Geelong’s Caleb Vines must be hoping that history repeats as he counts down the days until The Wizard of Oz’s stage production premieres in Melbourne.
The bright young talent has scored a gig as understudy for the role as Scarecrow – coincidentally the first character his grandmother ever played on stage as a youngster!
So along with history repeating, our Caleb could be forgiven for musing on another familiar saying, this one particular to the world of theatre, while watching Eli Cooper rehearse the role.
Break a leg!
Sacked Geelong mayor Darryn Lyons should consider covering Twist in St Tropez, the 1978 hit of French early-techno band Telex.
Although perhaps he could retitle it Bitter and Twisted in St Tropez, given his Twitter feed while visiting Europe recently.
Not even the sophisticated delights of the Mediterranean playground for the rich and famous could free his mind completely of the Andrews Government, which famously ousted Daz and the rest of his council in 2016.
Indeed, he was travelling globally but thinking locally with ongoing invective for the government’s perceived shortcomings, particularly in relation to rail services and crime.
Twist in St Tropez? Well, in Darryn’s mind, possibly the neck of a certain Premier at least!
Mind you, his replacements at City Hall seem to be doing a fine job on their own of getting up the government’s nostrils.
This week they restored councillor portfolios, against the state’s stipulated wishes for local governance in Geelong.
The government’s previous council administrators axed the portfolios, for areas such as economic development and planning, citing potential conflict with the Local Government Act.
And, naturally, with the return of portfolios it follows that administrator-approved restrictions on councillors speaking publicly should ease.
After all, the environment portfolio-holder should be able to discuss the environment, right?
And if the return of portfolios isn’t enough, lo and behold, who should have the most?
Bruce Harwood, of course, who Local Government Minister Marlene Kairouz declined to congratulate on his appointment as mayor after overcoming the 2016 sacking to win his way back onto council in November.
Council-watchers might like to grab some popcorn – the show’s starting to get interesting.
Organisers of Easter’s Rip Curl Pro at Bells Beach appear to have taken a leaf out of the book of road cycling races such as the local Cadel Evans ride.
This year the famous surfing event will include “live sites” around the shire for watching the action on big screens at venues such as cafes, bars, restores and stores. Even Winchelsea gets a screen!
While lacking the atmosphere of the real thing, the sites will at least provide a viable option to the annual vehicle queue for entry, sometimes snaking back kilometres to the Great Ocean Road.
And this year, with Australian three-time world champion Mick Fanning retiring from competitive surfing at Bells, the queue’s likely to be longer than ever.
So pull up a chair and enjoy the action, hopefully without getting wiped out at the licensed venues!
