The perils of parody

ONE of the dangers of being a sketch-show comedian is when you find yourself taking the piss out of an idol. Which is the predicament Hollie Andrew found herself in as part of the troupe behind Seven's new sketch show, Double Take, when she was called upon to satirise her favourite singers and TV programs.

Time For A Good Yarn To Make A Show Of It

FOR some people it means crazy rides, fairy floss and a carload of showbags. But for the Grinter family, sheep breeders from the Riverina, in NSW, the Royal Melbourne Show is a shopfront.

Parading Ute Beauties

IF it's true that Australia has risen to prominence on the sheep's back then it?s probably just as true that a good few of the farmers involved got to the paddock in a ute.

Clucking And Weaving: Easter Show Goes Back To Its Roots

IT WAS a typical Easter Show scene. Faced with an indignant-looking rooster running towards him, Jason, 5, issued a startled scream and ran to the safety of his mother's legs.

Kia Keeping A Bit Sheepish

KIA has thrown out a teaser ahead of January's Detroit Motor Show, revealing it will have a new, production-ready, mid-sized SUV named Borrego on display ahead of a mid-2008 American launch.

The Night A Bunch Of Dags Stole The Show

THE materials were reminiscent of an episode of Play School - pegs, plastic milk bottles and pipe cleaners - or a modern cuisine menu - yaki nori sheets, dried citrus slices and pinto beans.

Farming Returns A Beefy $37.8bn In 2005-06

THE gross value of agricultural production in Australia in 2005-06 was $37.8 billion, preliminary estimates by the Bureau of Statistics show.

Jaws - With Fleece

As if equine flu isn't bad enough, the Kiwis are threatening to send us killer sheep, writes Michael Helms.

Awards

Are show medals anything to go by? Peter Bourne judges the big competitions.

Strands Of Time Tell The Story Of A Country's Golden Fleece

Invaluable samples from Australia's merino history will soon be on show, writes Steve Meacham.

Drought Breakers Show Their Wares

WATER and ways of saving it were the hot topics at this year's Tocal Field Days, which finished yesterday.

Blue Skies Bring Crowds For Fun Of The Fair

IT WAS the 100th anniversary of the Sydney Royal Easter Show's prize-winning Grand Parade and, as such, was a day of pomp, ceremony and more than a bracing whiff of cow manure.

Only The Best In The Grandest Parade Of All

SHOWBAGS, rides, fairy floss and dagwood dogs may be the big drawcards of Sydney's Royal Easter Show for some, but when it comes to pinpointing the essence of the show, you can't go past the grand parade.

Holy Geepers

A SHEEP plus a goat equals . . . a geep.

An Oasis In The Big Dry, Nhill Show Goes On

THERE have been droughts here before and there will be again - sure as eggs - but the show must go on.

In Blink Of An Eye, Aussies Win Open And Shutter Case

AUSTRALIAN scientists, take a bow. In 2001, we won the technology prize for patenting the wheel. In 2003, we won the physics prize for a study entitled An analysis of the forces required to drag sheep over various surfaces. And this year we won the mathematics prize - for figuring how many group photos need to be taken to be confident there's at least one where no one is blinking.

Signs Of The Old Remain In New-look Show - But Where Are The Spring Rolls?

MILLIONS have been spent at the Showgrounds, but thankfully, not all has changed. The carnival music is still loud, tea-towels still hang in the Country Women's Association cafeteria and the animals are still wondering what all the fuss is about.

A Town With Plenty Of Horsepower

Euora, where the Kelly Gang rode into town, is again hosting its hot rod and vintage car show. By Paul Edwards.

Goats Should Read National Accounts More Carefully

THIS is where we sort the sheep from the goats. Try this: the economy has slowed to a crawl, but inflation pressure is growing so interest rates must be raised further.

The Damned And The Merely Deluded

SO, THE Man of Steel is going to spend $8 million on establishing an institute of Islamic studies at an unnamed Australian university. The idea is that nice Muslims will be invited to teach, countering the effects of the nasty Muslims. And who, we are entitled to ask, will be separating these particular sheep from these particular goats? Will we have a new Ministry of Religious Wackiness charged with issuing teaching certificates to the approved deluded?