Latest news with #eastern suburbs
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Andy Griffiths: ‘I think it's a pity that reading is being lost through neglect'
It's the kind of day you wouldn't believe is winter when Andy Griffiths and I meet – crisp blue sky, barely a tussle of wind and a temperature warm enough to breathe and think. We both arrive 10 minutes early to his childhood home on a steep street in Vermont, a suburb that was very much the fringe of Melbourne when Griffiths grew up, but now is comfortably in the eastern suburbs. Built in the 60s, the brown brick house hasn't changed much. 'It's really comforting,' says Griffiths. 'This was a really great place to grow up,' he says, 'because there were kids everywhere.' He points to the houses on the corner, reflecting on his neighbours. 'There was always someone out on the street to play with or talk to, or little kids to tell silly stories to, and there were dogs everywhere.' At the bottom of the intersecting street is a pine forest that leads to Dandenong Creek. We walk down slowly, stopping to ponder the trees. 'It feels a little bit lighter than it did. Or maybe it's just me who's changed, but it did feel a lot darker and more mysterious. It's like you're in another little world.' The trees stand tall, with very few low-lying branches, not at all good for climbing. Every other kind of mischief, however, was within this open circle of trees: dragsters with banana seats, making up outrageous stories, hiding beers for teenage parties, and firecrackers. 'It was one of those childhoods where you'd go out in the morning and didn't really have to come home until it got dark.' Griffiths' father was an industrial chemist, with a knack for building things and gardening. His mother was a midwife who ran the secondhand book stall at the school fete, filling the house with all sorts of books donated from the neighbourhood. Griffiths often had first dibs, and still has some of those books spanning from fiction to philosophy. 'They're really precious reading experiences, because they're not necessarily what you would have given to a kid, but they just opened up the world to me. I often muse back on that and think, something was looking after me there.' Children's books did still appeal to him, however, and he loved Enid Blyton from an early age. 'I loved her because she'd just get the kids away from the parents in the first chapter, plunge them into danger or an adventure.' The tattooed punk children's author is rather dapper in a tweed jacket over a cardigan vest and wearing a trilby hat, but still at home in the forest, leading us the 'traditional way' that the kids would go down to the creek. He compares the creek to Winnie-the-Pooh's Hundred Acre Wood, a place of freedom. Freedom comes up a lot in conversation – not necessarily in a large political sense but rather the freedom to imagine, to play and to explore the world without adults present. He didn't know the years of unobserved childhood wandering around the creek would become the bones of his career, spanning four decades, although his résumé also includes bottle shop worker, punk vocalist and English teacher. Griffiths has made an impressive career spanning four decades of writing for six-to-10-year-olds, an age at which he says, 'Anything is possible. They're still in that phase where the world is large. You don't know what's quite true or what's not true,' he says, slowing down for a moment. Despite reports that children, especially boys, are reading less and struggling more with literacy, Griffiths is mostly optimistic, meeting thousands of kids a year. 'Parents do have a role to play in ensuring a balance in their kids' lives, a balance between outside play, gaming, reading. Because [in] reading, while you're getting that intense experience, you're gaining literacy skills, which make such a difference to every aspect of your life, which I think is a pity that that's being lost through neglect. 'At the same time, there's more books for kids than there ever was for more varied readerships. So much more.' His own childhood took place during the golden age of reading, as Griffiths calls it. 'We weren't spending all our time reading books, because we had our dragsters and we had the keys to the kingdom.' But he had the best of both worlds: playing for hours, all children together, and also getting lost in books, simply because, 'we had many spare hours growing up that couldn't be filled with anything else'. We leave the forest by a sharp ascent over muddy grass and rocks, returning to the block around Griffiths childhood home, heading towards the old milk bar. 'I want to keep writing the type of thing that a particular reader really craves. It's the most positive way I can think to make a difference. What I'm doing is translating what I loved in my childhood reading, finding that essence and the spirit of it and modernising it and passing it on.' His newest series, working with Bill Hope, is a change of direction after 30 years of collaboration with Terry Denton on the Treehouse series. The series with Denton ended after 13 books, published from 2011 to 2023, which sold more than 10m copies and were published in more than 35 languages. The series was a slightly unexpected hit internationally – Griffiths' previous series had only received local success. 'I just thought our particular flavour of humour was like Vegemite. 'There was an outpouring of grief by dedicated readers and their parents [when the Treehouse series ended]. And they were like, you can't stop. And I was like, well, I have,' he says, 'But it doesn't mean I'm going to stop writing.' He knew where he was going next. Over the years, many children had written to him, asking if they could appear in a book, because obviously that wouldn't be too much trouble, which led to the idea of the ubiquitous main characters in his latest book, You and Me, illustrated only as a pair of adventure costumes to leave their appearance to the imagination. You & Me is an adventure series, in which the main characters are called You and Me, which serves to encourage reading aloud. The second book, You & Me and the Peanut Butter Beast, firmly establishes the characters: Me, who wants to follow the rules, and You, who is more impulsive. Then there is Johnny Knucklehead, a reappearing swindler who started out as just a name in Griffiths' head, until Bill Hope sent over some drawings, the final sketch now tattooed on Griffiths' palm. Keeping in touch with a childlike sense of imagination, play and humour is something that Griffiths considers greatly. 'I allow myself to do things that appear to have no ostensible value or purpose,' he says, permitting himself to spend hours in a record shop and rereading childhood favourite books. 'You come away restored and buzzing with the excitement. It adds richness.' Griffiths says he always knows when he is working too much – everything is a chore and not much fun. Humour, he says, has great value, not just because it is pleasurable to laugh, but because it can shift frames of thinking. 'Laughter throws the switch back to openness where you've got the potential to make a more creative decision than just grimly doing whatever needs to be done.' For now, what excites him – like he is 13 years old again – is the fact the Alice Cooper Band is releasing their first album in 50 years. 'It's really good to allow ourselves to be excited by whatever it is.' Andy Griffiths' latest book, You & Me and the Peanut Butter Beast, is out on 19 August
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
House where Fadi Ibrahim was shot returns to the market
One of the nation's leading endocrine surgeons is selling Castle Cove's most infamous house – the former home of Kings Cross identity Fadi Ibrahim – who survived a shooting outside the property back in 2009. Clinical professor Dr Mark Sywak specializes in minimal invasive surgery for thyroid and adrenal glands and is recognized as a world leader. He purchased the luxury Castle Cove home in 2016 paying $4.31m and now after raising his family he and his wife Alex are letting it go and moving closer to the ocean. 'We knew who owned the house and we found them to be a wonderful normal couple,' Dr Sywak said. 'We also thought they had quite good taste,' he added. Fadi Ibrahim is one of the Ibrahim brothers based in Sydney's eastern suburbs. His brother John is a former nightclub owner and author who is the subject of the television series The Last King Of The Cross which follows the fortunes of John and his brother Sam. In 2006 Fadi built a substantial five-bedroom home in the sedate leafy suburb of Castle Cove choosing a large corner block opposite the golf course and tennis courts and paying $1.05m for the site. Three years later he was shot through an open window while he and his girlfriend were sitting outside the house in their Lamborghini car. Fadi spared no expense in a rebuild dedicating a whole top floor to a retreat with a 10.7m long bedroom, a vast ensuite with black marble double spa bath, three vanities, two showers and two toilets. And the walk-in wardrobe off the bedroom is huge – bigger than any of the four other bedrooms. Plus the bedroom has its own deep east-facing balcony and media hub. The Sywaks also love the secret door from the main lounge to the whole floor parents retreat. 'We moved in with four children and there is lots of space for them to have their friends while we retreat upstairs,' he said. The house is built like a bunker, covers 485sqm of floor space and has two large living rooms, a renovated main stone kitchen, a second kitchen next to the double garage – ideal for large scale food storage – a wine cellar with tasting room and four bathrooms. Outside there are two entertaining terraces, both with barbecues, one beside the swimming pool and one just outside the main living room with stackable doors opening right up to the northern sun. Solar panels have been added to the roof for sustainability and the property has excellent security and storage. Agent Stefon Bertram, of Pello Lower North Shore, said the workmanship in the Neerim Rd house is second to none with joinery alone costing $1m. 'It is also close to the shops and village, very private and very practical,' he said. Number 3 Neerim Rd goes to auction on Saturday September 6 and although a guide has yet to be set, bidding in the early $6ms is expected.
News.com.au
01-08-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
AFLW stars on being role models, dealing with setbacks and the future of the league: ‘The game has evolved'
Posing on set for Stellar's shoot in Sydney's eastern suburbs is worlds away from the footy field, yet Chloe Molloy – co-captain of Sydney Swans' AFLW team – embraces being out of her comfort zone. 'I can respect what models do,' Molloy tells Stellar with a laugh. 'I get so awkward – I'm not camera shy but then … I am slightly camera shy.' Molloy, who grew up in the Victorian town of Whittlesea, made her AFLW debut in 2017 – and won the AFLW Rising Star Award, was named All-Australian three times, and nabbed a Best and Fairest at her former club Collingwood, before signing with the Swans in 2023. Ahead of the start of the 2025 AFLW season – marking the league's tenth overall (two seasons were played in 2022) – Molloy and her cohorts, Brisbane Lions dual premiership player Ally Anderson and Melbourne captain Kate Hore – reflect on how the league has changed since its inception in 2017. 'The game has evolved a lot,' Molloy says. As for what she would like to see in its future? 'I'd love for there to be more analysis [of matches]. I'd love more camera angles [during broadcasts]. I think you can get caught up with what we don't have … and forget how far we have come.' The trio is hopeful that, like them, more AFLW players will be able to earn a full-time salary from playing in the coming years – an ambition shared by the AFL. '[The AFL] is committed to us being full-time,' Molloy notes. 'When that is, hopefully sooner rather than later. There's growth in the game that's happening and still needs to happen. Salaries not only for the players but salaries around [for support staff]. Hopefully in the next few years [there will be] full time wages not just for the players, but for everyone around us.' Molloy, 26, is on track to make her return to the Swans after an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury ruled her out of last season. 'It was very hard to process that I had even done it,' Molloy says. 'And you just know straight away that you are on the sidelines for so long. I didn't realise how mentally taxing it would be: 10, 11 months. One that I wouldn't wish upon anybody. It is a rehab beast – at times, it definitely defeated me. Now, I look ahead and everything that I have been through. It kind of makes me think, I just want to play football. I don't have a return date set. Fingers crossed [for a round one return].' Brisbane Lions midfielder Anderson, who played in two premierships with the club and is a three-time AFLW All-Australian, is firmly focused on avenging the Lions crushing Grand Final loss to North Melbourne last season. 'It was super devastating and a bit emotional,' Brisbane-born Anderson – a proud Gangulu / Wakka Wakka woman – tells Stellar. 'And it wasn't the first Grand Final that we'd lost,' the 31-year-old adds. 'I have been on both sides and it never gets any easier. You sort of have a really big break in the off-season away from footy. 'As a team, we have worked together. The position we have put ourselves in throughout the whole pre-season to … get back to what we were and do one better. 'We all want to redeem ourselves.' Like Molloy, Anderson made her AFLW debut in 2017 and she adds: 'I've played every game since'. The winner of the 2022 AFL Women's best and fairest award, Anderson notes: 'I'm one of the lucky ones – for the past 3-4 years, I've been able to dedicate myself to footy. I've been able to work on my fitness and I have had a lot of improvement over the past few years. I never thought I'd be a full-time professional athlete.' Ahead of the new season, Hore says she is more aware than ever about being a role model to the next generation 'It definitely took me a bit of time for it to sink in,' the 30-year-old says. 'My idols in footy growing up were all male, so for young girls to now have AFLW athletes to look up to is pretty cool. 'The saying 'you can't be what you can't see' resonates with me.' Hore, a three-time All-Australian player, Best & Fairest winner, and the league's leading goalkicker in 2023, is in a relationship with Corey Maynard, a former footballer who now works in player development at North Melbourne – and the couple share their Melbourne home with a Golden Retriever puppy, Benny. 'Footy is obviously a big part of our lives but we love getting out of the footy bubble whenever we can,' Hore says. 'We are both very competitive, so when either of our teams lose we're probably not much fun to be around. He's incredibly supportive of my footy career.' The 2025 NAB AFLW Premiership season starts on Thursday, August 14. See
