Mister Brisbane: Park life
Also: the red hat revolution, telephone booths, golden oldies and festive foods
Brisbane City Council has released drawings of its vision for Victoria Park. Now — despite the pedant in me objecting to the assertion that the council is going to convert the old golf course into “an iconic* public parkland” — I’m quite excited by all this. We’re getting a new park and the council is promising it will have something for everyone because the final concept has been based on extensive public consultation.
Of course, the proof of the pudding will be in the eating, and we’ll start to see the results of all the planning in the middle of 2021. But the cynical part of me is still concerned. Even if we accept that it’s all being done with the best of intentions, can we be entirely certain that this valuable public asset will remain that way? We only have to look to the nearby Exhibition Grounds for an example of public space that’s been whittled away. I know that the sell-off for housing development was to help fund the Ekka — a.k.a the Royal Queensland Show, a showcase of the state’s best produce, arts, crafts and innovations — but shouldn’t the state government be doing that?
I also remember the many assurances from various state governments over the years that there would be no encroachment at South Bank, and that the entirety of the former World Expo site would always be parkland. I’m not necessarily knocking what’s there now, but there is substantially less public space than there was in 1988.
* According to Oxford, an icon is “a devotional painting of Christ or another holy figure, typically executed on wood and used ceremonially in the Byzantine and other Eastern Churches”, and a parkland isn’t that.
Join Brett Debritz and Spencer Howson for the Mister Brisbane show on Reading Radio at 1296AM or DAB+ on Tuesdays at 6.30pm and repeated at various times through the week. It is also available as a podcast on popular platforms including Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts, and via Podnews.
CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE
I’d kill for a chocolate almond right now, but I’m resisting the urge. Although I’ve not been making a big deal of it, I’m on a diet. Christmas is a challenging time, because it’s an orgy of eating and drinking. And, sadly and unfairly, calories and carbs consumed at this time of the year still do count. While I do believe a little of what you fancy does you good — emotionally, if not physically — I have to try very hard to avoid those almonds because I can’t have just one. What’s your kryptonite?
HATS OFF!
I was having a business meeting with my friend, radio show/podcast co-host and soon-to-be 4BC weekend mornings presenter Spencer Howson at a neighbourhood sports club recently when we were passed by a group of mature women all wearing purple dresses and red hats. I thought this was quite unusual but Spencer wasn’t at all fazed, because he knew exactly who they were. They were adherents of a global movement that takes its inspiration from the Jenny Joseph poem, Warning, which begins with the lines “When I grow old I shall wear purple / With a red hat which doesn’t go, and doesn’t suit me”.
According to Wikipedia, The Red Hat Society was set up in 1997 by Californian artist Sue Ellen Cooper. The society “connects, supports and encourages women in their pursuit of fun, friendship, freedom, fulfillment and fitness while supporting members in the quest to get the most out of life”. They do this by holding tea parties, playing games, going to movies or theatre, travelling and, as I discovered, having lunch at suburban rugby league clubs.
Hearing about the Red Hats made me remember a friend of mine who, a couple of decades ago, said her ambition was to become “one of those old ladies who hold up the queue getting on the bus by counting out the fare in small coins”. What a shame that the GoCard technology (itself soon to be superseded) has thwarted that aim.
Since I don’t qualify for membership of the red hats, I guess I’m going to have to find my own way of growing old in style.
P.S. Another thing I learned recently about Brisbane is that people, apparently, still gather outside the site of the old Cloudland ballroom in Bowen Hills and “dance merrily”. My source for this is the website of the Mercure hotel chain. Can anyone confirm if this really is the case?
PHONE ALONE
I happened to be walking along a suburban street when I thought I saw some workers removing the public telephone. So, I made a mental note to write something about there being little need for public telephones now that everybody has a mobile phone. But it turned out that they weren’t removing it, they were replacing it. Out went the old aluminium “booth” style in favour of a kiosk containing what Telstra calls a “smart payphone”.
According to the telco’s website, Australia has about 15,000 payphones that are provided under its universal service obligation. I guess they don’t make a profit, but I imagine they are still useful for technophobes and in emergencies. In any case, I wonder where the old booth went and whether the day will come when we’re as nostalgic for them as many people are for the old red telephone boxes.
P.S. I was going to include references to Superman and Doctor Who, but I didn’t.
MEANWHILE
Five giants of Australian music will perform together at QPAC in February for the Rock The House concerts. Details of the show, starring John Paul Young, Ross Wilson, Glenn Shorrock, Brian Cadd and Kate Ceberano, are here.
Thornton Wilder’s Our Town is an American classic. Will it play well in Brisbane? We’re about to find out, because it’s the show that’s launching the 2021 Queensland Theatre season. Its 14-member cast will include Jimi Bani, Colin Smith, Libby Munro, Hugh Parker, Roxanne McDonald, Andrew Buchanan, Anthony Standish, Amy Lehpamer, Lucy Heathcote, Egan Sun-Bin, Silvan Rus and Jayden Popik. The play opens at the Bille Brown Theatre on January 30. Details here.
Children’s favourite Alice in Wonderland is coming to the QPAC Concert Hall on January 20 and 21. Details here. You can also book at QPAC for Opera Queensland’s Lorelei, at the Concert Hall in March, with single seats now on sale.
As other entertainment venues reopen for business, Reading Australia is launching a new cinema complex at the refurbished DFO Jindalee on Boxing Day. According to a media release, it will be the company’s first in Queensland to feature full reclining seats in all auditoriums and a new premium food and beverage offering.
Vision Australia’s Carols by Candlelight on Channel 9 and 9Now on Christmas Eve, December 24, at 8pm will be hosted by Eddie McGuire and Livinia Nixon and feature performances by the cast of Hamilton, Dami Im, Casey Donovan, Ella Hooper, Marina Prior, Mark Seymour, Rob Mills, Jimmy Rees and many other Aussie stars.
FEEDBACK
I asked my Twitter followers: “What’s something it’s fashionable to hate, but you secretly like? I’ll start with Starbucks coffee.” So far the answers have included Cup-A-Soup, Eurovision, pineapple on pizza, instant coffee, disco, junk TV, the Ekka, natto (a Japanese soybean dish), newer Simpsons episodes (sometimes), Canberra, sprouts, Cats the movie, the Lost finale, canned beetroot on snack bar salad sandwiches, and people. Does anyone have anything to add?
Also on Twitter, I received a nice compliment from Nate: “Thanks for writing about the nooks & byways in this little cranny of the world. Keep it up.”