CHARITABLY attuned publican Peter Barclay has hosted the fourth annual “Grow a Winter Beard” competition with proceeds in aid of the Leukaemia Foundation.

The winner on the night at King O’Malley’s Irish Pub in Civic was Lenny Scott, who works at the Canberra City Hellenic Club. Lenny took home an engraved silver trophy, a signed copy of Melbourne photographer Stan Barnett’s book “Men with Beards” and a dinner at King O’Malley’s.

The more than 20 entrants were judged by Barnett, Belle the beard expert at Martinos Barbers and Barclay with some help from the crowd.

You doing it again next year, Peter? “Absolutely.”

SALLY McDonald emailed to echo the “CityNews” experience with iiNet’s sudden, new billing regime.

CC reported a fortnight ago (“Disconnecting you now…”) that our busy newspaper and a Kingston accountant had had their phone services arbitrarily crimped and cut when telco TransACT’s Perth-based owners decided to change its charging process without warning.

Sally’s friend Marietta was accused of not paying her bill and her mobile was summarily locked. It took her three hours on the phone to get TransACT to sort it.

And Sally was also accused of not having paid her bill. She had, she also had the receipt number to prove it and her bank verified payment had been made. But not good enough for Transact (they couldn’t find the receipt!).

“I had to go into my bank to have them print out a copy of the statement to send to iiNet,” patient Sally says.

“I was also asked if I would allow them to record my credit card number so if this problem arises again they can then use my card to pay and then, if they do find the payment, they will then credit me.

“I told them, no. Can you imagine the double ups if that was to occur? What a terrible system they must have.”

Conflict of the festivals

“JUST a quick observation that the power of the arts doesn’t always overcome human conflict,” writes John Brookes, of Kambah.

John had logged on to book tickets for the Israeli Film Festival Palace only to find that many of the screening times and dates clash directly with the Arab Film Festival that is showing across the road at National Film and Sound Archive’s Arc Cinema.

“Whilst there is a certain irony in this clash there is a serious point, too – surely, these two venues, both purveyors of world cinema, should and could have liaised on this to avoid a crossover?” he asks

“If the purpose of such festivals – as well as to entertain – is to promote greater understanding of and empathy for different cultures through the medium of film then both venues appear to have scored an own goal here.”

Bare not naked

GIVEN there’s barely a face in the world that doesn’t come with skin, CC was perplexed by the National Portrait Gallery’s latest promise of “Australian portraiture that shows a bit of skin”.

Apparently the impending exhibition “Bare: Degrees of undress”, comprising more than 90 portraits from the Gallery’s collection, investigates elements of nakedness, with personalities such as Dame Edna Everage, Germaine Greer, Megan Gale and Billy Slater.

Curator Penelope Grist defines “bareness” as being “not as extreme as nakedness and not as refined as nudity. Bareness emphasises something about a subject’s identity as well as reflecting society.” So now you know. The gallery will be in the buff from August 15 to November 15 and entry is free.

Grammar reaches out

READER Carolyn Wilson wrote to say that her son is fortunate enough to attend a privileged school in Canberra and that she was always trying to find ways to teach him about giving to those less fortunate.

And she was full of praise for the school, Canberra Grammar, for its decision to apply all the Woolworths “Earn and Learn” points collected by the school when the program finishes on September 8 to less fortunate Aboriginal pre-schools in the Kempsey area.

Some Grammar teachers have been working through the Gunawirra charity and had seen first hand the needs these centres and the children have, the school’s spokesman told CC.

“With our donation, these centres will be able to benefit greatly from the huge influx of points the CGS families can accumulate,” he said.