Greater Port Macquarie Focus - i199

Andrew Miedecke Motors 100 Hastings River Drive, Port Macquarie

Andrew Miedecke Motors 100 Hastings River Drive, Port Macquarie

PRESENTS THE COAST ' S LARGEST COLLECTION OF AUSTRALIAN ARGYLE

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October 13 - 16

02 5507 9552

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Our 199th edition of FOCUS.

Bring on number 200!!! But before we do, we have a jam packed October edition for you.

October is Mental Health Awareness Month and we thought the absolute best person to represent this was the one and only Ben Cudmore who, as you all know, is the face of Self Seen. A huge thank you to Ben for agreeing to be our cover star this month. Check out Ben’s interview on page 18.

Thank you, we will miss you Sadly we are losing a few of our “team” members this month. Sue, who has been our proofreader for 2 years, has to leave us due

to family commitments and we wish her all the best. Two of our amazing contributors are moving away onto new adventures. A huge thank you to the gorgeous Vanessa Lawrence and everyone’s favourite web designer Simon Bank for your wonderful contributions to FOCUS. We have loved having you as part of our team and wish you good luck in the next chapter of your lives.

Port Cup and Fashions on the Field Don’t forget the 2022 Port Cup on Friday 7th October. Our Fashions on the Field this year will have three cateorgies: Most Elegant Lady, Best Dressed Gent and Best Millinery. Thank you to all our sponors: Hastings Co-op/Department Store, Port Medical Aesthetics Clinic, Aqua Vitae,

contacts.

MANAGING EDITOR Jay Beaumont jay@focusmag.com.au

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EDITION COORDINATOR & ADVERTISING SALES Annette Wannell annette@focusmag.com.au

ADVERTISING SALES Sarah Baker sarahmay@focusmag.com.au

EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTOR Daisy Moroney daisyfocusmag@gmail.com

Escape the Expected, Port Adventure Cruises, Meatstock, Touchwood Flowers and Settlement City.

Special FOCUS feature

This month we have a very special Aged Care and Disability feature. Thank you to all the businesses who took part in this feature. You can check it out on pages 96-111.

Stories

We have some very clever and creative people living in our area and we interview two super well known lads this month. A huge thanks to Clint and Cristian for sharing their stories with us. Along with lots of other interesting locals.

Enjoy our October edition and we’ll see you next month for our 200th edition of FOCUS.

ART DIRECTOR Dylan Gaul dylan@focusmag.com.au

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Kyle Rathbone kyle@focusmag.com.au

PHOTOGRAPHY Gavin Moroney gavin@focusmag.com.au

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or Contributor’ are non-sponsored content. Focus is published by Creative House Publications PTY LTD ABN: 621 287 8600 5. Material in Focus is Copyright © Creative House Publications PTY LTD 2022 and may not be reproduced whole or in part, in any form, without permission of the Publisher. All rights reserved. FOCUS is printed by Australian Community Media Print & Logistics North Richmond. Our paper is FFC and PEFC certified and meets with ISO14001 accreditation.

GREATER PORT MACQUARIE

Welcome to the OCTOBER 2022 ISSUE of Greater Port Macquarie FOCUS.

Ben Cudmore is a much loved friend to many. With October being Mental Health Awareness Month we have a chat to the man leading the way on a local level with his Self Seen group.

Port Macquarie local Cherie Morton describes herself as a digital mixed media artist and pattern creator. Her body of work shows extraordinary depth and creativity.

He has a love of sailing, a talent for painting, had a colourful career and has endured and beaten a rare cancer not to mention his charity work and fundraising achievements.

PATRICK BOLLEN

CHERIE MORTON

SELF SEEN

2022 PORT CUP CARNIVAL

This year’s Carnival will be run on Friday 7th and Saturday 8th October. Friday is Cup Day with 8 races and $500,000 in prize money and features the $200,000 Carlton Dry Port Macquarie Cup over 2000 metres. Back up on Saturday for the annual Steeline Race Day with $168,000 in prize money for the 7 race card.

Where Port Macquarie Race Course

When 7th & 8th October

More portmacquarieraceclub.com.au

WINGHAM MUSIC

FESTIVAL

The festival is best described as vibrant, yet relaxed. You can throw a rug under the bright flag sails and absorb every second of the music from Friday evening, all day Saturday to sunset on Sunday.

When Friday - Sunday 14th, 15th & 16th Where Wingham Central Park, Wingham More winghammusicfest.com.au

SUNSET GALLERY PRESENTS

THE SPRING SHOW

FREE ENTRY – ALL ART FOR SALE

Exhibition is currently running at Sunset Gallery until November 26th, 2022.

Where 2/25 Central Road, Port Macquarie More sunsetgallery.com.au

GARDENISTA

Gardenista is a festival celebrating the rich diversity of Comboyne’s creative landscape. It includes the famous garden walks in beautiful private gardens spread across the plateau, food, wine and art. Where Comboyne Plateau, 7-9 Comboyne Street, Comboyne.

When 8th & 9th October

More/Tickets http://ow.ly/1TPl50KpTkw

CAMDEN HAVEN SHOW

The Kendall Showground is home to the annual Camden Haven Show as well as regular equestrian events and other activities. The show is one of the largest and most popular events in the Camden Haven district.

When Saturday 15th & Sunday 16th October

Where Kendall Showground

More camdenhavenshow.org.au

SPARKLE-VINTAGE ALLURE

SHOW

Exhibition is called Sparkle - Vintage Allure. It will showcase at least 20 unique pieces of Vaosa Creations. Lovingly designed and crafted into sparkling towers of light-catching designs that sparkle like diamonds under light or in a sunlit room.. Where Macleay Valley

Art Gallery, 5 Kinchela St, Gladstone When Thursday-Sunday 10.30am-4pm

More 0457 643 615

Ben Cudmore is no stranger to the community and a much loved friend to many. With October being Mental Health Awareness Month we thought it was only right to have a chat to the man leading the way on a local level with his Self Seen group.

October is Mental Health Awareness Month and this is a subject that is close to your heart. Can you tell us what mental health means to you?

I know what it’s like being at rock bottom, depressed and wanting to end my life, so my mental health is everything to me. Mental health is just as important as physical health and deserves the same quality of support.

This month is amazing for awareness and so important for the way things need to change. For those of our readers who aren’t familiar with you, can you tell us a bit about who Ben Cudmore is and your connection to Port Macquarie?

I’m 35, I have a beautiful and supportive wife Katie and I have 3 amazing children Poppy, Lucy and Ray.

I’m born and bred here in Port. I went to school at St Agnes and St Josephs Regional. I played footy for the mighty Port Macquarie Sharks. I run a business as an independent support worker.

Back in 1968 my late grandparents moved here with my dad, aunties and uncles and they bought the old Bel Air Motel (now Koala

Motel). Most of the family is still here.

We love that our kids get to grow up here. Back in 2020 you had a podcast called Happy Days. What did you enjoy the most about putting that podcast together and what were the reasons behind it?

We’re not professionals, we’re a bunch of blokes who have gone though dark times and continue to go through it and because of that we wanted to create a platform so men have somewhere to go.

face of. Can you give our readers an insight to what Self Seen is all about and how it got started?

What I enjoyed most was the people I met and their courageous stories. Also what I learnt about myself by sharing my story. The reason behind the podcast was to give hope and to show the power of accountability. Ultimately I wanted to show no matter how much of a hole you’re in, you can still come back to be the best you can.

Self Seen is something that you are the

Self Seen was founded in 2020, with the ambition of creating hope in our community. We want to change the very present mental health stigma and the way communities, friends and family support each other. We host a weekly men’s walk, talk and BBQ, a men’s circle and men’s workshops. We’re not professionals, we’re a bunch of blokes who have gone though dark times and continue to go through it and because of that we wanted to create a platform so men have somewhere to go.

Continued over...

We lose 6 men a day in Australia to suicide and many more are struggling, so this is our passion. Life’s not easy, we all carry so much and sometimes we need to unpack with one another before it gets too heavy.

and many more are struggling, so this is our passion. Life’s not easy, we all carry so much and sometimes we need to unpack with one another before it gets too heavy.

Self Seen started with a conversation with a good friend Eli who was on the same mission as me. We naturally connected and started to create Self Seen. Greg Smith got involved not long after that, and Greg has helped guide Self Seen to where we are now. It started from the ground up with 4 members and now we’re a registered charity and host some amazing spaces for men to feel safe to open up and be supported.

The organisation has had overwhelming support from both the community and local businesses. Do you still pinch

hold an event?

I can’t believe how lucky we are to receive the amount of support we have. We have had members of the community who have been affected by suicide or mental health struggles who have donated to supply a BBQ for the men and we’ve had countless businesses do fundraisers and put events on for us. In October alone we have 3 events/ fundraisers: Dave and Nathan from McGrath chose us to be their charity for their masters golf day; Coastal Hire will put on a BBQ every Thursday during October; as well as our annual

event with Elders Life Style Group (see below). We are grateful and honestly there are too many to name as we will run out of room. All the support and stories we hear give us motivation to grow Self Seen. The way we see it, is we’re only at the beginning and we have a big vision. We thank you all for supporting us on our mission. We are in this position because of your support.

Judgement, bullying and shaming is one of the biggest reasons this stigma is hanging around. What we don’t need in the midst of struggle is shame for being human.

Why is this type of organisation so important to you?

I know the value of having somewhere safe and easily accessible to talk and unpack whatever it is weighing you down. We pride ourselves on our non-judgmental nature and non-clinical environment. It’s important we have this so our men feel safe to take down that wall and allow themselves to open up and be supported. You have an event happening in October. Can you tell us about it?

Yes we are very lucky to have amazing ongoing partners in David Gray from Elders Lifestyle Group who have been supporting us from the beginning. They do an annual event

to raise awareness and some funds for us. Last year was the community wellness walk and free F45 training session. This year they are hosting a corporate luncheon at Whalebone Wharf to show the continued support by Elders Lifestyle Group, and some amazing news introducing

I love early morning walking before the sun is up, that’s where I do most of my thinking. I’ve just bought myself a kayak so you may see me tearing up the Hastings River.

our new partnership between Ideal Financial Group and Self Seen.

The luncheon is sponsored by Elders Lifestyle Group, Ideal Financial Group, F45 Port Macquarie and Whalebone Wharf.

This ongoing support means our vision becomes a reality. What do you love doing in your spare time, where can we usually find you on the weekend?

On the weekends you’ll find me playing with the kids at the parks and beach. I’m also a self proclaimed professional cubby house builder, so our lounge room is usually covered in sheets and blankets. I love early morning walking before the sun is up, that’s where I do most of my thinking. I’ve just bought myself a kayak so you may see me tearing up the Hastings River. What advice do you have for those who are struggling, but not sure or nervous about taking that first step to ask or find help?

Vulnerability is not weakness, it’s our greatest measure of courage. You’re not alone, your story and issues are important. Start small, keep it simple and make sure you

feel safe to talk, having someone you can trust is important. If you don’t have anyone Lifeline 13 11 14 is a 24/7 service, and sometimes it’s nice to talk to someone we don’t know.

Remember if you’re not speaking it, you’re storing it and that gets heavy.

A message for everyone, be kind and stop judging. Judgement, bullying and shaming is one of the biggest reasons this stigma is hanging around. What we don’t need in the midst of struggle is shame for being human. If we as a collective community start doing these things we can really make big change for people’s mental health and well-being. For those who would like to donate or connect with you how can they do so?

Connect via our socials:

@selfseencrew @selfseen selfseen.com.au and we have a donation link via the website. Or email selfseeninfo@gmail.com for any questions.

You can find our amazing sister group “Port Macquarie Women’s Connect” on Facebook and Instagram and they meet every Sunday 8am at Lighthouse (Coast Cafe). Thanks Ben.

focus contributors.

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

NATALIE FEL HEAD OF PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

Spring has certainly sprung in Port Macquarie with the rental market seeing vacancy plummet to 0.8%, the lowest rate since the first quarter of 2022.

Our team saw a huge increase in the number of properties being leased as the number jumped to nearly double, as compared with previous months. Enquiry levels surged by a whopping 43% indicating that, as the weather is heating up, so is the competition within the rental market.

Supply is also creeping up, so why are prices not coming down? In mid-August there were 117 properties advertised for lease on realestate. com.au. Fast-forward to mid-September and this number has increased to 142. This is directly comparable with late June recordings of 140, which saw a downturn in pricing – why are we seeing the opposite?

and increased interest rates.

The middle of the year generally sees less movement, particularly from families, due to school calendars, sporting commitments and an overall “Winter hibernation” fundamentally ingrained within us. Spring, however, brings a sense of renewal and revival, with the end of the year encouraging change and transformation.

As we head into the end of the year, we anticipate a decrease in rental properties as interest rates further increase, seeing many investors sit on the sidelines.

Particularly within coastal areas, we see a significant influx of new residents as the promise of beach-side Summers proves to be a huge driver year-on-year.

Those sellers who can retain their properties for investment while they wait out the uncertainty, have changed their tack by placing their properties on the rental market instead of the sales market. Unlike the June stock increase, this September shift has also seen a marked increase in demand to keep rental prices up and vacancy levels down.

As we head into the end of the year, we anticipate a decrease in rental properties as interest rates further increase, seeing many investors sit on the sidelines. This will place added pressure on the demand for rental properties and drive prices upwards, creating a strong summer marketplace, however instability is a concern with such a huge economic change.

The answer is two-fold: tenant movement

Regardless of this timeless tradition, such a dynamic generally isn’t paired with an increased supply of stock. It’s no surprise that economic factors such as increased interest rates have shaken prospective buyers, meaning that the rental market has injected buyers-turned-tenants.

Elders Lifestyle Group is excited to launch our Spring Campaign!

Landlords who secure their management with any Elders Lifestyle Office are entered into the draw to win a $5000 Flight Centre voucher!

Scan the QR code, enter your details and one of our Rental Experts will be in touch.

TARYM WRIGHT BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER

BEC JORDAN CLIENT SERVICES with ELDERS LIFESTYLE EXPERTS

REAL ESTATE

WIN $5,000

FLIGHT CENTRE VOUCHER

Secure your property management services with Elders Lifestyle Group before November 30th for your chance to win a $5,000 Flight Centre Voucher.

Scan the QR code & fill out your details to win.

Hi Cherie. Thank you for speaking with FOCUS. It is a pleasure to speak with you about your inspiring work in the photography and digital media space. Tell us a little about yourself as an artist.

I like to call myself a digital mixed media artist and craft paper designer, that’s on top of being a landscape and business content photographer, can one really ever have too many creative hats to wear? I use both traditional darkroom practices and New Media practices in my digital darkroom. I really enjoy creating art that confronts the traditional expectation of photographic art or photography as art form even. I have been a practising commercial photographer for over 30 years and my life journey meant I turned my photography skills from a trade and income into a tool for healing and expression. It became my place to both hide and also find confidence to use my voice again. Your pieces are so creative and unique, merging digital and largely abstract art together and almost re-contextualising in the process. How have you developed this art form?

My day job allows me to be around artisans all the time and that can be amazing, inspiring and exciting. It also puts pressure

on me to be completely different to forge processes and results that are in no way like the artists I help guide and mentor in my “day job”. This, combined with the way I had changed the way I used and practiced photography, led me to push boundaries and just play with different techniques. My camera had became a tool to find my way through PTSD, and I started absorbing inspiration from artists like David Hockney’s Joiners and Elsa Dorfman’s spirit and love of the craft.

I wanted to express something, to find a way to use my voice without having to tell the details of my journey and what created my PTSD. So I started putting layers of life together in digital mixed media, using colours, texture and elements to form a result that allowed the expression and voice. Sometimes it is about what I am feeling and sometimes it is about a feeling I am trying to evoke in the viewer. Some days I can create a couple of works and then it might take weeks to be able to create something I am happy with, such is the creative spirit.

I find it hard to express the “techy” side of

my photography and art practice because it happens like a river flows, rather than like the steps of a staircase, elements and process blending into one flow of creative expression.

What inspires you creatively?

If I had to give you a top three, it would be light, colour and life! However the real story is it could be a song, a quote or maybe an interaction I see or feel. For my paper designs, it starts as a colour palette and then I build the designs around that. My digital mixed media pieces are very much inspired by life and experiences, the people around me and the journey I have lived so far. My landscape photography is all about trying to recreate the way I felt as I took in the nature in front of my lens. It may have been the way the light played on the water or how it interacted with the clouds, it could be the way the soft afternoon sky created a feeling of peace and calm. I certainly create from a place of intuition and feeling, I tend to ignore the rules a lot, it’s my little rebellion in life – mess with the rules so I can pull out a feeling from someone.

Continued over...

Port Macquarie local Cherie Morton describes herself as a digital mixed media artist and pattern creator. Her work shows extraordinary depth and creativity.

I really enjoy creating art that confronts the traditional expectation of photographic art or photography as art form even.

When did you first pick up a camera and what is it you love about the craft?

Oh wow. I was too young to remember the age I first started taking photos. I know it was with an old 110mm point and shoot camera, that then went to a 35mm point and shoot when I was a little older, it was bright pink and a Hanimex. My first SLR was a Minolta x-300 and I loved that thing, it had a split screen focusing system that was sharp as a tack and fully manual. When I went into professional weddings and portraits back in the 90’s I purchased a Nikon F90 and from then on I was a Nikon gal. What do I love about my craft, that’s a big question to fit in one interview, I love that it has allowed me to be part of some truly treasured moments in people’s lives. It gives me a creative voice allowing a freedom of expression that for me words can’t do. Photography and the flow-on processes that stem from it allow me to invoke feelings from complete strangers. Photography allows you to capture a present moment that then becomes a memory in our future, that’s an exceptional gift and privilege. What type of equipment do you predominantly use?

My most used and powerful piece of creative equipment is my eye and heart. From there it’s my cameras and my digital darkroom aka my computer and studio. My belief is that you must create from a true place of creative passion and that has to come from within. There is a saying that finds its way onto social media a lot “The

EARTH without Art is just EH”. Well for me my heart without art is just “he”. I could not tell you the specs of my camera because when I use it, it is no longer a separate entity, it is part of me, becoming one creative body I guess. What have been some of your highlights looking back at your career and can you tell us about some of your favourite pieces?

That’s a tough one. Having been in this industry in one form or another for over 30 years there have been some big memories made. I have photographed iconic moments in our town. While based in Sydney I got to have famous musicians and TV stars as clients, the magical moments during every wedding I did and family moment I witnessed have all been immeasurable. To wrap it into one bundle, the highlight of my career is being given the trust of so many to capture some of their most momentous life moments, it has been so humbling and at times very emotional.

At the moment in the current part of my creative journey I am having so much fun creating surface designs, I use them in my craft papers. They start as one of my digital mixed

media pieces created from photos that then become textured patterns. They get used by other artists and crafters in collage, paper crafts and scrapbooking. Each season I release a season inspired paper colour palette with different DIY templates. The designs have names like Summer Romance, Spring Fever, Pink Gin Fizz and loads of other fun titles. A couple of my current favourite mixed media pieces are Enchantment, Taken For A Ride, Release and Elements Of Hope. What is on the horizon for you for the second half of 2022?

Taking as many base pictures as I can so that building on my Mixed Media portfolio is possible and I have started a series called Get Framed which will also fill my studio days. Then there are about a million other projects floating about in my head that I will try to prioritise and start one or two. Part of my bread and butter photography

Part of my bread and butter photography is my landscapes and that is due for a few updates. I’d love to take photo location requests from my followers so that I can make sure they are getting images of the places they love.

REIMAGINED

is my landscapes and that is due for a few updates. I’d love to take photo location requests from my followers so that I can make sure they are getting images of the places they love.

My paper Spring Palette was just released and it’s time to start working on the Summer Palette... oh and I am about to launch Mindful Photography workshops and a series of paper craft classes so you know, not much going on. Away from the camera where would we find you spending your own time?

I will still have a camera of some type with me because if a moment arises in nature or life, then I am going to want to capture it because one day it will be a memory to treasure.

You pretty much won’t find me anywhere in life without my camera, it is a part of me. It is just the subject matter or the type of camera that changes. When it’s not creatively inspired photos or for base photos then it’s recording family moments, I like to call it “lifing” photography. We have a Brady Bunch and all the kids are used

to me and the camera, my siblings, in-laws and their families are all used to having a camera faced in their direction, even my most camera shy nieces are getting used to the fact that I will have a camera in hand. If we are out exercising then I will still have a camera of some type with me because if a moment arises in nature or life, then I am going to want to capture it because one day it will be a memory to treasure. My camera is also my therapy from life, when I need

down time then that happens with my camera. For people wanting to find out more about your work or connect with you online, how can they best touch base with you?

As a co-owner with my fiancé Scott I am super fortunate to have a studio and workshop inside Sunset Gallery on Central Road. You can find me there most days either assisting other creatives or creating myself, otherwise you can go to my website www.reimaginedimages.com.au from there you can find my email, phone and social media contacts.

Thanks Cherie. Interview: Sarah Baker.

Get race ready at Settlement City

with your favourite retailers stocking the latest on-trend fashion.

Clint Ranse is a local Videographer, Scuba Diver and has a long history working with some of the biggest bands and events on the planet doing pyrotechnics and fireworks.

You moved to Port Macquarie a few years back, what made you make that decision?

I was non-stop travelling the world with some of the biggest names in entertainment. In 2008 I visited 38 countries and it was a great period of my life. But while I was living between Nashville and Las Vegas I just got to a time in my life when I wanted to be back in Australia. We ended up going via Melbourne as there was an opportunity for me to continue working in the entertainment industry. However, after a few years in Melbourne, I was just burnt out and wasn’t getting any time with my young family. My goal was always to move closer to family in Port Macquarie, as I had holidayed there frequently over the years. It was the lifestyle really that attracted me.

So in what would seem to others like a rash decision, we decided to pack up and head north. How did you get into Videography?

Photography & Videography had always been a passion of mine and I always carried a camera with me when touring the world. Scuba Diving was my peaceful place, so underwater photography then inspired me for something new. My work began to get noticed by international tourism boards and I ended

up travelling to do underwater photography in some pretty unique places around the world.

To take photos was amazing, however I found that it was only a piece of the story.

I then progressed more towards video and loved extracting someone’s story and telling it in a way that made viewers feel the emotions of what they were seeing.

We have recently returned from Fiji where I was tasked with telling the story of how Shangri-La hotels and resorts were open for business and to help them capture the eye of tourists again.

You have been working on a few exciting projects lately, can you tell us a bit about those?

We have recently returned from Fiji where I was tasked with telling the story of how ShangriLa hotels and resorts were open for business and to help them capture the eye of tourists again. I think we did a pretty good job. They just told me they are booked out until next year now.

We also just completed an online TAFE BBQ course with Councillor and Pitmaster Adam Roberts that helps turn your average guy who burns a snag into a BBQ god.

I love that I get to work with and learn from so many unique people. A good example is the

Elders lifestyle group. Working with them has allowed me to bring my unique video style to a different industry and really lean on my tourism experience to showcase this beautiful area and the amazing people in it. We hear you are mixing your passions for video and Scuba Diving.

I have always loved filming in the ocean as it’s the last true frontier of the Earth and we know so little about it. There is just something unique about being 40m underwater inside a shipwreck of a cruise ship that was converted to a war ship during World War 2.

My bucket list dive though is to Freedive with orcas in Norway and to be able to show people something that they will most likely never see for themselves.

I probably should start to mix my music career with my video career though. I haven’t done a music video yet.

That would be really cool to help out a young up-and-coming local musician or band and I know we have some super talented ones in the region. Continues...

Before getting into videography you did pyrotechnics, tell us a bit about how you got into that?

I had a very long career doing fireworks and pyrotechnics. I started back in 1996 just doing small regional shows and that slowly grew bigger until I did the Harbour Bridge for the Olympics. I was then lucky enough to be asked to go on tour with KISS delivering and designing their special effects.

And my career just went crazy from there in many different roles across the entertainment industry, including designing the pyrotechnics and special effects for many international touring productions and also travelling with them, to stage managing large international tours, where I would be in charge of shipping up to 50 semi-trailers of equipment around the world or being on a cruise ship with the band and guests until I retired from touring internationally in 2015. I then did shows

around Australia until 2018 with bands like “Peking Duk” and “Illy”, designing their shows for ARIA awards and their local Australian tours. Who are some of the artists you have worked with during that time?

Playing blackjack with Tiger Woods was pretty cool. I’m glad I was playing with someone else’s money though as that table was too rich for me.

the Calvin Harris team that I will make an appearance at festival X in November. They just have to make sure they fly me back in time to film with Growers Market here in Port Macquarie for the video for their weekly special. What are the highlights of your career over the years?

Wow, there have been so many in that career from playing Coachella with Paul McCartney and The Killers to getting to shake the hand of Muhammad Ali.

I have worked with most of the big artists who toured between 2000 and 2018.

Metallica, The Killers, Kid Rock, Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé, Disturbed, Michael Jackson’s Cirque DuSoleil Show, 50 cent, Eminem and Iron Maiden to name a few. It was the Tiësto show that brought me to Australia and was where I met back up with my high school sweetheart and ended up marrying her.

I recently came out of retirement to do a show for Kane Brown and I have promised

From going to the Super Bowl with Kid Rock and playing at the Green Bay Packers after party after they won, to drinking beer out of the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks when they won while I was touring with Bon Jovi.

Playing blackjack with Tiger Woods was pretty cool. I’m glad I was playing with someone else’s money though as that table was too rich for me.

Announcing to the stage Kid Rock and Bon Jovi as they toured Australia or having the band and crowd sing me happy birthday

on my 40th as I toured Australia with Peking Duk.

I was often called out to some of the largest productions to ‘fix’ things, streamline or systemise for efficiency, or to create something that no-one else would have. The skills that I have from my entertainment career now work in My Video Producer, as I love the systems and being able to combine creativity with organisation and flow.

What tips would you give businesses trying to use video to promote their business?

When it comes to video you can’t expect one video to change your business. You need to put in the work and take people on a journey. Let them get to know and trust you while educating them about your business or product.

You really need different videos for different viewers at different stages of the purchasing journey.

Is there a trick to appearing confident on camera?

The best piece of advice when it comes to video content is to not focus on how much

you hate being on camera but focus on your message and how people need to know what you are offering and the impact it can have on them. Prioritise your knowledge and message.

You will criticise yourself way more than others will.

So what’s unique about My Video Producer compared to other videographers?

We are a business, not just someone with a camera, or who dropped past JB HiFi and got a drone. I am a Certified drone pilot and we have the proper insurance in place. We continually train to make ourselves better and have some of Australia’s best business coaches on our client list, so it allows us to take what we learn from them and help to implement that in the businesses we work with as well.

I am backed by a team of extremely talented editors who understand the importance of stories in videos. This allows for faster turnaround times without losing the personal touch.

We want to see people succeed with video. We even have a free course on our website teaching people how to film for themselves to get them started.

I guess it’s mostly that we take the time to get to know you and your product or service. We want to know who is your ideal customer, and what problem your business solves for them. This allows us to ensure we create content that speaks directly to them. So what’s next for yourself and the MVP team?

We are heading overseas to do some more tourism videos as the world reopens. Over the last few years we expanded our studio services to cover live streaming, so I am really looking forward to seeing the possibility of live streaming to the world from the comfort of the Mid North Coast.

My son tells me he wants to run the MVP Dubai office when he grows up so I guess I should start building a client base for him over there.

But while it’s cool working with all these big brands and even some of the stuff from my past, I’m a sucker for helping to grow a small business. I love seeing the change I can make in their business. What’s the best way to get some of your time to talk about video?

Head on over to myvideoproducer.com.au and book a free strategy call and we can sit down and see what part of video marketing is best for you and how video can help you reach your goals.

Thanks Clint.

When it comes to video you can’t expect one video to change your business. You need to put in the work and take people on a journey.

WELCOME TO THE BEACH LIFE CRESCENT HEAD SUMMER 2 RANGE! IN ITS SECOND YEAR, THIS HOMEGROWN LOCAL LIFESTYLE LABEL HAS GONE FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH AND THIS YEAR WE ARE AIMING TO BLOW YOUR MIND!

The design team is made up of locals; graphic designer Jeff Cowan (CowanCreative), Jino Joseph + Twinkle Jose (BLCH owners), and Vanessa Lawrence from @thestylevibe who all worked together to curate a unique range of cool, funky and colourful beach accessories well priced and of the very highest quality. Designed with our much-loved consumer in mind, our range includes easy to use beach umbrellas, beach chairs, cooler bags, sand free towels, luxe cotton towels, amazing beach blankets, insulated cups and more. This gorgeous collection is so versatile as our products are perfect accessories for the beach, bush, pool or picnic suited your personal style.

The RETRO range is bright, with a palette of orange hues and on-trend patterns with real ‘vintage’ vibe. Get the whole collection and wow the crowd on your next camping holiday or road trip.

The GLOW range ticks ALL the boxes! Designed with the core surf family in mind, this stylish collection has a light turquoise and peach palette which will light up any social activity.

VIVID is sure to be a winner this year with its bright and bold hot pinks and blues! Definitely one to style around the back yard pool, this collection is playful and screams fun!

The CHIC palette consists of black, white, navy and cream. A versatile range that could quite easily go from the beach or ready to style in the home providing that ‘luxe coastal’ feel.

A big shoutout to our awesome retailers who continue to support our growing little brand. They are; Inner Vision Surf ‘n Skate (PMQ), Crescent

Shop the Range BLCH.COM.AU

Designed Locally.

Head Pharmacy (Crescent Head), Established (Laurieton), Mahalo Interiors (Kempsey), Wave Wear (SWR), Revel & Co. (Nambucca), Sand & Stone (Evans Head,) Boatshed (VIC) and Chic Clothing Co. (Dungog).

And lastly, thank you to the amazing BLCH Team! Each one of our partnering crew members has such incredible talent in their field which supported us in shooting our epic summer 2 campaign. Our Beach Life Family, Jino Joseph + Twinkle Jose (BLCH owners), Jeff Cowan (Cowan Creative), Vanessa Lawrence (The Style Vibe Creative), Tia Duck (TDK Photography), Clint Ranse (MY Video Producer), Simon Bank (Webstudio), Karina (Karina Hair & Make-Up), Gavin Moroney Photography and our models, Brooke Bruce-Smith, Emma Bulley, Bonita Alcock, Matt King and Mikey O’Mullane.

Hi John, congratulations on 100 years of golf at Wauchope Country Club. How long have you been involved with the club and what’s your role there?

I first joined the club in 1986 and the golf committee a year later. I served as publicity officer, greens chairman, Vice President and became Golf President in 1999. In this role I served a total of 9 years and was a member of the WCC Board in 2003 and 2004.

In 2013 I was granted life membership status and rejoined the Board in 2014. I was then voted Chairman of the Board in 2018 and have been ever since, still a member of the golf committee.

Do you have any current members who have been involved with the club from almost the beginning? What excites them the most about celebrating the 100 years?

Our more senior life members such as Lester Thurgate and Kay Fowler have served on the Board and golf committees and are proud to be part of such a vibrant sporting venue.

Ron Dixon was our oldest golfer, still playing

at 99. Ron had the distinction of beating his age off the stick a total of 106 times, but passed away some two years ago. What are your earliest memories of the course and what changes has it undergone over the last 100 years?

The Country Club was formed by the merging of the Golf and Bowls Clubs in 1954, and fortunes have fluctuated due to economic factors, government regulation and the efficiency of management.

Before my time, in 1972, to celebrate 50 years of growth, the ‘back’ nine was completed and so 18 holes came into play.

The old weatherboard clubhouse was devastated by fire in January 1988. We not only lost the clubhouse but records, trophies and photos. Trading did not cease however, and the next day the Lions caravan was set up as a bar and salvaged tables and chairs adorned the carpark.

Out of the ashes in 1989 emerged our magnificient clubhouse and a sense of renewed optimisim. With good management and volunteer helpers, much was achieved in the 90s ie cart paths, new greens, improved drainage

and complete course watering. The cart shed constructed to house 76 of those motorised beasts was completed in 2005. How important is it for not only the club but for the community to be celebrating this milestone?

We cherish the notion that we are a community club – social and sporting. We are fortunate to have a course only three blocks from the Wauchope CBD and not many towns can boast that.

We celebrate our history with pride and recognise the contribution of the staff and volunteers as well as the valued support of so many local sponsors over the years. Can you tell us about some of your highlights from your time involved with the clubhouse and course?

The fire created an enormous challenge and to the credit of those in charge at the time, we emerged a better club. In fact it was joked at the time that the one who lit the match should be nominated for life membership!

Economic difficulties almost saw the club’s demise in 2015, but through good management we survived such that in 2018 the club received

both local and regional awards for ‘Club of the Year’.

The golf club received a healthy injection when Dennis Hughes came on the scene in 2010.

Back in the 70’s I was told that when the course was too wet for tractor mowers, volunteers with Victa mowers walked down the fairways, shoulder to shoulder to cut the grass ie The Victa Parade.

As Captain he has used his expertise in sport administration and communication, to keep numbers up, diligently and efficiently, especially during COVID.

The upkeep of the course is super important. Can you tell us about the team behind keeping the course looking as amazing as it does and how they do it?

Greenkeepers always face challenges with inclement weather, staff and quality equipment.

Barry Freeman and Gary Foster did a sterling job with limited finances and assistance from volunteers.

Back in the 70s I was told that when the course was too wet for tractor mowers, volunteers with Victa mowers walked down the fairways, shoulder to shoulder to cut the grass ie The Victa Parade. And before that, former golf president Mick Sullivan with his D9 Dozer and

a host of other golfers, helped clear and contour the back nine and dig the dam on the 4th. Today, Richard Moore is our greenkeeper and has proven to be a man with vision, expertise and fine management skills. And this has not been an easy year! Favourable comments on the condition of our greens and fairways have continued.

The course has seen lots of charity events and social days, what have been some of the best ones and what local charities do you support?

As a community club the golfers support ‘Doing it for Jarrod’ and ‘The Tour de Cure’ for cancer research, the ladies support Pink Day for cancer, and Pamper Day supports the local Palliative Care Unit. As well as these the Country Club supports MAD for those doing it tough and Jane’s Charity Bowls is a popular event that supports local charities. In times of need the clubhouse is also registered as an evacuation centre.

It’s an 18 hole course, over the years what have been some of the best scores and who holds the records?

Aaron Townsend, a touring pro, holds our course record of 63. Our most prolific golfer was David Bransdon following in his mother Judy’s footsteps and he is still on the Asian Tour.

Jane Horn, our humble and efficient lady behind the bar, stands out as our top female golfer, having been crowned the Ladies Champion 26 times. Chris O’Brien has won the Mens Championship 8 times in recent years.

Since early days our female golfers have proven to be champions and our pennant teams over the years have had some very notable successes.

Where do you see the club and the course heading in the next 100 years?

I predict a very positive future for our club. Wauchope’s population is booming and our pros, Clark and Neil, work hard to promote and encourage juniors with their after school clinic, but a squad of less than 10 is disappointing. Every other club has a similar problem. Perhaps the development of a driving range or the purchase of a golf simulator will generate interest and help us move into the future.

Our club has a great location and enjoys a very favourable reputation, built on good management, healthy support from volunteers and sponsors and a happy staff. No wonder I am confident. A brief history of the club is being printed and will be available soon.

Frederickton Weddings

Nestled amongst the historical surroundings of Frederickton’s Old Cheese Factory, just a minute of the pacific highway, The Garden Bar & Kitchen offers a truly unique wedding space. Boasting stunning river views, heritage listed warehouses and delicious menus to choose from.

The Garden Bar & Kitchen captures panoramic views over the Macleay Valley. With its high ceilings, large wrap around balcony and spacious indoor dining area, it’s the perfect place to wine, dine and dance the night away with your loved ones, and don’t forget to catch the beautiful sunset over the Macleay River.

Incredible! Tom, Meg & Alice were amazing to communicate with from the very start, this venue has it all, ceremony area, reception area, restaurant/bar, garden area. The Garden Bar is beyond magical. And absolutely the place to be to say “I Do”.

of The Garden Bar & Kitchen

• All in one venue, ceremony and reception areas available

• Beautiful panoramic water views over the Macleay River

• Unique warehouse space, the perfect blank canvas to create your own dream wedding.

• Award-winning chefs creating delicious dishes for you and your guests

• Your own wedding co-ordinator to assist you throughout the planning process

• Cocktail hour on the terrace with our iconic grazing table and signature cocktails

• Endless photo opportunities

• Outdoor grass area for wedding reception games

• Packages starting from $7000

• Up to 120 guests seated, 200 guests standing

Download our weddings brochure by visiting our website www.thegardenbar.com.au

e weddings@thegardenbar.com.au

(02) 6566 8864 |

thegardenbar.com.au

a The Old Cheese Factory, 1 Remembrance Way, Frederickton, NSW 2440 frederickton_weddings

PATRICK BOLLEN

Hi Patrick. Boating is a part of your life. Tell us how you got involved and your family’s history?

My father was at sea for much of his life having left school in Valkenburg, Holland to study at the Nautical College in Rotterdam at 15 years old. He commenced his merchant career on ships to the Dutch East Indies.

When the Japanese invaded Java he was on the SS Nellore which was torpedoed in the Indian Ocean. He spent 12 days in a lifeboat, saving many of his crew. He was picked up by a Canadian cruiser and transferred to Australia where he met my mother at the Canteen for Dutch Mariners in Sydney.

As a young lad I was destined to follow in his footsteps.

Your career has followed different paths –marketing, music, journalism and radio, and time on the water yourself! Can you tell us about your work life and career?

Leaving school in 1967 I had applied to BHP to join their mighty bulk ore carrier, Iron Hunter. Unfortunately, standing between me and a nautical career was a zealous bureaucrat.

In 1971 I worked in Sales at Qantas Airways before joining the Grundy Organisation, working on game shows Great Temptation, Price is Right

and Gambit. I worked with TV personalities including Barry Crocker, Jimmy Hannan, John Williamson and Peter Hitchener.

I formed a three part vocal harmony group, we toured NSW performing in wine bars, pubs, clubs and the television circuit. This was great fun and we played to many large audiences.

I went Radio school and in 1975 I joined Radio 2BS, Bathurst, as an announcer. It was here that my love of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race began after the Station Manager at 2GB engaged my services to cover the great race.

Two years later I was head-hunted to take over Marketing and Sales Promotions at Roselands Shopping Centre. This entailed the creation of many wonderful Store and Centre promotions along with the motivation of a workforce numbering 1752.

One promotion titled ‘World Record Breakers’ called for three ‘In House’ models attempting to set a new world record for a Fashion Parade. I compered the event non-stop for 48 hours. By

close of trade on Saturday at midday we had achieved our target. This promotion generated national and global publicity, and a very healthy bottom line.

Covering the Hobart Race opened doors to the ocean racing. I met the owner of the third Ragamuffin, now called Mary Muffin. It was entered in the 2100 nautical mile Sydney to Suva Yacht Race. A dozen yachts set course to the tropics. We hoped for smooth seas and sun, but three hours in the breeze went to the north-east under leaden skies and lumpy seas. Twelve days later the wind went to the west and we carried a spinnaker the finish line ensuring line honours.

Returning to Sydney I packed my seabag and Marantz broadcast quality recorder and jumped a flight to Honolulu to cover the Pan Am Clipper Cup Regatta. Tropical trade winds, crystal blue waters and rich, warm sunny skies on courses set off the world famous Waikiki Beach.

Back in Sydney my weeks were filled with

Patrick Bollen has a great love of the ocean and yachting, a talent for painting, had a colourful career and has endured a rare cancer and come out the other side, not to mention his charity work and fundraising achievements.

My life has been a great adventure. There have been many wonderful journeys and experiences and some awful life threatening challenges, however my best description is that it has been a kaleidoscope.

yacht racing, project management and maintenance of rich boy’s toys.

A friend told me if I wanted to further my maxi yacht ocean racing career I should go overseas. So in 1982 I joined Condor of Bermuda in Hawaii, then to San Francisco and Los Angeles before a 7500nm non-stop delivery across the Pacific to compete in the Sydney to Hobart, a three day race with the closest line honours result by two ocean racing maxis. The 80 foot Condor of Bermuda beat Apollo by just 7 feet.

In Sydney, business was flourishing. In 1986 I covered Alan Bond’s defence of the America’s Cup in Perth. Work hard, play hard and drink hard – the greatest party ever. Since 1974 I have covered 45 Hobarts, 2 Pan Am Clipper Cups, the World Eighteen Footers, 2 America’s Cups, the 2017 event for Fox Sports and other events for radio, television and print media. Can you tell us about your incredible charity work and fundraising?

In 1985 I created a fundraiser to assist research into cancer. Working with Arthur Byrne of B&D Roll A Door fame, we put together Sail for Cancer, a pioneering charity sailing event which, along with the Ride for Cancer, raised in excess of 10 million dollars by the early 2000’s. You also helped start Friends of Sydney Harbour, what is the idea behind it and what do you hope it helps to achieve?

In 2012 with colleagues, John Molyneux and David Morris together, we founded Friends of Sydney Harbour off the back of the ill-fated O’Farrell government’s rubber stamping of a

floating heliport on Sydney Harbour.

Following a huge public outcry FoSH was able to put a stop to this ill-conceived proposal. FoSH was established to protect and preserve the public spaces that surround our Harbour. This natural icon belongs to all Australians. It is not to be meddled with. Friends has become the protective voice of the harbour. Google ‘Friends of Sydney Harbour’ to learn more.

You have battled a very rare illness, which we are happy to hear you have recently been given the all-clear for! Can you tell us about it and how your health journey has influenced you?

As irony would have it, in 1996 I was struck down with the proverbial ‘Spanish Dancer’.

Called LYMPHOMATOID GRANULOMATOSIS, an extremely rare T Cell blood disorder. Odds of contracting this equate to 1 in 12 million.

I became a guinea pig at Royal North Shore Hospital in the hands of a young haematologist, Dr Luke Coyle. At the leading edge of Stem Cell cultivation and bone marrow transplant, my case is now medical history, however, over time several major complications ensued. On September 13 just gone, I celebrated my 26th birthday.

During my recovery I went back to school completing maritime studies as a Master Class IV. As Captain I have skippered many magnificent yachts and power vessels to 130 feet in both Australian and International waters.

I also worked with Sydney Cove Rotary and the Children’s Hospital.

My cancer has had an impact on my life. There have been ongoing ramifications following the invasive program I endured between 1996 and 2001. I remain today the only person on the planet to have beaten this disease. You started doing some painting while you were dealing with your illness, how did creating art help you and what subjects and mediums are you drawn to?

One positive that enabled me to remain focused during my illness and recovery is my painting. Water colours mostly with a lean to the marine industry, namely yacht racing. I picked up my brushes in 2018 and even I was amazed by my productions. I have had many commissions with paintings hanging in boardrooms, lounge rooms and even restaurants. Bonny’s at Rainbow Beach is featuring some of my works. Google ‘Patrick Bollen maritime artist’. What’s next for you now that you’re settling into life here on the Mid North Coast?

Queen’s Birthday Honours, 2020, I received an OAM for services to Community and to Sailing. My life has been a great adventure. There have been many wonderful journeys and experiences and some awful life threatening challenges, however my best description is that it has been a kaleidoscope. Moving to Lake Cathie adds another colourful fragment to my colourful canvas.

The Wedding Singer

The show is being directed by Hamish Keddie, who bought you the hit Queen musical We Will Rock You last year. It’s 1985, and rock star wannabe, Robbie Hart (played by Lachlan Fardy), is New Jersey’s favourite wedding singer. He’s the life of the party until his own fiancée, Linda (played by Shontelle Roberts) leaves him at the altar. Shot through the heart, Robbie makes every wedding as disastrous as his own. Enter Julia (played by Rachel Hughes), a winsome waitress who wins his affection. As luck would have it, Julia is about to be married to a Wall Street shark, Glen (played by Daniel Parlevliet), and, unless Robbie can pull off the performance of a decade, the girl of his dreams will be gone forever.

The Wedding Singer features your favourite characters and a sparkling new soundtrack, with a few of your movie favourites too...

The Wedding Singer features your favourite characters and a sparkling new soundtrack, with a few of your movie favourites too, that does for the 80’s what Hairspray did for the 60’s. This awesome music is brought to life by a fabulous cast and amazing live band led by the talented Tim Parry. So bust out the fluoro and big hair and get along to see an exciting piece of live theatre. Opening on the 28th October 2022 and running every Friday, Saturday at 8pm and Sunday at 2pm until 20th November 2022, this is a show not to be missed. Tickets are available via playerstheatre.org. au, one hour prior to the show at The Players Theatre or via the Glasshouse Box Office. For group bookings email boxoffice@ playerstheatre.org.au

The Players Theatre Inc. are bringing to the stage the Tony nominated musical, The Wedding Singer, based on the hit movie starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.

8:00am - Ring Events & Show

Jumping (all day), Australian Stock Horses

Beef Cattle Judging (all day)

Pavilion Exhibitions open (until 5:00pm)

Trade Stalls & Displays operating (all day)

Amusement Rides (all day)

8:30am - Beef Cattle Parading & Judging

9:00am - All Breeds Championship Dog Show

Billabong Zoo - 1/2 hour demonstrations all day!

Circus McCabe - roving entertainment each 1/2 hour!

9:30am - Hastings Auto Restorers vehicles on show

Wauchope Truck & Machinery on show

10:00am - Live Music - ‘Camden Haven Concert Band’

10:30am - Flair Action Sports Motorbike Show

11:00am - Horticultural demonstrations in Bob Boyd Pavilion (held at 11:00am, 12:00pm & 1:30pm)

12:00pm - Bar opens

Live Music - ‘Black Magic Big Band’ - beside the Canteen

Port Macquarie Dog Club All Breeds Championships

12:30pm

Flair Action Sports Motorbike Show 1:30pm

Live Music - ‘Flamingo’ - beside the Canteen

Whip Cracking workshop 2:30pm

GRAND PARADE & OFFICIAL OPENING

3:00pm - Horse Sporting eventsFlag, Bend & Barrel Races

3:30pm - Whip Cracking workshop

Live Music - ‘Flamingo’ - beside the Canteen

4:00pm - Flair Action Sports Motorbike Show

5:00pm - Dog High Jump Challenge

5:30pm - Whip Cracking workshop

6:30pm - Live Music - ‘Autumn Blue’ - sessions until 10:00pm

7:00pm - Flair Action Sports Motorbike Show

Whip Cracking Workshop

8:30pm - Walter Whip & the Flames Show in Main Ring

10:00pm - Bar closes & music off

8:00am - Ring Events & Show Jumping (all day)

Pavilion Exhibitions open

Trade Stalls & Displays open Amusement Rides open

8:30am - Poultry Show judging

9:00am - Port Macquarie Dog Club

All Breeds Championships Billabong Zoo - 1/2 hour demonstrations all day!

Circus McCabe - roving entertainment each 1/2 hour!

10:00am - WOODCHOP competition starts

Live Music - ‘Flamingo’ - beside the Canteen

10:30am - Flair Action Sports Motorbike Show

Whip Cracking workshop

11:00am - Horticultural demonstrations in Bob Boyd Pavilion (held at 11:00am,

12:00pm & 1:30pm)

12:00pm - Bar opens

Live Music - ‘Blue Hype Big Band’beside the Canteen

12:30pm - Flair Action Sports Motorbike Show

Heavy & Harness Horse competition starts

1:00pm - Billabong Zoo Show

1:30pm - Live Music - ‘Dinner with Milton Jazz Band’

2:00pm - Epic Pet Show & Parade

2:30pm - Flair Action Sports Motorbike Show

3:00pm - Whip Cracking workshop

3:30pm - Live Music - ‘Flamingo’beside the Canteen

4:00pm - Flair Action Sports Motorbike Show

4:30pm - Walter Whip & the Flames Show in Main Ring

5:00pm - Bar closes & music off

COVER DISH

SPECIAL DISH: CHICKEN IN A GARLIC AND MUSHROOM SAUCE THE GARDEN BAR AND KITCHEN FREDRICTON

Wine TIME

with ALEX CASSEGRAIN SENIOR WINEMAKER CASSEGRAIN WINES

Wine Barrel

The role of the barrel has been a part of the winemaking process for centuries despite it originating from a different purpose to what it is used for today.

Originally the ‘barrel’ was designed purely as a method for storing liquid and other products for transport and once it was found to alter the organoleptic characters of wine it soon became an intricate part of the winemaking process.

Fast forward to today and we have a range of different options available to us winemakers, all of which play an important role in the outcome of the wine. The most common barrel is called a Barrique which holds 225 litres of wine, however other barrels include everything from 300 litres to 4,500+ litre barrels/casks.

The oak barrel is perceived to impart ‘oaky’ characters into a wine but this is not all a wine barrel does. Another very important role the oak barrel has

for a wine is to shape the tannin profile which comes from the barrel allowing ‘micro-oxidation’ which can help shape the tannins in a wine.

For example, Cabernet Sauvignon is known to have slightly more pronounced tannins compared to a Merlot or Pinot Noir, which is why putting a Cabernet Sauvignon into smaller 225 litre barrels can be very beneficial, as it has more surface area of wood to the volume of wine whereas a larger format oak barrel (2,000+ litres) is very well suited to the softer style of wines as it has less surface area thus less microoxidation.

Whilst it’s not as simple as that, we need to always balance the attributes of the wine such as its fruit profile, tannin structure, as well as of course how much ‘oak character’ we want the wine to have. We quite often put the parcels of wine in a range of different barrel formats and or barrel ages to get the best outcome for the wine as we can.

focus contributor.

INSPIRE YOUR MOMENTS

Lighthouse Beach is one of our inspirations, so why not pop in, grab a bottle and head over at sunset to create a PMQ moment to remember.

Share with #pmqdinspiredmoments.

HERE COMES THE SUN AND WE LOVE IT!

Ken’s got the goods when it comes to fruit. The mangoes have arrived and the store is smelling divine. There is only one type of mango we like to stock and those are the Kensington Pride from Northern Territory. Their flavour is sweet and it has the juiciest flesh.  Berries have improved and we have been lucky to get our hands on local blueberries from Coffs Harbour. We have sold over

400 kg in the last two weeks!

There is also an abundance of Iceberg lettuce and they are finally back to a reasonable price, so make the best of this weather and whip up a salad for dinner.  With the weather change, our store is now open a bit later throughout the week. We are closing now at 6pm Monday to Friday. So make the most of your afternoons!

Scan the code to visit our new distillery.

LEGENDS

Palate

with LOU PERRI

FROM THE STUNNED MULLET

Centuries of history, played out in grand institutions amongst distinguished guests, battles of will are won and lost, deals and decisions are signed and sealed and the greatest of romances are ignited within such venerable walls. It takes a tenacious, disciplined yet discreet and empathetic being to navigate such scenes of humanity’s greatest depths.

The great European traditions epitomise and celebrate the profession.

With such longevity the ‘old-school’ institution of service excellence endures into this digital age. In an environment that celebrates the here and now of all the five senses and eschews the smart phone obsessed hordes through rather firmly (yet discreetly) ushering them on a luscious culinary and vinous journey that embodies the very essences of decorum, culture and civility. Who are those so reverentially described you may ask? With such ceremonial overtones, perhaps we might be describing something of a somewhat religious nature perhaps... If one worships the act of dining as a religion

then this may be the case, however I refer to those legends that carry forth the transcending power of excellent service within a restaurant environment.

The future of our dining scene will indeed be a bright one if we in the industry advocate for a return of the front of house professional.

Certainly, it feels at the moment as if we can dare hope for a turning of the tide in terms of a shift towards this model here in Australia. Traditionally, young people here have mostly approached the hospitality profession as a stepping stone to somewhere else and sadly we’ve watched many bright faces come and go over the years. However now – as borders have once again opened and international workers start to head back towards our shores – our industry has a chance to refresh and renew itself.

The bottom line is we need to be able to encourage, support and nurture bright young things in order to ensure the future of our industry.

For this to happen though, we must ultimately get rid of this existing, disposable career choice mindset of old and take a leaf out of the

book of the grand old European traditions of hospitality.

Where restaurant dining is a serious business, a cultural norm and a high level of expertise is expected from the dining public, and delivered with pride, skill and passion by those in the industry.

Where this career choice is valued and respected by society. And ultimately remunerated to reflect such…

This is what it all comes down to. If we continue to casually disregard our hospitality workers, if we don’t value the profession as a legitimate and important career choice – then we remain perpetually stuck in a groove of disappointing dining experiences and job choices for our young workers.

As diners ourselves, we can all think back to a time where we enjoyed a wonderful experience – where it wasn’t just how good the food, the wine or the company was, but indeed the level of service we received. And this would have been down to the specialised skill of the person serving us, the passion they had for their job and the fortunate position they had found themselves in to be at the receiving end of great training and mentoring to get them to that place.

This is indeed food for thought for our industry to chew over… more hospo legends please. We know you’re out there!

focus contributor.

With skill and passion handed down from one generation to the next, it is a time honoured, respected profession.

The future of our dining scene will indeed be a bright one if we in the industry advocate for a return of the front of house professional.

CHERYL

I N S

ARTIST of the MONTH

Please introduce yourself to our readers?

Hi all, my name is Cheryl.

I have been extremely fortunate to call this beautiful part of the Mid North Coast home for over 20 years. After raising a family of three in the spectacular Blue Mountains my partner and I made a plan to move to the Lorne Valley. We spent five years designing and building a retreat on our property which included a secluded natural waterfall. We named it Gypsy Falls, after our dog Gypsy. To help fund our cost of living whilst building Gypsy Falls we took on a coffee business servicing markets and other events in the area. We have since sold the retreat some years ago. We still operate our coffee business at Riverwalk Laurieton and Port Foreshore Markets. Where and when did your passion for art begin?

This particular art form found me, in a way. While on holiday in New Zealand around four years ago we visited The Little River Gallery. An artist had just had an exhibition of his works. I literary almost bumped my head on one of his last remaining pieces. When I

looked up I was completely captivated by his magical work. That was the beginning of my passion for this new found form. Inspired by his art and keen to assume a style of my own, I couldn’t wait to get home to my crystal in my kitchen and start assembling. Can you tell us about the type of artwork that you do?

I collect crystal and glassware from a bygone era. I then give these reclaimed beauties a second chance of life. I tower them into one-off standalone sculptures, which I call Vaosa Creations (Vintage Allure Op Shop Artist).

Your first show is in October at the Macleay Valley Art Gallery, tell us about your show and what those attending will find?

My exhibition is called Sparkle - Vintage Allure. It will showcase at least 20 unique pieces of Vaosa Creations. Lovingly designed and crafted into sparkling towers of lightcatching designs that sparkle like diamonds under light or in a sunlit room. I will be sharing the gallery with another artist by the name of Robyn Brain whose choice of medium is acrylic paint.

How do you see yourself growing and changing as an artist over the next few months/years?

Vaosa Creations has been a hobby until now. I see myself exploring other galleries up and down the East Coast. I would love to work on larger pieces, maybe have them gracing the reception area in major resorts. That’s a high hope, however, I say aim for the stars. The pieces sparkle like stars, so why not?

What are your goals?

My partner and I are looking at retiring when we sell our coffee business. The idea would be to plan our travel around parts of Australia, heading to special artisans events with a few Vaosa Creations on board. Thanks Cheryl.

Sparkle -Vintage Allure Show

Macleay Valley Art Gallery, 5 Kinchela St, Gladstone Open Thursday-Sunday 10.30am-4pm 0457 643 615

Sparkle - Vintage Allure Show coming to the Macleay Valley Art Gallery this October.

Port Macquarie is set to add a high-end new bar to its repertoire when Bar Capones opens its doors in the CBD in November. FOCUS catches up with business partners Shaun Dunn and Daniel Kelly to chat about the exciting destination set to wow visitors and locals alike.

i guys. Thanks so much for speaking with Focus. How exciting and congratulations on the impending launch of your new venue. Tell us a little about what’s in store? Thanks for speaking with us. Capones is set to be unlike any venue Port Macquarie has ever seen. We plan to bring a 1920’s speakeasy vibe to the place with live shows, cabaret and burlesque performances with premium cocktails flowing and an overall show-stopping dining experience.

With Spring weather well and truly here and Summer just around the corner, there couldn’t be a better time to open a bar here in Port Macquarie. How do you plan to add that wow factor to the venue? Any local will tell you that Summer is the time Port Macquarie truly comes alive. As for a wow factor the venue will certainly speak for itself. We will be bringing Sydney chefs from renowned restaurants and winners of the Bartender of the Year award to bring a new flair and culture to town that has been missing from Port Macquarie’s bar scene for some years.

Tell us a little about the menu on offer and your vision for Bar Capones’ style? The style for our menu will be based on sharing and enjoying a show amongst friends, while having some premium cocktails to get the good times rolling. We will be delivering an Italian mezze style menu with a focus on premium desserts for an after dinner option. We also plan to be a late night dining venue with food being served until 11pm. What is on the horizon for you both as we head into the final months of 2022? The future is definitely bright for us with Capones being the first of many ideas we have to bring a new energy to the region. We’re very excited for what’s to come. For people wanting to connect online and find out more about Bar Capones, how can they best get in touch? You will find us at all the usual places, Bar Capones Instagram and Facebook pages online.

TONI

C H I L D S

AT THE GLASSHOUSE

“It feels so great to be out singing again! I’m feeling like a pollinator; pollinating love, and singing the sweetness of possibility with a basket full of memories in tow. We all really need a good love up and reset after the last two years. It is a good thing to feel good in our bones.”

Catch the legendary Toni Childs for a special two-hour performance as she celebrates her life’s musical works. Toni will be performing hits and fan favourites from Union, House of Hope, the Woman’s Boat and Keep the Faith in the first hour of her show, then the second hour will be an introduction to Toni’s new music, from two very special albums It’s All a Beautiful Noise and Citizens of the Planet. Emmy Winner and three-time Grammy nominated recording artist, Toni is a celebrated singer/songwriter known for her powerful voice, inspiring independent spirit and crafted

storytelling. With fans in over 50 countries around the world, Toni has produced a list of international hits such as: Don’t Walk Away, Stop Your Fussin’, Walk and Talk Like Angels, Zimbabwe, Where’s the Ocean, Many Rivers to Cross, to name a few. The coming years will see the wider release of two very special albums of music. First, ‘It’s All A Beautiful Noise’ and the second ‘Citizens Of The Planet’. Both releases are a part of two unique 3D Mapping animated shows – two hours of music, animation and high tech audience engagement. Toni is offering an EXCLUSIVE VIP MEET &

GREET PACKAGE. This exciting opportunity includes one concert ticket within the first row, a digital copy of Toni Childs Greatest Hits two-CD set plus a drink backstage before the concert with Toni, at a special ticket price of $175. There is an allocation of 15 per show and this unique once in a lifetime experience can be purchased at the box office.

Toni Childs will grace The Glasshouse on Thursday 20th October. Tickets on sale now.

You have had a really busy past 12 months which is much needed after COVID. For those you don’t know you, can you introduce yourself and how long you have called Port Mac home?

I’m Cristian Campano, a freelance Art Director/Graphic Designer, music promoter

and musician. I’ve lived in Port Macquarie for around 4 years now and love my life here. You are a man of many talents. Growing up what did you want to do/be?

Awww shucks thanks! Growing up around my musical and artistic parents and brother, I was always keen to get into the creative world. Whilst doing a lot of visual arts in high school and speaking to career advisors I lucked upon Graphic Design as a

potential career. Even though my family was very musical I never really got serious about music till I was in my 20s when I started playing in various bands with local Sydney mates.

Tell us about your band Scuffs, how long have you been together and can you introduce us to the other members?

When I moved here I met Jarin Penniall (drummer) at Drury Lane and we got

Working as an Art Director and Designer for over 20 years

Cristian Campano has worked for some of Australia’s biggest touring companies, bands, magazines and festivals.

chatting about making some music. From there we met Peter Gill (bass) and Jayden Heaney (guitar) and formed the band. We started jamming at my office in the industrial area and writing some rock tunes. We’ve been lucky enough to play some great shows like FOTSUN and supported some great

bands over the last 3 years. Hopefully releasing a debut album in 2023.

Hot Topics is a music showcase that you have curated. How did Hot Tropics come about and what’s is it all about?

When I moved here from Sydney I was having live music withdrawals. The Lounge Room was a great local music venue but was closing down and I missed out on the good times at The Pier. So I decided to come up with a new night showcasing local, surrounding and interstate bands and artists and we’ve been going strong for 3 years now. Our new home is Finnians Irish Tavern which has been great for Hot Tropics and our crowds are going

from strength to strength. We’ve had a lot of great up and coming bands feature on our lineups and I think it helps put Port Macquarie on the map as most touring bands used to tend to skip Port from Byron to Newy. Aaron Johnson from Burntout Bookings and I are putting on our first festival this year called The Sizzle featuring 10 local and interstate bands at Panthers Basement which should be amazing! Where did your passion for design begin, take us back to some of your first design jobs?

After finishing a design course at TAFE I started working at a little print shop in the suburbs of Sydney. From there I got into the magazine world where I worked for many years on all sorts of titles like Tracks, FHM, OK!, Australian Skateboarding mag etc. Then I got heavily into the Australian music scene where I started to design promo for musicians.

Continued over...

We’ve been lucky enough to play some great shows like FOTSUN and supported some great bands over the last 3 years. Hopefully releasing a debut album in 2023.

You have worked with some amazing businesses and some big name brands, your most recent being the Rolling Stone AU/NZ. What is your role with Rolling Stone and what excites you the most to work with them?

I’m the Senior Designer at Rolling Stone AU/ NZ now and it’s been awesome to work on their print publications. They are a great team of talented individuals and it’s an honour to work alongside them. Also great designing with amazing photography and articles featuring Australia’s thriving music scene. Tell us about some of your favourite design pieces?

The last FOTSUN (that was sadly cancelled) was a super fun piece of design. That and all my previous and current Rolling Stone mag design has been so fun. Also working on artist

tours and merchandise for Tame Impala, Dz Deathrays, Client Liaison etc has been brilliant.

During COVID I also offered free design work for Aussie musos as I knew how hard it hit our industry. The free work kept me sane during those few years and also stoked out a load of musicians who needed album/merch design but could never afford it. We hear you’ve been putting on other curated events under the name Happy Life, tell us more about that?

Also working on artist tours and merchandise for Tame Impala, Dz Deathrays, Client Liaison etc has been brilliant. During COVID I also offered free design work for Aussie musos as I knew how hard it hit our industry.

take to any venue and bring the good times. We’ve had some great Hip Hop events at Hello Sailor, Finnians and now are starting a monthly DJ event at The Beach House called Pina Colada which is going to be awesome.

Port Macquarie has such a pool of talented kids and young adults. What do you love the most about living and working here?

Happy Life came into fruition over beers with local legend Nathan Healey. We saw there was a gap in the market for cool events that we could

I think compared to my previous life in Sydney where it was pretty cut-throat and demanding, Port Macquarie is just full of legendary people, creative or otherwise, who love to help each other out. I find word of mouth so powerful here, if you need a photographer or an illustrator we recommend each other for jobs and there’s no competition, only good vibes.

I think that’s an important part of life, as a stressful career can destroy us over time. Port Macquarie is an amazing town of great people living a laid back lifestyle and enjoying beautiful beaches, I’m never leaving!

It was so refreshing to move to a new town and make new friends who were always down to hang out, offer a job, recommend a good mechanic etc. Most people work less here and live more. I think that’s an important part of life, as a stressful career can destroy us over time. Port Macquarie is an amazing town of great people living a laid back lifestyle and enjoying beautiful beaches, I’m never leaving! What advice to do you have for other designers or even musicians wanting to get their skills and music out to a wider audience?

Just be a nice person and give people the time of day. Work hard and reach out to designers

or bands you like and offer your services. Soon enough things will start happening if you go out and get it. If you’re a designer it’s important you make a strong website full of your best work and promo the hell out of it! If you’re a budding musician, talk to other bands in the local area, talk to venues and create your own show with your music mates. It’s actually easier than you think. I’m tired of hearing bands whinge that they aren’t getting shows. Be proactive and become the band manager and booking agent and things will happen if you email and message enough people.

If you could go back 10-15 years what would you say to your younger self?

Don’t stress about the small things and if the pressure gets too much pass on work to other people. I took on too much 5 years ago and imploded from work pressure. But I worked hard on my mental health to get myself back to 100%. Also creating a good network of talented friends will benefit you in the long run. When you aren’t designing or playing music where can we find you?

Spending chill time at the beach with my awesome wife Michelle and 2 year old wild child Blousey. Thanks Cristian.

GREATER-PORT MACQUARIE

RUBY BLUNT

OCT O B ER 2022

EVERY TUESDAY

6:30pm Bonny Hills Hotel Open Mic

SATURDAY, 1 OCT

10:00am Town Square Markets Ruby Blunt

12:30pm Chop n Chill Andrew Best

2:00pm Brewhaven Dan Hopkins

4:00pm Tacking Point Tavern Boukabou

4:00pm Wicked Elf Beer Bill Roberts

6:30pm Little Turkey Ruby Blunt

7:00pm Bago Tavern Lighthouse Music

7:00pm Laurieton Hotel Cool Coda

7:00pm Wave Bowl Terrace Can’t Adult Today

7:30pm Hastings Hotel Isabella Livingstone

7:30pm Port City BC Reggie D & The Bloozers

SUNDAY, 2 OCT

12:30pm Chop n Chill Simon Gudgeon

1:00pm Long Flat Pub Besty & Nikki

1:00pm Moo & Bean Live Music

1:30pm Wauchope Country Club Gary King

2:00pm Laurieton Hotel Cool Coda

3:00pm Tacking Point Tavern Nikki Rudge

4:00pm Club North Haven Jasmine O’Brien

MONDAY, 3 OCT

11:30am Chop n Chill Craig Stewart

WEDNESDAY, 5 OCT

6:30pm Botanic Wine Garden Leigh I’Anson

THURSDAY, 6 OCT

6:30pm Club North Haven Gary King

FRIDAY, 7 OCT

5:00pm Black Duck Brewery Chill Factor

5:00pm Wicked Elf Beer Alex McLeod

5:30pm Chop n Chill Andrew Best

6:30pm Port Mac Golf Club Steve Bennett

7:00pm Wave Bowl Terrace Jake Davey

7:30pm Port City BC Supercell

7:30pm Settlers Inn Hotel Besty

8:00pm Bonny Hills Hotel Mr Stitches

8:00pm Finnians Irish Tavern Bill Roberts

SATURDAY, 8 OCT

12:30pm Chop n Chill Jackson James

4:00pm Wicked Elf Beer Dusty Soul

7:00pm Bago Tavern Gary King

7:30pm Port City BC Can’t Adult Today

8:00pm Finnians Irish Tavern Smooth Moves

8:00pm Laurieton Hotel Craig Stewart

SUNDAY, 9 OCT

11:30am Bago Maze & W inery Ken & Lily

12.30pm Chop n Chill Goody 2 Shoes

1:00pm Moo & Bean Live Music

1:30pm Wauchope Country Club Pure Acoustic

2:00pm Laurieton Hotel Nikki Rudge

4:00pm Club North Haven Lo Monaco

WEDNESDAY, 12 OCT

6:30pm Botanic Wine Garden Dave Javier

THURSDAY, 13 OCT

6:30pm Club North Haven Besty

FRIDAY, 14 OCT

5:00pm Black Duck Brewery Mat Brooker

5:00pm Wicked Elf Beer Pure Acoustic

6:30pm Port Macquarie Golf Club Dave Javier

7:00pm Wave Bowl Terrace Goon Gremlins, Palomino & Turpentine Babycino

7:30pm Port City Bowling Club Keanu Jai

7:30pm Settlers Inn Hotel Rhys Callinan

8:00pm Finnians Irish Tavern Live Music

SATURDAY, 15 OCT

12:00pm Royal Hotel Kew Andy Abra, Hudson Rose & Jake Davey

2:00pm Brewhaven Steve Bennett

4:00pm Wicked Elf Beer Dave Javier

6:30pm Little Turkey Isabella Livingstone

7:00pm Bago Tavern Barflys

7:00pm Comboyne Ex Services Club Hannah Lee

7:00pm Wave Bowl Terrace Geoff Jones

7:30pm Hastings Hotel Rhys Callinan

CRAIG

JASMINE

CHERYL & PETE

7:30pm Port City Bowling Club Leigh I’Anson

8:00pm Finnians Irish Tavern Gotcha Covered

8:00pm Laurieton Hotel Alter Ego

SUNDAY, 16 OCT

1:00pm Moo & Bean Live Music

1:30pm Wauchope Country Club Young Floyd

2:00pm Laurieton Hotel Finn Hoy

WEDNESDAY, 19 OCT

6:30pm Botanic Wine Garden Tony Kennelly

THURSDAY, 20 OCT

6:30pm Club North Haven Pure Acoustic

FRIDAY, 21 OCT

5:00pm Wicked Elf Beer Leigh I’Anson

5:30pm Chop n Chill Mat Brooker

6:00pm Black Duck Brewery Fella Felafel

6:30pm Port Macquarie GC Brody Ireland

7:00pm Wave Bowl Terrace Kyle Moore

7:30pm Port City BC Graham Howle

7:30pm Settlers Inn Hotel Besty

8:00pm Finnians Irish Tavern Live Music

SATURDAY, 22 OCT

12:00pm Chop n Chill Andrew Best

2:00pm Brewhaven Bill Roberts

4:00pm Wicked Elf Beer Brock Colley

TROY WHITE

5:00pm Black Duck Brewery Little Night In 6:30pm Little Turkey Young Floyd 6:30pm Wauchope Country Club Leigh I’Anson

7:00pm Bago Tavern Lockout

7:00pm Comboyne Club Dave Cavanagh

7:00pm Wave Bowl Terrace The Southern Hold

7:30pm Hastings Hotel Nikki Rudge

7:30pm Port City Bowling Club The Trapps

8:00pm Finnians Irish Tavern Humpdaze

8:00pm Laurieton Hotel Pure Acoustic

SUNDAY, 23 OCT

9:00am Artist Markets Cameron Alford

12:30pm Chop n Chill Craig Stewart

12:30pm Wave Bowl Terrace Elegant Bunny

1:00pm Moo & Bean Live Music

1:30pm Wauchope Country Club Brock Colley

2:00pm Beechwood Hotel Chris Rose

2:00pm Laurieton Hotel Goody 2 Shoes

WEDNESDAY, 26 OCT

6:30pm Botanic Wine Garden Pam Hata

THURSDAY, 27 OCT

5:00pm STAR Vibes Award Entry Closes

6:30pm Club North Haven Leigh I’Anson

FRIDAY, 28 OCT

5:00pm Black Duck Brewery Cheryl & Pete

5:00pm Wicked Elf Beer Mark Bergin

5:30pm Chop n Chill Mat Brooker

6:30pm Port Mac Golf Club Damon Winter

7:00pm Wave Bowl Terrace Monster Boys

7:30pm Port City Bowling Club Ruby Blunt

7:30pm Settlers Inn Hotel Nikki Rudge

8:00pm Bonny Hills Hotel Rockabillies

8:00pm Finnians Brixton Alley & Psychoda

SATURDAY, 29 OCT

12:30pm Chop n Chill Brody Ireland

2:00pm Brewhaven Al McLeod

4:00pm Wicked Elf Beer Sarah Leete

6:30pm Little Turkey Sam Buckley

7:00pm Bago Tavern Gotcha Covered

7:00pm Fernhill Tavern Lockout

7:00pm Wave Bowl Terrace EBD

7:30pm Hastings Hotel Fella Felafal

7:30pm Port City Bowling Club Humpdaze

8:00pm Bonny Hills Hotel New Wave

8:00pm Laurieton Hotel Dan Hopkins

SUNDAY, 30 OCT

12:30pm Chop n Chill Andrew Cousins

1:00pm Moo & Bean Live Music

1:30pm Wauchope Country Club Pure Acoustic

2:00pm Laurieton Hotel Al McLeod

MAT

THE AUSTRALIAN TENORS I Still Call Australia Home - 2022 Tour

Come and enjoy the fun, romance and excitement of the finest tenor voices in Australia. Hear from their magnificent 2022 program, Nessun Dorma, Verdi’s Anvil Chorus, to popular tenor songs, packed with so much emotion that will delight your heart. From Man of La Mancha, The Impossible Dream – Les Miserables, Do You Hear The People Sing & Neapolitan favourites Funiculi Funicular with other repertoire including a stirring rendition of The Hallelujah Chorus. Beautiful duets are also a part of

the program including Phantom of The Opera & The Pearl Fishers Duet.

The Australian Tenors have performed extensively with Opera Australia, Australian and International Symphonies & Philharmonic Orchestras.  The Australian Tenors are: Murray Mayday, John Donohoe, Matthew Reardon and Michael Butchard under the direction of Musical Director Glenn Amer.

Guest soprano is the beautiful song Opera Australia bird, soprano Clarissa Spata.

AUSTRALIAN GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS

WOMEN

L I K E U S

SMASHING IT AT THE GLASSHOUSE

Ellen Briggs and Mandy Nolan are comedians cognisant of the fact that it’s a significant date. ‘11/11/22! Wow! We promise to give you a night to remember!’

‘Our comedy just seems to resonate with women of all ages. They get us. We get them. It’s one of those nights when they get the girls together. Mums bring teenage daughters and grandmas. Dad stays at home and watches the footy. Although he’s welcome to come. Men who love women LOVE Women Like Us!’, says Mandy Nolan, comedian and the former Greens candidate for Richmond.

Mandy Nolan almost stepped away from the comedy circuit at the Federal election, with her seat being one of three held over for a week. The full story was aired on Compass on the ABC – and while Nolan was passionate about taking her jibe to Canberra, she’s delighted to be back on the circuit.

‘One thing you realise after decades of touring and meeting people, is that everyone is sick of the bullshit. So if I can’t do it in parliament, I’ll call it out in a comedy room!’

With sold out shows at Melbourne Comedy Festival and 5 star reviews, the girls have also showcased at the Women’s Gala at Melbourne Town Hall. In Adelaide at the Fringe Festival, Mandy Nolan and Ellen Briggs were officially declared ‘Goddesses’ by the Weekend Notes writer who said ‘Everything they say and do is

the absolute word of sacred truth.’

Women Like Us is a comedy show that delivers. A Glamadelaide reviewer said ‘The audience barely had time to draw breath between hearty laughs!’ And it’s not just women who love this hilarious crowd pleaser. Men are wetting themselves too. And women that came with the girls echo the same sentiment, ‘Next time I am bringing my husband! He would love this!’ Women Like Us was born when the two women comics decided to step away from the male dominated comedy scene into venues where women’s stories and experiences are centre stage.

We tell everyday stories about our struggles, our failure to parent, the beauty industry, getting fatter, strange surgeries, obsessions, frustrations, and at the end of the day who unpacks the dishwasher.

Like Us out there than we ever realised. There’s even a growing tribe of men Like Us too!’

Mandy Nolan is a columnist for the Byron Shire Echo, and writes regularly for Mamamia – and she is the host of their new podcast The Split. She has appeared on ABC’s Q&A, SBS’s Mum’s The Word & About Women, and is in demand as a corporate and club performer around the country.

‘We tell everyday stories about our struggles, our failure to parent, the beauty industry, getting fatter, strange surgeries, obsessions, frustrations, and at the end of the day who unpacks the dishwasher’, says Ellen Briggs.

‘It’s not a show just for women’, says Ellen, who appeared recently on Hughsey We have A Problem, ‘In the same way a comedy show by two men would never be seen as a blokes’ only show. Women Like Us is about making our experiences universal rather than ‘niche’. And as it turns out, there are a lot more Women

Ellen Briggs is a national Finalist for RAW comedy and winner of Foxtel Comedy Channel’s Be A Comedian. The two women have well over 30 years of comedy experience between them, and this year they released their book, Women Like Us, nationally. Women Like Us is stand up at its best, where Ellen and Mandy talk about housework, chickens, love, big undies, disappointment, resentment, sex when you’re drunk, fit bits, yoga farts and being a menopausal woman dealing with teenage angst. They’re overworked, overweight and over it…

Women Like Us will grace The Glasshouse Theatre, Port Macquarie on Friday 11 November at 8pm. Tickets $45.

The smash hit touring show Women Like Us comes to Port Macquarie’s Glasshouse Theatre on Friday 11 November.

B A C K B O N E

BY GRAVITY & OTHER MYTHS

In this latest work, the troupe takes the concept and perception of strength and literally tosses it into the air.

FOCUS speaks with super-talented Ensemble Acrobat and Tour Manager of the company Lachlan Harper as the company gets set to bring their show to The Glasshouse Port Macquarie.

Hi Lachlan. Let me start by saying what an incredible show. The visuals are spectacular. Please tell us a little about the overview of Backbone and what’s in store for Port Macquarie’s audience?

Thank you. Well, it’s an acrobatic show and it’s our exploration of strength and what it means to be strong or the absence of strength and all kinds of different aspects of ‘strength’ as an idea. Each act we toyed around with different ideas of what it was that made someone strong individually and collectively as a team and we came away with what we’ve got now which is Backbone.

Fantastic and just following on from that notion of ‘strength’ The Independent describes the performance as ‘warm hearted and dazzling, exploring an individual and collective resilience being tested as the company tumble, backflip and walk across each other’s heads. Backbone explores the limits of emotional and physical endurance.’

Why is this notion an important attribute to the company in this particular performance?

Well, it’s what we like doing. It encompasses all of the elements that we want to do with our shows. We also want to bring humanity into our shows as well. We never want to portray as something that feels disingenuous with who we are as people and performers and we always want to include those kind of elements with our pieces. You have taken this show internationally across the globe and now touring throughout regional Australia. Do you still get excited about performing for new audiences in new places?

...it’s our exploration of strength and what it means to be strong or the absence of strength and all kinds of different aspects of ‘strength’ as an idea.

Australia with this piece. It’s awesome to be home as well and performing in our home country.

For sure. Every audience is always different for their own reasoning and we actually haven’t really performed in Australia that much, especially with Backbone. We’ve done Sydney Festival and Adelaide Festival when it premiered and a couple of other places, but other than that not much so it’s really quite exciting to tour

The performance is matched with a powerful live soundtrack and creative and beautiful lighting designs offering a thought provoking and genre-defying feast for the eyes full of acrobatics and circus as you’ve never seen it before. The show also forms part of The Glasshouse’s schools education program for 2022. How can school children be inspired academically by taking part in viewing a performance?

Backbone is an impressive new work, pushing the boundaries of contemporary circus and inspiring school children in the process.

This show can really offer children another perspective into what someone’s future could be. Everyone kind of expects the 9 to 5 being the normal kind of thing that someone could do with their lives, but we like to present this show where people can see it and open their eyes to a completely different job opportunity and a different kind of reality to what life and a career could be for someone as an adult.

The company Gravity & Other Myths has previously won the Winner of the Australian Dance Award in 2018 for Outstanding Achievement in Physical Theatre. This performance has been labelled a strippedback, raw showcase of human ability and connection. This shows extraordinary skill of the ensemble cast to portray on stage.

Tell us a little about the actors and their impressive talents?

We’re all pretty talented I think. We’ve all trained since we were all really young except for one cast member but he was a sporting enthusiast from a very young age. Most of us are 27 as an average age for the acrobats and most of us have all done acrobatics or something similar since we were five or six.

So yes, we’re all pretty heavily trained and we’ve worked together for years and years to try and build up all of that trust and experience together.

During COVID and lockdowns etc, the arts suffered immensely with a lack of funding and support as live theatre was placed on hold. How do you feel now as new energy abounds and people are out and about seeing live theatre again?

It has been incredible. We actually had people in Europe say to us that that was exactly the show they needed to see to bring back their spirits after COVID.

So, yes it’s a really awesome experience to be

back performing and having people be touched by what we do in that kind of way again especially while the industry was shut down for so long. And just finally, what is on the horizon for the company going forward?

Hopefully some big things. Moving forward, we’ve just opened a new show in Berlin. It’s called ‘The Mirror.’ The group is there for three months. Then there will be another show launching for a couple of months. We’re doing Backbone nationally concurrently.

It’s actually kind of nice having two casts performing and moving around again because as we said COVID shut everything down for a long time and we were all trapped in Adelaide. It’s awesome to see us expanding again and being back in Europe and Australia. We’re also excited to keep developing as a company and creating new work.

Thanks Lachlan. Interview: Sarah Baker.

Backbone will perform at the Glasshouse Port Macquarie on on Monday 31st October and Tuesday 1st November at 8pm.

We actually had people in Europe say to us that that was exactly the show they needed to see to bring back their spirits after COVID.

You Am I are without doubt one of Australia’s all-time essential rock ‘n’ roll bands.

More than two decades on from their first album release, You Am I have not only had one of the longest and most successful recording careers in Australia, but are also without doubt one of our most loved live bands.

Featuring guitarist and vocalist Tim Rogers along with bandmates Russell Hopkinson on drums, Andy Kent on bass, and (since 1999) Davey Lane on guitar, You Am I have released 10 studio albums to date. Their last studio album was the 2015 critically acclaimed ‘Porridge & Hot Sauce’ release.

Three of their releases have debuted at number one on the ARIA charts in consecutive order – 1995’s ‘Hi Fi Way’, 1996’s ‘Hourly, Daily’ and 1998’s ‘#4 Record’ – with the albums also receiving multiple Platinum and Gold status for commercial sales.

The band have won a total of 10 ARIA Awards including Album of the Year, Best Group, and Best Independent Release.

What do you get when you cross a stellar music festival with the biggest outdoor comedy gala event ever held in regional Australia, paired with cocktail & wine bars, a beer garden and a delectable array of street food? Welcome to The Big Bonanza, the funnest two days of your life!

The Big Bonanza is a two-day Comedy & Music Festival featuring a massive lineup of artists, comprising a Comedy Gala event on Friday November 4th, followed by a full day Music Festival on Saturday November 5th.

The all-star lineup includes a cast of hugely popular comedians including Dave Hughes, Judith Lucy, Geraldine Hickey, Dilruk Jayasinha and Cal Wilson. Plus, some of the biggest names in the Australian music scene including

Wolfmother, You Am I, Drapht, The Beautiful Girls, Phil Jamieson (Grinspoon front man) and The Bamboos.

The festival held at the Coffs Harbour Education Campus is an all weather event. The main stage is housed under a huge big top tent, and the hospitality precinct has a massive marquee to keep punters comfortable no matter the weather conditions.

As the name suggests, The Big Bonanza is going to be BIG! Tickets are selling fast – head to thebigbonanza.com.au or Oztix to grab yours before they’re all gone.

DAVE HUGHES

Often referred to as “a typical Aussie bloke”, Dave Hughes is actually an unusual success story. From working class roots, the university drop-out and former abattoir worker has risen to become one of Australia’s most popular and successful stand-up comedians. His honesty and laconic humour have led to several long-term hosting roles on television and radio.

Having spent the majority of their career touring and selling out theatres, stadiums and festivals throughout the world including North & South America, Europe, UK & Scandinavia, Wolfmother are finally back on international stages performing sold out headline shows (postponed due to Covid).

With their last major Australia & NZ tour in late 2019 / early 2020, tour plans came to a grinding halt until the spectacular return to the live stage via their acclaimed performance at the 2020 AFL Grand Final viewed the world over by millions. Since then, Wolfmother have been forced to perform select shows due to the curse of Covid, including headlining Byron Music Festival, Blues On Broadbeach and sold out shows headlining theatres across the east coast.

With an extensive history and career, including multiplatinum sales globally, and ARIA, Grammy and other award nods too numerous to mention, Wolfmother released the recent albums 2016’s ‘Victorious’ and late 2019’s ‘Rock’n’Roll Baby’ to rave reviews and enthusiastic international response resulting in extensive world tours.

Across 10 albums, Melbourne nine piece

The Bamboos have been recognised worldwide as masters of reinventing Soul & Funk, placing modern songwriting within classic arrangements and production. The band have connected to both genre purists as much as casual music fans by focusing on what’s important: songwriting, groove and powerful vocals

Lead by guitarist / producer / songwriter Lance Ferguson and featuring the powerhouse Kylie Auldist on vocals, the band has also collaborated with guests such

as Aloe Blacc, Durand Jones, Joey Dosik, Daniel Merriweather, Alice Russell and Tim Rogers (on 2012’s hugely successful ‘I Got Burned’ and the 2015 album ‘Rules Of Attraction’).

Formed in 2000, they were the first Australian Soul / Funk act to be signed to an overseas label and then the first to tour the UK and Europe. Along the way they have been nominated for five ARIA Awards (the Australian Grammys), four APRA Songwriting Awards and their 10th studio album ‘Hard Up’, released in 2021, has been their best received record to date.

THE BAMBOOS

Vibes

AWARDS

Aregional based song competition with a focus on giving awards, useful prizes and tools to improve songwriting abilities, promote new music and provide industry and performance opportunities for regional artists.

The project is supported by local music industry professionals and community businesses, highlighting the talent and spirit of our region. The aim of the Award is to encourage the growth of the entertainment industry across the Port Macquarie Hastings and showcase our regional talent.

The competition is open to amateurs and semi-professional performers and songwriters of all ages and genres, with the major prize

pool that includes a fully produced and mastered radio recording of the winner’s song, professional promotional photoshoot, industry mentoring, paid performance opportunities and so much more.

After a preselection round of video submissions, The STAR Vibes Award Advisory Board members – a group of seasoned music industry artists, producers, engineers, songwriters and lyricists – will choose the top 30 entries to compete in live heat rounds.

Throughout the month of November 2022 live heats will be held on Thursday evenings at Wicked Elf Brewery. A Grand Final Performance will be on Thursday 24th of November, where 4 artists will be awarded 1 of 4 major prizes.

We thank our major sponsors including Wicked Elf Brewery, FOCUS Magazine,

Hastings Co-Op, Rawr Music, Jackson James Creative and Hot Plate Studios for supporting the future of music.

So over to you regional NSW, show us what you’ve got! Open to all ages and genres of music, both cover artists and original musicians are welcome to enter their talents. Or nominate a hidden local talent by entering them in the 1st Annual Port Macquarie Hastings Star Vibes Awards.

KEY DATES

VIDEO ENTRIES OPEN - 23rd September

VIDEO ENTRIES CLOSE - 27th October

FINALIST NOTIFIED - 1st November

LIVE HEAT ROUNDS

Youth Performance heat - 3rd November

Solo Performance heat -10th November

Songwriter heat - 17th November

GRAND FINAL - Thursday 24th November

For more information and to enter midnorthsocial.com/starvibes

The aim of the Award is to encourage the growth of the entertainment industry across the Port Macquarie Hastings and showcase our regional talent.

Greater Port Macquarie Gig Guide and the Australian Centre for Arts and Health bring you the 1st Annual Port Macquarie Hastings STAR Vibes Award in November 2022.

SANDAL TRENDS

TO BUY IN TIME

for Summer!

Summer can’t come soon enough. So while we anticipate warm rays and moments of relaxation, why not shop for the pair of sandals you’ll want to live in all season long at Colonial Cobbler. Quality shoe manufacturer Rieker has started to release their new season Summer sandals in an array of colours, awe-inspiring patterns and styles. Think chunky platforms, wide-strap sandals, and comfortable wedges in an array of hues are now in-store at Port Macquarie.

Why do people prefer Rieker footwear over other trusted brands? Rieker designs all its shoes with comfort and style in mind without compromising on the longevity of the product. This brand practice makes the stylish Rieker shoe unique.

The material of Rieker shoes provide a

snug fit over the feet, causing no form of discomfort. It possesses arch support and a cushioning that gives the wearer the ability to face a long day without the fear of tired feet.

All shoes from Rieker are not only aimed at aesthetics, they are designed to be functional and to offer the user a lot more than a simple fashion statement. Within every Rieker shoe is a lightweight and elastic component that helps it provide an antistress feature to the user.

The anti-stress feature is one of the major reasons many people love to wear Rieker shoes and not those from other brands.

The functional features in a Rieker make it ideal for the elderly and other individuals suffering foot problems, including heel pain. This choice is all down to a Rieker shoe’s

ability to ensure that the wearer stays in full comfort without going through the pain brought about by poor fitting.

Take the classic summer style sandal to the next level with the subtle height and luxury leather that Rieker offers. Now available instore at Colonial Cobbler.

PLUS: T shirts, Magnets, Badges, Stickers, Notebooks, Tote Bags, Eco personal products, Baba Lila handmade chocolates, koala soft toys and accessories and Hello Koalas first children’s book ‘Lola had a Dream’, written and illustrated by Francessca O’Donnell who created ‘Lady Lola The Dancing Koala’ at the Glasshouse. Preorder for delivery mid October, signed and inscribed by the artist.

Hello Koalas Sculpture Trail and Hello Koalas Gift Shop is at home at Bellbowrie Park Business Centre, 10 Bellbowrie Street, Port Macquarie, NSW 2444

BIG KOALA

On 18 September this year, Port Macquarie’s Big Koala became number 231 of ‘Big Things in Australia’, according to Alex Moller, social blogger from Melbourne, who came to Port to cover its launch for his following on Heygo.

Bearing the tagline ‘The Spirit of All Koalas’, the 2.5 metre fibreglass sculpture painted by local artist Pauline Roods, features 31 koalas enjoying life in the forest and “captures the essence of the region and celebrates its place as the koala capital of the world”, Alex said.

Australia has had a fondness for ‘big things’ since the 70s with people travelling the country for photographs. Locally The Big Banana in Coffs Harbour is 65 years old and receives a million visitors a year.

The attraction around Australia’s big things is not just the objects themselves but what they represent, such as Tamworth’s Big Golden Guitar, which is a beacon for country music lovers.

Big sculptures can become the pride of a community, what it’s built on, what it thrives on, what it believes in (Wikipedia).

“This is the significance of Port Macquarie’s ‘Big Koala’ and its role in raising awareness for the care and conservation of koalas and native animals and plants and, importantly, it is also a beautiful artwork”, Margret said.

“Hello Koalas’ aim has been creating an

outstanding example of public art that is a landmark for our region and the new tourism and educational precinct called Guulabaa (Place of Koala) in the Cowarra State Forest.

“There are four project partners working with Forestry Corporation of NSW to create this inspiring nature-based experience for locals and visitors to enjoy.”

Hello Koalas Sculpture Trail joins forest adventure WildNets at Guulabaa, now open 9am to dusk, seven days a week (www. wildnets.com.au).

To follow in the coming months will be Koala Conservation Australia’s world-first wild koala breeding centre and Bunyah Aboriginal Land Council’s café and gallery.

The YouTube video “Hello Koalas The Making of The Big Koala”, by Lindsay Moller Productions, charts the creation of this iconic sculpture from the Johns River factory of local fibreglass specialist John Belfield through a timelapse video in Pauline’s studio to its installation at Guulabaa. The Big Koala sits on a locally made timber and steel plinth placed on a prime site by Forestry Corporation of NSW.

“It’s been 8 years in the planning to create The Big Koala and a complementary educational program”, Margret said.

“Serendipitously, we decided to invest in a special limited edition of Monopoly for Port Macquarie as a fund-raising initiative and to dedicate 100% of the net proceeds from the sale of Monopoly Games from our Hello

Koalas Gift Shop to this Big Koala project.

“We also approached Monopoly about creating a koala token, based on the Hello Koalas sculpture digital design, and a miniature version of the Hello Koalas sculpture was created.

“We believe that this is the only Monopoly Game in the world, with its thousands of editions, which has a koala token amidst their traditional sports car, thimble, cat, boot, dog, hat and ship tokens!

“We established ‘The Friends of The Big Koala’ to assist us to fund our Big Koala and educational program and have been overwhelmed by the level of support from locals and tourists. We now have over 1,300 Friends of The Big Koala.

“We were also delighted to welcome Regional Australia Bank as sponsor of The Big Koala. This is in addition to their Hello Koalas sculpture ‘Kirralee’, by artist Beverley Coleman, in the front window of Regional Australia Bank’s Horton Street branch in the centre of town.”

THE BIG KOALA AT GUULABAA

Corner of Oxley Highway and Burrawan Forest Drive. Open 7 days, 9am to dusk.

More information: hellokoalas.com info@hellokoalas.com 0416 641 482

The Big Koala, number 84 on the Hello Koalas Sculpture Trail, has been a dream for founder Margret Meagher since 2012.

Pauline Roods, Margret Meagher, John Belfield, The Big Koala, Guulabaa (Photo Lindsay Moller)

Margret Meagher with Hello Koalas Monopoly Token

THE SPIRIT OF ALL KOALAS

PORT MOWER CENTRE

Friendly and Honest Service:

Our knowledgeable team has been helping Mid-North Coast residents with their powered outdoor equipment for over 15 years. Drop in and see Dave, Dan and the team for friendly, expert and honest advice. Regardless of where you purchased your equipment, or what is wrong with it, our service team will be happy to look at it and give you our advice.

More Brands. More Choice:

Many of our competitors are restricted to selling just a single brand, we sell most top brands, allowing us to recommend the product that will best meet your needs and your budget.

Comprehensive Product Range:

We sell a full range of mowers, trimmers and brushcutters as well as other outdoor power equipment such as chainsaws and blower vacs. Support your locally owned and operated mower centre next time you purchase.

Full Range of Parts & Accessories

We stock an extensive range of competitively priced parts and accessories to suit all brands and equipment so you can be back up and running in no time.

(02) 6583 3317 | e. portmowercentre@pnc.com.au

Fb: portmowercentre | 12-16 Bellbowrie St Port Macquarie

Opening Hours: Monday - Friday 8am to 5pm, Saturday 8am to 12:30pm, Sunday Closed

Holiday Coast Tours

Holiday Coast Tours is your local tour operator offering coach tours from 1 (one) day to a trip of a lifetime – 54 days around Australia. Operating for over 22 years – 19 from the Bellbowrie Park area –Holiday Coast Tours is locally owned and operated. We cater for all community, social and school groups as well as further afield. We have been the preferred carrier for Linga Longa Holidays based in Yarrawonga – a real success story!

Capably managed by Anne-Marie Cecil, our office is open 4 days a week, Monday to Thursday. Drop in to Unit 25 or contact us on (02) 6583 8669. email admin@holidaycoasttours.com.au or on our website www.holidaycoasttours.com. au for all your tour requirements. Happy touring is our aim.

Nearly 30 exciting businesses call Bellbowrie Park home. DISCOVER THEM TODAY.

Port Mower Centre provides quality power and outdoor equipment for the perfect lawn & garden care plus we have qualified mechanics in our Service & Repair Centre.

CELEBRATING 30 YEARS IN BUSINESS

MSP Photography are made up of 25 local businesses with the backing of a national resource centre. With MSP you are in good hands. Our team knows exactly how to make school photography simple. We’ve been the masters of school photography since 1991, and we know exactly how to create a hassle-free experience for staff, students and parents.

Our service extends beyond photo day to offer a range of products that help promote our schools to prospective students and families, yearbooks, giftware and fundraising ideas.

We work and live in our region and actively support our local schools and their wider communities.

GOWRIE NSW

‘Gowrie NSW is a non-profit organisation that provides diverse education and care, family support and professional development services to early and middle childhood sector across NSW and ACT. With a focus on research and contemporary pedagogical methodology, we have demonstrated a strong leadership commitment to working in partnership across generations to provide a range of programs and resources that support children, families and education professionals.’ Gowrie Australia is a national consortium of state based Gowrie Organisations and is nationally committed to optimal outcomes for children and families. The NSW/ACT Inclusion Agency provides a network of Inclusion Professionals to provide tailored support to eligible Education & Care services across the jurisdiction. We work with educators to build their capacity and capability , to ensure the inclusion of children with additional needs. Our aim is to provide the most vulnerable children a strong start, which then supports parents or carers to increase their activity including work, study & training.

We call this our ‘community-centric’ approach, where we put our communities first and aim to be the local experts with a local focus.

Units 28 and 29 Bellbowrie Park

P: 02 6583 1968 e.northcoast@msp.com.au

PO Box 422 Port Macquarie, NSW 2444 www.msp.com.au

From our Units 33 and 34 Bellbowrie Park office, we manage inclusion Hubs in NSW Central West, NSW North, NSW West & the Mid North Coast, along with the NSW/ACT Specialist Equipment Library (SEL). From our Bellbowrie Park office we transport specialised equipment to childcare facilities across NSW. The SEL provides eligible early childhood education and care services with access to a range of resources, free of charge, to increase their capacity and capability. This allows children with significant mobility needs to be included alongside their typically developing peers.

Photo shows the types of equipment you might see in our Library at Bellbowrie Park.

Units 33 and 34 Bellbowrie Park

info@gowriensw.com.au www.gowriensw.com.au

PC PITSTOP, CASSERA'S CAFE, BOTANIC MERCHANT, HELLO KOALAS

Come in to Bellbowrie Park to discover these and many other businesses and services

RUGBY LEAGUE

The U12’s Rugby League team at St Peter’s Primary have been excelling at their sport, recently winning the Independent Catholic Primary Schools Challenge and the Hastings All Schools! We had a chat with teacher Jeff Arkinstall about the team and their achievements.

ST PETER’S PRIMARY

JEFF ARKINSTALL

Hi Jeff. Can you tell us a bit about the St Peter’s U12’s team, have they all been playing together for very long?

The bulk of the State Championship Team has been playing rugby league for many years. From a school point of view, this team started to come together in 2019, when a number of the team were selected for the All Schools Rugby League competition.

That year, a number of these boys played in the Year 3/4 section where they were all underage and playing against students a year older than them. In the Hastings Region of All Schools in 2019, we won the Year 3/4 Competition and the Year 5/6 Competition. We were then invited to the State Finals of All Schools Rugby League in Sydney and both teams finished 4th in the state.

What sort of training does the team do? We are very fortunate at St Peter’s to have many staff and families who are experts in a wide number of sports. In terms of rugby league, our Principal Mr Geoff Leary has led the selections and training of the team in a number of rugby league competitions. The boys have been selected firstly through trialling and then a squad was selected. That squad trained multiple times weekly

under the guidance of Mr Leary and a number of family members including Mr David Lacey, Mr Mark Rowlatt, Mr Luke Garel and Mr Peter Mitchell. The boys were very committed to the training schedule and week after week, the boys improved individually and as a team. They have recently won the Independent Catholic Primary Schools Challenge to become State Champions as well as the Hastings All Schools, congratulations! Can you tell us about the competition and the path they had to take to win the title?

The Independent Catholic Primary Schools Challenge kicked off in Coffs Harbour with the Northern Qualifier. In very wet and heavy conditions the team played against the North Coast area and won all games. The team played against Holy Family Skennars Head, St Bridget’s Kyogle and St Joseph’s Kempsey.

The team won the final 22-4 against St Bridget’s. The team then progressed to the Northern Final in Port Macquarie where they played the regional winners. The teams came

from Maitland, Terrigal and Glen Innes. The team played Glen Innes in the final and won 16-6. The team then progressed to the State Final at Wests Tigers Stadium. It was down to two, the winner of the Southern Final (St Columbkille’s Corrimal) and the winner of the Northern Final (St Peter’s).

Can you tell us about the State Final day and how it all went down?

The State Final was epic. The day prior, we had a training session in Sydney, a special presentation and a family dinner for 55 people. The team even received messages from NRL superstars Harry Grant (Melbourne Storm) and Reece Robson (North Queensland Cowboys) during our special presentation before dinner.

Their messages were very similar, defence is critical. It was a wonderful opportunity for all families and staff to come together and celebrate as a community this amazing achievement. The families arrived at the Wests Tigers Stadium and you could feel the uncertainty of what was ahead.

Continued over...

We are very fortunate at St Peter’s to have many staff and families who are experts in a wide number of sports.

The huge grandstands, the large crowd and the greenest grass. In the sheds, each boy had their own locker, and it was very much like they were an NRL player. Before the game, the feeling in the changeroom was very calm as Mr Leary, Mr Lacey and Mr Rowlatt roved around the team and gave each boy some final messages before running onto the ground.

When the whistle blew to start the game, we couldn’t have wished for a better kick-off as the ball rolled towards our try line. The start of the game went back and forth, and eventually, Tobias Rowlatt broke through the line to score and put the first points on the scoreboard.

After this try, we needed to defend for a large amount of the first half, and the boys certainly tackled and stopped St Columbkille’s forward movement.

However, they eventually broke through the line to tie the game up. Just before half-time, Ryder Colthorpe scored in the corner off a blind side play to take us into the half-time break.

In the second half, we needed to again defend and it wasn’t until Tobias Rowlatt again broke through multiple tackles to run half the field to convert and seal the state

championship. The state championship win was a huge team effort. We had 19 boys play throughout the championship and all played their part. What contributes to them being such a strong team?

Tobias Rowlatt again broke through multiple tackles to run half the field to convert and seal the state championship. The state championship win was a huge team effort.

At St Peter’s, we pride ourselves on our Positive Behaviour System which consists of being a learner, being safe, being respectful and being like Jesus. Like all our sporting teams, they are firstly and most importantly selected on how each child is following our Positive Behaviour System. Secondly, we choose teams on the student’s skill level and their capacity to contribute as a team member. This for many years now has ensured we are not only excellent on the field, but off the field as well.

This team, like all our sporting teams, play for each other, our families, and our school. During the State Final, we also played for two extra people. Firstly, Angus Hawkes, a student at St Peter’s who has been battling a rare and

virulent form of cancer. Secondly, we played for Mr Leary our Principal. Mr Leary is retiring at the end of the year and has been in the education system for 40 years. We named this event “Mr Leary’s Last Dance”, and each player received a commemorative cap with the caption on the side of the event cap.

What did the team get from the experience of participating in a competition like this?

This competition gave us the opportunity to play against the best Independent and Catholic Schools in NSW. We knew we had a great team, but it gave us clarity on how good our rugby league team is. The team throughout the championship had an

opportunity to play against some very highly skilled players and teams. We can’t thank the NRL enough for this opportunity.

How have the kids and the school community reacted to their achievement?

The school has been overwhelmed by the support from our community in winning the state championship. The school community rode every hit and their hearts raced as we had a huge amount of families and school students watching the live feed of the final. Max Bear from the NRL came to St Peter’s and presented the State Championship Trophy and another medal from NRL Mid North Coast in a special sports presentation.

Each of the team’s families was in attendance and had the opportunity to have a

picture taken with their son and the trophy. Paul Walsh from the North Coast Bulldogs visited St Peter’s and presented each player with a Canterbury Bulldogs hoody.

The boys will also be recognised in State Parliament shortly by Leslie Williams MP. What’s next for the team? Are there any goals for the year ahead?

Sport is certainly busy all year round. The next event after the State Final was the All Schools Rugby League Hastings region which the team also won. We have an outstanding Netball Team who were playing in the Lismore

Diocesan Finals. We also have a number of students competing at NSWPSSA Athletics in Sydney.

As always, our goal for all our students is to display their PBS values every day and everywhere. We also want all our students to get out and be active, and at St Peter’s, we give a huge amount of opportunities for this to occur.

From before school “Fit Club” to lunch times sporting activities coordinated by our Year 6 Sports Captains, to sporting gala days and pathway sports, there are so many opportunities for our students.

The school community rode every hit and their hearts raced as we had a huge amount of families and school students watching the live feed of the final.

OUR communitiesare about to benefit fromthe re-introductionoflife-saving inter ventional cardiologyservices unavailableintheareafor sometime.

Dr Pavan Thaneeru and Dr Richard Chan, bothinterventional cardiologists, have relocated to the Mid North Coast tojoin Mayo and ForsterPrivate hospitals' Healthe Heartsteam They are also supported by other regional cardiologists; Dr Inaam Ullah, DrGregBellamy,andDrAkash Dhawan.

Deanne Portelli, Regional CEO of Forster and Mayo Hospitalsisexcited toan nounce that Drs Thaneeru andChanbring withthem skills, experienceandqualifications that hasenabled the re-opening of Mayo Private Hospital's CathLab re-introducing local accesstointerventional cardia testi and procedura coronary an provideim functionand areasofconcern.

"The re-openin CathLab proceduraltr be provide

close to homeandfamilywhile unannesaid. al-winfor really mesfor

"Ouraimistogrow our cardiologyservicesin our regionalarea ; themore we can improve our service by reducing waiting timesthe better,"said Deanne.

Dr Pavan Thaneeru started

DR JAWAD ADIL Consultant Psychiatrist and Clinical Director

Dr Adil comes to us from the Nepean Blue Mountains Local health District where he was Clinical Lead for Acute Services. He also held academic positions with the University of Sydney.

His initial psychiatry training was completed in India. He subsequently gained Specialist Psychiatry qualifications in the UK (MRCPsych and FRCPsych) and has recently achieved Fellowship with the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists.

Dr Adil has moved to our area with his family and is already enjoying contributing to improved access to mental health care for our communities.

Dr Adil welcomes GP referrals.

SPECIALTIES

• Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

• General Adult Psychiatry

• Neuropsychiatry

• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

• Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS)

• Psychotherapy

health because itisclinical ly rewarding. It's a rapidly growing fieldthat offers cutting edge technology to improve patient'shealth

Mental Health

"Heart imaging (angiograms)is very interesting andhelpsustodiagnose heart problems."

Dr Richard Chan comesto our area from Cairns, where forten yearshe has been a private Interventional Cardiologist with CairnsPrivate Hospital. He completed his Interventional Cardiology Fellowship in2010 at PrincessAlexandra Hospital,Brisbane

DrChanenjoys helping patients withheart disease, inparticular, using hisskills andtrainingto treat blocked arteries :

"Seeing patients I have treated returntonormal work andfamilylife is hugely rewarding," says Dr Chan

Looking after your hear

OUR communitiesare about to benefit fromthe re-introductionoflife-saving inter ventional cardiologyservices unavailableintheareafor sometime

working as a doctor in 2011.

"I am a New Zealand trained cardiologist.I have trained in general cardiology in Hamilton, NZ andcompleted close totwo yearsof interventional cardiology

Dr Pavan Thaneeru and Dr Richard Chan, bothinterventional cardiologists, have relocated to the Mid North Coast tojoin Mayo and ForsterPrivate hospitals' Healthe Heartsteam

Mayo Private Hospital has 6 Psychiatrists, 3 Psychologists, Social Worker, a team of specialty trained nurses and allied health professionals supporting the mental wellbeing of our patients. We are a licensed training facility with the Royal Australia and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists for trainees, providing Registrar Doctors onsite to support our mental health team and patients.

fellowshipinChristchurch," saidDr Thaneeru.

"Iworked asconsultant cardiologistin secondary andtertiary care in hospitals in NZ andin Queensland.

"I chose cardiology/heart

Dr Chan remindsusthat as we get older, our risk of heart disease increases so it'simportant to be mindful of our heart health, have regular check-ups with our GPs and,ifnecessary, have our GPs referusfor cardiac testing andinvestigations

support for their members in attending day group programs, in hospital stay or outreach visits to equip and empower people with tools in managing depression, anxiety, addiction, eating disorders, mood, personality disorders, also including ways of coping during stressful or difficult times.

They are also supported by other regional cardiologists; Dr Inaam Ullah, DrGregBellamy,andDrAkash Dhawan.

Mayo Private Hospital run outreach programs, day therapy programs, outpatient specialty consultations and in-patient hospital programs.

Health Funds have shortened their wait times or deleted them all together to enable financial

Deanne Portelli, Regional CEO of Forster and Mayo Hospitalsisexcited toan nounce that Drs Thaneeru andChanbring withthem skills experienceandqualifications that hasenabled the re-opening of Mayo Private Hospital's CathLab re-introducing local accesstointerventional cardiac testing and procedural services such as coronary angiograms, which provideimagesoftheheart's functionand helpidentify areasofconcern.

"The re-opening of Mayo's CathLab willmeanthat proceduraltreatment can be provided locally,allowing

The Mayo hospital can provide these for inpatients:

Healthe Hear t Cardiac Services provide tests such stress echos of thehear t and holter monitors and now, withthe addition of Drs Thaneeru andChan any

Talk to your GP about a referral to our services. There is also a GP hotline that is available to support any GP with any questions or requests for supporting in ensuring their patients have the best available care plan and treatment regime. We are here to support our community, people first, people always.

patientsto remain close to homeandfamilywhile undergoing care,"Deannesaid.

"Thisis a real-winfor our areaand can really helphealth outcomesfor our community.

DrRichardChan

"Ouraimistogrow our cardiologyservicesin our regionalarea ; themore we can improve our service by reducing waiting timesthe better,"said Deanne Dr Pavan Thaneeru started

• Thorough work up by experienced psychiatric doctors - both physical and psychological

• Reconfirmation of diagnoses, access to second opinions from the team of six experienced consultant psychiatrists

• Predictix questionnaire application which is a artificial intelligence algorithm to find a suitable antidepressant

• Indications for rTMS (Recurrent depression, generalised anxiety disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, bipolar affective disorder)

Call: 65510722

CALL: 02 6539 3906

working as a doctor in 2011.

"I am a New Zealand trained cardiologist.I have trained in general cardiology in Hamilton, NZ andcompleted close totwo yearsof interventional cardiology

fellowshipinChristchurch," saidDr Thaneeru.

"Iworked asconsultant cardiologistin secondary andtertiary care in hospitals in NZ andin Queensland.

Starting or switching antidepressants in a safe environment (as initial few days of starting an antidepressant carries a high risk of suicidal thoughts)

"I chose cardiology/heart

Access to 24/7 clinical care by experienced staff

Psychology 1:1 sessions and access to psychology groups

Indications for ECTs (resistant depression, schizophrenia, catatonia)

• Access to a dietician, hydrotherapy, gym

• Access to other specialists when required

• Discharge planning with adequate supports in the community including outreach support from Mayo for majority of patients

Email: referral.mayo@healthecare.com.au Visitmayoprivate.com.au/cardiology

E. myo.mncreferral@healthecare.com.au Visit mayoprivate.com.au

Why type of mental health services are available for people on the Mid North Coast?

MAYO

Hi Di, can you introduce yourself and your role at Lifeline to our readers?

I have been living in Port Macquarie for 45 years and don’t plan on leaving.

My husband and I have raised 5 children here and although 4 of them now live away, Port Macquarie is where they call home. Twenty seven years ago I answered the call for

volunteers to join our local Lifeline service to become a crisis supporter. I enjoyed the work as a volunteer so much I wanted to be more involved and studied counselling, psychology and gained my TAFE Cert IV to become the current trainer and manager for crisis support here at Lifeline Mid Coast. I have held this position since 2012 and love my job and the amazing people who volunteer for Lifeline. October is Mental Health Awareness

Month and Lifeline plays a big role in supporting people each and every day. Tell us a bit about what Lifeline does as an organisation?

Lifeline is a crisis support service. We are here for people in times of crisis or when there is the risk of a crisis. We are 24/7 and while most people are familiar with the 131114 phone number, we also offer support via web-based chat and text. COVID had a huge

We speak to Di Bannister the Trainer & Crisis Support Manager at Lifeline here in Port Macquarie ahead of Mental Health Awareness Month

impact on the number of calls we have been receiving and Lifeline Australia has addressed that need by funding regional and metropolitan centres to offer our support overnight as well. This means a centre like ours here in Port Macquarie is manned by volunteers and paid staff overnight, offering support 24 hours, 7 days a week. We are

proud of the training we offer our crisis supporters it is world’s best practice in crisis support and they are professionals in this area.

I believe the value of our crisis support service is the people who man the phones.

They are everyday Aussies who are giving their time to be there for their fellow Australians in times of need. There is no limit to the number of calls a help seeker can make or the time they need to be on the phone/ chat/text. We are often used as a referral from their ongoing professional support as a part of their management plan between visits. We are held in high regard by clinicians. There is actually more to Lifeline than most people would know. What are the options for people living here in our local community?

The options are varied and I’m always happy to have a chat with anyone who may want to explore them. We have volunteers who work on the phones for 4 hour shifts, starting at 6am and finishing at 10pm – 7 days a week. We offer the 131114 service here, not the chat or text line at this stage.

A centre like ours here in Port Macquarie is manned by volunteers and paid staff overnight, offering support 24 hours, 7 days. We are proud of the training we offer our crisis supporters. It is world’s best practice and they are professionals. I believe the value of our crisis support service is the people who man the phones.

They are offered various roles after their accreditation as a crisis supporter to engage in support roles for their fellow crisis supporters as well. This ensures their skills are utilised to the best of their advantage. Most volunteers come into the call centre weekly and have preferred shifts that they fill on a regular basis.

We offer professional development opportunities, and we gather monthly for our crisis supporters to meet and share their experiences. The support you receive once you become a volunteer is often commented on by volunteers. You are not alone once you are a part of our team. We support

everyone through the training process and then as a crisis supporter you have someone there for you on every shift. It is an amazing volunteering experience. Lifeline are currently looking for volunteers to be a crisis supporter. What is this about and what type of people are you looking for?

We are looking for people who have the ability to listen to another person. We train you how to do this as a crisis supporter and you will have all of the resources you will need to become confident in that role. We work with each student individually to ensure they are ready to take calls and we continue to offer support every time they go on the phones.

The information night is a time to get further information and ask questions to clarify what it looks like in action. We will have current crisis supporters to talk to and a presentation that clearly identifies the requirements of the role.

As Lifeline is a not-for-profit organisation how do you keep things up and running?

Our amazing fellow volunteers who man the shops are the major source of revenue for our service. While we do get some state government money and some federal money since COVID, it is the 7 shops in our local area that have been there for us since our inception. Having acknowledged that, we do ask students to contribute an amount of money to their training, which we can subsidise if required. This contribution is a one-off and we never ask for any further monetary input again. We acknowledge that the time people offer us is what we value and can’t do without!

Is there anything you wish to add?

I offer a warm invite to any interested people to come to our information night and meet with current Lifeline volunteer crisis supporters. No obligation and no hard sell –we are there to inform and share our passion for crisis support work with Lifeline.

To register your interest in crisis support volunteering and to get more information please email

admin@lifelinemidcoast.org.au

You have recently introduced workshops to your therapy practice. Can you tell us more about these?

I am very excited to announce that I now offer Anxiety Reduction and Management workshops to the public. They are kept personal with only 10 persons in each group.

Anxiety is an area that I have specialised in for over 10 years. Yet I cannot keep up with the demand as it has become prolific. The workshops allow me to assist more clients with their anxiety compared to individual therapy.

The workshops allow clients to access my services earlier than in my practice. They are heavily discounted with a saving of over 40% compared to individual therapy.

The workshop is a unique opportunity to work with like-minded people with a common goal.

What are the benefits of reducing a person’s anxiety and how does it assist the individual?

Anxiety is commonly experienced with having a racing mind, physical tension, over thinking, and reduced ability to think clearly and cope well.

The therapy provided in the workshop will assist the client with slowing and clearing their mind, lessening over thinking, increasing coping ability and improving sleep.

Through hypnotherapy, the positive suggestions are implanted into the deeper part of the mind, the subconscious. Once placed

there, they are used automatically. So the client doesn’t have to use tools and strategies to control their anxiety, making the client’s personal and professional life simply easier and more enjoyable.

How can our readers find out more about the workshops?

Visit my website – matthewduff.com.au

It has all the information you will need. The “workshop” page gives an overview of the event and all bookings are through the website.

The next workshop dates are October 18th & 25th.

Book now as spaces are very limited.

focus contributor.

SAVVYStyleVibe

FROM THE STYLE VIBE with VANESSA LAWRENCE

Hey Girls & Guys, a heartfelt month as I write my last ‘Style Vibe Savvy’ column! Invited to be a contributor back in 2020 after Focus did an amazing and exceptional pivot and went digital during Covid, which then returned as a smaller sized sleek print version mag #socool

Ihad always enjoyed writing, so to be asked to create a column about fashion & styling for the community’s most favourite magazine was, and has been a huge honour.

Thank you so much Lou, Jay, Nettie, Gav and the entire team of legends that make up FOCUS keeping us informed, inspired and entertained throughout these glossy pages that supports community and small business every single month.

For me though now, it is time to spread my creative wings in Byron Bay!

After spending some time in Byron over the past 9 months I realised that the earthy/coastal environment which is full of creatives, super cool fashion, female entrepreneurs, great boutiques and host of Australia’s very best brands and designers was where TSV needed to be to expand and grow.

I’m so excited to discover the new opportunities that Byron may bring to me professionally and its in-built positive energy and creativity!

As some of you might know, after Covid I also made some changes necessary to keep The

Style Vibe relevant and the dream alive. This led me to using my styling and creative skills to help small businesses ‘Amplify their Brand’.

It’s so special to be invited into someone’s ‘work world’ and create a strategy to support a higher level of brand awareness and confidence in the community, online and to the world!

With a strong focus on fashion and lifestyle brands, I carefully curate photoshoots, provide content for social media and even offer style vibe events as part of a business plan/launch – all helping to showcase the amazing talent, products or services of my client’s business.

I am also grateful to be a part of a wonderful home-grown business ‘Beach Life Crescent Head’ – in its second season this year. I started out as the brands stylist and was then offered a part-time role as Brand Manager which I will continue in Byron.

Also this month – The Style Vibe is turning 4!

I have so many fond memories launching at Sails with lots of you – my gorgeous friends and much respected local businesses and community members.

It’s been a hell of a ride! But also a huge privilege working alongside so many kind and

exceptional people and professionals, and across such a huge variety of industries around Port Macquarie – is truly humbling. Thank you so much for the opportunity to be a part of your lives, your team, events, community, collaborations, social media and more.

I hope in some small way, I have inspired others to follow their dreams, start a side hustle, collab, back themselves and ‘get out there’ with confidence to promote their own talent and business and of course always support local!

A BIG shoutout to my amazing family & friends for all the love, support and encouragement they have given me, not just in business but in life. I wouldn’t be here without you or have the strength to follow my dreams. THANK YOU for being on this crazy creative rollercoaster with me!

Before I sign out (or peace out seems more fitting haha) please be sure to stay in touch and follow along on my ‘Byron Vibes Journey’ via whatever way is your jam!

Insta @thestylevibe_ or check out my sweet new website thestylevibe.com.au

Vanessa Jane xxx

MENTAL

H E A L T H

Elders Lifestyle Group is again proud to support local Mental Health Charity ‘SELF SEEN’ for another year by holding a ‘Mental Health Matters’ Luncheon at the famous Whalebone Wharf Restaurant on Friday 21st October.

October is Mental Health Awareness Month, an initiative of the Mental Health Foundation Australia (MHFA) to advocate for and raise awareness of Australian Mental Health.

This is an important time to come together as a community and raise awareness to promote better mental health for all – something that our legendary locals from the Self Seen group continue to do in our community on a daily basis.

Ideal Financial Group has also jumped in this year to become a major partner of the SS Charity with an exciting

announcement to be made at the luncheon which will provide the basis of a solid long-term relationship with the group providing ongoing support to the SS ‘Men’s Breathwork Workshops’.

Monique Coterill from F45 Port Macquarie is also back for another year collaborating with the Elders Lifestyle Group, and continuing to support Self Seen and our community by educating us on the direct positive link between physical exercise and good mental health.

A big shout out to Whalebone Wharf & FOCUS mag for their help in supporting this wonderful event and great community initiative!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Benny Cudmore, Greg Smith, Julie Jamieson and the entire ‘Self Seen’ team for all the time, effort, love and support they provide to the members of our community affected by poor mental health and congratulate them on helping to break down the barriers and stigma to change the way our community, friends and family show up to mental health.

LAW OFFICE OF

CONRAD

CURRY

The fundamental right to plan a family is often central to our hopes and dreams in life. Interference with those rights through negligent treatment and care can have devastating consequences.

Assisted Reproductive Therapy

Assisted reproductive therapy (ART) has renewed hope for millions of people worldwide who want to start their family.  However, it comes with a high financial, physical, and mental cost. We have seen a rise in negligence in this setting. The personal toll can leave clients with feelings of failure, disappointment and serious psychological injury.

Birth Trauma

Clinical and diagnostic error during maternity care can lead to permanent and debilitating physical and psychological conditions for mother and/or child.

Our specialist team of medical negligence solicitors provide a sympathetic, understanding and caring approach whilst helping secure compensation for the financial and personal losses suffered. The Law Office of Conrad Curry offers a confidential, no-obligation discussion to discuss your medical treatment and evaluate your options.

USE IT OR LOSE IT

SUNDIAL DENTAL

With the New Year fast approaching, most Private Health Insurance benefits expire annually on December 31st … and that can leave you and your family out of pocket for your 2022 dental benefits.

Unfortunately, most health funds do not allow rollover of benefits - they take a use it or lose it approach, and with much of 2022 being a wash for preventative health care and dentistry, it’s time to take action.

What does this mean for you and your family? Well, if you haven’t used all of your dental benefits before the end of the year, they may expire, lapse, run out, or become invalid. Your families’ teeth will be left without the care that (let’s face it), you pay your private health insurance for. So take action Now!

It is essential that if you have any required treatment they be booked in and

completed before the end of the calendar year, so you can maximise the use of your insurance benefits.

If you haven’t had a checkup in the last six months, it may be an idea to book in as soon as possible, so any additional required treatment can be scheduled before the end of the year. October to December tend to be the most heavily booked months, so we recommend calling as soon as possible to book in, as many of our patients take the

opportunity to get their dental treatment before their private health benefits expire.

It is essential that if you have any required treatment they be booked in and completed before the end of the calendar year, so you can maximise the use of your insurance benefits.

For more information about your private health insurance and dental benefits, call your provider directly to find out what you’re eligible for and what you can claim for before time runs outand remember, use it or lose it!

To make your next appointment with our caring team at Sundial Dental, call 6583 3533 or visit

www.sundialdental.com.au

with RACHEL LEMAN FITNESS UPDATE focus contributor.

FROM MISS MOTIVATOR

EXERCISE FOR MENTAL HEALTH

Hi team and welcome to another Fitness Update. This month let’s chat about the benefits of exercise for mental health. It’s no secret that a little movement each day can work wonders for not only your physical health but also your mental health.

I know, when you are feeling down and out, exercising is possibly the last thing that you feel like doing, but research shows that 30 minutes of moderate exercise each day can help to manage your mental health. If you can’t do 30 minutes, start with 10, anything is better than nothing!

When I chat with our members, it is very common for them to report that they are not only feeling better physically but also mentally since starting a regular exercise routine. Of course everyone is different and there are absolutely times when you need medical help, however exercise is a great tool to put in the kit to help boost your mental health. Members often tell us that exercise helps them to get through their day better; from managing young children or elderly relatives to stressful work environments and other challenges that

we are faced with on a daily basis.

Here are the facts about the possible magic effects of a little exercise each day:

• It can help to reduce stress and alleviate anxiety

• It can help to boost your happy chemicals (endorphins)

• It can help to alleviate brain fog, sharpen memory and prevents cognitive decline

• It can help you to improve sleep

In my opinion exercise is a key tool in boosting your mental health.

When I chat with our members, it is very common for them to report that they are not only feeling better physically but also mentally since starting a regular exercise routine.

Here are my top tips to start moving and start feeling the mental health benefits;

• Start slowly and choose something simple – such as walking in an outdoor environment. Getting outdoors into the sunshine can help. You could even take a friend along, someone that will help to get you out the door, someone that will support you even when you aren’t feeling great.

• Set up a regular routine and mark it in the diary. This is just like a medical appointment for your mental and physical health.

• Join a group – surrounding yourself with

others can help you to feel supported and you can usually be assured to have a laugh.

• Know that it’s ok not to feel amazing each and every day. Sometimes it will be hard to get out the door but that’s ok. Just turn up – once you get out and moving I guarantee you will be glad you did.

• Work at level that suits you – don’t try to keep up with others. We all have our own stories – you do you!

• Add some mindfulness to your session – take some time to breathe, feel the sun and breeze on your skin and appreciate your surroundings. A moment of mindfulness and gratitude each day can help to refocus on the positives.

• Don’t feel guilty about taking some “me” time. This is essential to having a healthy mind. You need to be healthy before you can effectively support and help others.

Miss Motivator Women’s Workouts is here to help you with your physical health and fitness needs. Just so happens you will be helping your mental health in the process.

OCTOBER SPECIAL OFFER

2 WEEKS for $20 www.missmotivator.com.au

Respite care is a valuable way to give full-time foster carers an occasional break, while expanding a foster child’s support network. Many people start their own foster care journey this way, either as a one-off arrangement, or maybe for one weekend a month.

Kirsty, a Uniting respite carer on the Mid North Coast, explains that children who need respite care “become part of your crew and come along to everyday activities like bush walks and dinners at friends’ houses.” It’s a way of showing children that there’s a whole village looking out for them.

Another fostering option is emergency care at short notice, giving children who may be

leaving a critical situation a safe place to stay until they can return home, or until a more permanent place is found for them. This type of short-term care may also be needed when a child is unable to move to another carer immediately. It may just be for an overnight stay, or for a few months while alternative

arrangements are made.

Right now there’s an urgent need for foster carers in your community – whether that’s full-time, part-time, or sometime. Find out how you can foster your way with Uniting.

Call 1800 864 846, email ask@uniting.org or visit the Uniting website.

Port needs you to foster care now.

Open your heart and your home for a few days, or weeks, or more, and we’ll support you every step of the way with tailored training, expert advice and a non-taxable allowance for each child. We value diversity of age, faith, gender and experience, and we always welcome everyone exactly as they are.

864 846

MELINDA

B A K S I

Melinda Baksi, Shinkyokushin Karate Port Macquarie Dojo KARATE KID ON THE SPECTRUM

Hi Melinda, Thank you so much for speaking with Focus magazine. Please introduce yourself.

Hi, I’m Melinda Baksi, a Kyokushinkai black belt instructor. I moved to Port Macquarie four years ago. I have many of decades of international teaching experience and am a patient, enthusiastic and disciplined instructor.

I began my Kyokushin karate journey 36 years ago and I joined the Hungarian Army in 1997, fulfilling my childhood dream. I am a qualified Economist graduating at the National Defence University of Hungary. I hold a Personal Close Protection Officer and a firearm licence. I am also a Marine Rescue volunteer where I have the privilege of completing many different life saving courses.

Tell us a little about your karate businesses as I understand there are two areas you specialise in?

We run two martial art programs in our karate school. Kyokushin Karate group and Karate Kid on The Spectrum programs.

Our organisation and our dojo provide kids with competition opportunities in Australia as well as overseas. We also offer Kyokushinkai Karate camps as well as seminars in Australia with local and international instructors.

My focus as an instructor is on technical proficiency, fitness and fighting techniques. I ran kids programs, teen and adult novice and intermediate programs overseas and Australia.

I opened our Karate Kid on the Spectrum program 4 years ago. I have gained invaluable experience teaching kids with various physical and mental challenges like ADHD, vision impairment, and mild autism (to name a few).

I also participate by teaching disabled groups. Why was it important for you to create a karate program designed to support children with autism and can you tell us about some success stories of particular students you have taught?

Supporting children with Autism is very special to me. We offer pre-evaluation a free trial class one on one, it is a chance for everyone to meet, discuss your child’s needs, capabilities, likes and dislikes and to

assess their current level of abilities relating to Martial Arts classes. Once the one-on-one pre-evaluation is completed we will place the child in the most appropriate program for their current developmental phase. We offer one-on-one sessions or/and group classes. All students have their own individual program. Children have the opportunity to join group classes, participate in transition classes from private classes to group classes or building their knowledge attending only private classes. We also offer private grading.

We had our very first students transferred into group classes this year. It is wonderful to see how our students’ confidence grow, build friendships and their karate skills improved participating in a group grading environment.

We also support families with a free dojo Autism magazine subscription. We pay for this subscription and sharing hundreds of articles in our autism closed parents Facebook page. We also has our own short Autism Dojo Magazine where we write about our autistic students’ achievements.

I know practicing Martial Arts can have

incredible benefits for the mind and body for both children and adults. What are some of these benefits people can expect to experience?

Martial Arts has been shown to be very beneficial for adults and kids. There are several studies demonstrating the positive benefits: confidence, fitness, coordination, resilience and more and it is also great for neuro-diverse kids as well. Kids on the Autism spectrum, kids with ADHD, kids with SPD. Karate Kid on The Spectrum program is designed to provide physical, intellectual, emotional and social skills therapy for neuro-diverse children, utilising interactive movement modalities (Martial Arts) as an engagement tool. The program introduces specialised skill-based training for children who have different physical, intellectual, social, and emotional abilities, with further consideration for sensory processing issues.

Tell us a little about your class schedules here in Port Macquarie?

We have classes for all ages and levelskids, adults and a specifically designed teen program; from beginner to advanced. We offer group and private classes after school hours from Monday to Friday. We hold our Kata & Fight tournament training on the weekends.

Melinda, I know you have extensive karate and Martial Arts training yourself, teaching and training worldwide. You are highly talented and you must have some career highlights looking back. Can you tell us about a few. Thank you kindly. I trained full time and I attended several training camps in many different countries. I have many highlights. I am very honoured that I had the opportunity to study Kyokushin fighting with military self defence and weapons under Major General (shihan) Kalman Furko in Hungary. I was a member of the Hungarian National Championship team from 2003, winning several tournaments. I attended an Uchi Deshi (live-in dojo) training program with Shihan Artur Hovhanissyan in Japan in 2018 and I spent more time in 2019 full time dedicating my time fully to the study and training of Kyokushin Karate. I regularly attend international seminars and black belt conferences held in Japan and Australia, and have been trained by the highest levels of instructors from all corners of the Kyokushin World. I had the privilege of attending our founder’s memorial at Mount Mitsumine Training Camp several times including training as an Uchi Deshi in Honbu in Japan. I am a qualified international judge, judging and attending several tournaments in Japan. Without doubt, the highlight of the year

was our first post-COVID Shinkyokushin State Championship in June. 17 Port Karate students competed at the NSW Shinkyokushin State Championship. With 6 x First Places, 5 x Second Places and 4 x Third Places, our team did incredibly well. We have several more Shinkyokushin Karate tournaments, camps and seminars in our calendar for this year and next year. We hope to compete with great result to be able to qualify and attend the Dream Tournament held in Japan in 2024.

I believe that my considerable professional martial art experience in Australia, Hungary, United Kingdom and Japan have helped me develop enthusiasm for fresh challenges whilst also developing the desire to give back to the community through martial arts and helping improve the experiences and lives of our future Australian generations. How can people connect with you and find out more about Shinkyokushin Karate Port Macquarie Dojo and Karate Kid On The Spectrum?

For more information please visit our website: www.portkarate.com or email info@ portkarate.com Alternatively please call our mobile number 0404 527 973. We also have a “Karate Kid on The Spectrum” and “Shinkyokushin Karate Port Macquiare Dojo” Facebook page where we share our students’ incredible achievements.

Thanks Melinda. Interview: Sarah Baker.

The program introduces specialised skillbased training for children who have different physical, intellectual, social, and emotional abilities, with further consideration for sensory processing issues.

All Disability Plan Management supports people with a disability, by managing the financial side of their NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) plan. In a nutshell, we deal with the funding, claims and bills so they can focus on their health, lifestyle and wellness. We provide a very different level of plan management. Every client has direct access to their own plan manager (or budget buddy as we like to call them), who is an expert in the complexities of the NDIS. We go beyond the normal expectations of plan management, proactively contacting our clients frequently to ensure they stay on track with their funding.

What many people on the NDIS are not aware of, is that all they need to do is ask to have Plan Management included in their plan. It will

then be added in on top of their funding so it doesn’t affect how much money they have to use on other supports.

Participants can use providers who are often small businesses, supporting participants with everyday life tasks or assisting with community access. They can also play an important role in skill development.

Owner and founder of All Disability Plan Management, Jo Hollis says “I am really proud of the passionate, inspired, diverse individuals that have become part of our growing team. I never dreamed I would create a business so meaningful and special at this stage of my

career, and it has been a great experience. Offering career opportunities to our local team, combined with helping the hundreds of local people and families living with disabilities who we support, is so incredibly fulfilling. I will never turn a client away, so we have now branched out Nationwide and have team members in numerous regional locations.”

Do you have the best NDIS plan managers working for you? We would love to talk to anyone who wants to know if they are receiving the level of service they should be. Call and chat with us on 65847893 or contact us online. alldisability.com.au

RETIRE INVEST

Hi Sandra, can you please introduce yourself to our readers and tell us about your role at RetireInvest?

My name is Sandra Cartwright and I have lived in Forster with my husband Michael for 11 years. We are ‘empty nesters’ with our three adult children having started lives of their own. I love to play golf and we have a dog named Bailee. At RetireInvest Mid North Coast my role is to help guide my clients’ financial decisions through education and understanding what they are trying to achieve for their future. I specialise in Retirement Advice and Aged Care Advice.

How long have you been in the industry and what attracted you to this company?

I have been a Financial Planner for over 27 years, and I love it as much now as I did the first day. I understand that everyone is different and what works for some people, may not work for others. I made the move to RetireInvest Mid North Coast 2 years ago (having been with ANZ for 25 years) as I want to focus on helping people with their retirement plans, which may involve eventually moving into aged care. This very complicated area can have heavy financial consequences if not handled correctly – seeking advice is vital and we are here to help. It’s also nice to work again with Simon Reid we make a great team! It’s important to have a retirement plan.

What are some do’s and don’ts?

There are lots of do’s and don’ts when it comes to retirement planning. The biggest

mistake is not seeking advice at all. Most people now have superannuation and it’s important to make it work hard to set you up for retirement. The rules and regulations around retirement and Centrelink are complicated and good financial planning advice can make a significant difference. Make sure your adviser is a professional and not a friend with good intentions. Secondly, remember that we are living longer and are more active into our later years. You need to make sure you are planning for the longer term, as now we have clients very active at age 75 to 80 and longer. Knowledge is the key. Seek advice early, see more than one financial adviser and trust your instincts! You specialise in Age Pension, Centrelink Support and Aged Care. What do you offer when it comes to Aged Care?

It is a very complex area and seeking advice can make the process much easier. Apart from the financial concerns, emotions can take over and decisions become harder, for yourself or for elderly parents. We can help separate fact from fiction and work out the figures for you to help you make the right decision. Should you keep the family home and rent it out, rather than immediately assuming it has to be sold? Should you pay the aged care facility cost up front, make daily payments or a combination of both? We can help you complete the paperwork, liaise with Centrelink and estimate what effect the changes you are going through may have on age pension payments and the overall cost of care going forward. The initial decisions you make can

have an enormous impact on these things and getting it right at the beginning is vital. Can you tell us about the other services that RetireInvest offer?

RetireInvest Mid North Coast can also offer help with Superannuation, Investments, Personal Insurance and Centrelink/DVA advice. We provide a holistic service that takes into account the whole person and take the time to get to know the full story, so our service may also include referrals to other specialists such as accountants or solicitors if required. What do believe is important when looking for a financial planner?

It is important to ensure the planner you are considering is on ASIC’s Financial Adviser Register (FAR) as this will tell you how long they have been providing advice and if there are any issues such as complaints etc against them. As I mentioned earlier though, perhaps the most important thing is to make sure you are working with someone who does makes you feel comfortable and who you are happy to ask questions of and learn from. It is also handy to be able to contact your planner when you need them, to ensure any plans that you put in place continue to meet your needs. Having someone who lives locally and covers Forster, Taree and Port Macquarie on a regular basis makes having a face-to-face conversation easy and pleasant. I genuinely care for my clients and have formed long term relationships with them.

Sandra can be contacted on (02) 6643 4477 or via email at admin@retireinvest.net

Thanks Sandra.

Sandra has been guiding people’s financial decisions for over 27 years and loves it now as much as she did on her first day.

Welcome to Regis Port Macquarie

Welcome to Regis Port Macquarie

Considering aged care for a loved one?

Considering aged care for a loved one?

Through our range of permanent and respite aged care services, we are committed to helping people realise their wellbeing goals and lead meaningful lives.

Through our range of permanent and respite aged care services, we are committed to helping people realise their wellbeing goals and lead meaningful lives.

With almost 30 years’ experience, we know what it takes to care for someone you love. At Regis, we focus on every person as an individual so we can provide the best possible care and help them find the smile in every day.

With almost 30 years’ experience, we know what it takes to care for someone you love. At Regis, we focus on every person as an individual so we can provide the best possible care and help them find the smile in every day.

To find out more about our community in Port Macquarie, call us on 1300 998 100 or visit regis.com.au

To find out more about our community in Port Macquarie, call us on 1300 998 100 or visit regis.com.au

regis.com.au

|

regis.com.au |

1300 998 100

1300 998 100

Regis Port Macquarie

Regis Port Macquarie

10 Sherwood Road, Port Macquarie NSW 2444

10 Sherwood Road, Port Macquarie NSW 2444

SCAN HERE TO DISCOVER

SCAN HERE TO DISCOVER REGIS PORT MACQUARIE

REGIS PORT MACQUARIE

NewIdafe

Established in 1997, NewIdafe has witnessed significant changes in the disability sector, the largest being the introduction of the NDIS.

NewIdafe’s services assist people aged 12-65+ years with their NDIS funding. The children’s service, catering for 12-17 years, offers respite and individual programs. It is their newest offering after identifying the need locally. The services operate 50 weeks per year, seven days per week. Support is available over the Christmas period if requested, including any public holidays.

NewIdafe offers a comprehensive mix of services: Respite (short term accommodation), in-home and community access support, one-on-one support, capacity building, day programs, holidays, social nights, weekend events, co-ordination of support, and plan management.

With over 90 activities, there is something for everyone. People who attend the service choose from new or existing programs to help them reach their goals. NewIdafe is a certified and registered NDIS provider. Their services must undertake a rigorous audit every 18 months, and put into place quality care that ensures safety, ethical practices and monitoring of activities at all times.

Staff at NewIdafe encourage participants to develop skills and achieve their goals in a creative and fun way. Group activities are in an inclusive environment, where participants

catch up with friends and make new ones. What’s important to you is important to NewIdafe. They encourage families and carers to speak to staff about their loved ones’ journey so the service can continue to develop programs. This communication also helps to ensure support is offered within people’s budgets and implemented with tremendous respect and care. NewIdafe is creating a brighter future for people with disability. Visit their main activities centre at 4/198 Hastings River Drive, or drop into their office at 3/146 Lake Road to learn more.

Let’s kick some goals together!

Join our fun and inclusive community, make new connections and grow.

NewIdafe’s programs assist children and adults with disability, aged 12-65+ years. We have been offering community based, in-home and centre based programs in the Hastings area for 25 years.

Watching our participants in a fun, inclusive environment is our goal! We would love to help you reach yours.

To learn more call on 6583 5545 or visit www.newidafe.com.au

What’s important important to us you isto

Helping people kick goals for over 25 years.

JENNY Mc GREGOR

Riding For The Disabled volunteers help facilitate horse riding and equine activities for people of all abilities. They have seen it give great enjoyment as well as assist in skill building and goal setting for participants.

Hi Jenny. Can you tell us a bit about who RDA Kendall are and what you offer?

RDA Kendall is a purely voluntary organisation that receives no Government funding or financial assistance from RDA NSW.

Each Centre is autonomous when it comes to raising the finances necessary to operate their Centre. This is done through raffles, of which we have four per year (Mother’s Day, Winter Warmers, Father’s Day and Christmas Raffle), as well as donations, fun days like the Bato Memorial Golf Day every year as well as Lawn Bowls Day, which are both held at Kew.

Our local community are extremely supportive of our events, which are held to help support the expenses of feeding and caring for our horses, such as vet, dentist, farrier and chiropractic bills, as well as insurance.

Our Centre enables people with disabilities throughout our area to experience enjoyment,

challenge and a sense of achievement through participation in horse riding and associated equine activities. This results in the development of life skills, improving quality of life and the attainment of their own personal goals. How long has it been running and how did it all get started?

The Kendall RDA started from very humble beginnings in 1994.

It was initially started by Peter and Jane Flood who were involved with RDA in the Tumut region before retiring in the Port Macquarie area, where they could see that there was a definite need for those with disabilities and the advantages that can be gained from being involved with horses.

The Flood family were very grateful to John and Pam Molloy who gave access for the RDA to operate from their property, which was just a few minutes drive from Kendall. From that time, it has never looked back, due to the commitment of the former committees and the

dedicated volunteers who built up the Centre over the years to where we are now at our NEW CENTRE.

Over the years we have had to relocate a number of times for various reasons, all of which has been very costly.

Thanks to a generous bequest from the late Yvonne Fisher, this was possible – without it, we would not have been able to rebuild – as well as the generosity of Lindsay and Anne, a local family, who offered us the land where we are on a very long lease.

This has taken a great deal of pressure off, as now we know that whatever we put in place here, that this is our forever home, for the ongoing future of Riding for the Disabled Kendall Centre. For that, we are very grateful! When did you start volunteering and what made you decide to get involved?

I started volunteering in 2012 when we moved from Charlestown.

Jenny McGregor has been volunteering with RDA Kendall for 10 years now. She has devoted a lot of time to this valuable program over the years.

RDA KENDALL

To see the joy and excitement on the faces of our riders makes everything worthwhile. To know they have had fun and enjoyed the experience is definitely why we do what we do!

My aim was to do something Community wise, so, with the interest I had with working with children with disabilities, as well as the enjoyment we gained from horse riding before and after we moved to the area, this seemed to be the perfect fit. It has turned out to be the most amazing journey!

Can you tell us about some of the activities you can get up to at Riding For The Disabled?

Our volunteers are able to assist with leading and side walking the riders, as they go through a number of routines like weaving between the poles and learning how to control which direction the horse needs to be going, collecting certain items from the tops of poles located around the arena. The riders also get great joy doing some goal shooting with the assistance of the volunteers.

RDA stands for Riding Develops Abilities, what sort of benefits do you see for participants?

It is amazing to see how the riders grow in their self-confidence and communication, as well as their core strength, coordination, balance and muscular development. Horse riding is also a great sensory activity. Can you tell us about some of the animals you work with there? Have you always enjoyed working with horses?

At the beginning of Covid we had 7 horses, unfortunately due to health issues and an accident we lost 3 horses in that 2 year period

when we were closed and relocating. Now that we are at our new Centre, we are currently on the lookout to purchase another 1-2 horses.

In the 10 years that I have been involved, we have had some amazing horses with great personalities and little quirks. One in particular that we have just had to retire, Dash, was our Houdini Horse, he would untie himself, remove the timber slat from his stable and then just stand there, as if to say, “yes, I know I am not allowed out!” Our Centre was extremely happy that Dash received the special “Shush” award from our State Office that was given to us at the AGM in May this year.

At the Centre now, we have a beautiful Welsh pony named Honey, 12 hands high and 12 years old, who is definitely a favourite with the volunteers and riders. We also have a very handsome 9 year old buckskin gelding named Robbie, who is also a very sweet horse. Our latest arrival is Ari (Aristotle) a 16 year old Australian Stock horse and 16 hand gentleman. Fly, a 14.2 hand Quarter horse, is on loan to us at the moment.

What do you enjoy most about volunteering?

The experience of volunteering is amazing. To see the joy and excitement on the faces of our riders makes everything worthwhile. To know they have had fun and enjoyed the experience is definitely why we do what we do!

The time through Covid when we were closed was difficult, knowing that they were missing

out on the activity that they look forward to as their special day of the week.

The best day this year was when we reopened again in May. It was certainly a joy to see their faces again and to see them enjoying their events in the arena. It was certainly a long time coming, but well worth it!

We know you’re always looking out for more volunteers, what are some of the different ways people can volunteer or help out?

Anyone who would wish to volunteer can assist on the riding days of Tuesday and Wednesday morning from 8.30am till about 1.30pm. Training will be given and we have a buddy system until they feel more confident.

The horses are also fed twice a day, so we also need people to go onto a Feed Roster, where once a week they could go out and do an AM or PM feed, there is also a buddy system with this until they feel confident.

There are also Admin jobs for anyone who is confident in that area.

How can people find out more or get in touch?

If anyone would like more information please do not hesitate to email or phone and come check us out and see exactly how we operate, we would love to share the joy.

Jenny McGregor presidentkendallrda_@outlook.com 0405 798 874

enjoy the best of both worlds RENTING IN RETIREMENT

Choosing to move into an independent seniors’ community can be both exciting and daunting experience but the benefits of doing so can be enormous as it provides the opportunity to be surrounded by other like-minded people in a close-knit community, whilst living in homes that have been purpose-built for seniors.

It is a decision driven by a number of different factors, including a financial one and is one of the reasons why all of Ingenia Gardens’ communities offer residents rental opportunities that are designed with flexibility and long-term happiness in mind.

As people get older there is a risk of potential social isolation and is why Ms Jackson said Ingenia Gardens works hard to ensure there is an excellent sense of community in its villages.

“We run numerous events throughout the year and our resident lifestyle program, Activate, has

proven to be very popular,” she said.

Activate is an events-based program provided complimentary to all residents in Ingenia Gardens communities. The program consists of activities, themed meals, performances, bus trips and educational talks. “With so many different things on offer, our residents are sure to find something to suit their interests and hobbies,” Ms Jackson said. “Many of the activities in the program have been put forward as suggestions by our residents which ensures we have a fun and varied schedule.”

“We host themed celebrations and meals for various events throughout the year including Christmas in July, Neighbour Day, and the

A new way of life.

Made just for you.

When you join the community at Ingenia Gardens Port Macquarie, you’ll have the freedom to choose a life that suits you.

With a range of accommodation options and lifestyle choices, you can live the worry-free life you’ve always wanted.

Live your way

Rent your way

Support your way

Biggest Morning Tea. Community activities accompany the celebrations, which add another element of fun and excitement to the day,” Ms Jackson said.

At the heart of Ingenia Gardens Port Macquarie is the Community Room which is central to the social life of the community.

“It is where you can relax and enjoy a catch up with your fellow residents, watch a movie or quietly read a book in the lounge area or enjoy lunch with your friends,” Ms Jackson said.

Ingenia Gardens Port Macquarie offer a range of flexible meal packages providing residents with home-style meals prepared onsite by the catering team for those that select this option.

With a focus on ‘reablement’, we provide care for people with high and low needs and take a person-centred approach, adapting our services to each of our residents alongside specialist rehabilitation and dementia support

105 private room facilities

Offering Respite, Permanent and Palliative Care services.

Ideal

Group.

upon

followed by canapes and 2

with ALEX GLEN-HOLMES

It’s scary to think that we are already in October and plans are underway for Christmas! But we still have so much to cover before the end of year and need not lose sight on Business and winding down too early.

November is Small Business Month and we want to ensure that you not only finish the year strong but are also set up to start the new year off with a bang!

For the month of November, Business Port Macquarie will be running a business course. This will be run on Wednesday evenings from 6pm-9pm and open to all small business owners. We will cover topics such as HR, Working on your Business and Marketing to name a few. Places are limited so early registration is essential. You do need to be able to commit to all classes, whether you take turns with a partner or staff member or attend all yourself. This is open to members and non-members, you just need to be in business. Please register your interest by emailing president@businesspmq.com.au

We had another fantastic “Coffee with Katherine” last month. This is a great way for those thinking of becoming members or existing members to have a relaxed chat with our Executive Officer Katherine whilst meeting other members in a casual relaxed atmosphere. A great way to share ideas and support each other. The feedback we have had from attendees so far has been very positive and they are enjoying the casual setting, coffee and chat. If you would like to join us for our next “Coffee with Katherine” you will find us at Seasalt on Tuesday 11th October at 10am.

On Tuesday 25th October at 6pm at the Mercure we have our AGM. Come along and find out what our volunteer board have been doing behind the scenes this year as we work to improve the network and connection opportunities for all members. We have two board positions available for Business Port Macquarie. If you would like to get more involved with assisting the business community, we would love to hear from you. Contact us executive@businesspmq.com.au

Following the AGM we have our State Member of Parliament Leslie Williams to give us some insights into what is happening locally as well as with State Government. This event is proudly sponsored by Port News.

Friday 28th October we have the joint Business Port Macquarie & Westpac Rescue Helicopter Golf Day at Wauchope Golf Club, proudly sponsored by Oxley Insurance Brokers. To register for any of our events please go to businessportmacquarie.com.au and click on Events.

On 9th September our Executive Officer, Katherine, and myself were lucky enough to attend the Business NSW Mid North Coast Business Awards. This event saw a range of fabulous businesses from Bulahdelah to Coffs Harbour represented. We are excited to congratulate members of Business Port Macquarie that were finalists on the night as well as those that won their categories.

Winning Businesses from Business Port Macquarie included: Port Macquarie Performing Arts for Excellence in Innovation. Port Macquarie Medical Aesthetics for Excellence in Small Business & Highly Commended to Port Macquarie Performing Arts. David Ross from Direction Accounting & Business Coaching for Outstanding Business Leader. Brows By Willow Excellence in Micro Business & Highly Commended to DPH Handyman & Yard Maintenance. All Disability Plan Management received a Highly Commended in Excellence in Large Business and also won Employer of Choice. Business Port Macquarie for Outstanding Chamber of Commerce. Congratulations to Business NSW on a fantastic night.

We love being able to work with and collaborate with other local networks and organisations and love to finish the year with a joint Christmas Party. Save the date of Thursday 1st December. More details to come. If you would like to know more about becoming a member of Business Port Macquarie please visit our website at www. businessportmacquarie.com.au or contact Katherine on 0422 562 300. Also don’t forget to join us on Facebook at Chamber Chats.

Quote of the month: “Bringing great people onto your team is about demonstrating size doesn’t matter – people do!” Jess Campbell. Until next month, Alex.

with ALAN PRIEST LEGAL Light focus contributor.

FROM PRIEST LEGAL

SHAME AND SCANDAL IN THE FAMILY

Shame and Scandal in the Family” is a Trinidadian song about infidelity which creates problems for the family until it takes an unexpected happy twist at the end. If you are not familiar with the song, google the lyrics. Hopefully, they make you smile.

Since the advent of no-fault divorce in 1975, separation no longer requires spouses to provide a reason for separation. However, separation still presents significant challenges on personal and financial levels.

Whether you are happy with your new-found freedom, or still in the throes of trying to process the realities of separation, there are a number of issues that you will have to work through to enable you to move forward and find joy and humour in the next stage of your life. These are some of my tips for easing the journey:

1. Be safe.

Not many relationships end where the parties simply shake hands, wish each other well, and go their separate ways. Most people are sensible enough to keep a level head and approach any resulting issues in a practical and reasonable way even though they may harbour some resentment or bitterness towards the other.

But there are instances where threats and conduct (sometimes ongoing and persistent) can cause the other person to be genuinely fearful

for their safety and the safety of their children. If you think the latter is your situation, your priority should be to ensure your safety, and the safety of your children. Consider contacting a domestic and family violence service like Liberty Services (6583 2155) for support, or the Police.

2. Look after yourself. This sounds like a very obvious one, but it is regularly overlooked in the midst of a separation with so many other issues to deal with. If you don’t take care of your own personal and mental health, it is difficult to address other issues.

Looking after yourself is of even greater importance if you have children in your care. You cannot be a supporting, loving and available parent if you don’t take the time to heal your own wounds.

3. Communicate.

Where it is safe to do so (emphasis added!!), try and maintain civil communication with your “ex” as you both work through parenting and/or property/financial issues after separation.

Maintaining some form of civil communication generally leads to issues being addressed and resolved much faster enabling each of you to move forward without having a drawn out and

often costly legal dispute.

Where there are children involved, maintaining civil communication will benefit the children. They will actively see that their parents can work through issues that arise, and the children will appreciate their parents making the children’s needs the priority. Your children will thank you in the long run, trust me!

4. Consult an experienced lawyer for preliminary family law advice. The old saying ‘knowledge is power’ immediately springs to mind. A person who is well informed of their rights, and the options available to them following separation is generally in the best position to make sound decisions going forward. We can’t all be experts at everything. The internet can be a helpful starting point, but often creates more questions than answers.

The Family Law team at Priest Legal pride themselves on providing sensible and realistic legal advice. We are here to help you with any matters arising from your separation, or any other legal matters. Check out our website priestlegal.com.au or call 6583 1777 to make an appointment.

They will actively see that their parents can work through issues that arise, and the children will appreciate their parents making the children’s needs the priority.

with KATE WOOD-FOYE CAMPUS CONVERSATIONS

FROM CHARLES STURT UNIVERSITY

BRENDAN LOWE

Brendan is a committed and compassionate Environmental Science student whose gentle, informed and persistent advocacy for sustainability is inspiring his campus, regional and national community to reconnect and re-think its relationship with the natural world.

His passion and purpose to create innovative solutions to these increasing challenges was recently recognised on the national stage.

Brendan along with fellow student Jess Davidson joined other young people from across Australia at the From Risk to Resilience Summit in Sydney to give voice to those living in regional areas to help inform the Commonwealth Governments Second National Action Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction.

Brendan you are a passionate advocate for the environment and are a respected student voice for sustainable practices on campus and in our community. What started your journey and passion for the natural world?

Like so many things in life, it’s a lot of little things that have contributed. As a kid, I remember coming home and watching David Attenborough documentaries with my Dad and just being absolutely enthralled. During high school we were taught the idea of stewardship – that we leave the world the same or better for the generations that come after us, has always been an important concept to me. Probably more recently in life was the realisation that everything is connected and if we aren’t taking care of one part of the environment it will eventually cause problems elsewhere and I felt I was a person who had the ability to be proactive about finding solutions.

Brendan you were recently hosted by The National Emergency Management Agency, supported by the Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience at the

national summit as a regional student voice for the environment. What you were able to bring back from that experience?

There are so many things that can be said here, I was in a room full of truly amazing people and I could easily find myself talking all day about the things I learnt.

I brought back with me an interesting way of thinking. As a person focused on finding solutions, I should ask myself three seemingly simple questions:

1. Are we doing things right?

2. Are we doing the right thing?

3. How do we decide what’s right?

What you’ll find is that these aren’t simple questions at all, and I believe they’re important because it makes you take step back and really question the why of what you’re doing.

You have recently secured a role as an intern with the Sustainability at Charles Sturt team – can you share what you do and some of the projects you have worked on so far?

Charles Sturt University is one of Australia’s most sustainable Universities, and a lot of what I do and will be continuing to do, is to further that goal. Sometimes it’s a little unglamorous –like helping to conduct waste audits to see how we can better situate bins, posters, and create better awareness on where things should be disposed of. Often, it can simply mean having conversations with people in our community to achieve common goals. The most exciting is when you make the tangible changes, when you put the work in and you can see your results. Recently I have finished a bio-diversity project. Seeing the plants, that you painstakingly

researched and chosen, start to thrive is a great joy, and a lasting legacy.

As an intern, and member of the Student Representative Council and Campus Environmental Committee you have so many exciting projects underway – can you share any of those that have made an impact on you across the last year?

The Solutionaries Shark Tank eSchool project was a huge one for me. It had me working with the amazing Lloyd Godson in the university Innovation Hub; where we helped guide highschool students from our community to create innovative business products and then give a presentation on them. Each business idea needed to have a sustainability lens cast across them. It was a learning experience for me as much as it was for the students. It really had me thinking laterally across many disciplines, and after every session I had to take a mental step back ‘Ok, how can I explain these concepts better, what can I do better?’. The experience was incredibly valuable to me, and it was a lot of fun. I am incredibly proud of all the students, and I am happy to say their hard work paid off, with two of the teams managing to achieve a first and third placing in the state for their projects.

Thanks Brendan.

Bachelor of Environmental Science and Management (with specialisations) - Study

https://study.csu.edu.au/courses/environmental-sciences/ bachelor-environmental-science-management

Illuminate

with KATE WOOD-FOYE

THE GUTS, GRIT AND GROUNDWORK OF REMARKABLE REGIONAL ENTREPRENEURS, INNOVATORS, LEADERS AND GAME CHANGERS.

Kelly King is a leading local voice in our coastal and global community for dyslexia awareness and advocacy. From the helm of the Hastings Business Women’s Network championing local business and businesswomen, to running multiple hospitality businesses across the East Coast of Australia and receiving the prestigious Paul Harris Fellow Award, Kelly is a connecting and driving force in creating meaningful change for individuals and families with dyslexia. The dedicated Dyslexia Mid North Coast team continues to create visibility and drive dialogue on this important issue and will come together with the Port MacquarieHastings community to light the campus skies red at Charles Sturt University on Saturday 15 October.

KELLY

I N

Kelly, you have an incredible passion and commitment to support people with Dyslexia. Can you share how it all began?

1 in 4 children get to high school without adequate reading skills. Dyslexia Mid North Coast started as a conversation between myself and Jo McNamara, both seeking support for our children to learn to read.

Social media is a powerful tool for families to create networks and learn more about advocating for their child. In the early days we hosted meetups and presentations with local speech pathologists and teachers to assist parents to help their children learn to read at home.

Established in October 2015, the focus for Dyslexia Support Mid North Coast is to increase awareness, share information and provide support to parents and students about dyslexia and specific learning difficulties. Congratulations on your Paul Harris Fellow Award, a well-deserved honour

from the Rotary Club of Port Macquarie Sunrise. What do feel are the ingredients to meaningful leadership that drives social change?

As a non-Rotarian, the Paul Harris Fellowship came as a complete surprise. I feel incredibly privileged to live in such a generous and supportive community who enable our team to share information and facilitate change so our children can learn, thrive and shine.

We turned the lighthouse red for six years in a row to raise awareness, which would not have been possible without the Rotary volunteers including Neil Black who spent countless hours at Tacking Point Lighthouse assisting with logistics for our annual event.

Awareness campaigns are great conversation starters but a strategic focus is required to create real change. We have consistently advocated locally and nationally, meeting with politicians, school principals and health professionals along the way.

Creating awareness that leads to action

We have consistently advocated locally and nationally, meeting with politicians, school principals and health professionals along the way.

DYSLEXIA MID NORTH COAST

takes time. Dyslexia Mid North Coast launched the Australia wide phonics check petition in 2017. After several years of vigorous debate and consistent evidencebased advocacy from researchers, educators, and parent groups, the Year 1 Phonics Check is finally mandated in nearly all states across Australia.

The National Inquiry into Teaching of Literacy in Australia was in 2005, and now in 2022 we finally see some of the recommendations implemented.

What are the pivotal moments that have changed the course of your journey with Dyslexia Mid North Coast?

We have created a significant partnership with not-for-profit organisation SPELD NSW to bring professional learning to regional areas. Teachers and speech pathologists from Newcastle to Port Macquarie and the North Coast joined SPELD NSW for Sounds-Write Professional Development at The Westport Club this year.

Sounds-Write is an evidence-based highly structured, synthetic, linguistic phonics program utilising an exciting and highly successful approach to the teaching of reading

and spelling. Generous community donations enabled Dyslexia Mid North Coast to offer a scholarship to local teacher Monica Eggins.

With the greater focus on synthetic phonics in the new national curriculum

we are pleased to bring training to the region to support local teachers to transition from balanced literacy and three-cueing to effective structured literacy in our classrooms. Parents have advocated for this for over 10 years. It is great to see so many people attend the course and we will host more SPELD NSW Professional Learning in Port Macquarie. How critical is the connection between teacher education and the learning experience and outcomes for those with dyslexia ? What is left to do in this space?

We were pleased to present a 5-part workshop series on Effective Reading Instruction and Understanding Learning Difficulties with pre-service teachers at Charles Sturt University in 2019.

Reading is a foundation skill that underpins all other learning in school. The new Australian Curriculum released in May includes some positive changes with a move away from

predictable texts and the three-cueing approach to reading. It is positive to see change is coming to schools but there are enormous gaps with respect to how Australian universities go about preparing student teachers for the vital task of teaching reading. There is still much to do in this space. How can the community get involved in the Go Red for Dyslexia movement this month?

Port Macquarie will be a blaze of RED on Saturday 15 October. A number of businesses and schools are taking part and we are delighted to partner with Charles Sturt University to Go Red for Dyslexia. The community is invited to wear red and join us on the lawns at Charles Sturt from 6pm to watch the Go Red light show. Bring the family and BYO blanket and enjoy the live music, sausage sizzle, red cupcakes and snap a selfie with RED the Koala from Hello Koalas.

Location: Building 802 at Charles Sturt University. To Go Red is free to attend, tickets available gored4dyslexia.raisely.com Check out the Go Red for Dyslexia light ups: Charles Sturt University

Essential Energy Port Macquarie & Wagga

The Glasshouse

Port Macquarie Town Square St Agnes Parish schools

Target Port Macquarie

Bring the family and BYO blanket and enjoy the live music, sausage sizzle, red cupcakes and snap a selfie with RED the Koala from Hello Koalas.

Howtogive to your favourite community group!

Simply open a Regional Australia Bank transaction account 1 and ask to be a part of our Community Partnership Program!

This unique program assists your favourite community group by giving them a bonus payment (equivalent to 0.75% of your average annual savings balance)!

To find out how to be part of the Community Partnership Program and support your favourite community group, talk to Regional Australia Bank and join the revolution in community banking.

regionalaustraliabank.com.au

1 Transaction account means a Youth, eFree or Community Partnership Account. Terms, conditions, fees and charges apply. See Fees & Charges located at www.regionalaustraliabank.com.au for full details. Please refer to the Target Market Determination and Account and Access Facility Conditions of Use located at www.regionalaustraliabank.com.au, when considering if these products are right for you. This information is current as at 21/06/2022 and is subject to change at anytime. Regional Australia Bank Ltd ABN 21 087 650 360 AFSL and Australian Credit Licence 241167.

TAMARA DOBSON

HARCOURTS REAL ESTATE GREATER PORT MACQUARIE

Hi Tamara. Please tell us a little about your role at Harcourts

Real Estate?

I am working as a Property Sales Consultant based out of the Wauchope office, covering the Greater Port Macquarie region.

What are you most looking forward to as you embark on your new role in the industry?  Meeting new people, working with the community and most of all selling homes!

I have been heavily involved in the business world prior to this role, from owning coffee shops, martial arts studios, clothing shops and disability support services. From my business background I have already established many connections.

I believe having a great knowledge of the area that I am working in, and a broad network of contacts, will be a great asset for me.

If people are looking for a property appraisal or to purchase their first or next property, how can they arrange a meeting to discuss their needs with you?

Phone me

What do you think is the key to success in real estate?

I believe having a great knowledge of the area that I am working in, and a broad network of contacts, will be a great asset for me. I am quite lucky as I am a 4th generation Wauchopian and have lived in the area my whole life.

on: 0487 628 339 Email me at: tamara.dobson@harcourts. com.au

Find me on Facebook:  facebook TamaraDobsonHarcourts

Greater Port Macquarie

VAUGHAN HOMES

SOVEREIGN HILLS

Fabulous façade tips and inspiration to help create a great first impression.

You shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but we are all guilty of it so why not put your best face forward.

The Sovereign Hills Display Village showcases diverse façade styles to suit any setting.

Australiana façades with a contemporary twist

Set the scene with a traditional gabled roofline, which offers the versatility of extending over the patio or verandah, providing a buffer from the elements.

Combine the rustic charm of the natural colours and textures of exposed timber beams

and heritage bricks with the clean lines of crisp white cladding and shutters.

Complete this look with easy care native plants, stone garden walls and crushed rock or exposed aggregate pathways.

Cool coastal styling with clean lines

A flat or skillion roof design is a must to achieve this look.

Mix textures of feature stone or brick pylons against concrete render and smooth uniform lines of shiplap or V-joint cladding.

Modern Hamptons hideaways

While the Hamptons look can be interpreted in various ways, the principles remain.

Add carefully selected and placed furnishings for an extra dimension when styling your home for maximum kerb appeal.

DISPLAY VILLAGE

Look to York Street’s homes with street appeal to help you style your façade.

BETTER HOMES & DEVELOPMENTS' HAMPTONS FAÇADE WITH COTTAGE CHARM

STROUD HOMES’ ELWOOD FAÇADES LOOKS RIGHT AT HOME IN ANY SETTING

Elegant roofing combines gables with the very Australian look of corrugated iron, achieved with Colorbond roofing. Include decorative embellishments such as corner and window trims.

Black metal exterior fixtures such as wall lanterns contrast against white timber weatherboard and invoke the rustic essence of old shipyards.

Quaint white picket fences provide a perimeter for delicate gardens filled with a mix of lush green lawn and well-manicured hedges.

Out of the box designs

The ultimate form of minimalist modernism, the cube focuses on sharp, striking geometry and visually unique rooflines.

Accentuate box modern architecture styling by contrasting colour blocking of black and white finishes tied together by rich jarrah-hued timbers.

Mixed materials work well with this style. Create a personalised look and flair with brick, timber, tile, concrete or clad textures. Complement this aesthetic with architectural plants with long ribbon foliage, unique grass trees with their charred stumps and soft green spines or a range of diverse succulents.

Live in the now with a contemporary edge

Cherry pick your favourite attributes of current trends and create your own contemporary style using texture and clean lines.

Keep the texture and colours balanced with contrasting tones and complementary linear elements.

Find your favourite façade style at the Sovereign Hills Display Village, open daily.

York Street, Sovereign Hills sovereignhills.com.au

Mc DONALD JONES HOMES' FAÇADE STYLING MAXIMISES KERB APPEAL

SORENSEN

PYCON

Want more style tips? Check out the new Sovereign Hills Style Series Scan here and be inspired!

ROB TATE FAMILY HOMES’ DUPLEX FAÇADE MAKES A MODERN STATEMENT

For almost 40 years, Better Homes has had the privilege of working with clients throughout our region with the ultimate goal always being to exceed home owner expectations.

The Better Homes brand is owned and operated by three local families who are actively involved in all aspects of the business. Being a family owned business and not a franchise provides us with total flexibility when it comes to designing the home and inclusions to suite the individual needs of the home owner.

Homes designed to meet

yourneeds

Where everything is included

Taking the time required during the design and quoting phase is essential to ensure all aspects of the new home build are covered and included. This transparent approach does eliminate uncertainty and avoids those unexpected overruns.

Every client we work with has specific design and inclusion needs and as an independent local building company we have the ability to offer complete flexibility in this area. Once we reach the stage of a fixed price detailed quotation the client will have the comfort of knowing that everything they have asked to be included or excluded is detailed in our quotation documentation.

The New Oakley 300

the Sovereign Hills Display Village is Now Open and

KEY FEATURES

• Single level 299.8m2 executive family home.

• Even before you walk through the front door of our Oakley 300 the “Hamptons” façade fills you with warmth and a natural charm.

• The 2700mm high ceilings and extensive glazing saturate the living areas with natural light and further emphasize the proportions of the home.

• While the home offers 4 bedrooms the privacy of the main suite, the large walk in robe and beautifully finished ensuite will impress.

• The open plan living space and gourmet galley kitchen will exceed expectations of even the most passionate of entertainers.

• The living area flows seamlessly to the alfresco dining and is complimented with a custom outdoor kitchen and built in BBQ.

• The Oakley series also offers our 3 bedroom Oakley 221 and our alternative 4 bedroom Oakley 249.

15 York St, Sovereign Hills Display Village, Port Macquarie NSW

Opening Hours Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 4pm (Closed Mondays) or by appointment

Please call Dayne our New Homes Consultant on 0400 702 866