Sculpture tribute to Heath Ledger embodies his style and love of chess

By Calvin Palmer

Australian actor Heath Ledger has been commemorated with a three-piece sculpture at a park where he played as a child.

Ledger’s family picked a site Point Heathcote Reserve in the City of Melville, part of Perth’s southern suburbs, for the polished concrete and marble sculpture by artist Ron Gomboc.

Two of the pieces incorporate chessboards in tribute to the late actor’s love of the game. The third piece features a yin and yang design that embodies his spiritual beliefs.

Gomboc, a long-time family friend, said yesterday that the sculpture was a fitting tribute to Ledger, who used to relish playing chess at parks around the world when he had down-time from filming.

Ledger’s mother Sally Bell said the family had chosen the site, which overlooks the Swan River, because because her son had cared about the environment and spent much of his youth in the Applecross area, walking with friends.

“He truly loved it there,” she said.

“As for the chess theme, not many people know that Heath was passionate about chess and was close to becoming a Grand Master.”

Father, Kim Ledger, said the sculpture was in keeping with Heath’s subtle and laidback style, and his friends and family now had a place to visit that was imbued with his presence.

“People who visit the site can remember him by using and enjoying the tables, as he would want them to,” he said.

Ledger’s family flew from Perth bound for Los Angeles yesterday to attend the Oscar ceremony and spend time with his daughter Matilda.

The Perth-born actor is widely tipped to take out the best supporting actor award for his portrayal of The Joker in The Dark Knight, the last film he completed before his death.

Ledger was working on The Imaginarium Of Dr Parnassus when he died, aged 28, on January 22 last year in his rented Manhattan loft apartment after consuming a deadly cocktail of prescription painkillers and sleeping pills. His death was declared an accidental overdose.

[Based on reports by The West Australian and Melbourne Herald Sun.]

Knifeman kills three and wounds ten at day-care center

By Calvin Palmer

Carnage came to a crèche in Belgium this morning when a man stabbed two children and an adult to death and slashed ten other children.

The man, 20, had a painted white face, eye shadow and ginger hair, and was wearing a bullet proof vest, witnesses said.

He rang the doorbell around 10:00 a.m. at The Country of Fables day-care center in the town of Dendermonde, near Brussels, said prosecutor Christian Du Four.  When staff opened the door, the man barged in and went on the rampage.

The man escaped on a bicycle but was soon detained in a nearby supermarket. He still had the knife used in the attack.

Belgian television said that witnesses described the attacker as looking like The Joker from the Batman films.

“The guy just went crazy,” Theo Janssens, the Dendermonde deputy mayor for social matters said. “Three adults were injured as they tried to get between the attacker and the children.

“There was blood everywhere, it was unbelievable, real carnage.”

Janssens, with tears in his eyes, said: “He went straight for the babies and attacked them. The smallest ones were in their beds, they were probably asleep.”

Dr. Ignace Demeyer, director of the town’s hospital, said ten children arrived at his hospital with very serious stab wounds, all required surgery, and all were now in stable condition.

He said the attack was very violent and the children had multiple stab wounds all over their bodies.

Demeyer also said 21 children were at the daycare at the time of the attack, and nine were unharmed.

One child and one adult died at the scene while a second child later died from the wounds.

A woman at the day-care centre said that the man, whom various media reported may have been a psychiatric patient in the area, was not known to staff.

“We are horrified by the events,” Interior Minister Guido De Padt told the press conference. Our thoughts go out to the families and staff of the crèche. Many parents are in a state of shock.”

Dendermonde is a town of some 43,000 residents and lies 20 miles northwest of Brussels.

[Based on reports by AFP news agency , The Daily Telegraph and Associated Press.]