BUCKINGHAM Palace has confirmed that the Queen will not visit Australia this year despite a face-to-face invitation to attend the 150th Melbourne Cup celebrations from Premier John Brumby at Balmoral Castle last October.

HARBOUR, TREES AND HILLS Jacqueline Belassa's Sydney is always sunny. She celebrates and idealises its harbours and beaches in vivid greens and blues (The Farewell — Balmoral, pictured), smothers her boards and papers with colour and pattern and employs a style that's slightly stylised, slightly naive and easy to enjoy. Look..read more

The caption on Page 11 of last week's Good Living was incorrect. It should have read Balmoral's Public Dining Room.

THE software entrepreneur Simon Clausen is Sydney's most active property investor, having bought $34 million worth since last October.

IT BEGAN with a dawn chorus of a capella at Balmoral Beach and continued late last night at The Domain as star acts including diva Grace Jones heralded the start of the Sydney Festival.