Brilliant-Online-Magazine-February-2023

David King, the Comboyne Pharmer

FEEL GOOD Issue The

INSIDE: This month we're all about eating good, feeling good and doing good to find that brilliant inner glow!

Photo: Lucy Humphries Photography

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NOTE FROM OUR EDITOR

✦ Welcome to February’s edition of Brilliant-Online

Welcome to February’s edition of Brilliantonline where this month we focus on feeling good, eating good and doing good.

The old adage “you are what you eat” is something David King from Comboyne Pharmer fully advocates, believing that an organic a day keeps the doctor away. We catch up with David and ask him to elaborate on his mantra of “it’s better to pay a little more to an organic farmer now than pay a lot more to the doctor later.”

We explore this theme further with Hastings Landcare and their work in the environment, check out the superfoods on offer at Grazed and Grown Farm and catch up with the new kids on the fitness block at Gyrotonic to learn more about their exercise regime, which is fast gaining a popular following.

We also profile National Love Your Pet Day with a personal story from our editor, and celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Day, an opportunity to cultivate kindness and brighten up someone’s day via a random act. Noting “you are what you eat”, we offer up a recipe for the delicious Japanese egg custard dish Chawanmushi, which we assure will leave you licking your lips in anticipation!

Elsewhere, we look ahead with anticipation to the 39th annual

ABOUT BRILLIANT

Brilliant-Online makes people and businesses famous. It is an empowering read for progressive individuals and dynamic businesses pushing for a better world in the digital era. Born witty, Brilliant unveils an online magazine featuring a variety of digital interactive content that makes it similar to the magical Daily Prophet newspaper from Harry Potter.

Wauchope Lasiandra Festival, which will be held across the entire month of March, and look back with thanks to the team at Port Adventure Cruises who helped us celebrate our 2nd year anniversary recently aboard the The Rhythmboat.

Finally, we wanted to draw attention to the fact that we have recently moved offices to 5/124 Horton St, Port Macquarie. Now in the heart of the city, and sharing a space with tax guru John Clarke, we are perfectly located to welcome anyone that ever wants to pop in to have a chat, meet the team and share a story over a cuppa!

We hope you enjoy this month’s offering and it leaves you feeling full of goodness!

IN THIS ISSUE

Cruising the Hastings River in brilliant style!

Beautiful Transitions at TG's Child Care

Is Your Business Growing Out Of Your Control?

Nicer now, Noosa’s nearer!

Brilliant March 2023 Themes

Cyber Security For Business – How Protected Are You?

Promo Tiles

Peta Pinson’s Business outlook for 2023

Optus Out and About

Tambo Teddies are your childhood friends for life

Wauchope and Hinterland BUSINESS Awards launching soon!

Feel Good, Eat Good, Do Good!

Feel Good February at Grazed & Grown Farm

Chawanmushi (Japanese Egg Custard) Recipe

Explaining your disability to your children

headspace turns 10, with plans to celebrate at ‘Best

Brilliant LASIANDRA FESTIVAL

LET FOOD BE THY MEDICINE - COMBOYNE PHARMER

✦ David King, from "Comboyne Pharmer" says "It's better to pay a little more to an organic farmer now than pay a lot more to the doctor later."

If you've ever tasted a 100% natural, organic fruit or vegetable, you'll want to have it for the rest of your life!

vYou are what you eat.

Ask David King and his wife Lynda from Comboyne Pharmer and they'll tell you that's the absolute truth.

We went to the beautiful Comboyne Plateau where Grazed & Grown Farm is located to speak to one of their friendly neighbours, David and Lynda who are organic farmers.

Comboyne Pharmer is a small business run by just David and Lynda. They are kept busy working full time growing organic fruit and vegetables.

Green fingers from the beginning

David has been involved in

horticulture his entire life. He spent his first 20 years on his parents' farm so he is no stranger to all things green and leafy. It gave him a solid background in the art and industry of horticulture and fed his love for natural, organic food. Later he went on to do an apprenticeship in gardening. He spent six years doing that before he went travelling for another three years.

These days David is devoting his skills, knowledge and experience into his passion for growing clean, natural, organic food. Comboyne Pharmer has been hard at work for the past four years growing and supplying organic food to the local community.

This farmer believes that an organic a day keeps the doctor away.

How does your garden grow?

At Comboyne Pharmer you can find a variety of fruits such as loganberries, blackberries, mulberries, raspberries and some blueberries. When we were speaking to David, he had just brought up some loganberries for Pete and Bec at Grazed & Grown Farm. Other than the family of berries, David's orchard also has different citrus, nuts and even bananas!

Excitement and Anticipation

at Grazed & Grown Farm

Why do Grazed and Grown farm the way they do?

Bananas growing on the Comboyne Plateau may somewhat surprise people, but David has managed to coax the bananas to grow quite happily. They sit back somewhat during winter but with the warmer weather he has collected a dozen bunches already. The variety of bananas he has on his farm are the cold variety, unlike the North Queensland ones.

Nutritional food for the community

While David does not sell direct to the public per se, his products can be found in many other places where people can go and buy. He collaborates with organic outlets and shops such as Ken Little. Organics MattR, Wild Culture and Sohip Organics. So if you are craving for some delicious organic fruits and vegetables grown under David's care, you'll know where to go to find them.

Organic vs. non-organic

For David, nutritionally dense food is key. With organic food, the nutritional value is much higher, and there is no chemical or artificial input when growing these foods. So how can you tell if a fruit is organic or run-of-themill-chemically-influenced? Organic fruits look natural, and by that we mean they vary in size, shape and colour. They don't look like they came out of an assembly line. See it as each fruit having its own unique character. They look perfectly imperfect with blemishes, kinks and bumps. Basically, they are not Instagram-friendly! Nonorganic fruits look 'pretty' and perfect because of the aid of chemical and artificial fertilizers.

Beyond its looks, the flavour of organic food is what makes you keep coming back for more. There is a huge difference in the flavour. Those of us who were lucky to grow up with a grandmother's mini orchard will remember how sweet grandma's

Chrissy Jones interviewing David King, the Comboyne Pharmer

pears were and how you could eat a tomato all on its own because it actually had taste. This is not our brains dressing things up by being nostalgic about the past. It's because grandma's fruits were simply natural, organic and real.

Go organic, and keep the doctors at bay

When we looked at the Comboyne Pharmer's logo at first glance, we thought we stumbled upon a doctor's clinic or the local pharmacy.

David chose this logo for a good reason. The idea is you can choose to have nutritional food now, and pay the farmer more for it, or you can spend your money on the doctor years later when careless consumption takes its toll. That is David's philosophy guiding not just his logo but in all that he does at Comboyne Pharmer.

You are what you eat, right now. It sounds like a wise thing to do to start right away, feeding our bodies good, clean, nutritional, organic food. Our health deserves it. If you pass by

Comboyne Plateau, say hi to David, and you may be inspired to feed your body delicious, organic food every day.

Meet Raw Chef Yin and her recipes

BUSINESS Brilliant

CRUISING THE HASTINGS RIVER IN BRILLIANT STYLE!

✦ Brilliant-Online celebrated our 2nd Birthday in style, inviting clients and columnists to join Veronica and Chrissy aboard the The Rhythmboat to mark our brilliant milestone.

Awide cross section of the Greater Port Macquarie/ Hastings business community enjoyed a relaxing two-hour afternoon cruise along the beautiful Hastings River and a scrumptious grazing table specially catered by Elsa and David of Port Adventure Cruises.

Special marine visitors

The couple were gracious hosts and provided a seamless afternoon of leisurely cruising. There was even a bit of dolphin spotting, much to the

delight of all onboard. We want to think the dolphins came by to wish us a Brilliant Birthday!

The Rhythmboat has a fantastic layout, giving guests many options to kick back and relax, with the top deck being a popular spot on a delightful summer afternoon.

Dressed to the nines

As our Brilliant Birthday fortuitously coincided with the Lunar New Year, we decided on an oriental theme and some guests did not pass up the chance to enjoy dressing their best!

We were all bowled over by the Best Dressed Lady, Jennifer McKenzie who took home a beautiful set of handcrafted earrings from Utopian Living and Shane Rowe was voted as best dressed by Tom "Cruise Director" for wearing the Avalon Men's shirt.

As it was the Lunar New Year, we simply had to include a traditional Singapore style toast - Yam Seng!

Each guest departed the boat with a gift bag in hand, comprising donations from My BlueTea, Grazed & Grown, House of Utopia and Hastings Co-op.

From left: Elsa, Chrissy, Veronica and David ➸

Celebrating another Brilliant year

Veronica spoke about Brilliant's journey and growth, enlightening our guests with some celebratory facts.

Veronica stressed that Brilliant's interactive advertising means Making Buying Easier by cutting the number of sales steps. We are the only advertising agency that offers a one-price interactive multi-channel advertorial package which includes:

1. Blog Story with strong SEO reaching out to 22,741 readers with a 53% yoy growth

2. Interactive Magazine Stories written by professionals - 34,647 readers

3. Emails - 14,501 subscribers

4. Ad Banner for regular advertisers on brilliant-online.com

5. Shared on socials - Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Google

6. Further outreach to communities through partners like - Samso, AMSA, Business Port Macquarie, Wauchope Chamber, Micro Business Forum and Lasiandra Festival.

Many of our guests at our birthday cruise have advertised with us and they know how the magic works. The proof is in the pudding, where we have forged partnerships that have taken us even further.

Exciting Brilliant-Samso Partnership for Effective Engagement

Our Success Stories

Our best birthday presents come in the form of real, demonstrable evidence of our advertising success!

• Over 720 stories told

• Brilliant Facebook Group - What's On in Port Macquarie has 20,930 members

• Most of our readers are 25 to 54 years old

• 47.5% Female

• 52.5% Male

• 40% business executives

• 48% Small businesses

• Average reading time per session (11 minutes)

• 1/3 of them will read at least 3 articles each time

• Port AdVenture Cruises started with 600+ Google views and now reaching more than 19,549 views with 95 booking clicks monthly.

Port AdVenture Cruises is making Brilliant waves!

Shane Rowe & Jenny McKenzie won best dressed ➸

Brilliant-Online continues to thrive in brilliance and magic in the art of selling. We appreciate all the stories that have been generously shared with us, and which we have brought to the communities. So it wasn't so crazy after all to believe that we could make Harry Potter's Daily Prophet a reality. The magic is real, and we're living it!

Even as we were sailing on the Hastings River and looking around at all our guests who have supported us through our growth, we had to take a moment to let it sink in all that we have done over the past two years. As we roll up our sleeves and prepare to step up into our third Brilliant year, we will continue to keep our content fresh, relevant and exciting, and making our clients' stories bright and impactful!

A toast, to many more Brilliant stories to come.

Yammmmm senggggg!

Katherine and Bron (Business PMQ)

Pete & Bec Armstrong (Grazed & Grown Farm)

BEAUTIFUL TRANSITIONS AT TG'S CHILD CARE

✦ Transitions are a natural (and joyful) part of life at TG's Child Care, and there is so much to celebrate in each child's transition journey.

Remember what it was like when you moved out of your parents' home and went off to another city to study or work? That's a huge transition and needs to be managed well to prevent stress, anxiety and overwhelm. For you and your parents!

In the eyes of a child, transitioning from a home they are so familiar with to a new education and care service is a big deal. And the same goes when they transition rooms in the new year. It is a milestone not just for the child but for the families as well. Both sides can experience anxiety as they move on to this next stage of life. A child may struggle with experiencing so many new things all at once - new people, new places, new routines.

Taking baby steps at TG's with joy

Families feel the pain of having their child away from them. They worry about the child's ability to cope and adjust. They wonder if their child will make new friends easily and be happy.

And that's where TG's Magic comes into play!

Transitioning Together

TG's Child Care's magic lies in how they are very much attuned to these feelings of both children and families and are experienced in helping make transitions not just stress and worryfree, but one to be anticipated with joy and embraced with pride. TG's Family is precisely that - they are an extension of each child's family, and

families know they can rely on TG's to create a safe, loving environment where their children feel like they've never left home.

One of TG's foundation stones is Building Relationships, and they are known for forming strong partnerships with Educators, families and even their communities. There is an understanding that everyone is coming together as one to support the children's learning journeys and transitions through the years.

TG's Child Care building beautiful relationships with their communities

It is a natural collaborative base of interactions where You, Me and Us Together conversations take place daily. Educators value the participation and input of the families and they are very much involved in their children's learning journeys at TG's. Families in return see TG's Educators as another loving adult who is standing shoulder to shoulder with them in supporting their children and celebrating their milestones.

v"TG’s is on the same page as our families with regards to how we see their children's future. Choosing and trusting a preschool for one’s child is not an easy task... Every TG’s Educator is a leader and a mentor and they are trusted to lead the development and implementation of an effective educational programme in the service... Educators know they have the support of families and communities to constantly enhance learning outcomes for children. The sharing of our gifts collectively is how TG’s has built trusting, respectful and loving relationships across their centres and communities."

- Gayle Kee, Owner TG's Child Care

Transition Needs

Transition times for children could be stressful and can affect a child's ability to learn and develop to their fullest potential. That is why it's so important for close, loving and supportive relationships all around so everyone can understand the needs of everyone and how to best support each other.

"Through partnership with families, early childhood educators ensure that children have an active role in preparing for transitions." - Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) p.16

Whether it is the child, families or Educators, everyone is paddling the same boat and we can all make transitions smooth, stress-free and even fun when we take an active role in preparing for transitions.

What children need:

Surprises are not everyone's cup of tea, and not the most calming thing to have in transitions. Children need to know what to expect. This helps them to be better prepared for change mentally. If as adults we find uncertainty destabilising, imagine how a child would face the unknown. Whether it's starting in a new care service or moving up to another year, families and TG's Educators can keep

an open, safe and loving space for children to voice their thoughts.

For successful transitions, bear in mind what children need:

• warm and responsive interactions

• build trusting relationships

• support to feel secure, confident and included

• families and Educators to collaborate in a healthy partnership, sharing relevant information and clarifying responsibilities

• gentle transitions with enough time to adapt

• be told what is coming next

• ample time so children know their current activity is going to stop gradually

• have a gentle reminder of what is expected

• consistency in practices at home and at the care service to facilitate effective transitions

• not to be overloaded with too many transitions

• experience transitions together with their friends in the same way (no inconsistency)

• keep transitions short and manageable without lengthy waiting times

• clear verbal and/or visual cues

• offer choices and stimulating experiences based on their interests, strengths and abilities

Wellbeing for children with Healthy Harold at TG's Child Care

Making music is a lot more fun when we do it together at TG's Urangan!

What families can do:

Families can take the child to visit the new care service before they start so they are familiar with the building. When TG's Urangan was being renovated, children passed by TG's and could witness for themselves how the building was reformed bit by bit into the colourful, joyful and fun playspace they were to later go to. They had the chance to see how the local tradespeople were involved in the refurbishing and it helped them to feel TG's was growing into a part of their community.

If children could also meet with their future, new Educators, it would help for them to later recognise these familiar faces. Talk to your children about what they'll be doing at TG's. Families can also share relevant information with the Educators about the child's routine, cultural traditions or values, their likes and dislikes etc.

What TG's Educators do:

Children need to feel safe and secure with their Educators. TG's Educators are Simply Playful and under their warm wings is where children want to be. Children are eager to be involved in all the different activities and play experiences carefully designed and planned by the Educators to take each child to their fullest potential, taking into account their unique gifts, individual experiences and where they are on their learning journeys. TG's Educators make sure each child has a voice and is heard and their unique milestones big and small are all celebrated.

Get to know TG's Mother Hen

TG's Educators create a sense of belonging for each child and their families and make sure they feel safe and secure in their new environment. Transitions are carefully planned and blended into a meaningful part of the TG's curriculum. It creates a calm and gentle environment to promote learning. When done well, children do not even notice the transitions

because they are not disruptive or destabilising. TG's children are actually skilled at transitioning through the activities along the day and they become the experts at knowing what's coming up next!

Special Characteristics of TG's Child Care Amazing Educators

What families need:

Families need to feel at ease knowing their child is being supported through the transitions. Many mothers are also getting ready to return to work at the same time as the children are

transitioning to a new care service. This generates guilt and worry about leaving their child in the hands of people they don't know. This was one of the driving forces when Gayle Kee started TG's Child Careshe understood the stress modern families went through and she wanted to provide a safe, loving environment that was like an extended family for children to learn, laugh and play in while their families were at work.

Families also need to know they can be involved in their children's learning journeys. It is many hours away from their children each day, and families really want to know how their children's day was.

From taking their first baby steps at TG's to being curious little scientists!

What TG's Educators do:

TG's Educators value, respect and are always ready to support families in their roles as parents. A simple conversation before or after the service really helps families to feel involved and more in tune with their children's needs. Educators are eager to share what happened that day and each child's milestone, discovery, concern, joy etc. help to connect families with their children and the Educators.

Families gain insights also into what Educators do, and they very quickly see the benefits of working together to support better outcomes for their children. It's about working together to help their children to develop to their fullest potential. Healthy partnerships between Educators and families are key to ensuring smooth transitions for children.

The partnership between Educators and families goes both ways and the safe, loving environment at TG's really goes beyond the playspaces and permeates through to all relationships.

TG's Child Care Fosters Lifelong Love of Learning in Secure, Happy Spaces

vJames Mead, an Educator at TG's Uralla says, "Families have been kind and have genuinely taken an interest to asking how our day as Educators has been. It is a gift to have people acknowledging educators and being accepting."

TG's children nurture beautiful relationships with nature in TG's play spaces outdoors!

Playing it Forward...and beyond!

When the children and families get to Graduation Day at the end of the year, it's a very moving and beautiful celebration. Many children started at TG's when they were tiny tots and to see them gain so much independence and growth through the years is a joy that is shared by families and Educators.

You don't need to wait till university to feel the immense pride in a child's achievement. Here is where it starts. Every day a child transitions into a new, bigger, more amazing version of

TG's Hastings Street Graduation Day!

Congratulations! You're all ready for Big School!

themselves, and every month families and Educators see the changes and the milestones achieved. Whether it's trying a new food, being able to manipulate a paintbrush on their own, or speaking up and asking for help, those are all worth celebrating.

And no wonder, when you see your child grow beautifully in an environment of love, trust, respect, compassion and fun that you have chosen, where they have forged beautiful relationships with other children and the Educators and to see your child's bright smile standing proud, you have every right to express the joy and pride you feel.

"I promise not to cry." No, that's not what a child says ever. It's what families say about TG's Graduation Day. And they always end up having to grab a tissue in the end.

Through all the transitions at TG's, each child leaves TG's, ready for Big School and ready to keep Playing it Forward beyond TG's.

IS YOUR BUSINESS GROWING OUT OF YOUR CONTROL?

✦ Ever get that nagging feeling that something isn’t quite right inside your otherwise flourishing business?

All the vital signs look good at first glance. After all, you have:

• A healthy balance between your income vs expenses;

• An enthusiastic team with a good culture;

• Promising plans for the future; and

• A diverse group of ‘experts’ helping you make big decisions.

So why this uneasy feeling in your gut?

In my experience as both an accountant and financial mentor to a myriad of businesses, the value of an entrepreneur’s intuition cannot be overstated.

If something feels wrong, that’s probably because it is.

Have You Fallen Victim To The Experts?

Perhaps that sinking feeling you have is not so much that your business is failing; it could be that it’s starting to feel less and less like YOURS.

As our businesses grow, we inevitably recruit other players to our team that offer complementary strengths and skills to ours. Some of these will work for us to ease the burden of doing, others alongside us to support our decision making and strategic direction.

However, the trap I see so many business owners fall into is that, rather than

leading their newly formed team of supporters, they become overwhelmed by the voices in the room. Voices that can seem more confident and capable than yours, so yours in turn becomes quieter, taking up less space.

I first noticed this erosion of a business owner's confidence in my work as a chartered accountant. As the accounting world became more complicated, tax compliance more complex, bookkeeping more digitised –I saw smart, capable clients reduced to meek nods when sitting in front of their accountant.

Someone to whom they pay good money for answers, someone to whom they were meant to give instructions.

As I moved into business mentoring, I saw that this problem was more widespread as business owners sought answers from everywhere but within:

• Business coaches

• Bookkeepers

• New business partners

• CFOs and Operations Managers. If this sounds familiar, somewhere along the way you got talked out of your own expertise. Whether this critical voice was internal or external, you were made to believe that there were people more qualified than you to be making decisions about your business.

When really, you are and always have been the expert in your enterprise.

Finding Answers In Your Finances.

When new business clients come to me, the root cause of their uneasy feeling is not always immediately clear. Our detective work often starts with their financial data. This is not because there’s inevitably something wrong financially. Rather, it’s because the numbers of your business tell the story of your enterprise in a way that is undeniably true.

Your numbers are also the first place where you lose what I refer to as your financial power.

Financial power is - in my mind - your level of confidence in your knowledge of your finances. Not only that, it’s also your confidence in applying that knowledge to making decisions in your business.

This is the confidence you feel in your financial know-how to be the one leading the money conversation in your business.

• YOU choose when it’s time to invest in that upgrade.

• YOU decide when you’ve outgrown your inventory software and it’s time to kick it up a notch.

• YOU determine when you need to expand the team.

• YOU know that sometimes a short-term loss is part of a longterm gain.

• And YOU know what spending is premature, unnecessary or downright frivolous.

Financial power is about not immediately deferring to those advisors you’ve assembled whose confidence, experience or expertise seem to surpass yours. There’s a difference between collaboration and abdication when it comes to decision making in business:

• You can COLLABORATE with others who have complementary strengths to you to support YOUR decision making; OR

• You can ABDICATE your decision making to others who take the wheel from you because you mistakenly believe you’re too incapable and too unqualified. Question time: have you stepped back from your financial data and left yourself vulnerable? Can you see where you have abdicated responsibility, only to have others step in and start expecting things to be done their way?

Where to Next? It Starts With You.

Unfortunately, there is no easy resolution for this one. This issue is not an external one – it has everything to do with YOU.

• Switching accountants won’t work if you don’t deal with your lack of financial confidence.

• Restructuring your management team will lose you a sh*ttonne of money and time, which may only find you back in the same spot if you haven’t truly stepped into your power as a leader.

• A new bookkeeper won’t work if you don’t know how your finances function well enough to give them guardrails to work within.

• Cutting ties with a strongwilled business partner can be expensive and messy, when the situation might otherwise be saved if you took back rightful control of the reins.

When you realise it was YOU who ultimately got yourself into this state, you quickly learn that you are 100% capable of setting things right.

• You let louder voices than yours drown you out.

• You forgot how much intelligence, tenacity and grit you have.

• You forgot what you were capable of.

So how do you get your power back?

The best way is by tackling the biggest area of your business where it gets taken away – you gotta take your flag and stake it smack bang in the middle of your finances, declaring them ‘mine’.

• Get curious about your financial data. My go-to places are your Profit & Loss Statement and your Balance Sheet. No two reports will give you greater clarity about your business as it stands today, as well as the confidence to speak intentionally about it.

And to the broader issue of getting your power back:

• Don’t let subordinates and support services have a greater say in your business than you.

• Don’t let the system send you to the cheap seats.

• Rise above the noise.

• Take back control.

Need A Hand Getting Started?

If you’ve spent years telling yourself you’re no good at numbers, you can’t expect to undo all that self-doubt in a day.

I love working with business owners just like you, giving them a guided tour of their financial data. I make a point of taking the time to explain things in real-word terms, applying it to your unique business (if you’re sitting there thinking ‘man, I thought that was what my accountant was for’ – that’s a rant for another day!)

I’m not here to replace your accountant or bookkeeper, but rather give you the education and guidance you need to better manage these relationships (and your tech stack). I want you to lead the conversation with these supporters to get the most out of them.

Keen to get going? Head over to my booking page to book a free ‘getting to know you’ session at

a time that works for you: https:// freestrategysessionwithliz. youcanbook.me

Disclaimer: These are yuck and boring but unfortunately a legal requirement for professionals in my industry. So just a reminder, the information contained here is general in nature and you should seek financial and business advice tailored to your own personal circumstances. Which, by no small coincidence, I can help you out with. Head over to my website and

Head over to my website and book a free 30 minute chat with me

betterbusinessdecisions.com.au

NICER NOW, NOOSA’S NEARER!

✦ World tourism and travel has re-opened with vigour, yet with air travel plagued by high fares as capacity remains affected by years of torpor. Some travellers are skipping longdistance breaks until the scene settles down, in favour of destinations closer to home.

Travel writer Susie Boswell says new airline Bonza solves both the fares and distance challenges.

✦ Susie Boswell

For the first time ever, new Aussie airline Bonza is bringing Queensland’s exclusive holiday drawcard - Noosa and surrounds – to within less than a couple of hours of our Hastings home.

From Wednesday April 12 the brash newcomer will fly its 186-passenger Boeing 737 MAX aircraft between Port Macquarie and the Sunshine Coast in around an hour and 20 minutes.

The playgrounds of Noosa are just a half hour drive north.

By car, you’d need to slash two days from your holiday break – it’s the better part of a day’s drive each way.

And: the Sun Coast airport located on the edge of Maroochydore, Bonza’s home base, lies conveniently midway between Noosa, at the northern tip of a 60km stretch of golden sands and clear blue surf, and Caloundra, a popular family magnet, to the extreme south. Along the way, the variety of attractions, activities, accommodation and overall budget options is wide.

Sun, sand, surf, music and dining

Noosa’s noted for its beach, surfing and fitness culture, music and sports festivals, as well as for its exceptional dining. Elsewhere on the Coast visitors are lured by the Irwin family’s Australia Zoo, the Sea Life aquarium at Mooloolaba Wharf, protected swimming and gentle boating on the broad waters between Bribie Island and Kings Beach, by golf at Pelican Waters (Greg Norman’s mum, who taught him his skills, is a local member who holed-in-one there), by superb fishing and marine opportunities, of course … and fresh-caught, plentiful and well-priced seafood of every description (a must to be enjoyed at the outstanding Mooloolaba Fish Market on the spit).

Bonza’s inaugural Port Macquarie flight arrives from the Coast at 5.15 in the evening and will depart with its first local passenger cohort at 7.15pm, in time for supper at the destination and a good night’s sleep before setting out well rested, bright and early, to begin taking in the region the following day. On the return, holidaymakers have pretty much a full final day before an evening departure home.

And more good news!

vBonza executive Carly Povey says the airline is just now finalising work to open up its routes into and ex Melbourne’s Avalon airport – and that they will include a twice-weekly service for Port Macquarie passengers.

The Melbourne route is expected to be extremely popular, not only for its budget fares but because it will fly direct.

Websites are the way to go to plan your visit. For example, at https:// www.visitnoosa.com.au/whats-on you’ll find details of events including the 2023 Runaway Noosa Marathon, on the weekend of May 27-28, along a flat, fast and friendly multi-lap course over a range of distances.

On the (NSW) King’s Birthday long weekend, June 2-4, the Hell’s Gate 38 will attract both athletes and spectators to the water: competitive and experienced ocean ski paddlers, some of the world’s best, vie against each other and the elements in a 38km race from Mooloolaba to finish at Noosa Main Beach.

There’s never a dull moment on the Sunshine Coast, even shopping can be a sought-after joy. Visitors from the regions have all the big-name capital-city stores, brands and labels beckoning in a range of cool shopping complexes, as well as the chi-chi boutiques on Noosa’s main drag, Hastings Street.

My own pleasure, though, is exploring the many sensational restaurants and cafes and delicious cuisine along Hastings Street and nearby, at the very edge of the Main Beach promenade and sand, and along the

Noosa riverside. My favourite: The Sprit House, Australia’s best Thai restaurant, at Yandina.

Bonza’s new route is also the gateway to the traditional country music extravaganza, the Gympie Muster, just to the north of the Coast, and to the many spas and boutique accommodations in the Glasshouse Mountains hinterland around the villages of Maleny and Montville. Looks like, for future Hastings travellers, the sky’s the limit!

FOOTNOTE: The Sunshine Coast will be keen to attract visitors from our region so keep an eye out online or via your travel agent for discounted packages, weekend specials, and value-added deals. Equally, Port Macquarie and the Hastings tourism providers are looking forward to welcoming increased visitation from south-east Queensland. Win-win. Well done, Bonza.

Bonza crew in the airline's trademark purple livery, keen to take off.

BRILLIANT MARCH 2023 THEMES

✦ Women in Business focusing on innovation Protecting Earth Click here for March 2023 Events

8th March 2023 is International Women's Day.

The theme this year, Cracking the Code: Innovation for a Gender Equal Future focuses on bringing together leaders and changemakers who are redefining innovation – creating new social, economic and cultural codes for a gender equal future.

Brilliant-Online wants to feature Women in Business who have used innovation as a driver of change and by embracing new technologies and championing the unique skills and knowledge of women in science, technology, mathematics, and engineering (STEM).

If you are announcing a new product or service, this will be the time to be proud.

Protecting Earth

Tuesday 21st March - International Day of Forests

Wednesday 22nd March - World Water Day

Thursday 23rd March - World Metrological Day

The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 21 March the International Day of Forests to celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests. Forests give us so much to our health. They purify the water, clean the air, capture carbon to fight climate change, provide food and life-saving medicines, and improve our well-being.

World Metrological Day showcases the essential contribution of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services to the safety and wellbeing of society reflecting on topical weather, climate or water-related issues.

Themes for March 2023: Women in Business & Protecting Earth

We invite healthcare, forestation, water, pharmers, mining companies, solar, electrical, plumbers and wellbeing businesses to participate.

Recipes are welcome in this category.

Chrissy Jones

T/ +61 412 137 621

E/ chrissyjones@brilliant-online.com

W/ brilliant-online.com/advertise

CYBER SECURITY FOR BUSINESS – HOW PROTECTED ARE YOU?

✦ In collaboration with Integer IT and Charles Sturt University you are invited to join Business Port Macquarie to learn more about the threats of cyber security.

Integer IT Director Garry King, along with a panel of experts will be sharing how if you are unprotected what cyber-attacks can occur and how you must protect your business against these attacks.

Did you know…

• Global cyberattacks increased by 38% in 2022, compared to 2021. 83% of organisations had more than one data breach in 2022. 82% of all breaches involved 'the human element' (the use of stolen credentials, phishing, misuse or human error) in 2022.

• Phishing attacks increased by 61% in 2022

• Email is still by far and away the most common attack vector (96% of breaches leverage phishing or malicious attachment as the first phase of an advanced, multi-staged attack).

• According to the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s latest threat report , the agency received 67,500 cybercrime reports in the 2020-2021 financial year – up 13% on the previous year. That equates to one report every eight minutes.

Read: Cyber Security in Marketing

Specifically for business owners, finance managers, IT Managers, Principles, Directors, and Office Managers ...

vWith recent breaches of big businesses such as Optus and Medibank Private, every business is at risk of being attacked.

This event is for every business, big or small.

"Businesses in Port Macquarie have been attacked, this is an almost everyday occurrence to some degree or another," explained Garry Learn more about the risk and how to minimise the impact of an attack.

Dr Jason Howarth will be talking about the Charles Sturt University Cyber Check Me initiative, and Cyber Micros for a more secure future.

Cyber Check Me was an initiative (a pilot program) that was sponsored by the NSW government. It ran in 2022, offering free cyber health checks to uncover security vulnerabilities for SMEs in NSW. The NSW government is looking to expand the program in 2023.

Meet our experts:

• Garry King – Integer IT

• Rob Pregnell – Sophos Senior Engineer

• Dr Jason Howarth, Course Director - School of Computing, Mathematics and Engineering –Charles Sturt University

• Andrew Richmond – Oxley Insurance Brokers

There will also be a Q & A segment where all four presenters will be available to answer your questions right there during the event.

Contact:

E : admin@businesspmq.com.au

W : businesspmq.com.au

Cyber Security for businesses

2-for-1-breakfast

Monday- Fridays only 9.00am-11.00am

Bookings are essential please phone 6585 1060

Billabong Zoo ZOO

PETA PINSON’S BUSINESS OUTLOOK FOR 2023

✦ Peta Pinson holds the important role of Port Macquarie Hastings Mayor and has had a successful career in business.

Peta is also running for the state election as the Nationals candidate. She looks at life through a commercial lens and she believes you should always look for opportunity and have a vision to create niche markets. Invest time in your own personal growth. This will benefit your business tenfold. Peta told us, “Read books, find mentors, research the internet, look at blogs and podcasts. It is important to surround yourself with energetic, motivated people.”

Peta and her husband Craig have created a very successful business from scratch. She is proud of what they have achieved and is looking forward to further growth by expanding into overseas markets.

“For Craig and I, we looked at how we could be niche in the marketplace we were in and we have built our business on that and have become very successful in that niche market,” said Peta.

“Looking back, I never imagined how far one innovative idea would take our company in such a short amount of time,” she added.

Practise what you preach

In late 2014, the husband and wife team's road repair and maintenance company Stabilcorp, identified the need to repair and maintain deteriorating road shoulders in a rural environment in a more efficient way.

The company came up with its own road repair and widening skid steer attachment that could quickly, safely and efficiently fix dangerous narrow roads and crumbling road shoulders. The initial attachment was a little crude to look at; however, little did she know this innovation would see the company thrive.

“There hasn’t been this kind of technology before for local governments and contractors. It was initially created by us for us, and when we saw that other people were interested in it, we adapted and modified it,” said Peta.

They innovated and created a niche market

The company hasn’t been an overnight success though, it has taken and will take, years of hard work to create and keep the market, to

educate councils, local government and contractors, and get them excited about the technology’s applications.

“The journey for Stabilcorp has been incredible, albeit rapid," she told us. "The company’s transition from contractor to manufacturer happened over less than 18 months. Today the company is evolving further through some major developments.

“We’ve taken advantage of the opportunities that have been made available to us and we’ve built on those.”

Mayor Peta Pinson ➸

The company continues to expand into manufacturing and builds its growing number of attachments at its own site in Wauchope on the mid north coast of New South Wales. This provides them with greater control over the design and build stages, and is creating new employment opportunities and is promoting growth in local manufacturing.

Peta says that it has been an amazing journey so far, and there are plenty more developments on the horizon. “I think 2023 is going to be a difficult time for some industries. But for others, they're going to flourish because opportunities are going to present themselves.”

Surround yourself with good people that support you

Read: Brilliant celebrates its success

Advice for Business

Any business has its challenges, especially in the past 3 years. “If we haven't been in a pandemic, we've been in floods, bushfires and drought,” Peta explained.

“From a business perspective, if there's any advice I can give business people is to surround yourself with good people that are there to support you. Because when you're in business, goodness knows you need support. Look for those opportunities in business. They're there if you look hard enough.”

vFrom little things, big things grow

When Craig first started the family business, he was a micro business, a one-man band with a bobcat, that turned into two men and two bobcats.

And now that small business has grown into an international business. Peta told us, “You start small, and you grow and that growth takes time.”

Message from Mayor Pinson for Businesses in 2023

OPTUS OUT AND ABOUT

✦ The month of January saw Optus get behind many community initiatives across the Hastings region. Fun was had by those that attended the outdoor movie night in Wauchope and the Port Macquarie Eats Festival Optus Kids Zone.

Both events were brought to our communities by Optus completely free of charge.

"We believe in providing moments and opportunities that allow families to connect with one another and were pleased to have over 50 people attend the Wauchope movie night" said Chris Simon, Optus General Manager Northern NSW. "Presented in partnership with the Wauchope

Chamber of Commerce, the weather wasn’t kind to begin with, however it cleared up to allow all attendees to enjoy the movie screening with their free ice cream."

Rocks Ferry Reserve, Wauchope, provided the perfect location for the inaugural movie night, with over 50 people in attendance. Families settled in and enjoyed the movie “Matilda” with the Hastings River as the backdrop.

Port Macquarie Eats Festival was a huge success

“When approached to support the event, we agreed straight away and busily commenced planning a space for families to enjoy that didn’t attract a cost, and the kids zone idea was born,“ Chris told us.

Rocks Ferry Reserve, Wauchope, was the perfect location for the Optus Movie Night

Lots of fun had and questions answered

Apart from providing free entertainment for countless families, Optus staff also spoke to many Optus and non-Optus customers at both events, with the general consensus being the desire for face-to-face service.

vThe kids zone proved hugely popular and included free balloon animals, inflatables and a slot car competition, where the two fastest lap times of the day received the kits to take home!

Optus' Darrell and Tayler at Wauchope movie night ➸

Optus Regional NSW team Kim and Chris

“This is another reason why we love getting out to events and helping both Optus and non-Optus customers with their tech questions. Furthermore, this is all underpinned by our local store in Port Macquarie, where residents and businesses are free to pop in and have a chat, no appointment needed," said Chris.

The slot car competition at the Port Macquarie Eats Festival.

Bailey and Harlow - winners of the slot car challenge Port Macquarie Eats Festival. Both completed their laps in less than 2.2 seconds!

TAMBO TEDDIES ARE YOUR CHILDHOOD FRIENDS FOR LIFE

✦ We all outgrow our kiddie puzzles and building blocks, but there is one toy that stays with us for life - our teddies. And Tambo Teddies are celebrating thirty very special years of crafting unique sheepskin teddy bears in Outback Queensland.

How Tambo Teddies brought a town back to life

In 1992, wool prices were crashing and the community of Tambo in western QLD found themselves in the midst of a drought. It was in the depth of this crisis that the seed of an idea was born. Tambo decided to create teddy bears.

Yes, from wool pelts, sheepskin and stuff them with wool. The humble teddy was what helped to lift the wool industry, create employment for local farmers and even encourage tourists to visit. A new industry was born, and it continued to sustain the economy of the little town of Tambo.

Tambo Teddies are not just a child's special friend. They brought a town back to life all those many years ago.

The pioneers of this movement were Helen Sargood, Charm Ryrie, and Mary Sutherland. They were the ones who formed the teddy bear company and after a year of extensive planning, designing, trial and error, the first bears were ready for the market in early 1993.

The original start-up

These three local entrepreneurs were the original outback 'startup'. Remember, at that time, there was no Internet or Google, no Facebook or Instagram. They had to do marketing the hard way.

It meant leafing through hefty Yellow Pages (do you remember those?!) and spending countless hours on the phone speaking to people to source for supplies and

raw materials. Imagine the pain on the ears and getting that ache in your arms just holding the phone for so many hours.

Helen Sargood was in charge of marketing and she recalled travelling for miles carting those precious bears to shows and exhibitions, wearing out at least one car promoting them around the countryside. Tambo Teddies are very seasoned travellers!

Tambo Teddies go global

Tambo Teddies have gone from being a small town teddy in Australia to living in royal palaces in England and Denmark. The town of Tambo itself has become famous, and is known as the 'outback Teddy capital of Australia'. Tambo Teddies are loved with pride all over the world.

Tambo Teddy is a childhood friend for life.

If the very first Tambo Teddy that was stitched together could speak, it would not have imagined his brothers and sisters could have reached this level of fame.

Keeping the Tambo Teddy tradition alive

New blood has taken over the helm and Tammy Johnson and Alison Shaw have been hard at work keeping the Tambo Teddy tradition alive and going since 2014. They have come up with

Have bear, will travel!

new products, ideas and methods and yes, their marketing has gone modern now and has expanded online. They have also extended into Toowoomba with a Regional Sewing Hub.

"I think most of all I enjoy sharing our beautiful bears with the wider world!" - Alison

Shaw

What was once a simple cottage industry has since grown into a substantial small business with 16 workers who continue to create beautiful teddies to become every

As of now in 2023, over 68,000 Tambo Teddies have been lovingly crafted from Australian and New Zealand sheepskins.

child's best friend ever. They are still keeping true to the teddies' Australianmade origins. Tambo Teddies are Proudly Australian!

"We believe we have a great core product that customers adore, we continue to build upon this and are working to take our bears further across Australia and overseas, and at the same time helping to promote Tambo and Outback Queensland." -

Tammy Johnson

Limited edition Banjo Bear

Celebrating a thirty-year anniversary is no mean feat, and it warrants a true celebration. To commemorate this

significant milestone in the history of Tambo Teddies, a limited-edition bear will be released in February. 200 special edition Banjo Bears will be ready to be each child's very own special friend. This small, jointed bear is created with the softest camelcoloured sheepskin with the logo embroidered on his paw. Banjo Bear will join the rest of his brothers and sisters as an 'on-the-shelf' teddy bear later.

There are new releases planned for the beginning of the year, so keep a look out for a new bear family, the Stewart Bear. It is created in the likeness of a very old heirloom bear called 'John' and is owned by the Stewart family from New Zealand.

Coming soon is also a line of Branded Bears (small, medium, large) which will be available on the website very soon. Soon to join the family is also the largest Tambo Ted, a shaggy Goliath of a bear (the size of a small child!), crafted from long, fluffy sheepskins.

“The lives you have touched throughout this time (thirty years) would be thousands”.

Tambo Teddy fun facts

• There are two Tambo Teddy families - the Basils and the Tobies! You can recognise them by how they look. Basils are traditional teddy bears and Tobies are chubby and are multi-coloured patchwork bears.

Tammy Johnson and Alison Shaw with their Tambo Teddies. ➸

• Each bear is individually named after a farming property in the Tambo district.

• Each bear has its own unique number and personality.

• As they are handcrafted, no two bears are exactly the same.

• Tambo Teddies are made in both Tambo and Toowoomba. Meet the different bears here!

Tambo Teddies are childhood friends for life

Confession time. Many adults would secretly love to have a Tambo Teddy, not just for their children but for themselves. A teddy bear is cute and cuddly, but that is not what steals our hearts. There is something incredibly unique and special about a teddy bear's love, a warmth in their hug that you can't find anywhere else. Tambo Teddies offer unconditional love, reassurance, security, and companionship. Anyone who has owned a Tambo Teddy can attest to that. They are their favoured friends and companions. If you've ever hugged a Tambo Teddy, you'll realise how soft, gentle and warm it is, and you'll never want to let it go.

vloves a teddy for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY love him, then it becomes Real'.

Have you hugged your Tambo Teddy

WAUCHOPE AND HINTERLAND BUSINESS AWARDS LAUNCHING SOON!

✦ The Wauchope and Hinterland Business Awards are on again in 2023 with the launch date coming up in March.

Wauchope RSL Club provided the perfect setting for the 2022 Awards

Wauchope Chamber are proud to be hosting the Awards in acknowledgement and celebration of the local business community and their significant contributions to our local economy and fabulous lifestyle here in the Hinterland.

The Wauchope and Hinterland Business Awards are on again in 2023 with the launch date coming up in March.

The Awards program runs from March to June offering local businesses the opportunity to review their operations and share their business journey through the Awards entry process.

The return of the Wauchope and Hinterland Awards last year saw 37 announcements made at the 2022 Gala Dinner acknowledging 17 Highly Commended and 20 Winners. The Awards included both local Awards and categories that aligned with Business NSW. All the Awards were judged by an independent panel from outside the region. Local categories also include a voting element in the scoring process. Over 1,000 people voted for local businesses casting over 1,750 votes.

Read 2022 business awards

The 2023 Awards program will include the launch event in March, public voting and of course the celebration night at the Gala Dinner Event set for the 17th of June 2023.

v“All businesses are encouraged to enter when the Awards open. Criteria and key dates will be available soon.” Lisa McPherson, Executive Officer of the Wauchope Chamber of Commerce said.

The Business Awards program

will include two types of Awards

The Local Excellence Awards and NSW Business Chamber aligned Awards. Through the Local Chamber Alliance with between the Wauchope Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the NSW Business Chamber, the aligned Awards entries will feed into the NSW Business Chamber Mid North Coast Regional Awards growing opportunities for local business to gain exposure and promotion to a wider audience. Winners at the regional Awards go through to the State Awards later in the year.

This year several fabulous local businesses have joined the celebration as Awards Sponsors showing the passion for supporting local business is strong in our community. Sponsorship opportunities are still open – please email wauchopechamber@gmail.com for more information.

Images courtesy of Chris Rockstroh, Meraki Photography, https://www. instagram.com/meraki.pho

More information can be found at

wauchopechamber.com.au

Grazed and Grown Farm

HEALTH Brilliant

FEEL GOOD, EAT GOOD, DO GOOD!

✦ When was the last time you felt good, ate well and did something that made you glow from the inside out? At the very core of each human is a very basic desire to simply be happy. When we are happy, it flows over naturally to others.

Let’s try a simple question: “How are you?” While a relatively straight forward question, you'd be surprised how easily we frequently respond with a preordained “good” or “fine” without really honestly thinking how we really are.

Likewise, “Are you happy?” The typical response is similar to the one above, often a positive response even if deep down that isn’t truly reflective of our mood or state of mind.

Depending on the generation you were born in and where, we have all experienced some challenging periods. Our grandparents may have lived through a war, others have

been pummelled with one natural disaster after another, and in present times the frozen state we all found ourselves in during the pandemic is still fresh in our minds. COVID-19 has royally kicked us out of the stupor of our comfort zones.

With The Great Resignation sweeping through various industries and employee wellbeing suddenly being made top priority, we are seeing new trends emerging where people are consciously making a choice to live life differently. It's a big shake up, and people are questioning how they have been doing things all this time and whether it's really what they want and beneficial to their lives.

Suddenly, wellbeing and mental health are on the top of the list of concerns, as if it takes a pandemic for humans to realise the importance of our emotional hygiene. Wellbeing has always been vital to our health.

It's clear there is a trend now across companies everywhere to prioritise employee wellbeing, mental health and find ways to prevent burnout. We don't have to wait till we're adults struggling in the corporate world before we start doing something for our wellbeing and mental health. TG's Child Care is well-known and trusted by families as the stewardship of their children's future and for good reason, where learning about wellbeing and

how to make safe, healthy choices are taught early. Learn about how the children are gaining life-coping mechanisms to create a wellbeing toolkit from a friendly giraffe called Health Harold!

If children and youths are already taking the responsibility to beef up their wellbeing muscles, what about us adults? What do we need to be happy? Sometimes true happiness is in the simple, 'free' things around us. Some of the ways we can start to Feel Good, Eat Good and Do Good include getting outside into the fresh air and ensuring we are adhering to a regular exercise regime. We need to make sure we are getting enough sleep, more importantly enough quality sleep. This is something that is becoming increasingly compromised due to our over reliance

on our phones, tablets and screens which emit blue light, restraining the production of melatonin, the hormone that controls our sleepwake cycle. Do yourself a favour and put the electronic devices to one side before hitting the hay and maybe pick up a book instead.

Similarly eating correctly is key, specifically ensuring you’re getting a balanced diet with sufficient nutrients via fruit and vegetables and organic produce - perhaps go one step further and consider a vegetarian, vegan or raw diet?

Helping others is a sure-fire way to boost that feeling of accomplishment. Commit to some volunteer work with a charity and give selflessly to help others. Respect the environment around us by upcycling, recycling, repurposing and reusing. Even

introducing a houseplant into your home can have amazing health benefits.

There are literally so many ways to boost your mood and elevate that notion of goodness, it’s just a case of finding out what works best for you. If the suggestions above are not enough, check out these 50 ideas to do good – we’re sure there will be something there that suits!

We certainly hope you can take on board some of these suggestions to create that brilliant inner glow and ultimately Feel Good, Eat Good and Do Good!

Check

Happiness is...being able to touch and hug our loved ones.

FEEL GOOD FEBRUARY AT GRAZED & GROWN FARM

✦ It’s the time of year that we think about all the good things that go into our farm, and how they are magically transformed into incredible produce with the potential ability to nourish our cells, alter our emotions and bolster our immune system.

What exactly is 'Feeling Good'? "I would have to say when I’m feeling good, my head is clear, my body is ache free and I have adequate energy," said Pete. "Forget That! We’d rather have a 'Feel Fantastic' February!"

This is when our whole body is “In the zone”

We have excess energy, our muscles are charged and ready for action, our mind is free and fired up and we are full of happiness and positivity. The difference is like flying economy or flying first class on your holiday.

To feel fantastic, we need to mind our sleep, exercise a bit, get outdoors, keep hydrated and give our bodies all

the nutrients they need. Let’s take a quick look at nutrients, as getting enough High Quality nutrients is vital to feeling fantastic.

Superfoods...

We’ve all heard about “superfoods”, and most of us have tried at least a few of them. Goji berries, chia seeds, blueberries and turmeric are some good examples. What makes them Superfoods is the amount of compounds they contain which are beneficial to a person’s health. Superfoods we are more familiar with include eggs, bone broths, red meat, and dairy, but they are only as good as the compounds they contain.

vImagine how beneficial blueberries would be if they were grown on a sandy beach and sprayed with toxic chemicals.

Just about as beneficial as an egg from a caged chicken fed on antibiotics to keep it alive in that toxic environment.

The farm on the Comboyne plateau produces superfoods from being grown in rich volcanic soil

That’s where the good news starts

Grazed & Grown Farm put a lot of thought into how we can get the most nutrients and beneficial compounds into our produce, because feeling fantastic is important to us. The short version goes like so. Superfoods come from super animals that graze on super pastures grown on super soils. The longer version - We have selected quality Heritage breeds suited to our environment. The diverse forage they graze on has been selected by our animal nutritionist to include Superfoods for their needs.

This forage is grown in a rich volcanic soil with a diverse microbial community that obtains its Superfoods from the nutrients deposited in the manure of our animals.

Top picks from the farm shop for Feeling Fantastic

* Bone broths, chicken, beef and pork, all slow cooked with plenty of collagen

* Beef mince varieties – Get some Super in your mince with 5% added heart, liver or kidney

* Sausages – Try the Paleo snag made from beef Super mince, with added pork fat to balance out the fat profile

* Pastured eggs – Grazed & Grown Farm have become well known for having the best eggs in the region. No surprise there when you consider their diet.

Corned beef from the farm shop

CHAWANMUSHI (JAPANESE EGG CUSTARD) RECIPE

✦ Chawanmushi is an egg custard dish found in Japan which means 'steamed in a tea cup'

Chawanmushi is the most delicious savoury egg custard that originated hundreds of years ago and is one of the few traditional Japanese dishes you eat with a spoon and not chopsticks!

Ingredients

• 3 eggs

• 1 tsp sake (you can ignore this if you are serving children)

• ½ tsp salt

• 1 tsp soy sauce

• Approx. 2 cups dashi or unsalted chicken stock

• 1 chicken breast, cut into thin slices

• 2 fresh shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

• 12 cooked ginko nuts

• 4 cooked prawns, peeled

• Mitsuba or baby herbs, to serve (optional)

Method

1. Crack the eggs into a large measuring cup and mix gently without forming bubbles. Add the sake, salt and soy sauce and then an amount of stock that is three times the volume of the egg. Combine the egg and dashi together, stir gently and strain to remove any lumps.

2. Place a few slices of chicken and shiitake in the base of a teacup. Pour the egg mixture over the chicken to about 3 cm from the top of the teacup. Burst any

bubbles with a skewer. Steam over low heat for 12 minutes. Test the custard with a skewer. If the liquid that rises from a hole made with the skewer is clear, proceed to the next step.

3. Gently arrange the prawn, ginko nut and a few slices of shiitake on top of the custard and pour over a little more egg mixture. Steam for a further 4 minutes, then serve with the mitsuba or baby herbs to garnish.

Recipe from Australian Eggs, courtesy of Adam Liaw.

Order the Best Pasture Eggs from Grazed & Grown Farm

Chawanmushi - savoury custard eggs steamed in tea cups

EXPLAINING YOUR DISABILITY TO YOUR CHILDREN

✦ When you are a parent or pregnant for the first time there’s a lot of things you ask yourself about how you’re going to raise your children. There are even a lot more pointed concerns and questions when you’re a parent with a disability.

The most important one that popped into my head was how am I going to explain my physical disability to my children. I was aware that eventually, they were going to ask questions, because children are naturally curious, and their peers would start asking about it too. Being a mum of three, I found that I get more questions about my disability from other children then I do my own.

Yet, from the moment I found out I was pregnant, I’ve always been conscious of the fact that my children would want to know about my disability.

vI decided to meet this head on with my children and be honest with them right from the start. We’ve never really gotten to the point where they ask me specifically about my disability because I talk to them about it on a daily basis.

At the end of the day, honesty is the most important thing with children, and the reality is, that my disability is a part of my everyday life and affects how I interact with my children on a physical level. It’s a part of my identity as a person, and as a mother. There’s really no avoiding it and that is how I’ve approached explaining it to my children.

Deaire has explained to her children that she has difficulties sometimes ➸

Start from a young age

From the age of one, I explained to my children that their mum has a little bit more difficulty doing certain things compared to their dad or the other adults in their lives. I remind them of my restrictions daily, not just as a way of normalising my disability and its impacts, but to also to teach them empathy.

I explain to them why I can’t do certain things in a way they’ve seen other adults do, because I was born a little differently.

I take care to explain to them about those tasks that are just too hard for me and why only dad can do that with them. This allows my children to be sympathetic to other people that may not be able to do those tasks

either. It’s not always easy, especially when I have other parents asking me questions as well, but it’s very important for me to normalise my disability. I mention it to my children every day, not in a detrimental way, but just as a reminder that I’m is a little bit different and that they can’t expect some things from me physically that they get from other adults. So far, it has worked out really well.

Deaire's children are accepting of her disability and compassionate to others

My kids are very understanding, and they’ve never really brought attention to the fact I’m different. By explaining my disability in a way that embraces differences, my children have been positively affected, according to their day-care workers.

There was a little girl in my daughter ‘s class who had a disability and according to the workers, my daughter was one of the few children who engaged the most with her. Hearing that makes everything worth it.

I know that as they get older, they’re going to face more scrutiny from other children in regard to my disability.

Unfortunately, it’s just the reality of the world. However, I also make sure that when I pick them up, if one of the other children ask me why I walk the way I do, I stop and take the time to explain it to them. I say “Everybody is born differently and sometimes; it means that your eye or hair colour is different or the colour of your skin. Well, for me, it just means I walk a little bit differently.”

The children seem to accept this explanation quite happily. Sometimes, I wish I could educate the parents just as easily. I still overhear many times, children asking their parents

why I walk that way and their parents just hushing them, reinforcing the idea that disability is something that should not be talked about. We should be taking the time to explain disabilities to children and thus normalising differences, no matter what shape or form they come in.

My children are aware that I’m different, but they have never once used the word disability when talking about me and that is my main goal. My disability is a part of me and is something I will never be ashamed about when talking in front of my children.

It doesn’t define who I am

It is very important to reinforce that as well. No matter what way you choose to discuss your disability with your children, mentioning it regularly

and explaining its impacts is very important. Empathy and sympathy are learned behaviours and by being honest about your restrictions and how your children should go about dealing with them, it helps them be more open to other people in their lives with disabilities.

I can honestly attest to that in my children’s interactions with others. It’s important just to be honest, that’s all children really need to grow into understanding, accepting adult people.

Author: Deaire Pecora (Brand ambassador disAbility Maternity Care)

HEADSPACE TURNS 10, WITH PLANS TO CELEBRATE AT ‘BEST NIGHT EVER’

✦ Best Night Ever Music Festival is here, and it is set to bring you a massive night of live music and fun to get your weekend pumping!

headspace Port Macquarie is turning 10 and to celebrate this momentous occasion they are inviting everyone to bid farewell to the last days of summer and join them for an awesome night of live music, food, pop-up vintage stalls and, of course, some bowling.

Held March 4th between 5-11pm at the popular local music venue Wavebowl - The Terrace, Best Night Ever festival is an all-ages community event aiming to create a vibrant space to connect and meet new people, all while having a delightful time.

headspace is working in collaboration with Burntout Bookings to bring you an amazing line up, featuring local and national acts such as Slapjack, The Appointments, Mikk, DYMK, Sitting Down and Group Therapy. To top the night off, local legend and DJ extraordinaire Aunty Alan will be hitting the decks to keep the dance floor pumping till late.

As well as producing some tremendous music, there will be vintage clothing and art stalls from talented locals such as Dark Alley Collectables, Roam Girls Vintage Clothing & Death Do Us Art.

Wavebowl is also offering fantastic activities such as $10 bowling and half-price karaoke. Need a ride to and from the festival? Thanks to the generosity of Charles Sturt University, CSU students can catch the free shuttle bus to and from campus on the night to ensure a safe evening for festival goers.

Since opening, headspace has been working tirelessly to improve the mental health and wellbeing outcomes for young people in the Port Macquarie-Hastings Area. 100% of all ticket sales will go towards headspace as they celebrate their

Celebrate headspace turning 10 at the "Best Night Ever" Festival

10-year anniversary on this occasion. Your contribution will continue to give young people, their family, and friends access to quality mental health services.

When: Saturday 4th of March 5PM11PM

Where: The Terrace - Wavebowl. 159 Hastings River Dr, Port Macquarie/ Birpai NSW 2444 NSW

Cost: $15 tickets / $20 at the door. Tickets are limited so if you’re keen grab your mates and book your tickets now.

headspace work tirelessly to improve mental health for young people

Brilliant

WAUCHOPE SET TO TURN PURPLE

✦ The 39th annual Wauchope Lasiandra Festival will be held across the entire month of March. Many community events are in place to coincide with the burst of colour provided by the town’s floral emblem, the Lasiandra.

Events not to be missed are the Family Fun Day at the Yippen Creek Mini Railway, the Purple Park Run at Rocks Ferry Reserve, a Bike Night hosted by Motorcycle Friendly Wauchope and Greyhound Racing at the Wauchope Track.

Bago Vineyards will be presenting "Purple Wine in the Vines" on Sunday March 12 from 11.30am. All are invited to come along and enjoy a mixed afternoon of Folk, Soft Rock, Rock and Indie Pop from the 60's to now from Nikki Rudge.

Dress in the purple/pink theme and the best dressed Lady and Gent will take home a bottle of Bago Wine. Entry is Free.

Following on from the success of the 2022 Purple Rain Exhibition, the talented artists at Wauchope Creative hub will be staging another Purple Inspired Art Exhibition - "Royal".

THURSDAY, 9TH MARCH AT WAUCHOPE CBD

vThe colour purple is associated with royalty, nobility, power and ambition. Artists may interpret the theme "Royal" in any way they desire.

Artworks are limited in size to maximum 60cm x 60cm size canvas, all must be wall mounted and ready to hang. All work must have a hanging device (D rings and wire or cord on the back.

Works on paper must be framed and ready to hang.

Any 2D medium or style is included: painting, drawing, photography, mixed media etc.. Entry forms MUST be received by 5pm Friday 10th March. Entry fee is $10 to be paid when delivering your artwork, all entries will be exhibited. Request your entry form via email

Artwork delivery Thursday 16th March to 87 Cameron st Wauchope 9am till 5pm.

Prizes awarded for first place plus 2 highly commended. The "Royal" Exhibition is proudly sponsored by the Wauchope Lasiandra Festival, Brilliant-online, Mogra Connection and The Hastings Co-operative.

The 2022 Purple Rain Exhibition Winning Entry by Alycia Lipovac

Artwork will be on display from Monday the 20th March with an Award Presentation at 2pm on Saturday 25th March at the hub on Cameron Street. The art exhibition will run for 2 weeks and finish on Saturday 1st April.

More information

Purple People Market Day Thursday March 9

Mark your calendar and join in the fun of Purple People Market Day. Wauchope CBD will be a hive of activity with Art and Craft market stalls dotted about the town centre, decorated shop fronts and premises displays and sidewalk specials from participating shops.

vIf you would like to book a market stall or have a stall outside your shop premises on the sidewalk please note these must be booked in advance via this link.

TG's Child Care Riverbreeze Wauchope students having fun on the Lasiandra festival day

The ladies from Hair Affair

Dress in your purple best and join in the fun. We can’t wait to see the colourful costumes!

The Lasiandra Festival Committee encourages all business owners to get into the purple theme by decorating their shop windows and premises AND dressing up your staff! Prizes will be on offer for the Purple Best.

All new to the festival is the "People's Choice Prize" for the public's pick of the Best Window Front Display. The Hastings Hotel has kindly donated a $ 100 voucher to spend at the venue. To be in the running, go for a walk around Wauchope and vote for the best business window display before 25th March 2023. Nominate the business you think has the best decorated window in Lasiandra Theme, to be in the running to win. The winner will be picked randomly from the votes received.

Shoppers, dress in purple and join in the fun by voting your choice of best shop window. You just may win a prize too!

Port Macquarie Hastings Pipes and Drums will assemble in the town centre and entertain the crowds. You may even hear a rendition of Purple People Eaters!

Wauchope Creative Hub will host a purple arts and crafts day with demonstrations from local creatives in store. The Hub will be open from 10.00am till 4.00pm.

Port Buses are offering a pick up service from Port Macquarie and surrounding areas from 9.30am with return transport at 2.40pm from

Staff at Wauchope Pharmacy had lots of fun during the 2022 festival

BOOK RIDES

Plus Wauchope Garden Club will present the “Wauchope Flower Show” at the CWA Hall from 10am, just a gold coin entry fee applies. There are lots to see and do in Wauchope on the 9th March, why not make a day of it and explore the town, it’s a great place to shop and catch up with friends for a coffee.

Grab

Veronica and Chrissy celebrate the lasiandra festival

COMMUNITY Brilliant

DO GOOD, FEEL GOOD, LOOK GOOD WITH HASTINGS LANDCARE

✦ Do Good by getting out and helping our local environment by improving habitat, carry out weed removal and native tree plantings.

Volunteer with Hastings Landcare to Do Good for the environment

With 13 groups across the region, you are sure to find a Landcare group nearby on a day when you have some free time! You can volunteer as often as you like and for as many hours as you like.

Feel Good: meet like-minded people and enjoy some beautiful locations in the Hastings area, all whilst learning new skills! Chat and make new friends whilst working and enjoy

building connections at one of our free community workshops – the next is on February 24th at Comboyne Showground, River Restoration and Management. Please follow the link to register.

Look Good in one of the stunning HiVis Landcare shirts!

Join Hastings Landcare today here or follow them on Facebook.

River Restoration and Management Workshop

Interested? Then head to the Comboyne Showground for a River Restoration and Management Workshop. Join Hastings Landcare, North Coast Local Land Services and Comboyne Streamcare in a collaborative workshop to share experience in river restoration

and management. This event is funded by the Australian Government’s National Landcare Program.

Learn:

• Permissions and permit requirements required before carrying out any work including erosion control (rock work) or snagging in the riparian zone (area or land that borders water bodies such as river, stream, creek, billabong, drainage line, pond or lake).

• About recent erosion control projects/case studies.

• Best practice management of riparian zones including

fencing, off-stream watering, planting and weed control.

• How to control weeds though demonstrations.

• About recent work carried out by Comboyne Streamcare. We will take a walk down to have a look at the work and we will keep our eyes out for any platypus!

• Hear from Dr Alexandra Knight from Charles Sturt University about managing soil, water and vegetation for frogs – our important environmental indicators! Discuss the key features of frog habitat and how to improve it, as well as introducing us to our rare and beautiful local frog species and their calls.

Location:

Comboyne Showground (Billabong Room)

Date:

Friday 24th Feb 2023

Time:

8:45am for a 9:00am start, until 1pm

Catering:

Provided with gluten free and vegetarian option available

Register Here

HELP RAISE FUNDS FOR NEW ANGEL FLIGHT JET

✦ A national lottery has been launched to help iconic Australian charity, Angel Flight purchase a new jet that will operate throughout regional NSW to help people in medical need.

The Your Jet Life lottery gives people a chance to win their own private plane and support the outstanding work of Angel Flight.

The lottery aims to raise a minimum of $2.5 million for Angel Flight and offers a first prize package, including a private plane, to the winner totalling value of over $3 million and ALL expenses covered for the first 12months.

Angel Flight CEO Marjorie Pagani said the lottery was “the first of its kind in Australia.”

“The lottery is designed to raise funds for the purchase of Angel Flight’s first small jet that will operate throughout NSW to transport health professionals and students for placements in rural communities,” Ms Pagani said.

“For too many regional communities, access to muchneeded health care is out of reach, that’s why we will use our aircraft to bring the medical experts to them. This service will work to alleviate the problems rural and remote patients have in trying to access care in Sydney."

v“This has been exacerbated during the COVID pandemic and recent flood events where Angel Flight has been able to deliver doctors to communities where there have been no medical services of any kind for months.”

The event will also raise awareness for the aviation industry, and the social good it provides, particularly in communities outside our big cities.

“Your postcode shouldn’t determine your access to basic services, like health care, but too often for regional and remote communities, this is exactly what happens,” Ms Pagani said. “That’s why the aviation industry is so important to these towns, it is a lifeline that helps bridge the gap between city and country.”

Win this aircraft 2023 Cirrus G6 SR22 Single Engine Aircraft Rego VH-8AF worth US$1,018,800+GST plus other prize components totalling A$3,470,000.00

Angel Flight has been operating since 2003 to coordinate non-emergency medical flights for rural and remote Australians so they can receive specialist medical treatment that is not available locally.

Angel Flight also provides free transport for goods, and people, into areas affected by floods, fire and any natural disasters; and transports health professionals in all categories

Draw 001 closes Wednesday, 14 June 2023 at 10:00pm AEST

Buy tickets now

(including student placements) to rural and remote communities ensuring hospitals and remote clinics are not left without medical services.

The charity has also recently partnered with the national Ochre Medical Group to assist health professionals to service remote towns which have been cut off by flooding.

Ms Pagani said: “Since 2003, Angel Flight has supported more than

100,000 rural and remote Australians at no cost to them or the government. Our pilots have made in excess of 57,000 flights, covering over 25 million kilometres from more than 300 regional airfields into all capital and major coastal cities.

“Angel Flight is already providing this free service but cannot expand the services to fully meet the needs of people living in regional and rural NSW, without further investment.

TICKETS ARE ONLY $15 ONLY 500,000 TICKETS AVAILABLE AND IF YOU WIN, ALL EXPENSES ARE COVERED FOR 12 MONTHS!

Ms Pagani said Angel Flight data showed the service would be able to save 5,000 “Doctor days” each year with an average of 20 patients a day – delivering a benefit to patients and the hospital care system and travel for people living in regional, rural and remote NSW.

To enter the lottery, tickets are on sale Your Jet Life

To find out more about Angel Flight, visit angelflight.org.au

About Angel Flight Australia

TOP FIVE MOVIE PICKS FOR VALENTINE’S DAY

✦ We all love a good movie and what better on Valentine’s Day than cuddling up with your loved one in front of the TV to watch a flick after a romantic, candlelit dinner?

There are endless romantic movies out there and we all know and have seen the likes of Titanic, Dirty Dancing, Casablanca, Sleepless in Seattle, The Notebook, Before Sunrise, When Harry Met Sally, Breakfast at Tiffanys, etc. Good, sometimes great, no doubt, but what we wanted to do was offer up an alternative five for your viewing pleasure that wouldn’t necessarily be among the first options that spring to mind at this romantic time of year. The views expressed are purely the writer’s own, the list isn’t ranked in any particular sort of order and, while they mightn’t be everyone's cup of tea, we do hope you enjoy.

True Romance

This Quentin Tarantino-penned 1993 film is a tour de force experience that sees comic book nerd and ultra Elvis Presley fan Clarence Worley (Christian Slater) meet and fall in love with call girl Alabama (Patricia Arquette) before skipping town and riding off into the sunset with a case full of illegal narcotics mistakenly taken from the mob.

It’s fast-paced, it’s violent and it’s littered with colourful language in that inimitable way that makes Tarantino scripts jump off the page but it is, ultimately, a genuine love story that befits its title, a modern day Bonnie and Clyde or Badlands. The supporting cast is incredible, with the likes of Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt and a pre-Sopranos James Gandolfini sparkling in their cameos and the late Dennis Hopper and the ever excellent Christopher Walken sharing one of the finest scenes in cinema history.

Life Is Beautiful

One would think framing a film dealing with the atrocities of World War II and the holocaust with comedy and romance would be the epitome of an oxymoron, and that would be fair on first glance. However, this 1997 Italian film is a truly unique experience in that it manages to achieve exactly that.

Guido (Roberto Benigni), Dora and son Giosue are living the perfect life in a picturesque Italian countryside

town before the Nazis arrive at the height of the War, separate the family and imprison them in a concentration camp. In order to shield his son from the true horrors of their reality, Guido convinces Giosue that they are part of a game by creating a series of elaborate pranks and mock challenges. Watching him carry out his well natured ruse in such circumstances is, at times, hilarious, touching, agonising and, ultimately, heartbreaking.

Benigni, who co-wrote and directed the film, won the Best Actor Oscar at the 71st Academy Awards, while the film won Best Foreign Language Film. Critics labelled the film as offensive by using humour to trivialise the holocaust, although the true heart of the film does not strive to do this at all. As renowned film critic Roger Ebert commented at the time: “[it] is not about Nazis and Fascists, but about the human spirit. It is about rescuing whatever is good and hopeful from the wreckage of dreams. About hope for the future. About the necessary human conviction, or

Brokeback Mountain 2005 Trailer HD | Jake Gyllenhaal | Heath Ledger

delusion, that things will be better for our children than they are right now.”

It is, indeed, a beautiful film.

Brokeback Mountain

A huge, award-winning hit at the time but one that deserves to be included in any list of romantic films as it is exactly that – a bond fide love story that depicts a genuine romance between two richly defined characters.

Based on the book by Annie Proulx and set in the 1960s against the

sweeping vistas of Wyoming and Texas, the late Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal play Ennis and Jack, two cowboys who tend sheep throughout a series of summers on the grazing plains of Brokeback Mountain.

The men develop a forbidden physical and emotional relationship that is then played out over the years against a backdrop of challenges.

Dealing with the dichotomy of brash masculinity and tender sensitivity, the film expertly balances the

viewers sympathy between the ecstasy of sexual attraction and the subsequent pain of the people betrayed. Retrospective viewing in today’s more tolerant climate might not be yield such an impact but the film was a major breakthrough triumph for the depiction of gay characters in mainstream cinema, despite huge controversy at the time. Underpinned by Gustavo Santaolalla’s lush, haunting score, the ending scene still stands tall as one of the most emotionally charged of all time.

Dog

Don’t be fooled by the movie’s poster which may lead one to believe this is just another goofy flick in the mould of a modern day Turner and Hooch. Oh no, this is far more than that and one of the most moving films I have personally seen in many a year. The plot is simple in that Channing Tatum’s Army Ranger is tasked with

escorting the military dog of his fallen friend to his funeral. Starting off with several comedic moments, the duo set off on what initially appears to be a fun natured road trip, despite the dynamic between the two being immediately uneasy. As the film slowly unfolds, however, the tone shifts as it allows us to pull back the veneer and examine two tragically traumatised souls that find recognition and subsequently form

a unbreakable bond, with Tatum displaying truly impressive, somewhat surprising, acting chops.

It could just be that I’m a big softy whenever animals are involved, but I found it a true tour de force of the emotions, emphasising that true love and redemption aren’t always merely between humans and that a dog truly ia a man’s best friend. As the tears fell, it is one that stuck with me long after the final credits rolled.

DOG | Official Trailer | MGM Studios

Lost in Translation

Deeply divisive on its release, Sofia Coppola’s 2003 film is an examination of unfamiliarity, loneliness, alienation and ultimately finding a kindred soul in a place where you’d least expect it.

The always impeccable Bill Murray plays washed up actor Bob Harris, in Tokyo to film a whisky commercial. Jaded, lacking purpose and realising the banality of his life, he strikes up a relationship with Charlotte (Scarlett

Johansson), a recently married twenty something who is accompanying her photographer husband on a work trip and struggling to find her place in the world.

The two form a relationship that quickly blossoms, but not in the obvious or traditionally romantic way, with Bob serving almost as a mentor of sorts as they wander the vast, senseassaulting and unfamiliar streets of the Japanese capital, getting into all manner of scrapes and adventures.

The beauty of the film lies in how it so simply yet delicately allows us to join the two protagonists as they veer towards their point of self realisation. The closing scene, played out to the nostalgic sounds of The Jesus and the Mary Chain’s “Just Like Honey”, is like a warm embrace, a realisation that love can be manifested in so many different guises and that just having someone there to support and guide us in life’s journey is priceless. It is a beautifully understated tale of love.

RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS DAY

✦ Manners cost nothing but they go a long way.

I’m not sure if it was my Mother specifically who coined that phrase but it is one she installed into me and my brothers from a very early age. Be polite, be respectful, be generous, be KIND.

Fast forward several decades and I’m sure I am not alone when I find myself increasingly bemused at how standards in society have slipped and continue to do so, and how often I find myself muttering under my breath as to exactly how rude people can be nowadays.

I therefore find great solace being a part of the Brilliant Online team, whose core values are kindness and

treating everyone and everything with respect. It is something we all adhere to and encourage at every turn, something we hope and believe is reflected in the many stories, wide range of topics and themes we have brought to our readers in the past few years.

It is therefore with much delight that we celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Day on February 17th, an opportunity to cultivate kindness and brighten up someone’s day via a random act. Random Acts of Kindness Day was founded by a nonprofit organisation called The Random Acts Of Kindness Foundation in 1995 in Denver, Colorado, USA.

vTheir ethos is simple: “We are rooted in the belief that all people can connect through kindness and that kindness can be taught”. They focus on encouraging simple gestures, which can make a big positive impact to someone else’s lives – it could be just a smile, a kind word or compliment, lending one’s ear to hear another’s problems or a warm, comforting hug.

There have been many people over the years that have applied this approach, adopting kindness and love as their mantras in the face of all the world’s troubles. The Dalai Lama, Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Princess Diana, even the Beatles who sang “All You Need Is Love!”

These people expressed kindness naturally, something we don’t all necessarily do in our busy, stressful day-to-day lives. However, Random Acts of Kindness Day strives to remind us of how impactful a kind gesture can be in the hope we can extend it beyond just the one day into a more habitual instinct.

The response to the question of what are some of the suggestions and examples of a random act of kindness is literally unlimited as kindness has no boundaries! It could be making a donation to a local or international charity, it could be adopting a pet or visiting an animal shelter to provide help or to donate food or supplies. In the current climate of an ever-increasing cost of living, maybe you could donate some

Random Acts of Kindness Day is an opportunity to cultivate kindness and brighten up someone’s day

groceries or goods to a local food bank or homeless shelter, or give your time as a volunteer to a charity organisation. Offering a cup of coffee or some food to someone suffering living on the streets is a very worthy example.

Perhaps it is paying a compliment to a work colleague or family member, a few nice words about how much you appreciate them, which can certainly lighten up their day. Maybe extending this approach to a total stranger might be a little less advisable given the overwary world we currently live in, with a seemingly paranoid focus on being offended, but it could be worth a go if you’re brave enough!

Harking back to my penchance for good manners, this one is natural for me, but holding a door open for someone with a smile, or better still holding that elevator door for someone when you see them approaching (come on, we know we’ve all hit the ‘close door’ button on more than one occasion over the years!)

Living in Phuket, Thailand, I am exposed first-hand to the fantastic work the nonprofit organisation Soi Dog Foundation does in striving to reduce the suffering of animals in Asia and beyond. Backed by powerful public figure advocates such as Ricky Gervais and Dame Judy Dench, they are a fine example of helping others through kindness all year round. Similarly Toni Jessop, a onewoman band saving man’s best friends, also based in Phuket, who works tirelessly to save animals all year round. (see her story here). Both fine examples where kindness is the absolute motivation.

Kindness is the way forward and we need much more of it in this ever tumultuous world we inhabit. Late last year Sonja Lyubomirsky, a behavioural scientist at the University of California, conducted research on the science of happiness and concluded that acts of kindness are the key. So if the science backs it up, we absolutely should be doing more of it, right? Right!

We leave the final words to the Dalai Lama himself who said: “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” Sage advice indeed, Sir...

Meet Toni ➹

In the current climate of an ever-increasing cost of living, maybe you could donate some groceries or goods to a local food bank or homeless shelter

Kindness is an absolute motivation not only to humans

SHOWING SOME EXTRA TLC ON ‘NATIONAL LOVE YOUR PET DAY’

✦ Pets. What would we do without them? Companions, sources of comfort, of amusement, of total unabated love and loyalty, they are an integral part of millions of families and people’s lives all over the world.

So, just as Mothers and Fathers have their special day and romantics get to express their warm glow of affection on February 14th each year, it seems fitting that our beloved dogs, cats, hamsters, snakes, fish, cows, pigs, iguanas and whatever else have their own special day each year!

That’s right, February 20th is “National Love Your Pet Day”, a chance to show your pets some extra love and undivided attention. Maybe dish out some extra treats at dinner time, take them for an extra long walk, give them an extended brush or just give them some extra special love and affection. Its a day to make them realise just how much we love them

Chester takes a moment to reflect ahead of 'National Love

Your Pet Day' on February 20th

and how important they are to us. Even if you don’t have pets you can still choose to demonstrate an act of kindness by making a donation to an animal shelter or charity, if you so choose.

From a personal perspective I have always been surrounded by pets. From as far back as I remember, our family house always had dogs and cats scampering around to the extent they were exactly that: part of the family. Over the years, despite living and working in several different countries and continents, I have continued this trend of having a furry companion or two with me in most places I go.

Cheeky Little Kitten

The latest members of our pet family are two cats that my partner Lara and I rescued from the streets of Singapore, called Gus and Chester. However, there is more to the story than that and we need to go back a little further for the full context.

My partner and I lived in the Lion City for many years and were made aware of a fine animal charity initiative called The Cat Museum, Muses and Mansion that rescues felines from the danger of the streets and provides not only the protection and safety of a temporary home but an opportunity

Gus and Chester: from the streets of Singapore to two peas in a pod!

for people to visit and adopt. It also places a significant focus on educating children by providing a safe, fun environment for them to learn about how to interact with and handle cats. We visited frequently and it wasn’t long before a cheeky little kitten called Gus caught our attention. A whirl of energy, he would charge around the room playing with the other kittens before crashing out for a much needed rest. It was during these times that we got chance to play with him, to cuddle him and to form what was clearly going to be an unpenetrable bond. We decided to adopt him almost immediately.

However, there was also another fine specimen that caught our attention, a three-year-old of such elegance and grace that it was impossible not to fall in love with him straight away. Zorro was so named due to the black mask like colouring on his otherwise white face and was such a gentle, patient, calm soul that he was an obvious companion to counter-balance the younger, effervescent Gus.

So, home they came with us where they immediately settled and enjoyed long lazy afternoons dozing in sunlit windows, hours of play and snuggly cuddles and lots of yummy treats such as tuna and boiled chicken! Being on the ninth floor of a condo

in the densely populated island state, they obviously were not allowed outside but that suited them fine as they peered out of the ceiling to floor windows at the world below them.

When Gus was around six months old we entered him into a “Cat of the Year” contest organised on Twitter by the popular English comedian Bob Mortimer. Much to our delight Gus won the “Kitten of the Year” category and received a host of wonderful comments of congratulations from all over the world, none more so than Bob himself who labelled “the young lad” as “superb!” It was a proud moment and Gus’ personalised, limited edition hand-crafted art

picture signed by Bob now hangs in a place of prominence in our study!

However, after a high often comes a fall and, tragically, after less than a year Zorro developed an illness. He was kept at the vets for over a week as they desperately tried to battle against his failing kidneys. We visited him everyday for hours on end, lying next to his cage and trying to offer as much comfort and love as we could. Despite his condition and surroundings he never complained and all the nurses fell in love with him. We were allowed to take him home for one final night where we set up a bed for us all in the lounge and slept together. Gus was overjoyed to see his older adopted brother after time apart.

The next day we returned to the vet and had to take the heart-wrenching decision to have our beloved boy put to sleep. We both wept and held his paws as the vet administered the injection and we watched him go to sleep for a final time. The vet wept too, as did all the nurses, such was the impression brave little Zorro made on them.

It was one of the saddest experiences I have ever encountered and we were both rocked to the core. Being home without him was a strange sensation and his absence was felt with huge lament. Gus was beside himself and took to standing by the front door meowing as if waiting and calling out for his brother.

New addition

It did not take us long to realise that we needed a new companion for Gus and within a week had adopted a cute little ginger, white and brown curiousity called Chester from a kind woman who fostered cats at her home.

Initially very tentative, three-month old Chester soon came to settle in his new surroundings with his new family. He and Gus got along famously, grooming one another, sharing spaces and cuddling up to sleep together. While Zorro would not be forgotten, it was heart-warmingly reassuring to have a new addition who fast became Gus’ best friend.

Gus, Bob Mortimer's 'Kitten of the Year' 2016 ➸

After a few years we decided to move to Phuket, Thailand. While initially concerned on how the relocation (specifically the plane journey) would have on the cats we realised there was no option of separation and therefore made the plunge. It was certainly an adventure for them as they were packed into their carry cases and loaded onto the aircraft before making the 90-minute flight. Admittedly a little rattled for the first day or so, they quickly settled into their new surroundings and life on the island. They are still kept inside as the array of resident wildlife in Phuket isn’t something we would trust two such innocent and curious creatures with!

We’ve moved house on our island paradise several times and each one has been a new adventure for Gus and Chester, a new place with new smells and areas to investigate. They are part of our ongoing adventure and we wouldn’t have it any other way. They are key members of our family and provide countless hours of fun, humour and affection. After a particularly hectic day they both provide the perfect channel for release and decompression – they say stroking a cat can reduce stress and anxiety and we are both firm advocates of that theory. We honestly don’t know what we would do without them.

While “National Love Your Pet Day” is an admirable initiative, we choose to express our love, respect and admiration for the entire 365 days of the year, something that is firmly reciprocated by our two little furry forever friends!

So, whatever your pet may be, make sure you show just how much they mean to you on their special day of February 20th this year as they’re more than worth it!

Read about Vera, Doctor-on-call

SPORTS Brilliant

RUNNING FOR FRIENDS OF MRS YORK'S GARDEN!

✦ Running for a Garden.

On Friday 3rd February at 6 pm, Ultra Trail Running Coach Rob Lloyd laced up his trusty running shoes to raise funds for Mrs York’s Garden (MYG).

RunFest Port Macquarie Running Festival Director Kevin Chilvers had put out the challenge to Rob as a training option for this season’s running events, offering to donate $10 per lap to MYG. The challenge was to run for 24 hours around a 1.6 km Town Beach-MYG loop. Rob went beyond merely running the laps to set up a Go Fund Me page to add to the fundraising options for his efforts.

The good news is, on Sunday night, they hit the original target of $2000! The page is still open, so if anyone is inspired to donate, you can still do so.

vFriends of Mrs York’s Garden President, Di Davison described Rob as a legend and said the group very much appreciated the initiative by Kevin and the enthusiasm and determination with which Rob had taken it up.

Help make Mrs York's Garden continue to grow by donating

Rob pushed himself to the limit in very trying conditions of high

Ultra Trail Running Coach Rob Lloyd running to raise funds for Mrs York's Garden

humidity and heat to complete the 24 hours, with 83 laps/ 133.3 kms completed. Rob described it as a real sweatfest and noted “that even though it got less humid on Saturday, it was still hot and made it an even greater challenge to keep the laps consistent.” Hydration was a big concern in these conditions and showed how important management and crew support is in these big runs.

Rob was supported by the Run Port Mac (who offer the opportunity for those of all abilities to be part of a group that just gets people moving, whatever your level), in particular Crew Chief Cliff Hoeft who went beyond in supporting Rob through the challenge. Rob also appreciated the support of many others who joined him for a lap or two and who helped him to pace the run.

As if the weather was not enough of a hurdle, Rob had a close encounter with a red belly black snake! It did give him an unnecessary surprise!

Despite all of this Rob says he enjoyed the MYG Ultra and realises the benefits this training run will have for his upcoming running season. “Having this tough run under my belt will be invaluable down the track” he said.

A garden for the community

Nestled on the foreshore of Port Macquarie, Mrs York's Garden is

for everyone. Friends of Mrs York's Garden volunteers continue to enhance the natural environment for the use and enjoyment of the community. Much has been done in this garden, with stunning views of the river and coastline, beautiful native gardens, viewing platforms, all-ability boardwalks and pathways between the shelters, seating, a dementia-friendly sensory Garden, indigenous totem public art and additional signage for people to enjoy for education, exercise, relaxation and solace. It is a space that has again become a place of enjoyment for locals and visitors.

Learn more about how Mrs York's Garden came about.

Just keep running!

There is a run for everyone, whether it's for those who want to run in a team, push their limits and go the extra mile, have a light run, support the Indigenous Marathon Foundation or have a little trot with their children, it's a great event to take part in!

So put on your running shoes and start training!

Mrs. York's Garden

Friends of Mrs York´s Garden (FMYG) provide over 20 course marshals for Run Fest Port Macquarie 2023

GEARING UP YOUR HEALTH WITH GYROTONIC®

✦ Gyrotonic® is the new kid on the fitness block that is starting to gain recognition, and celebrities are lending their name to it. Is this just another trend or is it here to stay?

Estefania demonstrating an exercise on the Gyrotonic Pulley Tower machine

Ask around your circle of friends and many hit the gym, or do Pilates or yoga to keep trim and supple.

Gyrotonic is a lesser known exercise regime compared to Pilates or yoga, but it is starting to gain a following. For Yann Tyng, our Content Writer based in Spain, any kind of body movement experience is worth a try. So she decided to jump into Gyrotonic and see what it's all about.

And as luck would have it, there is a Gyrotonic centre just a hop and a skip from where she lives, poetically called The Garden founded by Flavia

Abbadessa, and if that's not enough of a coincidence, the founder of Gyrotonic, Juliu Horvath first sowed the seeds of this method in 1977, so Gyrotonic is as old as Yann Tyng is! And...he is a Romanian-born Hungarian, and Yann Tyng has been learning, believe it or not, Hungarian for the past three years! That's a magic number three as a very clear sign she needs to try this out!

So what exactly is Gyrotonic?

One cannot be faulted for thinking

it's a mispronunciation of the very much more popular gin and tonic, but do take note of this name as it is starting to gain a foothold in the fitness world. Famous celebrities such as Tiger Woods, Shaquilile O'Neal, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow do it too, so you can be sure the rest of us are sure to follow.

Yann Tyng spoke to her Gyrotonic instructor, Estefania, to understand more about this somewhat new exercise method. "To put it in layman's terms, Gyrotonic is a form of exercise performed on specialised instruments and whose

(Photo: Beatrice Colombo Serri and Uxio da Vila, The Garden, Madrid)

movements are based on dance, yoga, swimming and taichi." The fact that it is performed on machines makes it a close cousin of Pilates, but they have very distinct ways of moving. "An easy way to make the distinction is Pilates movements tend to be more linear and two-dimensional, while Gyrotonic favours more circular and three-dimensional movements."

As a classical ballet dancer and teacher, Estefania fell in love with Gyrotonic the first time she tried it, and it has helped to launch her professional career on a new track as a Gyrotonic instructor. What she

Why do Gyrotonic?

Estefania has seen many clients walk in with different physical ailments, the most common being back pain issues. What Gyrotonic does is to create more space in the joints and vertebrae, toning and creating more mobility in the muscles. Many of us have sedentary jobs that involve tapping away in front of a screen and sometimes it feels like we are all eyeballs and fingers and nothing more. Few are conscious about their sitting posture and even if we tried to keep a good posture upright, it is many hours frozen in a seated position, leading to many cases of back pain.

"Gyrotonic addresses precisely this issue, strengthening the deeper muscles of the body, giving more mobility and space to the vertebrae." In a way that is similar to how practitioners of Pilates feel, Gyrotonic also helps you feel taller and longer.

Some benefits of Gyrotonic:

• stimulates the nervous system

• improves circulation

• tones the muscles

• improves balance

• improves coordination and agility

appreciates about this exercise technique is how the instruments guide your movements but do not limit them.

"Gyrotonic is still relatively new in Spain unfortunately, and not many people know much about it. When I tell my friends and family about what I am doing, I need to give quite a bit of detail for them to understand what Gyrotonic is about. To be honest, I don't actually mind as I love speaking about Gyrotonic! It's something I'm wild about and I think everyone should try it at least once!"

• increases spinal mobility

• builds body awareness

• increases range of motion

Estefania enthuses, "What is especially attractive about Gyrotonic is how it helps you to tone your muscles without bulking it up. The emphasis is very much on creating space so you build your muscles without depriving it of its flexibility. Your muscles are trained to have both strength and mobility. Chunky muscles that are stiff are as ineffective as incredibly flexible muscles that have no tone to hold you up. Gyrotonic emphasises finding that balance between the two."

Photo: Beatrice Colombo Serri, Uxio da Vila, Flavia Abbadessa, The Garden, Madrid

What are the challenges?

Coordination is a tricky one to face in Gyrotonic. The movements of the exercises are circular, continuous and harmonious, seemingly without a beginning and an end. It takes a bit of time to get all your body parts in tune with one another so the movements are not jerky or broken. It is rather hypnotic to watch a Gyrotonic session in progress! The movements look beautiful and fluid and even though the exercises are not done to music, it feels like a way of dancing. For beginners, getting a grasp of this sense of movement takes a bit of time, but it is a wonderful feeling in the body when you finally make sense of it!

If it's any motivation to some of you, Estefania's youngest student is only 13 and she has much older clients in their 70s as well. So really, Gyrotonic can be done by anyone.

What's with all the machines?

Those who do Pilates will know, there are different apparatus for each exercise to focus on different physical objectives. Gyrotonic has its own unique range of instruments as well. For Estefania, her favourite is the Pulley Tower, which is the most versatile and complete instrument that allows one to work on all the muscle groups and is an instrument that everyone can benefit from using.

Instructors will choose the most relevant exercises for you on each instrument to work on a specific movement, sequence or body part. Get into your back bends on the Archway or work on the flexibility in your feet with some jumping exercises lying down on the Jumping-Stretching Board. The instruments can be adjusted to fit different body types and they are mostly made of wood, which gives the entire space an earthy, natural and organic feel.

How do I get started?

Just jump in! Certified instructors at any of the official Gyrotonic centres know the set of rules and techniques and the relevant sequence of exercises to help a beginner start to feel the movements of Gyrotonic and slowly begin to integrate everything as they progress through the levels. A good instructor assesses your physical condition each session and can adapt the exercises taking into account what you want to achieve and any injuries or health issues you may have. Find a Gyrotonic centre here, and ask for a trial class. You can just wear comfortable exercise clothes like for other activities like Pilates or yoga. You won't need your trainers as the exercises are done barefoot (have your socks on if your toes get chilly!).

See here for a list of Gyrotonic centres in NSW Australia.

Centres offer private or group sessions depending on your needs. Unfortunately if you are looking for something that is more 'portable',

Gyrotonic won't work as you'll need to have an arsenal of all their machines in your home or holiday spot to be able to do it online! Try at least one class so your body can decide for itself how Gyrotonic feels on it!

The future of Gyrotonic

Is this just another fitness fashion trend? Estefania is optimistic about the future of Gyrotonic. "Increasingly there are more people curious and interested in trying Gyrotonic in Spain, especially those who have had just one session notice they feel taller!" That is certainly a great boost to keep people wanting to return for another session!

Perhaps Gyrotonic will go on a similar path to Pilates. Once people know about it and feel the benefits themselves, others will start to follow suit. The world is big enough to accommodate different fitness styles.

What do clients say about Gyrotonic?

Paloma has been doing Gyrotonic for a year and a half at The Garden in Madrid, Spain. And she absolutely loves it. So far, it has been the only physical exercise she has done that has helped her to get rid of her back pain.

As a ballet student of Estefania, she was eager to try after hearing her teacher talk about it. A big motivation for her to give it a go was her back pain. She has been through endless rounds of tests with doctors and they have found nothing wrong. All she was told was to do exercises to strengthen her back. Gyrotonic is very much related to dance, and having her ballet teacher as her Gyrotonic instructor as well was just too much of a good thing to pass up! "I noticed a clear improvement in my back pain!"

Having tried Pilates before, Paloma found the style a tad too monotonous, whereas Gyrotonic has more organic movements and adapts better to each body. Most importantly, it focuses precisely on

what Paloma needed i.e. strengthen her back muscles and create more flexibility in her spine. Paloma does Gyrotonic once a week (each session lasts one hour) and she has noticed a marked improvement in the health and flexibility in her spine. It's not easy creating this flexibility, space and openness in the upper body and Gyrotonic has helped her to achieve that.

"The different instruments add variety to the exercises and are a great help."

Paloma loves working out on the different instruments, especially on the Archway. It is helping her to work on her back bends and increasing her spinal flexibility. One of her objectives is to increase her flexibility even more so that it is as perceptible from the outside as what she feels on the inside. "I know I have improved and I really feel the stretch in a back bend, but it does not look like much from the outside!" The Jumping-Stretching Board also helps her with her leg splits. The Gyrotonic instrument is a big help and each instrument works on very specific objectives e.g. getting a deeper twist in the spine, opening up the upper body, stretching the psoas etc. And they are really great fun!

"I remember very clearly I felt 2cm taller after my very first Gyrotonic class!" Paloma knew she simply had to return for another session. She started her first year of Gyrotonic doing private classes with Estefania, and she recognises the benefits of having private attention. Gyrotonic is rather special in the sense that you need a level of body awareness and consciousness to be able to execute the movements. While it does adapt itself to all kinds of bodies, you still need to be able to understand how your different body parts are moving in space in relation to one another.

"Get yourself a good instructor."

If you're thinking of starting Gyrotonic, get yourself a good Gyrotonic instructor who is:

• patient

• knows and understands the client well

• takes into consideration the client's limits

• knows when to push and how fast to go

• clear at explaining exercises and positions

• good with analogies to help clients visualise the movements

"Everyone should do Gyrotonic!"

Gyrotonic requires the use of instruments, so that in itself means the sessions tend to be pricier than say, an average yoga class. For those who are able to afford it, it is worth a try. Paloma has been raving about Gyrotonic ever since she started, and anyone who has a business or does marketing knows, word of mouth is still the best, especially when you are a walking example of success as is the case of Paloma. Gyrotonic has made her back very happy!

Paloma has also gotten more than just the obvious physical benefits from Gyrotonic. And she fully recommends this to the young and old, to dancers, to sports people...anyone!

"Gyrotonic gives me a sense of peace. We work a lot with the breath as well like in yoga, and it has improved my mood too. When I know I have a Gyrotonic class coming up it puts me in a happy mood and the best thing is I leave the class feeling even happier! It's just an overall good feeling with great vibes!"

Congratulations to Paloma on her success in her Gyrotonic experience!

If it feels good, do it!

And what has Yann Tyng to say about her Gyrotonic experience?

"Ballet has been and always will be my first love, so I'm all for anything that complements ballet, be it yoga, Pilates or Gyrotonic. The instructor is key, and I gave up Pilates because I never found an instructor who was as skilled as the one I had when I started. Both yoga and Gyrotonics are a great complement for my ballet classes right now, and I feel safe with my instructors. I admit I'm a scaredycat with the Gyrotonic instruments, but like some things in life, once you get to know them better they're not that terrifying. It helps to adopt an attitude of play in Gyrotonic and have some fun with the instruments. I enjoy the organic, flowing movements in Gyrotonic and how they expand the body and create a sense of space around you. At the end of the day, any 'investment' in one's health is always worth it. My body is my ultimate authority in deciding on an exercise regime. If it makes your body happy, do it!"

If you're looking for more fitness regime options, read Yann Tyng's article here about ballet classes for adult learners!

Adults are taking flight with ballet!

"Gyrotonic helps you work on body consciousness."

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