Monday 10 September
The Age
Monday September 10, 2001
124 days until the Coominya Grape and Watermelon Festival in Coominya, Queensland. Birthday of Robin Goodridge. 8 years since the cult US series The X-Files premiered on American television.
"A nation is a society united by delusions about its ancestry and by common hatred of its neighbors." -- W.R. Inge
Five things to do today
• ARTS: Artist Muzaffer Orucoglu has turned adversity into an art form. Recent paintings, Hayat (or Life), are exhibited in Queens Hall, Parliament House, until Thursday.
• VOLUNTEER: Opportunities for teachers and other volunteers to work in Asia, the Pacific and Africa are discussed in an information session hosted by Australian Volunteers International tonight. Details: 9279 1777.
• GESTURE: Part of the Early Music Festival (ph: 9443 0152), Sharon Leahy, a lecturer in the art of gesture, leads a presentation, which includes a lute performance. Daily until September 21, between 12pm-2.15pm, at the WR Johnston Collection. Book: 94162515.
• MUSIC: The Australian National Academy of Music presents a series of free lunchtime performances from 1.10pm today (also September 17, 24 and 30) in the South Melbourne Town Hall, 210 Bank Street. Ph: 1800 248 861.
• ARTS: Paintings by Robin Wallace-Crabbe are exhibited at Greythorn Galleries Fine Art, 462 Toorak Road, Toorak, until September 23. Ph: 9826 8637.
My Life
Fifteen minutes of fame
Samuel Ploix, 24, France
I'm here doing hair wraps in the street and I'm on holidays. I've been here for two months now. My girlfriend is a student at RMIT, and we are on a round-the-world trip. We came from Ireland to India, then Singapore and now Australia. Back in France, I'm a chef. I could have a better opinion of the restaurants in Melbourne if I could work here, but I'm on a tourist visa. Australian cuisine - there are a lot of things that they try to pick up from France. There's no genuine Australian stuff for the moment. I don't know, I haven't found anything. I'm not wealthy enough to go to restaurants. My birthday is tomorrow and my girlfriend is cooking for me. She's Irish so she likes her potatoes. -- CHEE CHEE LEUNG
© 2001 The Age