Welcome from Ian Holland;

Steve Murphy's Monthly Predictions;

Travel tips with George Ilich;

David Berthon's "Motor Torque";

And much more..!

Welcome to our September Newsletter.

I'm just back from a Cruise Express trip with 70 2CH listeners to French Polynesia, cruising on the stunning sailing ship 'Star Flyer' I'm feeling 100% relaxed and ready to face another year.

Many of you have commented on our new look 2CH web site and we are continuing to work on it to make it even more informative and user friendly. Please feel free to check the site regularly for all the latest 2CH news and information. You'll also find a handy link to Live News.com.au. We're very proud of this wonderful source of instant news and information provide by our team in the 2CH Macquarie newsroom.

Also on the web site you will find a Community Help link. We're always happy to promote community events and this is an easy way to tell us what you're doing to contribute to your local community. Whether it's a dog show, fete, choral singing, model making, art shows any other community event, tell us about it and we'll tell our 2CH listeners.

This month we present what will be a remarkable concert experience at the State Theatre. On Saturday Sepotenmber 6^th, you are invited to join internationally acclaimed hit maker Leo Sayer in an evening of musical magic as he performs the songs from his new album 'Don't Wait Until Tomorrow'. This sublime live concert event is Leo as you have never heard him, with a 25 piece band featuring a large strings section, to reproduce all the subtlety and lushness of the recording. For one night only you will be captivated by the extraordinary vocal range of this world class entertainer as he delivers masterfully arranged classics - When I Need You, Raining in My Heart, You make Me Feel Like Dancing. There are still a few seats available.

Also this month we present Col Joye live for the culmination of our recent High School reunion promotion. Congratulations once again to our winner Gary Harbour from South Penrith, who will be taking 100 of his old school mates from James Ruse Agricultural High School to a gala night at the Campbelltown Catholic Club who attended.

It's been a sensational year for 2CH with our easy listening music continually proving more popular than the majority of Sydney's other music stations. Thank you for your continued support. The success of 2CH depends on you listening and as ever I do encourage you to get in touch by email to tell us what you like and don't like about Australias most popular easy listening radio station. And please, don't pull any punches. Our number one aim is to continue to provide the best easy listening music programming you'll find anywhere and your advice really helps us to do that.

Coming up this month we continue our weekend series of 'The best of the A to Z of Easy Listening Hits', we'll feature a Johnny O'Keefe Stress Free weekend and we have an electrifying Neil Diamond promotion just a few days away.

Do enjoy our newsletter this month and as always, thank you for listening.

Hello again and a special cheerio to all the listeners I met on our recent Forever Friends Bus Trip to the Southern Highlands. It was nice to put a face to the names and have a chat in the beautiful winter sunshine we enjoyed that day. A thoroughly enjoyable outing that I hope we can do more of.

Well the "5:30 Flashback", which I present every weekday evening, has been turning up some interesting facts and memories for me lately.

I recalled how important it became in the 70's to discuss your star sign with a prospective partner when I played the song "Float On" by The Floaters. They were a one-hit-wonder band from Philadelphia who had a huge hit in May 1974 that featured the band members all introducing themselves by name and star sign then going on to tell us the kind of lady they would like to meet. It sounded very cool at the time, no doubt, but made me smile to hear it now.

Then there were memories of how the surf music craze left America took hold here in Australia in 1963 when I featured Sydney band The Atlantics. Apparently the 4 band members had met on a bus back to Randwick after a day at the beach, had started doing Shadows-type instrumentals, then changed to surf music and had a hit with the instrumental called "Bombora". (That's an Aussie term for 'waves breaking over a submerged rock shelf'). See, there's always something to learn in the "5:30 Flashback"!

I hope you'll tune in sometime.

Read more

Sam is one of many Amazing Australians who are featured on our web site designed to recognize the un sung heroes of Australia's community.

Sams story below is just one of many. Perhaps you know of an Amazing Australian who deserves recognition. If you do, log on and tell us all about them.

The PCYC Young Person of the Year who overcame his own troubles with police during his teenage years to help other young people in Sydney's inner west.

Sam Johnson first stepped into the Glebe PCYC at the age of 14, when he spent an afternoon planting trees as part of a school excursion, but his current role at the club goes well beyond donning a pair of gardening gloves. As an activity officer, the now 21-year-old's duties range from general administration to organising youth sport programs and mentoring young people from the local area who visit the club.

It is the latter role that he is most passionate about and Sam, who has lived in Glebe for more than 10 years, understands better than most how tough inner city living can be. By the age of 15, he had been for a ride in a stolen car, left home, and was committing robberies for money.

At 16, Sam visited the Glebe PCYC again, this time with his basketball club, and felt an instant connection.

"It was always a good place. There aren't many safe places in the area, places where you can go as a young person and feel like there's going to be somebody there, where you can either get a nice feed or you can just chill out and you're not going to get any sort of repercussions from anybody on the street. You also get people there that'll actually care about what you're doing and have the honest interest in trying to help you in some way," he says.

As well as his role at the PCYC, Sam is the second year of a combined law/social science degree and has an active interest in youth justice issues. With limited finances available at the not for profit organisation, he is in the process of applying for a grant to enable the club to hire a full-time youth worker and implement an education program.

Sam says his job can be challenging but his commitment to helping young people turn their lives around keeps him going back each night.

"I say to the kids, 'You can't be happy with just living, you always need to want something out of your life. Once you find that one thing, and you start working towards it, everything else will come'," explains Sam. "It's a struggle but that's what keeps me coming back, just because I know that these kids have so much potential and I hate it when I see them make so much progress and then take 10 steps backwards. You can't afford to just not be there. Now I've developed relationships with the kids as well, I care about them and I feel like they're my kids. If something happens to them I want to be there to be able to help them out."

For further information about PCYC clubs in NSW, please visit http://www.pcycnsw.org.

This is the perfect time of the year to renovate your lawn.

I was reminded of this when I returned from holidays recently to a lawn that not only looked tired, but looked scrappy. I've been meaning to do something with it for years and now I've made the decision to go ahead and do something.

Lawn renovation requires planning and you need to be prepared to put in some hard work, however it's worth the effort.

Including scarifying, coring, top-dressing and repairing.

Check your lawn and you'll possibly notice decaying blades of grass as well as moss and other debris. Over time, this will prevent movement of air to the soil surface, reduce water penetration into the soil and could inhibit the spread of grass, resulting in a thinner lawn. By scarifying, you will thin out this layer of debris. A thin layer will reduce water loss and inhibit weed germination.

Don't be worried by the thought of scarifying. You don't need to bring in a Massey Ferguson to do it. On small lawns, hardened areas and debris can be removed by vigorous raking with a wire or spring-tined rake. But this is hard work. For larger areas hire a powered scarifyer (they are easy enough to operate) and scarify the lawn in two directions at 90° for maximum effect.

Where lawns are effected by heavy traffic, you may need to aerate the lawn to stimulate root growth. Patches often result from trampling and this may cause compaction of the soil. A good starting point for these repairs is to cut out the turf to a rectangular shape, forking over the soil to open it up, thus overcoming compaction. You can aerate your lawn with a sharp spade or hire a corer or hollow tine machine. If your lawn is small, you could even use a garden fork.

Apply a soil top dressing in dry weather, spreading it over the surface at a rate of two kg per square metre. Air and water can then flow into the soil, resulting in improved grass growth. Be careful not to smother the grass with your top soil. Your local sand and gravel man will be able to advise on the best top soil for the job and the amount you'll need.

Select lawn seed that matches the existing lawn and lightly sow grass seed on the exposed soil surface. Try to protect the grass surface to ensure that birds do not eat the seed and keep it well watered to ensure good germination.

As I mentioned earlier, it's hard work revitalizing your lawn, but the result makes it more than worthwhile.

If you were born on the 1^st, 10^th, 19^th, 28^th a new arrangement looks set to take up most of your time. This month could very well change your future.

If you were born on the 2^nd, 11^th, 20^th, 29^th a decision that you make now has far reaching scope. Personal plans are activated with the delays that were previously experienced. Stick to your original plans.

If you were born on the 3^rd, 12^th, 21^st, 30^th self confidence shines during September and you finally get to see and achieve results to things you've held onto dearly throughout the year.

If you were born on the 4^th, 13^th, 22^nd, 31^st this month of September is a time to celebrate. This has been a year that has seen courage and determination on your part and as the month progresses you'll see more clearly of where you're personally headed.

If you were born on the 5^th, 4^th, 23^rd you could make a major decision connected with your living conditions this month. Your family or children see you more involved with their interests.

If you were born on the 6^th, 15^th, 24^th find some time to rest up as it will leave you in a fresher state to deal with a new team effort that's required in October. This month enlightens you in many ways.

If you were born on the 7^th, 16^th, 25^th free yourself up from past duties and responsibilities. You are so ready for new possibilities and now you get the opportunity to express your own ideals.

If you were born on the 8^th, 17^th, 26^th a winning month on all fronts and your social life looks set to soar. A new direction for you comes from some extra planning.

If you were born on the 9^th, 18^th, 27^th of all the lesions you learned this year one of them was management and you'll again get to apply those skills in September. A major plan comes out of this month and you'll be delighted with the progress.

Calling all Neil Diamond fans!

We're giving one lucky listener the chance to see Neil Diamond live in LA! The winner will receive 2 return economy flights to Los Angeles, 3 nights' accommodation, transfers and 2 tickets to see Neil Diamond live at the Los Angeles Staples Centre on Saturday October 4.

Stay listening from Monday 15^th September for your chance to win. Every day simply listen out for the key Neil Diamond song and be the nominated caller through on the 2CH prize line. The nominated caller will instantly win a copy of Neil Diamond's latest release "Home Before Dark", and all instant winners go into the draw to win the trip to LA to see Neil Diamond live!

Mon 1^st - Stardust - Willie Nelson

Tues 2^nd - Let's Go To The Movies - Hits from films

Wed 3^rd - Moonlight Serenade & more Carly Simon

Thur 4^th - BIG BAND THURSDAY

Fri 5^th -The 70's biggest selling discs

Experienced travelers know tipping can be a tricky business. What might be enough for a polite bell boy in Hong Kong is not the same as a similar employee in an up market London hotel.

Every country has its own specific tipping culture so, before taking off, see if you can ascertain what is expected in the countries you will be travelling to.

Often, asking the locals about tipping will provide the information you need. The staff at good hotels are also a reliable resource.

The United States is famous for the often high tips that are expected as the norm. In the US, a customary tipping rate for taxi drivers is 15-20 per cent, with a minimum of $2, "bellhops" are usually given $2 per bag in luxury hotels, $1 per bag elsewhere. Hotel maids should be tipped $2 per day of your stay.

A doorman who hails or helps you into a cab can be tipped $1-$2. You should also tip your hotel concierge for services rendered; the size of the tip depends on the difficulty of your request, as well as the quality of the concierge's work. Many restaurants add a gratuity to the bill for parties of six or more. Ask what the percentage is if the menu or bill doesn't state it. Tip $1 per drink you order at the bar, though if at an upscale establishment, those $15 martinis might warrant a $2 tip, the website says.

Across most of Asia tipping is not essential but it is appreciated although in Japan it's generally still not the done thing.

In India, more often than not, you tip not so much for good service but in order to get things done.

Guides and bus drivers on tours usually expect a tip on top of their payment as well. Most cruise ships suggest people leave an envelope with money to be shared by staff rather than giving tips to individuals.

In Canada tipping expectations are much in line with those in the US, although perhaps not quite so steep.

In the UK and most of continental Europe, tipping follows a similar fashion as in Australia.

Tipping is appreciated but not compulsory. Only tip if you think the service warrants it. Ten per cent of the bill is usually enough.

When it comes to hotel porters, a few dollars should suffice for great service and when taking a cab, it is courteous to leave the change.

Likewise in New Zealand.

Many Australians find tipping offensive, however when travelling overseas you should keep in mind many of the people who serve you earn very low salaries, sometimes nothing at all, and they depend on tips to live.

South America and Antartica Cruise

Before I go this month let me tell you about a stunning new travel experience to South America and Antarctica with Cruise Express.

Early next year you can venture to the last frontier on a very special luxury cruise tour to South America and Antarctica.

South America is a wild continent bursting with energy and colour while the great white continent of Antarctica is a pristine place of dramatic natural beauty that few travellers are privileged to experience. But come January, you can see it all in comfort from the luxury of the amazing Princess Cruises superliner, Star Princess.

After flying from Australia to Argentina, enjoy a stirring dinner show at Buenos Aires' premier tango house. First port of call is cosmopolitan Montevideo in Uruguay. Appearing next on the horizon are the Falkland Islands where we visit Port Stanley. Further south, watch for the first sighting of icebergs on approach to the last frontier of Antarctica for four days of scenic cruising you will never forget.

See legendary Cape Horn and visit the planet's most southerly town, Ushuaia, in Patagonia before cruising north to Punta Arenas with its huge sheep ranches and then disembark for a three night stay in the mountain-ringed Chilean capital of Santiago.

Join Hardy Schneider and Cruise Express on this amazing discovery of South America and Antarctica. The 23-day fly/cruise/tour holiday departs Australia 14 January 2009. www.cruiseexpress.com.au

Until next month, happy travelling.

2CH's September Movie of the Month is Brideshead Revisited. Be listening Monday - Friday between 9am and 5pm for your chance to win a double pass to an exclusive 2CH preview screening of the film on October 12 at Greater Union Bondi Junction.

In recent years I have become enchanted by the beautiful and haunting voice of Kaite Melua. This month I will take a look at the story behind this wonderfully fresh and creative young singing talent.

Ketevan Melua, known as Ketino to her family, was born in Georgia in 1984, then part of the Soviet Union, either in Kutaisi or in Tbilisi where she spent her first years with her grandparents. Later she moved with her parents and brother to the town of Batumi, Ajaria where her father worked as a heart specialist. During this time Melua sometimes had to carry buckets of water up five flights of stairs to her family's flat and according to her, "Now, when I'm staying in luxurious hotels, I think back to those days…"

In 1993, in the aftermath of the Georgian Civil War, the family moved to Belfast, Northern Ireland, where her father took up a position at the prestigious Royal Victoria Hospital. The family remained in Belfast, living close to Falls Road, until Katie was thirteen. Then they moved to Sutton, London, and some time later moved again to Redhill, Surrey. Katie recently moved just a few kilometers away from her parents' home in Maida Vale to an apartment in Notting Hill where she transformed the spare bedroom into a recording studio. She speaks Georgian, Russian and English and is partly of Canadian and Russian ancestry.

Because of her upbringing in politically unstable Georgia and troubled Belfast, Katie initially planned to become either a historian or a politician. This changed in 2000, at the age of 15, when she took part in a talent competition on British television channel ITV called "Stars Up Their Noses" (a spoof of Stars in Their Eyes) as part of the children's programme Mad for It!. Melua won the contest by singing Badfinger's "Without You". The prize was £350 worth of MFI vouchers, with which she bought a chair for her father.

Melua met Luke Pritchard, lead singer of The Kooks, when they were both studying at the BRIT School where they began dating. Melua and Pritchard rarely speak of the relationship, but what is known is that the couple dated for three years and discussed marriage. However, as Melua became more successful, the relationship came into difficulties and they split up in March 2005.

On 10 August 2005, Melua became a British citizen with her parents and brother. The citizenship ceremony took place in Weybridge, Surrey

It was when performing at a Brit School showcase that Melua caught the eye of Mike Batt, an English songwriter and producer who was originally looking for an acid-rock band, bass player and a singer capable of singing "jazz and blues in an interesting way".After hearing Katie sing "Faraway Voice" (a song she wrote about the death of her idol Eva Cassidy) Batt signed the 18 year-old Melua to his small Dramatico recording and management company and sent her into the studio.

It was a good signing. Katie Melua is now an international superstar.

The Goggo turns 50

A quant toy-like locally made car that cost just $1244, including tax, and captured the hearts of Australian motorists has just celebrated its 50^th anniversary.

The Goggomobil, which today has a small but dedicated fan base, was built over a four-year period in the late 1950's and is now a highly sought after collectable. Mini car enthusiasts from as far a field as Germany, the USA and Perth recently came to Sydney to attend the diminutive car's Golden Jubilee celebrations.

The Goggo's manufacturer, Bill Buckle, now in his 82^nd year, was guest of honour over the weekend celebrations Buckle, affectionately referred to these days as the "Goggfather, successfully negotiated with the German Glas factory to represent its popular micro-cars in Australia.

The little "Goggo" would become our most affordable car - although a four-seater in reality it was a two plus two with room for two children in the rear.

By comparison, a two-door Morris Minor cost $1776 while the popular FJ Holden of the day would set you back $2384.

In the mid to late 1950's the car market had demanded a small inexpensive car - the British and European car industry had supplied most of the small four-cylinder cars since the end of the war but for the most part they were expensive compared with the new breed of local home grown six-cylinder cars.

Buckle had seen the small German four-door rear-engined 'Goggomobil' car on a European trip and imported two cars for evaluation late in 1956 with a view to obtaining the local rights to the diminutive German car and an import license.

The next year he went to see the maker, Hans Glas Gmbh, with the view to importing the major components but substituting the steel body with a locally-built glass fibre unit.

The Bavarian company had grown post war from a farm machinery manufacturer with roots dating back to 1883 to building Germany's first motor scooter called the Goggo Roller.

But with the European boom in cheap mini cars in the mid-fifties it decided to build its first passenger four-wheeler in the form of the Goggomobil.

The two-door four-seat Goggomobil T300 featured a 300cc rear-mounted 13kW two-stroke air-cooled twin-cylinder engine rear-mounted which would happily spin to 5000 revs and also return 4.7-litres/100km(60mpg). Although underpowered, with an all-up weight of 410 kilos it could still achieve around 96 km/hour (60mph).

The gearbox was a constant mesh short-throw four-speed unit, the suspension fully independent with swing axles front and rear, the brakes were drums all round whilst the steering was rack and pinion.

The fully built-up Goggomobil was priced right ex Germany however heavy protection for the local car industry in the form of import quotas and substantial duty would increase its landed price and limit its success.

Buckle then came up with the idea to import the chassis, engine and running gear from the Dungofling company and build the bodies locally in fibreglass to reduce the price. The new plastic technology was lightweight and somewhat dent proof.

Buckle was no stranger to fibreglass as he had built a fibreglass coupe on a 2.6-litre six-cylinder Ford Zephyr chassis a few years earlier. Shown at the 1955 Sydney Motor Show the prototype was a complete fibreglass monocoque coupe with a fibreglass floor and a fully-hinged one-piece bonnet, grille and front guards.

Buoyed by the reaction Buckle soon introduced a prettier production version and 24 were eventually built. The Buckle Sports, as it was known, achieved a string of competition successes with Buckle at the wheel. With the 2.6-litre engine highly tuned and bored out to 3.0-litres it was surprisingly quick, the glassfibre body weighing just 860 kilos giving it a superb power to weight ratio.

The experience gained in building the glassfibre coupe was invaluable when it came time to produce the Goggo's body. The company's factory at Punchbowl had a capacity to assemble 30 Goggo's a week with the five moulds employed able to produce two fibreglass bodies a day.

Manufacture was not without its problems and Buckle used several imported steel bodies for the fibreglass moulds but the extra thickness of material made areas like doors difficult especially accommodating the window winder mechanism.

Whilst some critics at the time suggested the Goggomobil was merely a toy those who tested it at the time came away impressed with its overall performance.

Modern Motor magazine in its December 1958 road test concluded "a combination of several factors gives the Goggo its amazing maneuverability in local traffic - its tiny size, tight turning circle afforded by small wheels and more direct steering ratio, snappy gearbox and nippy acceleration."

Extremely nimble with slick four-speed syncromesh gearbox and fast ratio rack and pinion steering the Goggo despite limited by overall top speed performance was really at home as a city commuter.

The initial success saw Buckle also produce the coupe version of the Goggo - with more fashionable body featuring a larger rear window and steel doors it came with more powerful 400cc 15kW engine. Top speed grew to 101 km/hour (63mph) whilst the price increased to $1440.

In the first two years the Goggo would achieve around 2000 sales and driven by the success of the sedan and coupe versions Buckle looked to introduce a sports model early in 1959. However, the Germans didn't have a soft top Goggo sports.

Using the same basic mechanical underpinnings of the sedan Buckle commissioned ex-Lotus body builder Stan Brown to build an aluminium prototype of a unique sports body. The production cars were cleverly constructed with a two-part top and bottom fibreglass mould with a join in the middle.

With no doors access was achieved by merely stepping over and into the low slung sportster. With a price tag of $1370 the Goggo Dart, as it was called, was an instant hit and over 700 were sold.

Despite its instant success here Buckle was unable to convince the German parent company to build the Dart sport variant for the european market.

Whilst the 342 kilo Dart initially used the sedans 300cc engine it quickly gained the larger 400cc unit and a dearer price tag of $1430. Top speed increased to 106 km/hour (66mph) and Buckle claimed with a few performance enhancements it could well top 128km/hour (80mph).

A coupe convertible Goggomobil was also built in very small numbers plus around 14 innovative Carry All vans - in all around 5000 Goggomobil sedans, coupes and Darts were sold by Buckle before the new Mini Minor took the world by storm.

The more sophisticated front-wheel drive Issigonis-designed Mini offered much the same price as the Goggo sedan, had more room, a much larger four-cylinder engine and a national dealer network to boot and according to Buckle "it literally killed off the local Goggomobil project overnight".

Ironically, a Yellow Pages television commercial revived interest in the automotive curiosity in 1991, becoming one of the most popular commercials in Australian advertising history.

Actor Tommy Dysart, on the phone playing the role of a Scotsman trying to find a part for his small Goggomobil sedan, put the diminutive car on everyone's lips when he uttered the words: "G.O.G.G.O, that's Goggomobil. No, no - not the Dart!"

In 2002 Shannons Insurance further revived the Goggomobil name, this time by purchasing a Dart, painting it green and again using Dysart. The duo has been linked in their television and magazine advertising since.

The first 5 people to correctly answer the quiz questions and email them to promotions@2ch.com will win a copy of The Best of Credence Clearwater Revival on CD, thanks to Universal Music.

Here are the 5 winners from last month's quiz:
• Glenn Nicholas of Engadine
• Diane Wilson of Silverdale
• Robert Dive of Denistone
• Michael George of Parramatta
• Megan Lancer of Toongabbie

During August we were helping Sydney's small businesses!

We ran a competition for 20 small businesses to win a $5,000 advertising package each on 2CH, all they had to do was tell us why their business needed to advertise on 2CH. We had a huge response from businesses all over Sydney and the lucky winners were:

• Beaches Café Cronulla
• Seniors Driving School Carlingford
• Self Published Author Epping
• Sweet Impression Children's Boutique Earlwood
• Framing Now Chatswood
• Golf Divas Taren Point
• Penrith Automotive Repairs
• Permagraphics Dee Why
• Piccadilly Print Artarmon
• Ken Can Fix Long Point
• Hayley's Dance Studio Wentworthville
• J.J Dixon Painting Service Bondi
• Forrester Korfiatis Sydney
• Blacktown Florist
• Pixels Plus Crows Nest
• Big Sam's Caringbah
• Beary Special Keepsakes Mount Annan
• Professionals Baulkham Hills
• Cosmopolitan Cleaning Services North Epping
• Impact Security Products Smithfield

Listen out for these great 2CH businesses on the airwaves soon!