Latest news with #Victorians'
Sydney Morning Herald
3 days ago
- General
- Sydney Morning Herald
Ban on e-bikes on trains a response over the top, cycling advocates say
A plan to ban e-bikes and e-scooters from trains has been branded a knee-jerk overreaction that will limit Victorians' mobility and access to public transport. The Department of Transport and Planning last month released draft regulations to ban electric bikes and scooters from passenger trains and V/Line coaches in response to the risk of lithium-ion battery fires. An e-bike caught fire on a Metro train at Union station, in Melbourne's east, in March and hundreds of house fires have been blamed on malfunctioning e-bike and e-scooter batteries. London banned e-bikes from trains in March, except for foldable models, 'until improved product safety measures are in place for converted cycles, batteries and chargers'. But critics say Victoria's blanket ban, which is set to start on September 30, is disproportionate to the unlikely event of a fire. Narelle Beurle, who runs the cycling club Ladies Back On Your Bike, which has close to 180 members and organises group rides for women of all ages and cycling abilities, feared the ban would deter people from cycling. About 20 per cent of the group's members use electric pedal-assist bicycles and many begin or end their rides with a train journey either around Melbourne or to regional Victoria on V/Line. 'A lot of our ladies have purchased e-bikes to enable them to keep getting on the rides and keeping that social connection with people,' said Beurle, who is currently using an e-bike because a back injury makes it too difficult to use a regular bicycle.
The Age
3 days ago
- General
- The Age
Ban on e-bikes on trains a response over the top, cycling advocates say
A plan to ban e-bikes and e-scooters from trains has been branded a knee-jerk overreaction that will limit Victorians' mobility and access to public transport. The Department of Transport and Planning last month released draft regulations to ban electric bikes and scooters from passenger trains and V/Line coaches in response to the risk of lithium-ion battery fires. An e-bike caught fire on a Metro train at Union station, in Melbourne's east, in March and hundreds of house fires have been blamed on malfunctioning e-bike and e-scooter batteries. London banned e-bikes from trains in March, except for foldable models, 'until improved product safety measures are in place for converted cycles, batteries and chargers'. But critics say Victoria's blanket ban, which is set to start on September 30, is disproportionate to the unlikely event of a fire. Narelle Beurle, who runs the cycling club Ladies Back On Your Bike, which has close to 180 members and organises group rides for women of all ages and cycling abilities, feared the ban would deter people from cycling. About 20 per cent of the group's members use electric pedal-assist bicycles and many begin or end their rides with a train journey either around Melbourne or to regional Victoria on V/Line. 'A lot of our ladies have purchased e-bikes to enable them to keep getting on the rides and keeping that social connection with people,' said Beurle, who is currently using an e-bike because a back injury makes it too difficult to use a regular bicycle.
Hans India
5 days ago
- General
- Hans India
40 years on, school friends rekindle bonds and donate to alma mater
Mangaluru: It was a walk down memory lane for the 1985 batch of Victoria Ladyhill High School, as students reunited on a Sunday to celebrate 40 years since their school days. Held on the very campus that shaped their youth, the reunion overflowed with emotion, gratitude, and a strong sense of purpose. The idea took shape when Dr Zeena Flavia Dsouza, Associate Professor of Commerce at St Aloysius (Deemed to be University), posted a message in their alumni group. 'We realised it had been four decades. The response was instant,' she said. They even designed their T-shirt emblazoned with 'Victorians' on the chest and Batch of 1985 on the back, which they wore throughout the event and have pledged to preserve it. Spearheaded by Dr Madhavi, an ophthalmologist from Vijayawada and the group's former school pupil leader, the reunion drew classmates from across the country and overseas — including Dr Poornima Nair, a well-known gynaecologist in Mangaluru; Supriya D'Souza from Muscat; Charlotte Pinto from Dubai; Ashritha Moras from Goa; and Shanteri from Cochin. 'One of us, Swaroopa Shetty, has even become a State General Secretary of the Congress party, and most of us are working in different fields,' Zeena said. As part of their reunion, the alumni planted 40 saplings on a green patch of the school's hilltop campus, specially earmarked by the current headmistress, Sister Pushpa. The planting was guided by Jeet Milan Roche, Mangaluru's well-known environmentalist, fondly known as the 'tree man'. These trees now stand as a living memorial to their bond and commitment to sustainability. In a show of support for future students, the batch also donated a sizable fund to the school's fund for underprivileged students — aimed at reducing dropouts and fostering inclusivity. A special 'Guruvandana' honoured beloved teachers, including 81-year-old Anusuya, a teacher who briefly stepped back into her role as a biology teacher and drew figures from the biology lessons, even grilling her students on the various parts of a hibiscus flower, recalled one of the ladies. The day ended with laughter, shared memories, and a deep sense of reconnection — proof that some friendships, like the trees they planted, only grow stronger with time.
Hans India
5 days ago
- General
- Hans India
40 Years On, School Friends Rekindle Bonds and Give Back to Alma Mater
Mangaluru: It was a walk down memory lane for the 1985 batch of Victoria Ladyhill High School, as 25-year-old students reunited on a Sunday to celebrate 40 years since their school days. Held on the very campus that shaped their youth, the reunion overflowed with emotion, gratitude, and a strong sense of purpose. The idea took shape when Dr Zeena Flavia Dsouza, Associate Professor of Commerce at St Aloysius (Deemed to be University), posted a message in their alumni group. 'We realised it had been four decades. The response was instant,' she said. They even designed their T-shirt emblazoned with 'Victorians' on the chest and Batch of 1985 on the back, which they wore throughout the event and have pledged to preserve it. Spearheaded by Dr Madhavi, an ophthalmologist from Vijayawada and the group's former school pupil leader, the reunion drew classmates from across the country and overseas — including Dr Poornima Nair, a well-known gynaecologist in Mangaluru; Supriya D'Souza from Muscat; Charlotte Pinto from Dubai; Ashritha Moras from Goa; and Shanteri from Cochin. "One of us, Swaroopa Shetty, has even become a State General Secretary of the Congress party, and most of us are working in different fields," Zeena said. As part of their reunion, the alumni planted 40 saplings on a green patch of the school's hilltop campus, specially earmarked by the current headmistress, Sister Pushpa. The planting was guided by Jeet Milan Roche, Mangaluru's well-known environmentalist, fondly known as the 'tree man'. These trees now stand as a living memorial to their bond and commitment to sustainability. In a show of support for future students, the batch also donated a sizable fund to the school's fund for underprivileged students — aimed at reducing dropouts and fostering inclusivity. A special 'Guruvandana' honoured beloved teachers, including 81-year-old Anusuya, a teacher who briefly stepped back into her role as a biology teacher and drew figures from the biology lessons, even grilling her students on the various parts of a hibiscus flower, recalled one of the ladies. The day ended with laughter, shared memories, and a deep sense of reconnection — proof that some friendships, like the trees they planted, only grow stronger with time.
Winnipeg Free Press
05-08-2025
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
A cure for boredom
The tour's title might have sent the Victorian home's original inhabitants into a fit of the vapours. Luckily, Dalnavert on Drugs might also have the remedy. (Likely, laudanum or an alcoholic tonic.) A brainchild of a former summer intern, Dalnavert on Drugs unfolds every Friday and Sunday beginning at 1:30 p.m. in former Manitoba premier Hugh John Macdonald's family residence, also known as Dalnavert Museum. It's a lively, educational and gently satirical portrait of Victorians' use of intoxicating 'patent medicines' and exotic everyday remedies to treat common sicknesses and conditions — sometimes as spurious as the medicines themselves. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Inés Bonacossa shows some highlights of the Dalnavert on Drugs tour at the museum. Is your busy society wife suffering from 'hysteria' or some other form of 'female weakness'? Try Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup. With its heavy dose of morphine sulfate, it might also just be the thing to quiet your teething baby. A little goes a long way. And, you a Winnipeg businessman overworked from parcelling out prairie land, have you, too, come down with a bout of 'nervous exhaustion'? That sounds emasculating, but a few shots of Dr. Hostetter's Stomach Bitters (47 per cent hard liquor) should restore your masculine vitality in no time. 'Unfortunately, there are no samples available,' jokes Inés Bonacossa, the tour's permanent guide, as she steps into the dark and thickly ornate home at 61 Carlton St. A maximum of five people are allowed on the tour at one time — no one under 16 is allowed, because of the tour's discussions of drug use, addictions and illness. Ordinarily, Dalnavert's tours explore the life and lifestyle of a more provincial figure bearing the name of one of Canada's most powerful politicians. Hugh John was John A.'s son and ventured west looking to chart his own course at a time when Winnipeg resonated with great economic promise. It was a move made not only by many working-class labourers, immigrants and unemployed men, but many lawyers, bankers, land speculators and members of the so-called Laurentian class looking to get in on the city's explosive growth tied to rail, grain and trade. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS The medicine cabinet in the Macdonald bathroom holds a collection of exotic remedies. A lawyer by profession, Hugh John Macdonald twice served as a military officer to help quell Louis Riel's Métis-led rebellions (1869–70 and 1885). He held key roles in Winnipeg's conservative scene — first as an MP, serving in Charles Tupper's cabinet, then briefly as Manitoba's premier in 1900 and then, finally, was appointed Winnipeg's police magistrate in 1911 — before his death in 1929. Though an illustrious local figure, Hugh John's reserved style couldn't match the charisma of his father, and some saw him saw him as a partial waste of such a pedigree. A visit to the museum will likely impress you with some of this history, but these details fade into the background in Dalnavert on Drugs. When Bonacossa delivers this tour rather than the regular one, she isn't discussing the Macdonalds — who may or may not have relied on patent medicines — but she offers no less a vivid picture of early Winnipeg's culture and society. 'The tour is about how drugs were used depending on your social class and gender and race. How manufacturers made their products stand out by using ads that were frighteningly effective because they were always portrayed with very idyllic scenes with small children, very angelic looking, or beautiful women who looked absolutely lovely drinking something or other,' she says. As she guides the visitor through the two-storey home in Queen Anne Revival style, she'll pull out laminated copies of old patent medicine labels — charming works of kitsch, where all the children, as Bonacossa points out, seem to have curly hair. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Inés Bonacossa with a bottle of Mrs. Winslow's Soothing Syrup. While some of these drugs — such as arsenic and lead-based cosmetics, promising pale skin and signifying a life indoors — seemed clearly marketed at the bourgeoisie, others cut across class lines. The tired labourer and businessman could both find respite at the end of the day in the calming effects of opiates and glorified booze, free from pesky warnings or strict dosage directions. 'There was nothing in those ads that warned anyone at a time when so many could not afford to see a physician. The images were enough to convince somebody,' says Bonacossa. Though, as Bonacossa says, opiate- and alcohol-based remedies were not generally taken socially, they did provide something of a workaround to the era's rising anti-alcohol tendencies. The temperance movement, which drew many Victorian reformists and suffragettes such as Winnipegger Nellie McClung, had gained strong footing in Canada by the late 19th century, especially in the prairie provinces. Weekday Evenings Today's must-read stories and a roundup of the day's headlines, delivered every evening. The movement pushed for moral reform and legislation against drinking, which it believed to be a root cause of domestic violence and poverty. 'They managed to rebrand wine, calling it a tonic, because that made it legitimate. Then, physicians prescribed tonic,' Bonacossa says. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Inés Bonacossa, Dalnavert Museum collections registrar and specialty tour guide, with a 19th century opium bottle. Bonacossa's tour ends, fittingly, in the Macdonald bathroom in front of the medicine cabinet — a treasure trove of exotic remedies with charming labels and curious ingredients. Other Dalnavert tours — such as its regular guided tours and longer Behind the Ropes tours, which let visitors step into areas that are usually off-limits — have different trajectories and are part of the museum's evolving downtown programming, offered since the museum opened in 1974. Conrad SweatmanReporter Conrad Sweatman is an arts reporter and feature writer. Before joining the Free Press full-time in 2024, he worked in the U.K. and Canadian cultural sectors, freelanced for outlets including The Walrus, VICE and Prairie Fire. Read more about Conrad. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
