Your Time Sunshine Coast February 2018

Your Time Your Y our premier 55+ magazine m

FREE MATCHMAKER CREATIVITY ONE STICK AT A TIME

MANGLISH MANIPULATING THE LANGUAGE

WAIT FOR PAY DAY GETTING THE PENSION CAN BE HARD WORK

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SUNSHINE COAST EDITION 35, FEBRUARY 2018 01.indd 1

BOOKS TRAVEL PUZZLES

24/01/2018 9:11:17 AM

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23/01/2018 11:29:26 AM

Editor’s note

M

any signs of advancing age are starting to turn up, most obvious among them the old body starting to show signs of wear – aching knees, swollen fingers, snoring, chin hairs ... it’s a long list.

The years unaccountably fly by and the offspring of old friends have become parents themselves.

Another pointer is the newspaper classifieds, or the matched, hatched and despatched as we used to call it.

There was a time when we read the engagement notices, then the wedding notices and the birth notices.

Dad would always read the funeral notices and now I know why.

These days, polite inquiry has changed from asking about the boyfriend/spouse/kids, to “have you retired yet?”.

Sunshine Coast

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Contents Although social media has largely taken away the simple pleasure of reading the columns to see who is doing what with whom and when, if there were still matched, hatched and despatched columns, I would suggest adding a new one under the headline Recently Retired, to be known as unlatched or perhaps scratched.

Although it is still a few years away, alas not many, for me it seems most of the folk of my acquaintance have already had their names qualify for such a column.

Phil McEwart, a recently retired colleague, found to his dismay that reclaiming the hard-earned he had been handing over throughout his working life, was neither easy nor matching expectation.

Driven by his personal experience, he has extensively researched the system and examined the issues to write this month’s special investigation on the challenges of claiming what many believe to be our due, the age pension.

Basically the best reward for a lifetime’s work is not having to do it any more. Make the most of it.

Dorothy Whittington, Editor

4

SPECIAL INVESTIGATION

8

LETTERS

10

LANGUAGE WATCH

12

TIME WARP

15

COMMUNITY NEWS

16

OUR PEOPLE

18

HISTORY

18

TECHNOLOGY

19

MOTORING

20

FINANCE

22

BOOK REVIEW

23

RETIREMENT LIVING

24

CARE AFFAIRS

25

WHAT’S ON

28

TRAVEL

37

TRIVIA QUIZ

38

PUZZLES

19

16

28

12

18

PUBLISHER Michelle Austin 5493 1368. EDITOR Dorothy Whittington, editor@yourtimemagazine.com.au ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES 0438 717 210 or 0413 855 855. sales@yourtimemagazine.com.au.

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Your Time Magazine is locally owned and published by The Publishing Media Company Pty Ltd ATF The Media Trust (“the Publisher”). No part of this publication may be reproduced or copied in any form by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher. The Publisher does not assume responsibility for, endorse or adopt the content of any advertisements published in Your Time Magazine, either as written copy or inserts, given such content is provided by third parties and contains statements beyond the Publisher’s personal knowledge. The information contained in Your Time Magazine is intended as a guide only and does not represent the view or opinion of the Publisher or its editorial staff. Professional advice should be sought before applying any of the information to particular circumstances. Whilst every reasonable care is taken in the preparation of Your Time Magazine, the Publisher and its editorial staff do not accept liability for any errors or omissions it may contain.

Please dispose of this magazine responsibly, by recycling after use.

February 2018 / YOUR TIME MAGAZINE 3

24/01/2018 9:12:56 AM

COVER STORY

Waiting for pay day

A Your Time special investigation

For decades, the Baby Boomers imagined that when it was their turn to retire, they would simply sign on and receive the old age pension they believed they had been paying for since starting their first job five decades earlier. Alas, reports PHIL McEWART, it’s just not that simple.

A

ge pension applicants are waiting up to six months for their claims to be processed as the number of Australians reaching retirement age surges and government looks for savings across the budget.

Frustrated applicants say inefficiencies in the system, including inactive claims going undetected for weeks, oversights in the handling of documents, and a workforce under pressure from the sheer volume of claims, are contributing to the delays.

They also feel they are being put under the microscope as part of the Federal Government’s attempt to cut welfare spending, which, for age pensioners, will amount to $45.4 billion this financial year and balloon to $52.3 billion in four years.

The soaring cost to the national purse is being driven by almost 200,000 age pension claims each year as the baby boomer generation – born between 1946 and 1964, and making up one in five Australians – reaches retirement age.

Demographers and social policy experts warn that this shift by boomers from work (and tax contribution) to the pension (and a drain on the national purse) will have profound implications for the national accounts.

They also say a sceptical younger generation may resent supporting retirees into old age.

The Department of Human Services did not specifically comment on the six-month processing times, but front-line staff make no secret of the fact when

PENSION STATS 2016-17

174,000

25%

claims finalised during year, up from 156,000 the previous year

of claims rejected

60%

36

of rejected claims due to applicants not responding to request for further information

average number of days to finalise a claim

24%

of rejected claims due to applicants exceeding income and assets test threshold

Source: DSS and Department of Human Services

Peace of mind at a great price

pension applicants complain about the delay.

A spokesman for the department said processing times varied depending on the complexity of an individual case, and how many claims the department was handling at any one time.

In 2016-17, the median number of days to finalise an age pension claim was 36 days.

He said the department was committed to processing claims in the shortest possible time, and that there were now fewer age pension claims on hand than at any time in the past three years.

But with the Department of Social Services (DSS) expecting the number of age pension recipients in Australia to grow by 265,000 over the next four years – from 2.502 million in June 2017 to 2.765 million in June 2021, a growth rate of 10.5 per cent – it’s unlikely the workload, or processing times, will reduce.

Your Time spoke to many pensioners and claimants still going through the process to gauge their experiences and observations, to get an understanding of the situation.

Our investigation found the elderly were sympathetic to the huge logistical challenge faced by department staff, and praised the attitude of front-line staff in particular, who they described as caring and quick to enquire if claimants were facing imminent financial difficulties.

Others are suspicious and don’t like the long wait, even though pensions are back paid to the time a claim is lodged, fearing there is another agenda aimed at depriving them of their entitlements.

Calls for welfare reforms by politicians over recent years have not been missed by

Baby Boomers. In answering questions, a DSS spokesman referred to the 2015 Intergenerational Report.

It stated that if no changes were made to the current system, age and service pension payments would increase from 2.9 per cent of GDP in 2014-15 to 3.6 per cent by 2054-55.

He said reforms were essential to ensure Australia had a sustainable welfare system for future generations.

Pensioners revealed a number of problem areas they had encountered in processing their applications.

Being assured over the helpline that a claim was progressing was no guarantee everything done up to that point was in order and satisfactory, said one disgruntled pensioner whose claim took almost six months to approve. “About three months in, the girl on the helpline discovered my claim was inactive, it was just sitting there going nowhere,� he said. “She couldn’t tell me why that might be the case but she did say it was unusual. She was apologetic and kickstarted it again, but about a month later it went inactive again. “Much later I learned the sticking point was a piece of paper I should have given them at the outset months earlier. “But nothing had been said all the way through; the counter bloke didn’t spot the oversight, and subsequent front-line staff were none the wiser either. The cogs of the machine weren’t all in synch.�

A woman described how she had received a one-sentence letter stating her claim had been rejected because she hadn’t responded to an earlier letter from the department. “I was really puzzled because I hadn’t

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4 YOUR TIME MAGAZINE / February 2018

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Sunshine Coast

24/01/2018 9:14:29 AM

COVER STORY

WHERE THE PROBLEMS CREEP IN

GROWING PENSIONER POPULATION

From first-hand accounts, Your Time has learned problem areas in the processing system can include:

2.502 million 2.765 million 10.5% number of age pension recipients at June 2017

expected number of recipients by June 2021

growth in recipients between June 2017 and June 2021

Source: DSS and Department of Human Services

had any previous mail from the department,” she said.

“I rang in a bit of a panic and asked ‘what letter, I haven’t received any letter’.

“The problem was eventually traced to my very first contact with them two months earlier, when I gave them my documents.

One piece of paper was missing, a fact not picked up by the man on the front desk. It was an error on my part, but also his too.”

Pension applicants admit front-line staff are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of applications.

“How many staff do you need to handle 200,000 pension applications a year,” asked a retired Brisbane electrician.

“Even if you had 5000 staff working

flat out it would be a hell of a job. You’ve got to expect human error, fatigue, and, dare I say, boredom to creep in.”

AUTHOR’S NOTE People in my bracket haven’t really had a lifetime’s work contributing to super because, at the outset, the contributions from both sides were modest, and only relatively recently did salary sacrifice allow us laggards to ramp up contributions.

My son has more super than me, a situation that is probably experienced by many Boomers. The next generation will be in a much better position to care for themselves in retirement.

The Centrelink crew, by the way, are doing a great job against overwhelming odds.

I heard no criticism of them.

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES Report, if the Australian Government made no changes, it was estimated that payments made through the age and service pensions would increase from 2.9 per cent of Gross Domestic Product in 2014-15 to 3.6 per cent by 2054-55.

• Reform is essential to ensure Australia has a welfare system that remains financially sustainable for future generations.

• The number of Age Pension recipients at June 2017 was 2.502 million and is projected to increase by approximately 10.5 per cent to 2.765 million by June 2021.

• In 2017–18, the projected expenditure for Age Pension is $45.382 billion and is projected to increase to $52.311 billion in 2020-21.

• According to the 2015 Intergenerational

• Front-line staff don’t always spot inadequate or missing documentation in the early stages of the process, leading to long delays, sometimes months later, when the issue is discovered by senior department staff.

• Applications can fall into a black hole where they remain inactive; claims are supposed to either progress through the system or be rejected.

• Postal services don’t always operate efficiently. In one case, a rejection letter took more than three weeks to be delivered to a Caboolture applicant.

• Applicants not being fully aware of the processing procedure. If the department requires additional information it will ask for it within a fixed time; if, for instance, the applicant is off visiting relatives and misses the deadline, their claim will be rejected.

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• Different helpline staff sometimes give conflicting advice.

The investigation also revealed that having few, or modest, assets does not mean your application will progress any faster. It all hangs on providing the right documentation within a set time.

THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES SAYS: The Government is streamlining the Age Pension claim process, making it quicker and easier for older Australians, and improving the user experience for those who claim Age Pension online.

Applying through the new online claiming channel is faster and more efficient for claimants as it ensures all necessary information is submitted when lodging a claim.

Age Pension claims generally take longer to process than other claims, as the department has to assess often complex income and asset information and frequently go back to claimants to request additional information.

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• Applicants not entirely comfortable with technology can struggle applying through the online system.

We strongly encourage people claiming Age Pension to make sure they have provided all the supporting paperwork required for their claim upfront, to avoid any delays in processing their claim.

The department routinely adjusts staffing arrangements to meet changing demand and government priorities, and the number of staff allocated to Age Pension processing generally increases during periods of peak demand, such as the end of financial year.

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February 2018 / YOUR TIME MAGAZINE 5

24/01/2018 9:52:46 AM

COVER STORY

WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS, CALL YOUR FEDERAL MP Beverley Johnston was 66 and had handed in her notice at her workplace that she would retire at the end of March 2016.

This is her story: “I knew there was a lot of paperwork involved to obtain a pension, so three weeks before I was due to finish, I went online and downloaded the forms. Also knowing that phone systems were difficult, I attended in person at my local Centrelink office to file it.

“I did the usual waiting around and finally saw somebody who copied all my paperwork and advised me that it was all in order, and they would be in contact.

“I really thought everything would be in place so that when I finished work I would get the pension straight away. That was my optimistic hope, at least.

“I was advised in a phone call from Centrelink that because I hadn’t physically left work and received a separation certificate, my application had been rejected, even though I was well over 65.

“I finished work and went through it all again. Back into the Centrelink office and more waiting only to be told it couldn’t be dealt with there and I would have to post the paperwork with my separation certificate. They assured me that within a week or two, someone would let me know how it was all going.

“I waited a moth and then called - and

remember every time you phone it takes at least an hour, sometimes longer to get someone.

“I was on hold for over an hour and was then referred on – and on, and on.

“For five months, I called periodically and every time they would say that it was another department, it was being assessed, it wasn’t filed properly, it wasn’t progressing, you have to wait your turn, they would let me know … there was always an excuse.

“Basically, this stalling process went on for months. Because I still had a bit in super, which was below the assets test, I was told that until I had actually run out of money completely they couldn’t put me on a hardship list.

“They want you to spend every cent you have before you go on a hardship list and speed things up.

“I went through five months of these calls, collapsing in tears, enduring the to-ing and fro-ing, and being put off. I had to spend every cent I had, so there goes the medical emergency funds.

“They were also asking for my latest bank statements and super statements, so I was still regularly filing paperwork and still nothing would happen.

“In the end, after 75 minutes on a call, I rang my local federal member. The women in the office were very helpful and said they had a contact in the

BACKGROUND

department. Within two days they had called me back and said it was moving.

“Within a week I had my pension plus I was backpaid.

“I met all the criteria. I was a year over the age requirement and well within the assets threshold.

“I can’t understand the stalling if they are going to backpay me anyway. It’s not like they saved anything.

“I have worked and paid taxes all my life and expected equal efficiency in getting my pension as I experienced in paying my taxes.

“Basically, it doesn’t pay to think ahead or expect it to run smoothly. It doesn’t work to go into one of their offices, you just end up waiting there or using the phone there.

“I think they want you to die first, so they don’t have to pay it out.”

About 174,000 Age Pension claims were finalised in the 2016-17 financial year, compared to 156,000 claims in the previous financial year.

In 2016-17, the department rejected about a quarter of Age Pension claims processed.

• more than 60 per cent were because the applicant did not respond to the department’s request for further information, and • almost a quarter (24 per cent) were because the applicant exceeded the income and assets test threshold.

Processing times can vary depending on the complexity of the individual case, and how many claims the department has at any one time. In 2016-17, the median number of days to finalise an Age Pension claim was 36 days.

GROWING BILL

$45.4

billion

Projected expenditure on age pensioners in 2017-18

52.3

billion

Projected expenditure in 2020-21

Source: DSS and Department of Human Services

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Sunshine Coast

24/01/2018 9:15:20 AM

COVER STORY

A MOUNTAIN OF CLAIMS A total of 174,000 age pension claims were finalised in 2016-17. That’s equivalent to processing 3346 claims a week. Some workload. But that’s just for the age pension.

Add to it all the other types of

pension and support claims provided by the Federal Government and the figure for annual transactions is in the hundreds of millions, according to the new Social Services Minister Dan Tehan.

The Department of Human Services’ first piece of advice to age pension applicants is to make sure they have provided all the supporting paperwork required for their claim upfront, to avoid any delays in processing their claim.

The Government is streamlining the claim process.

Applying through the new online claiming channel is faster and more efficient for claimants, as it ensures all necessary information is submitted when lodging a claim. Improvements to technology and department systems are also speeding up the claims process.

Valid to Wednesday 28th February 2018 Code YT2802A

Tell us what you think Your Time would like to hear from readers about their experiences in accessing the age pension. Was it quick or slow? Efficient or problematic? We would also like to know if you have had any unusual experiences along the way. Your input will be used for a straw poll on the process. Email editor@yourtimemagazine.com.au telling us your experiences, plus what year you received the pension and how many days processing took.

Valid to Wednesday 28th February 2018 Code YT2802B

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February 2018 / YOUR TIME MAGAZINE 7

24/01/2018 9:16:44 AM

Letters

Have your say. Send letters to Editor, Your Time Magazine, PO Box 6362, Maroochydore BC 4558 or email editor@yourtimemagazine.com.au

I would like to say how much I enjoyed the article on John McSweeney in December’s Your Time. It is wonderful to think how many people he has helped and whose lives his music has touched.

My Mum had a stroke 23 years ago and was left catatonic, but when she was wheeled down to a concert at the nursing home she would still be able to tap her feet along with the music.

Keep up the good work, John.

Jenny Quill “The Greatest Gift of All” by Dot Whittington (YT Dec) tells how John McSweeney’s sing-a-long music blesses those whose memories are fading and who have limited recall of long-term memories when something triggers their brain, “returning life to tired minds”.

What a wonderful gift for those who can no longer remember how they have contributed to our wonderful country.

Music is the universal language. My own mother suffered from dementia in her later years, but could sing along with songs deeply etched upon her memory.

Yes, well, it serves me right! I knew when I’d proofed it that some readers would get up a head of steam. To court controversy over a tradition that for many people is sacred was bound to stir the possum.

I am amazed at how many letters to editors have appeared this year in

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8 YOUR TIME MAGAZINE / February 2018

08.indd 2

She would suddenly come alive when the familiar sounds switched on. It was something permanently embedded in her brain.

Surprisingly, she sang along, even when conversation was limited.

Having also lived at Woody Point in my early childhood, I remember how my older brother went to Humpybong school along with Barry Gibb, in the same era as John Sweeney.

It was a time when Australia had caught the music fever, with our own artists making their original music heard.

My own mother enjoyed the radio playing the current songs of the day, singing along with pop songs which are now part of our music history.

I’m sure the lyrics also helped with our literacy skills. The radio music was our only significant entertainment and connected us to the outside.

The music of our past will forever have a place in our hearts.

When our minds forget who we are, we’ll remember the joy the notes and words brought to our lives.

E. Rowe

Thank you for the gracious, wellresearched article in the January edition about our Aussie Men’s Shed movement and the articley.

The Men’s Shed movement owes a debt of gratitude for the example set since 1922 of the Country Women’s Association which has blessed Australia and deserves acknowledgement and national appreciation.

Also to be praised are the supportive community of faith, service clubs and veterans groups.

Like the old co-operative movement, our voluntary men’s shed take no religious or political test for membership.

There is a sense of universal shared values of goodwill, mutual aid and cooperation that together we can do more than any one of us alone, like that good carpenter tradesman of long ago and his fishermen mates.

I am glad the Men’s Sheds are a safe, cheerful and decent society for mutual aid and shared opportunity.

Jay Streeter

various newspapers, not just in Australia, over the actual date of Christ’s birth.

So, my thanks to Bryan Hughes, Alan Weatherilt and Peter M Brown for correcting my several inaccuracies (all right, my mistakes).

It just goes to show that there are a lot of very educated and erudite readers of Your Time, who will pick up on any boo-boos by contributors.

What I was trying to suggest was that, in our frenzy of Christmas shopping, we seem to have forgotten what Christ’s Mass is all about; and how much of what we do to celebrate our religion is in fact imported commercial marketing, much of it from Germany.

Cards, trees, candles and presents for the family – and not for Jesus.

Readers will know from the New Year edition that I do not use Google or Wiki-nonsense. Or any other Internet thingy. I am not online.

My research comes from my school books (History, Year 8-12); from the many reference books and encyclopaedia in my extensive library at home; and from three years at university, burning the midnight oil to obtain my Honours degree in English Language and Literature.

So, to quote Prospero at the end of The Tempest: “As you from crimes would pardon’d be, let your indulgence set me free.”

David Parmiter

Sunshine Coast

24/01/2018 10:06:47 AM

Having just put our Mum into an aged care nursing home it was with considerable interest I watched a report about elder abuse in an aged care facility.

Thankfully this home has been closed down. What surprises me is that operators of aged care homes were notified prior to inspections of their facilities by accreditation board inspectors.

Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt states, “Aged care safety and quality are nonnegotiable and must be delivered to residents 365 days of the year, without exception.”

I sincerely hope our Federal Government implement lock stock and barrel, the recommendations of the Carnell-Paterson Report.

Having so many aged care nursing homes there is a distinct chance we will be occupants sooner or later. I think it is essential we monitor our aged care providers and report any wrongdoings we find to our local member or to our Aged Care Minister.

The Federal Government needs to act on this issue immediately.

Bill Glasson I have just heard an ABC commentator refer to a government initiative being “impactful”. Are we making up words or is it simply total disregard for the language?

Katherine Bassett

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I read the article by David Parmiter in December about the date of Christmas.

It has some correct facts in it, but is riddled with errors.

Here are a few: Christianity was adopted as official religion of Roman Empire was in 380AD

by Theodosius, and Augustus certainly did not promulgate it.

David says “Augustus tried again in AD 49” but the earlier paragraph had Augustus dying in AD14. Perhaps David meant Julius Caesar.

The dates of the Holy Roman Empire were 800–1806 AD according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, not starting just after Caesar Augustus.

It is more likely that Christianity hijacked the pagan festivals and cultural practices, which you said earlier.

And most of the customs are now practiced in western Christianity are from pagan or ancient customs, for example, Germany (trees) England (use of holly) etc.

On the date David is probably correct, most unlikely to have been December 25 in winter, more likely in August or September for Jesus’s birth.

Correct information might get people to hear his final important points.

Thank you for the magazine. The articles are mostly quite informative and readable.

Martin Waterworth

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24/01/2018 9:53:26 AM

WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE

Mangling the English Language There is nothing as user-friendly as a book, writes DAVID PARMITER who has just finished reading a book not on a screen, but in his hands.

L

ost for Words is a book about mangling and manipulating the English language – and it is wonderful.

The dedication at the front of the book reads: “To my grandchildren, struggling to learn to speak, in the hope that English will be as important to them as it has been to me.”

For obvious reasons (copyright) I cannot share much of it but as a reviewer I am allowed to quote a few bits. The author’s prime source of irritation appears to be grammar. As is mine.

Regular readers will know that I keep banging on (colloquial) about the inappropriate use of prepositions.

Winston Churchill instructed his press and secretarial staff about the placement of the preposition “with”.

“A preposition at the end of a sentence is something up with which I will not put,” he expostulated (look that one up).

John Humphrys, the author of the book to which I refer (note word order) fulminates against newspaper journalists, radio broadcasters (of which he was one) and television presenters. I shall quote just two sentences.

“Vocabulary is a tricky area – but not as tricky as grammar. I may not worry

too much about prepositions but I loathe split infinitives.”

And so say all of us when we read a newspaper, most of which have deleted their sub-editors and proof readers.

Check an issue with your red highlighter.

I shall give you one more quote, this time not from Mr Humphrys but his quote from the famous author Kingsley Amis, so I feel that I am allowed to “on-quote”. It’s about “berks” and “wankers”.

“Berks are careless, coarse, crass, gross and of what anybody would agree is a lower social class than one’s own; wankers are prissy, fussy, priggish, prim and of what they would probably misrepresent as a higher social class than one’s own.”

Now was Kingsley Amis a berk ... or a wanker? And does it matter? We meet both of them every day down at the pub.

Maybe I am one of them. Mr Humphrys then goes on to give a serve to radio broadcasters and television presenters.

“The best advice when you’re on the radio or television is to “keep it simple stupid.” KISS. That’s not because your audience is stupid, it’s because you have to keep it live and linear.

Your audience cannot backspace, as

you can on your computer, so think before you speak.

When teaching radio, television and film production at universities I had constantly to remind students (not to split the infinitive!) that their job was to be the audience/viewers before writing the script.

In radio, it is best to stick to the rule of subject-verb-object. Forget putting a subordinate clause before the main one.

In television, the rule is “do not describe what is on the screen”.

“Here we see a ...” If we can see it, don’t tell us. Tell us what we can’t see, which is the reason why we are looking.

It’s basic television training, but so often unknown to the cub reporter who is looking so good with outfit and manner! And the reporter usually fumbles delivery because he/she has not been trained in live, on-air speaking to camera. That is a very special skill.

“The Premier will today announce ....”

No, she won’t. She will not split her verbs and we had the press release yesterday.

And even worse, “later today she will announce ... “ Well, she is not going to announce it earlier today or yesterday, is she? Think, before you speak.

It’s the same with the police media.

“Asked to comment, a police spokesperson (person? Whatever happened to man and woman?) said: the two vehicles have come into collision and one person has become deceased, while two others have been transported to hospital in a critical but stable condition.

Our investigations are ongoing”.

Please, police media people, tell your officers to forget ‘has’ and ‘have’. Use the active voice, not the passive voice when talking to the media.

In English, the officer should have said “there was a crash between two cars, one man died and another two have been taken to hospital”. End of story.

And do we really need to know this?

“So, we journalists are no better and no worse than everyone else who uses the common language. We mangle with the best of them. But we have a particular responsibility and we should not be allowed to get away with it. There should be a permanent row about usage.”

Thank you, John Humphrys; and I have been trying to make a permanent row for the last two years. The result, sadly, is who cares?

Lost for Words - the Mangling and Manipulating of the English Language by John Humphrys, Hodder and Stoughton.

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TIME WARP

When times were simpler and more gracious Some things are too good not to share so KATE CALLAHAN is stepping aside in favour of a reader, Diane Amos, who wrote a long and interesting letter filled with recollections, musings and nostalgia.

At 86 years of age, I find very little that is completely satisfying in this fast-paced, self-absorbed technological age of emails, smart phones and text messages. I miss old fashioned conversations, eyeball to eyeball, where words and facial expressions were meaningful.

People have changed so much. They demand more from life and are pressured by the cult of consumerism to reach standards of living that are often unobtainable.

Reality and lifestyle shows set the standard for living, and cooking shows turn each meal into an art form. But one need never cook again, if the budget allows. Meals can be delivered to the door.

In the war years, life was simpler and less competitive and centred around the home. The milkman came by horse and cart in the early morning and filled the enamel container left out for him.

The butcher, in his horse and cart, called by each day. Having no refrigerator or ice-chest at the time, meat for the evening meal was bought daily and put in the meat safe, a fine mesh cage hung under the house in the cool.

12 YOUR TIME MAGAZINE / February 2018

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Jane Powell ruled the screen.

As kids, we loved the day the weekly groceries were delivered as the box always included a small bag of boiled

lollies. We cooked our own simple but tasty meals of meat and three veg, followed by dessert, always.

We sat at the table together, mother and father at either end. It was a special time when we all joined in conversations as a family.

We drank tea made from leaves in a teapot and used only cups and saucers.

People today will pay $50 for a “high tea”, but that was the way my mother served afternoon tea every day, using the beautiful cloths she had embroidered herself and a fine bone china tea set.

We always had some delicious cake that mother had made or simply pikelets and gem scones with her homemade jam. Afternoon tea was always accompanied by relaxed and happy family conversation.

My mother was a talented dressmaker and dress designer, well ahead of her time. In the ’40s, we would go to the local picture theatre to see the latest Jane Powell movie.

In the dark, mother would sketch Jane Powell’s frocks and later make them for me. People often said I resembled Jane Powell.

We certainly dressed alike!

In those days, clothes were always handed on to friends or relations who had a daughter ready to step into them.

The clothes my mother made for me were in great demand and highly treasured.

We lived in Brisbane so when my mother needed fabric or sewing thread, my brother and I, dressed in our best clothes, would catch the tram with her into the city.

After visiting Penney’s, we would walk up Adelaide St to Edwards and Lamb and then catch the lift to the material department, where mother spent what seemed like hours caressing fabrics, absorbed in her creative dreams.

Meanwhile, I sat on a high stool by the counter, expecting to die at any moment from boredom.

My brother was always satisfied just watching the “flying fox” being sent with cash and docket from the counter way up high to an office – and then soon after the change and receipt being shot back to the counter.

Yes, these were good times, gracious times. The pace of life was slower and there was lots of time for gentle conversation.

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COMMUNITY NEWS

TAKE HOME A TOUR OF BUDERIM

KEYBOARDIST NEEDED FOR RAGTAG BAND ONE of Buderim’s long-serving entertainment groups, Ragtag, is seeking a keyboard player to join them in their performances for local audiences.

The ideal incoming member will be retired, love the music of the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s and be prepared to donate time to the community on the band’s behalf or at least be prepared to perform for “petrol money”.

“We’re mainly performing for the joy of it,” founder and lead guitarist Michael Edwards said. “It keeps us mentally active and we know our music is well received.”

While most of the band’s gigs are during the day at retirement villages and aged care facilities, they sometimes perform at evening functions for dance groups or others requiring good entertainment for fundraising events.

The boys all grew up on rock ‘n’ roll music which is reflected in their repertoire but they have broadened the music mix to include latin, swing and ballads. A quality keyboard player is now needed to enhance the musical memories.

If you have the keyboard skills and the time, contact Michael 5476 7537.

HERITAGE OF PALMWOODS DISCOVER more about Palmwoods at a free community event starting at the Palmwoods Memorial Hall on Sunday, February 11, from 2pm.

Activities will include a guided information walk around the historical precinct, launch of the Information Centre’s Palmwoods Family Album project, photo/story telling of life in Palmwoods, past and present and opening of the historical photo display by the Palmwoods Living History Society.

At 3pm light refreshments will be served followed by a free family movie on the big screen.

The Palmwoods Information and Heritage Centre will then be open on Wednesdays 9am-2pm fom February 14.

With the support of local groups and businesses, the centre will have information packs and visitor packs available.

Visit palmwoodsinfo.org.au or email palmwoodsinfo@gmail.com

FAMILY HISTORY RESEARCH

BUDERIM Garden Club, after more than 71 years and with more than 200 members, has published a book titled Gardens of Buderim.

It features many of the gardens which have been opened to the public at the annual Buderim Garden Festival as well as articles about garden design, the club’s background, Buderim’s garden history, the future of gardening in Buderim and useful details about local public parks.

The garden stories are enhanced by superb photographs, mostly taken by club members.

“It includes articles by several club members sharing their delight and pride in the gardens they have created, overcoming problems like poor soil and steep slopes, as well as their successes in growing special flowers, fruit, vegetables and other plants,” president John Lyon said.

Book editor Sarah Seeberg said it provides a pleasurable virtual walk around Buderim’s gardens and parks.

The book is available at Books of Buderim, Manawee Garden Centre and Buderim’s Old Post Office for $26.95.

Members can obtain copies from the club.

Caloundra Family History Research Inc. is back in action for the new year.

An impressive list of guest speakers has been lined up for general meetings which are held on the third Thursday of the month, 1.30pm-4pm.

Based at the Sunshine Coast Turf Club, Gate 2, Pierce Avenue, Little Mountain.

GLASSHOUSE VIEW THE first get-together of the year for the Glasshouse View Club was to celebrate the life of dear friend and secretary Maree Rau who died on December 22.

Tributes were made and memories shared by the large group that attended.

The next outing will be February 7, with a guided walk in Maroochy Botanic Gardens.

Call Trish 5493 0026

AGLOW INTERNATIONAL AGLOW Sunshine Coast will meet on February 9, 9.30am, at Flame Tree Baptist Church hall, 27 Coes Creek Rd, Burnside.

Entry $8 includes morning tea. All welcome, men and women, to attend and enjoy worship and an inspirational message. Aglow is a world-wide nondenominational Christian organisation with branches in 172 nations.

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February 2018 / YOUR TIME MAGAZINE 15

24/01/2018 9:22:44 AM

OUR PEOPLE

Meet the matchmaker Don Willsher is an architect, engineer, cabinetmaker and artist, and, writes DOT WHITTINGTON, it has all been one match at a time

T

here is a church, shops, town hall, playground, cars and kids in Donnsville, and at Christmas, a little group of carollers turned up to sing under a lamp post.

Its city blocks run to little more than the size of an average coffee table and the seesaw in its playground is smaller than, well, a matchstick.

The town, named for its founder, 81-year-old Don Willsher, is a testament to the infinite patience of its maker and literally thousands of Redheads.

A volunteer with various historical groups, Don is also a member of an increasingly rare group of woodworkers who work only with matchsticks.

It’s a hobby that he took up in his youth and that has lasted a lifetime.

“I was laid up in 1961 and bored stiff,” he says. “My mother had died when I was very young so my father employed a housekeeper whose husband was making things out of matches. I decided to give it a try myself.”

When he was well again, he continued to potter with it, mainly making occasional tables with simple patterns on top which have long since found their way to the homes of family

!

T ! ing uick S E LA NCemain be q A sr CHome 4,950 h 3 $30 m ro

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Don with the tools of his trade. and friends around the world.

Each table would take between 20 and 40 hours depending on the complexity of the pattern and since then, many organisations have benefited

from his work. “I’ve donated them to kindergartens and bowls clubs to raffle but often they choose to keep them for their own use,” he says.

It was a hobby that required few tools and that he could take with him anywhere.

During the 1960s and ’70s he worked as a salesman and spent a lot of time on the road and it gave him something useful to do during the long, lonely nights he spent in western Queensland motels.

“There was no TV at the time, so there was not much to do and I would work on my match creations,” he says. “It was definitely more popular in the days before television when you could sit and do it while listening to the radio. There were far fewer options for entertainment in those days.”

Fast forward to 2002, dozens of occasional tables and thousands of matchsticks later, and Don, by now a retired association secretary, and his late wife Justine set off on the grey nomad adventure around Australia, although he says they were SKINS not nomads “Spending the Kids’ Inheritance Now”.

For the next 14.5 years, they travelled the country and Don found his matchwork could easily continue in the limited space of a caravan.

“I then got into 3D after I made a little upright piano for my granddaughter and this inspired me to build my own village,” he says.

Like an engineer and an architect, he just had to work out how to do the construction.

“I started with a church and it went from there over the next couple of years.

I would make the little buildings while we were travelling and then put them into storage at home.

“Eventually I had enough and while we were based at the Bribie Island

The streets of Donnsville 16 YOUR TIME MAGAZINE / February 2018

16.indd 2

The Winter Wolf was a step into art. caravan park I put them all together and added the streets, cars, people and streetlights.”

There is amazing attention to minute detail, with tiny pews, chairs and people inside his houses of sticks, a playground with a moving swing and seesaw and lighting.

The streets have been named for his family, such as Terri Terrace, Adam Avenue and Lachlan Lane. It remains a work in progress, along with his futuristic Donnsville 2030 village created

“His matchwork could easily continue in the limited space of a caravan” entirely from his imagination.

“It’s something that doesn’t need a workshop or a lot of heavy tools,” he says.

“The basic tool is a razor blade and the good thing is you can walk away from it at any time. If you want a break, it will wait.”

For Don, half the fun is working out how to do it and capturing the effect he envisions.

“Putting the matches into place is just mechanics after that,” he says. “It’s about the only thing I have patience with.”

In 2012, his daughter gave him an American woodcraft book which had a picture of a winter wolf made from timbers.

Don decided he could do it in matches – and 8000 matchsticks and at least 80 hours later, he had his first artwork, the wolf’s nose appearing almost 3D. He sent a photo to the American magazine and was then himself featured on their pages. More framed artworks followed and now clocks.

Homebrand matches, which are made Sunshine Coast

24/01/2018 9:24:18 AM

NEWS After exhibiting at “Working with Wood” in Brisbane, Melbourne and Canberra in 2014-15, he sought some assistance from Redhead and they delivered him two cartons of matches – each containing 54,000 matches.

“I haven’t had to buy any for a long time, so it’s a sponsorship of sorts,” he says.

“I never really saw myself as an artist but this is a different dimension to working with wood. I’m not a woodworker but a matchworker”.

Equisite detail in a grand piano from Indonesian hardwood and are naturally darker, along with the lighter Redheads pine matches which come from Sweden, achieve the effects for his art, as well as woodstain and occasionally, the brightly coloured “kiddy matchsticks”.

That’s a lot of matches in the lifetime hobby of an octogenarian.

“I strike one and stick it into the box and they all go up together and then they go out,” he says.

“I don’t want them to burn too much as they get pointy. I do 10 boxes at a time and while some require cutting off the head, I also use the burnt tip to effect.”

In the beginning, he was a smoker and that kept his supply of matches up, but now he has a lifetime supply from the Redheads Matches company itself.

QUEST TO DEFINE ELDER ABUSE Abuse of older people is a complex and sometimes hidden problem in Australia.

To help build on the growing body of knowledge on the issue, the Elder Abuse National Research Project is currently underway, led by the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS).

“As older people make up an increasing proportion of the Australian population the potential reach of the abuse of older people may grow,” AIFS Family Law and Family Violence Team manager Rachel Carson said.

“To protect older people from abuse, we must first be able to identify and measure the extent of the problem.”

The Elder Abuse National Research Project consists of three components: • Develop an Australian definition for

the term “elder abuse”.

• Test data collection tools against the definition, to see if it will work for the Australian context • Analyse the data to help answer key questions about the abuse of older people.

“We’re keen to make sure that we’re measuring the right things in the future,” Dr Carson said. “We’ve been speaking with a range of interested people, including community advocates, policy makers and service providers to help inform our research focusing on the definition of elder abuse.”

Anyone who would like to contribute their views about what defines abuse of older people should email: eanr@aifs.gov.au

VILLAGE LIFE WINS VOTES

Don’s latest clock.

The latest retirement census shows more older Australians are choosing to live in a retirement village.

PwC and the Property Council of Australia have released their annual stocktake of retirement living providers, residents and villages. More than 56,000 retirement living units participated.

“The research found most residents join a retirement village in their mid-70s and were 80 years of age at the time of the census,” IRT Communities CEO Stig

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Andersen said. “More providers are making changes to better support these residents.”

The census found that more than 75 per cent of villages host visiting health professionals, 91 per cent have community centres and 84 per cent organise regular community outings and social activities.

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Sunshine Coast

17.indd 3

February 2018 / YOUR TIME MAGAZINE 17

24/01/2018 9:24:51 AM

HISTORY

TECHNOLOGY

The mighty bunya provided an annual feast Deep in the rainforest, very tall and very old bunya trees can still be found, writes AUDIENNE BLYTH. They were once the scene of great annual feasts but in the 1870s, it all stopped due to the disruption of Aboriginal pathways and lifestyles.

B

unya trees and bunya nuts occupy an important part of our history. Only in the Blackall Ranges and the Bunya Mountains were there naturally great forests of bunya trees and where the great gatherings of Aborigines were held.

In the days before the arrival of Europeans, Aborigines gathered from as far south as the Northern Rivers district of New South Wales, the Maranoa and the Burnett to feast on the nuts. Well established pathways led to the event.

The Bunya Mountains are just three hours drive west of the Sunshine Coast. The remaining great forests of bunya trees in this national park are spectacular.

Tom Petrie is one of the few white men to record the bunya

18 YOUR TIME MAGAZINE / February 2018

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feasts. Because many animals of the forest depend on this food as well, the Aborigines would climb the trees and knock down the cones to be sure of their own supplies.

Notches were cut into the bark of the tree to assist the men in hauling themselves up, with a vine around their waist.

For the Aborigines the journeying and the feasting on bunya nuts was a major cultural event, a kind of inter-tribal parliament.

They held displays of fighting skills and hunting, at night there were corroborees, singing, dancing and storytelling.

Bunya trees also grew in the Maroochy River district.

Explorer Andrew Petrie, who collected specimens of the bunya trees after exploration in 1839, persuaded Governor Gipps to make the following proclamation in the New South Wales Government Gazette in 1842.

Colonial Secretary’s Office Sydney, 14 April, 1842 It having been represented to the governor that a District to the Northward of Moreton Bay in which a fruit bearing tree abounds, called bunya or banya bunya, and that the Aborigines from considerable distances resort at certain times of the year to this district for the purpose of eating the fruit of the said Tree: His Excellency is pleased to direct that no licences be granted for the occupation of any Lands within the said district in which the Bunya or Banya Bunya Tree is found. And notice is hereby given that the several Crown Commissioners in the New England and Moreton Bay districts have been instructed to remove any persons who may be in the unauthorised occupation of Land wheron the said Bunya or Banya Bunya Trees are to be found.

His Excellency has also directed that no Licenses to cut Timber be granted within the said Districts.

By His Excellency’s Command, E. Deas Thompson The effect of the proclamation was to create a reserved area from south of the Maroochy River along the

Blackall Range and its spurs northward on the ranges where the trees grew abundantly. Here the Aborigines were free to gather and feast on the nuts when they were ready, free from any interference from white men.

However, after Queensland became a separate state in 1859, one of the first Acts passed by the Queensland Parliament repealed Gipps’ 1842 bunya proclamation.

Squatters and timber licences were then available.

The Crown Lands Alienation Act allowed closer settlement and all these events marked the end of an era for the bunya forests. Timbergetters and pastoralists moved in.

The Bunya tree, Araucaria bidwillii, is named after John Carne Bidwill (1815 – 1853) who sent specimens to Kew Gardens in London, thus the tree was named after him.

However, Andrew Petrie was the first to bring this tree

“Feasting on the bunya nuts was a major cultural event, a kind of inter-tribal parliament” and its significance to the notice of authorities but missed out on the use of his name.

Newcomers generally do not like the taste of bunya nuts while those who have acquired the taste love to have a seasonal feed, raw, boiled or roasted. Old timers cooked them long and slow with the corned beef.

Bush tucker advocates use them in curries and stir fries as well as grinding them for biscuits and cakes.

Every three years for a short season in January and February, bunya trees produce a sizeable crop – and 2018 is one such year.

Dozens of hard shelled nuts spill out from each cone and can be kept cold or frozen to give you a supply all year.

But please watch out for the large cones as they fall.

KEEP UP WITH THE TECH HOUSEKEEPING We all seem to have the standard new year resolutions such as eating better and exercising more, but, writes NATHAN WELLINGTON, what about tweaking technology?

I’m talking about computers that need updating, smartphones full of photos, the wireless printer not working and so on.

Isn’t it time you did a little housekeeping to clean the digital slate ready for the year ahead? Here are a few resolutions to help: EMAIL: I have clients who just can’t press the delete button. It’s just like hoarding but in this case, it’s digital hoarding, and just because you can’t see the mess like you can in that backroom or garage, it still clutters up your computer and can make life that little bit more difficult.

At the start of every year I have a routine, I delete/ archive all emails from the year prior.

So, this year I am deleting all emails from 2016 back.

I then unsubscribe from all those subscriptions I joined and no longer read. This routine keeps my emails under control and believe me, with 12 email addresses receiving upwards of 200 emails a day I need to keep on top of them!

PHOTOS: If you have a smart phone then you probably take more photos then you need and possibly never look at them. If you have some downtime, then get into those 2000+ photos you need to sort out on your computer.

Yes, it may be daunting but every year you hide from this job, the more they are adding to the pile. I suggest you go through and just delete all the terrible ones first.

Keep the ones you like and delete the 22 others you took at the same time. This can reduce your photos without even

sorting them into events or in any order.

BACK UP: I am still amazed how many people have all their precious memories or documents on one device and no back up! All it takes is for you to drive off with your smart phone on your roof or for your cup of tea to spill over your laptop and you can kiss all your photos and documents goodbye!

Get an external hard drive for your computer or set up a cloud backup for your phone or tablet so at least if something happens you haven’t lost it all.

You’ll thank yourself one day!

LEARN MORE: Join a local computer club or enrol in a course. Do your best to learn more about the devices you use. They are becoming more intrinsic in that way we navigate the world and communicate with each other, from online shopping to keeping in touch with family and friends.

Don’t’ be afraid of tech, pace yourself and learn a little more then you knew last year.

Lastly, make it a routine to get your local tech to come over and give your computer or tablet a service.

Prevention is better than cure, so it’s better to spend $100 or so on a six-monthly service and have your computer running efficiently so it lasts longer than to neglect it and watch it die an early death and be up for $1000 and upward for a replacement.

Whatever your resolution, I wish you a joy filled and peaceful New Year.

Call 1300 682 817 or email nathan@hometechassist.com.au Sunshine Coast

24/01/2018 9:25:24 AM

MOTORING

Smart addition to the SUV market SUZUKI make great small cars, city cars in the main, with a sprinkle of quite confident SUV types through the years, writes BRUCE McMAHON

T

out smartly if belting the S-Cross around the streets.

Now, this is not Swift Sport, or even a basic Swift. The S-Cross will handle good roads and bad with more aplomb than some conventional, and lower-riding, hatchbacks and such, yet it is not quite as sharp as SUV rivals like the Honda HR-V in the handling stakes.

he Swift and the four-wheel drive Jimny are perhaps the best-known examples of the Japanese company’s skill in designing, and building, light and compact machines of some ability and reliability.

So, to the Suzuki S Cross, an SUV for the city and surrounds.

It’s maybe not the first choice for a long, long distance haul with a family but a commodious and comfortable vehicle for city, suburbs, weekend outings to the country and Sunday runs to the beach.

This is the second version of the S-Cross.

The first was a decent-enough machine but failed to find much traction in the Australian market.

This time around there’s a touch more oomph to the package to attract some extra custom, plus a swag more agro to a chromed grille, some extra equipment and a dearer price tag.

Without that toothy front, the latest S-Cross is mainly plain vanilla in style, certainly not as handsome as Suzuki’s Vitara wagon (albeit around the same body dimensions) and certainly quite modest for a vehicle tagged as a Sports Utility Vehicle.

This conventional approach is aimed at the more conservative buyers, of all ages, who may not be taken with the Vitara’s more rugged looks.

And the S-Cross interior is also, pleasingly, straight up and down. All the gear is here but there are no unnecessary swoops and curves to dashboard or doors, no disco lighting.

There is however a fair amount of cabin space for this class of wagon.

To shift the five-door S-Cross these

days there’s a 1.4 litre, turbocharged petrol motor pushing out 103kW and 220Nm of torque through a six-speed automatic transmission to the front wheels.

It has far more go than before and, with handy paddle shifters for the transmission, it’s easier to keep the package on the boil.

Suzuki reckons this engine and driveline should be good for 5.9 litres per 100 kilometres but that figure will blow

“This conventional approach is aimed at the more conservative buyers of all ages�

It is, however, a safe and wellmannered machine at all times.

Suzuki’s S-Cross is also well-built and well-equipped with a comfortable and commodious cabin.

It is also, now with a price tag from around $22,990 and up, facing tough competition from any number of SUV rivals yet remains a sensible option for more traditional customers.

CALOUNDRA

RISE

RETIREMENT LIVING

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sccqld.com.au February 2018 / YOUR TIME MAGAZINE 19

24/01/2018 9:25:52 AM

FINANCE

Plan for choice An often talked about issue in the political and financial world in Australia is the sustainability of our Age Pension system, and BRIAN MOONEY recommends doing the things that will allow choices other than poverty.

I

could quote statistic after statistic and show one too many graphs, but I will keep it to just a few, although my views have developed from knowledge of many of the reports and studies into this topic as well as first-hand experience in working with retirees over the past 27-plus years.

Currently, about one in four people in Australia are over age 55 and in about seven years (2025), that is expected to be one in three.

It is not just a predicament faced by Australia alone, but by many western countries and some eastern. This quandary isn’t characterised by political and financial issues, but also encompasses, moral, health, housing and that of an individual’s self-worth.

There is no doubt the Baby Boomer generation is the one most affected by recent government policy to restrict

access to the Age Pension and in the amount that is provided.

Many in this group spent a considerable period of their working life prior to the introduction of compulsory superannuation in the late ’80s and ’90s.

Many of them have not built sufficient assets to enjoy a comfortable retirement and the Age Pension provides only a meagre existence.

An OECD report a few years ago claimed that one in three Australian pensioners lived below the poverty line.

The exceptions in the generation are those who worked for government or large companies which provided generous superannuation benefits well before it became compulsory. Also, some in the group have benefited from inheritances.

What accentuates the problem the government faces in this arena is that there is a

lack of long-term vision and both sides tinker and take a piecemeal approach rather than develop a comprehensive retirement income policy that both sides agree on, even if they may not like some aspects.

I can’t see this changing any time soon.

In recent years, the Coalition has been prepared to reduce Age Pension accessibility and Labor has said it is prepared to address to tackle the superannuation concessions provided.

The financial cost the Age Pension and the tax breaks provided for superannuation benefits is close to $100 billion.

I am often asked the crystal ball question “when will the Age Pension run out or cease?”

Most likely it will never cease, but it will become harder to qualify and the amount received may well be less in real terms than what pensioners receive now.

How is your financial future looking?

Anyone cruising through life thinking the government will look after them when they are old is deluding themself, or at least that is the best way to approach it.

Because the over 55s are large in number they subsequently have political clout. This was evident at the last federal election when the Liberal government was punished at the polls partly because of its reduction in allowable super balances in retirement and the amount we can contribute to get us there.

I’ve heard many from that side of politics say that issue didn’t hurt them, but I can assure you it did.

I could spend considerable time now on all of the deficiencies in the Pension and Superannuation systems, but that would be a waste of an opportunity because it won’t have any impact.

The next few lines will

hopefully have impact and create better outcomes – for each of us individually.

Firstly, plan to not be part of the Age Pension system, of course assuming you have the time and resources to do so.

Talk to a financial planner as early as possible and if you have children in their 20s, 30s or 40s tell them to do it too.

Studies have shown that people who get advice have better financial outcomes.

Yes, better outcomes and sometimes significantly better outcomes.

I say to my sons “make sure you do the things that ensure you have choices in life”, and that is what good financial planning provides – choices not poverty.

Brian Mooney is a Certified Financial Planner and authorised representative of Logiro.

Email: brianm@logiro.com

Drop by for a cup of coffee and a chat!

Erica Jackson CFP ® Senior Financial Adviser

Tax, legislation, strategies, markets and Centrelink are ever-changing so no matter your stage in life, it’s never too late to review your current retirement plan. This is where receiving sound, ongoing quality financial advice is the key to achieving peace of mind, particularly when it comes to managing your pension and retirement incomes.

Infocus Sunshine Coast is part of one of the leading quality advice providers in the nation. Our highly qualified and dedicated team are on hand to assist you achieve your retirement goals and the advice you receive is tailored specifically to your needs.

Call us today on 5443 4311 to arrange a no obligation chat to make sure you’re on the right track.

Level 2, Cnr Maroochydore Road & Evans Street, MAROOCHYDORE, QLD 4558 T:5443 4311 E:sunshinecoast@infocus.com.au W: www.infocus.com.au / sunshine-coast

Infocus Financial Planning Pty Ltd ABN 34 133 955 736 is a Corporate Authorised Representative of Infocus Securities Australia Pty Ltd ABN 47 097 797 049 AFSL and Australian Credit Licence No. 236523 trading as Infocus Financial Advice and Infocus Money Management.

20 YOUR TIME MAGAZINE / February 2018

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Sunshine Coast

24/01/2018 9:26:16 AM

Halcyon Lakeside BLI BLI

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23/01/2018 11:41:32 AM

BOOK REVIEW

ELIZABETH PASCOE

First published in 1982, this version was written to make the centenary of World War I. The reader experiences this catastrophic event through the horse, Joey, a magnificent bay red that joins the cavalry with his beloved owner, Albert, a farm lad from Devon.

This interpretation of the charge horses falling and men dying is vividly told and the mud and slush goes on and on. This is not a pleasant read and nor should it be. Millions of men and horses from both sides were killed and the sketch of the horse set among the red poppies of Flanders says it all.

TONY HARRINGTON

This is a small book but it is an emotional, powerful and beautifully written big novel. The theme is the stupidity and tragedy of war resulting in the death of 10 million men and 10 million horses during World War I. Joey, a Devon farm horse, tells us of the love and cruelty shown to him and his equine companions during this tragic period of our history. Some of my favourite novels are anthropomorphic animal books.

Anthropologists tell us that horses are people too. They are sentient beings. They see, they hear, feel, remember and show great affection to their human friends even under the most atrocious conditions. Men and horses gave their tomorrows for our todays so we should always honour them and forever be grateful. I am visiting the Australian National Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux on Anzac Day to pay tribute.

BOOK review A war story told from the perspective of one of the horses that went into battle, this is a powerful story of humanity and friendship.

It is 1914, and Joey, a bay-red foal, is sold to the army and thrust into the carnage of the First World War on the Western Front.

With his officer, he charges toward the enemy, witnessing the horror of the battles in France. Even in the desolation of the trenches, Joey’s courage touches the soldiers around him and he is able to find warmth and hope.

But, like the soldiers, he misses home and he longs to see his true master, Albert the farmer’s son, again.

JOHN KLEINSCHMIDT This is a short story directed at older children and teenagers and wonderfully narrated by Joey, a magnificent British horse. Joey’s discerning character assessments of the people that use and care for him as a farm horse in England and France and as a war horse in France provide the basis for everything you could want in a book – love, friendship, adventure, drama and a very good storyline. The author portrays the horrors of war through Joey’s experiences, making this very well written book ideal for the intended audience and entertaining for anyone who cares to open the cover.

SUZI HIRST

WAR HORSE

By Michael Morpurgo

What a book. I love Michael Morpurgo and although this was written in 1982 as a childrens’ book, it is a book for everybody. The story of a bond between a farm boy Albert and his horse Joey, the Great War and the madness, huge loss of life and insanity of war.

The book is beautifully written and a very easy read. Joey lives many lives after he is taken from the farm and in each life you feel his pain and suffering, his longing to be back with Albert and his battle for survival to that end. Having read the book, seen the movie and the play, all I can say is if you haven’t, then you must!

JO BOURKE

MARY BARBER This is a fine tale, simply told. We follow Joey’s story from farm life in the English countryside to being a beast of burden in France in World War I. It’s told from Joey’s point of view. We see the world though his big trusting eyes and the horror and stupidity of war stands out.

This is primarily a children’s book so it’s not too dark. It’s very readable, with well-drawn characters. Morpurgo has written other books about friendship between an animal and a young person. If you enjoy this one, I can certainly recommend Toro! Toro! about a boy and a bull around the time of the Spanish Civil War.

In October 2017, I watched the centennial re-enactment of the Charge of the Fourth Light Horse Brigade at Beersheba and also documentaries describing the fate of the horses. I delayed reading this book as I expected a sad ending.

Instead I found War Horse a captivating read, albeit with sad losses and vivid depictions of the cruelty and futility of war.

My experience of horses has been to admire these beautiful animals from afar. I found it strange to have Joey, the horse, as the narrator. My horse-loving friends assured me that bonds depicted between Joey and Albert definitely occur. Apparently horses not only remember people who have treated them well, but they also understand words better than expected.

Is it a true story? It could be – but most of all it is an opportunity to dwell on the sacrifices made by men and animals in all wars. It has appeal for all ages and an ideal book for high school students.

ALL ABOARD FOR A RELAXING JOURNEY 3rd March 2018

Security, Independence & Peace of Mind

NORTH COAST STEAM TRAIN TOUR Board the first steam train tour of the year with ARHS QLD from Roma Street to Palmwoods. Coach trip then to Mapleton or to Wildlife HQ at Woombye. Take a short trip on board the steam train from Palmwoods to Yandina return.

Providing privacy & independence with the security of proximity to family. Glendale Granny Cabins provide comfortable, self contained accommodation for elderly relatives on the same site as the family home.

19th – 21st April 2018 LONG DISTANCE RAIL MOTOR NSW TO BRISBANE Rail Motor 620/720 will depart from Maitland to Roma Street with overnight stays at Newcastle & Grafton. Seats Limited Accommodation included. Don’t Miss Out.

12th May 2018 RAIL & SAIL Steam train to Sandgate, bus to Redcliffe and boat to Southbank or do in reverse. Lunch at own expense.

Rail only option also available

22.indd 2

NOW OPEN

Book early as seats are limited Website Email Hours

www.arhs-qld.org.au arhsqld@bigpond.com.au Tues, Wed & Thurs 10am to 3pm

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24/01/2018 9:26:47 AM

RETIREMENT LIVING

Leisure centres offer billions of benefits

A

2017 UK study details found that leisure centre facilities in Britain contributed more $5.4 billion to society and the findings are reflected in Australian studies.

Leisure facilities providing a broad range of social benefits to communities such as more socially connected neighbourhoods, healthier communities, lower healthcare costs and more productive workplaces This is great news for residents at over 50s lifestyle community Nature’s Edge Buderim, where a $3.5 million 5-star leisure centre is nearing completion.

It will be the social hub of the community and provide state-of-the-art facilities, including 20m heated swimming pool and spa, library/lounge, arts and crafts centre, cinema, bar activities, semi-commercial kitchen, tennis court, bowls green, gym and sauna, alfresco entertainment precincts and teppanyaki barbecue and a massage and beauty therapy room.

Nature’s Edge Buderim has spacious architect-designed homes within a secure

The 5-star Leisure Centre nears completion gated community in the Buderim foothills.

There are no exit fees and every home owner keeps all the capital gain if they decide to leave.

There are currently two stunning display homes available for viewing, with a third to be completed late this month.

They showcase the affordable luxury lifestyle, spectacular finishes, 8-star energy ratings and solar panels.

If viewing the display homes, take a sneak peek tour of the Leisure Centre too. Call 1800 218 898; email info@ naturesedgebuderim.com.au or visit naturesedgebuderim.com.au

WITH beautifully appointed villas offering an independent and secure lifestyle and the freedom and flexibility to enjoy all the opportunities of retirement, Caloundra Rise has 274 residents living within its vibrant village community.

Managed by Southern Cross Care, and built on principles of value and respect, it offers a variety of activities to enjoy, where you can meet up with old friends and make new ones.

The community environment is both relaxing and socially engaging, with the opportunity to do as little or as much as desired. Leave the maintenance of the grounds and gardens to the Southern Cross Care team and sit back and enjoy the beautiful setting.

Onsite facilities include tropical landscaped gardens, a large resort style community centre equipped with kitchen and bar, residents’ library, outdoor pool, heated spa and barbecue area, consultants’ room and hairdresser, gymnasium and tennis court.

There are wide open roads with

plenty of room and dedicated parking for caravans and boats. A community bus is available for shopping and outings.

Caloundra Rise consists of architectdesigned two and three bedroom villas.

Each master built villa is positioned to maximise privacy, and all are spacious and comfortably appointed.

Modern open plan designs have well-positioned windows to catch the bay breezes and courtyard for entertaining.

Villas all have an outdoor drying area, plenty of storage space, secure lockup garage and 24-hour emergency call system. For additional peace of mind the village has onsite security staff and residential care is available on the co-located site if the need arises.

FREE HEALTHY EATING SESSIONS

SHOWCASE SEALS THE DEAL

JUST over a year ago, downsizing Sunshine Coast couple Des and Vicki Kenny knew little about living in a Halcyon over 50s lifestyle community.

Today, the Buderim retirees are looking forward to moving into their new home within the $130 million Halcyon Lakeside community at Bli Bli. They became sold on the Halcyon lifestyle and its simple financial model after attending two of the company’s regular information sessions on the Sunshine Coast. “About a year or so ago we went to a bowls and information day at Halcyon

YOUR TIME, YOUR LIFE AT CALOUNDRA RISE

Landing in Bli Bli and we thought ‘this is where we should end up in a few years’,�

Des says. “It introduced the concept to us and it really appealed. “When starting out it can be quite overwhelming with the different options out there, those being units, villas and retirement villages. They all come with different benefits and costs, we wanted to make sure we made the right financial decision. There is a lot of information.�

The Kennys followed up with a one-hour question and answer session which gave them a better understanding of how lifestyle communities designed for over 50s work.

It fast-forwarded their downsizing plans and led them to the Lakeside community, Halcyon’s seventh.

The next Halcyon information session is on February 28, at Pine Rivers Bowls Club. Visit lifebeginsathalcyon.com.au

A series of free healthy eating information sessions are being hosted by Stockland’s Birtinya Retirement Village.

Run by qualified local nutritionist and dietitian Jody Pollard from Total Nutrition Dietitian, the one-hour sessions will cover topics such as healthy eating on a budget and understanding food labels. They will include food tastings and handouts.

Regional Development Manager for Retirement Living Pauline Barton said the sessions would provide valuable information and advice on good eating habits for people in their older years.

Each session will include a fun and interactive presentation on healthy eating and include a recipe demonstration and tasting to show participants simple ways of creating healthy dishes. “The sessions are all about presenting dietary information that’s easy to understand and can be incorporated into

your daily eating habits,� Ms Pollard said. “It’s not about cutting out everything that you like. My aim with all my clients is to make it easy for people to eat well and make wise choices.�

Stockland’s free healthy eating information sessions will be held from 10am at the Birtinya Retirement Village sales centre, on the corner of Birtinya and Lake Kawana Blvds.

Healthy Habits: making healthy food changes starts on February 6, followed by Healthy Eating Made Easy on February 20; Understanding Food Labels on March 6; and Healthy Eating for Easter on March 27.

Registration is essential. Book a free spot on 0439 465 612.

Birtinya Retirement Village is an eight-storey vertical village under construction in the Oceanside precinct.

Call 1800 727 170.

>P[O V]LY ]PSSHNLZ VU [OL JVHZ[ ^L OLSW `V\ ÄUK [OL YPNO[ VUL • +HOS \RX ðQG \RXU 5HWLUHPHQW RU 2YHU âV YLOODJH • ([SODLQ UHWLUHPHQW YLOODJH FRVWV DQG FRQWUDFWV • &RRUGLQDWH WKH VDOH RI \RXU SURSHUW\ • $UUDQJH ODZ\HUV DJHQWV DQG UHPRYDOLVWV • 6LPSOLI\LQJ \RXU PRYH LQWR 5HWLUHPHQW /LYLQJ

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23.indd 3

www.ShineRetirement.com.au February 2018 / YOUR TIME MAGAZINE 23

24/01/2018 9:57:53 AM

CARE AFFAIRS

HOME SWEET HOME Home is where the heart is. It’s where we feel we belong, we feel safe and where memories are made.

According to the Productivity Commission, most older Australians would strongly prefer to “age in place” by staying in their own homes, rather than moving into a retirement or aged care facility.

The Commission reports 76 per cent of over 60s want to see out their retirement in their own home.

“When my mum’s dementia was advancing and my dad was struggling on his own, a service provider gave us all life-saving support,” Just Better Care director Tony Sandy says.

“It wasn’t just about having practical care. It was a few precious hours when we could take a big breath out knowing we had some back up.”

So how to get more care from a home care package?

“Have a closer look at what you are being charged by your current service provider,” Tony says.

“Most service providers are charging way too much like administration fees, management fees, exit fees and basic daily fees, leaving the customer with little to spend on their care.”

To learn how to get more care from your current package call Tony 5353 5111.

NEW LAWS PROTECT RETIREES

mind that the right laws are in place to protect their nest egg,” Shine Retirement executive director Emma Plasier said.

The retirement industry’s peak body the Retirement Living Council has also introduced an eight-point plan to support quality resident experience.

In collaboration with Shine Retirement it has produced a number of information retirement living videos explaining village costs, contracts, journey into retirement living and different accommodation options.

Email emma.plasier@ shineretirement.com.au

The Queensland Governor has given Royal Assent to new retirement village legislation protecting the rights of retirees.

Southeast Queensland retirees will benefit from the changes as retirement village resident rights will be protected and there could be rush of new retirees from interstate, following the biggest shake-up of retirement laws in Queensland’s history.

“Queensland will see the benefits over the next 12 months and it will be the ‘go to’ state for retirees wanting peace of

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Take control not a tumble

“It won’t happen to me” are the brave words of many but KENDALL MORTON warns not be too sure you won’t trip over or take a tumble.

E

very day, 133 older Queenslanders have a fall that leads to medical attention. And about 30 per cent of falls result in broken bones, including hip fractures, head injuries or forearm fractures.

Thankfully, there are steps you can take to reduce the likelihood of taking a tumble.

REVIEW YOUR MEDICATION Some medication can affect your sense of balance. Other drugs can cause swelling in the feet, rounding out the soles which can reduce your stability. Read the side-effects and have a full review of your medication. Some interact and increase the risks of dizziness and confusion. The more drugs being taken, the greater the chance of negative interactions. If you have concerns, see your doctor.

KEEP UP REGULAR VISION CHECKS Visit the optometrist once a year. Some progressive lenses can affect depth perception. A pair of single lens glasses for walking may be a safe addition.

VITAMIN D – ARE YOU GETTING ENOUGH? Vitamin D improves muscle strength. It is used in delivering calcium to the cells, which is needed for muscle contraction.

Research shows that older individuals with low vitamin D levels have a poor gait, are not as strong as their peers and have reduced balance.

According to the Cancer Council Queensland, you get enough Vitamin D with just five or six minutes of outdoor activity a day. Hanging out the clothes, walking to a bus stop or getting the mail will all contribute. If you are not getting

some sun exposure, speak to your doctor about alternative sources. Studies reviewed by Today’s Geriatric Medicine, show those who take 700-1000 IU of vitamin D daily have about 20 per cent fewer falls.

FIND AN EXERCISE YOU LOVE Staying physically strong will improve your balance and reduce the risk and impact of falls. Look for an activity that challenges you and that you love – a dance class, swimming group, walking club – there are so many options. The key is getting started. Find an exercise buddy.

If you make a commitment to a friend to exercise together, you are more likely to stick to your plan and enjoy some social time as well.

BEWARE OF THONGS Thongs are unstable footwear. They make you grip with your toes and offer no support to the arch or the ankle.

Podiatrists hate them. They are a hazard in the home and the garden. Throw them in a cupboard and enjoy the benefits – fewer falls, fewer sprains and less tired feet.

Here’s an exercise for balance. Try it for a week every time you boil the kettle.

WALKING HEEL TO TOE: 1. Put the heel of one foot just in front of the toes of the other foot. The heel and toes should touch or almost touch.

2. Find a spot ahead of you and focus on it.

3. Take 20 steps, putting the heel just in front of the other toe. That’s it!

Kendall Morton is Director of Home Care Assistance 5491 6888 or email kmorton@homecareassistance.com

SIMPLY AVOID A STROKE Stroke Foundation Clinical Council Chairman BRUCE CAMPBELL is urging you to do one simple thing 2018 which could save your life.

High blood pressure is a key risk factor for stroke and one that can be managed.

Stroke is a devastating disease that will impact one in six of us. There is one stroke every nine minutes in Australia.

Stroke attacks the human control centre – the brain – it happens in an instant and changes lives forever.

In 2018, it’s estimated there will be more than 56,000 strokes across the country. Stroke will kill more women than breast cancer and more men than prostate cancer.

But the good news is that it does not need to be this way. Up to 80 per cent of strokes are preventable, and research has shown the number of strokes would be almost cut in half (48 per cent) if high blood pressure alone was eliminated.

About 4.1 million of us have high blood pressure and many of us don’t realise it. Unfortunately, high blood pressure has no symptoms. The only

way to know if it is a health issue for you is by having it checked by your doctor or local pharmacist.

Make having regular blood pressure checks a priority for 2018. Include a blood pressure check in your next GP visit or trip to the shops.

Be aware of your stroke risk and take steps to manage it. Do it for yourself and do it for your family.

If you think you are too young to suffer a stroke, think again. One in three people who has a stroke is of working age.

Health and fitness is big business.

But before you fork out big bucks on a personal trainer or diet plan this year, do something simple and have your blood pressure checked.

It will only take five minutes, it’s non-invasive and it could save your life.

Sunshine Coast

24/01/2018 9:27:59 AM

WHAT’S ON

BROADWAY COMES TO CALOUNDRA

ANTIQUES EXPERT VISITS

One of the longest running shows on Broadway, the musical A Chorus Line brings 23 performers, supported by a 16-piece band, to the Event Centre Caloundra’s Playhouse Theatre this month.

Staged by the Coast’s own professional theatre company, Mad About Theatre, it runs February 22-25 at 7.30pm and weekend 2pm matinees.

The cast features a host of local professionals, as well as graduates from the prestigious WAPPA and Queensland Conservatorium.

Paul Atterbury, a familiar face on the BBC TV’s Antiques Roadshow, is guest speaker at the next Australian Decorative and Fine Arts Society lecture on February 19.

Paul specialises in the art, architecture and design of the 19th and 20th centuries, but has extensive knowledge of most aspects of the arts.

His subject is the mass emigration from Britain which played a crucial role in the development of Australia. Some were successful in their quest for a new life, many failed.

Among the most poignant reminders of these people are remarkable paintings and drawings documenting the experience of emigration, from leaving home to attempting to settle in a new world.

The lecture is at the Drama Theatre Matthew Flinders College, Stringybark Road, Buderim, 6.30pm.

ADFAS is a not-for-profit organisation providing superbly illustrated monthly presentations on diverse topics within the arts and related disciplines. The goal is to enable members and guests to learn more about the arts in a friendly, welcoming environment.

Cost $25, bookings essential. Call Janine 5452 6643. Full annual memberships are available. Email sunshinecoast@adfas.org.au or visit adfas.org.au/societies/queensland/ sunshine-coast

“We had such amazing support for our production of Chicago last year and are thrilled to return to Coast stages in 2018 with such a phenomenal cast and crew,” director Madison Thew-Keyworth said. “It’s a QPAC quality show right here on our doorstep for only $45.”

A Chorus Line will preview at The J Noosa on February 14, before officially opening on Thursday 15 and heading to The Events Centre, Caloundra.

Tickets $45 - $69. Bookings 5491 4240 or visit theeventscentre.com.au

The Judy Henzell 2018

Su nshine Melodies Concert Series

NEARLY N EARLY N NEIL EIL

WED 21 FEBRUARY - 11AM WED 11 APRIL - 11AM

RACHAEL BECK WED 27 JUNE - 11AM

FRANKLY SINATRA

WED 10 OCTOBER - 11AM

Includes meal, coffee and cake

$10 KIDS MEAL

Includes meal, dessert and activity pack

ROAST NIGHT WEDNESDAY From $14.90 for members

SUNDAY BUFFET BREAKFAST

Cherry Tomato & Snow Pea Tendril Salad & Caper Aioli

From $17.95 for members from 7:30am – 10:00am

*$14 for non-members.

Hurry deal ends 28 February, 2018. Available 7 days.

Call 0409 030 935 after 10am

COURTESY BUS - PICK UP

MEGA RAFFLES

7pm every Wednesday to Saturday, 6pm Sunday

PROMOTIONS & GIVEAWAYS BREAKFAST - LUNCH - DINNER

WED 12 DECEMBER - 11AM

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$14 SENIORS LUNCH

7 days a week plus Members Madness Draw at 7pm

CHRISTMAS WITH KAREN KNOWLES

Sunshine Coast

DANCE LIKE IT’S 1979 The songs that gave Australia its soundtrack during the ’60s ’70s and ’80s will be presented by John Paul Young and The Allstar Band at the Events Centre Caloundra on March 1, 8pm.

The Vanda and Young Songbook is a concert celebrating the work of the famous song-writing duo.

With hits written for The Easybeats, AC/DC, Grace Jones, Ted Mulry, and John Paul Young, the show will travel the decades of mega hits.

Tickets $69, concessions $65.

Bookings 5491 4240 or visit theeventscentre.com.au

Wednesday through to Saturdays

WED 22 AUGUST - 11AM

BOOKINGS: Ph: 07 5491 4240 | theeventscentre.com.au

Acclaimed international violinist Ian Cooper is joined by opera stars, prima ballerinas, Australia’s current national champion Pipe Band and the Blue Danube Orchestra for An afternoon At The Proms – A Musical Spectacular.

Voted “Best Production Show” in Australia, it salutes the famous BBC Proms Concerts of London’s Royal Albert Hall, performing all the well-known favourites including Rule Britannia, Radetzky March and Elgar’s Land of Hope and Glory.

Sunday, March 4, 2pm. Tickets $85, concessions $79. Bookings 5491 4240 or visit theeventscentre.com.au

LIVE & LOCAL MUSIC

JUST A COUPLE OF SONG & DANCE MEN

Complimentary morning tea is served at 10am

LUNCH SPECIAL*

COCONUT CRUMBED SQUID with Preserved Lemon,

A NIGHT IN VEGAS

$19.00 | Groups 10+ $17.50pp

$10

AFTERNOON AT THE PROMS

7 DAYS A WEEK PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY

34-36 Alexandra Parade Cotton Tree, 5443 1298 www.maroochysurfclub.com.au /maroochysurfclub

February 2018 / YOUR TIME MAGAZINE 25

24/01/2018 9:28:32 AM

WHAT’S ON

BREAK INTO SONG WITH THE SUNSHINE STATESMEN

JAZZ AT ITS VERY BEST

If you have ever wanted to sing, then February is the time to start.

The Sunshine Statesmen Barbershop Chorus is offering a free four-week vocal training workshop in Buderim.

Mel McMichael, 88, formed the group 26 years ago and still competes in Barbershop conventions all around Australia. The secret of his longevity and happiness is – break into song.

Mel is a strong believer in the health benefits of social interaction and what better way of making people happy than to sing for them.

A recent Oxford University study confirmed that, of a variety of social activities, singing was the most effective way to quickly form social bonds.

Join a bunch of active blokes, get out into the community and sing for your heart’s health.

Call Graham 5494 6241 or visit sunshinestatesmen.org.au

LAST CHANCE TO CATCH THE PIRATES The popular Gilbert and Sullivan musical, The Pirates of Penzance, plays at the Events Centre Caloundra on February 17 and 18 on its 21st anniversary, and final, tour.

This fast paced and beautifully sung production which tours with a full set and costumes, is the complete production,

and with a cast of only six.

A true family musical comedy, The Pirates clash swords and trade barbs in this modern take led by Philip Gould as the swashbuckling Pirate King.

VIP Meal & Show Package $55 or tickets $35. Bookings 5491 4240 or visit theeventscentre.com.au

y

The Entire Smash Hit Musical...

With a Cast of only 6!!

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c - He Love ity Au rald d It” dien ce Sun ..

Melb . ourn e

s pel ... pro ce” rgy rillian ourne e n “E To B Melb t GE Cas A he

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Dutch jazz singer Judith Nijland and Czech guitarist Libor Smoldas are joining forces in Songs of Wes, a tribute to jazz guitar legend Wes Montgomery.

It will tell his story with new interpretations of his original songs.

Judith wrote touching lyrics and Libor made some beautiful arrangements.

They are coming to Nambour for the first time together on February 17, and will be joined by a great international line-up with Marnix van Bruggen on piano, Pieter Althuis double bass and Max Sportelli drums.

Montgomery virtually defined modern jazz guitar during the 1950s and ’60s.

Judith’s clear voice with a wide range is often compared to the sound of the late Karen Carpenter. She has released five albums.

Libor is widely considered to be one of the best jazz musicians in the Czech Republic and a leading representative of his generation.

Songs of Wes will be part of The Jazz Sessions on February 17, 3.30pm, at The Bison Bar, C-Square courtyard, 52-64 Currie St, Nambour.

Tickets $20, can be purchased online at stickytickets.com.au or at the door, but bookings are recommended.

GEM OF A SHOW The Judy Henzell Sunshine Melodies Concert Series present Nearly Neil at The Events Centre, Caloundra on Wednesday, February 21, at 11am.

For almost two decades, Canadian singer Bobby Bruce has been astonishing packed houses throughout America, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and Asia with his passionate, exhilarating and vocally brilliant salute to music legend, Neil Diamond.

The power and purity of Bobby’s voice put him in a league of his own and audiences will love the way he glides through a powerful package of Diamond hits, from Cracklin’ Rosie and Kentucky Woman to Cherry Cherry and Sweet Caroline.

Bobby’s shows are enjoying huge popularity as Australians increasingly recognise the talent of this “Master of Music”.

Morning tea is included in the ticket price and will be served from 10am.

Tickets $19, group 10+ $17.50. Bookings 5491 4240 or visit theeventscentre.com.au

BRAIN TRAINING WITH BRIDGE FOR BEGINNERS

Starring: The Events Centre, Caloundra

Philip GOULD Brian HANNAN Alison JONES Caroline VERCOE Chris MCKENNA Saturday 17 & Sunday 18 February Appearing at: BOOKINGS: 07 5491 4240 or theeventscentre.com.au 26 YOUR TIME MAGAZINE / February 2018

26.indd 2

The Sunshine Coast Bridge Club is holding both daily and evening beginner classes this year.

Current Queensland state bridge champion title holder Alison Dawson is taking the morning classes and master player Wendy O’Brien the evening sessions.

Both instructors are retired school teachers.

Evening classes begin Tuesday, March 6, from 7-10pm.

Morning classes commence on

Wednesday March 14, 9am-noon.

No partner is necessary and the full course takes 12 weeks.

The fee (including lesson book) is $40.

Classes are held in the bridge club rooms, Elizabeth Daniels Sports Complex, off Syd Lyngard Drive, Buderim. Easy parking.

To book call Wendy 5491 2604 (evening classes) or Alison 0412 690 781 (morning classes) or email info@ suncoastbridge.com or visit suncoastbridge.com.au Sunshine Coast

24/01/2018 9:31:32 AM

ITALIANO RESTAURANT

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23/01/2018 11:43:40 AM

The WORLD in Your Hands

Travel in Your Time

First to the frozen continent As Baby Boomers spread their wings wider in search of something completely different, heads turn south to Antarctica and JOHN MADDOCKS reports, it’s a mind-blowing experience.

(Images John Maddocks)

A group of intrepid modern-day explorers set out hiking in the wilds of Antarctica.

I

’m early and I’m excited. It’s the start of the spring expedition cruise season to Antarctica, and I’m on the first ship leaving Ushuaia in Argentina, the most southerly city in the world. At this time of year, we’ll experience the Antarctic in all its ice-covered grandeur.

It’s an exhilarating prospect.

After all, ice is what this pristine, other-worldly wilderness is all about. Of Antarctica’s 14 million sq km, 99 per cent is covered in ice, some of it 4km thick.

Sea ice can double the size of the continent in winter, and much of it will still be there when we arrive.

There are, of course, many other exciting aspects of this trip.

On the way we visit the Falkland and South Georgia Islands, renowned for their incredible history and wildlife.

The first Zodiac landings get us up close to Magellanic, rockhopper and gentoo penguins, upland geese, fur seals and hundreds of black-browed albatrosses nesting side by side in tall tussock grass on cliff edges.

We find friendly locals in the Falklands’ capital Port Stanley, keen to welcome us to their remote outpost.

This colourful town of 3000 residents boasts a government house and cathedral, but the most interesting attraction is the excellent, quirky museum. It houses fascinating collections that bring the islands’ social and natural history to life.

While at sea on our way to South Georgia Island, accompanied by circling albatrosses and giant petrels, we attend engaging lectures by a naturalist,

ornithologist, photographer and historian.

Legendary Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton is buried on the island and we learn of his exploits before visiting his grave next day at Grytviken, a former whaling station.

After his ship was trapped in ice and sank in 1915, Shackleton and five others sailed a 6m lifeboat 1500km across the treacherous Southern Ocean from Elephant Island to South Georgia.

This feat is considered by many historians to be one of the greatest small boat voyages of all time.

South Georgia is home to spectacular nature experiences.

Standing on Salisbury Plain with over 100,000 king penguins as well as elephant and fur seals is the closest I’ve ever been to wildlife. The experience is heightened because these creatures have no apparent fear of humans.

At gorgeous Gold Harbour we witness elephant seals mating, one of the most continued page 30>

King penguins and elephant seals at Gold Harbour.

Please register your interest now Join ceramic artist Shannon Garson on a creative discovery of Tasmania.

TASMANIA

8 Days / 7 Nights Tour Departs Mar 10 2018

$

3248

Per person, twin share.

($780 single supplement) Includes Airfares

LONGREACH AND WINTON

MELBOURNE FLOWER SHOW

Tour Departs May 11 2018

Tour Departs Mar 20 2018

7 Days / 6 Nights

5 Days / 4 Nights

$2475

$

Per person, twin share.

($649 single supplement)

1899

Per person, twin share.

($380 single supplement) Includes Airfares

Escorted

April - Japan October - China or New Zealand November - Taiwan

Tours 2018

Please contact, Bruce Drysdale 07 5492 6891 | 0419 668 426 bruce@tradetravel.com 28 YOUR TIME MAGAZINE / February 2018

28.indd 2

Sunshine Coast

24/01/2018 9:32:11 AM

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CALOUNDRA - Ucango Travel & Cruise Centre - 5437 4000 • COOLUM BEACH - Coolum Cruise & Travel - 5446 1727 KAWANA WATERS - Kawana Waters Travel - 5444 6500 • MAROOCHYDORE - Ucango Travel & Cruise Centre - 5451 8600 NAMBOUR - Easy Travel and Cruise - 5313 4980 • TEWANTIN - Tewantin Travel - 5447 1011 *Conditions apply: Prices are per person twin share in AUD unless otherwise specified, inclusive of port charges. Prices are correct as at 22 Dec 17 & are subject to change without notice & availability at time of booking. Seasonal surcharges & single supplements may apply, & prices may vary due to currency fluctuations & changes to taxes & surcharges. Offer valid until 15 Mar 18, unless sold out prior. Valid for new bookings only & not combinable with any other offers. Limited suites on set departures are available & are subject to availability. Non-refundable deposit of $3,000pp is due within 7 days of booking. MAJESTIC NORWEGIAN FJORDS: Price based on NOBITC15 15 Aug 18 departure in a Standard Suite Forward. JAPAN’S SOUTHERN SEAS: Price based on NOBCKT14 14 Jun 18 departure in a Standard Suite Forward. BEST OF THE BALTICS: Price based on NOBICS15 04 Jul 18 departure in a Standard Suite Forward. ~Savings amount is per couple, non-transferable & not redeemable for cash. Maximum savings is based on Majestic Norwegian Fjords itinerary. Further conditions may apply. Booking, cancellation & credit card service fees may apply. ATAS No. A10430.

29.indd 3

23/01/2018 11:42:40 AM

TRAVEL <from page 28 insignificant in the ice. We have made it to the end of the world, and now we know why we’ve come.

We wanted to stand in a place like no other, a place that can bring you to your knees with its majesty.

The colours in Antarctica are surprising. Masses of all-encompassing white snow and ice are offset by blue, grey and even black ice. Occasionally an exposed rock will feature orange lichen beneath a bright blue sky.

Each landing, at places with names such as Wilhelmina Bay, Yankee Harbour and Half Moon Island, is different. We see Antarctica’s largest gentoo penguin rookery and a massive chinstrap penguin colony.

Rockhopper penguins nest in the Falklands.

“My ice dreams become reality... jagged snow covered mountains are flanked by massive glaciers” A king penguin feeds its baby on South Georgia Island. dramatic and confronting events in nature. The massive males, which can be 6m long and weigh up to 4 tons, fight each other for the right to mate with about 50 females.

At one point we have to quickly move out of the way of a huge male as he confronts another contender and then mates with a female. Other females and young seals nearby scatter to avoid being crushed.

Our naturalist tells us that the mating season is brief, so we wouldn’t have seen this exceptional event if we’d arrived several weeks later.

After our memorable wildlife encounters on South Georgia, we head to the South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula.

When they come into sight several days later, my ice dreams become reality.

Incredible, jagged, snow covered mountains dominate the horizon, flanked by massive glaciers. Brash ice covers much of the water’s surface and huge icebergs appear.

Our first landings exceed every expectation.

The sheer scale and beauty of the place is staggering. We are overawed,

FROM

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TERMS & CONDITIONS *Price is per person Twin Share fully inclusive. Single Supplement applies.

Credit card surcharges apply. Deposit of AUD$500$800 per person is required to secure tour. Tour requires a minimum number of passengers to ĚĞƉĂƌƚ͘ WƌŝĐĞƐ ŵĂLJ ŇƵĐƚƵĂƚĞ ŝĨ ƐƵƌĐŚĂƌŐĞƐ͕ ĨĞĞ͕ ƚĂdžĞƐ or currency change. Prices current as at 8 January 2018 Go SeeTouring Pty Ltd T/A Go See Touring Member of Helloworld ABN: 72 122 522 276 ATAS ĐĐƌĞĚŝƚĂƟŽŶ ϭϭϯϮϬ

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PRIVATE VEHICLE TOURING

ŝŶ ƉƌŝǀĂƚĞ ϰdžϰ ǀĞŚŝĐůĞƐ͕ ϭϮ ŶŝŐŚƚƐ ŽĨ ůƵdžƵƌLJ ^ŽƉĂ͕ >ŽĚŐĞ ĂĐĐŽŵ͕ Opportunity to visit Masai DĂƌĂ ǀŝůůĂŐĞƐ͕ ŽĂƚ ƌŝĚĞ ŽŶ >ĂŬĞ EĂŝǀĂƐŚĂ͕ &ƵůůLJ ĞƐĐŽƌƚĞĚ ďLJ Ă 'Ž ^ĞĞ͕ WĂƌŬ ĨĞĞƐ Θ ƚĂdžĞƐ͘

GETTING THERE Air New Zealand flies to Buenos Aires via Auckland and codeshares with Aerolineas Argentinas for flights from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia.

One Ocean Expeditions have cruises to the Falklands, South Georgia and Antarctica commencing October 20.

21 - 28 JULY 2018 ϳ EŝŐŚƚƐ ĂĐĐŽŵ͕ ďƌĞĂŬĨĂƐƚ Θ ĚŝŶŶĞƌ ĚĂŝůLJ͕ ŽƚĂŶŝĐ Θ KƌĐŚŝĚ 'ĂƌĚĞŶƐ͕ ^ ƋƵĂƌŝƵŵ͕ 'ĂƌĚĞŶƐ ďLJ ƚŚĞ ĂLJ͕ ŚĂŶŐŝ hŶŝǀĞƌƐĂů ^ƚƵĚŝŽƐ͕ tŝŶŐƐ ŽĨ dŝŵĞ͕ ƌĞĂŬĨĂƐƚ Ăƚ ƚŚĞ ŽŽ͕ ,ŝŐŚ dĞĂ Ăƚ ZĂŋĞƐ͕ W>h^ ^ŝŶŐĂƉŽƌĞ 'ĂƌĚĞŶ &ĞƐƟǀĂů͘

GO SEE ALASKA

28 JULY - 4 AUGUST 2018

CONNOISSEUR LAND & CRUISE PACKAGE

ϳ EŝŐŚƚƐ EŽƌĨŽůŬ /ƐůĂŶĚ ʹ ŇŝŐŚƚƐ͕ ĂĐĐŽŵŵŽĚĂƟŽŶ ĨĂďƵůŽƵƐ ƚŽƵƌŝŶŐ ĂŶĚ ŵĞĂůƐ͘ W>h^ dǁŽ ďŝŐ ͞>ŝƩůĞ Bit Country” shows with your ŚŽƐƚ ƉůƵƐ >ƵĐŬLJ ^ƚĂƌƌ͕ ZŽĚŶĞLJ Vincent and Graeme Hugo.

AFRICAN 1 – 17 SEPTEMBER 2018 WILDLIFE SAFARI ϵ ĂLJƐ ŽĨ ǁŝůĚůŝĨĞ ŐĂŵĞ͕ ĚƌŝǀĞƐ

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30.indd 2

SPLENDID SINGAPORE

FROM

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per person Twin Share Ex BNE, Single supplement $400

per person Twin Share ex BNE, SYD & MEL Single supplement $1,070

30 YOUR TIME MAGAZINE / February 2018

ůƵdžƵƌLJ ĐŽĂĐ ĂĐŚ ƚŽƵƌ ǀŝƐŝƟŶŐ tĞƐƚ ůƵdžƵƌLJ ĐŽĂĐŚ ƚŽƵƌ ǀŝƐŝƟŶŐ tĞƐƚ DĂĐĚŽŶŶĞůů ZĂŶŐĞƐ͕ ŽŽďĞƌ DĂĐĚŽŶŶĞůů Z ů ZĂŶŐĞƐ͕ ŽŽďĞƌ WĞĚLJ͕ &ůŝŶĚĞƌƐ ZĂŶŐĞƐ͕ W>h^ ƚŚĞ WĞĚLJ͕ &ůŝŶĚĞƌƐ ZĂ ZĂŶŐĞƐ͕ W>h^ ƚŚĞ ŵĂŐŝĐĂů hůƵƌƵ &ŝĞůĚ ĞůĚ ŽĨ >ŝŐŚƚƐ ŵĂŐŝĐĂů hůƵƌƵ &ŝĞůĚ ŽĨ >ŝŐŚƚƐ and much more inclu including cluding two fabulous shows with Jo John O’Dae and Dave Dave Prior.

Pr or.

Pri or

LITTLE BIT COUNTRY

The writer travelled courtesy of One Ocean Expeditions.

Feature supplied by wtfmedia.com.au

There is even some excitement as we’re forced to abandon a landing and return to the ship when the wind rises unexpectedly and blows large chunks of brash ice into our landing site.

After four days, we leave Antarctica for our last adventure: crossing the notorious Drake Passage to Argentina.

It’s reputedly the roughest piece of ocean in the world and I’ve heard that its moods range from “Drake shake” to “Drake lake”. I’m rather relieved when it turns out to be the latter, as we enjoy two days of smooth sailing.

This provides a great opportunity to reflect on the highlights of the voyage.

OUTBACK SONG ONG 20 - 30 MARCH 2018 Tourr tthe outback with your & DANCE host Rodney Rod odney Vincent for a HOSTED BY NT RODNEY VINCENT

There’s a presentation of the best photos taken during the journey, many of which are superb. Ultimately, however, it’s a trip that no photos can adequately capture.

We’ve visited places in less than three weeks that took explorers such as Scott and Shackleton three years to reach.

With its remote frozen landscapes, incredible wildlife encounters and a constant sense of adventure, it’s not to be missed.

per person Twin Share ex BNE & SYD, Single supplement $4,069

INTRIGUING NORTH INDIA ESCORTED TOUR

$4,795 per person Twin Share ex BNE, MEL, SYD& PER, Single supplement $1,000

27 AUG - 09 SEPT 2018 ZĞƚƵƌŶ ĞĐŽŶŽŵLJ ĂŝƌĨĂƌĞƐ͕ ϭ EŝŐŚƚ ŶĐŚŽƌĂŐĞ͕ Ϯ EŝŐŚƚƐ ĞŶĂůŝ WƌŝŶĐĞƐƐ͕ tŝůĚĞƌŶĞƐƐ >ŽĚŐĞ͕ Ϯ EŝŐŚƚƐ Dƚ DĐ<ŝŶůĞLJ WƌŝŶĐĞƐƐ tŝůĚĞƌŶĞƐƐ >ŽĚŐĞ͕ ϳ EŝŐŚƚ ƌƵŝƐĞ ĨƌŽŵ tŝƫĞƌ ƚŽ sĂŶĐŽƵǀĞƌ͕ 'ůĂƐƐͲĚŽŵĞĚ tŝůĚĞƌŶĞƐƐ͕ ZĂŝů ĨƌŽŵ ĞŶĂůŝ ƚŽ tŝƫĞƌ͕ ƌĞĂŬĨĂƐƚ ĚĂŝůLJ͘

6 - 21 OCTOBER 2018 ϭϯ ŶŝŐŚƚƐ ϰ ƐƚĂƌ ĂĐĐŽŵŽĚĂƟŽŶ͕ ĐŽŽŬĞĚ ďƌĞĂŬĨĂƐƚ ĚĂŝůLJ͕ ϯ dž ůƵŶĐŚĞƐ Θ ϭϮ dž ĚŝŶŶĞƌƐ͘ ^ĞƌǀŝĐĞƐ ŽĨ ůŽĐĂů ŐƵŝĚĞ͕ ŐƌĂƚƵŝƟĞƐ ĂŶĚ ǀŝƐĂƐ͘ sŝƐŝƚ ŽůĚ Θ ŶĞǁ ĞůŚŝ͕ hĚĂŝƉƵƌ Ͳ ŝƚLJ ŽĨ >ĂŬĞƐ͕ :ĞĞƉ ĞdžĐƵƌƐŝŽŶƐ ŝŶ ZĂũĂƐƚŚĂŶ͕ ƚƌĂŝŶ ride in Aravalli Ranges and more.

Sunshine Coast

24/01/2018 9:32:52 AM

TRAVEL

Lap up slow food in Sicily After some intense research eating his way around Sicily, MATTEO CARRI has mapped out the ultimate foodie adventure that goes to the heart of his heritage.

CAN NOWD AT BE BOOKETRAVEL UCANGORUISE! &C You’ve heard about them - now it’s time to find out more.

A first for Queensland. Don’t miss out!

Splendid view from Hotel L’Ariana on Salina Island off the coast of Sicily.

I

’ve been living in Brisbane for two years now. I was born in a little town called Sieci, just over 10km upstream from Florence on the river Arno.

Good food has always been in my blood – my Irish mum studied at an international cooking school in the UK before moving to Tuscany 40 years ago.

This is where my brother, Marco and I were raised in a country farmhouse.

If we weren’t eating from the farm’s peach, cherry and fig trees, or picking wild asparagus for Mum’s prized risotto, we were helping her out in the kitchen with her catering business (although mum might not have said it was helping).

It was a great grounding so that when

I finished high school, I went straight into restaurant work in Dublin and London, before moving into travel. And now I can combine my two loves.

I’ve previously had the pleasure of designing a Cooking in Tuscany Tour and now I’ve discovered the slow food movement. No, it’s not about eating slowly but pressing pause on our fast lives to prevent the disappearance of local food cultures, and celebrate the preparation of good food. I returned to Italy to put together this tour so it’s not only scenic, but mouth-watering.

I’ve tried all the dishes, just to be sure.

Join Matt in October. Visit: backtrackadventures.com.au

INFO SESSION WHERE

WHEN

RSVP Essential

The Sands Tavern Plaza Parade, Maroochydore

11am Wed, 21st February

with Ucango Travel Contact info below.

***Small sample of current offers available***

ALASKA & THE ROCKIES

14-DAY FLY, CRUISE & TOUR Travel through the scenic Rocky Mountains Cruise Alaska’s remarkable Inside Passage

SMALL SHIPS OFFER BIG ADVENTURES It’s the best of two worlds when you can make your choices while having every detail covered.

An APT small ship expedition cruise has access to some of the world’s most pristine and untouched ports.

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Step ashore into the centre of town and explore.

Each small ship cruise has an

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From the tropical seascapes of southeast Asia to the fjords of northern Europe and Iceland, an APT small ship is a big adventure.

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Includes Return International Flights

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RELIVE THE DAYS OF STEAM TRAVEL The Australian Railway Historical Society will be taking steam train BB18¼ better known as Bety from Brisbane’s Roma St station to Palmwoods on March 3.

The train departs at 8:40am, stopping to pick up passengers at Northgate, Lawnton and Caboolture stations.

On arrival, travellers can: • Join a coach to visit Wildlife HQ at Woombye. Walk around, see the animals and have lunch.

• Take a coach to Mapleton for lunch and a visit to Mapleton Falls.

• Lunch at one of the several eateries in Palmwoods and have a look around the town.

• Continue on to Yandina for an additional cost. Locals cans join the Sunshine Coast

31.indd 3

train here for its return shuttle.

Bety leaves Palmwoods Station at 2:25pm for the return journey, with stops at Caboolture, Northgate, Lawnton to arrive at Roma St at about 5pm.

Coming up on May 12, is a Rail and Sail tour, departing Roma St on board the steam train to Sandgate.

From there, board a coach to Redcliffe for lunch at one of the many beachfront cafes near the jetty, then join the MV Lady Brisbane from Redcliffe Jetty up the Brisbane River to South Bank.

This trip can be done in reverse and there is a train-only option.

Book early to avoid disappointment.

Call 3252 1759 Tuesday to Thursday, 10am-3pm. Visit arhs-qld.org.au or email arhsqld@bigpond.com

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February 2018 / YOUR TIME MAGAZINE 31

24/01/2018 9:58:39 AM

TRAVEL

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32 YOUR TIME MAGAZINE / February 2018

32.indd 2

Sunshine Coast

24/01/2018 9:34:56 AM

TRAVEL

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Fare advertised is cruise and airfare only, in Australian dollars, per guest, based on lead-in category in a double occupancy suite and includes 10% Early booking bonus. Air offer only valid to guests from Australia and is subject to availability, valid until 28 February 2018. An AU$1,500 non-use air credit is available, valid to the 1st and 2nd guests. Due to flight schedules some voyages may require an overnight hotel stay and transfer pre or post-cruise at the guests own expense. All highlights listed are possible experiences and cannot be guaranteed. 10% Early booking bonus available on voyages departing 1 July 2018 and onwards if booked and paid in full by 28 February 2018. All information herein is correct at time of printing, subject to availability and change without notice. Additional restrictions may apply. For full terms and conditions visit Silversea.com.

Sunshine Coast

33.indd 3

February 2018 / YOUR TIME MAGAZINE 33

24/01/2018 9:35:27 AM

TRAVEL

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CHALLENGE OF THE CAMINO CALLS AGAIN On her 64th birthday, Claude Tranchant set off alone to walk the famous Camino de Santiago, the pilgrim’s trail through France and Spain – a distance of 2500km over 100 days.

A true pilgrim, she did it with a 14kg pack on her back and with little training or even any real grasp of the enormity of her undertaking until she was there, walking the St James Way, from northern France over the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain.

And now, for her 72nd birthday, she’s going to do part of it again with a television documentary team and five others of similar vintage, who have also walked parts of it before. Claude, the only Queenslander, is the oldest of the group.

“Six different personalities from six cities will walk as one to defy the odds at their age and physical ability to achieve something that many a 20-year-old would not be able to complete,” the documentary-maker Fergus Grady says.

“They say it’s easy to do something the first time, but once you reflect on your achievement, preparing to repeat it is even harder. These pilgrims know how arduous their previous journeys were.”

They will cover more than 800km in 36 days, an average of more than 20km a day.

Claude turns 72 on April 4, and will

Claude with her backpack begins her first ascent of the Pyrenees. start walking a week later from the base of the Pyrenees.

“We will start 200m above sea level and within 8km will be at 800m up,” she says. “This time it will be in company and will only be the Spanish section of the pilgrim’s way, but for my 75th birthday, a decade after my first long walk, I plan to do the whole journey again.”

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07 5476 9368 34 YOUR TIME MAGAZINE / February 2018

34.indd 2

Sunshine Coast

24/01/2018 9:36:25 AM

TRAVEL

TOURS THAT HIT A HIGH NOTE

PACK UP THE PETS FOR A HOLIDAY

Imagine standing in Pavarotti’s kitchen, where the great tenor once merrily boiled his pasta. Or touring Downton Abbey. Or seeing the opera at La Scala, Covent Garden.

Soprano Jennifer Parish and baritone Stewart Cameron have combined their passion for singing with their love of travel to create a special travel company made just for music lovers.

They established the boutique arts company Operatif! in 1994 and create every tour themselves.

Every tour is built from the ground up to perfectly combine their knowledge and aspirations and make musical dreams come true.

Whether it is opera on Sydney Harbour under the lights of the bridge, a visit to the Opera House itself, a steam train through green Welsh countryside or a show in London’s West End, there is plenty of variety coming up in a music lover’s tour.

Jennifer and Stewart have taken groups to favourite spots in Europe – Vienna, Salzburg, Budapest and much of Italy – and chartered small ships to cruise New Zealand’s Bay of Islands and Myanmar’s Irrawaddy River, to the tune of on-board concerts.

At home, is the popular Opera on the Harbour each year, as well as other Australian music events.

Pack up the pooch for a pet-friendly caravan or camping holiday.

With more than eight million households owning a pet, holiday destinations are now catering for pet-friendly holidays.

Caravan Parks Association of Queensland general manager Michelle Weston says camping and caravanning is a perfect option for pet owners.

“Many Queensland caravan parks are going the extra mile to let your pet have a holiday with you,” she said. “Whether it’s pet-friendly camping sites, dog off-leash areas, agility courses or pet wash

Sunshine Coast

35.indd 3

facilities, caravanning and camping is going barking mad for pet-friendly holidaymakers.”

Goondiwindi Holiday Park welcomes pets, furry or feathered. There’s no additional cost and there’s plenty to do.

At Airlie Beach, the peaceful Airlie Cove Resort and Caravan Park has a dedicated walking area, mobile dog wash on speed dial and a long list of local petsitters at hand.

Wallace Caravan Park in Maryborough has a range of pet friendly accommodation options including cabins, as well as a large off-leash area.

Jennifer and Stew in Venice.

They say the success of Music Lover’s Tours boils down to four basic ingredients – sparkling itineraries, excellent value, meticulous organisation and a warm, personal approach.

Tours always sell out and they enjoy a high percentage of repeat clients.

If you love music and have your own wish list to see – and hear – the world, Jennifer and Stewart are happy to have a chat with fellow music-loving travellers.

“We don’t hound people,” Jennifer says. “We haven’t time, even if we wanted to.”

Call 1300 308 385, email operatif@ operatif.com.au or visit operatif.com.au

February 2018 / YOUR TIME MAGAZINE 35

24/01/2018 9:39:48 AM

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T

he 15th century explorer Christopher Columbus described Cuba as “the most beautiful land that eyes have ever seen” but for much of the late 20th century until 2014, it was protected from a huge tourism onslaught by its accessibility.

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Join Silversea Expeditions on a journey of indefinable magic, departing Nassau in the Bahamas on October 3, for a spectacular 12-day expedition to Cuba on the luxurious Silver Cloud.

Sailing to Colon in Panama, this ocean adventure will include Cuba and Colombia and their World Heritage sites as well as Jamaica.

Sample Cuban and Caribbean food and cocktails, relax on sandy, white beaches and admire a dazzling array of tropical fish and colourful coral on this expedition beyond the beaches.

A highlight of the voyage is a two-day stopover in Havana, La Habana - the largest city in Cuba - where a guided tour will cover the sights of metropolitan and modern Havana, Revolution Square and the historical centre of Old Havana.

From the spectacular Havana Tropicana Show head to the cigar factory in one of the famous vintage American cars, to learn about the history of Cuban cigars and how they are hand-rolled.

Onboard and ashore, up to 22 expedition team members conduct immersive destination experiences, with the help of the fleet of 16 Zodiacs and 10 kayaks – all of which are part of the package.

The enchanting island of Punta Frances provides an opportunity to join a marine biologist for a snorkel tour to see a variety of tropical fish and turtles, while a Zodiac tour will transport guests to one of the 365 uninhabited islands of Guna Yala.

World Heritage sites to be explored on this voyage include the city of Trinidad de Cuba with its cobblestone streets; Morro Castle, a fortress guarding the entrance to Havana bay; and Cartegena de Indias, one of the most important ports of Spanish South America.

Silver Cloud provides a sanctuary at sea with spacious accommodation, most suites with a private veranda, along with luxury touches that include a choice of European bath amenities, butler service for all guests, sumptuous Pratesi bedding and a nineoption pillow menu.

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Contact the Cruise Centre, 1800 428 105 or email cruise@thecruisecentre.com.au Sunshine Coast

24/01/2018 9:37:57 AM

PUZZLE SOLUTIONS

SUDOKU (EASY)

2 9 8 4 3 1 7 5 6

5 3 6 7 9 8 2 1 4

3 2 4 5 1 6 8 7 9

8 6 9 3 7 4 5 2 1

7 5 1 2 8 9 4 6 3

SUDOKU (MEDIUM)

1 4 7 6 5 2 3 9 8

9 4 2 6 3 1 5 8 7

3 1 7 4 5 8 9 6 2

CODEWORD Z U X L C I F H A NMO T 15

2

1

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

5 6 8 2 9 7 4 3 1

6 5 9 3 1 4 2 7 8

7 3 1 8 2 5 6 4 9

2 8 4 7 6 9 1 5 3

4 7 5 9 8 2 3 1 6

8 2 3 1 4 6 7 9 5

1 9 6 5 7 3 8 2 4

WORDFIND

14

1. In Ireland, what is a shillelagh?

2. What is the only major river that crosses the Equator twice?

3. What food dressing of five letters has four vowels in its spelling?

4. Colloquially, to make peace is to bury what?

5. What nationality was folk hero William Tell?

6. What Queensland town gives its name to a popular mango variety?

7. What were the family names of the Two Ronnies?

8. What is the capital city of Sri Lanka?

9. Lion, elephant, rhino, leopard and what other animal makes up Africa’s “Big Five”?

10. What colour Wiggle is Emma Watkins?

11. Who wrote “The Man From Snowy River”?

12. Which US President had the middle name Hussein?

13. Complete the magician’s traditional catch phrase: “hey ……”

14. What part of an analogue clock is an anagram of “laid”?

15. Is the wine pinot grigio classed as red or white?

16. What part of the body is removed in a tonsillectomy?

17. In what year did jockey Michelle Payne win the Melbourne Cup? 18. In the Tom and Jerry cartoons, who was the cat?

19. The major airport of which city has the IATA code SFO? 20. How many great grandparents does a person have?

CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

4 7 2 1 6 3 9 8 5

QUICK CROSSWORD

6 8 5 9 4 7 1 3 2

With Quizmaster Allan Blackburn

9 1 3 8 2 5 6 4 7

TRIVIA

Winner

V E J R B Y G S P D QWK 3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

9-LETTER WORD

WORD STEP LIMBO, LIMBS, LAMBS, LAMPS, RAMPS, RASPS There may be other correct answers

ceorl, cicero, cider, circle, circled, cleric, clod, code, coil, coiled, cold, colder, cole, colic, cooed, cool, cooled, cooler, coolie, cord, core, cored, credo, cried, CROCODILE, deco, decor, dice, dicer, docile, iced, lice, loci, loco, locoed, oleic, recoil, relic, rice

1. A stick or club; 2. Congo; 3. Aoili; 4. The hatchet; 5. Swiss; 6. Bowen; 7. Corbett and Barker; 8. Colombo; 9. Water buffalo; 10. Yellow; 11. Banjo Paterson; 12. Barack Obama; 13. Presto; 14. Dial; 15. White; 16. Tonsils; 17. 2015; 18. Tom; 19. San Francisco; 20. Eight.

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37.indd 3

February 2018 / YOUR TIME MAGAZINE 37

24/01/2018 9:41:00 AM

PUZZLES

CRYPTIC CROSSWORD

ACROSS

DOWN

1

1

6 8 9 10 11 13 14 15

Such a highly successful mannequin is, unfortunately, seldom pure (10) A terribly hot reef was created out of that source (7) Being a little bit neurotic about having money overseas (4) A sort of mineral used in the production of my vehicle, by the sound of it (4) Examine in detail how to endow one portal (11) Swimmers realise airless performances (4) A suitor who could be attached to gold (4) Grazes in just the right spaces, perhaps (7) It would be wearisome to let this unruly mob curse me this way (10)

No. 2534

The spineless European leader suffered somnolence (10) 2 The guy who bought it on spec hoped to include an acoustic feature (4) 3 It’s the world of business where they mercilessly trample cake and the like (11) 4 The date of original manufacture initially predicted a terrible outcome (4) 5 When there is not enough equine data about (10) 6 One goes from place to place to find TV laser technology (7) 7 Big endings from the frothy head in beers (7) 12 Those worthless people! There were a hundred in total (4) 13 Flutters the best way he can (4)

CODEWORD

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

WORDFIND

Copyright © Reuben’s Puzzles www.reubenspuzzles.com.au.

Refer to the website for a cryptic solving guide.

Book a

Cruise today

Welcome aboard the MV Lady Brisbane for p one of our regular scheduled cruises, or special event celebration cruises.

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Call us on 07 3630 2666 Online bookings available www.brisbanecruises.com.au 38 YOUR TIME MAGAZINE / February 2018

38.indd 2

No. 006

WORK IT OUT!

O T

The leftover letters will spell out a secret message No. 007

ace (twice) ball ball boy clay coach court drop shot fault fifteen forty lawn Lendl lobbing love net

TUESDAY 10am Start JACKPOTS: $2000 on progressive calls $500 on progressive calls $300 on progressive calls

open pro racquet rally return serve set smash thirty Venus volley

SUDOKU Level: Medium

No. 794

3 1 6

8

8

9 1 2 3 7 9

6 3

7 4

5

6

9 2 6 1 7 1 9 5

2

7 3

Everyone Welcome

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Sunshine Coast

24/01/2018 9:42:04 AM

PUZZLES

QUICK CROSSWORD

No. 3635

9-LETTER WORD

No. 007

Today’s Aim:

E I O

29 words: Very good

L O

39 words: Excellent

D R

Using the nine letters in the grid, how many words of four letters or more can you list? The centre letter must be included and each letter may only be used once.

No colloquial or foreign words. No capitalised nouns, apostrophes or plural words ending in “s”.

WORD STEP

ACROSS 1 5 9 10 11 12 15 16 18 20 21 23 25 26 27 28

Tweeted (7) Capital of Libya (7) Push gently (5) – the Great, Prussian king (1712-1786) (9) Mobile phone sound (8) Kidnap payment (6) Wild ox (5) Exercise machine (9) Change (9) English soccer team, – Villa (5) Aspirations (6) Emblem (8) Key expert (9) Test (5) Equilibrium (7) Associate (7)

DOWN 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 13 14 17 19 20

Donated (11) Country with capital Jakarta (9) Suburb of Melbourne (7) Meaning (10) Adolescent (4) Island in the North Atlantic (7) Leaves out (5) Annoy (3) Fruit scooping tool (5,6) Skill of writing by hand (10) Purpose (9) Name of desert in Central Australia (7) Pilot (7)

Level: Easy

19 words: Good

C

C

SUDOKU

No. 007

1 8 3

No. 793

2 5 4 9 7

2 6 5 7 2 9 4 5 1 7 2 8 6

4

8 7 5

3 2 1 8 4 2 6

WORK IT OUT!

Complete the list by changing one letter at a time to create a new word at each step. One possible answer shown below.

22 Shine (5) 24 Conceal (4) 25 High tennis shot (3)

LIMBO

_____ _____ _____ _____ RASPS February 2018

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39.indd 3

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