For the first time in four years, The Ghan will be on public display in South Australia.

The legendary train will serve as the centrepiece of The Ghan Open Day to be held at Adelaide Parklands Terminal on Saturday, June 1.

The Open Day will feature on-board tours of The Ghan including viewings of the recently refurbished Gold Twin carriages, as well as the Platinum and Red Service offerings.

Entry to the train is a gold coin donation to Great Southern Rail’s charity partner, the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Members of the public can also enjoy special travel deals, Off Train Excursion displays, a sausage sizzle and free face painting for children on the day.

What: The Ghan Open Day When: 11am to 4pm on Saturday, June 1

Where: Platform 1 at Adelaide Parklands Terminal, Richmond Rd, Keswick

The event celebrates the 2013 launch of The Ghan’s all-inclusive fares for its Platinum and Gold Service guests.

For the first time ever, guests who choose to travel in Platinum and Gold Service on The Ghan are now able to enjoy all meals, beverages and Off Train Excursions as standard extras.

Further information is available at www.greatsouthernrail.com.au.

Danielle McBeath from Verdun Park Wines and Teeny Tiny Things has just released her latest design, a bespoke bus scroll style canvas created with Adelaide Hills wine brands.

Danielle worked with each Adelaide Hills Wine Region winery that chose to be involved in the project to ensure their representation was kept inline with their brand guidelines and would still be instantly recognisable amongst the other brands. Danielle said “I’m delighted with the number of wine producers that chose to be involved and very pleased with the end result. The brands look fabulous listed together and I thoroughly enjoyed working on a project which showcases a region I love – the Adelaide Hills.”

The canvas is available for sale via the Verdun Park Wines website (www.verdunparkwines.com.au), participating Adelaide Hills cellar doors or enquiries can be made to Danielle at Teeny Tiny Things, teenytinythings@internode.on.net.

The canvas is 51cm wide x 102cm long and retails for $215.00 each.

Facebook - /VerdunParkWines

Twitter – @VerdunParkWines

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Wednesday May 15, The Gov.

May 15, the night Evermore came to Adelaide, was a bitingly cold one. The entire day had been subject to a torrential downpour of rain, and making the short journey from the car to The Gov involved jumping over many a puddle. But once we were inside and Evermore took to the stage, any thoughts about the dreary climate outside were swept away in an hour of simple, fun pop-rock music and fondly remembered hits.

Evermore, hailing from New Zealand and now residing in Melbourne, are in the middle of an enormous, extensive national tour to promote their new album, Follow The Sun.

It’s their first tour and album since the Hume brothers took a lengthy hiatus to live normal lives, start families and embark on personal projects. When I spoke to Peter Hume a few weeks ago, he gushed about how excited they all were to be making music again. It showed on Wednesday night.

This is a band who’ve experienced enormous success, and have come out the other side making and playing music for no other reason than a pure love of making and playing music.

Wednesday night’s set was divided fairly evenly between new material and old hits. The classics ﹣ such as “Running” and “Light Surrounding You” ﹣ slotted in perfectly amongst new songs like “Follow The Sun” and “Hey My Love”. The characteristics that unite Evermore’s songs, new and old, are a tendency towards good hooks, simple structures and straightforward melodies. These were songs aimed at getting you singing and dancing along, with nothing else in the way.

However, straightforward pop songs do not make a good show by themselves. It takes a band with some serious enthusiasm and energy to get a crowd up and moving, and Evermore had that in droves.

Lead singer Jon gave a strong vocal while bouncing around the stage and interacting with the crowd, while Peter, on guitar and keyboard duties, couldn’t wipe the smile off his face if he tried.

The boys weren’t afraid to have some fun with the show either. They competed in a “drum-off” at the start of “Follow The Sun”, and Jon jumped into the crowd during “Hey Boys and Girls” and took selfies with some lucky punters before jumping off of the drum kit.

As good as the new material sounded, the crowd’s biggest responses were saved for the well-known and well-loved older hits, to which everyone in the room clapped along, waved their hands and sang out loud. Evermore never missed a note or a beat, and had a load of fun while doing it.

All around, it was a thoroughly enjoyable gig from a re-energised and re-focused band. I can only hope Evermore do as their album says, and follow the sun to somewhere a bit calmer and warmer than the freezing, blustering rain we had to offer.

http://www.evermoreband.com/

South Australian retail outlet Spendless Shoes is turning 25, despite many other local iconic stores shutting their doors.

Continued investment in bricks and mortar retail outlets is amongst the future plans for Spend-less Shoes as the South Australian owned retailer celebrates its 25 year anniversary as a thriving business with 164 metropolitan and regional stores nationally and more on the horizon.

Despite challenging market conditions in the sector, Spend-less Shoes has maintained a strong business model which has seen it recently expand its retail footprint with, on average, 14 stores per year. Managing Director, John Charlton, says the business is constantly seeking opportunities for growth to build upon their existing 800 plus workforce.

“We have the flexibility to capitalise on growth opportunities which allow us to continue to develop retail outlets with an average expansion rate of 18% in the past four years. This means that we are always on the look-out for people seeking to advance their career and develop professionally as part of our team.”

Business growth would not be possible without the company’s ability to evade recent economic turmoil experienced by the retail industry, which Mr Charlton attributes to the company’s dedicated approach to offering added value to customers with a seamless online to in store experience and the latest fashion looks for less.

“In store we have a hard-working team providing the highest level of customer service helping to build a loyal customer base of repeat clientele.

“Keeping costs low and passing on the savings to our customers is an integral part of what we do, our dedicated buyers travel regularly to the fashion capitals of the world to uncover popular trends that can be made accessible and affordable to all customers.

“We also have a team of in-house designers dedicated to the demands of the Australian market developing exclusive brands to deliver the best value for money,” explains Mr Charlton.

He also acknowledges the contribution of hundreds of passionate and hard-working people employed in metropolitan and regional areas across Australia, which has been instrumental in the strong performance of the business.

“Our people are our point of difference; our workforce has grown and developed with the business for 25 years and have been integral in ensuring customers return.

“We strongly believe that looking after people and relationships is essential to prospering in the retail market. We make our landlords, staff, suppliers and customers central to what we do – working together to mutually grow our business has been a winning formula.”

From humble beginnings in South Australia where the business opened its first store in Glenelg in 1988, which remains open to this day, Spend-less Shoes is a proud Australian retail chain that continues to have a positive impact within communities creating job opportunities and supporting local and regional economies.

http://www.spendless.com.au/

Doctor Who fans, get ready to laugh. The Doctor is about to face his greatest challenge: his number one fan.

In Rob Lloyd’s cult favourite show Who, Me, the loveable super-fan and comedian puts The Doctor on trial: Is Doctor Who (the television show) guilty of inciting in Rob a debilitating obsession, or has it shaped him into a well-rounded, mentally-sound member of society?

Court is now in session.

2013 sees the return of Who, Me (which had sell-out seasons at the 2012 Adelaide Fringe, 2011 Melbourne Fringe and the 2013 Melbourne International Comedy Festival). The Adelaide leg of the international tour celebrates the 50th anniversary of the show’s inspiration; the British Sci-Fi classic TV show, Doctor Who.

If you’re a complete Doctor novice however, don’t despair. As Chortle (AUS) put it: ‘…there’s more on the inside of this show that appears on the outside, and it’s more about Lloyd’s own story than it is about the good Doctor.’

For over 10 years Rob Lloyd has been working professionally in the Australian comedy scene, and as an actor of stage and screen. Since 2011 Rob has developed, created and been involved in a number of projects specifically focused on everyone’s favourite Time Lord, Doctor Who. From one-man shows to podcasts, from comedy-educational shows to completely improvised original Doctor Who stories…Rob certainly has made an effort to offer a wide variety of Doctor Who-based live entertainment.

Glam Adelaide’s 2012 review said: “Lloyd’s comical story easily relates to anyone with an obsession. Those who don’t have one may feel like they’re missing out on some fun!” and “If you sit through Rob Lloyd’s ode to obsession you have no other choice than to get your geek on.”

Rob Lloyd’s solo show Who, Me was created in collaboration with Scott Gooding and Vicious Fish Theatre.

Who, Me
Supported by Adelaide’s finest local comedians

28 May @ 8pm – The Arkaba Hotel, Glen Osmond Rd. Parkside
29 May @ 8pm – The Marion Hotel, Marion Rd. Mitchell Park
30 May @ 8pm – The Rhino Room, Frome St. Adelaide

All tickets: $13
Book at AdelaideComedy.com

Visit Rob Llyod’s website

When Alice Springs mother of five Fiona O’Loughlin started doing stand-up later in life than most comics, her hilarious stories of housewifery and motherhood were an immediate hit.

Now she’s bringing her world-class brand of humour to Adelaide to headline four shows over four nights from June 11.

Fiona has taken her story-based stand-up around the world, headlining LA’s world-renowned Improv Comedy Club, playing repeat seasons in Hong Kong and performing at Edinburgh Fringe, Montreal’s invitation-only Just For Laughs and the UK’s oldest, Leicester Comedy Festival.

Fiona’s also been a hit on TV with guest appearances on Sunrise, Good News Week, Spicks and Specks, The World Stands Up and a heap of Comedy Festival Galas.

In more recent years Fiona has overcome a well-documented ‘battle with the bottle’. This, like the other aspects of her life, has become ‘material’ for her stand-up. And Fiona is even funnier sober.

Fiona O’Loughlin
Supported by Adelaide’s “finest local comedians”

11 June @ 8pm – The Arkaba Hotel, Glen Osmond Rd. Parkside
12 June @ 8pm – The Marion Hotel, Marion Rd. Mitchell Park
13 June @ 8pm – The Rhino Room, Frome St. Adelaide
14 June @ 8pm – The Rhino Room, Frome St. Adelaide

Bookings: AdelaideComedy.com

After the success of Piano Chicks and Piano Boys at the last two Adelaide Fringe Festivals, Becky Blake the front woman for Adelaide cover band Chunky Custard, is back to give Adelaide some old-fashioned piano bar.

As part of the 2013 Cabaret Fringe Becky will perform The Piano Chick: Solo and by Request; an interactive experience, in which the audience choose the playlist from Becky’s extensive repertoire; no two shows will be the same. As well, Becky will be joined by special guest artists including Libby O’Donovan on 14 June (Flat on Your Bacharach and Gady Lala), Deb Krizak (A Chorus Line) on 21 June and Becky’s husband Ian Blake (Chunky Custard) with their six year old daughter Chelsea Blake on 23 June.

Becky says, ‘From Elton John to Carole King, Dusty to Adele and The Stones to…. Cold Chisel  the options are almost endless! … plus I will give the crowd all the glamour and behind the scenes gossip you’d expect.’

Becky Blake has enjoyed a colourful solo career. She has worked internationally in various duos and floor shows and has had the opportunity to perform at some of Australia’s best venues with popular show band Chunky Custard.

Starting her musical training at four, Becky has studied under internationally renowned concert pianist Clemens Leske. She launched her solo career, working at international hotels around Adelaide and the eastern seaboard.  Becky also performed at events such as the Adelaide Grand Prix Ball, Lord Mayor’s New Year’s Eve Concert and Carols by Candlelight, sharing the stage with the likes of Kate Cebrano. Becky also hosted HQ nightclub’s retro night for 5 years.

Cabaret Fringe Festival website

The Piano Chick: Solo and by Request
Duration: 90 minutes
Season: 14 &  21 June at 8pm, and 23 June at 4pm
Venue: The Promethean Theatre, 116 Grote Street, Adelaide
Tickets: $20-$23
Bookings: Cabaret Fringe Festival website

Presented by AJZ Productions in association with Come Out Festival 2013, the Migration Museum and the City of Charles Sturt
Reviewed Wednesday 22^nd May 2013

The future of Australia is in good hands if the students of William Light R-12 School and Woodville High School are anything to go by.

Director/Writer Alirio Zavarce has developed a powerful and bright message of hope, born from the ashes of personal stories told by migrants, refugee children, and first and fifth generation Australians.

For the audience, the journey begins on arrival, providing a taste of the migration process for many new arrivals: registration, nonsensical forms and then bullied into orderly cues with random victims forced to the end of the line again for no apparent reason. The questioning is unsettling – Are you left handed? Would you eat a jar of Vegemite to prove how Australian you are? Would you change the national anthem? What does “Fair Dinkum” mean? And the clincher – What makes you Australian?

Separated from the ones you came with adds to the sense of foreboding and isolation until the students welcome you in small groups with a message of belonging. Fifteen year old Kasonga Ngor claimed “I’m a part of it”, and proceeded to open minds by expanding our thinking: I’m a part of my school, my community, Australia, my heritage, the human race…

Soon, the show proper begins; a multimedia presentation on a wide stage scattered with suitcases. Almost a dozen students speak of their heritage, their journey and their aspirations, joined by many more in pre-recorded interviews. The tales are occasionally visualised by miniature sets projected live by camera, while a piano and violin underscore some dialogue.

Poor sound quality left some of the projected interviews difficult to understand but the gist of each response was always clear and, from the mouth of babes, evolved themes of gratitude, hope, acceptance and friendship.

The Migration Project is as brave as it is respectful, never politicising, never judging, but practicing the tolerance and heart that it reveals in our younger generations. The participants expose their own personal tragedies and dreams and leave it to you to make your own judgements.

This is great theatre made all the more powerful by the young cast. Its greatest failing is that those who need to see it, probably won’t.

Reviewed by Rod Lewis, Performing Arts Critic, Glam Adelaide.

Come Out Festival website

Duration: 90 Minutes
Tickets: $12.00 – $15.00
Venue 1: Drill Hall, Torrens Parade Ground, Victoria Drive, Adelaide
Season: 22-23 May at 7pm and 25 May at 2pm & 7pm
Bookings for Drill Hall performances: At BASS – Drill Hall listing

Venue 2: Woodville Town Hall, Woodville Road, Woodville
Season: 29 May at 7pm; 1 June at 2pm & 7pm; and 2 June at 2pm
Bookings for Woodville Town Hall performances: At BASS – Woodville Town Hall listing

Schools book through the Come Out Office

This heart-warming story is true inspiration for anyone who comes up against the odds. Writer/Director Michael McGowan based Still Mine on a newspaper article he saw about a builder who fought the system to build a house which is better suited for his wife who has dementia. In doing so, he came up against those at the top.

James Cromwell plays the 89 year old Craig Morrison, a New Brunswick farmer from a building family. He lives in a beautiful home with his wife Irene (Geneviève Bujold). Irene has dementia and when she starts to fall down stairs and burn the kitchen, Craig decides he needs to build a modest new home on his rural property which is simpler and safer for her.

Using methods taught by his father, a shipbuilder, Craig starts the job himself. Despite doing it the way he and his family have been building for years, he finds great opposition from the Royal District Planning Commission. Their representative, building inspector Rick Daigle (Jonathan Potts) arrives and announces that Morrison’s new structure does not adhere to the building code. I shook my head in frustration in one scene where he notes that paying for a building permit feels like paying for others’ mistakes.

Jonathon Potts is extremely convincing as the overzealous government inspector Daigle. He finds just about everything unacceptable, including the unstamped wood used to build the house. Despite the fact that Craig actually milled the wood from his own trees.

James Cromwell is perfectly suited to his role as the loving, heart-warming farmer who is determined to face administrative adversity in order for his beautiful wife to have a safe home. With the wink in his eye and the dry wit in his lines, Cromwell brings much humour into a frustrating situation which may otherwise be seen as quite depressing.

A good reminder to never give up for those you love. Craig Morrison proves that with sheer determination, anything is possible.

Kirstey Whicker

3/5 Stars

You will like this if you liked James Cromwell in any of his hits like “Babe”