I have received a wonderful, amusing invitation to attend the official opening of upstairs@fred’s, Macarthur’s newest “it’’ place, a classy wine bar in the heart of Camden. It is probably one of the most amusing invitations I have ever received, and the reason for that is because the hand of The Wiz, Steve Wisbey, was no doubt involved in its production. Here’s an excerpt:
Mandy Avinou, Katie Palmer & Steve Wisbey OAM Invite you to Celebrate the BMW (beautiful marvelous wunderbar) Official Grand Opening of upstairs@fred’s
Camden Mayor Lara Symkowiak will formally cut the ribbon, a host of Politicians, local Celebrities and Business folk will cheer and Macarthur BMW will Steal Hearts as they dazzle with their new range of luxury German motor cars.
Champagne Corks will pop as Fred’s salubrious surrounds are christened by a selected few and someone will win a luxury weekend test driving a brand new BMW! “Ohhh the joy of being an A-lister” Fred was heard to murmur.
♦ Which is all well and good for the Wiz and his partners but sadly I have a “better’’ offer, sort of, a Liverpool Council meeting on at the same time. Such is life, you win some, you lose some. But it’s even worse than that: going by all the councillors who have been calling to discuss their notices of motion, it’s doubtful if the council meeting will finish much before midnight.
♦ New Campbelltown mayor Paul Hawker got off to a good start by saying all the right things, including reminding everyone present of the late John Marsden’s insistence that there are “two great cities in the world, Rome and Campbelltown’’. Mayor Hawker went one further by saying he thought Campbelltown would be at the top of his list. And the mayor very kindly gave some of the credit for getting the town’s top job to one of his mentors, the late Jim Merry, Fairfax journalist and in later years serving councillor of Campbelltown. “He showed me the ropes and I want to thank him for his help,’’ the new mayor said moments after getting elected.
♦ When the Campbelltown Blues decided not to field a first grade this season their players had to find new clubs quick smart. One of them, Jason Fleming, one of Campbelltown’s best AFL products, was offered a spot by just about every other club in the Sydney AFL first grade premiership. He ended up with UTS – University of Technology Sydney – who had a mixed season, but our Jason performed tremendously well and ended up being named in the 2015 Sydney AFL premiership team of the year. Congratulations.
♦ And while we’re on sport, here’s the latest in the Robbie Farah saga: the club has issued a short press release to “clarify media reports regarding Robbie Farah’’. New CEO Justin Pascoe said: “The cub has always maintained that it would honour its contractual obligations to Robbie. This does not change the fact that Robbie has been granted permission to speak with other clubs.” Yep, that was it. As clear as mud, we humbly submit, Your Honour.
♦ Following the tragic death of Campbelltown boxer Davey Browne after the title fight at Ingleburn earlier this month, as part of their continuing investigation, police have launched an appeal to talk to anyone who was present at the fight on September 11. Thirty seconds into the final round, 28-year-old Browne was knocked to the canvas. He was treated at the scene by a doctor and Ambulance Paramedics who transported him to Liverpool Hospital in a critical condition. He died four days later on September 15.
