Life

When you live, work, volunteer in a place like Wycheproof – it’s inevitable that the community becomes a strong knit working unit. Such strong knit working units, in the form of community clubs, are set to be on  display in abundance this forthcoming March long weekend.  

A dedicated committee of women have been working hard to deliver two fabulous International Women’s Day (IWD) events for Tennant Creek next week. Under the leadership of Barkly Regional Council and Tennant Creek Women’s Refuge, a diverse committee of women, along with the generous support of the Northern Territory Government’s Office of Gender Equity and Diversity and a multitude of local organisations, have come together to bring these events to life.

Newstead Open Studios art trail is a locally inspired and crafted event, held annually since 2015 and based in and around Newstead, in the heart of Victoria’s goldfields region. This, our tenth-year, features 10 studios with 17 artists participating.

Sick and waiting for hours to be seen by a doctor at the Naracoorte Health Service (public hospital). How does that feel? And if that’s not bad enough, how about waiting for four hours for an ambulance transfer?

The pandemic taught us many things, some good, some bad, and apart from the possible terrible damage to our health, it has done some bad things to our credit cards. We learned, first by necessity and then by total impulse, to buy things online. We began timidly.

Mark Blythe. Tomorrow (Saturday 2 March) at the Maldon Progress Hall you can attend the third biannual Maldon Classic Bike Show ... You will be privileged to see possibly the biggest and best display of classic pre-2000 road racing bikes anywhere in Australia.

I just phoned Bunnings;    I wanted some picture hanging strips so I don't have to stick nails in a wall... I spoke to a bewildered girl that eventually, after much explaining, found what I wanted, and she made me feel very old. I asked her to read out the directions on the pack, and she said to me - and I quote - "It says it holds up to a lub but I don't know what that means..."

Public waiting times for life-saving treatments at regional hospitals like Naracoorte are “creating real anxieties.” That’s the word from Shadow Minister for Regional Health Services Penny Pratt, who says it is concerning that people are losing confidence in country health systems.

How many hours a week do you think our district volunteers would ‘work’ collectively? ... I hold serious concerns for the sustainability of our groups ... Earlier this month, The [Koondrook and Barham] Bridge ran a small round table forum with representatives from local community groups and events.

A Supreme Court bombshell in Queensland this week as dozens of police and health workers, including paramedics, won a mammoth legal battle over mandatory vaccination, with the Supreme Court declaring they were unlawful ... It’s been nearly three years since Australian state premiers and chief medical officers forced Australians to choose between a novel Covid-19 vaccine within a phase three trial and feeding their families.

I am so, so happy to say that after multiple ultrasounds, CT scans, X-Rays, procedures, a biopsy, a major surgery, 4 months of living in Melbourne and separated from family, countless doctors appointments, hospital admissions, ER trips, blood tests, echocardiograms and 31 weeks of chemotherapy, my baby is finally in remission.

Figures suggest that there are as many as 800 Clarence Valley men diagnosed and currently living with prostate cancer. Yet there are virtually no specialised medical staff nor treatments available locally for the condition.

More than 190 graduate nurses and midwives will commence work throughout the Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) in 2024. They are among more than 3400 graduate nurses and midwives to begin work across the state this year.

The Hush Foundation, whose mission is to transform healthcare cultures with kindness and the arts, is delighted to launch its inaugural Kindness in Healthcare Writing Prize, in memory of the late author and doctor Kath O’Connor. Kath was a General Practitioner in Central Victoria and had just finished the second draft of her beautifully crafted novel, Inheritance (Affirm Press, 2023) when she died of Ovarian Cancer in 2019 at the age of 48.

Jenny Pollard. After four days of full-on activity, Charlton has surely earned a place in the spotlight for community endeavour as both a host and in partnership with the burgeoning OK Motels Contemporary Music and Arts Small Town Festival, which played out last weekend ... with the fun and innovative  activities like “Marry Your Friends – A Celebration of Holy Mate-rimony”...

“I’m surrounded by a thriving arts community and a number of really good potters. I think artists here are inspired by the environment and pottery allows you to literally be in touch with the elements. Being in a community that appreciates, fosters and values artistic pursuits gives you courage to express yourself artistically; it lifts you up and celebrates what you do without the hindrance of competition": Rachel Falls Williams.

Just when you thought it was safe to do quizzes again, here comes this week’s ...

A New South Wales musician has expressed his love for Warumungu country in a recently released song titled Threeways ... "We had travelled over 170,000 kilometres and performed more than 270 shows, and we had come to a fork in the road. We were nearly broke, busted and there was nothing for miles": Kevin Sullivan.

Around a year ago Donna Murphy and Dave Rowe bought their house on the corner of Templeton and Adair Streets in Maldon. It’s an old-time shop-plus-residence building with bay windows either side of the front door – which they use regularly for displays commemorating significant days in the calendar year.

Dr Lyn Rabbetts recently graduated at a ceremony held at the Convention Centre ... hosted by the Flinders University after successfully completing her PhD in Palliative Care Nursing. Lyn’s thesis was titled, Finding Balance as an invited guest: Registered Nurses lived experience of providing home-based palliative care in rural communities.

So - I was given a lovely barrel fountain some time back. It has a top half with what looks like an old hand pump that runs by solar and trickles water into the larger lower cask. I love it and the sounds of the water. Recently, for some totally unknown reason, I decided I might like some fish in it...  

Last Saturday Hike to Heal Australia launched its flagship event, the Hike to Heal Scavenger Hike, at the Mount Peel Bushland Park between Westbrook and Drayton ... to support the cause of suicide prevention and mental health awareness.