What About Movie in the Park?

This weekend in the park at Chermside West, children and staff of Craigslea C & K Kindergarten are getting into the spirit.

The kindergarten will run a sausage sizzle at the screening of the Adam Sandler film Bedtime Stories at Frederick Annand Park in Milburn Street on Saturday February 20, said Centre co-director Linda Hows.

Mrs. Hows said that its good thing for us to do because as we are on the park here and the whole community gets involved.

The kindergarten will be benefitted from the sausage sizzle as proceeds will go to them.

Brisbane City Councilor Fiona King (Marchant ward) organized this screening and it will start at 6:45PM.

Chermside Shopping Centre Turnover

The Mildwood Queensland Investment report revealed yesterday that the Westfield Group of shopping centers at Chermside, Carindale and Garden City had the highest turnover growth in Queensland in the past five years. The report showed that Chermside’s turnover grew from $402 million in 2004 to a very impressive $76 million this year, making it the best-performing center in all of Queensland. Carindale comes closely next to Chermside with a turnover increased by $200 million to $690 million. Bill Morris’ Midwood November report also showed that only a very few of the 50 major shopping centers in Queensland went backwards (normally only 1-2 percent annually). This implies that the shopping centers were not originally oversupplied in contrary to most customer sentiments.

The report reveals the total retail space in Queensland’s 50 key shopping centers was just about 2.6 million square meters in May, reflecting significant increase of about 30 percent over the past five years. Among the 50, the most efficient shopping center, based on turnover divided by net lettable area, was Stockland Townsville who is at $8,540 per square meter.

The cost of Popping a Cork

Unscrewing a cork from a bottle of wine is not only an art in itself; it has also become one of the most highly paying jobs in Brisbane’s north-side restaurants. In the past, most restaurants would charge as much as $20 per bottle for corkage, but restaurant owners defended the high price for simple reasons of profit and not breaking even on BYO licensing.

Bella Cosi from Chermside used to charge $20 but pulled the price back down to $10 after doing a survey among customers. The survey revealed that although there was that call for corkage to exist, a lot of people now preferred to buy wine at the restaurant – customers now prefer to choose one of the house wines to complement whatever they are eating.

Zianetti’s owner Tony Harcourt said that while his restaurant only charged $3 per person, he understood why corkage was higher in other places. He said that it is probably just charging the people what the restaurant is making. Meaning, the restaurant is just protecting their margins. He also mentioned that one possible reason why corkage is high in some restaurants and cafes is because of the fact that the State Government imposes high prices for licensing.

Future Brisbane to Rely less on Cars

Lord Mayor Campbell Newman’s picture-perfect vision of Brisbane will not rely on tunnels and bridges. Surprised? Everyone is.

Just weeks shy of the Clem7 opening, Newman dreams of motorists to only use tunnels on weekends 21 years from now. This is because their cars will sit idle in apartment garages from Monday to Friday, only coming to life when their owners leave their comfortable urban villages to take a dip at the beach.

That is his vision. His future snapshot of Brisbane is simple and compelling.

With southeast Queensland’s population projected to swell from 2.9 to 4.4 million over the next 21 years, Brisbane City Council needs to find room for an extra 156,000 dwellings. Given that, Newman’s strategy for new arrivals to housed in pockets of high and medium-rise apartment blocks, hubs which will absorb a decentralization from CBD and rise from public transport nodes at Garden City, Indooroopilly, Cadindale and Chermside. But the picture he paints of Chermside is particularly vivid.

His vision reveals you, living in an apartment on the fourth floor, looking across the northeast towards Moreton Bay. It is not necessarily high-rise, though but parks and plazas. There will be restaurants, a local library and a great swimming pool. Westfield shopping center is still there and the northern bus way will have been completed. If you have to head to the city, you only have to walk 300m down the road and hop in an air-conditioned bus which will come every five minutes. The landscape changes just marginally as you commute towards the bright city lights. You will go past a viaduct or through a tunnel and look across inner northern suburbs like Gordon Park or Kedron and see old Queenslanders. And when you come to CBD, you can drive but it is more about pedestrians and cyclists this time.

Newman comes prepared to go to battle for this growth plan of his, believing that it is a legacy he feels is at least as important as the Clem7 tunnel. He sees the future Brisbane as an even more livable city. It will preserve the tin and timber and character of Brisbane, he said.

Accountant Survived Tough Start

A chartered accountant who suffered from lack of acceptance and experienced discrimination at the start of her career has triumphed to enjoy a 30-year milestone in the industry. Denise Gibbons of Chermside said that three decades ago, women were not that welcome in the field of accountancy. Back then, it was extremely challenging as a woman to be widely accepted at the senior management level in almost any profession, especially in the field of accountancy. When employed at a large, internationally known financial firm, most women are offered another position “training” due to the company’s lack of experience in handling a woman. Discrimination then starts from there.

Gibbons then moved to Brisbane in 1984 when she worked on contract until 1991. In the same year, she joined Clayfield business, Warwick King Accountants and took over the business when Mr. King suddenly died. She now holds the business and has two business partners.

In celebration of her success, she will hold a party for invited clients tomorrow. Integrity Wealth is in Vine St, Clayfield (33268500).

Legends of Marithia book launch coming soon

Author Peter Koevari will launch his book entitled the Legends of Marithia: Prophecies Awakening on Friday, March 5, 2010 in Chermside.

The book launching will be held at Kedron-Wavell Services Club, 375 Hamilton Road, Chermside starting at 7 p.m. until late in the evening.

The book is the first of Koevari’s many fantasy novels. Koevari resides in Brisbane, Australia.

Here’s an excerpt from the book:

“When her sorceress mother and vampire king father are brutally murdered, Kassina makes a pact with Shindar, the Demon of Darkness. In exchange for her soul, Kassina obtains power to become the most feared sorceress in all the lands; she could make the people pay dearly for the deaths of her parents. Granted eternal life, Kassina and her evil are never far away.

For years, Marithia, a mystical world inhabited by humans and elves, has lived in an age of peace. But that peace is shattered when King Arman is slain by his own son, a pawn of the vampire sorceress Kassina. Arman’s murder sparks the most brutal and bloody war ever seen between the Forces of Darkness and the peaceful Marithians.

Vartan, a young knight who was wrongfully banished from King Arman’s court, reluctantly discovers he is the subject of a prophecy to activate the legendary weapon, Talonsphere. He forms an alliance with the mythical dragons and has the opportunity to rid the world of the oppressors forever and experience eternal peace.”

For more information, contact Peter Koevari through email at peter@peterkoevari.com or visit his website at www.peterkoevari.com

SOURCE: OurBrisbane.com

Bollywood fun and fitness for kids at Chermside

Let your kids join these very exciting dance sessions with Roushini at Chermside, which will feature Bollywood dance moves and active games to create a fun and interactive session.

All children from 5 to 12 years can join the said event, which by the way, is free. Participants are advised to bring drinking water.

The event will start on Tuesday, February 16, 2010, Tuesday and ends on Tuesday, March 23, 2010. The meeting point is at the playground at 7th Brigade Park, Murphy Street, Chermside.

For more information, contact the Brisbane City Council at (07) 3403-8888 or visit their website (www.brisbane.qld.gov.au).

SOURCE: OurBrisbane.com

Bollywood fun and fitness for kids at Chermside

Let your kids join these very exciting dance sessions with Roushini at Chermside, which will feature Bollywood dance moves and active games to create a fun and interactive session.

All children from 5 to 12 years can join the said event, which by the way, is free. Participants are advised to bring drinking water. The event will start on Tuesday, February 16, 2010, Tuesday and ends on Tuesday, March 23, 2010. The meeting point is at the playground at 7th Brigade Park, Murphy Street, Chermside.

For more information, contact the Brisbane City Council at (07) 3403-8888 or visit their website (www.brisbane.qld.gov.au).

Source: OurBrisbane.com

Easter eggs on sale at Chermside 3 months in advance

Just as the Christmas decorations are brought down, Easter eggs are being rolled out at supermarkets and department stores.

At the Chermside branch of Target in the north of Brisbane, rows of chocolate bunnies, eggs, and Easter gift boxes are seen lining the register shelves just a short distance away from the discounted Christmas decorations.

Good Friday will fall on April 2, this year, approximately three months away.

Puzzled children have been wondering why bunnies are already on the register shelves.

Coles spokesman Jim Coopers said that this has been the case every year. “The simple reason is customer demands. We’ll sell hundreds of thousands of Easter products in January alone.”

Steven Williamson, Target’s business manager for general merchandise, agreed that consumer demand was the main reason why the Easter eggs are up so early.

Target’s “small range” went on sale from January 4.

Williamsom furthered, “Based on past experience, we see customer demand for impulse Easter products as soon as the new year commences, with people often eating them as treats in the lead-up to Easter.”

Source: CourierMail

Origin Energy Fires Salesman ‘Bully’

Origin Energy fired one of its salesmen who was reported to have “insulted, bullied, intimidated and traumatised” a customer who is a disabled pensioner. The company has apologized to the customer.

According to Jason Copeland,the Origin salesman went to his home in Chermside last week and demanded to see his existing electricity bill.

Copeland, who has a heart condition, said that the salesman was arrogant and intimidating while he explained why the 62-year-old pensioner should shift to Origin.

“I felt quite ill afterwards and had to lie down,” said Mr Copeland.

He furthered, “I feared for my safety. I hate to think what could have happened to someone who is in more frail health than I am in the face of such bullying and insulting behaviour.”

He then filed a formal complaint to Origin Enegy, who responded by saying that the company is worried that its standards for dealing with the public had not been met in this case.

An Origin Energy spokesman said that the said salesman will no longer represent Origin.

‘We unreservedly apologise to Mr Copeland.” He furthered that someone from Origin will be in touch with Copeland to settle the matter personally.

Mr Copeland said that he was satisfied with the outcome of his complaint.

“That’s a good result,” he said. “But I hope they’ve got measures in place to train their people, so that this doesn’t happen again.”

He mentioned that there are pensioners who are older and frailer than him, and that kind of behaviour could do serious damage to a frail old lady.

SOURCE: Courier Mail

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