It could have once been a stretch of the imagination of Queensland Bauxite shareholders to think that they could be treated to crop updates from the Northern NSW hippie paradise of Nimbin.

But the veteran gold fossicker and Queensland Bauxite executive chairman Pnina "Diamond Rose" Feldman has taken to a business founded by a former Nimbin café owner.

"Excellent market positioning for the anticipated rapid economic growth in the medical cannabis sector and hemp seed food industry in Australia and globally," trumpeted an ASX announcement by Diamond Rose last week, where she disclosed Queensland Bauxite would buy 55 per cent of the Nimbin-domiciled Medical Cannabis Limited (MCL).

Diamond Rose appeared particularly delighted MCL's founder and secretary of the Hemp Party Andrew Kavasilas would continue his groundbreaking research into the benefits of marijuana.

The announcement noted how Kavasilas' research included a "quantitative analysis of nutrient loads and heavy metals [not bauxite] in illicit cannabis in order to give impetus to fast tracking developing cleaner safer medical cannabis products".

Kavasilas, who also founded the Nimbin Furniture Gallery, meanwhile has been active lobbying for the full legalisation of the green stuff.

During a visit to Canberra in February, Kavasilas even found some support from One Nation's Pauline Hanson who reportedly spoke at a rally calling for the full legalisation of marijuana.

"I think we've come to the point now where we really have to start asking 'why isn't medical Cannabis legal by now?" said Kavasilas on the Hemp Party website about his trip to the nation's capital.

Shaved off

It's always heart-warming to see underwriters "stand by their man", to coin a politically incorrect phrase ahead of International Women's Day later in the week.

And just as Bell Potter has "kept the faith" in McGrath, the deeply troubled real estate agency which it floated (and presumably has a lot of client money tied up in), Shaver Shop's two underwriters – Ord Minnett and Shaw and Partners – are bullish in outlook.

Both have "buy" recommendations on Shaver Shop, with Ord tipping the shares to reach $1 and Shaw a more modest 80¢. Both calls are well ahead of the share price of just 59¢ Monday, which is itself well short of the IPO price of $1.05 a share.

And while cynicism abounds when it comes to underwriters backing their progeny, if you like, a more accurate view of a company's prospects can be taken by following what "insiders do" – i.e. a company's directors.

Shaver Shop had a Christmas Eve profit warning, after which its shares were savagely dumped.

But since its December-half earnings were announced, some directors have turned buyers, including Rip Curl surfing empire co-founder Brian Singer and chairman Brodie Arnhold, taking heart from the company's optimistic noises about the outlook.

But then since insiders took $55 million off the table in the IPO last year, some of them have plenty of cash on hand afford a top-up. 

Starlight riders

A large peloton of "middle-aged men in Lycra" (MAMILs) will be making their way from Albury to Wollongong from March 27 for the 17th and final Tour de Kids charity bike ride.

Led by the chairman, David "the Cheshire cat" Cobcroft, TDK is the original multi-day bike ride in Australia. Since its inception 16 years ago, the Tour de Kids has raised nearly $7 million for the Starlight Children's Foundation and other child-based charities.

Over the years, it has involved some 200 riders and some of Australias largest corporates including Lend Lease, Colonial First State, Challenger, GPT Group, UBS, Virgin Airlines and Harvey Norman.

This year will be the last in what started out as four cyclists, all of whom will be participating again, being Richard Hunt, Andrew Gibbons, David Kirkby and Bevan Towning who is flying in from London to complete the 14th of the 17 rides, and culminated in over 17,000 kilometres covered across all parts of Australia and New Zealand.

To show there support and don the Starlight Lycra one last time will be together with Vince Kernahan, Andrew Clarke, David Baxby, John Marsh, Trent Iliffe, Tom Hardwick and Ian Holmes, among many others . The ride this year will be from Albury via the Snowy Mountains, finishing in Wollongong on Saturday, April 1.