NEWS DESK
A harmonious 50 years THE Mornington Peninsula-based Australian Welsh Male Choir is celebrating its 50th birthday. Since it began the choir has been overseas - to the United Kingdom seven times, including performances at the Royal Albert Hall, London, to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. However, the choir is staying home for its 50th, with a concert at Frankston Arts Centre on Friday 1 March 1 and in September will tour outback pubs. “This is going to be an amazing year for our choir. For our 50th birthday concert we have invited guest artists from Wales and it's going to be a sellout performance,” choir president Ian Mackie said. “For our outback tour we have chartered two buses, and many people will
follow in caravans and motorhomes. It's an opportunity to take our famous Singing in the Pub events, which originated in Mornington, to every town and city we visit. It’s going to be a birthday we will never forget.” Towns and cities in the outback tour include Ballarat, Dimboola, Adelaide, Port Augusta, Coober Pedy, Broken Hill, Canberra and Sydney. The choir will also visit Uluru, to sing at the 10-day Desert Song Festival. Follow the choir at awmc.org.au or on Facebook. To book tickets for the 1 March concert in Frankston go to: artscentre. frankston.vic.gov.au or facebook. com/Australian-Welsh-MaleChoir-464408107629443/
Outback bound: Australian Welsh Male Choir members Bob Meyer, Geoff Selby and Len Gregory with t-shirts made for the choir’s September outback tour. Pictures: Supplied
WHAT’S NEW...
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U3/5 Trewhitt Crt, Dromana * Details at: www.mpfunerals.com.au/chapel, or Phone 5982 0086 for an obligation free consultation PAGE 6
Southern Peninsula News
24 January 2024
The changing face of funerals FOUR months after McCrae residents Julie Davey and Andrew Ternes launched their bespoke funeral home, Covid 19 struck. Not only did it rob families of their loved ones, it also robbed many of the chance to say ‘Good-bye’. For a long time, Covid changed the way that funerals could be conducted. That change is enduring; with a growing trend nowadays for families to forgo a traditional funeral and choose Direct Cremation for their loved one. While this option has financial benefits, the emotional cost can be high. Mornington Peninsula Funerals Managing Director, Andrew Ternes recalls, “We started hearing stories from bereaved people who’d missed the chance to farewell their loved one; they felt uneasy and struggled to move on with their lives. “This led us to create a popular compromise between a regular ‘No-Service’ and the traditional ‘Full Service’ funeral experience. We established a small chapel area within our
premises, where close family members spend private time with their loved one, with an open or closed coffin, then follow in a cortege to the crematorium if appropriate. With this fresh, creative, unique and far more affordable approach; Mornington Peninsula Funerals ‘Small Family Farewell’ option is meeting the changing needs of our grateful community. While still conducting conventional funerals at various locations around the peninsula, Julie says that the comfort their Small Family Farewells have brought to many families can be just as heart-warming. So, for those who say; ‘I don’t want a funeral, take me straight to the crematorium in a cardboard box’ ... it’s worth considering your family and friends who are left behind and need the opportunity to say good-bye and grieve for you. It doesn’t have to cost a bomb – even a small gathering at this local funeral home can help with healing.
