Latest news with #MeganWashington
News.com.au
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Award-winning Leopold home on Lake Connewarre notches big sale
An award-winning lakefront home that's played host to a string of well-known Aussie musicians has notched up one of Leopold's biggest sales. A buyer already living on the Bellarine Peninsula has bought the secluded four-bedroom house, designed by acclaimed architect Kerstin Thompson, after a seven-month campaign. Bellarine Property, Barwon Heads agent Levi Turner said he was unable to disclose the sale price of the 4.86ha property at 15 Maloneys Rd, Leopold. It was originally listed with a $5.75m price guide, which was slashed to $4.75m to $4.95m in February. At this price, it would be Leopold's most expensive home. Megan Washington, Vance Joy, Tim Rogers and the late Kinky Friedman are among musicians who have played in the home's on-site recording studio. The property on the shores of Lake Connewarre also features a pool, a sports oval/heli pad, an olive grove, fruit trees and three outdoor baths on a raised deck. Mr Turner said it ranked among the top 10 homes he had sold on the Bellarine Peninsula in 12 years of real estate. 'It was a couple of things – the views are amazing and the privacy. It's so tucked away but you are 15 minutes to get into Geelong,' he said. 'And the house won architectural awards. 'The buyers are going to do some internal cosmetic renovations to make it their own but from the outside, from an architectural point of view, you could still build it today. It was really cool.' The 22-year-old home received both the 2005 Victorian Coastal Award for Building and Building Design and the 2003 Australian Institute of Architects' Victorian Chapter Harold Desbrowe-Annear Award, which recognises each year's best residential project. Its long, black structure is designed to blend into the environment and features a folded roof that mimics the shape of an origami black swan. The residence is divided into three pavilions, including the main three-bedroom house, a guest apartment with recording studio and a garage/carport for five vehicles. Mr Turner said there was a solid response from the market throughout the campaign. 'You get these amazing properties on the Bellarine and the Surf Coast and Geelong and you think 'everyone is going to love it' and people do but to actually buy it, one, they've got to have the money and two, be in a position to buy and they are few and far between,' he said. The vendor was a self-confessed cricket tragic who incorporated an oval into extensive gardens by landscape architect Tim Nicholas. Paths wind through the property to Lake Connewarre where a raised deck provides storage for watercraft.
Daily Mail
20-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Mother-of-one teaching assistant, 26, caught driving while under the influence of cannabis banned from roads after claiming she used drug for 'pain management'
A teaching assistant caught driving under the influence of cannabis was fined £120 after claiming she used the drug as a medicine for 'pain management'. Mother of one Megan Washington, 26, was stopped by police in her Vauxhall Insignia with a youngster in the passenger seat after a tip-off she might have been smoking the drug before getting behind the wheel. Tests showed Washington was slightly over the limit for THC, the principal active ingredient of cannabis, and also BZE, the breakdown product of cocaine. When quizzed, Washington - who is understood to work at a secondary school - said she been using cannabis for pain management, but was seeking professional help to wean herself off it. She claimed she had not realised that the drugs were still in her system and would not have driven if she had known. There was no evidence the manner of her driving was erratic. The reason for her pain issues and why she had traces of cocaine in her system were not disclosed. A former legal secretary, according to her social media pages she is currently studying a BA Honours degree in English Literature at the Open University. Megan Washington outside Chester magistrates court where she was fined £120 and banned from driving for 16 months after admitting two counts of drug driving Washington, from Winsford, Cheshire, admitted two charges of drug driving. She was also ordered to pay £133 in costs and surcharge and banned from driving for 16 months. The incident occurred at 2.50pm on February 9 when Washington was driving her car through the village of Moulton, Chester magistrates court heard. Scott Woodward, prosecuting, said: 'Police stopped a Vauxhall Insignia after there was information given that there may be someone under the influence of cannabis driving it. 'There was also a young passenger in the vehicle. 'The defendant informed the officers that she was a regular cannabis user. 'Therefore the officer requested a roadside DrugWipe which was positive for cannabis. She was subsequently arrested and taken to custody. 'The defendant has no previous convictions.' Tests showed Washington had 2.8 micrograms of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and 60 micrograms of benzoylecgonine (BZE) per litre of blood. The legal limit for the drugs is micrograms per litre and 50 micrograms per litre respectively. Washington declined to have the court's duty solicitor represent her. She told the hearing: 'I can only apologise. I did not realise. 'If I realised that there was anything still in my system I would not have driven that day.' She added: 'It was for pain management. 'I had a doctor's referral and I am trying to get myself off it. 'I've now sold the car as this freaked me out a bit.' The court legal advisor told JPs: 'She has a clean driving licence. 'I would think a defence would ask you to take a common sense approach. 'Your concern would be was if there any evidence of obvious impairment of driving. 'But the car was flagged up for some reason on the ANPR and pulled over because of the vehicle itself - not because of any evidence of impairment of driving. 'It has been found that people that regularly who smoke cannabis build up a tolerance so that it is basically permanently in their system. 'The legal limit is very, very low so if you are someone who smokes cannabis weekly, regularly, you are permanently over the limit.' Sentencing Washington, JP Olga Randall told her: 'The fine would have been £180 because you pleaded guilty at the first opportunity. 'You are working towards getting off any form of drugs. 'Hopefully by the time you start driving again you'll be back on track.' According to the NHS 'very few' people in England are likely to get a prescription for medical cannabis. It is only likely to be prescribed for children and adults with rare and severe forms of epilepsy, adults with vomiting or nausea caused by chemotherapy and people with muscle stiffness and spasms caused by multiple sclerosis.
