MILD-mannered and much-celebrated Canberra cellist David Pereira is grumpy: “Music may be alive in Canberra, but it is not flourishing.”

“Despite the good and great musical endeavours of so many of us – players, teachers, students, administrators, commentators, governments, entrepreneurs, etcetera – we are not particularly successful.”

He grumbles that low importance is attached to our youth’s strong achievement in music; the role and fair pay for musical professionals; the cultivation of local nationally competitive musical assets and live music’s natural purpose, “to make a culture more compassionate, conscious, holistic, graceful, vigorous, enthusiastic and productive”.

He says there is again media attention to the ANU’s “endlessly (mildly, sadly, laughably) embarrassing music school offering”.

“While its political intrigues occasionally serve to distract me from a less-than-ideal cup of coffee, they don’t conceal the school’s peculiar failure adequately to address my four points,” he harrumphs.

Something about Mary

Left right, left right…

QUEANBEYAN Mayor Tim Overall’s invitation to join the Canberra Business Chamber’s board has given CC the excuse to publish this picture of him as a crew-cut, apple-cheeked ANU graduate in 1969.

His heart may be over the border these days, but teenage Tim was conscripted to the army during the Vietnam War. He was allowed to finish his degree, but there wasn’t any time for post-swot partying.

“After the final-year exams, I was notified to attend the bus stop, which was just near the university,” he told the “ANU Reporter”.

“There was a whole busload of us being farewelled by mothers, fathers and sisters. We all got on the bus and headed off to Wagga Wagga.”

Officer material, he trained infantry platoons that served in Vietnam.

OUR digitally dextrous Chief Minister Andrew Barr, for a pollie oddly indifferent to the charm of AM talkback radio, tweeted that he was “In the studio with my favourite #CBR breakfast host” and to make the point took a snap of “Uncle” Frank Vincent on hits-and-memories 2CA. To ensure the influential and competitive AM talkback announcers Mark Parton (2CC) and Phil Clark (ABC 666) got the message, he tagged them into his tweet. And the point of taunting them is?

Milestone around the neck

“The critical difference between a milestone and a millstone,” sniffs our Twitter snout at seeing this tweet from Census Australia. “And perhaps why the Census people should confine their tweetings to census-related matters.

Labor bus-ter

The argument against the tram looks like this: Amaroo to Barton, 259 service: current, (1) bus to Barton; with light rail, (1) bus to Gungahlin, (2) tram to city, (3) bus to Barton.

Dry all day

WE are not making light of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, but the laudable sacrifice of local breakfast radio personalities, Mix 106.3’s Kristen and Rod, to go alcohol-free for the whole day on September 9 to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking alcohol during pregnancy gave us a wry smile.

Tunks tells all

IRREPRESSIBLE creative director of Canberra’s terribly chic Bison homewares Brian Tunks is filling his Pialligo showroom with a continuously evolving display of spring flowers and throwing open its Beltana Road doors to a four-Saturday series of public presentations to celebrate his most recent collection of ceramic and glass design, Botanica.

“It will also highlight some of our friends in the local design community who make this city deserving of the title  ‘Capital of Cool’,” he says.

The former ancient historian is taking the first Saturday (3pm-3.45pm, September 19) to discuss the relationship between classical pottery methods and the evolution of the collection.

Then, over successive weeks, restaurateur Gus Armstrong will share a recipe or two; floralista Lou Moxom will create simple, elegant arrangements and discuss the rules of proportion and a NewActon mixologist will explain how to perfect the ideal tipple. The events are open to the public.