IN announcing an eminently worthy fellowship for gender equity in science, Labor Chief Minister Katy Gallagher’s otherwise word-perfect press release finished with this howler: “The Fellowship is named in honour of Emeritus Professor Judith Whitworth AC, who was director of The John Curtain School of Medical Research from August 1999 until July 2009”.

Widely regarded as one of the country’s greatest prime ministers, Labor hero John Joseph Curtin died in office in Canberra on July 5, 1945.

Sunny outlook

SEEMS sitting too close to screens doesn’t make you square-eyed. As we nudge the end of “Juleye” (groan), the National Eye Health Awareness Month, comes the news that sitting too close to the TV or playing video games doesn’t damage children’s eyes. “However,” says orthoptist (one who specialises in preventive eye health) Handan Otay, “they need to spend ample time in the sunshine.” He cites Australian research that shows strong links between excessive study hours in school children and short sightedness.

Kate’s sweet success

MANUKA-based kinesiologist, Kate Pamphilon, says the momentum of the sugar-free movement is in “full throttle” and in Australia Sarah Wilson’s “I Quit Sugar” campaign is leading the way.

“I Quit Sugar” is midway through an eight-week detox program and Kate has joined Wilson’s expert panel answering questions on its online forum and writing articles about how to beat sugar cravings, de-stress and sleep better.

She says recent research reveals that sugar lights up the same pleasure and reward system in the brain as recreational drugs making it highly addictive and that the World Health Organization has recently revised guidelines by slashing the recommended daily sugar intake from 10 per cent of daily calories to five per cent, which equates to 5-9 teaspoons a day.

The power of petals

CC’s sheltered world was shaken with the news from Sydney that: “Flowers are like the lipstick of interiors, no space is complete without some living colour.”

That’s the view of interior stylist Emma Blomfield, who lists the five top trending petals in interiors at the moment as: roses, peonies, hydrangeas, Billy buttons and ranunculus (buttercups), which she says “are often featured on bed linen, making your bed sing with their bright and colourful petals”.

Hmmms…

REPAIRING damaged footpath sections along Perry Drive in Chapman is not before time, reports our Weston Creek snout. “But why take the protective screens away before the cement has dried properly, leaving errant children to etch their names into the concrete?”

IN a cliched week of pop-up arts centres, pop-up cafes and pop-up shops, it was refreshing to hear Minister Joy Burch share a new hip expression:  “a new phase of collaboration between the centres – with new branding, an informative and accessible one-stop blog site…” One-stop blog? That’s a first.

OH, the travails of tweeting… Chief Minister Katy Gallagher now has a digital media adviser in the form of Emma Webster.  And so does her opposite Jeremy Hanson, who says he’s had one longer, so there!

THE Civic merry-go-round is celebrating its centenary with a month’s rest for maintenance, including repainting the horses, from August 4.