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Byron Shire
March 29, 2024

Cinema Review: David Brent: Life on the Road

Latest News

Man charged over domestic violence and pursuit offences – Tweed Heads

A man has been charged following a pursuit near Tweed Heads on Monday.

Other News

Records galore!

Byron Bay Easter Record Fair returns again to Ewingsdale Hall. Now in its 15th year, the Byron Bay Easter Record Fair is one of the biggest and best in this country. Matt the Vinyl Junkie has spent years on buying trips to the US and Japan scouring dusty warehouses, shops, flea markets and private collections. He can offer an astounding 30,000 records in one place covering most genres.

Where should affordable housing go in Tweed Shire?

Should affordable and social housing in the Tweed Shire be tucked away in a few discreet corners? Perhaps it should be on the block next to where you live?

Iconic Lennox beach shed upgraded –  not demolished

Lennox Park and the shelter shed has now been upgraded and reopened.

‘Smooth stroking’ Rainbow Dragons earn trophies

Rainbow Dragons (Lennox Head Ballina) won three trophies and had a fantastic weekend of fun, fitness and friendship at Grafton Dragon Boat Club’s regatta earlier in March.

Could the future of the Richmond River be a clean and healthy one?

Imagine a drinkable, swimmable, fishable Richmond River? That is the aim of the Richmond Riverkeepers Association.

Fresh air federal funds for Northern Rivers schools in need

Eighteen schools in the Northern Rivers division of Richmond have received $25,000 each as part of the federal government’s School Upgrade Fund, Labor Member for Richmond Justine Elliot said last week.

This Is Spinal Tap, Rob Reiner’s mockumentary from 1984, first came to mind when I saw the trailers for this, but it is a different kettle of fish altogether. It’s as laugh-out-loud funny, and even more cringeworthy in its depiction of the self-deluding, wannabe rock star, but Ricky Gervais’s new movie is also poignant and warm-hearted in a way that Reiner’s never attempted to be.

Reprising David Brent from TV’s The Office, Gervais has his gormless alter ego take two weeks’ leave from his job as a sales rep to hit the road with a band of less-than-enthusiastic hired musos. A camera crew accompanies David throughout and he regularly speaks to you, the viewer, as do the guys in the group and his fellow office employees. Unfortunately for David, who has sunk all of his savings into the venture, nobody takes him seriously, and worse, he can’t draw a crowd to any of the gigs. None of which appears to have any impact on David’s commitment to the dream or on his brittle vanity. But reality eventually takes its toll, as it does on all of us. Gervais is so good at the awkward, socially inept personality – you feel for him at the same time as you squirm at his tackiness.

The songs he writes, and that he feels compelled to explain before every rendition of them, are lyrically excruciating but side-splitting in their un-PC humour – ‘Don’t be unkind to the disabled’, performed before a handful of stunned drinkers, is brill. He annoys but gets under your skin, for there is something of Everyman in the David who passes out in the chair while having ‘Berkshire’ tattooed on his arm – unable to continue, he leaves it as ‘Berk’.

All he wants is to be liked and accepted, but he hasn’t got a clue about how to achieve that goal, so when a sweet and subtle romance unfolds, despite his blinkered appraisal of those around him, you rejoice at David’s emotional salvation. The last shot is gold.


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Where should affordable housing go in Tweed Shire?

Should affordable and social housing in the Tweed Shire be tucked away in a few discreet corners? Perhaps it should be on the block next to where you live?

Making Lismore Showground accessible to everyone

The Lismore Showground isn’t just a critical local community asset that plays host to a number of major events each year, but has also been used as an evacuation centre during past natural disasters in the region. 

Iconic Lennox beach shed upgraded –  not demolished

Lennox Park and the shelter shed has now been upgraded and reopened.

Govt cost-shifting ‘erodes financially sustainable local government’

Byron Shire Council looks set to add its voice to the growing chorus calling on the state government to stop shifting responsibilities and costs onto local government.