The May 25 Edition
Sometimes, just as we’re preparing to send an issue of Good Weekend to print, I realise there are gossamer threads tying a number of the stories together. Often, that’s just coincidence; occasionally, though, it says something about the moment in which we’re living. David Leser’s paean to the Bondi Icebergs pool (and the documentary film Ian Darling has made about it) is at heart a story about how an eclectic bunch of swimmers get through the seasons of life by showing up daily to swim laps – and talk, laugh and drink coffee together. Elsewhere in the issue, Melissa Fyfe takes a peek into the lives of a group of Melburnians who’ve survived marriage bust-ups and the other side-swipes of life, thanks to the friendship and dark humour of their pithily named Unsatisfactory Spouses Club. And Victoria Laurie’s story about Ken Wyatt, Australia’s first Indigenous minister for Aboriginal Affairs, underlines the destructive power of excluding people from a community – of othering. To finally read in historic government files what his family members endured brought home to Wyatt the need for change – and for compensation. – Editor, Katrina Strickland
Ken Wyatt is not known for anger. But when he read his family’s government files ...
The former minister for Indigenous Australians thought he knew everything about the heartache of his people. Then he read about the treatment of his forebears.
- by Victoria Laurie
How Bondi Icebergs morphed from somewhere to swim into a place to heal
Swimming is about more than exercise. It’s about solace, meditation, emotional sustenance – and, at this Sydney ocean pool, community.
- by David Leser
How a spicy midlife crisis launched The Unsatisfactory Spouses Club
When marriage trouble hit a group of Melbourne friends, they sought solace in each other.
- by Melissa Fyfe
He loves death metal – and a girl. Helping a teen with autism find his rhythm
A support worker on a young man navigating life – in a world that hits him differently to others.
- by Julianne O’Brien
Two of Us
For subscribers
‘My default position is melancholy; Alice’s isn’t’: You Am I’s frontman on love
After two failed attempts at a relationship, musician Tim Rogers and choreographer Alice Topp have made a home among the kangaroos in rural Victoria.
- by Jane Albert
Dicey Topics
For subscribers
Writer Marian Keyes on pushing through depression’s ‘numb bubble’
One of Ireland’s most successful authors talks candidly about overcoming mental health challenges, giving writing “a go” – and her definition of success.
- by Benjamin Law
Modern Guru
Modern Guru
How can I stop my horoscope obsession?
Quitting the future-predicting now augurs a happier tomorrow, says our Modern Guru.
- by Danny Katz
Reprieve
They awoke, Saturday, to crow-black clouds and rain lashing the windows. Megan barely heard her phone ping. “The kids’ sport’s washed out!” she sang. Ryan was similarly delighted when he checked the forecast. There’d be no laying those pavers today! They’d enjoyed two coffees each by the time the kids, tricked by the gloom, belatedly joined them in bed. When they all roused themselves for a pancake breakfast, they ate it under throw rugs while watching a film. They mooched the afternoon away with board games and naps. And still the rain fell. None of them wished it would stop. – Words by Paul Connolly. Illustration by Jim Pavlidis.
Season three of Bridgerton wants to sweep you off your feet
Plus: get ready for the weekend with these fresh diversions.
- by Louise Rugendyke, Katrina Strickland, Barry Divola, Nicolee Abadee, Frances Mocnik and Damien Woolnough
Review
Good Weekend
Does Marvel Stadium’s new fine-dining restaurant beat a meat pie at the footy?
Amphora and Friends of Fire have dual menus: an omnivorous one and a vegan version by Smith & Daughters’ Shannon Martinez.
- by Dani Valent
Review
Good Weekend
The new-look White Horse is the pub’s most delicious iteration yet
You can roll up and order a beer, but I’m not quite sure you can still call it a pub. Whatever White Horse has become, I like it a lot.
- by Callan Boys
Mouthwatering oven-baked meatballs in a rich tomato sauce
Serve these simply but lovingly made meatballs alongside cheesy garlic bread.
- by Danielle Alvarez
Roast pumpkin orzo ‘risotto’ with brown butter and sage
A creamy roast-pumpkin pasta that’s cooked like a risotto.
- by Julia Busuttil Nishimura
Don’t try this at home: Why you should leave these dishes to restaurants
Pastries, Peking duck, parfait ... some foods are better outsourced.
- by Terry Durack
