If you are into food and cocktails, you don’t have to go very far to find quality dishes and drinks. The Ikon restaurant at Hotel Grace- lands has a few surprises for you this season.

They are busy working on a new food menu and cocktail menu to offer their patrons something different going into winter.

If you are into fresh ingredients and home made food, so much more reason to book a special meal at the restaurant. The Ikon house makes everything with fresh ingredients. This not only makes for beautiful food, but also ensure the restaurant is allergy friendly all round.

The chefs can tell you everything that goes into each delicious meal. The jus, sauces, aioli, ice creams and desserts are all house made too!

For quality food, book your table at 6862 6236.

As the saying goes ‘everything old is new again’, and surprisingly video games are no exception. Retro games have had a huge surge in popularity in recent years, with Nintendo titles at the forefront of demand.

Classic games, such as Super Mario Bros and Donkey Kong, are not only popular with the adults who loved them as children, but are also finding a new generation of players. It’s a surprising trend in a market that is literally all about the newest technology.

Nintendo recently released the NES Classic Mini, a console loaded with 30 classic games. The unit sold out almost instantly. The consumer-frenzy over the limited-edition console demonstrates a strong demand for the type of gameplay that retro games provide.

Greenlight Collectables has been refurbishing and selling vintage consoles, games and associated collectables for some time. Owner Brendan Allen believes that a great game is timeless.

“We’ve been selling retro games for a few years now, and the demand for quality titles has only increased,” Brendan said. “People are chasing the consoles and games they had as children, as well the ones they’d always wanted but never had.”

“Nintendo and Sega were huge hits in Australia, and we’re always chasing new stock to meet demand,” he said.

It just goes to show that old school is the new cool.

The Parkes Aviation Museum boasts two new attractions; a Convair that landed at the museum late last month, and set of air-stairs arriving last week.

The Convair has only just retired from a long career in the skies. It is a twin propeller craft that first flew in 1947, and was operated across Australia the following year.

The Convairs can be quickly modified to accommodate passengers, or freight, or both. It can accommodate between 32 and 50 passengers in its roomy cabin. As a full-cargo freighter it can transport supplies to the most challenging destinations, and can handle a range of runway conditions. Some have even been used as a water tanker for fire-fighting.

The newly acquired air-stairs are a less obvious, but no less exciting, exhibit. The air-stairs were designed by Qantas in the late 1950s to complement the Boeing 707 jet airliners. The hydraulic stairs were made with Ford car components, and essentially look like a vintage car that has been equipped with a ladder. They were driven right up to the aircraft to access the passenger door.

The Parkes’ new air stairs were acquired from Kalgoorlie in Western Australia and delivered to the museum by Wayne Jones Towing. Probably one of their most unusual loads!

The air-stairs are in rustic condition, but will be restored by volunteers and eleven students from Parkes High School.

The students are learning the ins-and- outs of aircraft restoration as part of the high school’s ACES Program. The school teamed up with the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society to give the students the opportunity to get practical experience in a hangar.

This is the first term for this program, and instructor Terry Job believes it is off to a flying start. “Some of the students have really been putting a lot of work into it,” he said. “It’s also a bit of a history lesson, and it’s great to see them so interested and engaged.”

Dozens of kids brought their parents to the Parkes Library on Tuesday to enjoy the Andy Jones Show.

The raucous show provided plenty of laughs as Andy shared his unique blend of jokes, music and more jokes. Participants were treated to an impromptu comedy master-class as Andy explained some of the tools of the trade before inviting the audience to join the show.

The 45 people – of all ages – enjoyed the interactive performance, with some finding themselves in the spotlight with physical comedy, others trying their hand at a bit of stand-up and everyone getting up to dance.

Andy Jones is a best-selling children’s author, musician, song writer and come- dian. He has released five CDs, written 12 books, and performed thousands of shows around the country. His titles include The Ripper Razzle Dazzle Big Book of Fun, Hot Jokes for Cool Kids and The Burptionary.

        
Local legend Kath Swansbra has once again taken out top honours in the Arts & Craft awards at this years’ Sydney Royal Easter Show. Kath’s delicate delectables are so impressive that she has won three awards despite only submitting two entries this year.

Kath’s Christmas cake claimed first place in the special occasion cake decorating cat- egory. It is a divinely crafted nativity scene that depicts the first Christmas. Its intricate features include a stable, angels playing a violin and a harp, three wise men, a shepherd with his sheep and desert dunes around the edge.

She joked that she had to watch Lawrence of Arabia several times to get the dunes right. Kath really enjoys doing major jobs that involve a bit of research and a lot of patience. “Sometimes it might take me ten attempts just to get a hand right,” she said. “Icing cracks and you have to start again.It’s a matter of learning your medium.”

Her second entry earned another first place – this time in the sugar art deco- rated egg category. Kath’s hand-moulded sugar egg is an ornate creation that opens to reveal a ballerina. The 11 cm egg took nearly four weeks to create, and it seems the judges appreciated her effort and skill. Her exquisite egg was also the winner of the prestigious Dorothy Evans Perpetual trophy for the best exhibit in cake decorat- ing and sugar art. Kath has won the tro- phy more times than she can remember, but this doesn’t make the victory any less sweet.
“I miss out on it every couple of years,”

Kath said. “But it’s still such a relief to win. I’ve only got one way to go, and that’s down,” she joked. “It’s great to know I’m still good enough with all the younger people who are entering.”

By Raen Fraser