All hail the bookshop: survivor against the odds

This National Bookshop Day, Australia’s one-time Minister for Small Business, Nick Sherry, will be remembered for his words, not his deeds.

A reader, bookbuyer and enthusiastic patron of terrestrial bookshops, in June 2011 Sherry told a conference on online business that,

In five years, other than a few speciality bookshops in capital cities, you will not see a bookstore. They will cease to exist.

Booksellers were livid, and I don’t just mean standing behind their count...

The answer is Col Millington! Col has been recording since the 1970's and is well known and appreciated in the Australian Music scene. The Toorak Times has been slipped a promotional copy of Col Millingtons forthcoming CD titled - "Hey Babe". A release date has not been set yet, but we believe it will be very shortly. Col has been associated with the music scene since the 1960's and started writing in the 1970's. Col joined his first group “Natures Own” in 1968, then was a member of “Midnig...

THEATRE REVIEW of GLAMM Productions THE WISDOM OF EVE Theatre Works Directed by Meredith Fuller

How do solve a problem like Maria..... fck wrong movie damn How do u solve a problem like my Eva, ah yes that feels better already. Not a musical not an opera but of operatic proportions this juggernaut of dialogue and intrigue is none-the-less a fascinating amalgam of script to film n back again... phew!! Arriving at the all now all too familiar "...

THEATRE REVIEW of GLAMM Productions THE WISDOM OF EVE Theatre Works Directed by Meredith Fuller

How do solve a problem like Maria..... fck wrong movie damn How do u solve a problem like my Eva, ah yes that feels better already. Not a musical not an opera but of operatic proportions this juggernaut of dialogue and intrigue is none-the-less a fascinating amalgam of script to film n back again... phew!! Arriving at the all now all too familiar "...

It’s 150 years since an Oxford mathematics don published the most important work of children’s literature and one of the most influential books of all time.

The origins of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in a story that Charles Dodgson told 10-year-old Alice Liddell and her two sisters while rowing along the Thames in 1862 are well known. What is less understood is why it has become such an enduring cultural touchstone across the globe.

Many popular stories can be distilled...

Australians are well versed in the homegrown natural hazards that we encounter every year, from bushfires in summer to storms in winter, cyclones up north and flooding along our rivers.

But we don’t often stop to consider the threat posed by tsunamis. Should we?

Tsunamis are essentially a series of waves in the ocean. Where regular waves are caused by wind, tsunamis are caused by the large-scale vertical displacement of the water column.

Events that can...

The election for the Senate hasn’t ended well. To have four senators from One Nation in the upper house is worse than unfortunate.

If Malcolm Turnbull had not called a double dissolution, but settled for a normal half Senate election, Pauline Hanson would probably have been elected but not with three other One Nation candidates.

The potential sway of Nick Xenophon’s Team (NXT) received much attention before the election but it has secured one less Senate place than Hanson’s...

Middle Eastern delights with a difference

Last night saw the official opening 40 Thieves Middle Eastern restaurant. It has joined a bunch of refreshed spaces down near the Acland/Carlisle Streets intersection.

After months of renovating the space and a soft opening, owners Ali and Michael have fully styled and added a special touch to what is now a very welcoming venue. Arriving last night we were offered a glass of champagne and some sumptuous snacks prepared to thei...

This is the value that the jihadist terrorists really put on life, and the values they teach their children! Sydney jihadist Khaled Sharrouf's son — a child, 7, raised in the suburbs of Sydney — struggles with both arms to hold up the decapitated head. This raises barbarism to a level that is both beyond belief, and is beyond crimes against humanity. Until Arab nations raise their voices against this type of action, their silence will be taken as consent. It makes no difference to how much ...

"The reality of Plastic Ono Band is that it contains eleven of Lennon’s most accessible and gorgeous melodies and riffs." (Gerry Mullholand - BBC review 2010)
"An album that will be as much analysed as Sgt. Pepper over the years." (Billboard - 1971)
"It remains one of the most audacious, iconoclastic albums in all of rock and roll." (Guitar World 2016)
"The album certainly shows that he had yet to work through many unresolved matters, and that he still had much anger...

So, what are the 100 greatest Australian singles of the 1960's?

Some consider the 1960's as possibly the halcyon years for Australian music. The groups were fresh, the music great, the performance venues many and radio stations revelled in playing Australian music. There were just so many great artists and great tracks laid down, and some of the very best were released on that wonderful media of the times - the vinyl 45 rpm discs.

Now, if you want to generate an interesting...