calculated. If it is a variable rate, you must be told how you can check this;
• All charges and fees must be disclosed, including ongoing loan maintenance fees and default costs and fees. This
must include any government fees and charges, including any stamp duty;
• Commissions paid to or by the credit provider;
• Details of any required security, such as a mortgage or a guarantee, and of any required insurance.

The contract must clearly set out what terms of the contract may be changed by the credit provider during the term of the contract, and the notice that must be given by the credit provider. These may include changes to the interest rate and changes to the repayment instalments. Where the contract sets out pegged interest changes and repayment instalments, a separate notice need not be given.

So be careful. Fully investigate any proposed credit arrangement and, if the terms are not fully understood, get professional advice before signing up.

If we at Matthews Williams can assist you on this or any other legal matter, feel free to phone me or one of our solicitors or call into our office for an appointment.

By Mark Olson