Curious Planet, the famous hobby store and bookshop formerly known as the Australian Geographic, is shutting down its doors for good. The outlet located just right outside of Woolworths at the Mt Ommaney Centre is folding its business, affecting all of 19 stores across Queensland and 63 other shops all over the country.
Once the haven for bargain textbooks for students in the early 1990s, Curious Planet was struggling to stay afloat in 2019 as it searched for new investors and pay off its $15-million debt to suppliers. Despite discussions with interested buyers, its owner, The University Co-operative Bookshop Limited or the Co-op Bookshop, failed to close a good deal.
Curious Planet outlets are currently conducting a stock fire sale across its chain of stores until mid-March. A banner on its online store indicates that the e-commerce shop is “now closed” whilst advertising its closing down sale in-store.
Photo Credit: Curious Planet
However, the outlets that have depleted their stocks have actually shut down in mid-January, leaving dozens of workers without a job. Despite the Christmas rush, the business failed to meet its sales target by over 40 percent in 2019 across all of its shops, including Mt Ommaney Centre.
Meanwhile, the Co-op Bookshop is also up for sale and is currently in the advanced stages of its discussions with a potential buyer. This is a separate business deal from the sale of Curious Planet.
What do you do to nip a boring, lazy Sunday in the bud? Here’s a suggestion that could potentially become the highlight of your weekend — why not visit the Sundayz Market at The Jindalee Hotel?
On the 2nd of February 2020, the Sundayz Market is kicking off the year with more bargains, old favourites and new finds. Open from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., the Sundayz Market is where you can score some amazing arts and crafts items, fresh produce, plants, and heaps of gift items for yourself, your family and your friends.
Nazy and her team do face art, body painting, temporary tattoos, pregnancy belly art and other designs for all ages and backgrounds. They’re a hit at parties and events and they will be returning to the Sundayz Market at the kickoff.
Jo will be selling special crocheted Super K (Koala) stuff toys to help raise funds for WIRES. Her adorable creations come with a removable cape and mask.
If you’re crazy over accessories, buttons, pins and knick-knacks, look for the Stomping Elephants Brisbane South for some uniquely designed pieces. Their items are all handmade and fitted with hypoallergenic surgical steel.
A new addition to the Sundayz Market, Carmi’s Creations delivers gorgeous quality succulents and garden decorations. This up-and-coming business has a really talented person behind it — a great reason to support local!
Photo Credit: Carmi’s Creation/Facebook
In addition to shopping, you’ll be able to try delightful food trends as stalls serving food like burgers, grills, pizza, sandwiches, as well as gluten-free options, will be setting up at the Sundayz Market. Some buskers are also going to provide music and entertainment whilst you shop.
Seniors can avail of their 20 percent benefit if they present their card upon payment.
Sundayz Market happens every first Sunday of the month. For interested stallholders on succeeding market day, send an email to sundayzmarkets@gmail.com for inquiries.
A $40-million dollar contract to supply concrete tunnel segments for the Cross River Rail has been awarded. The project will see the precast segments manufactured at a facility in Wacol.
Cross River Rail Minister Kate Jones announced on 20 December 2019 the awarding of the contract to Wagners, a Toowoomba-based construction company. For a period of nine months, Wagners will manufacture all the precast concrete tunnel segments at its facility in Wacol.
The segments will be installed in the 5.9km of twin tunnels of the rail line under the Brisbane River and CBD.
“Cross River Rail is a world class project that demands the very best and this is a great example of how we already have globally-recognised companies right here in Queensland that can rise to the challenge.”
“Wagners are really proud to be associated with the Cross River Rail project, which is going to deliver incredible benefits for the South East Queensland passenger transport network, along with the creation of job opportunities for many throughout the region,” Wagners CEO, Cameron Coleman said.
“We have been following this project for a long time now, and we are very excited to be able commence production from our precast manufacturing facility at Wacol next year.”
Manufacturing of the precast concrete tunnel segments will commence in late 2020. Wagners is expected to deliver the first supply in January 2021.
Ms Jones described the awarding of contract as “just the beginning’ of opportunities for Queensland-based companies; this was echoed by Cross River Rail Delivery Authority CEO Graeme Newton.
“We have awarded contracts for three major works packages and construction. Consortiums that have been awarded those contracts are now sub-contracting works to a wide variety of companies as workforces are established at sites right across the city,” Mr Newton said.
It isn’t Christmas in a German household unless there’s delicious and elaborately-made fruit and nut cake-like bread on the table. Called by many names — Streizel, Dresden Stollen, Wiehnachts Stollen, Christstollen or simply Stollen — this traditional Christmas cake may be purchased from King of Cakes, a traditional European bakery located in Seventeen Mile Rocks.
This moist, buttery soft, brick-shaped bread is doused with fruit, nuts and marzipan (almond and sugar) at the centre, and then dusted with a generous amount of granulated sugar coating as the final touch. They say that a bite of this bread brings all that warm holiday feelings, especially when paired with a cup of coffee or tea.
Before you pick a batch of this Christmas treat, though, here’s a rich tale of how the Stollen came to be.
Photo Credit: King of Cakes/Facebook
Stollen Used to Be Hard and Tasteless
The earliest versions of the Stollen bread, made around the 1400s, consisted of basic ingredients like flour, yeast, water and oil. These were hard in texture and bland in taste but people during the medieval period needed this bread to sort of carbo-load and energise themselves for the rest of the day during the Advent season, a period of fasting.
In the 15th century, the Catholic Church banned the use of butter and milk whilst fasting. To use these “luxury items” at a solemn time leading up the birth of Jesus Christ was against the teachings of the Church. The ban was supposed to suppress people’s gluttony for rich, sweet-tasting food so that they can properly reflect on the meaning of the season.
However, two noble brothers from Dresden in Saxony in central Germany wrote a letter to the Pope in Rome to overturn the ban on butter and milk on behalf of local bakers. Their first appeal was denied.
Stollen “Butterbrief”
It took five popes some 40 years later for the appeal to be granted but for Dresden alone. It was approved on the condition that anyone using butter and milk during Advent season should also make an annual contribution for the construction and upkeep of a new cathedral, which would later become the Freiberg Minster.
This agreement would be known as the “Butterbrief.”
Once the ban was lifted, Dresden’s vastly-improved Stollen recipe ushered a new baking tradition that would be passed on from generation to generation. The original Stollen recipe, post-ban, was filled with raisins but variations now included adding bitter almonds, lemon peel and zest, candied orange, poppy seeds, as well as some spices and spirits.
In Dresden, Stollen-baking is marked by an official festival that started during the time of King Augustus II in the 1700s. He was said to have a sweet tooth and always liked to celebrate so he ordered the bakers’ guild to prepare a giant Stollen cake for a big festival.
The Dresden Stollenfest takes place on a Saturday prior to the second Advent Sunday. Three hundred years later, this Dresden tradition is still attracting locals and tourists from around the world.
Photo Credit: King of Cakes/Facebook
Making the Perfect Stollen
To make Stollen is a balancing act. To the untrained and impatient baker, it’s tricky to get that texture, quality and blends of flavours of an old-fashioned, traditional recipe right.
Filled with copious amounts of alcohol-soaked nuts and fruits with a marzipan centre, Stollen requires several steps and a hefty list of items to prepare. If you’ve got at least 48 hours to dedicate to baking this bread and you carefully studied the process, then your family and friends can enjoy this medley of fruit of nuts come Christmas day.
Adding preservatives and flavouring, as well as using margarine, is a violation of the process.
Stollen in Queensland
But if baking this bread sounds taxing, it’s a good thing you can get it at the local bakery, King of Cakes. The biggest mistake people make about making the perfect Stollen is to never have the bread on their Christmas table — even if it’s store-bought!
King of Cakes is run by a culinary expert and Master Pastry Chef Wolfgang Kelke. Born in Munich, where his family operated a cafe, Mr Kelke trained and developed his culinary excellence with some of the finest restaurants around the world.
Photo Credit: King of Cakes/Facebook
In 1990, Mr Kelke and his family moved to Brisbane in Taringa, where he opened his first cake shop. Though now proudly Australian, he never forgets his roots and influences, which continue to reflect on his products and creations.
King of Cakes in Seventeen Miles Plain is the head office but the store has two other outlets in Taringa and Clayfield.
If you’re planning on going around West Brisbane to see some of the best Christmas light displays, then you shouldn’t skip a visit around the neighbourhoods in Jindalee and Westlake. Every year, residents from these suburbs set up the most colourful, impressive and magical Christmas display that it’s no surprise Jindalee and Westlake were big winners of this year’s 4KQ contest.
2019 Best Lights Display in West Brisbane
The annual 4KQ contest cited the house of Shane & Debbie Horswill at 20 Curragundi Road in Jindalee as the Best Display in West Brisbane for 2019. The Horswills are not first-timers in this competition as they also won the People’s Choice Award in 2018. Incidentally, the family is also vying for the same recognition this year, which is awarded by 7News. You may vote for the Horswills online.
2019 Best Neighbourhood Display
Meanwhile, a number of houses on Everard Street in Westlake were also big winners for the overall Best Neighbourhood Display. According to realestate.com.au, Everard Street is a popular strip for weekend cyclists. For years, however, Everard Street turns into a Christmas Wonderland filled with astounding light displays.
Here are the complete names and addresses of the 2019 4KQ Contest Winners from Jindalee and Westlake:
WHO
WHERE
AWARD
Shane & Debbie Horswill
20 Curragundi Road, Jindalee
Best Lights Display – West
Ian Wright
18 Mankinna Street, Jindalee
Judges Commendations
Shaun McFadder
28 Raeside Street, Westlake
Judges Commendations
Timothy Evans
2 Gillen Close, Westlake
Winner Neighbourhood Westlake Wonderland
Riley Mackenzie
18 Everard Street, Westlake
Winner Neighbourhood Westlake Wonderland
Laurence Cole
17 Everard Street, Westlake
Winner Neighbourhood Westlake Wonderland
John Milner
16 Everard Street, Westlake
Winner Neighbourhood Westlake Wonderland
Jeannette Watson
21 Everard Street, Westlake
Winner Neighbourhood Westlake Wonderland
Dannielle Robson
20 Everard Street, Westlake
Winner Neighbourhood Westlake Wonderland
Reid Moran
14 Everard Street, Westlake
Winner Neighbourhood Westlake Wonderland
Christmas Lights Tour Bus
You can still view these Christmas lights display by joining the tour bus organised by Brisbane City Council. Secure the tickets online and then head to Indooroopilly Shopping Centre (Stop C) before 7:00 p.m. The Christmas Lights tour bus will be servicing the public until the 20th of Dec. 2019.
If the tour bus isn’t the best option and you’d rather arrange your own trip, download these resources below to map out your drive carefully. These includes all the other participants and winners of the 2019 4KQ Christmas Lights Competition:
The construction of a new Senior Learning Building at the Centenary State High School in Jindalee is almost finished. Soon, this school community will be ready to accept more students as part of the State Government’s 2020 Ready Program.
Situated near the Visual Arts Centre and the tennis courts, the expansion consists of a multi-storey, state of the art technology learning facility with a covered link connecting to the other buildings. This site is going to be an innovative learning space for different subjects of interest to the students.
March 2019 Photo Credit: Centenary State High School/Facebook
May 2019 Photo Credit: Centenary State High School/Facebook
November 2019 Photo Credit: Centenary State High School/Facebook
Queensland’s 2020 Ready Program
Centenary State High School is one of 61 schools across Queensland to receive part of the $250 million funding to deliver more classrooms and better educational infrastructure for 2020.
“Our kids are our future and, as a Government, one of the most important things we can do is give Queensland students a world-class education,” Deputy Premier and Treasurer Jackie Trad stated when the funding was initially announced in 2018.
“Queensland is a fast-growing State and this investment is about planning for the future.”
In line with the expansion and improvements, Centenary State High School is also one of 300 schools in Queensland to receive funds for air conditioning that will provide for cooler and comfortable classrooms, libraries or staff rooms. The units will be set and ready for the start of the school term in January 2020.
“The majority of Centenary State High School is already air-conditioned thanks to the great work of the P&C and school community. However, there’s still around 14 classrooms that are not. These will be covered as part of our announcement,” Minister for Education MP Grace Grace relayed to concerned parents, teachers and students.
Some families in Queensland unfortunately won’t have a happy holiday as they deal with food insecurity. To curb this problem and help families facing a challenging time this Christmas, the Queensland Police Service (QPS), through Commissioner Katarina Carroll, has launched a Foodbank drive, with Sherwood Police Station registered as one of its drop off points.
Until Friday, the 6th of Dec 2019, the Sherwood Police Station will be accepting public donations for the Foodbank drive. Interested donors can bring non-perishable items, as well as other essentials, to the station at 424 Oxley Road in Sherwood between Monday to Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
“This year, our state has been heavily affected by weather disasters such as droughts, fires and floods,” the commissioner said. Our farming families are still recovering from these events.”
“Police stations across the state have registered as a drop off point for the 2019 QPS Food Drive and with the assistance of members of the public, we hope to raise eight tonnes of food and spread Christmas cheer to our neighbours who are doing it tough.”
It’s been three years since Commissioner Carroll entered into a partnership with Foodbank, a non-denominational, non-profit organisation that serves as a pantry for local charities and soup kitchens. By doing this drive, the QPS hopes to ease the burden for some families so that they would be able to enjoy Christmas.
Any number of donations of the items listed above will do. Even a couple of cans of soup will surely make a difference to these families.
When word got around that Cinnabon is planning to open a store in Mount Ommaney, MP Jess Pugh extended a challenge to the American bakery chain to aim for its annual business award under the franchise category in 2020.
Ms Pugh welcomed the news of Cinnabon coming to Mount Ommaney. She believes that the brand will be a great addition to competitive awards.
“I’m pretty sure it’s because they want to win the Franchise award next year,” she said in jest on Facebook. “May the best franchise win!!”
Bansal Group plans to open an initial four Cinnabon stores in Brisbane in the next few months as it advertised job opening for store managers. The company confirmed that it will be opening its very first location around Christmas time whilst the second shop will be operational by January 2020.
“Our first two locations will be in Nundah and Mt Gravatt. Get ready for the goodness,” a post on Cinnabon Australia Facebook‘s page stated.
Bansal Group has yet to reveal the exact locations of its first Cinnabon stores.
However, the Nundah outlet is reportedly going to be at the Toombul Shopping Centre, whilst the Mt Gravatt spot is speculated at either Westfield Garden City or Mt Gravatt Plaza Shopping Centre.
The other two locations are said to be planned at Westfield Chermside and Mount Ommaney Centre.
The Cinnabon outlets will be taking over vacant kiosks at the shopping centres. A rendering of the first store was posted on its Facebook page.
Photo Credit: Cinnabon Australia/Facebook
Bansal Group has projected to open 50 Cinnabon stores around Australia in the next five years. The U.S. bakery, dubbed the “world’s greatest cinnamon roll,” has over 1,500 outlets globally in its nearly 35 years of operation.
Sinnamon Park’s highly acclaimed gymnast, Grace Gullo, was crowned overall champion in the recently concluded National Clubs Carnival held last September 2019.
With more than 4,500 competitors who signed up at Gymnastics Australia’s 2019 National Clubs Carnival, it is without a doubt a huge achievement and success for young gymnast Grace Gullo to claim different championship titles for Level 9 Under 13 division.
Photo credit: Gymnastics Australia/ Facebook
The National Clubs Carnival is an annual 18-day festival that brings together the best gymnasts from across Australia to participate in various workshops and 7 gymsports competitions. This year’s festival took place at the Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre from September 11th until the 29th 2019.
Grace Gullo won her first national titles at the Australian Gymnastics Nationals Championships last year. And now, this twelve year old gymnastics star is determined to succeed again at this year’s national competition by working extra hard in all her trainings with her coaches at Splitz Gym.
According to Gullo, she had to learn and use new skills — all of which she executed powerfully — for the competition. She garnered a score of 53.665 in All Around and 14.733 for her Vault performances.
At the end of Day 7 of the 2019 National Clubs Carnival, Grace Gullo took home the championship titles for All Around, Vault, and Beam.
The popular Sinnamon Park Village Shop lost its convenience store tenants three years ago after nearly 20 years of operation. This October, new tenants have taken over the site by opening its aptly named establishment, The Convenience@Sinnamon Park.
The shopping centre’s owners, Col and Kay Bennett, waited for the right tenant to lease the vacant site. It didn’t matter that it took three years amidst a slew of interests, including a cheesecake shop owner and an animal clinic. The Bennetts knew that what the community needed was a convenience store.
The Convenience@Sinnamon Park owners, Gee and Sarita Nayyar, are new to this business but they have big plans of delivering “old fashioned” convenience store service to the locals.
For starters, their store regularly offers free and fresh homemade goodies, as well as a Happy Hour for discounted deals. They also plan to have free-tasting specials.
The Nayyars said that they will to listen and respond to the shoppers’ suggestions so that they can deliver high-quality retail experience.
Photo Credit: The Convenience/Facebook
The Convenience@Sinnamon Park hopes to be a traditional Aussie convenience store, where the choices are varied and multicultural. From time to time, however, the Nayyars will be changing up its food list with a mix of fresh, homecooked Indian dishes and favourite Australian meals.
Open seven days a week from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., The Convenience@Sinnamon Park is at 1B/58 Oldfield Road.
