We chat about our National Capital Canberra, and its genesis, we comment about our recent public holiday Moomba for the Labour Day Weekend and we salute St Patrick – the patron saint of Ireland.

Having birthday anniversaries around this time are Stephen Gately, member of the Irish boy-band ‘Boyzone’, who died prematurely at age 33 of a congenital heart defect; and Russian-born ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev who died aged 55 of complications from HIV/AIDS. We also acknowledge the wonderful work of Hon. Michael Kirby and his drive for human rights, including gay rights.

We remind ourselves of the life and works of controversial US photographer Robert Mapplethorpe – another loss to HIV/AIDS – who lived in the amazing blossoming of gay awareness in the US in the 1970s/80s but remained shy and retiring, leaving his erotic photography as a bold witness of his life.

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