Burgers have been popular in Australia for some time, but it seems like burgers in Parkes are powerful. Just about every eating establishment in our town has at least one burger on its menu.

If you would walk around town asking people about burgers, most of them would not hesitate to name their favourite burger and where they get it in Parkes.

There are many reasons to love burg-ers, but it seems like a burger is like a good friend. You know it very well, and you like spending time with it.

“A burger is plain and simple food, and you can find them everywhere,” says my burger obsessed teenage son.

Apart from being cheap, burgers are also easy to eat, are some other testimonials from burgers lovers on the internet. “The meat is ground up, you don’t have to do much chewing. Because it’s served on a bun, it’s easy to eat. There’s no cutting, only lifting. And because burgers come with an array of sides, you can build yours to your own taste. That’s appealing too.”

The familiarity factor is a big one for some people. “Sometimes, when we go out to eat, we don’t want to be challenged. We want the taste of the familiar and nothing’s more familiar, than the taste of a burger.”

The seemingly endless variety of burg-ers available catering for every taste and many different diets, allergies and intolerances, also makes it a popular meal. While its base components – lettuce, tomato, ground meat, and bread – are simple and cheap, it has thrived because of how adaptable it is to change.

Burgers also seem to have fight off the rise of the foodie fitness and wellness trend, which has become very prominent in Australian culinary culture. Many cafes now serve kombucha, acai bowls, chia puddings, buckwheat noodles and well-ness smoothies because of its popularity.

“But salty, fatty and sugary burgers have stood up to that threat. They’re the ‘perfect cheat meal’ and really not that unhealthy, if made with top produce,” says one observer of the burger trend.

The burger has also kept up with the trend of photographing food, as it comes to the table in the perfect configuration to be photographed and put on social media.

All in all, burgers are popular because burgers are good. Burgers not only do the job of feeding us when we want to be fed, but can even serve as a comfort food when needed. And for that, we should all be grateful to the burger.

If you have a great burger memory, story or photo, why not share it with us. Send your contributions to editor@parkesphoenix.com.au

Bon Appetit!

By Maggi Barnard

After celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2019, the Parkes Garden Club had to be creative and flexible in 2020 with the challenges that the COVID pandemic presented.

The club was a nominee for the Community Event of the Year in the annual Australia Day awards for its inventive and supportive ways of keeping connected with members during the COVID lockdown and restrictions.

“COVID has tested us all this past year, and so our emphasis has been on keeping members informed, in touch and together as a community,” the club wrote in its submission for the award. “This has been achieved through the continuation of our monthly newsletter, which members said was a connection with others when they could not venture out.”

Club secretary Norma Garment said the easing of restrictions in July brought new challenges for meetings requiring a team effort from members to stay safe and abide by the rules, “and most importantly staying in touch and assisting each other during these challenging times”.

Despite the restrictions, the club managed to organise guest speakers, conduct a bonsai workshop and have a club ramble in September when members opened their gardens.

The club meets every second Saturday of the month. Contact Norma on 0409 622 888 for more information.

The Arts Revival Festival from 14th to 19th December aims to end a year of no creative stimulation and revive, celebrate and foster artistic activity in the Parkes Shire community.

The festival, organised by the Parkes Shire Arts Advisory Council and Parkes M&D Society, has a full program of a variety of workshops, three one-act plays, an art exhibition, a craft market and various musical performances.

“As there was hardly any creative stimulation during this year of the pandemic, the festival aims to help people have something to work towards,” said spokesperson Lisa Ramsay.

“We hope to make it an annual event and introduce new facets of artistic endeavours into our community. That is why we have included the improvisation workshops for instance for kids and adults.”

Improvisation, a collaborative method of creating live spontaneous theatre that is funny, often touching and frequently poignant, would broaden participants’ skills in how they react and be more authentic on stage, according to Lisa.

“It opens up a different avenue on stage, as musicals might not be for everyone.”

If there is enough interest after the workshops, Lisa is keen to start an improvisation group meeting on a monthly basis to inspire continuous engagement in new artistic endeavours. The workshops will run on 18th and 19th December.

Lisa is also very excited about the three one-act plays to be performed at the festival. “The M&D have not done a play for more than seven years, and we should attract a different audience.” The plays are The Proposal and The Wedding, adapted from Chekhov’s original plays to a farming landscape in 80s Australia, and a junior play Mother Duck and the Golden Goose.

The Arts Revival Festival is a wonderful way to end this tough year on a cheerful note. See the full program of events on the Parkes Shire Council’s website. Tickets for the shows are available online.

The Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC) is urging the public to do a quick online check on a charity’s credentials before donating this festive season.

“It takes a minute to check the ACNC online Charity Register to see if an organisation you would like to support is a legitimate charity,” said ACNC Commissioner Dr Gary Johns

“Unfortunately, fraudsters masquerade as charities, exploiting goodwill — scams are on the rise. It is crucial to do at least a quick online check before giving to be confident your donation is going to an organisation that genuinely does good work.

If you get a call from someone claiming to be from a charity, ask to call them back. Search the Charity Register and call back using the phone number published there.

Don’t click on links in unsolicited emails and social media posts. It is safer to visit a charity’s website, to avoid clicking a link to an imitation website.

Don’t give out your credit card and bank account details on social media and be cautious when doing so online.

Always ask for identification from door-to-door and street fundraising collectors.

Parents and other supervisors of local learner drivers can dial into a free online workshop next week full of practical advice and information about completing the 120 hours of supervised driving.

The ‘Helping Learner Drivers Become Safer Drivers’ workshop is scheduled for Thursday, 10th December from 6pm running for about 75 minutes.

Parkes, Forbes and Lachlan Shire Council’s Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer, Melanie Suitor, said while the usual face to face workshops were not possible due to the current COVID-19 restrictions, the online delivery would hopefully make it more easily accessible for participants to attend.

“Parents and supervisors of learner drivers have a crucial role to play in making our roads safer. That is why we have teamed up with Transport for NSW.”

The workshop covers the licencing system, how to use the Learner Driver Logbook including the use of digital logbooks, licence conditions for learner and P-plate drivers, the benefits of on-road driving sessions, tips on supervising a learner driver and more.

Bookings are essential and can be made online via Eventbrite, through the Councils’ Facebook pages or by calling Melanie on 6861 2364.

Seven years of work came to fruition on Monday when the first sod was turned to redevelop the old community health building into a purpose-build facility for Central West Family Day Care.

“This is just fantastic,” said Ann-Marie Winter, service coordinator of Central West Family Day Care. “We are going to have so much more space and will be able to provide additional services to our community by adding a pre-school, as well as before and after school care and vacation care.”

The $3 million project, expected to be completed by June next year, has been funded to the value of $1.3 million under the NSW Government’s Restart NSW program with Parkes Shire Council contributing  $668,000.

“This project is really important as Parkes and the Central West have a bright future ahead,” said Nationals Upper House MP, Sam Farraway. “It will make Parkes a better place to live.”

Parkes Shire Mayor Ken Keith said: “The demand for childcare services has already seen Central West Childcare Services outgrow its current facility with 47 educators and over 400 children enrolled.

“With major developments happening in Parkes, the delivery of a quality childcare facility will ensure Parkes can meet the needs of new families and businesses relocating to the region.”

By Maggi Barnard