News

Underwear chain slammed

By JEHANE SHARAH
UNDERWEAR chain Bras N Things
is ‘‘inciting the fantasy of sex with
minors’’ by selling a school
uniform-style outfit as part of its
adult dress-up range, a child advo-
cate says.
Marketed as the ‘‘teacher’s pet’’
outfit, it is available in Bras N
Things stores and through the
company’s website.
The ensemble consists of a
skimpy checked skirt and
matching tie, teamed with a white
blouse branded ‘‘teacher’s pet’’.
Online, the company suggests
complementing the outfit with fish-
net stay-up stockings.
Kids Free 2B Kids founder and
director Julie Gale said, ‘‘It’s not
directly sexualising a child, but it’s
indirectly encouraging sex with
minors.
‘‘I’m not some wowser who
wants to quash people’s sexual
fantasies, but when it comes to sex
with minors, and that’s what the
teacher’s pet fantasy is about, it’s
totally unacceptable.’’
Ms Gale called on the retailer to
stop selling the outfit.
‘‘If you’re a chain store in family
shopping centres, you need to be
responsible,’’ Ms Gale said.
Bras N Things did not return
calls, nor did it respond to
questions put to it by email.
It is not the first time Kids Free
2B Kids has complained about the
company.
In a submission to last year’s
parliamentary inquiry into the sex-
ualisation of children, the child
advocate criticised Bras N Things
for selling sexually explicit mer-
chandise that could be easily
viewed and accessed by children
and teenagers.
In response, the retailer
informed the inquiry it was
reviewing the way it packaged
such products.
Bras N Things has previously
come under fire from the Aust-
ralian Nursing Federation for sell-
ing a nurse outfit, which the union
said perpetuated stereotypes Bras N Things’ school uniform-style
about the profession. outfit which ‘‘incites fastasy’’.

Charny and
proud of it,
bad hair
day and all
By MARKUS MANNHEIM
CHARNWOOD has clearly moved
on from cheap jokes about
mullets.
The suburb celebrated its com-
munity festival yesterday with a
closely contested ‘‘crazy hair’’
competition.
The annual Charny Carny,
staged by the local government
and Catholic primary schools,
drew an estimated 5000 people to
the local oval.
Joint coordinator Michael Pilb-
row said the turn-out was ‘‘defi-
nitely our biggest ever’’.
‘‘It was a fantastic day’’, he said
while cleaning up after the carni-
val last night. ‘‘We showed we’re
Charny and we’re proud of it.’’
Among the most popular events
was the celebrity mascot race,
won narrowly by Prime Possum
‘‘pending a stewards’ investi-
gation’’, Mr Pilbrow said.
The festival raises money for
Charnwood-Dunlop Primary
School, St Thomas Aquinas Pri-
mary School and the Mt Rogers
Scout Group. Savahna O’Donnell, 7, of Melba, and Chloe Davis, 7, of Dunlop, who were entrants in the crazy hair competition yesterday. Photo: KARLEEN WILLIAMS

Mysterious wheys of ‘secret’ cheese society

By LAURELLE PACEY
A DELICIOUS hint of mys-
tery surrounded the inaug-
ural cheesemaking compe-
tition at last Sunday’s
Bemboka Show, yet its suc-
cess highlights a growing
interest in home cheesema-
king in the region.
The competition was
organised by the secretary
of the recently formed
Bemboka Secret Cheese
Society who had gone to
great lengths to create the
right setting for the big
event, complete with light
white material draped from
the rafters to evoke a mar-
quee atmosphere and paint-
ing the area, white of
course.
The ‘‘no names’’ secretary
explained some of the mys-
tery.
‘‘Everyone knew someone
who made cheese in the
Bega Valley region but, until
recently, no one knew their
names, hence our name.
‘‘We have meetings, make
cheese at various people’s
places and talk cheese – you
could say it’s a maturing
network.
‘‘This is such a dairy area
with a wonderful tradition of
cheese, so I thought it would
be great to make Bemboka
the capital of the Bega Val-
ley’s hobby cheesemaking.’’
Eleven cheesemakers
from the region entered 47
home-made cheeses in the
show, much to the delight of
judge Carol Willman who is
a teacher of cheesemaking
around Australia.
‘‘This is absolutely fabu-
lous – Bemboka is only the
fourth country show in Aust-
ralia with a home cheese-
making competition,’’ she
said.
‘‘I’m astounded at the
quality here, from the soft
cheeses through to the
camemberts and the blues.
‘‘I’ve had so much trouble
trying to pick out the best,
which shows there are a lot
of good cheesemakers
here.’’
Fred Gasson of Bermagui,
formerly of Forrest, was
delighted with a silver medal
for his cheddar.
He has been making
cheese for only five months,
using cow’s milk from a local
farmer.
Fellow cheesemaker
Megan Jordan-Jones of Buc-
kajo won silver medals for
her marinated fetta and
white mould camembert,
and a highly commended for
her quarg which is a fresh
curd.
‘‘It’s fantastic to get
feedback from Carol and
connect with other cheese-
makers,’’ she said.
‘‘I knew a couple of
cheesemakers before this
but now I know a lot more.’’
So is she a member of the
Bemboka Secret Cheese Fred Gasson of Bermagui was delighted to receive a silver medal for his
Society? ‘‘It’s a secret,’’ she cheddar from judge Carol Willman at Bemboka Show’s inaugural cheese
said. making competition. Photo: LAURELLE PACEY

18 MARCH 22 2009 SUNDAY CANBERRA TIMES www.canberratimes.com