ENTRY POINT

RISING from its gritty past, Richmond has blossomed into the "it" place to shop, live, drink and dine. Providing bidding stays within cooee of the quote, this little house is exactly the sort of property first-home buyers have been fighting over for months. The floor plan ticks all the boxes: two bedrooms, a bathroom, laundry, an open dining and living space and a small kitchen that joins a private courtyard via a sliding glass door. Buffed Baltic pine floorboards, a lick of white paint and air-conditioning reveal successful attempts to tart up the Victorian cottage but there is still room for improvement, if your budget allows.

Shortlist long on talent

THE full range of Australian writing and publishing is reflected in this year's shortlist for The Age Book of the Year awards. There are new names and old favourites, published by a mix of independents and multinationals. The books' subjects vary hugely, from post-apocalyptic survival to Charles Darwin, from the angst of adolescence to a reworking of Dante's Divine Comedy in Western Australia.

WHAT THEY SHOULD DO ...

WHAT THEY SHOULD DO is ban Carlton footballers and their fans from becoming politicians. Playing to the home crowd at Princes Park is one thing, but after Justin Madden's divisive comments last week can they really be trusted in the wider world?

In Short Fiction

HEART AND SOUL By Maeve Binchy Orion, 464pp, $35 PLAYING THE GAME By Belle de Jour Orion, 320pp, $32.99 UNDER CONTROL By Mark McNay Canongate, 320pp, $27.95 PICK OF THE WEEK COOEE By Vivienne Kelly Scribe, 320pp, $32.95

First Flights Of Fancy

The inspirations for fiction are many and the characters brought to life varied, as these four first novels suggest, writes Jo Case. Turtle By Gary Bryson Allen & Unwin, $27.95 Cooee By Vivienne Kelly Scribe, $32.95 The Twelfth Fish By Graham Perrett Vulgar Press, $32.95 Fugitive Blue By Claire Thomas Allen & Unwin, $29.95

Not The Best Timing For The Pub With No Bets

CUP week approacheth and punters are on tenterhooks - particularly at tiny Meredith on the Midland Highway between Ballarat and Geelong. Seems the only TAB within cooee is in the Meredith Hotel and, after one hell of a barney, that pub has closed its doors.

Lindsay Park Connection Shines Through With Hiskens Hope Ginolad

GINOLAD may not come within cooee of being the fastest of more than 500 worldwide winners sired by former Collingrove Stud stallion Perugino, but with a win over 5500 metres in the Grand Annual Steeple this year, he takes the title of winning over the longest journey.

Up The River

Paul Edwards unlocks the pleasures of going out and about in a boat within cooee of the city centre.

Macbank Back On The Uphill Part

Having got to within cooee of a ton, the bank is back on that track after a pit stop.

Beat Of A Different Humdrum

Time-travelling in Canberra provides a view of daily life in Australia in the 1800s, writes Steve Meacham. Cooee: Australia in the 19th Century is at the National Library of Australia, Canberra, until September 9.

Spinning A Headline

FEW cricketers will ever come within cooee of Shane Warne's achievements on the field, but can Warne now top his own reputation as a human headline off it?

Mackenzie Beats The Future, Closes On The Past

LINDA MacKenzie became the first Australian woman to come within cooee of Tracey Wickham's 28-year-old national record for the 400 metre freestyle when she held off a field of promising teenagers to snare her fourth consecutive national title in Brisbane last night.

Wickham Record Threatened

LINDA MacKenzie became the first Australian woman to come within cooee of Tracey Wickham's 28-year-old national record for the 400 metres freestyle when she held off a field of promising teenagers to snare her fourth consecutive national title in Brisbane last night.

Cute Cottage Within Cooee Of The Ultimate Escape

A home sweet home among the gum trees gives guests that mountain high, writes Hannah Edwards. Cooee Cottage, Address: 25 Cecil Road, Blackheath.

Determined Auction Goers Defy Grand Final Fever

ON THE one weekend of the year when Sunday auctions come within cooee of Saturday's numbers, there were some strong results across Melbourne.

Editorial Subterfuge For Political Battle

HERE we are, not within cooee of a federal election, yet John Howard and his Treasurer and leader-in-waiting Peter Costello are turning themselves inside out over tax cuts.

Sentiment Hits Right Note

IT'S been a dreadful week if you're one of those daggy sods who enjoyed Australian Idol. Not quite as bad as admitting to loving the Eagles concert, but almost. And if you were silly enough to admit to anyone within cooee of a Darlinghurst macchiato that you actually lined up for tickets to both events, expect to find your name linked to Wilson Tuckey on a rumour mill any time soon.

National Testing Is The Agenda, Not Teaching Methods

What's Brendan Nelson's agenda in reviving the old furphy about a lack of phonics teaching? It can't be the famous letter from the 26 "experts" who've obviously never been within cooee of a school if they seriously think phonics is neglected (I could easily get 27 experts to say what guff it is).

Bridging The Marriage Gap

A successful marriage, said Ogden Nash, was one of incompatibility. He has income; she is pattable. As advice, it is less and less pertinent. Marriage rates have slowed since the 1950s and '60s when the norm was to wed in one's early 20s, and the rise in de facto relationships is not within cooee of compensating. In 1971 a quarter of men and an eighth of women aged 25 to 29 had not married. Today, it is about 70 per cent of men and 55 per cent of women.

Crikey! There Goes Mogo's Cub Club

THERE wasn't a crocodile within cooee but Aussie icon Steve Irwin was still clearly in his element at Mogo Zoo yesterday.