←Volume 31
December 7, 2016
In this Issue:
Cinema Review: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vso5o11LuGU One afternoon in New York, in the dim and distant, Amélie was showing at staggered times on two screens at the same multiplex. I walked into the wrong one and started watching it halfway through. WTF!? I’ve never liked...
Bringing High-End Art To Byron
The Byron Arts & Industry Estate is full of surprises. The latest is the Thom Gallery, created by art dealer Alex Thom and his partner textile designer Michelle Sczygiol. Together they have transformed this large warehouse space into an impressive...
Cinema Review: Queen Of Katwe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4l3-_yub5A I have not seen a Mira Nair film that I’ve not loved to bits. Her latest is empowering and instructive, but it is not nearly as emotionally engaging as her previous work. There is something missing, and it is...
Incarcerated in West Papua, my son endured a six-month ordeal
Susan Skyvington Before gaining independence in 1999, East Timor endured 24 years of brutal suffering under Indonesian occupation. Are we aware, do we care that this is today being repeated in West Papua? Just 200km from Australia, the western half of...
Get Downe for Xmas!
It’s all you want for Christmas – lots of laughs, surprises and a seasonal singalong with the Prince of Polyester! Bob Downe makes his triumphant return to the Brunswick Picture House for some Yuletide fun, along with his Barrel Girl Cindy Pastel...
The Old and the Beautiful
Comedian Jackie Loeb joins Gretel Killeen in their two-woman standup comedy show We Don’t Like Young People. The Mo Award winner for Best Comedian spoke with The Echo. Tell me what it is about young people that bugs you. Gretel said...
Live Music Roundup – Thursday 8 December, 2016
The ’Mothers come to life Wolfmother need no introduction but here’s one anyway… Hailing from Sydney, the groundbreaking rock outfit took formation in 2004. Their multi-platinum-selling self-titled debut album and sophomore record Cosmic Egg were critical successes, which led to achievements...
Our inhumane nation
Common decency seems to be in short supply at the highest political levels in Australia. The refusal of both major parties to tackle the issue of our offshore concentration camps has led those who do care to come to their door.
Sharing culture across the globe
Local Indigenous students from Southern Cross School of Distance Education spent last week around Lennox Head and Ballina sharing culture and discussing global issues such as marine debris with youth from Kodiak Island, Alaska.
Where chocolate and yoga mix
Who doesn’t like chocolate? It was a packed house at Sunday’s cacao ceremony, which helped launch the 2017 Spirit Festival program. The afternoon and evening of song, dance, chocolate and yoga at the Mullum Civic Hall also saw the announcement...
International creative agency hatches locally
In the two short years since graduating, Spanish-born Jaime Gonzalez has opened a local independent film production company that now boasts a client base that reads like a who’s who in the street/surf fashion world. The young agency is called...
Women Like Ellen Briggs
So what makes local comedian and mum of twins Ellen Briggs tick? We got her to finish these sentences to delve deeply into her psyche. Turns out she’s got some issues… and that’s why she’s so bloody funny! When I am...
Byron GM maintains hard line on rate rise
Calls from Byron Country Labor to crack down on holiday letting, increase commercial rates and raise paid parking have been rejected by Byron council’s GM Ken Gainger as an inadequate revenue source.
Free tickets to Falls Festival
Miss out on a locals ticket to the Falls Festival this year? There's still a way to get in the gate that won't cost you a cent – and no, we don't mean jump the fence.
Green Army benefits will be lost: Envite Environment
With the likely scrapping of the Green Army program, local operators say it will result in many local young people no longer being able to gain skills and earn a supplementary income to their Newstart allowance.
Fashion on Show
La’ Studio 3/52 is the creative vision of fashion designer Simone Ellis, whose passion for dressmaking and haute couture has expanded into an amazing community vision for the youth of Byron. Over the past twelve months Simone has created a...
Mandy Nolan’s Soap Box: Virtual dementia
You know what kind of person you are when your computer breaks. At 4.45pm last Friday my two-year-old Apple Mac decided to hold my life hostage by refusing to start. Like a cyber tantrum.
Rainbow Region dragon boaters collect a swag of medals
The Rainbow Region Dragon Boat Club women’s team has returned jubilant from the Grafton Jacaranda Regatta with a third place, then the combined team including cancer survivors brought home two gold at the Pan Pacific Masters.
Tweed sailors second in state titles
Monique Smith from Elanora and her team, Matt Andrews and Kate Yeomans, came home triumphant, taking 2nd place in their first ever Corsair Queensland State Titles.
Season finale for Byron youth soccer
Byron Bay’s youth footballers celebrated a great end to the Summer Youth League season on Friday night with two outstanding performances against strong Alstonville sides.
Golfers prepare for 10th Pro-Am tournament at Byron Bay
The success of young golfer Conor Whitelock has been one highlight at the Byron Bay Golf Club as it prepares for the Australian Legends Tour Championship this weekend. Conor is just 14 years old and recently won the A-Reserve Grade...
Juniors train with elite AFL players
The AFL season is over but a committed group of five local players travel to the Gold Coast each Saturday morning to continue training with Joey Hayes at the Strongman camp.
Soli sinks Kennedy at Sunset
Byron Shire’s Soli Bailey beat Lennox Head’s Stuart Kennedy in his first heat at the World Cup at Sunset Beach. Bailey won the heat while Kennedy was eliminated from the event in third place.
U/13 boys bring home the cup after Beez swarm Coffs Harbour
The Junior Beez took a swarm to Coffs Harbour to compete in the Annual Bellinger Braves Pacific Challenge where the U/13 boys’ team brought home a trophy for the Bay.
The pleasures of the spa
As M Dordonville remarked in 1841 in his book Pilgrimages to the Spas, no small portion of those who come to Spa do so for pleasure, and not for health. The modern resort spa is certainly the place for pleasure,...
