Brilliant-Online Magazine | The Small Business Issue | March 2022

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The

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Featuring Vicki Carnes

SMALL BUSINESS Issue

INSIDE: Brilliant-Online celebrates Women who break the bias and small business month.

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ED ITO R ' S N OTE

✦ Celebrating women and small business month.

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very warm welcome to the March edition of Brilliant-online.

Coinciding with International Women’s Day (IWD), this month we are celebrating the numerous fantastic women that surround, support and inspire us all everyday, at home, at work, and in wider society.

Whereas definitely showing signs of positive progress in recent years, the battle for gender equality and balance in all walks of life is still very much uneven. That’s why initiatives like IWD are so important to champion, likewise, shining a light on a selection of successful women locally and globally.

We catch up with Liz Jarvis who has adopted an innovative approach to making your business truly purr, and get to know Gayle Kee a little better, the lady behind the brilliantly successful TG’s Child Care centres.

We hear about the phenomenal achievements of record-breaking Zara Rutherford who recently flew solo around the world and get to learn about some of the inspiring charity work Chantal Fernandes is doing in Phuket.

There’s so much more to keep you engaged this month and we very much hope you enjoy all the stories and features that we so very much enjoy bringing to you for your reading pleasure.

Advertise your business on Brilliant-Online and be seen. ✦ Contact Chrissy ✦

+61 412 137 621 chrissyjones@brilliant-online.com Brilliant-online.com

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NOTE FROM OUR EDITOR

Until next time!

Ben Tirebuck

Dr Namira Williams, CEO of disAbility Maternity Care, shares some of the fantastic work she is doing and we get the lowdown on The Village Preschool & Long Day Care in Wauchope from Amy Trotter.

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.

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editor@brilliant-online.com brilliant-online.com P.O. Box 9339, Port Macquarie, NSW 2444, Australia

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ABOUT BRILLIANT

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IN THIS ISSUE 1

Featuring Vicki Carnes On The Cover

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Micro Business Forum: Cash Flow & Technology

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Note From Our Editor

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About Brilliant

Brilliant WOMEN 8

Where Do You Hire Costumes In Port Macquarie?

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Breaking The Bias And Shattering The Glass Ceiling – Gender Diversity And Balance In The Workplace

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Brilliant Women

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A Child Care Expert Who Really Does Care...

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Desley Polmear's Writing Journey

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How Is One Bush Business Showing Perseverance And Ingenuity In These Uncertain Times?

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Personal, Professional Travel Service

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Meet Amy Trotter, Founder Of The Village Preschool & Long Day Care, Wauchope

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Meet Dr Namira Williams, CEO Of Disability Maternity Care

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TG’s Child Care: We're Hiring Early Childhood Educators

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G'day From Wa | Brilliant WA Holiday Deals

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Making Better Business Decisions And Becoming Financially Literate With Liz Jarvis

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Meet Chantal Fernandes, For Whom Helping Others Is Second Nature

Brilliant BUSINESSES 44

Jonah Bakes - A Seven-Year-Old With A Brilliant Baking Business

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Agility And Small Businesses

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Micro Business Forum - A Friendly Network For Micro Business Owners

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New Corporate Logo For The Reimagined Future

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No Specialised Coding Skills Required

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Avery Dennison Launches New Digital Print Solutions

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Native Grasses, The Unsung Heros…

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Growing Isabella Grapes Since 1863 To Create A Good Drop!

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I N TH IS ISSU E

Brilliant INVESTMENTS

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The True Value Of Venture Minerals Limited (ASX:VMS)

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Great Boulder Resources Limited And Its High-Grade Gold Project

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Matador Mining Limited Is Seeing The Birth Of A Tier-1 Gold Miner

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Emu Nl (ASX: EMU) Has An Underrated Story With Strategic Exploration Projects

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Cooper Metals Limited Updates On Copper And Gold In Mt Isa

Brilliant HEALTH 76

Holistic Body And Mind

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Bliss Ball Time!

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Healing Diastasis Recti At My Body My Pilates, Tokyo

Brilliant SPORTS 82

Around The World In 155 Days... With Zara Rutherford

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Meet Louise Landgraf - Phuket’s Young Golf Prodigy Making Her Mark On The Game

Brilliant WAUCHOPE LASIANDRA FESTIVAL 88

Wauchope In Full Bloom For 38th Annual Lasiandra Festival

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The Purple People Winners Are…

100 Wauchope Creative Hub Keeps The Local Scene Painting 102 Weaving Thyme With Trish Mcinherny

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103 Jennifer Mckenzie Marriage Celebrant Haru Hana Autumn Winter Collection Abstract Plastics Puravida Fashion

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Vicki Carnes: Victoria's Model Agency & Costume (02) 6583 2915 www.facebook.com/victoriasmodelcostume/ 18 Everard St, Port Macquarie NSW 2444

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Brilliant

WOMEN ✦

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WHERE DO YOU HIRE COSTUMES IN PORT MACQUARIE? ✦ Victoria's Model Agency & Costume Hire of course!

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stablished in 1983, Victoria’s Model Agency and Costume Hire is based in Port Macquarie, but has clients all over Australia.

Many opportunities over the years, providing fantastic models for TV commercials and promotional work, have enabled owner Vicki Carnes to grow her business, all the while having fun!

Costume Hire - All Sizes, All Eras, All Themes Victoria’s Costume Hire, has seen fantastic interest which has seen the business grow to be the largest costume hire business on the Mid North Coast.

Lord Howe Island, Tamworth, Armidale, up and down the coast from Port Macquarie - customers come from far afield. Many come in groups and make a fun day of it.

Costumes are available for all ages and in all sizes, and Vicki stresses all sizes. “A lot of people that have attempted to buy a costume online have told me that they really don’t get what they want. I get a lot of phone calls telling me their stories - I ordered online, it didn’t arrive, it didn't fit, it wasn't what I expected. They need help, and I help them.”

Vicki doesn’t buy her costumes online, she only deals with very reputable companies. All are beautifully made, and she hires them, she doesn’t sell her costumes.

The costumes come complete with all their accessories. When you go to Victoria’s Costume Hire you get the complete costume, accessories, everything you need. The whole process will probably take half an hour out of your life. Very quick and you will leave feeling beautiful and confident with a costume that fits.

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Interview with Vicki Cranes on Victoria's Model Agency & Costume Hire.

Even if Vicki doesn’t have the costume you are looking for, she can sew and can therefore adjust or make things, tailoring costumes for the individual. "Not everybody is a straight size," she says. "So I might take a costume and do some adjustments, or we might pull bits and pieces to get what people need.”

That’s why she always says costumes of all sizes, all eras and all themes. So, depending on your theme, Victoria’s Costume Hire has got you sorted.

Whether you have an upcoming fancy dress party or your child just landed a role in the school’s exciting new play and you have been given responsibility for organising costumes, Vicki is the go to for the perfect costume.

What’s on Offer at the Model Agency?

Modelling work and self improvement courses!

Vicki wants talent to come knocking on her door and want the work! “To just stumble across natural modelling talent is hard,“ she says. “Not many people are comfortable in front of a camera.“ People of all ages, children, teenagers and upwards to mature age. As we speak Vicki told us that she has been casting talent for a commercial and the client wanted models over 60 years of age.

The increased want and need for mature age models

has seen Victoria’s Model Agency being involved in lots of promotions for retirement villages and resorts, restaurants and accommodation of late.

Training to Increase the Talent’s Talent Vicki told us that she has been offering modelling courses since the get go, so she has an abundance of experience she is only too willing to share. “I offer on the spot training for people who are not quite sure what to do, and I also run 2 day courses,” she says.

Vicki is old school, offering modelling and deportment courses, these days commonly known as self improvement courses.

Catering to people wanting to look and present their best for formal occasions to those wanting to impress at their next job interview, the scope of the modelling agency is impressive. You never know where life takes you, some course participants have completed their training with Vicki and remain working with the agency in commercials and client promotions.

Victoria’s Model Agency is for those who'd like to walk and talk with confidence and feel that they stand out in a crowd. It’s for those who want to build their confidence and boost their self esteem from Vicki’s knowledge about the principles of good grooming and stylish deportment.

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BREAKING THE BIAS AND SHATTERING THE GLASS CEILING – GENDER DIVERSITY AND BALANCE IN THE WORKPLACE ✦ “The freedom to work – by choice, in conditions of dignity, safety and fairness – is integral to human welfare. Guaranteeing that women have access to this right is an important end in itself.” - International Labour Organisation

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nternational Women’s Day was celebrated on March 8th this year with the message #breakthebias. Whereas there have been significant strides in recent years in efforts to attain gender equality, there is still a significant way to go before we are anywhere near the levels that can be considered fair and appropriate. Whether deliberate or unconscious, bias makes it difficult for women to move ahead, whatever the scenario.

The plight of women in the corporate world differs significantly all around the world and the pursuit for parity is ongoing; breaking the ‘glass ceiling’ as it is often referred to is a serious challenge.

Women still lag behind men in terms of promotion and representation at boardroom level with McKinsey stating in their 2021 Women in the Workplace study that in corporate America only 86 women are being promoted for every 100 men, a dynamic that they label the “broken rung” on the career ladder.

Female representation on corporate boards across the world contrasts significantly, as detailed in S&P Global’s Sustainability Yearbook review from 2021; France has the

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highest ratio of female board members at 45%. However, the USA only had 27% of its corporate board members listed as female, with its northern neighbour Canada only slightly higher at 30%. Australia leads the way in the Asia Pacific region with 30% although the figures for Japan (11%), China (10%) and South Korea (4%) are still worryingly low.

The irony is that gender equality and balance are actually positives for business and global economies: “Gender diversity in management is necessary for competitive business performance,” a report by the International Labour Organisation notes. “Most businesses will go to great lengths to achieve a 2 or 3% improvement in their profit margins. Among companies surveyed by the ILO that track the impact of gender diversity in management, over two thirds of companies report 5 to 20% profit increases.”

S&P refers to a trickle-down effect on the rest of the workforce that can contribute to breaking down stereotypes on women in leadership and encourage women to pursue their careers further. It can create role models and standard bearers and encourage others to seek roles which they would have not otherwise considered and to ask for more raises and promotions.

Diversified workplace at Vermilion Pinstripes

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Female Talents: JohJu, communications strategist with Vermilion Pinstripes; Veronica Lind, marketing strategist and creator of the Modern Marketing FrameworkTM and Chiara from HubSpot

The same study states that an increased representation of women at board level can minimise excessive risktaking which can ultimately enhance profitability and corporate reputation. “These outcomes are not negligible for companies and their shareholders, especially in times of a global pandemic which will require companies to differentiate themselves from their industry peers,” the report notes.

Investing in female talent early on is essential and can ultimately diminish any biases and negative stereotypes around women’s ability to lead, which can hopefully address issues around unequal pay and gender pay gaps.

“Shareholders have their role to play in this shift, as they can push companies to adopt better practices and improve their performance in terms of gender equality,” comments S&P. “They can act faster than governments by imposing their own quotas.”

Ultimately, the conversation needs to shift to “recognise women for their abilities, experience and skills rather than branding them as diversity trophies,” comments S&P. “Companies and investors can help the world to wake up to the possibility that women deserve a say in the decision making process as legitimate leaders and fully-entitled human beings.”

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BRILLIANT WOMEN ✦ Brilliant-Online was born just over 14 months ago through the friendship between Veronica Lind and Chrissy Jones.

Veronica Lind & Chrissy Jones Working on Brilliant-Online

Meet Veronica Lind - Vermilion Pinstripes and Brilliant-Online Veronica is the Business & Marketing Strategist and Co-founder of Vermilion Pinstripes and the CEO at Brilliant-Online.

About Veronica Her ex-boss said she invented customer relationship marketing. Now that is like a one-to-one relationship. In her current role, she has expanded that notion and scaled it so that all Veronica’s customers feel like they are having a oneto-one relationship because their entire online and offline experiences are personalised.

She created a Modern Marketing Framework to support that kind of marketing which was trademarked in 2018. It’s a unique way of building your brand and sales, of course.

Modern Marketing Framework

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he two women saw a need locally, nationally and internationally for an online, interactive multimedia magazine. They put their heads together and step by step Brilliant-online was created and has continued to grow and evolve from day one.

“I am good with leveraging technology so with my second company, Brilliant-Online, I bring interactive experiences into reading a magazine," Veronica said. I wanted it to be magical like Harry Potter’s "Daily Prophet" newspaper.

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To an advertiser, customers can click on their interactive

B RI LLIA NT WOM EN articles and advertisements and go straight to find out more about their products and services. Just one step.

We made sure there is strong SEO so that the subject can be found quickly on searches.

The way we write your stories will make you famous. The way we promote your story will let you be seen and heard.

I received an email from Alex who is with a communications company.

He noticed that clients' videos averaged 50 to 200 views. Those who advertised with Brilliant-Online, the views averaged 10,000 to 30,000 views! Now, that’s our technology working hard for our advertisers."

Vermilion Pinstripes & Brilliant-Online Help the Community Both Veronica's businesses support the community in many ways. Some community groups to benefit from her expertise are the Micro Business Forum, Hastings District Flying Club, Wauchope Creative Hub and the Wauchope Lasiandra Festival.

She told us, “We tell stories about people and businesses in their local community and promote them widely.

I build websites and most recently had the pleasure of working with the Wauchope Lasiandra Festival to create an all new website to help celebrate and promote their 38th Festival which is being held now, across the month of March."

Veronica’s business vision for the next 12 months…

Always improve on building magical experiences for our clients and their clients.

We asked Veronica a couple of questions…

Apart from work, what are your interests, hobbies?

I cook a lot. Hardly look at recipes. To create a great meal, I just know what’s the missing ingredient needed to make adjustments!

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How do you balance your work and family life?

Sometimes, that is a challenge.

That’s why it is good to work from home so I am always around to take little breaks to do a few things together.

Meet Chrissy Jones, Brilliant-Online Chrissy is a Commercial Executive and the Operations Manager at Brilliant-online.

About Chrissy An experienced sales consultant and journalist, she has worked in print news media for over 18 years. Chrissy loves the written word, having studied News Media Journalism. She was delighted when the long time friendship with Veronica from Vermilion Pinstripes led to the birth of Brilliant-online mid COVID-19, just over 14 months ago.

She says, “Brilliant-online creates another dimension to a story, it can come to life on our pages. By the utilisation of videos, QR codes and interactive advertising, the story is more beneficial for all.”

Chrissy and BrilliantOnline Help the Community Chrissy is very community minded, involved in groups since a young age. At just 16 years of age Chrissy was the Secretary of Wauchope Tennis Club, she was a Board Member of Wauchope Show Society for over 10 years and has been both President and Secretary of the Wauchope Lasiandra Festival at various stages as part of the committee for nearly 30 years. in these roles she has had close contact with many members of the community, raising funds for community projects and collaborating with other community groups for the betterment of her home town Wauchope.

➸ Meet our new sales person Chai

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B RI LLIA NT WOM EN Through her role at Brilliant-online she has helped to increase the awareness of many community members and groups, by telling their story or promoting their events via the Brilliant-online pages.

A media partnership has been forged between Brilliant-online and Wauchope Creative Hub where Chrissy introduces a new “Hubstar” or tells Brilliant-online readership about the monthly events and workshops at the hub.

Chrissy’s business vision for the next 12 months…

To continue to grow Brilliant-online.

To introduce both business and community to the magic of the magazine, and collaborate with creatives to further evolve the uniqueness of the Brilliant pages and website.

We asked Chrissy a couple of questions…

Apart from work, what are your interests, hobbies?

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Chrissy Jones at work with skydiver

I live on a farm, so I love the relaxed lifestyle. My garden is my haven, I just love plants and growing things. We have cattle and I just love it when a calf is born, to watch them play in the paddocks makes me smile.

Becoming a grandma is possibly the best thing ever, my grandson loves the farm, so when he visits it is precious time in my favourite place.

How do you balance your work and family life?

As Veronica said, and I am sure many would agree, that can sometimes be a challenge. As I work from home, you can always manage to juggle the work load to make time for those nearest and dearest.

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Chrissy Jones with Michele Cook, Utopian Living

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A CHILD CARE EXPERT WHO REALLY DOES CARE...

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✦ Getting to know Gayle Kee

he care, stewardship and development of our young ones is critical, something TG’s Child Care has excelled in for the past 24 years by providing a safe, fun, engaging environment for children. Driven by their mantra “Playing is Learning for Life”, their trusted and respected reputation has been built with purpose, expertise and care. And it shows. As their website states, “Families say TG’s Child Care just feels right.”

✶ Gayle Kee

Most readers will no doubt be more than aware of TG’s but probably know a lot less about the woman behind the story. So we caught up with Gayle Kee to find out what makes her tick and what it takes to run such a successful enterprise.

Talk to Gayle for less than a minute and it is evidently clear that she is a lady of conviction that truly cares about what she does. Child care isn’t just a job for Gayle, it is a way of life -

early childhood education is a passion that she has honed and provided to countless grateful families over the years.

The notions of love, care, trust and respect that serve as the backbone to TG’s have been prevalent throughout all of Gayle’s life, from her growing up in rural Victoria through to her early days working in childcare.

She admits that from a very early age she was a strong advocate of the underdog, of wanting to always protect those that were struggling, being teased, bullied or marginalised in anyway. She also recounts being based in Papunya in the Northern Territory for the final two years of her primary schooling and the lasting impression it had on her: “It significantly shaped me with my learning and understanding around other cultures and the importance of inclusivity, ensuring everyone is included and respected and has a sense of belonging.”

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Gayle loves to fly!

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✲ “Everyone who walks through the door at our child care centres must be made to feel welcomed and valued and that they belong. It is all about how we make people feel.”

- Gayle Kee, TG's Child Care

Yin and Yang Gayle met Trevor in High School where they became childhood sweethearts. Very much the yin to her yang, Trevor would, in time, become Gayle’s husband, best friend, biggest influence and business partner.

Trevor specialises in garden landscaping, a key component of a successful childcare centre and an expertise that has complemented Gayle’s skillset perfectly, contributing significantly to their success.

Ironically, the couple realised their true passion after they sold their first childcare venture in Wauchope in 2007, a decision they almost instantly came to regret.

“It felt like a loss of identity of sorts.

There was a definite sense of loss, it was very peculiar,” reflects Gayle.

Inevitably, it wasn’t long before the couple found a new location in Uralla, closely followed by a second in Armidale. Three more centres would in time emerge in Wauchope and the latest addition is in Urangan in Hervey Bay.

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Gayle and Trevor met in High School and were childhood sweethearts.

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Throughout all, the values of care, love, compassion, respect, trust and fun are the bedrock that Gayle and Trevor have built their business on, fundamental to their success and growth. Constantly encouraging others to develop, providing the right environment and culture for everyone to identify and understand their skillset, gifts and superpowers have seen the business blossom, something that applies to the staff as well and children.

“We are completely invested in the business and staff, offering continual improvement opportunities,” comments Gayle. “Everyone who walks through the door at our child care centres must be made to feel welcomed and valued and that they belong. It is all about how we make people feel.”

For someone who has inspired so many others, I decide to ask Gayle what inspires her most of all.

“Seeing the smile on a child’s face,” she says. “Seeing the significant difference our centres can have on a child, building trust, watching them grow with confidence and learning new skills - these are all the things I cherish about my work.”

TG’s is clearly built on sound foundations and values that have fostered a community akin to one big happy family, with everyone contributing and worth their weight in gold. It therefore almost feels like a redundant question to ask what the future holds.

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“We are so committed to this business and everyone involved in it, so committed to the communities we serve that we just plan to carry on,” says Gayle. “We could quite easily sell up and retire but that doesn’t appeal at all. Plus, we tried selling up once before and didn’t like the outcome,” she reminds me with a smile!

TG’s Child Care Early Learning Centres Across Australia for children 6 weeks to 6 years Uralla

Urangan

Armidale

+61 (02) 6778 3369

+61 (07) 4184 2282

+61 (02) 6772 7810

uralla@tgschildcare.com.au

urangan@tgschildcare.com.au

armidale@tgschildcare.com.au

tgschildcare.com.au/uralla

tgschildcare.com.au/urangan

tgschildcare.com.au/armidale

23B John St, Uralla NSW 2358

61 Miller St, Urangan, QLD 4655

11 Samuelson Crescent, Armidale NSW 2350

Licensed for 32 places

Licensed for 73 places

Licensed for 75 places

Wauchope Hastings St

Wauchope High St

Wauchope Riverbreeze

+61 (02) 6585 1033

+61 (02) 6585 3331

+61 (02) 6585 2981

HastingsStreet@tgschildcare.com.au

HighStreet@tgschildcare.com.au

riverbreeze@tgschildcare.com.au

tgschildcare.com.au/wauchope-hastings-st

tgschildcare.com.au/wauchope-high-st

tgschildcare.com.au/wauchope-riverbreeze

33B Hastings St, Wauchope NSW 2446

223A High St, Wauchope NSW 2446

3 Riverbreeze Drive, Wauchope NSW 2446

Licensed for 48 places

Licensed for 48 places

Licensed for 48 places

ENROLL AT TG’S CHILD CARE

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DESLEY POLMEAR'S WRITING JOURNEY ✦ Wauchope's very own local renowned author is inspiring others on their own writing journeys

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aving a best-selling author in our midst is quite an exciting thing, and when you meet Desley Polmear, you'd find yourself inspired already just being in her presence.

Who is Desley?

With her generous, sunny smile, Desley makes you want to learn more about her.

She is Wauchope's very own local author who wrote a murder mystery trilogy Unlocked Secrets, Just Before Midnight and Payback. The second of the trilogy was even reviewed by the New York Times!

Desley's infectious exuberance and joy for life inspire the people she meets.

With her array of interests and skills, conversations with Desley can go from the mighty pen to acrylic painting, ballets or musicals!

Pre-Writing Days

✶ Desley Polmear

Before she became a writer, Desley had her own counselling practice on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. Her intuitive nature is her gift, and it was something that helped her gain insight and help people to lead more fulfilling lives.

She really became a writer when she joined a writers group after her retirement, and since then, writing has become her passion. Desley knows she is in her happy place when she is writing.

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Desley’s Trilogy: Unlocked Secrets, Just Before Midnight, Payback.

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Interview with Desley Polmear

Inspiring Many Besides the trilogy, Desley has written two other novels, Shattered and Fractured Souls.

Beyond fiction, Desley has also written an inspirational verse book, an autobiography as well as made contributions to local anthologies.

She keeps herself busy with workshops on the art of fiction writing, and you can often find her at libraries, book clubs, VIEW and Probus clubs or grassroots writers festivals.

Inspiring others to find their own writing journey is her calling now, and you can listen to the stories behind the storyteller:

51 High St, Wauchope, NSW 2445

Port Macquarie Library

Wednesday, April 20, 2022 10:00 am 32 Grant St, Port Macquarie, NSW 2444

Register Here

Purchase Desley's Books Online

Read The Full Story

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Register Here

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Friday March 25, 10:30 am – 11:30 am

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Wauchope Library

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Desley Polmear – Stories Behind The Storyteller – Author Visit

You can purchase Desley's books online or hop on to Book Face in Port Macquarie or Dymocks bookstores everywhere.

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HOW IS ONE BUSH BUSINESS SHOWING PERSEVERANCE AND INGENUITY IN THESE UNCERTAIN TIMES? ✦ Meet Katie Finnis, Wife, Mother and Owner of Moodee & Sass (M+S)

✶ Katie Finnis

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atie is the maker behind Moodee & Sass Candles. She is passionate about creating high quality, luxurious and beautiful home fragrance products. Katie only uses quality 100% natural soy wax and hand picked fragrances to create gorgeous hand poured candles, diffusers, soy wax melts and bath products.

Just over 12 months ago she came to the realisation that she no longer loved her job, managing a grocery store in the gorgeous New England town of Walcha, NSW. Constantly in a silent battle with herself, bearing the guilt of not having enough time with her family or for herself, she needed to change.

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A Bush Business Is Born

shop local and keep local people in business," she said.

Watching farmers suffer in the drought, withstand wind storms, floods, mice plagues and devastating fires, spurred Katie to create her own job in the community she had grown to love.

Then after a wonderful 11 days of trade, COVID-19 closed the doors due to the mandatory lockdowns.

Katie was also attending the local markets and some further afield that were also cancelled due to the lockdown, so she pivoted and her online business boomed. Now, she is a regular at the post office sending off parcels containing the beautifully scented candles.

She told us, “I contacted Samantha, the original creator of M+S and asked if she had the time to teach me all things candles so I could start my own business in Walcha.” Samantha agreed to a lesson, but also asked if Katie was interested in purchasing the small business. Katie quickly agreed.

From one lesson she took the reins and, with plenty of video, voice and text messages from Samantha, Katie’s passion grew and so did her knowledge.

Shop Front, Markets & Online A little over six months ago, a close friend mentioned to Katie that a small shop front had become available in Derby Street, Walcha, and she jumped at the opportunity.

She saw what was missing in the small country town and decided to stock candles, homewares and clothes that would complement other businesses in the town rather than take away from them. Within three weeks, with a huge amount of help from her family and friends, she opened the doors.

"I certainly opened at a challenging time, but it's important for people to

✲ "The best thing is I can run a business while looking after our three-year-old son Colt, while supporting my local community."

- Katie Finnis, Moodee & Sass

Continuing to persevere for a wonderful but tiring six months, she made the difficult decision to close the Derby Street store as her family had relocated to the small community of Yarrowitch. She now operates from home, continuing to grow her successful online business and she also attends many local markets in the regions of Bellingen, Kempsey, Armidale and Walcha.

"The best thing is I can run a business while looking after our three-yearold son Colt, while supporting my local community."

Katie is loving having the perfect home and work balance and told us that M+S wouldn’t be the success it is without the continued support from her beautiful family, friends and customers.

She truly is a role model for all young mothers out there. Keep trying to better yourself, whilst looking after those that mean the most to you.

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PERSONAL, PROFESSIONAL TRAVEL SERVICE ✦ Karryn Bartlett of Travel Managers has been working in the travel industry for over 20 years.

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arryn Bartlett loves creating tailor-made holidays for her clients that suit their individual needs and budget.

After meeting her husband on a Melbourne Cup Cruise, she moved to the Mid North Coast and has been trading as a personal travel manager with TravelManagers Australia for the past six years.

She provides a personal and professional travel service, using her years of travel industry experience, constant training and a lifetime love of travel to ensure she saves her clients money, time and stress to create a memorable holiday experience.

✶ Karryn Bartlett

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Beach relaxation

Travel has changed Staying up-to-date with ever-changing health and travel requirements and visas, along with COVID testing and vaccination conditions, is a large but essential service she provides clients.

She says, “The way we travel has changed. There is now a lot more to consider before we leave home and having your own personal travel manager to be there for you is the best way to ensure you are prepared for your upcoming holiday.”

As a Masters accredited Cruise Consultant, Karryn specialises in all types of cruising including ocean,

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Cruise New Zealand

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Explore Singapore

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Stunning Maldives

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COVID has greatly affected the Travel and Cruise Industry, but having the support of the TravelManagers Australia network and having strong relationships with reputable airlines, cruise companies, hotels and tour operators has enabled Karryn to keep her business operating whilst she was seeking refunds and credits for clients and now rebooking their holidays.

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With these valuable connections she has access to and can offer competitive rates and exclusive deals.

Sign up for her newsletter Karryn has a regular travel newsletter with special deals and travel information: If you are looking at travelling in the near future look at dealing with someone who is there to support and

assist you from the booking process through to your return. Someone who knows what you are wanting from your holiday, what you want to see and do and can plan your travel to suit you. Karryn‘s aim is to be the person you come to when you are thinking about planning your next holiday.

Find Out More

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river, luxury and expedition, and ensures that her clients' cruise is more than just a cruise, it’s an adventure.

Karryn loves creating tailor-made holidays that suit individual needs and budget.

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MEET AMY TROTTER, FOUNDER OF THE VILLAGE PRESCHOOL & LONG DAY CARE, WAUCHOPE ✦ Amy is an Early Childhood Teacher, Approved Provider & the Centre Manager at The Village. She is a proud Wauchope local born and raised in the beautiful Birpai country.

✶ Amy Trotter

"W

e would ride motorbikes across our paddocks that adjoined my grandparents' paddocks, we climbed trees and ran around barefoot," Amy told us, fondly reflecting on her childhood. "My all-time fave was floating down the river on old tire tubes with my school friends.”

She came from a family full of women. Her parents had three daughters, her elder sister has two daughters, her younger sister has two daughters and she has just married a man with two daughters. “My dad and brothers-in-law are a minority!" she jokes. "Being 'Aunty Amy' is the most important role in my life and it is important to me to be a kind, generous and strong role model for our 'little women'. My eldest niece, who I can't quite believe is old enough, has just joined my team as a trainee educator too.”

We asked Amy how long has she been an Early Childhood Teacher? Her response…

“It was written in the stars that I was going to be a teacher in some capacity. My younger sister still complains about the numerous occasions where I forced her to be my student as I conducted classes at the ripe old age of six years old.

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"In late primary school, my school reports referred to me as 'the pied piper' as I could generally be found with a trail of younger children in my midst. I moved to Newcastle for university in the year 2000, before we had uni options in the Port Macquarie-Hastings, and straight after high school before 'gap years' became a thing.

"At the end of 2004, after completing my primary school and early childhood teaching degree, I felt a pull to return to my hometown and grass roots. For the past 17 years, I have been teaching and managing in a variety of early childhood settings and services in the Wauchope and Port Macquarie area, with amazing opportunities and experiences and many memories made along the way. I haven't quite been around long enough for "my children's" children to come to preschool yet, but my first classes have finished high school and are at university now, and I have some who have become facebook friends now that they are adults.”

Amy Told Us about the Village Preschool & Long Daycare Centre "Approximately five years ago, I reached a place in my career where I decided to become more intentional in choosing a workplace that aligned with my values, morals and passions; that prioritised people over profit, genuinely supported the staff, and authentically gave back to the children, families and community that have given so much to me. I became increasingly aware of the difference between 'talking the talk' and 'walking the walk', a point that I think all of us reach when we reach a particular age.

"Richard Branson is an entrepreneur whose ethics have long inspired me - there is so much of his approach to business that resonates with me, so I sought a workplace that combined my passion and purpose, supported the staff to support the clients, and measured success, not by money or fame or power, but by the difference it made in the lives of others. As my dreams evolved, I decided to create it myself. And so, The Village Preschool & LDC was born.

"The centre itself has been operating in Wauchope for over 20 years, but we, as a business, service and team, are brand new. We intensely believe in the concept that it 'takes a village to raise a child', and seek to provide a service that supports not only the children, but their families, each other and our wider community as well.

We set out to live and operate as a village in every essence of the word, and have created an extended family that we are proud to be a part of, to show up to, and to share with our town. That it is my hometown that I get to do this within, is the icing on the cake.

"We support families by providing early education and care for children aged six weeks to six years, nurturing their learning and development in the most formative years of one's life. Did you know that you attain more skills and knowledge within the first five years than in the entirety of the rest of your life? It's pretty special to have an impact on those years through our work.

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Check out the Village Preschool and Long Day Care

We operate 52 weeks per year to support the needs of our working families and subsequently the local community, supporting parents to return to work or study guiltfree, with assurance of the safety, wellbeing and love we provide for their children each day.

"I am proud of our oversized, natural playground and the authentic, magical childhood we get to provide with it making mud pies, chasing dragonflies, and dancing with the fairies in our fairy garden. We have a hive of native Australian stingless bees, are about to plant our new herb and vegetable gardens, and our children even get to climb our trees! Our children learn by 'doing', not by 'watching', 'listening', and 'being told', and we get to be co-explorers with them every day."

The curriculum The Village provides a preschool program, with long day care hours of operation. Many parents don't realise that all early childhood education and care services, whether a community-based preschool or a long day care centre, are governed by the same regulations, guided by the same curriculum framework, and delivered by the same qualified teachers and educators.

Many of the centres' university qualified early childhood teachers are primary school teacher trained as well; they simply work from a different syllabus tailored to younger children. They nurture identity, independence, wellbeing, communication, learning and development in alignment with national curriculum outcomes, individualised goals and personalised interests. They support children to achieve milestones across each of our classrooms and age groups, with a focus on school and life readiness, especially in the centre’s preschool classroom.

The Philosophy The Village service philosophy informs all of their decisions, interactions, goals and practices, and is encapsulated in the foundations of their vision, whereby "relationships are central, play is essential, potential is infinite". Relationships, play and potential support an inclusive workplace culture, a passion for children's holistic development, positive partnerships with families, meaningful participation in the community, recognition of our indigenous land and people, and sustainable conservation of our natural environment... all of the things Amy set out to offer when entering into business ownership in Wauchope.

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Amy’s Greatest Achievement So Far… Amy told us, “For me, it's all about the people, and how grateful I am to be surrounded by the ones that I am!

Our education and care team is made up of a diverse crew; from locals like me, whose family have been here for generations, to others from different countries and islands who are new to our beautiful town.

“We have extremely experienced teachers mentoring our new, enthusiastic trainees, and we consistently aim to 'raise the bar' and enhance quality outcomes through continuous improvement. There is also an element of 'heart' that I believe should encompass your work, and I think that is achieved by the business owner working at ground level oneself... there is an accountability in looking your customers in the eye as they walk in the door, and bumping into them in the supermarket on weekends, so again, I am thankful to be living and breathing my decisions and practices with added integrity every day. At least, that's what I aim to do.

We were also nominated for Excellence in Business Awards after four months of operation, which is a more tangible measure of how we have been received within the community. Unfortunately COVID has postponed the awards ceremony thus far, but we were excited to be nominated and to have been informed that we are finalists for Excellence in New Business!”

The Centre’s business vision for the next 12 months 2021 saw Amy focus on upgrading the centre's environment and equipping the centre with an abundance of new resources. The centre is very well outfitted now, so in the year ahead, Amy is turning her attention to professional development and further training and mentoring for the team.

“We are growing our leadership team, as I am about to appoint a new Centre Manager to work alongside me in enhancing our service even further, and one of our existing educators has stepped up to lead the team in our toddler classroom," she said. "We are empowering and supporting women, offering flexible working days and hours to support our working mothers, and providing quality education and care to support women (and men) returning to work after becoming parents.”

The Village Preschool and Daycare Centre are looking forward to expanding community connections as they come out of COVID restrictions, raising standards and expectations through ongoing continuous improvement, and facing new and exciting challenges as they set new goals and achievements for themselves. It's going to be another busy year!

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MEET DR NAMIRA WILLIAMS, CEO OF DISABILITY MATERNITY CARE ✦ It’s been a year since readers of Brilliant Online last met up with disAbility Maternity Care.

✶ Dr Namira Williams

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During this time we have been strengthening our role in improving maternity care for parents with disabilities. We have been doing this through collaborative partnerships with other organisations, such as Maternity Choices, Karinya House, and individual women with a disability," comments Dr Namira Williams, CEO of disAbility Maternity Care.

Maternity Choices is a national organisation dedicated to advocacy and improving maternity services for women in Australia. Karinya House, in the Australian Capital Territory, provides support and accommodation services for vulnerable women, including women with disabilities.

Like disAbility Maternity Care, these organisations are committed to improving care for women and families, and in particular, those who are disadvantaged.

Last year also saw them establish the role of brand ambassador with

Deaire Pecora. Deaire brings to this role her lived experience as a mother with a disability and a passion to see service delivery improve for parents with disabilities. Deaire has two young children and wished "an organisation such as disAbility Maternity Care was around when I had my first child.

This would have made it so much easier for me".

Brilliant Online shared Deaire's story: Becoming pregnant with cerebral palsy in December 2021.

Changing the conversation for parents with disabilities While many services have been affected by COVID over the last year, disAbility MaternityCare has used this time to build their Strategic Plan and goals, develop partnerships, services and education. Their vision is for parents with disabilities to be equal and empowered citizens.

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B RI LLIA NT WOM EN "There is a lot of work to be done in this area, from increasing knowledge around disability for maternity providers, to changing social attitudes around parenting for people with disability," comments Namira. "Often there is a perception that people with a disability cannot parent.

The challenges these parents face, are more about the lack of specific services and support, rather than not being able to do it. So, it’s about breaking down those barriers and changing the conversation for them." disAbility Maternity Care provides a range of education, both online and, where possible, face-to-face. They also provide tailored workshops for specific organisations where possible. The education aims to increase knowledge of both health and disability service providers.

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Deaire Pecora, being A mother with cerebral palsy

We asked Namira a few questions…

Why do you do what you do?

I am passionate about our society being inclusive of parents with disabilities. Readers can read part of my story here which contributes to this.

What is the best part of your job?

Knowing that you are making a difference, and working with others who are also passionate about this area.

How does your business help your local community?

As we are growing, we are building with a base of staff from the area and we are also committed to employing people with a disability where possible. So often, there is a lack of employment equity for people with disabilities, which is unfair and discriminating. For us, it’s about providing equal opportunity in many areas.

What are the plans for disAbility Maternity Care over the next 12 months?

To achieve our vision of parents with disabilities being equal and empowered citizens, we are working to achieve goals within our main strategic areas: •

Connect parents with disabilities to services - our service section of DMC Support is currently being audited for NDIS registration. We will be offering Support Coordination and upskilling current Disability Support Workers.

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Raise awareness of the issues, and Inform service providers and the conversation through undertaking specific research projects in partnership with key organisations. We currently have Ethics approval for a project that evaluates an education tool to change attitudes about parenting with an intellectual disability.

We will begin our research next month. A second pilot project is being developed in another area, so stay tuned to find out more about these.

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Checkout 3 reasons to exercise in pregnancy.

Educate, both service providers and parents/families about how to get the best outcomes for parents. We are currently developing a range of self-paced on-line education modules for service providers in this area which will be available in the next few months. This means that providers can access the modules and go through them at their own pace, increasing their knowledge in either the maternity care or disability area. We are also developing a range of videos for both providers and women. Our most recent one is 3 reasons to exercise in pregnancy. We also provide a range of free resources too.

Learn More

Outside of work, family is my main interest. Having time with grandchildren, and also scrapbooking. This provides a creative outlet, but it’s great to look at photos of our family over the years.

How do you balance your work and family life?

Balancing family with work is always hard for any parent or caregiver. Being older has some benefits, in that it’s easier to prioritise the important things in life and let go of those that are less important. You can’t be everything to all people – it’s taken years to learn, but now I’m good with that.

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Anyone who is interested in finding out about our free resources and updates can connect with us:

Apart from work, what are your interests, hobbies?

Contact disAbility Maternity Care:

www.facebook.com/disAbilityMaternityCare/ namira@disabilitymaternitycare.com www.disabilitymaternitycare.com www.instagram.com/disability.maternity.care/

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WE'RE HIRING EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS JOIN THE AWARD-WINNING TG'S FAMILY Our Purpose ​ ur purpose is to create and develop independent young minds, encouraging collective thinking with their peers.

O In doing so, the TG's Way becomes a way of life.

​Why be a TG's Educator? ​ o be a TG's educator is to embody the ideal of Playing is Learning for Life. Every TG's educator sees TG's as their T extended family and they love going to TG's every day, as much as the children do. The loving, nurturing environment at TG's extends to the educators too!

TG's educators can be identified by these traits: • ​They love being curious and creative - they invent FUN every day!

• They are keen observers and can identify each child's interests, understand their backgrounds, development levels and experiences and explore ways to grow each child's gifts.

• They make learning fun and relevant for children, combining what the children do outdoors with their indoor curriculum.

• They identify their gifts and those of their team, working towards success as a team.

• They are excellent communicators with families and are excited to involve families in the learning journeys of the children.

As a TG's educator, your gifts and strengths are recognised and matched to each group of children under your care.

You grow in an environment that resonates with trust, support, respect and love.

FIND OUT MORE AND JOIN TG'S FAMILY

NSW: Armidale, Uralla, Hastings St Wauchope, High St Wauchope, Riverbreeze Wauchope QLD: Urangan

www.tgschildcare.com.au

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G'DAY FROM WA | BRILLIANT WA HOLIDAY DEALS ✦ Now that the Western Australian borders are open again, there's plenty of brilliant experiences to enjoy if you're planning a holiday or reunion with family and friends.

✶ Robyn Flanagan

R

obyn Flanagan from Wauchope Travel invites you to explore the options as Australia opens up. She looks forward to booking your long awaited holiday.

Rottnest Island is the perfect place for a day-trip or short break to soak up the sun, go snorkelling or just enjoy cycling around this picturesque island.

The Swan River is a fantastic backdrop for a dining cruise with your foodie friends. Or for an even more indulgent day out, sample your way around the Swan Valley, tasting wine, cheeses, chocolates and more, all lovingly made by local producers.

For something completely unique, head to The Pilbara to be enchanted by ancient landscapes in the Karijini National Park which is more than 2.5 million years old!

Relax on Rottnest Island Planning a trip to WA? Make sure you include some time on Rottnest Island. Go for a day or stay longer to explore the stunning beaches, go cycling, snorkeling and Quokka spotting! If you book five or more days in advance you'll get 20% off ferry fares.

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Discover Karijini Gorge

Swan River Cruises Cruise in comfort with Captain Cook Cruises, and be treated to premium wines, a scrumptious cheese platter, get a behind-the-scenes wine making tour, lunch and wine tasting at Sandalford Estate Winery.

Swan Valley Tours Book a tour to explore worldclass wineries, vibrant markets and top-notch eateries.

Swan Valley Tours is offering 10% off all public tours. Use the code AWINE10 when making your booking.

Discover Karajini Gorge Want to do an epic outback road trip with a difference? The Pilbara in the northern part of WA is a unique region to explore. Karijini Gorge is a main attraction with spectacular, awe-inspiring, ancient landscapes.

Rottnest Island Glamping Adventure Take time to discover the scenic beauty and friendly wildlife with two nights in a Superior Tent, breakfast, return ferry fares, bike and snorkel hire and a half-day tour all included.

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Rottnest Island Glamping Adventure

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MAKING BETTER BUSINESS DECISIONS AND BECOMING FINANCIALLY LITERATE WITH LIZ JARVIS ✦ Self improvement has become an increasingly prevalent, and critical, topic of late.

C

OVID-19 taught us many things, not least of all how invaluable our health is.

Living through and emerging from the worst pandemic in living memory, many people have realigned themselves with an improved healthy lifestyle leading the charge.

But what about the health of your business? Surely this should be afforded a similarly crucial health check? Do you trust or even understand the financial numbers behind your business and are they being maximised to ensure profitability?

If your answer to any of the above is no or unsure then it sounds like you need to connect with Liz Jarvis from Better Business Decisions.

✶ Liz Jarvis

A Chartered Accountant with over 35 years experience, Liz has been helping Australian-based companies

better understand and enhance their financial situation for the last twoand-a-half years.

Liz has purposefully positioned her focus on providing a new branch of accounting delivered with a human touch that strives to help, guide and educate clients, enabling them to gain clarity and insight to, ultimately, make better financial and business decisions. Heavily involved in the local community, she is passionate about helping small and medium businesses by empowering them without the need for them to change bookkeepers or tax accountants.

“Small and medium businesses are the backbone of Australia,” she says.

“There are over 2 million of these ventures operating throughout the country. For the business owner it is imperative to understand their priorities. If a business is not performing, it has a ripple effect that

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B RI LLIA NT WOM EN making decisions, and that can be significant,” Liz says.

“My goal is to provide my clients with financial literacy, to enable them to truly understand their financial situation and maximise it.

“I work with my clients to bring them back to the numbers and fully engage with their financial statements – it’s amazing how their perceptions of the business can change just by walking them through their financials as the ‘Story of their business.’”

This is conducted via one-to-one strategy sessions that provide both parties a comprehensive overview on the situation and allows them to identify areas where they can work together and maximise a client’s position. Following the in-depth review, which typically lasts 60 minutes but can be longer if required, Liz will forward a proposal to the client pinpointing the issues or areas that may have been overlooked or neglected. This not only gives a clearer holistic overview but installs confidence in the client who now has both a more knowledgeable grasp on the business and a better understanding of sound financial planning.

Deprived Enhancements in technology have seen a widening gap over the years between business owners and accountants, mainly due to an increasing reliance on technology to crunch the numbers. This has led to more of a shallowthinking approach where people are either not bothered or too confused, even scared, to question things, becoming overly-reliant on clinical technology and rarely, if ever, viewing or questioning the results. However, just like the humans that program them, computers, programs and software can also be wrong sometimes.

“Many business owners are actually being deprived of the ability to understand and harness the numbers when

It is something Liz does every day which she excels at and she will no doubt continue doing so for many years to come. Indeed, it makes absolute sense when I ask her if she has any form of personal or business mantra that she abides by.

Quoting American lawyer, writer, and orator during the Golden Age of Free Thought, Liz replies: “We rise by lifting others.”

Liz Jarvis very much practices what she preaches.

Read The Full Story

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impacts many. Not only does the business and owner suffer but his or her family feels the effects, then, potentially, the wider community”

“It’s prudent to not let others determine how your financial affairs are presented,” comments Liz. “Having a much clearer understanding of the dynamics of your business is a far healthier position to be in.”

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MEET CHANTAL FERNANDES, FOR WHOM HELPING OTHERS IS SECOND NATURE ✦ “Charity isn’t about pity, it is about love.

Charity and love are the same - with charity you give love, so don’t just give money but reach out your hand instead.” Mother Teresa

✶ Chantal Fernandes

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Smiles of the Good Shepherd Phuket Town

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hese wonderfully spoken words go a long way to describing one individual whose ongoing efforts helping others less fortunate displays a sensitivity and kindness of human nature that cannot, arguably, be measured or bettered.

For close to two decades, Chantal Fernandes has selflessly given and strived to help others who have often found themselves in desperate situations.

The UK native now resides in the island paradise of Phuket, Thailand, which she has called home for over 25 years. With a successful career behind her in hospitality, she was recently bestowed the position of Honorary British Counsel in Phuket, emphasising

how trusted and respected she is within the local community.

She started volunteer work around 2002 with the Life Home Project Foundation, a non-profit organisation that helps “women and children suffering from HIV/AIDS in Thailand to have a better life with a caring home, educational opportunities and access to treatment.”

However, it was the devastating Tsunami in 2004 that decimated numerous countries in the Indian Ocean region, leaving almost 230,000 people dead, that really impacted Chantal. Phuket was hit hard and she could not sit by and hear the woeful tales of struggle devastating her adopted home without doing something.

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Several years later, Chantal got involved with the Good Shepherd Phuket Town initiative which offers a safe haven for vulnerable local children. Established by a nun, it grew from a small strip of concrete protected by chicken wire to a fully-fledged school for 240 pupils, providing education and a nutritious meal each day.

Chantal plays a key role in the operation of the school which includes all fund-raising efforts. Charity balls, quiz and bingo nights at local pubs, Christmas pantomimes and outdoor markets and two charity shops are just a few of the initiatives that she drives to help raise funds for the charity, in addition to managing outside donations.

She also lent invaluable support to local communities who were devastated by the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, which hit tourist-reliant Phuket especially hard.

In April 2020, Chantal helped drive an initiative through the Good Shepherd that would provide care packages consisting of essential goods and food directly to the communities and worker camps. Many others, shocked at the plight of these forgotten people and communities, also stepped up and several food drives were established island-wide to help. They say in times of adversity that community spirit really shines through and this was one instance of exactly that.

We are living in extremely testing times where adversity seems to be staring us in the face at every turn. However, the old adage is absolutely right in that there is always somebody worse off, somewhere. Chantal Fernandes realised this many moons ago and has dedicated herself to helping those far less well off than her.

She genuinely is an inspiration, so humble when she talks about the fantastic work she has done and continues to do.

She makes you want to be a better person and do more to help others. The world needs a lot more people like Chantal Fernandes right now...

More information on the Good Shepherd Phuket Town charity and how you can donate and help can be found at their website:

Make A Donation

Read The Full Story

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The Good Shepherd

“Naturally COVID was devastating,” says Chantal. “There is no getting away from that fact. However, in a strange way, it also served as a sort of positive in that it forced people to acknowledge the desperate reality facing so many in Phuket which in turn motivated them to help, to delve deeper into local communities to support those much less well off.”

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Support entailed getting hands-on with rebuilding efforts in local communities, specifically in the area that Chantal and her family lived, clearing rubble to make the area safe and to help with rebuilding efforts of houses and buildings.

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Help Jonah support disabled bakers

GoFundMe

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Lee Heng from My Blue Tea and Veronica of Brilliant-Online are helping Jonah with his medical expenses, and building an infrastructure for Jonah to support other physically challenged bakers.

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Brilliant BUSINESSES ✦

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JONAH BAKES - A SEVEN-YEAR-OLD WITH A BRILLIANT BAKING BUSINESS ✦ Happy cookies made with love make the world a better place

J

onah Michio Tan is seven and already starting an incredible career as a baker!

March is Small Business Month and we wholeheartedly vote Jonah Bakes as our top Brilliant Small Business.

How did Malaysia's happy sevenyear-old baker find his passion and tenacity, and what can small business owners learn from his story?

Jonah's Story Jonah has a rare form of skeletal dysplasia.

This is a genetic disorder affecting the bones and joints. It hinders growth and development and causes abnormally-shaped bones. This usually occurs in the head, spine, arms and legs.

He also has Hajdu-Cheney syndrome (HCS) which is another rare genetic connective tissue disease. Around the world, there are only 50 known cases of people who have this disease. It is characterised by acroosteolysis of the hands and feet, developmental defects of the bones, teeth and joints.

Jonah cannot run around and play like other children. The bones are brittle and any fall means a risk of fracture.

And that means being in a cast for several weeks. Over and over again.

In spite of all the adversity that these diseases involve, Jonah has a steady, fresh and bright personality and he channels his focus and attention on his one true passion - baking. Jonah wants to have his own bakery in the future, and his family and friends are right behind him supporting his dream.

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There is much to learn from this small but mighty business story.

Jonah focuses on possibilities, not perfection. He's always trying and he finds ways to make something work in spite of obstacles. And he's not afraid to have a little laugh with himself when he has an 'oopsy'!

Finding one's happy place to grow and be creative also requires the support of a circle of joy around you. He has found what drives him

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His little brother Jamian loves helping out and Jonah is already showing steady leadership by trusting him to let him help, and also cares for him when there are trickier steps in cooking. Jonah himself has the wisdom to know where his limits are and to ask for help when he needs it.

He truly enjoys what he does, so every thing he does for his baking business is done mindfully and with gratitude. He takes pleasure in every knead, every mix and he always has it clear what his ultimate dream is.

Every bake is taking him closer to having his own bakery one day.

Happy Cookies Make the World a Better Place We are rooting for Jonah, and we can't wait for Jonah Bakes to expand to

Australia and worldwide so we can all have a taste of happy cookies made beautifully with love.

My Blue Tea is raising funds to support Jonah and his family. This will go into his expenses for medical treatments in Melbourne, Australia.

The funds can expand his family kitchen to a professional culinary space and allow other physicallychallenged bakers to participate. The money raised can help his online platform sell worldwide so Jonah's happy cookies can make the world a better place.

You can support Jonah here:

GoFundMe

Read The Full Story

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Inspiration for Small Business Owners

(baking) and he has his community to give him a boost (his family, friends and ever-growing customers across the country).

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Jonah's mother started Jonah Bakes as a seed for Jonah's baking aspirations. He was first bitten by the baking bug when he saw his mother cooking in the kitchen. His mother's belief and confidence in what he can do is taking off. They've gone from simply baking for friends and family to delivering their cookies nation-wide in Malaysia.

Get inspired and check out Jonah's cooking video and learn how to make delicious pandan kaya!

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AGILITY AND SMALL BUSINESSES ✦ John Clarke, Success Tax Professionals

The statistics also show it is likely that half of these businesses will close within two years of opening. What can we do to reduce our risk of losing our investment, our money and of burning out?

Some things we can do: Be Agile I’m sure many of us after having watched MasterChef or My Kitchen Rules think, “I could do that.” After all if Julie Goodwin or Poh Ling Yeow can do it, surely we can. Our friends come for dinner and they say that was spectacular.

Do you really know everything that’s involved in operating a restaurant? Are you going to enjoy being in a pressurecooker environment? Look at how over the past two years people have been forced to change how their business operates to succeed.

Agility for someone who wants to open a restaurant might look like this: •

First operate a food stall at a market. If you enjoy that and want to go to the next step maybe you operate a food van.

•

Then and only then you might invest in the substantial set up costs of a restaurant.

Feasibility Study A business feasibility study helps you work out if, and under what circumstances, the business will work and how successful it might be.

If you’re starting a new business, some questions to ask are: •

Is there a market demand and need

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Can a market be created

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How much competition is there

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Is the market static or growing

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Are there any legal requirements

For an existing business other questions can include: •

Why is the existing owner selling

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How are similar businesses performing

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How good is the business location

Contact John Clarke

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I

f you’ve ever thought of starting or buying a business, you’re not Robinson Crusoe. In July 2021 it was estimated that 344,000 new businesses were started in Australia.

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MICRO BUSINESS FORUM - A FRIENDLY NETWORK FOR MICRO BUSINESS OWNERS ✦ If you haven't yet met the friendliest professional business network in the Port Macquarie-Hastings region, you'll want to jump in on their next event!

Community First

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rilliant-Online has always been a supporter of small businesses in our communities. Every month we get to listen to so many different stories of people who have found what drives them to continue every single day, bringing their best creations or service to the community, and always finding creative ways to grow.

We spoke to Micro Business Forum (MBF) recently about their upcoming Small Business Forum. They are affectionately known as the friendliest professional network in the Port Macquarie-Hastings region, and rightly so. Ask around in the community, and you'll find people who know someone who is a regular there or who knows members of the MBF. If you don't know MBF yet, here's a teaser to get you started.

What do you do, really?

We help micro business owners (those with fewer than five employees) connect and find support on their business journeys. It can feel like a scary, arduous and confusing journey to be a micro business owner, to go from setting up a business to maintaining it, to expanding it. And like parenting, there is no instruction manual you can buy from Amazon

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B RILLIA NT B USI N E SSE S that tells you exactly what to do, step-by-step, so you never make a mistake and are guaranteed success.

What makes MBF stand out?

MBF organises events, forums and get-togethers for micro business owners in the community to have a place where they can come together, regardless of their level of experience, industry or where they're at on their business journey to share their stories, their skills, the tools they used, to spark some inspiration, bring insights, and to offer acknowledgement of the challenges micro business owners face.

1. We understand micro business owners.

Here you'll find people who understand your difficulties as well as your joys. And we have such a variety of skill sets, experience and industries that micro business owners sometimes attended our events thinking to get some ideas and walked away instead with collaborations and solutions!

People wonder why someone would want to go through all the hard work of setting up one's own business when you can easily get a stable job at an established company. At MBF, we get it.

Thing is, micro business owners all have a seed they wish to plant and nurture and grow, and there is a sense of pride in building up something with your own two hands, sometimes literally. As we well know, micro business owners have to do many things on their own at the very beginning. If a nail comes loose, you'll get the hammer and fix it yourself, because there isn't a maintenance department you can call and get help from.

And every single 'small' thing these owners put in is part of the pride they take in creating something from scratch. You could even say setting up a small business is like creating a work of art. At MBF, we understand how micro business owners feel about their endeavours.

Because we understand micro business owners so well, we are able to offer what they need to assist, support and encourage them through their business journeys.

2. We have been doing this since 2003.

MBF has earned a good number of years under our belt, and we are also proud of what we have created and which we can share with so many others now. We have grown with our micro business members over the years, and have been constantly

50 updating what we offer according to market trends and developments.

Every generation of micro business owners requires different skills and tools, and MBF is always ready to innovate, create and find fresh ways of doing things.

3. We offer diversity.

We started off small at the beginning and we are always amazed every day when we look at the incredible diversity of products and services our members have been bringing to the region over the years.

Check out the variety of members we have at MBF here, - it is something we are really proud of. We get to hear so many different ideas and points of views, people share different experiences and ideas, and while our industries may be different, the essence of what it takes to keep a small business going is the same.

So essentially we all speak the same 'language' here, and we always learn something new because of the diversity at MBF! MBF's open and friendly nature attracts innovative, creative and business savvy businesses who are all hungry to learn, and eager to listen to others.

4. A focal point for small businesses.

Small businesses are really not that small if you look at them as a collective whole. They are actually vital in contributing to the prosperity, energy and vivacity of the Port Macquarie-Hastings region.

That is why MBF is proud to be a focal point for micro businesses to gather, recharge, inspire and keep going. We are all helping each other grow, and it is a healthy and

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sustainable environment we are creating, for businesses to grow together, as opposed to competing with one another. We are all helping each other win, and we celebrate each other's little and big victories along the way.

When we grow together, the region prospers. An absolute win-win situation for everyone.

5. We are FUN. Because all work and no play makes Jack a seriously dull boy.

And having a small business is rather like adopting a certain lifestyle rather than a job that you can punch in and punch out of at specific times of the day. With the amount of time and energy we put into our small businesses, it would be so much more enjoyable if we have fun while we are at it.

Micro Business Forum members coffee connect

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That's why it is important for us to run meetings, deeper learning workshops, and our very friendly coffee connects to provide that opportunity for micro business owners.

This is where people get support, networking and learning activities. Here, people explore business ideas, learn from subject-matter experts and speakers, form worthwhile business alliances, share insights and build relationships.

And all in a friendly and fun environment. No stress, no shoulds, no have-tos and no running against deadlines.

Growing together Every community needs support to grow together, and Micro Business events are doing just that. It is a steady harbour for small businesses to dock, recharge and get ready to sail again on the next leg of their journey.

If you haven't had a friendly chat with someone from MBF yet, this next forum may well be a good opportunity to start. Who knows what ideas you could walk away with, and your input may very well inspire someone else too.

Upcoming Events

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What MBF provides is a reprieve and time away from the necessary everyday tasks of running a small business to allow people to step back and look at their business from a wider angle. It's about working ON the business as opposed to IN the business.

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NEW CORPORATE LOGO FOR THE REIMAGINED FUTURE ✦ Reimagine 2.0

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fter 20 years of success as one of Singapore’s premier project managers in the building and construction industry, PM Link wants to continue on its path of growth by re-imagining its future.

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driving further technological adoption, and

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empowering knowledge sharing and continuous learning and development (L&D).

And to signify its new phase of growth as the company evolves with the project management industry, PM Link unveiled a new corporate logo.

PM Link’s new corporate logo shows the company firmly anchored on its strong foundation as it grows, a vision metaphorically represented by the backdrop of ascending vertical bars.

“We recognise the need to incorporate new visions of sustainability and digital delivery to ensure that PM Link is always at the forefront of bringing innovative and customised solutions for our clients,” said the Managing Director of PM Link, Mr. Tan Cheng Chuah.

The company is setting itself apart as the project management company of choice, with a workforce that possesses the skill sets always relevant to the ever-changing built environment, aided with modern technologies.

With its “Reimagine 2.0” business transformation programme, PM Link is:

PM Link offers project management opportunities for experienced PMs and internship opportunities for young talents interested in shaping the future of Singapore’s built environment.

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making several strategic investments to renew its business,

Contact PM Link:

+ (65) 6391 7088 enquiry@pmlink.com.sg www.pmlink.com.sg 1 Gateway Drive, Westgate Tower #24-01, Singapore 608531

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NO SPECIALISED CODING SKILLS REQUIRED ✦ Creating deep learning models needs extensive data science knowledge and time. Or not? The world’s best data scientists, Kaggle Grandmasters, has developed a new no-code tool for any businesses in any industry around the world create deep learning models.

Deep learning models can help businesses or even industries to transform or address age-old challenges. These instances include: In a medical setting, H2O Hydrogen Torch could analyse medical X-ray images for abnormalities with a “human in the loop” to make the final decision.

In a retail environment, it can do metric learning that alerts an online retailer to duplicate images on a website.

“Accelerated by COVID-19, video streams, speech, audio podcasts, email and natural language text have become the fastest growing data for our customers in every industry.

Transforming and fine-tuning prebuilt deep learning models to deliver high accuracy requires a no-code AI Engine to democratize AI for these use cases,” said Sri Ambati, CEO and founder, H2O.ai.

“H2O Hydrogen Torch does exactly that by bringing best practices from Grandmasters to tackle problems ranging from improving in-store customer experiences, identifying fashion trends, and discovering vaccines, to saving lives with video enabled drones fighting fires with AI on the edge. With H2O Hydrogen Torch as a core AI Engine of the H2O

AI Cloud, our customers can train models in deep learning and better serve their customers and challenge tech giants.”

H2O Hydrogen Torch is part of H2O. ai’s broad and rapidly expanding set of H2O AI Cloud products, including the recently announced H2O AI Feature Store and H2O Document AI.

Businesses can try and experiment with H2O Hydrogen Torch for free.

Try H2O Hydrogen Torch

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nown as H2O Hydrogen Torch, this new tool was announced by H2O.ai, an AI cloud leader, to make it easy for businesses to make stateof-the-art image, video and natural language processing (NLP) models without coding.

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AVERY DENNISON LAUNCHES NEW DIGITAL PRINT SOLUTIONS ✦ Print and Overlaminate Films for Versatility, Easy Installation and Sharp Print Performance.

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lobal materials science company, Avery Dennison, has launched a new generation of digital print films to empower businesses in Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia to create durable inspirations on walls and vehicles, quickly and easily.

“With life returning to pre-pandemic norms, owners and managers of corporate offices and public spaces are eager to offer employees, customers, and visitors refreshing new looks and experiences,” said David Newman, Senior Marketing Manager for Graphics Solutions in the Asia Pacific, Avery Dennison.

“This launch is the result of our focus on customers’ needs to reduce inventory and maximize application

options. The MPI 2904 Easy Apply is a dependable solution for converters, designers, and building owners to use for multiple applications quickly and easily.”

have in fact used the MPI 2904 for a large client with confidence,” said Luke Parisella, Operations Manager, Image Box Group who was one of the early adopters of the new product.

Using the new MPI 2904 Easy Apply film when complemented by either the Avery Dennison DOL 2960 Gloss or the DOl 2980 Matte overlaminates, helps business owners to create new possibilities to remodel workspaces for staff, reimagine spaces for shoppers and diners in hospitality, leisure, and retail industries or revitalized branding on fleet vehicles in a short time.

The MPI 2904 is a smooth glossy, flexible vinyl film that’s designed for vivid and high-quality digital print performance; promising great value for vibrant and creative applications with intermediate durability requirements, including:

“Our production teams were able to achieve sharp and smooth printing results with minimal fuss using the Avery Dennison MPI 2904 Easy Apply.

It was a seamless process, and we

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Outdoor signage

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Wall murals

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ndoor and outdoor advertising

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Floor graphics

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Fleet vehicles with flat surfaces or simple curves.

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These films, which have undergone extensive and comprehensive testing, further backed by the company’s longestablished Integrated Component System(ICS) Warranty Program, are the Avery Dennison MPI 2904 Easy Apply. Easy Apply technology means that it has air egress channels that easily eliminate bubbles and wrinkles during application.

Read The Full Story

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Learn More

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Learn more about the new digital print solutions

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NATIVE GRASSES, THE UNSUNG HEROS… ✦ Daniel “Chook” Fowler from Greenbourne Nursery talks Australian Native Grasses and using them to add contrast with their unique colours and structures.

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few years ago, I was growing hundreds of thousands of grass tubes for the highway upgrades between Port Macquarie and Ballina.

It now seems like a lifetime ago. Loads of species like Lomandra, Dianella and Themeda, just to name a few.

The species list was basically to replace endemic varieties that had been removed in the road making process. The majority of the plants requested by the RMS were standard re-vegetation varieties that can be considered a little boring to the home ornamental garden.

However, they all were very hardy and drought tolerant.

These plants were planted into barren areas, watered a couple of times, then left to fend for themselves. The survival rate was always high, even in the toughest of situations. So, it makes sense that they should be used in a more domestic capacity. Along come organisations like Ozbreed. They noticed this and began developing a range of grasses that not only are tough survivors, they are also select forms that are quite spectacular in their appearance and seasonal displays. From the common native wild species, they have bred and selected varieties that are now sold all over the world.

Australia’s ornamental native grasses look great in the garden. They can add contrast with both their unique colours and structural appearance. There are ornamental grasses for all conditions. Some for the dry areas, some for the wet, the hot, the cold and the poor soils and the rich soils. There is certainly a native grass out there for you to try in your garden.

Here are some examples of some of the great options available…

Pennisetum ‘NAFRAY’ Nafray is a beautiful mid-sized grass with green foliage and masses of foxtail-like flowers held just above the foliage from late summer to autumn. Nafray is a great grass for damp areas in the garden and, for this reason, they are often called Swamp Foxtail Grass. A mid-sized native grass with foxtail flowers in autumn.

Pennisetum ‘CREAM LEA’ Cream Lea is a select variety of the Australian native grass, Pennisetum alopecuroides. Cream Lea is a tall grass with

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Pennisetum ‘NAFRAY’

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Pennisetum ‘CREAM LEA’

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B RILLIA NT B USI N E SSE S green foliage to 1.2 metres, and flowers that are creamywhite in colour are held above the foliage to 1.4 metres.

Cream Lea holds its foliage colour overwinter better than all other Pennisetum varieties. Pennisetum is often called Swamp Foxtail Grass because they like to have a moist soil to perform at their best. Saying this, Cream Lea will still grow very well in a mulched garden bed, and it is also reasonably drought tolerant. The Cream Lea variety of Pennisetum flowers in autumn with cream coloured foxtail like flower heads.

Dianella ‘LITTLE JESS’ Little Jess is a small compact form of Dianella with bright green foliage. The compact nature of Little Jess makes it an ideal border plant along pathways and garden borders.

When planted close together, it can form a low informal hedge. It has beautiful bluish-purple flowers in spring. Little Jess is one of the best cultivars of Dianella on the market today. It works well mass planted in clumps of 5 to 7 plants.

Unlike other Dianella caerulea cultivars with a spreading habit, Little Jess is a clumping form with tightly held foliage that gives it a neat appearance. It is great for small gardens because of its compact size.

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Dianella ‘LITTLE JESS’ ’

Themeda ‘MINGO’ Mingo is a prostrate, blue form of Kangaroo Grass (Themeda australis) that makes an excellent groundcover plant. The beautiful blue foliage contrasts nicely with the rusty, reddish-brown flower heads. Mingo is an ideal ground for native gardens and can make an informal native lawn. Themeda australis ‘Mingo’ is a tough, hardy grass that will add a touch of colour to the garden with its blue foliage, which changes colour in autumn to get purple and reddish tones. Mingo has sterile seeds, so it will never become weed-like other grasses can. Mingo can be planted and trained as an informal native lawn; the key to success is to plant 20 plants per m2 and mow on a high mower setting so you don’t scalp the grass.

Poa ‘KINGSDALE’

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Themeda ‘MINGO’

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Poa ‘KINGSDALE’

Kingsdale is a native tussock grass that will add a touch of colour to your garden with its bluish-grey arching foliage. Grasses like Kingsdale are perfect for softening hard surfaces and adding an element of movement with the slightest breeze. Kingsdale is suited to seaside coastal gardens and will also be at home in inland country gardens.

Poa 'Kingsdale' resembles the exotic grass Blue Fescue, (Festuca glauca), a popular ornamental grass prized for its blue foliage. Kingsdale is a cool-season grass that actively grows over the cooler months of the year. In summer, it flowers with the seed head held above the foliage.

Poa ‘ESKDALE’ Poa 'Eskdale' is an ideal choice for gardeners seeking a grassy effect for their garden. The fine bluish-green foliage with an upright to arching form is ideal for softening hard surfaces such as paving and fences. When used on mass, it creates a wild, windswept look in the garden. Poa 'Eskdale' is a cool-season grass that holds its colour well over winter

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in even the coldest climates. It flowers in summer with feathery seed heads held above the foliage. In hot northern climates, the foliage will brown off in summer as it enters a dormant phase, then in autumn, it will emerge with new growth again.

Lomandra ➸ ‘TROPIC CASCADE’

Lomandra ‘TROPIC CASCADE’ Lomandra ‘Tropic Cascade’ has deep green weeping foliage and large fragrant yellow flowers that put on a real show in spring to early summer. The compact growth habit makes Tropic Cascade ideal for smaller gardens, and it is suited to both wet and dry garden conditions in full sun to part shade. Tropic Cascade is a lower growing compact cultivar of the popular Slender Mat Rush or Lomandra hystrix.

The weeping foliage is the essential distinctive quality of this grass as it adds a softness to the garden. It has masses of fragrant yellow flowers in spring to early summer that is held high amongst the foliage, and they make a great display when in full bloom.

The flowers of Tropic Cascade are male, which means that the flowers will be uniform and produce no seeds; (Lomandra are dioecious, meaning that male and female flowers grow on different plants). Tropic Cascade is an ideal understory or foliage plant for tropical gardens and works well either planted on mass or randomly through the garden as individual specimen plants. As with the standard Slender Mat Rush, Tropic Cascade can be grown in Rain Gardens to absorb nutrients.

Grasses plant best in bulk….

When using grasses, you can obtain a real dynamic display by planting them in large numbers. A large mass of grasses will move together in rhythmic harmony as the wind plays with the arching foliage. It can be quite breath taking. While your local nursery will have a good selection of mature grasses for you to achieve this, there is a great way to purchase grasses in bulk. Grasses perform very well from tube stock. It is a very economic way to purchase large quantities of these slender beauties.

Greenbourne nursery is fortunate to be in partnership with one of the best online tube stock nurseries in the country: The Plant Hub. At theplanthub.com.au you are able to browse through an extensive range of tube stock, both grasses and shrubs. The quality is second to none and the delivery service is quick and secure. Go for it, try some grass tubes today.

So, gone are the days of boring Lomandras and evasive Dianellas. The Australian native grass range offers gardens a truly worthwhile product. Come into the nursery and check out our range or just pop by for a friendly chat, thanks.

Happy Gardening, Daniel “Chook” Fowler

For All Your Gardening Needs Greenbourne Nursery, Wauchope Plants and Landscape Supplies a/ 239 High St, Wauchope NSW 2446 p/ +612 6585 2117 w/ greenbournenurserywauchope.com.au f/ www.facebook.com/midcoast.com.au

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Greenbourne Nursery

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GROWING ISABELLA GRAPES SINCE 1863 TO CREATE A GOOD DROP! ✦ An unusual offering, exclusive to Douglas Vale Homestead & Vineyard, is their 1821 Portabella. It's been over 150 years since George Francis planted Isabella vines on his property in Port Macquarie. His vines went in at Douglas Vale in 1863.

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r Francis put a quarter of his 18 hectare property under vines.

As there was no refrigeration back then all wines were fortified, commonly known as port.

He called his Portabella. The name remains to this day and is the main wine produced and sold by Douglas Vale Historic Homestead & Vineyard.

it won International wine awards from the vines that remain at the vineyard today.

the vintage, sugar content, diseases and pests that affected the grapes, and climatic conditions.

Mr Francis was winning awards in Bordeaux in 1882, in Amsterdam in 1883, in London in 1886.

All that remained when the Conservation Group at Douglas Vale formed in 1995 to restore and conserve the property, were three of the original vines.

As nobody kept a bottle, it is uncertain if there is much of a difference between the two vintages.

History tells us though, that the Portabella wine produced by Mr Francis was a good drop back then;

Margaret Wilson was an amazing lady by all accounts, the winemaker at her father’s winery for the last 20 years of its operations. Margaret is the most documented vigneron of the 1880s.

She kept detailed diaries describing

His sons weren't keen on continuing in their father's footsteps, but his daughter was.

He told us, “ The wine has some very different characteristics. It's gone from being a light Ruby style port to a full blown proper tawny port, different in colour, and different in taste.

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B RILLIA NT B USI N E SSE S If you're fond of a good full strong port, this might be just the one for you.”

From those three original vines, in 1988 the group started to replant the vineyard. Fast forward to 2022 and the first nine rows are of the Isabella from the 1900s.

Run entirely by Volunteers Douglas Vale Historic Homestead & Vineyard is the only volunteer run property of its kind in Australia. The group’s aim is to continue to preserve this iconic site as a working museum and vineyard for future generations.

Douglas Vale in addition to the Isabella grape, now also grows Chambourcin, a red grape, and Villard Blanc, a white grape, both French hybrids.

We spoke with Ron, one of the volunteers who poured us a glass

of Portabella from the 2013 harvest for a tasting.

The fortified wine produced from Douglas Vale’s dark purple heirloom grape variety “Isabella” has been wood matured in oak casks for two years. A tawny colour, this is a simple fruity style Portobella that will continue to improve with cellaring. Perfect for your after dinner enjoyment.

The Homestead and Vineyard operates through the day, providing tastings of all the different wines that they have made from the grapes grown on the grounds.

“So we have a range from the original portabella made from black Isabella grapes through to our range from Chambourcin, a rose, a straight Chambourcin and a Heritage Red." Ron said. "And then we also have two very, very nice white wines that we make from the Villard Seyval hybrid known as Villard Blanc, a

variety suited to our humid north coast climate and one we call the white cockatoo. Named after the family’s pet cockatoo, this white wine is a blend of Villard Blanc and Chardonnay.”

The homestead and its curtilage are classified by the National Trust of Australia and it is included in the Port Macquarie/Hastings Council list of Heritage sites.

Volunteers Wanted Being a not-for-profit organisation run totally by volunteers, Douglas Vale welcomes new volunteers, so if you have some free time please consider dropping in for a chat. More hands make light work!

Be part of the team preserving historical Douglas Vale. Contact douglasvale.com.au

Download Ebook

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Brilliant

INVESTMENTS ✦ Disclaimer ASX companies engage Brilliant-Online to share their commentary on the progress of their companies and projects.

The author, owners of Brilliant-Online and associated entities may or may not hold shares of these companies. The content above is the writer’s personal opinion and is provided to you for information only and is not intended to be general or personal advice nor will it create/induce the creation of any binding legal relations.

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THE TRUE VALUE OF VENTURE MINERALS LIMITED (ASX:VMS) ✦ Confidence is rising for Venture Minerals, with a portfolio packed with prospectives and a robust Green Tin story evolving.

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Andrew Radonjic, Managing Director returns with Noel Ong, CEO of Samso for another Coffee With Samso about VMS' developments.

One could perhaps say that Venture Minerals Limited has a bit of an identity crisis.

And a very good one at that. They have an impressive portfolio of highly prospective exploration projects, so that makes them seen as a mineral explorer.

However, they also have a world class tin mining project. Which makes them also worthy of being seen as a tin producer. Either way, if we focus on just one, it makes them either an Undervalued Mineral Explorer or an Undervalued Tin Producer.

Andrew Radonjic, Managing Director returns with Noel Ong, CEO of Samso for another Coffee With Samso about VMS' developments.

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✲ "One important thing to note is the Green Metal and No Emission movement.

It is only getting stronger every day which means investors have their eyes open wide on the plight of the Tin Story. With Venture Minerals" - Noel Ong, CEO Samso

2022 is set to pan out. Based on how the company was doing late last year, there is confidence growing among the shareholders, and the coming months may well bring happy news as well.

Mr. Radonjic and Noel discuss recent developments and the prospectivity of the VMS' projects such as Mount Lindsay, Thor (Julimar look-alike), Kulin, Golden Grove North and Riley.

One important thing to note is the Green Metal and No Emission movement. It is only getting stronger every day which means investors have their eyes open wide on the plight of the Tin Story. With Venture Minerals' Tin story going strong, this is looking like the planets are aligning themselves perfectly on Venture Minerals' timeline of projects and discoveries.

About Andrew Radonjic Qualifications: BAppSc (Mining Geology), MSc (Mineral Economics), MAus/MM

It's not every day that a company can enjoy this status of having the best of both worlds.

For shareholders and investors alike, it would be well worth putting in the effort to do a bit of homework, what Noel affectionately calls DYOR (Do Your Own Research). Venture Minerals is one company to put on one's watch screen.

Andrew Radonjic, the Managing Director, shares his thoughts on how

Mr. Radonjic is a geologist and mineral economist with over 30 years of experience in mining and exploration, with an initial focus on gold and nickel in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia.

Andrew has fulfilled a variety of senior roles which gave rise to three gold discoveries, totalling in excess of 3 million ounces in resources and resulting in 1.5 million ounces being produced. Since 2006 Andrew has been an executive director with Venture Minerals, which he has been co-leading during the discovery of the Mount Lindsay Tin-Tungsten deposit. Andrew is a founder and recently was a director of Blackstone Minerals Limited (ASX: BSX).

Contact Venture Minerals Limited (ASX:VMS):

About Venture Minerals Limited Venture Minerals Ltd (ASX: VMS) is entering an exciting phase as the Company moved from a highly successful explorer to producer with completion of the first shipment from the Riley Iron Ore Mine in northwest Tasmania.

At the neighbouring Mount Lindsay Tin-Tungsten Project, higher Tin prices and the recognition of Tin as a fundamental metal to the battery revolution has refocused Venture’s approach to developing Mount Lindsay. Already one of the world's largest undeveloped TinTungsten deposits, the Company has commenced an Underground Feasibility Study on Mount Lindsay that will leverage off the previously completed work.

In Western Australia, Chalice Mining (ASX: CHN) recently committed to spend up to $3.7m in Venture’s South West Project, to advance previous exploration completed by Venture to test a Julimar lookalike Nickel-CopperPGE target.

At the Company’s Golden Grove North Project, it has already intersected up to 7% Zinc, 1.3% Copper and 2.1g/t Gold at Orcus and has identified several, strong EM conductors to be drill tested along the 5km long VMS (Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide) Target Zone, along strike to the world class Golden Grove Zinc-Copper-Gold Mine.

Venture recently doubled the NickelCopper-PGE landholding at Kulin by securing two highly prospective 20-kilometre long Ni-Cu-PGE targets.

+61 (08) 6279 9428 admin@ventureminerals.com.au www.ventureminerals.com.au Suite 3, Level 3, 24 Outram Street, West Perth, Western Australia 6005

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GREAT BOULDER RESOURCES LIMITED AND ITS HIGH-GRADE GOLD PROJECT ✦ Patience is key, and it is helping the company discover a new mineral camp or province - the Side Well Project.

Noel Ong, CEO of Samso has finally managed to get Andrew Paterson, Managing Director of Great Boulder Resources Limited (ASX:GBR) to share his insights over a cup of Coffee with Samso.

Noel has been an advocate for mineral exploration for a long time. The recent discovery of Great Boulder Resources Limited's Side Well Project affirms his belief.

The Great Boulder story is one that he has been following since 2020. It has taken a while for the planets to be aligned, but Noel finally managed to get the Managing Director, Andrew Paterson to join him for a chat.

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Andrew Paterson, Managing Director of Great Boulder Resources Limited (ASX:GBR) shares his insights with Noel Ong, CEO of Samso

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B RI LLIA NT I N V E S TM ENT S Their recent conversation is making Noel even more eager to follow their development.

When Noel first looked at Great Boulder Resources, they were a company with a market capitalisation of less than AUD10M. Today, they are sitting at AUD52M. For Noel, he understands that punters are going to see this as a 5 bag investment that has been played out.

Considering that the company has a discovery but not the resource or even the initial information of building a resource, the AUD52M market cap is the premium one would be willing to pay for a safer "punt".

About Great Boulder Resources Limited (ASX: GBR) Great Boulder is a mineral exploration company looking for gold and base metals in Western Australia. With over 1,000km2 of tenements spread across its key projects at Kalgoorlie, Meekatharra and Yamarna the Company is leveraged for exploration success.

Having made two large-scale copper-nickel sulphide discoveries at Yamarna within two years of listing, GBR has a track record of exploration success backed by a strong technical team. Early-stage exploration success on the gold projects in recent months have now set the Company up for an exciting year ahead.

Given the current state of the world, investors would need to be careful about their investments. With the situation in Ukraine and the inflationary circumstances of the post pandemic world, there is much threatening the stability of the life we now have. What this means is, any investment would need to be more calculated than before, and money that goes into exploration stocks has more risks.

With or without these challenging times, Noel never tires of stressing how important it is to have an indepth look into the technical aspects of a company and how it is managed.

Great Boulder Resources Limited has some great stories, and one cannot deny that their recent discovery in a new tectonic setting is highly attractive. One could say that they have discovered a new mineral camp or province.

Noel found Mr. Paterson to be a straight shooter and technically versed to share his thoughts.

What he appreciates is his lack of blue sky narrative and his realistic expectations of what's to come. This is a thought leader you'd want to pose your questions to.

Contact Great Boulder Resources Limited (ASX: GBR):

+61 8 9321 6037 admin@greatboulder.com.au www.greatboulder.com.au/ Level 1, 51 Colin Street, West Perth, Western Australia 6005

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MATADOR MINING LIMITED IS SEEING THE BIRTH OF A TIER-1 GOLD MINER ✦ Noel Ong, CEO of Samso is finally having his long awaited conversation with Ian Murray, Executive Chairman of Matador Mining Limited (ASX:MZZ).

The market does not realise that Matador is a miner in the making. Matador is a company that will be a miner with multi million ounces of gold.

If his memory serves him right, Noel first met Mr. Murray in 2011 at Mines and Money in Hong Kong. They had a brief conversation then about what Gold Road was doing and how Noel was impressed with their tenure in the Yarmana Greenstone Belt.

Since then Noel had wanted to speak to Mr. Murray again. It took some time, but as they say, better late than never.

A few years down the road and it looks like the company is on another similar project. What stands out in this project is it looks easier, and is destined to be a gold mining district.

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Noel Ong, CEO of Samso has a conversation with Ian Murray, Executive Chairman of Matador Mining Limited (ASX:MZZ).

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B RI LLIA NT I N V E S TM ENT S Basically, the Cape Ray project is one that has the potential to be a multi million ounce gold mine.

All it needs now is drilling. And more drilling.

For Noel, Matador is not being valued appropriately. This is why: 1. They have projects with a market capitalisation of just under AUD64M. 2. They have resources of over 800K ounces.

3. They have a project that is striking 120km.

So clearly, there is a great disconnect in this picture.

Take a good look at the fundamentals of the company and DYOR. It's not the first time the company is doing this. It is a simple process of making sure funding exists, and to keep drilling.

Noel had had another earlier conversation with Warren Potma about how the company is systematically working on the project, and one of the imposing features of this project is the 120 km of strike (length), where the company is continuously finding gold mineralisation.

Mr. Murray updates what has been happening since then in the company, what they are doing now and what is to come. What Noel appreciates in this conversation is the lack of a blue sky style narrative. With Mr. Murray, it's simple and clear facts.

About Matador Mining Limited (ASX: MZZ) Matador Mining Limited is an exploration company that is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). The company has its main project in the south-western area of Newfoundland, Canada. The Project is about 25 km northeast of the coastal town of Port aux Basques and is located on the Cape Ray shear, one of the most prospective, yet under-explored gold regions in North America. The Company is the largest holder of ground along the Cape Ray shear, with approximately 120 km of continuous strike along the shear. The Company’s tenement boundary is located approximately 50 km along strike from Marathon Gold’s (MOZ.TSX) 4.2Moz Valentine Lake Gold Project.

Of course, one could say that well, they have a non-Australian project. Yes, and we also need to remember that the world is moving past the pandemic, and we are finding ourselves in a very inflationary situation.

So, a good gold project in a Tier-1 jurisdiction is actually critical.

With Matador, it is no longer about whether they will have a resource.

For Noel, his focus is on these three things: 1. How big is it?

2. When will they be in production?

3. When will they be consumed by a bigger player?

Contact Matador Mining Limited (ASX: MZZ):

+61 8 6117 0478 info@matadormining.com.au matadormining.com.au Level 20, 140 St George’s Terrace, Perth WA 6000

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EMU NL (ASX: EMU) HAS AN UNDERRATED STORY WITH STRATEGIC EXPLORATION PROJECTS ✦ Emu NL (ASX:EMU) has a story about an early stage but highly prospective project.

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Noel Ong, CEO of Samso is with Doug Grewar, CEO of Emu NL (ASX:EMU) to unravel the company's true value.

If the name of the company does not jump out at you immediately, it's because for some time it has been flying under the radar screen of many investors. And it still is. Perhaps it is high time investors put this company on their To Do list of DYOR companies.

Noel Ong, CEO of Samso is with Doug Grewar, CEO of Emu NL (ASX:EMU) to unravel the company's true value.

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Noel has always advocated for investors to Do Your Own Research.

Tune in to what Mr. Grewar has to say, and make some exciting discoveries about a relatively unknown and undervalued mineral explorer.

Especially since investors are always on the look out for companies that are undervalued. If Emu NL's management stays true to their intentions, this company could well fit the bill.

About Emu NL (ASX: EMU)

Emu NL's story is not unlike that of Venture Minerals Limited when they first started. Check out Noel's very first conversation with Venture Minerals. Both companies share the similarity of being diversified mineral explorers that have projects with true prospectivity.

What is really key in mineral exploration are these two components - a good technical story and a management that is in tune with the story of discovery Interested punters, get your research hats on. This may well be a good time to do some digging on Emu NL. Mr. Grewar has great insights to share in this chat with Noel. With this being at the high end of risks in a mineral explorer, Noel thinks this is worth a look. Also, the projects are in new frontier land and it will not take a lot to give it value.

Emu NL (ASX: EMU) is a highly active Australian resource exploration company focused on new discoveries which have the potential to add significant value to investors and shareholders.

In September 2020, following an extensive project generation phase and due diligence, EMU acquired “Gnows Nest”, a near production gold project which includes the historic high grade Gnows Nest Gold Mine, near Yalgoo in the Murchison Region of Western Australia. The project is situated 27 kms north west of the Scuttles Golden Grove mine, a base metals and gold project that has been operating for 30 years.

Emu also acquired three exploration projects in Southwest Western Australia. The package of projects which include Sunfire, Viper and Graceland have a strong history of lead up exploration or historical mine workings and are highly prospective for Copper, Nickel, PGEs and Gold.

This would remind old-timers in the industry of the classic game of high risks, high returns.

Contact Emu NL (ASX: EMU):

+61 419 833 604 info@emunl.com.au www.emunl.com.au 10 Walker Ave, West Perth WA 6005

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COOPER METALS LIMITED UPDATES ON COPPER AND GOLD IN MT ISA ✦ Noel Ong, CEO of Samso catches up with Ian Warland, Managing Director of Cooper Metals Limited (ASX:CPM). Mr. Warland is an exploration geologist with more than three decades of experience.

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The chase continues for copper and gold in this mineral exploration story.

Noel is one to walk the talk, and as often as he advocates investors to DYOR, he himself also buries himself deep in research when he is excited about something.

And that is the case for the story of Cooper Metals. Noel is very keen on this project and is doing an in-depth DYOR. It is not every day that he finds something so different with potential still in the ground. This is really just the beginning, and the latest geophysical surveys are indicating some reasonable target.

"Copper is where you see it on the surface", says Ian Warland.

Noel's first conversation with Cooper Metals was in December 2021. Much has happened since then.

Noel Ong, CEO of Samso catches up with Ian Warland, Managing Director of Cooper Metals Limited (ASX:CPM).

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Here are just some of the updates.

1. The share price for the company has risen substantially as Carnaby Resources Limited (ASX: CNB) made a significant discovery nearby. The announcement on the 17th December 2021 had set the scene for similar discoveries in this region, and this is the scenario: "The RC pre-collar to NLDD044 has intersected a 34m down hole zone of copper sulphide including a 24m zone of mostly semi massive copper sulphide containing 5-40% chalcopyrite based on visual estimates."

2. When the next announcement on the 29th December 2021 came out with the assays, it was a race for the young and old.

The title read: "MAJOR COPPER GOLD DISCOVERY 41m @ 4.1% COPPER, INCLUDING 9m @ 10.3% COPPER AT GREATER DUCHESS PROJECT" 41m @ 4.1% copper, 0.5 g/t gold from 247m Incl. 24m @ 6.5% copper, 0.7g/t gold from 251m

•

Incl. 9m @ 10.3% copper, 1.2g/t gold from 264m

Cooper Metal's ASX Announcement 1st Dec 2021

About Cooper Metals Limited

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•

3. Basically, the Mt. Isa East project is now in play and Ian and his team are edging to get out there and prove that they too have similar potential. The company has a market capitalisation of $20M and it is just near discovery.

If discovery happens for Cooper Metals, and the chances are looking pretty good, this will be north of $100M. In addition, Carnaby has shown the world that there is more in the ground than people have thought of in the last few decades.

All the fruits may still be in the ground. More to be revealed. Stay tuned.

Contact Cooper Metals Limited (ASX:CPM):

Cooper Metal’s flagship Mt Isa East Cu-Au Project covers over 1300 sq km of tenure with numerous historical Cu-Au workings and prospects already identified for immediate follow up exploration. The Mt Isa Inlier is highly prospective for iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) and shear hosted Cu +/- Au deposits.

Mt Isa East is complimented by two early stage Projects in WA within proven well mineralised districts. The Yamarna Gold Project located along strike from Gold Roads 6.16 Moz world class Gruyere Gold Deposit (ASX: GOR) has an extensive length of untested Dorothy Hills Shear Zone that was important in the formation of Gruyere < 10 km to the southeast.

Lastly the Gooroo Cu and Au Project covers newly identified greenstone belt ~20 km from Silver Lakes Deflector mine. The 26 km expanse of covered greenstone belt has had almost no exploration and was only added to government geology maps in 2020 after reinterpretation of geophysical data.

0410 504 272 enquiries@coopermetals.com.au www.coopermetals.com.au

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Brilliant

HEALTH ✦

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HOLISTIC BODY AND MIND ✦ The Nutrition Network founder Erin Miller is an Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) and Nutritionist.

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rin's aim is to mend the gap between knowing and doing. Erin teaches you how to have a healthy relationship with food and to understand your health conditions by providing individualised dietary and lifestyle advice.

The Nutrition Network is her home and she opens her doors to assist in improving your health whilst guiding and fully supporting you on your journey.

Her wellness programs focus on a wholefood approach with nutritional assessments, face to face consultations or online video calls.

Based on the Mid North Coast, NSW her clinic sits snuggly inside the walls of her family run business Plunge café, in Forster.

Health & Holistic Seminars Run monthly within Plunge café, Erin hosts professionals to deliver community health education sessions. Established after acknowledging how beneficial her clients were responding to a multidisciplinary team approach, the community health hub was derived from recognising the paramount connection between different local health professionals and individualised care.

Coming together, eating together, discussing different health topics and being educated by a health professional, is Erin’s ideal aspiration.

Erin believes developing a health ‘network’ ensures long term outcomes for clients, while providing a path for practitioners to cross-refer, consequently strengthening a client's healthcare journey.

She, along with business partner Rebecca Hurtrel, have developed a boutique wellness business together called Soleil.

Having years experience working as health professionals, Soleil wellness is experienced in guiding guests in their health journeys.

Erin, as a dietitian, and Rebecca, as an Occupational Therapist and Yoga Teacher, are both wellness focused health professionals. They draw on their extensive health knowledge to help clients adopt practical tools to shape the lives of their dreams.

Suivre Le Soleil Wellness, meaning ‘follow the sun’ in French, cultivates wellness events on the Barrington Coast.

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Their philosophy is to awaken your own inner sunshine, by guiding you to find your inner glow through movement, nutrition, meditation, connection, breath work and community.

Soleil’s wellness events are an opportunity to press pause on life. Wanting guests to see their events as time to re-connect with themselves, to relax and to learn skills to take forward with them in the aim of shaping a really beautiful life. The sanctuary’s events involve yoga outdoors and eating delicious food handcrafted from the chefs at Plunge café. A space to chat, connect, learn and just be for a while.

The sanctuary events make wellness enjoyable and inspiring. They are an invitation to take the space you need to realign your life and rituals. The aim is for everyone to feel as though they have the tools to design their dream life.

Erin and Rebecca believe that health and wellness should be simple and enjoyable.

Movement should feel good, healthy food should be delicious and taking care of yourself should be the norm. As per the name of their business follow the sunthey know that everyone has the potential to shine brightly.

Upcoming Wellness Events

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Offering Rejuvenation & Winter Wellness Sanctuary’s, Soleil Wellness is a celebration of yoga, mindfulness, nutritional education, wholesome food and reflection.

Check out @suivre_le_soleil_wellness for upcoming wellness events.

@thenutritionnetwork

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If you’re interested in improving your health or the health of your family, connect with Erin from @thenutritionnetwork_ for dietetic and wellness consultations.

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BLISS BALL TIME! ✦ A great healthy snack option! Erin Miller from The Nutrition Network shared with us one of her healthy snacks.

“I would have this alongside some cut up fruit as a snack in between my main meal," said Erin. "It’s usually on the go!

Ingredients •

Macadamia nuts 3/4 cup

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Maple syrup 1/4 cup

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Spirulina 2 tsp

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Desiccated coconut 1 cup

Method 1. Blend all together, set in fridge for 1/2 hour & roll with extra coconut.

2. Freeze a batch for later use or eat within 1 week.

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HEALING DIASTASIS RECTI AT MY BODY MY PILATES, TOKYO ✦ What is diastasis recti?

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hat is quite a mouthful to say. But what exactly is diastasis recti?

When women get pregnant or when men and women gain excessive weight, the abdominal fascia gets tightened, stretched out and restricted. The recti abdominal muscles are separated to accommodate the belly to grow. It is commonly seen post-pregnancy but even heavy-weight bodybuilders and professional athletes are prone to abdominal muscle separation. In fact, what is surprising is this last group of people are the ones who suffer from it most.

How does the healing program work?

Each session begins with a gentle massage therapy by Kayoko. The abdominal massage works by releasing tightness on tissues and muscles, increasing visceral circulation and releasing scar tissue. This helps to ease and prepare the body for the

Pilates exercises. This is a healing program, so the body is given the safe support it needs. Starting the session with massage therapy is a way of communicating with the body, respecting how it is during each session.

Helen then takes over and guides the clients through a series of Pilates exercises. These gradually build up to allow the body time to understand what it needs to do, strengthening and toning gradually, and freeing up space to allow realignment to take place naturally.

Find out more about My Body My Pilates:

For best results, these sessions should be attended weekly, and clients are also given simple exercises to do twice a week. This helps remind the body what it feels like to be aligned and toned. The body has its own way of remembering movements and sensations, and it works best when it is given regular reminders.

Read The Full Story

+81 080 7718 2544 www.mybodymypilates.com 106-0046 Tōkyō-to, Minato-ku, Motoazabu, 3 Chome−5−11 , 1/F Block C Majes Motoazbu Garden

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Helen Zhang, founder of My Body My Pilates in Tokyo has been using Pilates to work with mothers to heal diastasis recti since 2014 when she was in Shanghai. The mothers have experienced very positive and effective results, with healing ranging from 3cm to 0.5/1cm.

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Flyzolo Team Update: Blue skies over the Thames in #London today as Zara was awarded the "Aviation Achievement Award" from AeroTime Hub by the Right Honourable Dame Eleanor Laing, DBE MP, deputy speaker at the UK House of Commons.

Zara is joining quite a few amazing female names in receiving this Award which states: "In recognition of her record breaking journey, becoming the youngest female pilot to fly solo around the world between August 18th 2021 and January 2022 ; for her encouragement and support of women to persue STEM subjects and to join aviation industry; for inspiring the next generation of aviators to pursue their dreams. The Aerotime global executive committee recognises the positive influence of these efforts and the significance of the impact on the aviation industry and its people, both today and into the future."

Photo Credit: Flysolo

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Brilliant

SPORTS ✦

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AROUND THE WORLD IN 155 DAYS...

WITH ZARA RUTHERFORD ✦ Zara became the youngest woman to fly solo around the world earlier this year.

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any people have achieved many great things in life in a variety of ways. Setting a Guinness World Record has always been regarded as the barometer of great achievement.

Achieving two is flat out impressive but to do so at such a young age is truly admirable!

That was the feat achieved by 19-year-old Zara Rutherford who recently became the youngest female pilot to solo circumnavigate the world, travelling over 32,000 miles (51,000 km) and making more than 60 stops across five continents during her five-month trip.

OK, time out. Flying around the world, on your own, aged only 19? Add into the mix this was done during the most devastating pandemic in living memory where a series of red tape issues and inclement weather sagas meant a twomonth delay makes it all the more mind-blowing!

Zara, who has dual British-Belgian nationality, set off from Belgium on August 18 last year and landed in the same country on January 20, 2022.

The record for the youngest woman to fly solo around the world was previously set by American Shaesta Waiz, who was 30 at the time of her challenge in 2017. Not only did Zara beat that record but she also now holds the title for the first woman to circumnavigate the world in a microlight aircraft. Furthermore, she is also the first Belgian to fly around the world alone.

Challenges Despite the incredible achievement, there were a myriad of challenges en route - some anticipated, some not.

Bad weather forced a longer than planned stay in Nome, Alaska resulting in her Russian visa expiring then having to be reapplied for. Wildfire smoke in California forced an unplanned stop and paperwork issues in Indonesia likewise where she spent two nights sleeping in the airport terminal.

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She experienced an earthquake in Mexico, instrument malfunctions in New Mexico and a flat tyre in Singapore which left her stranded in the Lion City over Christmas.

Being denied permission to fly over China meant she had to navigate one of the busiest aviation routes in the world to reach South Korea while avoiding Chinese and North Korean airspace.

If anything were to go wrong, the plane had a parachute and Zara had been trained in how to evacuate the aircraft under water.

Thankfully nothing major did go wrong and, despite the various challenges, the trip offered plenty of highlights with the vast, desolate expanses of Siberia being a personal favourite of the young pilot.

“One of the most impressive moments was flying over Siberia, because it is just so remote and I don’t know if I’ll ever get to see it again,” she said. Saudi Arabia also stood out as “really beautiful, very diverse and the weather was great”.

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Zara also managed to take time out in the British Virgin Islands where she was a guest of Sir Richard Branson at his Necker resort, enjoying lunch and a day of paddleboarding, playing tennis and exploring the island with the famed entrepreneur.

One of the main objectives behind her challenge was to shine a light on and provide opportunity for women in aviation, something that Zara feels passionate about.

Now she is back on the ground, her next challenge in September is University. She plans to study electrical engineering and harbours hopes of eventually becoming an astronaut.

Only a fool would bet against this incredibly impressive and ambitious young lady one day achieving that goal.

Read The Full Story

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Zara experienced optical illusions when flying over large stretches of ocean, and battled against intense turbulence while navigating a storm over Scotland.

Flyzolo Team Update: "Records are meant to be broken," Zara with Shaesta Waiz, the previous Guinness World Record holder of youngest woman flying solo around the world. In 2017 Shaesta was 30 when she broke the record. Photo Credit: Flysolo

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MEET LOUISE LANDGRAF - PHUKET’S YOUNG GOLF PRODIGY MAKING HER MARK ON THE GAME ✦ Sometimes people are just born to do something. Natural talent is in their blood and their destiny almost seems preordained.

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ow many of us grew up harbouring wishes of becoming a sports superstar? Countless hours spent in the park or back garden kicking a footie trying to emulate heroes such as Tony “Plugger” Lockett or David Campese? Pretending we were Donald Bradman or planting an ace on the court and celebrating like Pat Cash, sinking that crucial putt a la Greg Norman?

Sporting dreams and childhood go hand in hand although, for the majority, they remain just that as we realise we don’t quite possess the talent required to make it to the top as we slowly and reluctantly retreat to our armchairs to marvel at our heroes from afar.

There is one young lady, however, that is showing all the right signs that she may well be able to not

only pursue her dreams but actually achieve them.

Louise Landgraf is a 13-year-old resident of Phuket in Thailand who is good at golf. In fact she is very good at golf, to the extent that several expert observers have proclaimed her somewhat of a golf prodigy.

She has dreams of becoming a professional golfer, following in the footsteps of her idols such

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B RILLIA NT SP O R T S as Brooke Henderson, Minjee Lee and Lydia Ko. Louise, who is half-Thai and half-French, took an obvious shine to the sport when she was merely fouryears-old and it is fair to say she never looked back.

In 2015, while only six-years-old, Louise finished fourth out of 1,200 participants from 60 counties at the 46th IMG Golf Junior World Championship held in San Diego. She was just one shot behind 3rd place and only two behind 2nd place.

Four months shy of her seventh birthday she officially became the youngest member of the Laguna Golf Phuket club to achieve a hole-in-one.

Between 2014 and the present day, Louise has participated in over 80 competitions and tournaments, both in her homeland and overseas.

She has consistently finished in the top-three places in the majority of these tournaments, often claiming the top prize.

Last year playing in the World Star of Junior Golf Championships in Las Vegas, Louise’s first-round score of 64 (-8) was the lowest official score in her age bracket since the competition started several years ago and also a course record.

On returning home to Phuket Louise then won the Girls Under-14 American Cup by The Agency Recruit at her home course of Laguna Phuket Golf Club.

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Record-breaker Louise with one of her trophy in Las Vegas last year.

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Six-year-old Louise Landgraf celebrates her hole-in-one at the par 3 hole #8, pictured receiving a special certificate and prize from Club Manager Walaiporn Pattamavichitvong in 2015

This year Louise already has 21 competitions lined up which will see her return to the US and also take in tournaments in France.

Louise clearly has the full support of her proud parents. Speaking to her father Marc, it is clear he beams with pride and he and his wife offer full support to their aspiring daughter, which is heartwarming to witness.

The family are now looking at relocating so Louise can receive the requisite levels of coaching as she makes her inevitable move into the professional game.

Tentative plans are for a move Down Under to the idyllic Sunshine Coast, with locations such as Pelican Waters in Caloundra and Noosa strong possibilities.

Marc believes not only the golfing development opportunities available there are ideal but the general Aussie lifestyle is perfect for him, his wife and Louise to flourish.

Read The Full Story

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Louise is clearly not only super-talented but also a grounded, respectable young lady that has a bright future ahead of her. Watch this space as Louise Landgraf is a name you will no doubt be hearing a lot more of in the years to come...

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Artwork at Wauchope Creative Hub

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Brilliant

WAUCHOPE LASIANDRA FESTIVAL ✦

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WAUCHOPE IN FULL BLOOM FOR 38TH ANNUAL LASIANDRA FESTIVAL ✦ A fun event for all that is what it is thanks to community participation.

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auchope has been a sea of purple once again this March as residents, visitors to the town and business houses celebrated the annual Lasiandra Festival.

The festival celebrates the town’s floral emblem the Lasiandra and has been held each March for the past 38 years. To keep the festival going for such a length of time is a credit to the organising committee, business houses for their continued support and the community as a whole for their involvement.

Running from Friday, March 4, to Saturday, March 12, the two week event featured plenty of fun things to see and do – including the colourful Lasiandra Bike Night held in the grounds of Oxley Tyres, Bransdon Street on Friday March 4, and another successful Purple People Shopping and Market Day which took place on Thursday March 10.

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Lasiandra Bike Night

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fundraiser ➸ Watermelon for Flood Relief

Chrissy Jones, secretary of the festival committee, says “both the bike night and the shopping day which incorporated markets in the CBD, were a great success.

Both are fantastic community events, and give everyone something to look forward to in such trying times – not just locals, but people visiting the area from out of town too. “ She told us that it is most encouraging to see new business to the town jumping on board and being involved in Purple People Day, dressing up their staff and decorating their premises. A highlight for the Lasiandra Committee is the continued involvement from the local childcare centres. All centres across the town participated and The Mad Hatter House even took their children on an excursion down the Main Street of town much to the delight of the children.

Chrissy said, “ The involvement by the Preschools is fantastic. They are teaching the children from a young age just what community spirit is. To go to the schools and see what the children have been learning about the festival and the town is wonderful. They paint, do craft, eat purple food, have play time based on the festival for an entire week at least, the teachers are to be commended. I can’t thank them enough.”

The watermelon fundraiser for the Lismore flood victims was an outstanding success. Over $2000 was raised thanks to Coffee on High. It was a novel idea, pick your watermelon, name your price. Some generous Purple People Day shoppers donated $50 and up!

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Comments from some of the Purple People Day enthusiasts: Al’s Bakehouse “ It’s just such a fun day to be involved in a community event. We got into the spirit of the day by making purple cupcakes, purple finger buns, Chelsea buns, apple tea cakes and vanilla slices, all with purple icing. We decorated the shop with streamers and balloons and flowers. And of course the staff dressed up, it’s a fun day and we love to be involved”

➸ Al’s Bakehouse

TG’s Childcare High Street “ We have been doing paintings, glitter and purple and activities at TG’s High Street centre all week. The children love the purple glitter paint, everything involved with the colourful festival and flowers. The children have been making flowers all morning and blowing up balloons ready for today. We absolutely love the festival and being involved. A great community event that the children love to be involved in”

TG’s Childcare Hastings Street “ This year we planned our Lasiandra theme around the flower. The children have been making, drawing, painting their own representation of the flower. As you can see, our entire centre is decorated.

Helen our chef has made purple scones for afternoon tea. Each room has their own wall with a Lasiandra tree, decorated with the flowers the children have made. All our educators have enjoyed getting dressed up. They are really enthusiastic about the festival. Purple People Day is our favourite day of the year.”

➸ TG’s Childcare High Street

➸ TG’s Childcare Hastings Street

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TG’s Childcare Riverbreeze From Kate, ”So to prepare for this years festival, it is something we look forward to each year, we sent home personal sheets with every child to bring back, telling us what they love about your home and their favourite place to play and what they do as a family activity. We created a lot of artwork and have decorated the whole centre, pink and purple. We have spoken at group times about what we love about the Lasiandra Festival and our town of Wauchope.”

Wauchope Newsagency Cheryl told us, “ We painted a

Lasiandra tree across our window front to create a wish tree. Out the front of our store we have had a table, in place all week, where we have had Lasiandra flower paper cut outs for people to add their wishes or statement to our tree.” We asked her what her wish was? “Just to be happy.

Yeah, that's important.”

The Village Preschool From Amy, “ We've been celebrating Wauchope and the Lasiandra festival for the last few weeks at the Village Preschool. The children have been making Lasiandra out of paper mache. During craft, we've had, and are still having, lots of purple activities

and resources that they've been doing.” Something unique that the centre did was order some Lasiandra seeds for the children to grow the tree. Amy said, “We've been learning about how the Lasiandra trees grow.

The children have planted their own seed that we're hoping to cultivate over the year, and they can take home and plant in their own garden.

We have also had lots of sensory experiences, and especially with our older children, speaking about what we love about Wauchope and what the Lasiandra Festival means and is celebrating. We love joining in at this special time for our town.”

➸ Wauchope Newsagency

➸ TG’s Childcare Riverbreeze

➸ The Village Preschool

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Bugden & Partners Paul told us, “We always get involved in the Lasiandra Festival in some way. It’s a great community event. All the organisers that get together, get the town going, all the market stalls, and if you get involved you have bit of fun. It’s a good community thing to do, especially because the past couple of years we've all had to deal with COVID, the fires, the floods. To see people's happy faces when they are looking at your decorations puts a smile on your face, it is a great feeling.”

Golf, Bowls, Park-run, Minirail Fun Day A couple of events have been postponed due to unfavourable weather on the day, the Ladies Bowls and Golf, but will be held later in the month.

One event that means a lot to the Lasiandra Committee is the Jack Dwyer Memorial Twilight Triples. Held at the Wauchope Country Club by the Men Bowlers, this annual event was won by Mikle Simpson, Rick Simpson and Karen Simpson. Jack Dwyer was one of the original founders of the Lasiandra Festival and an avid lawn bowler.

➸ Bugden & Partners ➸ Jack Dwyer Memorial Triples Winners

The Purple Park Run held early on Saturday morning, 12th March was well patronised.

Lots of runners, walkers, and four legged friends donned their purple and had a fun event on the Hastings River foreshore.

Yippen Creek Mini-rail enthusiasts hosted their event in conjunction with the Lasiandra Festival later that morning.

Families from near and far turned up in droves. Many delighted children rode the trains, as well as Mums, Dads and Grandparents.

GO WOW!

From

SNAP PORT MACQUARIE 1/106 Horton St (02) 6583 7544 portmacquarie@snap.com.au

To

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➹

Purple Rain Art Competition Prize Ceremony was led by Wauchope Creative Hub and sponsored by the Wauchope Lasiandra Festival, Hastings Co-Op and Brilliant-Online.

Purple Rain Art Exhibition Award Ceremony, Saturday March 12 The Lasiandra Festival does a great job of instilling community spirit among locals and visitors to the town. This was evident at the newest event on the festival calendar, the Purple Rain Art Exhibition organised by the creatives at Wauchope Creative Hub. The gallery was adorned with an array of amazing artworks submitted by the entrants. Artworks in many mediums from paintings to hand felting to jewellery. It was a very hard task for the judges, Tim Walker from Hastings Co-operative (the main exhibition sponsor) and Lisa McPherson from Wauchope Chamber to ponder over.

After considerable deliberation, a decision was made and the winner and highly commended decided.

Congratulations to Alycia Lipovac @artbyalycialipovac. Alycia’s painting full of colour and energy was an unanimous decision from the judges.

➸ Winner Alycia Lipovac

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Gretchen Martin with her self portrait

Highly commended was awarded to Gretchen Martin with her self portrait and Diane King with her artwork “Purple Passion.”

Stu Doherty, representing Wauchope Creative Hub, extends his thanks to the Exhibition entrants and sponsors, Hastings Co-operative, Brilliant-online and the Wauchope Lasiandra Festival Committee.

Wauchope Creative Hub was proud to hold the inaugural Purple Rain art exhibition as part of the Wauchope Lasiandra Festival. Stu said, “ The entries were of such a high quality and we were so pleased to have so many of our local artists in attendance on Saturday at our prize ceremony.

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Alycia’s painting inspired by Prince’s song Purple Rain

Diane King with her artwork “Purple Passion”

Congratulations goes to Alicia Lipovac our overall prize winner, a fantastic young emerging artist who showed such vibrant coloring energy in her portrait. We also awarded some highly commended who were so varied and rich in their talent.”

The first place winner took home a generous hamper from Hastings Co-op and the highly commended also received beautiful engraved glasses in commemoration of the Wauchope Lasiandra Festival.

The exhibition continues until March 31, so you still have plenty of time to call into Wauchope Creative Hub and have a look for yourself.

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THE PURPLE PEOPLE WINNERS ARE… ✦ Our CEO, Veronica Lind was given the hard task of selecting the winners in the various categories of the 2022 Purple People Day Awards.

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he told us,“ I had the pleasure to judge the 38th Wauchope Lasiandra Festivals Purple People Day competition this year. Brilliant-Online has been supporting the Wauchope Lasiandra Festival, Wauchope businesses and the community for the past year in the lead up to the festival. It is heartening to see how some businesses are involving the community to show off how proud they are to be a part of their town Wauchope.”

Veronica said an example was TG’s Child Care at Riverbreeze; who showed us they are supporting their families who have local businesses, and they also encouraged their families to discuss with their children what they love about Wauchope and the Lasiandra Festival.

She added, “The local newsagency had cut out Lasiandra flowers and people were writing their wishes and pinning them onto their glass window. The Village Preschool had a sign up that said “Honk, if you love Wauchope”; cars were honking their horns all day! Wauchope Creative Hub encouraged budding artists to submit art entries in the Purple Rain theme. Even the Vietnamese ladies at Spectacular Beauty made their own pop-up Lasiandra Flower greeting cards.”

And like Lasiandra Secretary Chrissy said, “Brilliant-Online has brought the Wauchope Lasiandra Festival to another level.”

Check Out More Lasiandra Images

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Brilliant-online looks forward to our involvement next year.

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The Results - Staff Costume, Window Fronts & Premises Displays ✦ Best Dressed Individual Staff Costume ✦

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Winner - Toni Lee-Paine, TG’s Hastings St

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✦ Best Dressed All Staff ✦

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Winner - The Village Preschool & LDC

✦ Best Small Window Display ✦

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Winner - Spectacular Beauty

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✦ Best Large Window Display ✦

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Winner - TG’s Riverbreeze

✦ Best Premises Display ✦

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Winner - TG’s High Street

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✦ Best Charity ✦

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Winner - St Vincent de Paul

✦ Overall Winner ✦

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Wauchope Creative Hub

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WAUCHOPE CREATIVE HUB KEEPS THE LOCAL SCENE PAINTING ✦ Here is a snapshot of the most recent watercolour workshops at Wauchope Creative Hub.

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fter a couple of weeks in lockdown the local team of creatives at Wauchope Creative Hub are bursting at their seams to get back into their co-op.

Each month a new semester of painting workshops run in the workshop studio of Wauchope creative hub.

Local students range from beginners to more advanced and ages from 16 to 70. The subjects range from the simple colour techniques and brush work needed for beginners to the beautiful detailed Australian botanical studies of the more advanced classes.

Learn More & Book

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Bookings are open now for April and May sessions, details at Eventbrite:

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WEAVING THYME WITH TRISH MCINHERNY ✦ Local artist Patricia McInherny has developed a reputation for her beautiful hand woven baskets and art pieces in the Hastings region.

Trish sources natural materials to create her unique pieces.

Wauchope Creative Hub is thrilled to have Trish host more of her hands on weaving workshops in March.

Come weave with Trish Coil weave a small basket using local natural resources. $65 per participant (max 10 in a group). No refund policy.

Venue: Wauchope Creative Hub, 87 Cameron St Date/Time: 22nd March 2022 from 12pm to 3pm

Register

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