“CC’s” green-fingered Deep-Throat was on the phone, trembling with concern. “I’ve heard they’re building a high-rise on Veteran’s Park, it’s a disgrace!” We’ll look straight into it, Cedric.

But where’s Veteran’s Park, the geographically-challenged “CC” newsdesk wondered? It’s a popular lunchtime hang-out for inner-city workers on Bunda Street and it is now shrouded in construction barriers.

Fearing another sun-depriving skyscraper, we chased the question right to the top of the Economic Development Directorate (well, almost) and discovered (hold your breath) the news is not bad – in fact, it’s good!

The park is getting a $2.2 million facelift including new foot and cycle paths flanking Bunda Street, the removal of the Northbourne Avenue slip lane into Bunda Street and new footpaths on the Mort Street axis.

The park will also get a new SAS memorial and the two existing memorials are to be refurbished. Work will be completed by year’s end, just in time for the Centenary celebrations!

Rae goes radio…

FORMER Federal Greens leader Bob Brown’s media adviser Marion Rae is stepping into drive-show producer Monica Masters’ award-winning shoes at 2CC. Masters is leaving announcer Mike Welsh after two and a half years for the greenfields of public relations.

… so does Claudia!

FORMER beauty queen Claudia Vannithone is now a former publicist. Claudia, Miss World Australia ACT 2010, has left leading PR company Contentgroup after three years and made an unconventional move into sales as an account manager for Mix 106.3FM.

Poultry hand out

YOUR money in action… Education Minister Chris Bourke, the number one ticket holder of the Royal Canberra National Poultry Show, revealed at its opening that the Government had granted the organisers $104,000 for 1000 new poultry cages for the event and future poultry shows at budget-deprived EPIC.

While we know the Government is commendably committed to improving animal welfare, our black sense of humour couldn’t resist the irony of the the champions of the non-caged egg coughing up for poultry cages!

Catch a discount

THE Fish Shack on Bunda Street is offering to halve the cost of a meal to anyone who turns up with a fishing rod. Why? We’re not sure, but we do know it’s limited to 12 anglers a day and available only until Sunday, June 24.

Bakers at the Barrel

WHAT’S a bakery without bakers? In Parkes, the Pork Barrel Café has morphed into, what they’re calling, an “artisan bakery/eatery” and have two European bakers to prove it. There’s Francisco, from Galicia, Spain, where his region’s bread is famous throughout Europe. And there’s Christian, from Bavaria, Germany. He makes sweet breads, brioche and pastry.

The Barrel has the bakers hard at it every day whipping up chocolate/berry brioche, marzipan brioche, chocolate and coconut sweet bread, and more.

Not cold, crisp!

CASH-strapped Tourism seems to have coughed up enough coconuts to inveigle the wildly expensive Saturday “Sydney Morning Herald” into devoting four tabloid pages to a “special report” gushingly devoted to winter in the ACT.

While “CC” cuddles an environmentally-friendly, hot-water bottle, brave Sydney visitors are being told that “the mercury may dip in the national capital, but that’s no reason to stay indoors [oh, but it is!].

Some of the ACT’s best attractions can be found out in the crisp fresh air, so rug up and get out and about.” That notwithstanding, the rest of it was full of warm glows about the Truffle Festival, the Fireside Festival and a clutch of cultural stuff going on. If we weren’t already here, we’d be there!

Out of the gloom

EMBASSIES of European neighbours Poland and Ukraine are getting together at the Poles’ place in Yarralumla to host a live showing of the final match of the European Football Championship on Monday, July 2.

You beauty, thinks “CC”, looking at our invitation, until we saw the start time – 4am! Those hardy Europeans will be there in the invitation’s requisite “Business Attire/Dress of Day/National Dress”. Alas, no mention of slippers and pyjamas for the locals.

Which gets us to a joke: Polish fans have been officially warned that if they cause any more trouble during Euro 2012 they will be deported back to the UK.