FEAST OR FAMINE

Australian contemporary designer and sliver-smith, Robert Foster, known for his iconic homeware designs, has died at the age of 53. Resident of Canberra, Foster died on Wednesday 13 July 2016 in a car accident on the Kings Highway. Foster was the founder of the design company, F!NK & Co., based in Queanbeyan near Canberra. Founded in 1994, F!NK & Co. created the iconic water jug. Foster also designed jewellery and lighting, such as the lighting in the ActewAGL government building and the Realm Hotel in Canberra. The F!NK water jug is made of anodised aluminium with a sloping spout. It was originally commissioned for a Canberra restaurant in 1993, but became hugely popular in Australia and overseas. Each product is individually hand-finished, and more like a work of art, than a homeware object. The water jug – and other products – are produced in seven colours – deep blue, turquoise, red, orange, black, silver, and purple. http://www.canberrat...

In the capital city of Tbilisi, Georgia, is a grand old school of Gothic proportions. In the Old City stands the Neo-Gothic style building, built in 1903 as the Third Girls Gymnasium. It is still functioning as a school – the Sechste Autorisierte Schule – the Sixth Authorized School. Built at the base of Sololaki Hill, its stark brick exterior could be the facade to a wizardry school, like the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter children’s fantasy novel series (1997-2007). The Neo-Gothic architectural style is also the style of the London Parliament (1840-1860) in England and the Washington National Cathedral (1907-1990) in America. It depicts the vertical framed windows and decorated corner gables (although the ones in this school are not as ornately decorated as most Neo-Gothic buildings with impressive spires and gargoyles). The fictional Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a coeducational secondary school, is somewhe...

Ladder-related deaths and injuries have increased in the past 10 years compared with the previous decade, according to Australian hospital statistics. The reason may be the increase in DIY – Do It Yourself – home improvements and renovations. Older people are more at risk than younger people, and males are more at risk than females. Most ladder accidents are caused outside – by falling when repairing gutters or tiles on the roof, or repairing or painting windows. Ladder accidents do not always occur at home. A fisherman from Stornoway, Scotland, was taken to hospital after falling from a ladder into the hold of his boat, 19 kilometres (12 miles) from the coast. The coastguard rescued him. In one near-accident in Swadlincote in England a man balanced a ladder on two tables in order to reach the front of a shop he was painting. The straight ladder was on top of two coffee tables, which had been balancing on top of one another. A passing council environmental health office...