Central Coast, April-May, 2018

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2 Seniors Central Coast

Welcome

In this edition

Cover Story: Little Pattie........................................Page 3 Feature Story: Anzac Day ..............................Pages 8&11 Travel: Discover Australia.............................Pages 27-32 Puzzles.........................................................Page 35

Contact us General Manager Geoff Crockett – 0413 988 333 geoff.crockett@news.com.au Editor Gail Forrer – 1300 880 265 gail.forrer@seniorsnewspaper.com.au Media Sales Executive Sue Germany – 0408 286 539 sue.germany@seniorsnewspaper.com.au Now online Get your news online at www.seniorsnews.com.au Advertising, editorial and distribution enquiries Phone: 1300 880 265 or (07) 5435 3200 Email: advertising@seniorsnewspaper.com.au or editor@seniorsnewspaper.com.au Location: 2 Newspaper Place, Maroochydore 4558 Website: www.seniorsnews.com.au Subscriptions Only $39.90 for one year (12 editions) including GST and postage anywhere in Australia. Please call our circulations services on 1300 361 604 and quote “Central Coast Seniors”.

The Seniors Newspaper is published monthly and distributed free in northern New South Wales and south-east Queensland.

The Seniors newspaper stable includes Toowoomba, Wide Bay, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Northern NSW, Coffs and Clarence and Central Coast publications.

Published by News Corp Australia.

Printed by News Corp Australia, Yandina.

Opinions expressed by contributors to Seniors Newspapers are not necessarily those of the editor or the owner/publisher and publication of advertisements implies no endorsement by the owner/publisher.

seniorsnews.com.au Monday, April 23, 2018

Life is a colourful complex tapestry

AHH...the memories, Little Pattie, Normie Rowe, Gough Whitlam.

You will find a picture of each of these inspirational Australians in this edition, and for me with each picture comes a memory, if not of the person, then the time and its culture, defined forever by a unique blend of politics, people, power and of course, music.

In many ways Pattie Amphlett shaped our image of Australia in the 1960s.

She was healthy, happy and upbeat and yet at the same time willing to dive into the harder parts of history, which includes supporting Australian forces in war zones.

Pattie’s interview is an uplifting read about a person who was born with certain gifts and has used them not only to better herself, but also the lives of others, including a whole new generation.

One would have to say: “Go Pattie”.

But we all have different life journeys and this

FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK GAIL FORRER

Group editor Seniors Newspapers network

month I also give it up to the older adult woman who has owned up to being ripped off by an online scammer who she linked up with on an online dating site.

That’s not to say, this doesn’t happen in person, nothing really stops a con, but this sort of scumbag has certainly found a fresh operating field on the internet.

Thank goodness victims have the courage to speak out.

It is a brave person who speaks their truth, when they feel hopeless and perhaps not blameless.

As with the #metoo campaign, it’s up to us to listen and acknowledge their stories, to let them know that it’s not their fault, it could happen to

anyone, and also understand their story offers support to other victims and hopefully stops more people from suffering the same crime.

This publication covers a range of sections and we endeavour to share good information in all of them.

This month we share professional advice on cervical cancer and screening together with a report on how childhood polio sufferers are again coping with this disease.

At the moment we are all talking about hikes in private health premiums and many of us are not just talking about it, we are dropping out of health funds.

Please send us your thoughts via email editor@seniors newspaper.com.au.

In this edition our finance expert Tony Kaye discusses the implications of various policies mooted by political parties and the possible impact on Australians who are

members of self-managed superannuation funds and many other self-funded retirees who fall outside the age pension safety together with those who qualify for the age pension.

Besides this print story, there is more online on our website: www.seniors news.com.au.

This month our travel section focuses on Aussie travel and we really have some great holiday ideas; from your choice of transport (have you ever thought of travelling on a cargo ship) to finding food and wine in Victoria and 10 top spots to experience in the Northern Territory.

Life is indeed a colourful tapestry, I trust we reflect that in our stories.

And please for more news, check out our website and facebook page www.facebook.com/ seniorsnews.

Enjoy Gail.

The Mother’s Day Classic is a family affair for mum Natalia THE Mother’s Day Classic, which raises funds for breast cancer research, has become a family tradition for three generations of Natalia Mudge’s family since she was diagnosed with breast cancer over nine years ago.

The event, which they used to attend in Sydney, became so special to the family that Natalia started the Central Coast classic at Davistown four years ago. Natalia actually took part in her first event when she was

CLASSIC FUNDRAISER: From pram to pensioner to pet, every age and description is encouraged to join in the serious fun of the Mother’s Day Classic at Davistown on Sunday, May 13.

still on chemo, and her family, including her husband, children and dad, Greg Vadillo, have

been by her side at each one.

In fact, each year Greg dons all the medallions

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he has received as a participant in each event.

This year they have twice the reason to walk, with Greg, 67, having been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and undergoing radiation treatment.

“I was diagnosed at 33, while I was breastfeeding my daughter,” Natalia said.

Natalia was in surgery within days, ultimately having first one breast and then the other removed and a reconstruction, as well as

chemo and radiation.

“I wanted to do something positive so there is prevention and a cure by the time my daughter is old enough to be affected,” Natalia said of her reason for being such a strong supporter of the Mother’s Day Classic.

Only about 80 people took part in the first Davistown event. By the second year that number had risen to almost 200.

Last year about 150 braved the rain to take part, with about $10,000

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being raised each of the past two years.

This year, Natalia is again hoping to attract at least 200 people for the 4km walk and run which starts and ends at Davistown Memorial Park on Sunday, May 13.

Registration is from 7.30am, with the run starting at 8.30am and the walk at 9am.

If you can help, email Natalia at nmmudge1975 @yahoo.com.au or phone 0437 577 663. For more go to mothersdayclassic. com.au.

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Cover Story: Little Pattie

Monday, April 23, 2018 seniorsnews.com.au

Central Coast

Seniors 3

Pattie completes cycle of giving and receiving At 69 years old, her music underpins the many new directions she has undertaken in her life Tracey Johnstone

SONGBIRD Patricia (Little Pattie) Amphlett thrives on being busy, whether she is teaching or learning, singing or volunteering, as long as it involves giving back to the world that still loves her.

Music remains at the heart of her life, but at the end of the silken tendrils of her music is a life richly filled with professional and volunteer activities that reflect her intellectual depth.

Pattie’s journey started with a hit record at age 14 before she headed to Vietnam in 1966 at age 17, where the petite singer found herself the youngest person to entertain the troops.

“They’ve got a big place in my heart,” she says.

Since then she has been to many other countries where there has been conflict.

“We were in convoy in the southern part of Iraq, travelling from one camp to another,” Pattie says.

She was told there was an outside chance of being fired at, but her long-standing trust of the Australian army gave her enough confidence to jump in the front seat of the Bushmaster for the journey of several hours.

Beside her was a 19-year-old solider who was tasked with looking after Pattie’s group.

“We could see where we were going more than the passengers who were in the back, and I didn’t

want to miss a thing. I must have asked this kid Simon a hundred questions about where we were, his life in the army and about his family.”

Once they finally arrived at their destination where the group was performing, Simon rang his family back in Australia.

“I rang my mum and dad last night,” Simon told Pattie.

“I told them about you and how you asked me all these questions, and said your name was Pattie and described what you looked like.

“My dad said you better look after her son and he really lectured me that I had to really look after you because you were very special to him because he was a Vietnam veteran.”

“He was a terrific young man: he never left our side after that,” Pattie said.

Pattie’s music teacher once made her promise she would teach singing, because of her temperament.

More than 20 years ago, she started doing just that and works for four Sydney high schools, including a performing arts school.

“I have learnt so much from them,” Pattie says.

“I learn about life and constantly kept up with the attitudes of young people. Who wouldn’t want to know about young people?

“For all the bagging some people give them, I get to see a terrific side of

Need a

Former prime minister Gough Whitlam with singer Little Pattie during the election campaign in 1972.

PHOTO: FILE PHOTO

ALWAYS A STAR: Petite songbird Littie Pattie.

young people and I can honestly say I know we will be in good hands. They are going to be looking after us and I am really happy with that.”

Pattie, or Miss Patricia as the students call her, has devised a modified curriculum which uses her experience as an ongoing performer, rather than one that is technique only.

“Most of the time I let the kids choose their songs,” Pattie said.

She finds many of the children have been to musicals and often choose songs from those performances.

“I like imparting the knowledge I have and I genuinely like helping kids get better in what they love to do,” Pattie says.

There are always a few stars among the students, but it’s the “triple threat” ones she really keeps an eye out for – ones who

can sing, dance and act at the same time, and do it well.

Back in 1972, Pattie formed a strong friendship with Gough Whitlam. She was part of the group that performed It’s Time for his election campaign.

“I remained close to the principles he espoused, became a Whitlam-ite, and a friend of the Whitlams,” Pattie says.

One of the former PM’s legacies is the Whitlam Institute at the Western Sydney University, which pursues the causes he championed.

Pattie sits on its volunteer board, which oversees debate on public policy in the areas of equality, indigenous recognition and improving talented Australians’ access to the broader community.

She also sits on the board of the Jessie Street

Little Pattie and actor/singer Normie Rowe warm up in 1997.

PHOTO: KELLY DAVID

Trust, which was set up in recognition of one of Australia’s 20th century Australian activists, Jessie Street.

Each year the trust conducts a luncheon that raises funds to provide grants for projects similar to the ones Jessie championed, such as the rights of women and indigenous people, peace and disarmament, and the elimination of discrimination.

Pattie still performs often, mainly at private

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functions and some festivals, and practises for an hour every day.

“When you teach, you are singing almost every day with the kids,” Pattie says.

“If one day I say I have had enough or it’s time to put my feet up or it’s time not to have such a busy life … I know I will always be active and busy doing things.

“I will always want to do something for other people, too. That’s kind of in my family’s DNA.”

4 Seniors Central Coast

Online Dating

seniorsnews.com.au Monday, April 23, 2018

Heartbreaking love scam a lesson for all Searching for love makes you vulnerable to con artists Ann Rickard

JAN Marshall, now 64, is an intelligent, educated woman who held good corporate jobs in Brisbane and Melbourne.

But five years ago, in a quest to find love through a legitimate online dating site, she was scammed out of $260,000, her entire life savings.

Now facing a bleak future on welfare, Jan is sharing her story to show other seniors how easy it is to be hoodwinked, and to prove that anyone, no matter how smart or worldly you may think you are, can fall victim to professional scammers.

“Scammers target people looking for love,” Jan said. “I hadn’t had much experience with online dating. I was a victim.”

Jan thought she’d met the man of her dreams when he contacted her after she’d been on the dating site for just a day.

He told her he was a self-employed civil engineer who travelled the world on projects.

He said he was working in Canada at the time and would shortly be travelling to Dubai for another large project, but was not averse to coming to Australia to meet her at the end of the Dubai job.

Then the “love bombing” started, a barrage of emails and messages showering Jan with attention, compliments and then passionate declarations of love.

“Scammers get you off the legitimate website quickly, saying they would rather communicate with your private email,” Jan said. “Then they close down their profile on the website and all communication is done through your email and Messenger. They target you, showering you with compliments and making you feel special, loved.

“This can change the chemicals in your brain, bring on oxytocin a powerful hormone. They deliberately generate that, changing the brain state so you will be less anxious, more trusting.”

While many people reading this might wonder at Jan’s naivety and gullibility – and she has had more than her share of people saying “how could you be so stupid?”

– the scammers are professional and ruthless, and for someone who has a trusting and nonsuspicious mind, it is easy to fall prey.

“I did look at Scamwatch,” Jan said of the time she was in the first heady days of emails and SMS messages.

“But at the time I didn’t believe anybody could build this level of intimacy and be a scammer.”

By the time Jan’s “dream man” asked for money she was deeply in love, had indulged in cybersex with him, said yes to a marriage proposal and was looking for a property they could buy in Australia to spend their future together.

Jan’s scammer did not ask for money directly, rather a loan to help him with taxes due on product being held in Dubai on the job he was working on.

Jan sent her first lot of money through bank transfer believing it to be a loan. Then came other requests for money, always with plausible reasons why his own money was being held temporarily frozen. He even showed Jan a copy of his bank statement with more than enough money to repay her (a false document, obviously).

“At this stage the scammer will often introduce a ‘family person’ to normalise the element of it,” Jan said.

In her case, it was his teenage daughter who joined in the email and SMS conversations and even asked Jan if she minded being called “Mom”.

Jan says in the beginning the scammer will show a photo of himself, but this is always a stolen photo, and he will never allow his victim to see him on Facetime or Skype, making excuses about his computer having hiccups.

“The photos are always stolen,” Jan said. “I have since looked at the top 50 photos used by scammers, a lot of them are of men in the American military.”

While Jan was falling in love with the “civil engineer” over dozens of daily emails, texts, phone calls and messages, her scammer was most likely one of a team sitting in a call centre in Nigeria reading from a

well-practised script.

“I do believe it was a gang scenario in Nigeria,” Jan said. “After I’d reported it to the police they said it was likely the money had gone to Nigeria.”

The money Jan sent went in various amounts over weeks, each time her scammer giving reasonable explanations for his need and stressing it was just a loan until they met when he came to Australia from finishing the project in Dubai.

“I had used all my savings and then taken a further $45,000 in credit card debt and then I took money out of my selffunded super fund which I was (legally) not able to do,” she said.

After Jan had given all she had, her scammer sent a final dismissive message to tell her he was boarding a plane for England and to thank her “for everything”.

She never heard from him again.

The heartbreak Jan suffered when she realised her dream man did not exist and not only had all her money gone but she had incurred fines with the ATO for dipping into her superannuation - is difficult to comprehend.

“The first month after I found out I was deeply in shock,” she said. “But my feelings (for him) were still

LOOKING FOR LOVE: Author and scam survivor, Jan Marshall.

PHOTO: CAROL SHEARMAN

so strong if he had turned up at my door, I would have invited him in.”

Now five years later, and without hope of retrieving her money, Jan has taken her heartbreak and turned it into a positive, founding a website and blog, writing a book and talking publicly about her experience to help others, especially vulnerable seniors.

“I am 64 now with very

little reserves behind me,” she said.

“People think it couldn’t happen to them, but it can happen to anybody. If you are looking for love you put yourself out there, you are vulnerable.”

Jan says the authorities are powerless to do anything to trace the scammers and warns that men are just as susceptible as women.

Jan’s book, Romance Scam Survivor: The Whole Sordid Story is available from romancescamsurvivor.org.

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Monday, April 23, 2018 seniorsnews.com.au

Profile Story: Barbara Guerrero

Central Coast

Seniors 5

Barbara’s gig of a lifetime Entertaining kept up the morale of frontline troops Alison Houston

PERFORMERS often speak about dying on stage, meaning their act failed. But in Vietnam in the late 1960s and early ’70s, death was never far away for touring Aussie entertainers.

We have all seen archival film of Bob Hope entertaining the US troops at that time.

But what few people realise is there was also a large contingent of often lesser-known entertainers, including a host of Aussies, who toured Vietnam on an ongoing basis and kept up the morale of frontline troops.

From 1967, Gosford’s Barbara Guerrero (nee Cohen) found herself working as a booking agent and living for five years in Da Nang.

She’ll be returning this year to celebrate her 80th birthday, and says the experience of a lifetime also made her friends for life.

Always with a taste for adventure, having worked as a clerk general in the air force and training Citizen Military Force (now Reserve) personnel for the army, Barbara said she jumped at the chance to travel overseas at a time when plane travel was extremely expensive.

Her friend, jazz singer Shirley Simmons, told her troops in Vietnam were starved for entertainment and asked her to set up the agency with her.

At 29 Barbara, then working as an accountant, had her bags

Barbara at Australia House, Da Nang, in April 1969, where she had organised a concert for the Australian Army Training Team.

Barbara really was flying a C130 Hercules somewhere over Vietnam back in October 1968 (the captain was nearby).

LIFETIME FRIENDS: Barbara Guerrero last year with her friend Keith Payne VC, a member of the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam, to which she often donated floorshows and is an honorary member.

Long Tan Day march past several years after Barbara returned home when she organised a concert of past Vietnam entertainers at Gosford RSL.

packed and was on the plane within days.

Together they contracted acts for three-month stints with a three-month option.

The attraction was the acts were paid far more than in Australia.

The downside was “where we were in Da Nang we got rocketed and mortared just about every second or third night”.

On arriving in Vietnam, Barbara said she was told at these times to get under the bed and pull the mattress over her.

But within months “it didn’t worry you; you just got on with it or slept through it”.

Generally during the day she felt quite safe in

planes, water-skiing behind a helicopter, the beautiful beaches, friendships and parties which went on long after the shows “and the audiences; you would never find an audience like that back home, they were so thankful to have us there”.

Both the Vietnamese people and the soldiers, she said, were wonderfully friendly and welcoming, although it was her first experience of racial tension, with some American soldiers unimpressed by the Aussies speaking to black soldiers as equals.

Returning home to Coogee in 1973, Barbara said she soon found the city too bustling and

the city, it was only as night fell that the sky would light up with gunfire and explosions.

But Barbara still experienced several close calls.

She was shot at by a Viet Cong during the Tet Offensive as she came around a corner on a scooter on her way to a friend, was confronted during the Buddhist monk uprising (practising self-immolation over treatment by the South Vietnamese Government), and was huddled into bunkers by American soldiers to escape mortar fire on the way home from a gig.

When visiting hospitals, where entertainers often gave

free concerts, she was confronted by the horrific death and injuries suffered by soldiers.

She also admits to being scared every time she had to cross Da Nang’s then single bridge from one side of the city to the other.

“Every time you got to the other side of the bridge you blessed yourself because the Viet Cong were always floating explosives down the river trying to blow the bridge up and the South Vietnamese guards would shoot at anything to stop them,” she said.

Still, there were the good times, such as the excitement of travelling in helicopters and C130

moved to Gosford in 1974, returning to her old standby of an accounting career.

Retiring at 67, she spent nearly five years volunteering for Marine Rescue before signing up with community station 93.3FM Radio Five-O-Plus, where she has worked as support staff and treasurer, as well as calling in a few old friends, including Lucky Starr, to star in last year’s successful fundraising concert which she organised for the station at Gosford RSL. She says it’s a case of “keeping the brain going”, but it seems that life for Barbara is just meant to be lived... every minute.

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6 Seniors Central Coast

Local Story

seniorsnews.com.au Monday, April 23, 2018

Chapel to hit high note The renewed Kantara House has plenty to sing about Alison Houston

IT HAS been quite a journey for Avoca’s Cherie and Karina Reid, rebuilding their lives at the same time as a once elegant wedding venue.

But four years on, Kantara House is not only reclaiming the title as one of “the places” on the Central Coast to be married, but Cherie and Karina are about to host their first non-wedding-related event – Opera in the Chapel on May 5.

Karina said when they bought Kantara House, just a year after her father Ashley died suddenly from an aggressive cancer, they had no idea of the feat that lay ahead of them.

“We tried to honour the original look of the grounds and the house as much as we could, but it was like starting from scratch, it was so rundown and dilapidated,” Karina said.

“We had a full-time horticulturist working

every day for almost two years clearing the grounds.”

As well as rebuilding, they had the award-winning Charlotte Chapel designed and constructed by a master builder, calling joiner Ian Graham out of retirement to create the ornate timber finishes including the pews and altar table.

Karina said many readers would remember being married in or attending weddings at the elegant Kantara House which, in its heyday in the 1960s-80s, boasted award-winning gardens and a rotunda for ceremonies.

Today, the children and grandchildren of those couples are returning to be married at Charlotte Chapel. But Karina and Cherie are also keen for the venue to be used for other functions, and hope the opera, this year featuring soprano Claire Chehade-James with Glenn Amer on piano, and including a glass of

NEW BEGINNING: The Charlotte Chapel at Kantara House, where Opera in the Chapel will be held on Saturday, May 5.

bubbles and canapes for guests on arrival, will become an annual event.

“During the building process, we found ourselves in Gloucester (on the mid-north coast) and attended an opera in a church there,” Karina explained.

“It was amazing, and

the thing that really stuck with us was how the acoustics of the church really lent itself to the performers.”

Karina said she was excited to hear live music in their chapel.

“It will sound amazing; the acoustics in there are so good.”

She is also keen to hear the reminiscences of people who come to hear the music, and their memories of Kantara House.

Opera in the Chapel is from 3-5pm on Saturday, May 5 and costs $60pp.

Phone 4369 1528 to book.

Kantara House is at 431 Avoca Drive, Green Point, and is also offering a special Mother’s Day luncheon on Sunday, May 13 featuring soloist Dexter Moore, a two-course lunch, bubbles on arrival and a gift for mum. For more, go to the website kantarahouse.net.au.

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Monday, April 23, 2018 seniorsnews.com.au

Central Coast

Seniors 7

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8 Seniors Central Coast

seniorsnews.com.au Monday, April 23, 2018

YOUR CLUBS

Respecting our heroes

Anzac Day service and march listings for your RSL clubs

landings at Gallipoli.

The Anzac Day 2018 services held around the Central Coast on April 25 not only mark the 103rd anniversary of the Anzac landings at Gallipoli, but also to commemorate this remarkable action at Villers-Bretonneux, which effectively ended the German offensive launched a month prior.

Central Coast Council encourages everyone to get out and support our Anzac Day services and marches across the Coast and recognise this as a very important milestone in our nation’s history.

Plan your trip to local services and marches ahead of time as there will be a number of road closures in place to accommodate the expected surge in crowd numbers for this very significant celebration.

Services and marches will be proceeding as planned rain or shine at:

THE ENTRANCE / LONG JETTY RSL

Dawn Service 5.30am; Main March 11.30am; Main Service noon – Memorial Park, Marine Parade, The Entrance.

TOUKLEY RSL

Dawn Service 5.20am; Main March 9.45am; Main Service 10.30am – Toukley RSL Holmes Avenue, Toukley.

LEST WE FORGET: Check the listings of RSL clubs for details on locations and times for march and dawn services.

DAVISTOWN RSL

Dawn Service 6am – 19 Murna Road, Davistown.

DOYALSON / WYEE RSL

Dawn Service 5am; Main March 8.30am; Main Service 9am – Doyalson RSL, Wentworth Ave and Pacific Highway, Doyalson.

EMPIRE BAY

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ANZAC Day 2018 holds a special significance for Australia, New Zealand and the rest of the world as we look to mark 100 years since our nation’s involvement in the First World War and to honour those impacted by the events that took place.

Troops at Villers-Bretonneux, France battled exactly 100 years before as part of wider effort to halt a German spring offensive which was threatening to win them the war.

Throughout early April in 1918, Australian units helped defend Villers-Bretonneux from this onslaught, but at dawn on the 24th the Germans attacked and captured the town.

Leading the British counter attack, the Australian 13th and 15th Brigades enveloped the town and successfully cleared it of Germans on April 25, the third anniversary of the Anzac

Memorial.

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Main Service 11am – Empire Bay Cenotaph, Sorrento Road, Empire Bay.

GOSFORD RSL

Dawn Service 5.45am; Main March 10.30am; Main Service 10am – Memorial Park and Cenotaph, Mann Street, Gosford.

OURIMBAH / LISAROW RSL

Dawn Service 5.30am; Main March 2.30pm; Main Service 3pm – Ourimbah Public School – Pacific Highway, Ourimbah.

TERRIGAL / WAMBERAL RSL

Dawn Service 5.15am; Main Service 11am – Terrigal Beach and War

WOY WOY / ETTALONG RSL

Dawn Service 5.15am; Main March 10am; Main Service 10.30am – Memorial Park, Brickwharf Road, Woy Woy.

WYONG RSL

Dawn Service 5.45am; Main March and Service 9.15am – Wyong Town Park and Cenotaph, Alison Road, Wyong.

Disclaimer: These service times have been corrected from those printed in the March/April edition.

Monday, April 23, 2018 seniorsnews.com.au

Central Coast

Seniors 9

10 Seniors Central Coast

seniorsnews.com.au Monday, April 23, 2018

Central Coast

Monday, April 23, 2018 seniorsnews.com.au

Seniors 11

ANZAC DAY

Giving thanks for service and sacrifice Brothers from two wars wrapped in valour

Gary said it was humbling, admitting “I got a little emotional”.

He had known something was afoot when he was asked to ensure Reg, 96, attended the meeting, but had no idea what honour was being bestowed on his brother, or that he was next in line.

“I didn’t expect it at all,” he said.

“I said then, there are people sitting in this meeting who deserve this more than me.”

But no one else agreed, particularly given the many years Gary has devoted to the RSL and supporting his fellow ex-servicemen and women and their families.

Gary said when he was

QUILTS OF VALOUR: Brothers Reg and Gary Young were honoured by the presentation of Quilts of Valour, thanking them for their service, sacrifice and valour in the Second World War and Vietnam respectively. They are with Quilts of Valour Australia’s Stan Allen and Gosford RSL sub-branch president Greg Mawson.

called up for National Service, no one had realised they would be sent to Vietnam until they read it in the newspaper.

“It took two years out of my life,” he said simply.

But that’s an underestimation, with Gary admitting to suffering ongoing PTSD. He also still regrets the fact that the army wouldn’t let him return home for his father’s funeral.

Of the 251 men who were “the original 17” in

Vietnam, Gary said up to 80 men have now died, a large number as a result of cancer – no one knows for sure how many of those deaths were associated with Agent Orange.

Originally not recognised as “real soldiers”, records show the Nashos served just as bravely and well as any other soldier “still had to put our life on the line, and a lot of Nashos got killed” and today they form a strong backbone of

the RSL. Gosford RSL Sub Branch will hold the Anzac Day Dawn Service at the Gosford Cenotaph from 6am. The main march will step off at 10.30am and the main service is at the cenotaph at 11am.

There are 11 RSL sub-branches on the Central Coast. For full details of Anzac Day services, go to whatsoncentral coast.com.au/ anzac-day.html.

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GARY Young was carrying on a tradition when he went to fight in Vietnam, but it wasn’t something he signed up for. And when he came back, he admits “I was a different person”.

He was one of the first Nashos – young men, aged 20, conscripted between 1965 and 1972 for two years of Australian National Service.

His father had fought in the First World War, his brother Reg had lied about his age to sign up for the Second World War. Gary will march this Anzac Day as he “always has and always will” alongside the men with whom he shares experiences he cannot

share with anyone else.

“I’ve got two families: I’ve got my wife and three boys, and my other family is the fellows I served with,” he said.

His brother Reg was an engineer and served from 1941-46 with the 11th Division, including at Milne Bay in Papua New Guinea, remembered as the first land defeat for the Japanese.

Gary, also an engineer, served with the 17th Construction Squadron in Vietnam, including Nui Dat, from April 1966 to March 1967.

This year both brothers were honoured at Gosford RSL sub-branch by Quilts of Valour Australia for their “service, sacrifice and valour”.

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12 Seniors Central Coast

Entertainment News

seniorsnews.com.au Monday, April 23, 2018

Man behind the mask

Barry Humphries to bare all in his new Australian shows CELEBRATED Australian performer Barry Humphries AO CBE promises “an intimate, confessional evening – seasoned with highly personal, sometimes startling, and occasionally outrageous stories” – as part of his Australian tour.

The Barry Humphries: The Man Behind the Mask tour will see Humphries at his funny best, peeling back the facade and introducing the man behind the clown who has entertained us for more than 60 years.

Humphries has made us laugh by holding a mirror to Australia and Australians and revealing their virtues, their foibles, their triumphs and their failings through a gallery of adored characters, including Dame Edna Everage, Sir Les Patterson and Sandy Stone.

Now he will spin the mirror around, exposing his own highs and lows, the good times and the not so good. Themes include Humphries’

Australian childhood, family relationships, attitudes, career and his experiences as one of the world’s most acclaimed entertainers.

“This is a show in which I am the principal character; it’s not Les, it’s not Edna, it’s not Sandy Stone. It is really about this character called ‘me’.

I’m not in disguise,” Humphries said.

“It is the story of my generation, it is a story of a life spent in the theatre and a life spent in comedy, and it will show what it is like to be a clown. In a way, this is perhaps the bravest thing I’ve ever done and I hope the most entertaining.

“I think people might be agreeably shocked and they certainly will learn much they didn’t know.”

The show promises plenty of laughs and an opportunity to ask questions and Humphries said the magic of technology may even allow appearances – or interruptions – by

LAYING IT BARE: The Barry Humphries: The Man Behind the Mask show will hit the stage at the Newcastle Civic Theatre on May 5-6 and Darling Harbour Theatre in Sydney on May 17-18. Tickets: www.tegdainty.com PHOTO: SIMON SCHLUTER

unexpected guests.

“Audio-visual technology has made dramatic strides in my life and it’s now possible for me to be on stage with one of my own characters.

They may intrude. I might be interrupted,” he hints.

“I might even be upstaged!

“I’m rather proud of what I’ve done in my career. It’s constantly

surprising, it’s very stimulating and it’s wonderful to look back on, and to look forward too.”

The tour hits Newcastle (May 5-6), Brisbane (May 10), Gold Coast (May

12-13), Canberra (May 16), Sydney (May 17-18), Melbourne (May 23-24), Adelaide (May 30-31) and Geelong (June 2). Ticket information via www.tegdainty.com.

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Seniors 13

AGEING & DISABILITY SERVICES Coast Community Connections Ageing and Disability Service offers support and care services to people and their carers on the Central Coast.

As a registered Home Care provider we work with you to tailor a Home Care Package that meets individual needs and supports you to remain living in your home. Our friendly team will monitor your health and wellbeing and consult with you and/or family to modify your services as your needs and circumstances change, as well as assist you to navigate My Aged Care.

Our community connections mean we can also link you to the right additional services and supports if we are unable to deliver these directly to you. This includes leisure and social groups such as School for Seniors, Bridge Club, dance and yoga.

HOME CARE PACKAGES Social Outings & Support

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Tidying and light cleaning for a happy and safe home

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Access to podiatry, physiotherapy, occupational therapy or massage services

Meal Preparation

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Assisting to prepare meals for that day or for freezing for another day

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Assistance or supervision with grooming, showering, toileting, bathing, dressing, continence and/or mobility

Modifications to assist you in and around your home including ramps, stair climbers or bathroom modifications

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14 Seniors Central Coast

seniorsnews.com.au Monday, April 23, 2018

Talk n thoughts Hurdles, highjumps and solutions

Share your thoughts

A win for the humble caravan, our Aussie icon THIS month we are happy to publish a positive letter from a business owner who says council has pleased everyone with a recent pragmatic decision.

If you have your own positive story you would like to share with us, please email editor@seniorsnews. com.au “SYDNEY COUNCIL BATTLES AUSSIE ICON�

Claims over Caravan results in landmark decision by Land and Environment Court (LEC) The humble caravan; an iconic staple in Australian housing and accommodation dating back decades.

Back in the ’70s and ’80s a caravan out the back was about as common as a tin of Milo in the cupboard, you just couldn’t beat the Aussie dream.

That’s exactly what the Russell family had in mind when they bought a VanHome, a legally registered caravan that looks like a cabin. Their local council, however, had a different view; issuing an order for the family to remove the caravan immediately.

George and Korena Russell live in a three-bedroom home in Sydney’s southwest, with

their three adult children and their partners.

They purchased the VanHome for additional accommodation, on the basis that this particular product did not need council approval.

The VanHome, priced at just under $50,000, contains a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen – the perfect solution for the family. “When we were issued with an order from Camden Council to remove it, we were devastated and had no idea what to do,� Mrs Russell said.

VanHomes CEO Vito

Russo caught wind of the perplexing request made by the governing body, and immediately offered his assistance and legal support. “We’re a family business with family values. Having the option for the family to stay close to each other, whether it be the younger generation saving for their own home or for elderly folk to downsize without going to a retirement home should be everyone’s right,� Mr Russo said.

This sparked a David vs Goliath style battle, with the LEC ultimately ruling the Russell family were

Email editor@seniors newspaper.com.au or go online to www.seniorsnews .com.au

well within their right to keep the VanHome caravan in their backyard.

Senior Commissioner Dixon said in her judgement: “There can be no doubt that the structure is a caravan used for human habitation and thereby within the definition of a moveable dwelling,â€? “On that basis, there is no need for any development approval for the registered caravan on the site and the order issued by the council ‌ requiring the removal of the structure from the premises, is invalid.â€?

In response to the

HAVE YOUR SAY: Email editor@seniorsnewspaper.com.au or go online to www.seniorsnews.com.au.

judgement, Mr Russo said: “We couldn’t be any happier with the outcome.

This (judgement) gives clarity on where and how a VanHome caravan can be used. This, in turn will open up a plethora of opportunity for Australians looking to break into the property market, or downsize out of it.�

The ruling is a huge win for all New South Welshman, and a step in the right direction for all Australians; with the decision essentially saying “yes you can site a product that is legally a caravan without any council approval�. — Lachlan Prior VanHomes Sales Pty Ltd

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Monday, April 23, 2018 seniorsnews.com.au

Seniors 15

Living

Big plans for Gosford

THERE are exciting times ahead for the Gosford area, all of which potentially mean improved lifestyle for Coast seniors.

Central Coast Council this month welcomed plans by the Government Architect to activate the Gosford CBD. Mayor Jane Smith said council would be looking closely at the proposal, including the benefits of locating the heart of the CBD around Kibble Park.

Council wants to understand what the proposed Gosford CBD activation will deliver for business and the community, how it will stimulate economic development, the impacts on traffic, congestion and parking, impacts on local planning controls and consents and how these plans align with the

long-term vision for the city of Gosford, and is welcoming comment.

“It’s an exciting time for the Gosford as it represents a step forward in establishing a true city centre for the Central Coast and creating the vibrant and sustainable region our community want and deserve,” Cr Smith said.

Meanwhile, the long-awaited Regional Performing Arts and Conference Centre will be built on the former Broadwater Hotel site at 51–71 Mann St, Gosford, with the potential for integration with a new multi-storey regional library at 123A Donnison St, to develop a cultural precinct.

The plan is to deliver a 1000-seat performance space with retractable

LOOKING AHEAD: Exciting times planned for Central Coast seniors.

seating, a fly tower, orchestra pit, a studio space for smaller performances, and

break-out rooms, as well as 450 parking spaces, which will be accessible to the general public when

PHOTO: LONDONEYE

not in use by the centre.

Thirty million dollars in funding has been promised for this project,

in a three-way split between the federal, state and local governments, and an additional $2 million has been promised for the construction of an adjoining conservatorium.

The Coast’s highly anticipated Regional Sporting and Recreation Complex at Tuggerah, to open in September, is also now accepting expressions of interest for significant events that will generate economic and social benefits for the area.

The complex spans 18.28 hectares and consists of nine playing fields, amenities and shared pathways, with stage two, subject to funding, including a 1500-seat grandstand and a multi-purpose, indoor sporting centre.

16 Seniors Central Coast

Living

The value of a lasting legacy

BY LEAVING a gift to the Community’s Own Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service, no matter how small or how large, you create the chance to help those who are in urgent need of medical attention.

Denman resident Norm Jones experienced first-hand the life-saving services provided by the Rescue Helicopter after suffering symptoms of a heart attack.

The helicopter arrived at his Denman property and transported him to the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle.

“The crew on board the helicopter provided me with top medical service. This really is the most important community service we have and we need the community’s support to keep it going. It doesn’t matter if it’s $1 or $1000 – it will always help somebody,” Norm said.

There are four AW139 helicopters that service about 1.5 million people throughout Northern NSW, from the Hawkesbury to the Queensland border, making it one of the leading aeromedical

HELP IN THE AIR: Along with the pilots and aircrew, every primary response mission leaves with a dedicated NSW Ambulance Paramedic and NSW Health Doctor on board.

PHOTO: CLAYTON LLOYD

services in Australia.

The helicopters operate from three bases at Belmont, Lismore and Tamworth.

Maintenance, engineering and administration are undertaken from Broadmeadow in Newcastle.

Nobody has ever had to pay to be assisted by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service.

That is because people in our community, along with the support from NSW Health and NSW Ambulance, provide the funds that ensure the Rescue Helicopters are there when and where they are needed 24/7.

Service CEO Richard

Jones said a bequest was a simple and very powerful way to support a cause.

A bequest is when you make a gift in your will of personal property, such as cash, real estate or shares to a named person or an organisation. After you have provided for family or friends, making a charitable bequest is a powerful reflection of your values.

For more information, visit helicopter.com.au (in Hunter, Tamworth) or helirescue.com.au (Lismore), phone 1800 155 155 or email enquiries@rescue helicopter.com.au.

ADVERTORIAL

COMMUNITY NEWS: To allow readers’ requests for the publication of more neighbourhood news, please keep notices short and to the point (100 word maximum).

If you would like to submit a photo please ensure it is at least 180dpi or 500kb to 1mb in size and of faces, in a nice bright setting.

The deadline for the May issue is May 16.

Email editor@seniors newspaper.com.au

GREEN POINT COMMUNITY CENTRE

WE ARE excited about our next twilight markets on Saturday, May 5 at 96 Koolang Road, Green Point.

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, what better way to get her that special gift.

There will be buskers entertaining you throughout the evening, a sausage sizzle by Kincumber Rotary, warm drinks and cakes to enjoy while browsing the large variety of stalls that will include a huge range of arts and crafts, skin care products, jewellery, plants and so much more.

To find out more on this intimate community event, phone the centre on

seniorsnews.com.au Monday, April 23, 2018

4367 7591.

TOUKLEY VIEW CLUB

WE MEET on the second Friday of the month at Club Toukley RSL at 10am.

We have lucky door prizes, raffles and lunch followed by guest speakers or members anticipation.

We also have outings, friendship morning teas, soup and damper days raffles and interesting discussions. Come along and make new friends.

VIEW stands for voice, interests, education of women.

VIEW is a valued part of the Smith Family and raises money for Learning For Life sponsorship and education of disadvantaged Australian children and young adults.

Phone Sandra on 4396 6206.

WYONG WRITERS

LOCAL writers meet monthly to encourage and develop their writing skills.

Meeting on the fourth Saturday of each month – arrive 1.15pm for a 1.30pm start.

Next meeting is on April 28 at Woodbury Park Community Centre, 1 Woolmers Crescent, Mardi. Inquiries: phone president Mei-Ling Venning on 4333 7489.

Email meilingvenning@ hotmail.com or visit www.wyongwriters.org.

BRISBANE WATER EVENING VIEW CLUB

WE HOLD our monthly dinner meeting in the Function Room at the Grange Hotel, Renwick Street, Wyoming on the fourth Tuesday of the month from 6.30pm for 7pm. New members and visitors are most welcome. Phone Valda on 4325 1688 or Helen 4367 5670.

50+ SINGLES SOCIAL GROUP, NFP.

FORMED in 1998 to provide a safe, pleasant atmosphere for meeting others without partners.

Generally, on weekends we meet at a club or restaurant, suitable to our age range, in the Central Coast area. Usually dinner and conversation, followed by dancing and/or entertainment.

Sundays may be lunches, trips, picnics.

Occasionally there are weekday events and overnight trips away.

Membership: A $3 payment weekly when you attend one of our functions. A once off membership fee of $10 to be paid on the third visit.

All volunteers. This is a social group, not a dating agency. Email 50pssg@ gmail.com or phone 0412 200 571 or 0449 999 340.

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Monday, April 23, 2018 seniorsnews.com.au

Living

Central Coast

Seniors 17

A celebration of creativity The Central Coast Potters Society celebrates 50 years Alison Houston

MARIENNE Stollery is the longest-serving active member of the Central Coast Potters Society. It turns 50 this year, and a host of celebrations will mark the event.

While she’s quick to point out she’s not the oldest member – some of whom are in their 90s – she did join the group in 1974 and is a life member.

“I got into pottery as a housewife, and the minute I touched the clay I absolutely loved it, and I’ve been doing it ever since,” Marienne said.

She enjoyed it so much that her husband built her a pottery snug under the house, which she admitted did mean the phone was sometimes covered in clay when she was answering business calls as well as the call of her art.

“There are so many different aspects to pottery, you could never get tired of it,” she said.

“You take a lump of clay and it’s just nothing, and you throw it and it can become something completely different every time.”

That slight unknown, the ability to make something you can use in day-to-day life, as well as the joy of “you time”, an almost meditative concentration on yourself and the clay, are also attractions for Marienne.

She said it was members’ commitment to their craft and sharing it which had kept the society strong for 50 years, offering weekly classes, access to wheels, kiln, special weekend workshops by renowned artists, demonstrations, raku and pit firings, member exhibits and sales.

The society has been working for over a year towards its 50th anniversary celebrations.

In collaboration with local chefs, it has created a book titled Celebrate, in which 15 recipes were

NEVER BORING: Marienne Stollery said there is always something new to create and discover as a member of the Central Coast Potters Society.

gathered from local restaurants and cafes and members challenged to create the pottery on which to display that meal.

“The photography and the recipes are

wonderful,” Marienne said.

The book, to be launched at Bamboo Buddha on Friday, April 27, will cost just $15, with funds going to Coast Shelter.

The associated exhibition and sale of hand-crafted ceramics runs until May 30.

In its exhibition Lines of Inspiration, opening on May 25 at Gosford Regional Gallery, and

again taking over a year to complete, three teams of 10-12 potters were given one pot on which the first potter was to base their creation.

That piece then provided inspiration for the next potter and so on down the line, so that no one saw anything but the piece immediately before their own.

In another exhibition, Elemental, running from June 1-13, members have been challenged to make a body of work (maximum five pieces) to be selected by a curator for display at the community gallery.

The society will also join forces with Newcastle Studio Potters, also coming up to their 50th year, in another exhibition called Jubilee at Back to Back Gallery from June 29-July 15.

“If you’re a member of the Potters’ Society you can’t get bored,” Marienne said.

The Central Coast Potters Society is at 10A Russell Drysdale Street, East Gosford. Phone (02) 4324 5343 or go to ccpotters.org to find out more.

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18 Seniors Central Coast

seniorsnews.com.au Monday, April 23, 2018

BATHERS BEACHSIDE LUXURY APARTMENTS RIGHT ON MARGATE BEACH

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Monday, April 23, 2018 seniorsnews.com.au

Central Coast

Seniors 19

NOW UNDER CONSTRUCTION & SELLING FAST! SECURE YOURS TODAY! Bathers Beachside is the Peninsula’s newest and most prestigious waterfront development.

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20 Seniors Central Coast

Living

seniorsnews.com.au Monday, April 23, 2018

Getting to know fine wine There’s a variety of wonderful wines throughout the world Ann Rickard

MOST seniors, just by way of their age, have reasonable wine knowledge. But it is easy to get stuck in a rut just because you know it.

“It’s convenient to drink something you already know, but the world of wine is vast and wonderful, so you should definitely challenge yourself to try something new every once in a while,” cellar director at Cellarmaster Christine Ricketts said.

Although shiraz, cabernet, sauvignon blanc and chardonnay still top Australian wine sales, there’s plenty of exciting wine varieties on the rise.

“The most popular alternative wines in Australia are made in Mediterranean style, such as Sangiovese or Nero d’Avola. They tend to be food friendly with beautiful textures and refined flavours, so they are definitely worth trying,” Christine said.

If you like sav blanc...

■ Go for a Friulano.

Friulano (formerly known as Tocai Fruilano) is a grape variety most famous for its role in the white wines of Friuli, north-eastern Italy.

Friulanos range from light and crisp to richer and full-bodied, but tend to be fruit-driven.

■ Food pairing: Friulano is a versatile food wine, pairing well with antipasti, fish and poultry.

■ Wine to try: Fabric Wines Mornington Peninsula Friulano 2017 If you like cabernet sauvignon...

■ Go for a Malbec.

Malbec is a full-bodied red wine that grows mostly in Argentina. Known for its plump, dark fruit flavours, smoky finish and robust tannins, it will give your favourite Cab Sav a run for its money.

■ Food pairing: This robust red wine holds up well with dark meat poultry, roasted pork, and leaner cuts of red meat.

■ Wine to try: Stonyfell

NEW WINES: Cellar director at Cellarmasters Christine Ricketts.

Regional Langhorne Creek Malbec 2016 If you like chardonnay...

■ Try Macabeo. Macabeo is a versatile, Spanish white wine grape and is used in still, sparkling dry and sweet wines – just like the chardonnay grape.

When served as a table wine, Macabeo tends to have quite neutral, fresh flavours and is low in acid, so it makes for easy sipping. If you prefer an oaky chardonnay, try Chenin Blanc.

■ Food pairing: Pairs well

Challenge your taste buds with a new wine choice from this list.

with savoury dishes with herbs, such as pesto pasta, frittatas or pizza.

■ Wine to try: Divinis Macabeo 2016 If you like grenache...

■ Try a Mataro. In fact, mataro and grenache are

often used in wine blends together (and make up for the GM in GSM wine), but Australian winemakers in predominantly South Australia have started to produce very fine examples of single-variety mataro wines. Just like grenache, mataro is a medium-bodied wine with dark berry fruit flavours.

■ Food pairing: Mataro is a great match for duck, and the tannins in the wine make it the perfect pairing with barbecued red meats, char-grilled

portobello mushrooms or meaty sausages.

■ Wine to try: Teusner Riebke Mataro 2015 If you like shiraz...

■ Try a shiraz sangiovese.

The blend of these two varieties – which can shine on their own –is just pure perfection. Shiraz brings the dark chocolate, plum and spice flavours, while sangiovese tempers the rich juiciness of the shiraz, and adds fresh, red cherry flavours with a touch of savoury.

■ Food pairing: Perfect with an array of foods but cured meats in particular.

■ Wine to try: Stefano De Pieri Shiraz Sangiovese 2016 If you like pinot noir...

■ Go for a Nero d’Avola, Sicily’s most famous red wine – and it certainly deserves the spotlight.

This medium bodied red wine tends to have lovely red berry aromas with earthy and meaty flavours.

If you like a pinot noir, you will love a Nero!

■ Food pairing: Roasted and grilled red meat and meaty fish such as tuna.

■ Wine to try: Stefano De Pieri Merbein Vineyard Nero D’avola 2017

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Central Coast

Monday, April 23, 2018 seniorsnews.com.au

Seniors 21

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22 Seniors Central Coast

Advertising Feature

seniorsnews.com.au Monday, April 23, 2018

COFFS COAST CALLING

Discover beauty of the Coast WHETHER you have just two days or a week to explore, the scenic surroundings of the Coffs Coast region boasts a plethora of activities in nature, a rich cultural history and colourful wildlife.

A perfect way to start your Coffs Coast adventure is with a short drive from Coffs Harbour up to Sealy Lookout in Bruxner Park.

From here, take a stroll out along the Forest Sky Pier, which stands 15 meters above the forest floor.

Look out across the landscape with expansive coastal and hinterland views.

This area is also an important site for the local Gumbaynggirr people who have shared a cultural experience with a dreaming story of Gumgali, the black goanna.

Walk along the Korora Lookout interactive track, which features unique sculpture, murals and interpretive signage.

From here head back to the coast for a fresh seafood lunch from Fishermen’s Co-Op then walk up the path (steep in places) to Muttonbird Island to explore the muttonbird burrows.

The views are stunning – be sure to keep an eagle eye out for pods of

SPECTACULAR: Sealy Lookout in Bruxner Park.

dolphins surfing the waves. You can also stroll the southern breakwall and historic jetty, which are both level, easy walks.

There are a number of villages dotted around the Coffs Coast, each with their own unique atmosphere.

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Sawtell, Urunga, Woolgoolga and Emerald Beach offer relaxed cafes by the beach, while in historic Coramba you can enjoy the quintessential country pub outlook over green paddocks.

Take a drive along the iconic Waterfall Way to Bellingen for superb local food, and continue on to the Dorrigo Rainforest Centre with the popular Skywalk suspended over the World Heritage listed as part of the Gondwana rainforest.

A “must do” on your visit to the Coffs

Urunga Wetlands Boardwalk.

Coast is a stroll on the accessible Urunga Boardwalks. These two exceptional constructions offer unique over-water experiences along the coastline and across the wetlands.

You can spot crabs scuttling through the mangroves, stingrays in the shallows, and a huge variety of birdlife circling above and in the trees.

Check out coffscoast.com for everything you need to “stay, play and taste” and enjoy your time on the Coffs Coast.

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Sawtell RSL has an exciting calendar of weekly activities including the largest raffles on the Mid North Coast, club bingo, cash bingo, dance groups, indoor bowls and more. They are also proud sponsors of many local sporting teams, charities and groups.

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What’s on

Monday, April 23, 2018 seniorsnews.com.au

Central Coast

Seniors 23

JOURNALIST ALISON HOUSTON

UNDER THE SUN

CHARITY TRIVIA

HOW’S your grey matter working? Hardy’s Bay Club is hosting a fantastic trivia night with El Triviachi...

They reckon it’s the best pub trivia night around, but it’s also for a great cause, with all proceeds to the Gift of Life Foundation which raises awareness of the need for more organ donors in Australia. It’s on Friday, April 27. Registrations at 6.30pm and trivia from 7pm. Phone 4360 1072 for more.

BREAST CANCER EXERCISE

ENCORE is more than a free exercise and information program, it provides the chance for women to connect with other women who share a similar experience, restore body image, relieve stress and just have fun. It is delivered by YWCA to women who have experienced breast cancer at any time in their life.

The next course is running in Erina on Thursday, April 26-June 14 from 11.30am-1.30pm. Go to ywcaencore.org.au or phone 9285 6264.

FOUR VILLAGES WALK

WHATEVER your age, there’s something to be learnt and enjoyed at this year’s 3.3km Four Villages Walk on Sunday, May 6.

The walk is easy and flat and you’ll learn about the days when Kincumber, Yattalunga, Saratoga and Davistown were the hub of shipbuilding. There are historical displays, entertainment and more.

It all starts at 10am and you can do one section or the entire return walk (bus available for return transport). Go to fourvillageswalk.com or phone 0403 193 330.

FAMILY HISTORY

WHETHER you are new to

Be a Quitter on May 31 FUNNY GIRL: Enjoy an evening with comedian Jean Kittson at Erina Library from 6-8pm on Wednesday, May 16.

family history, or just need some extra pointers as to how to make the best of your research, archivist John Cann is likely to have the answer at Kincumber Library as he speaks about the records held in the NSW State Archives collection. The talk is from 10.30am-12.30pm on Tuesday, May 8. Places are limited. Phone 4304 7641.

BACKSTAGE COMES TO LIFE

LE FREAK is being hailed as the Central Coast’s first piece of immersive theatre. With numbers strictly limited, 250 guests per show will enter The Art House, Wyong and take a step back in time to the Roaring ’20s, discovering the theatre’s hidden corners and corridors and encountering incredible acrobatics, dance and performance pieces in the most unlikely places.

Tickets are $25-49. It’s on Friday and Saturday, May 11-12. Phone 4335 1485 or go to thearthouse wyong.com.au.

TOAST A BRAIN TUMOURIST

OKAY, so that heading alone has to get your attention. This is a fundraising event for the Cure Brain Cancer Foundation. It’s on Saturday, May 12 from 6.30pm for a 7pm start and running until 11pm.

Tickets are $85 a person or $800 table of 10 which includes canapes on arrival, two-course dinner, wine, beer and soft drink and entertainment by comedy hypnotist Andy Magee. It’s at Mingara Recreation Club. Phone Brett Finneran on 0431 302 504.

MEET JEAN KITTSON

JEAN Kittson is one of the most famous comic female faces in Australia, and will be at Erina Library from 6-8pm on Wednesday, May 16. You are guaranteed a laugh as Jean shares stories from her career in the business, including The Big Gig and Good News Week and film credits like Hating Alison Ashley and

The Nugget. Jean is the author of Tongue Lashing, and the definitive book on menopause; You’re Still Hot to Me: The Joys of Menopause. Phone 4304 7650 to book.

MILLION PAWS WALK

IT’S THAT time again, when pooches and their owners take to the streets to raise money for the RSPCA. This year’s walk is at Lyons Park, Gosford on Sunday, May 20, with registration (if you haven’t registered online) from 8.30am and the walk starting at 10.15am. This is always a happy family event, and includes a sausage sizzle, games and giveaways, fancy dress competition, as well as stalls, vet advice and grooming services. Phone Debbie on 4372 2034 or email dspencer@rspca nsw.org.au.

DOLLS, BEARS, COLLECTABLES & CRAFT

NOW into its 22nd year, the annual Dolls, Bears, Collectables and Craft Show is on at Wyong Race Club on Sunday, May 27 from 9.30am-3pm. It costs just $6 for adults (or big kids) and $2 for little kids, and for that you will see a host of dolls, bears and their clothes, supplies and accessories, ribbon, lace, beads and buttons, quilts and crafts, Australian-made furniture and prams, craft demonstrations and more. You can even find out just how much that precious doll or bear you’ve been keeping for sentimental value is worth with the doll and bear valuations. All donations to cancer care services.

Phone Jannette on 6554 3305 or 0439 387 267.

AVOCA BEACHSIDE MARKETS

LET’S face it, the Coast loves markets, and this is one of the best, running 9am-2pm on the fourth Sunday of each month – hence May 27. It’s at Heazlett Park foreshore..

Phone 416 923 655 for more details.

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When you quit, not only will you be avoiding a much higher risk of pneumonia, bronchitis and flu which is so important this time of year, but also emphysema, stroke and heart attack.

Amcal has all the bases covered for managing your nicotine cravings with patches, lozenges and gum, plus your knowledgeable Amcal pharmacist can advise you on many other ways to help you to quit smoking including things covered on the PBS.

So what will you gain beside more money in your pocket?

After just 12 hours the carbon monoxide in your blood will be at normal levels, after one week your sense of taste and smell improve, and after three months your lungs will be functioning 30% better. Soon you will have better brain function, vision, circulation

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GOSFORD Regional Gallery is showing an exhibition of works specially commissioned by the Australian Centre for Photography from artists responding to Australian photographer Max Dupain’s iconic image of the Sunbaker. The exhibition explores views of our culture, our identity and our nationhood, with the artists chosen reflecting Australia’s multicultural, multi-ethnic and multi-faith landscape.

The exhibit runs until May 20. Phone 4304 7550.

24 Seniors Central Coast

seniorsnews.com.au Monday, April 23, 2018

Wellbeing

Important Pap tests news

New screening process for cervical cancer detection Tracey Johnstone

WOMEN’S cervical screening is a confronting and, for many seniors, an unpleasant experience, but a necessary medical exercise, at least until the age of 74.

Up until December last year Australian women aged 25 and upwards were encouraged to have a Pap test every two years by their GP. A new testing regime is now in place, called a Cervical Screening Test which collects cells in a similar way to the Pap test.

But this test is looking for human papillomavirus which can lead to cell changes in the cervix, while the Pap test was used to look for existing

changes in cells.

When a CST is normal, testing will be done every five years by a GP. This timeframe is based on that being the minimum time cervical cancer can develop.

Gynaecologist Dr Bogdan Benga explained that the change in the testing regime was in response to false negatives in some Pap test results and some missed lesions.

“The main driver for us to change the screening is because nearly all cervical cancers are due to an infection from a high-risk papilloma virus,” Dr Benga said.

“The new test can pick up the high-risk viruses that are linked with cancer.

“It revolutionises the way we look at screening for cervical cancer.”

The Pap test still exists, but will only be used to obtain further information on abnormal cells where an HPV screening test returns a positive.

The specimen collected in one examination will be used for both tests.

Dr Benga expects the viral test combined with the Pap test will become the “mainstay” in cervical screening.

Risks ■ The new screening test is particular to asymptomatic women such as a woman who is post-menopausal and hasn’t had any more bleeding.

■ If a woman experiences abnormal symptoms like bleeding with intercourse or in between periods she then needs to be assessed by a specialist

WOMEN’S HEALTH: A specialist explains the new cervical screening test and to keep having it done until your mid-70s.

PHOTO: EVA KATALIN KONDOROS

even if her cervical screening test was negative.

■ “Women aged 70 to 74 with negative viral test are eligible to safely exit cervical screening,” Dr

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changing sexual partner as this exposes the woman to new high-risk viruses that she has no immunity for.

Dealing with discomfort For women who have gone through menopause and then find the use of speculum, which opens up the vagina, a painful experience, they should talk to their GP about using topical oestrogen cream, such as Ovestin, before being tested.

“This treatment needs to be done for a short period of time prior to the examination and is very safe even in women with prior history of breast cancer,” Dr Benga said.

In the future “We are still in the process of testing to see how easy it is for patients to self-collect their screening test,” Dr Benga added.

DEMENTIA TRAINING

A NEW training program pioneered in Tasmania is promising earlier dementia diagnosis and better support for patients, their families and carers. The General Practice Training Tasmania’s Dementia Care Training and Education Program module, could have national application and become part of a suite of materials offered by Dementia Training Australia. The online program, aims to deliver tailored, quality education in dementia care. Go to dementia.org.au for more.

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Wellbeing

Monday, April 23, 2018 seniorsnews.com.au

Central Coast

Seniors 25

The top 10 myths with regards to nutrition for seniors

IN-HOME care provider Home Instead Senior Care has recently launched its newest resource, Nutrition for Seniors.

The resource is a guide to healthy habits for eating well in old age and was developed with respected dietitian and author Ngaire Hobbins.

“I was thrilled to be asked by Home Instead to work with them to prepare Nutrition for Seniors.

Research has found that up to 30 per cent of older people living in the community are either malnourished, or at risk of malnutrition,” Ngaire said.

“This is not their fault; it is often a consequence of our lack of awareness that the nutrition needs of seniors are unique and eating patterns must change with age to support physical and mental capacity.

“It can also be partly a consequence of social isolation and/or reduced

physical/cognitive capacity, which is where the invaluable support of home and community care services such as Home Instead Senior Care comes to the fore.”

Ngaire has shared the top 10 myths when it comes to nutrition for seniors: 1. Your stomach shrinks as you age – “Although your appetite may change, your stomach doesn’t shrink when you get older.”

2. Weight loss is healthy – “Unfortunately this is not the case when we are older. Instead, dieting or unintentional weight loss should be avoided in our later years. A bit of extra padding in later age is beneficial to support your body and brain in the years ahead.”

3. You need to eat less as you get older – “While your metabolism slows and your energy output decreases, food and

eating is what protects and fuels you and is your key to ageing well.”

4. You only need to eat what you feel like – “The ageing process can play tricks on our appetite and as a result, older people might eat less than their bodies really need. An outright loss of appetite is not normal, and could be symptomatic of an underlying health problem. Try to eat small meals regularly throughout the day, even if you don’t always feel like it.”

5. You should follow a low-fat diet – “Fat is an important source of calories and some seniors might need to eat a bit extra to maintain weight.

Fats found in foods such as olive oil, nuts, seeds, avocado and oily fish are ideal.”

6. You need to eat more vegetables – “Whilst nutrient-rich vegetables continue to be essential in

your diet, protein foods need to be at the centre of your plate with the vegetables surrounding it.

Protein keeps our muscles, our immune system, our body organs and brains working and renewing minute by minute.”

7. Only drink water when you’re thirsty – “If you feel thirsty you are already dehydrated and that’s a problem as neither your body nor brain can work at peak capacity.

Dehydration can bring on confusion and delirium, hampers kidney function and worsens a multitude of other conditions.”

8. Supplements are sufficient – “Most supplements promoted to help you live longer, boost memory and fight off dementia fail to live up to their claim. What’s more, many interact with common medications or just don’t work the way they would if you

MYTH BUSTER: Dietitian and author Ngaire Hobbins.

consumed them from food instead. You could spend a lot of money for no gain when you could do better by simply eating.”

9. You must always eat a ‘proper meal’ – “Eating three full meals a day can be a struggle if you have a loss of appetite or find cooking too difficult. Five or six small meals or well-chosen snacks can be just as beneficial.”

10. Malnutrition is a normal part of the ageing process – “Malnutrition is not normal and it’s important that you don’t dismiss the warning signs

as being part of ‘old age’.”

“This booklet gives seniors and those who care for them insight into the way nutrition needs change with age and offers practical, sensible advice and guidance to help support the physical and cognitive health of older people,” Ngaire said.

For a copy of the free booklet, phone our local Central Coast Home Instead Office on 4342 3477 or go to homeinstead.com.au for more information.

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26 Seniors Central Coast

Advertising Feature

seniorsnews.com.au Monday, April 23, 2018

LIVING WITH PAIN

Help to cope with chronic surgical pain Voice your concerns to your GP as soon as possible Tracey Johnstone

BECOMING better informed on why post-surgery chronic pain occurs could assist you in ensuring this notoriously difficult to treat condition can be managed more effectively.

There are three types of post-surgical pain – acute, chronic and intermediate.

Not unsurprisingly after the trauma of a surgeon cutting into you, it’s highly likely your body will react with acute pain in the first three, five or seven days after that surgery.

Pain expert and director of pain medicine at the Royal Perth Hospital, Professor Stephan Schug said this is primarily caused by nerve injury.

“That’s why bigger and more interventional and traumatic surgery like total knee joint replacement causes so much more chronic pain than hip joint replacement,” Dr Schug said.

The ongoing or chronic pain, which affects between five and 10 per cent of anyone who has been through surgery, often remains difficult for seniors to understand and deal with, both physically and mentally.

Pre-operative risks The risk of chronic pain can depend on several factors – ■ The type of surgery

such as total knee replacement. “Up to 15 per cent of people who have had this operation can have severe chronic post-surgical pain,” Dr Schug said. “It’s much less for a total hip replacement; possibly under 5 per cent. The reason is most likely there is much less tissue and nerve trauma when you replace a hip then when you replace a knee.”

■ Repeat surgery.

■ Once you have an injury or ongoing moderate to severe pain, acute pain after surgery can become chronic.

■ Females have a higher risk of developing chronic pain. “We don’t know why exactly,” Dr Schug said.

“There is a lot of thinking that this has to do with the hormones.”

■ Younger age patients due to the plasticity of the nervous system. “For a 30-year-old, the same surgery causes more pain than for a 70-year-old,” Dr Schug said.

■ If you have long-term chronic pain before an operation, the risk of that pain remaining increases.

“Most people who have a knee or hip replacement, already have chronic pain which has made them have the operation,” Dr Schug said. Their nervous system is already sensitised to pain and they have a much higher risk of developing chronic

UNDERSTANDING PAIN: Chronic post-surgery pain often remains difficult for seniors to understand and deal with, both physically and mentally.

PHOTO: DEAN MITCHELL

pain afterwards.”

■ Psycho-social factors such as re-operative anxiety or a person who is a significant catastrophiser, can increase the risk of post-surgical chronic pain.

Post-operation actions Often the post-operative pain is in response to injury to nerves. Nerve pain is continuously there, but Dr Schug said it can become more obvious when you are lying bed and without the distractions of the day around you.

“Taking a good post-operative analgesic can reduce the risk of

post-operative pain and with joint replacement, getting proper rehabilitation,” Dr Schug added. “It will improve the function of the joint, improve the nerve function and reduce the risk of developing chronic pain.”

Intermediate pain “There are more and more pain clinics, but because there is so much chronic pain, the waiting lists are relatively long,” Dr Schug said. “That is why we are trying to fast track people who come out of surgery with a problem so that they don’t go on the wait list and

have to suffer in chronic pain.”

The new approach is to provide a transitional or intermediate pain medicine service, between acute and chronic, which is aimed at recognising and treating developing nerve pain before a person becomes a chronic pain out-patient.

“If we notice after the initial post-surgery acute pain period there are problems, and we are offering an in-patient acute pain service, then we can offer for a patient to come back to a chronic pain appointment later,” Dr Schug said.

He noted this new approach will be discussed further during this month’s Australian Pain Society conference.

How can you help yourself?

Start with talking with your GP, many of whom are receiving training in recognising and treating chronic pain. The GP may also refer you to a chronic pain clinic.

If you are visiting your surgeon immediately post-surgery, you should voice your concerns directly to the surgeon so he/she can exclude infection and prothesis issues.

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Central Coast

Monday, April 23, 2018 seniorsnews.com.au

T ravel

Seniors 27

including DISCOVER AUSTRALIA feature

New ways to travel Tracey Johnstone

DISCOVER Australia a different way, transporting yourself along the waterways and highways to the many corners of this magnificent country using transport that isn’t the norm but still offers an exciting experience.

You might have to use a car, coach, plane, cruise ship or train to get to your newest destination, but once there why not book yourself a cargo ship, houseboat, motorcycle, or go cycling or on a walking tour. Better still, why not try a combination of these experiences.

CARGO SHIPS, NO NEED TO DRESS UP The only booking agency around for cargo ship cruising in Australia

seems to be Freighter Expeditions. They offer a weekly experience on board the 28-passenger, 80m ship Trinity Bay, which works between Cairns and Thursday Island. The working ship delivers supplies to isolated communities located inside the Great Barrier Reef.

Freighter Expeditions also offers a trip on the MV Malu Titan, which sails from Horn Island for a seven-day round trip, departing on a Sunday.

This ship has only five cabins.

FLOATING HOTELS

Well, you can’t actually travel around Australia on a houseboat, but you can try hiring one in different locations during your tour.

Here are some places where houseboats are

available for hire: About two hours drive from Melbourne in the foothills of the Great Dividing Range is Lake Eildon, with 540km of shoreline, bays and coves to discover.

Just outside of Sydney, head north to the Hawkesbury River where there are at least eight houseboat hire businesses on the stunning waterway. .

Discover Walpole on Western Australia’s far south coast where the tranquil waters of the Frankland and Deep rivers will help calm your travelling soul.

rentals for touring. Here are just a few.

The Victorian business Scenic Wheels has discovery tours plus short and long-term rentals of new and late-model BMWs. BikeRoundOz does several tours plus rentals in Australia for touring on sealed roads and off-road, short and long distances.

They have offices in all capital cities.

Southern Cross Motor Bike Tours are in Darwin.

They offer small group guided tours to locations “where no other operator can”.

RUMBLE HIGHWAYS

GET FIT WHILE TOURING

There are actually a surprising number of companies offering guided and self-guided motorcycle tours, and

Do the distance at leisure and by a healthy method; go cycling. Better still, load your bike up on the

back of your car or caravan and stop in interesting places.

Cycling Tours has small-group guided and self-guided tours across some fantastic locations.

Each tour includes accommodation, luggage transfers, vehicle support, airport transfers, GPS navigation and cycling equipment.

Australian Cycling Tours has guided and self-guided tours in Victoria and NSW, plus long-distance tours, with everything down to the last detail looked after.

The Melbourne company All Trails organises fully supported tours in various locations around Australia.

ONLY NATURAL SOUNDS TO SAVOUR

Sometimes walking is the best way to discover a new place. Simple to do, cheap, healthy – with a friend, group or on your own. No need to be a mountain climber, just enjoy the great outdoors.

Check out Park Trek.

They specialise in small-group walking holidays, visiting destinations all over the country.

The small-group Australian Walking Holidays team can take you on the Larapinta Trail, Overland Track and many more fascinating trails.

Great Walks of Australia offers guided day and multi-day tours through Australia’s World Heritage-listed national parks. You get to experience incredible nature during the day and luxury during the night.

93.3FM The Home of Hits and Memories Enjoy a huge range of the greatest music of all time.

Radio Five-O-Plus is the community station broadcasting all your favourite tunes from 1945 to 1985 – 24 hours a day!

Volunteers are always welcome at 93.3FM. Call 02 4325 1950 to register your interest. or email us on info@fiveoplus.com.au

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‘40s

28 Seniors Central Coast

Travel

seniorsnews.com.au Monday, April 23, 2018

Victoria: Food and Wine

Have you mixed a holiday with a culinary adventure?

IMAGINE learning new cooking skills using local produce and then enjoying the fruits of your labour over a glass of chilled wine.

Regional Victoria offers travellers the opportunity to indulge in the pleasure of using their love of food and taking on new challenges by joining in culinary experiences which go from masterclasses to simple joys. Add in some food festivals, craft markets, the odd sculpture park, fine art galleries and even finer wines, and you have the makings of a wonderful experience.

Mornington Peninsula George’s Boutique B&B & Culinary Retreat offers gourmet hands-on cooking retreats and new half-day classes for small groups.

Half-day classes include Chocolate Unwrapped, Patisserie and seasonal produce.

Tre Gusti at T’Gallant is a ‘three tastes’ cooking class combining food, wine and song in the

winery’s cucina barrel garden.

Daylesford and Macedon Ranges Discover the secrets of perfect wood-fired sourdough bread at the RedBeard Historic Bakery in Trentham.

Spoons Kitchen provides a rustic country-style cooking-class experience utilising fresh local produce that changes with the seasons.

High Country At Rinaldo’s Casa Cucina cooking classes in the King Valley, chef Adam Pizzini shares with students his experience, knowledge and Italian family traditions in a relaxed and informal setting.

And at Pizzini Wines, learn how to make dishes like antipasti and tapas, ravioli and gnocchi, delectable desserts and, of course, The Dinner Party.

Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges It’s where ‘Italy meets

Daylesford offers great food and wine.

DISCOVER VICTORIA: Montalto Vineyard and Olive Grove.

the Yarra Valley’. Al Dente Cooking offers a banquet and hands-on informative cooking lesson complete with wine from Sticks Yarra Valley and Italian espresso.

Bella Vedere has cooking classes with charismatic head chef Gary Cooper two days a week.

Great Ocean Road Hands-on cooking classes at Sunnybrae Cooking School in Birregurra run every Monday. Bread baking in

PHOTOS: VISIT VICTORIA

one form or another is covered and the wood oven is often used.

Gippsland The flavours and ambience of Sri Lankan village life are enjoyed at the Claypot Cooking School in Woolamai.

At Culinaire Cooking School, participants actively engage in the food identification and preparation. Lessons range from Seafood Cookery to Basics for Blokes and Girls, to

guest chefs and specialty workshops.

Philip Island At Cleanskin Kitchenware and Larder Store, cooking classes can be either participatory or through demonstration depending on the individual’s preference.

Discover knife skills or Spanish paella.

For more cooking school ideas and to find out more information on any of these regional venues, go to visitvictoria.com.

A country hotel in the heart of the Yarra Valley.

PHOTO: ROBERT BLACKBURN

Murray markets.

River

farmers’

PHOTO: THE MURRAY

Puttingg Fun into Coach Holidays FREE home pick-up & Return fo r our holida y 3 days & ove r

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Narrandera & Mildura before 5 nights in Adelaide. Explore the Adelaide Hills, visit the Big Rocking Horse, the National Motor Museum and the quaint village of Hahndorf. Visit the residence of Sir Hans Heysen and enjoy a luncheon cruise along the Adelaide River. Visit Carrick Hill and explore the Barossa Valley, the Whispering Wall and Kapunda. Your journey home will take you into Broken Hill and Nyngan.

Tour Price: $2450.00 per person twin share

12 Day Airlie Beach & The Whitsunday Departing Friday 8th June

6 Day Riverina in Spring

Departing Saturday 20th October

Departing Thursday 11th October

Discover Tasmania in Spring .. a beautiful time of year to explore the hidden secrets that Tasmania has to offer.

Travel across on the Spirit of Tasmania with a 2 night stay at Strahan followed by 4 nights in Hobart. Historic Port Arthur, the Huon Valley, Arthur River Cruise and Cradle Mountain are just some of the highlights the tour has to offer.

Tour Price: $4150.00 per person twin share

6 Day Toowoomba Carnival of Flowers Departing Thursday 20th September

Escape the winter chill and travel north with a visit to the famous Bundaberg Rum Factory and Bert Hinkler Hall of Aviation. Enjoy 2 nights in Rockhampton and a cruise to Great Keppel Island.

Then onto Airlie Beach for a relaxing 3 night stay including a Reefworld cruise and a river & wetland safari experience, before making our inland travel home.

Tour price: $3259.00 per person twin share

16 Day Tasmania in Spring

This holiday favourite spends 5 nights at the Leeton Heritage Motel. Exploring the Murrumbidgee irrigation area. Tour the Roxy Theatre and visit Libby Bailey who restores Rocking Horses, View the amazing Citrus Sculpture in Griffith and visit some of the Local gardens open for the festival of gardens. Spend the day at Altina Wildlife Park. So much to see and do on this holiday.

Tour Price: $1450.00 per person twin share

8 Day Norfolk Island

A holiday not just for the garden lovers.Travel toTamworth for overnight before arriving in Toowoomba for a 3 nights Departing Monday 22nd October stay. Visit Laurel Banks Park, Queens Park and the beautiful Includes: return airfares, 7 night’s accommodation at Spring Bluff Railway Station. Sit is reserved grand stand Castaway, daily tours and outings, breakfast & dinner seating to watch the carnival parade. Visit some private each day. Escorted all the way. gardens and visit Black Forest Hill. Overnight in Armidale Tour Price: $3250.00 per person twin share on our return to the Central Coast.

Tour Price: $1667.00 per person twin share

Holiday Inclusions

Home pick-up for Central Coast & Newcastle passengers, 5-star coach travel with professional and informative coach captain/guide Quality Motel accommodation, 2 course dinners, full cooked breakfasts, all entry fees, attractions, sightseeing and cruises as per each itinerary.

It’s Easy Tours Shop 5A Gosford Central Plaza/153 Mann Street GOSFORD NSW 2250 Telephone: 02 4325 8000 | www.itseasytours.com

For detailed itineraries including our 2018 Holiday Guide & latest Day Tours call us 02 4325 8000

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10 Day Discover Adelaide Departing Saturday 26th May

Monday, April 23, 2018 seniorsnews.com.au

Travel

Central Coast

Seniors 29

Discover the wild side along Limestone Coast Explore and indulge in SA SOUTH Australia’s Limestone Coast stretches down the south-west coastline which offers visitors a diverse experience.

The coast goes from the mouth of the Murray River and to the Glenelg River.

Beaches and caves, stunning coastline, delectable local coastal and country food, and famous South Australian wine are there to be seen, touched, smelt and tasted.

The wild coastal scenery, natural wonders and World Heritage site at Naracoorte are an adjunct to the renowned Coonawarra region inland from the coast. It’s the jewel in the region’s wine-making crown and is well-regarded as Australia’s top producer of premium red wines thanks

SOUTH AUSTRALIA: The Oberlisk, a stunning landmark located on the Limestone Coast.

PHOTO: BEN GOODE

to the rich terra rossa soil.

GETTING THERE Fly, catch a coach or drive your way to the Limestone Coast. Mount

Gambier, the region’s biggest town, is approximately 500 kilometres from Melbourne and Adelaide.

ACCOMMODATION There is a wide range of accommodation options from motels, serviced apartments, bed and

breakfast, camping and caravan parks.

IT’S HERITAGE Take in 20 sites of international and national significance including Mount Gambier’s Blue Lake. The Pool of Siloam at Beachport is seven times saltier than the sea.

The megafauna fossils in the World Heritage listed Naracoorte Caves are around half a million years old.

Australia’s first Saint, Mary MacKillop, lives-on in the town of Penola.

COORONG NATIONAL PARK Scenic campgrounds are located on both sides of the lagoon. You’ll need a permit to enter the park.

This is great place for 4WD, fishing, boating and birdwatching. More than 80 bird species live in this series of long, shallow saltwater lagoons. Only towering white sand dunes separate the Coorong from the wild Southern Ocean.

You can explore the park on foot along one of many walking trails, in a kayak, or by four-wheel driving along beach tracks.

WINE REGIONS The coast’s wine industry was founded in 1891. Start with Coonawarra and its red wines before sampling wine from cellar doors in Wrattonbully, Mount Benson and Padthaway.

COAST DELICACIES Salivate over the local honey, native preserves, pickled walnuts and emu mettwurst, plus lobsters and Wagyu beef. Keep an eye out for Eat Local signs.

There are visitor information centres at Beachport, Bordertown, Millicent, Mount Gambier, Naracoorte, Penola and Robe which are open every day.

For more information, go www.southaustralia. com.

www.roadrunnertours.com.au

30 Seniors Central Coast

Travel

seniorsnews.com.au Monday, April 23, 2018

NT: Top end top 10

DISCOVER NT: A memorable moment; sunset at Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park.

Seniors News

WARM welcomes and laidback living is at the heart of the Northern Territory. But don’t be fooled; there is a lot of great things to do in this amazing part of your Australian backyard.

Fish for silver barramundi Try helifishing for the ultimate barramundi

adventure or join one of the many tours from Darwin that go into Arnhem Land where the fishing is some of the world’s best.

Meet local artists and watch them work Meet Aboriginal artists and watch them create their magnificent artwork.

Visit the galleries on the Tiwi Islands north of Darwin or sit with the

Maruku artists near Uluru, or join in the art festivals like the Darwin Aboriginal Art Fair, Walking with Spirits at Beswick near Katherine or Desert Mob in Alice Springs.

Cruise Nitmiluk at dawn Wake early and cruise peacefully up Katherine Gorge as dawn breaks.

Drift past Aboriginal rock art with the changing

PHOTO: TOURISM AUSTRALIA

colours of the dawn light, mist rising from the water and wildlife stirring on the bank.

See ancient rock art in Kakadu National Park Kakadu’s rock art is world class and one of the reasons for its dual World Heritage status.

Visit Kakadu’s rock art galleries at Ubirr, Nourlangie and Nanguluwur and see their fascinating record of life over thousands of years.

Watch the changing colours of Uluru at sunset Catch an Uluru sunset from one of the viewing areas or join a gourmet dinner, watch it from atop camel or on the back of a Harley Davidson motorcycle, or you can even do a sunset skydive.

Walk Kata Tjuta domes Take a walk to experience Kata Tjuta’s 36 steep domes which are only a 20-minute drive from Uluru. Choose from three walking trails.

Explore the West Macs Swim in the Glen Helen Gorge, Ellery Creek Big Hole, Ormiston Gorge or Redbank Gorge waterholes.

Explore the desert country and its escarpments where the walls glow bright red at noon.

Enjoy the Mindil Beach Markets On Thursdays and Sundays during the May to October, the Darwin markets have food stalls that serve dishes from every corner of the earth.

Eat on the beach as the sun sinks into the ocean right in front of your eyes.

Swim at Litchfield National Park Just over an hour away from Darwin, experience the double cascades of Wangi and Florence waterfalls that drop into sublime natural swimming holes, or soak in the rock

Aboriginal women at their creative work at Maruku Arts, Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park.

The Mindil Beach Sunset Markets in Darwin.

PHOTO: NORTHERN TERRITORY TOURISM

pools at Buley Rockhole.

Catch Karlu Karlu sunset Plan a sunset stop at Karlu Karlu (the Devils Marbles), an hour south of Tennant Creek. The hundreds of granite boulders scattered around

a shallow valley turn a fiery red as the sun sets—an unforgettable sight. For more details on these activities and other Northern Territory travel ideas, go to northernterritory.com.

Monday, April 23, 2018 seniorsnews.com.au

Travel

Central Coast

Seniors 31

MODERN TRADITIONS: Henry Jones IXL Art Hotel, Tasmania.

Hobart: enduring charm Erle Levey

IT’S a part of Australia yet it’s apart. A place steeped in history that relies on those foundations to look to the future.

Mention its name and most associate it with the sea … sailing in particular.

Yet we were on a plane, a direct flight from Brisbane even though there are more flights available with stopovers at either Sydney or Melbourne.

Our destination?

Hobart.

Its co-ordinates: 42.8 degrees south, 147.3 degrees east.

That’s the thing about Tasmania. The different air … cleaner, crisper.

The pace, not as hectic.

Time is your friend, not your enemy.

It’s like that first date ... dinner and fine wine, music, maybe a visit to an art gallery.

There is a gentleness in the air ... of caring, sharing secrets.

It’s so easy to fall in love with Hobart.

There’s a sincerity, a friendliness.

Old-fashioned sense and

sensibility mixed with the flirtiness of modern times.

As an introduction, we are whisked off from the airport to the Museum of Old and New Art, as much an attraction now as the convict settlement at Port Arthur, the view of Hobart and the Derwent River from Mt Wellington.

There is no traffic jam on the expressway.

Bellerive Oval is off to the left.

The limousine glides along the highway beside the river before pulling up a curved drive and we are at the gallery.

MONA is the largest privately funded museum in Australia. It deliberately underwhelms you from the outside – Hobart and Mt Wellington are reflected on an entry wall.

Step inside and be confronted by one of the most controversial collections of art in the world.

Comparisons are immediately drawn with Queensland’s Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane.

They are similar but not the same.

While GOMA is above ground and a celebration

Small enough to explore easily, large enough for diversity

of the light and space of Queensland’s sub-tropical climate, MONA is cut deep into the sandstone – dark and confronting.

MONA will seduce you, provoke you, inspire you.

To truly see Hobart is to arrive by sea. Standing on the docks, with tributes to Antarctic explorers, you realise how much of Hobart’s history is bound up with the ocean.

Ships, ferries, yachts and fishing boats pull up in the city centre at Sullivans Cove.

At the end of the Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race weary sailors make it to the safety of Constitution Dock in the heart of the city.

But you think back to the early settlers in Van Diemen’s Land. Think of whalers and sealers who fished the southern ocean. The early explorers in their square-rigged sailing ships. How did they navigate through raging oceans from their ports in the northern hemisphere to the other side of the

world ... one step from Antarctica?

The docks open on to the streets; to the south is historic Salamanca Place with its sandstone warehouses converted into bars, coffee shops and restaurants as well as art galleries and theatres.

To the north is the Henry Jones Art Hotel that includes the IXL Atrium, once the factory for IXL Jams.

You’re in a city ... but you’re not.

Hobart is a very walkable place. Battery Point with its beautifully preserved early buildings and inviting bakeries and tea houses.

The Saturday markets at Salamanca Square are a good example of how connected Tasmanians are with the land and the sea, with what they grow, with what they produce.

Ask a waiter or chef at a restaurant the origin of the food they are serving and they will most likely be able to tell you the farm it has come from.

It’s like seeing the way things are supposed to be. Grounded yet open to ideas. That’s the way I felt walking around the streets of Richmond, a classified historic town in the Coal River Valley, about 30km north-west of Hobart.

Initially, the banks of the river were the source of coal for the newly founded settlement of Hobart. That was in 1803.

Today, the picturesque valley is the source of another valuable resource in the form of outstanding wines.

Richmond is the most recognisable name on the Coal Valley map, the home of more than 50 historic buildings and structures.

None is more famous than the bridge that straddles the crystal clear waters of the Coal River.

So clear that platypus are said to live in its shadow.

The second-most photographed bridge in Australia and the oldest still in use, it was built in 1823 by convicts from sandstone quarried at Butchers Hill and hauled by hand carts to the site.

Sitting high on the hill is St John’s Catholic Church

(1837) and burial ground, the oldest Catholic Church still in use in Australia.

Richmond Gaol was built in 1825 as part of Governor Arthur’s system of police districts.

Originally, Richmond was an important military staging post and convict station linking Hobart with Port Arthur.

Today, accommodation ranges from Georgian-style cottages to B&Bs, historic inns and hotels to farm-stays or lofts and studios among vineyards.

However, it is wine that has got heads turning.

It is now home to more than 200 vineyards and demand for Tasmania’s high-quality pinot noir and other premium wines now exceeds the capacity to supply.

The beauty of Tasmania is its size ... small enough to explore easily, large enough to be enthralled by its diversity.

Expect the unexpected, expect to be surprised, expect for your senses to be captured by the softness of a shower of rain or the chill of a breeze from the Southern Ocean against your cheek.

Event Cinemas “Breath” Screening Giveaway

Thanks to Event Cinemas, we are giving away double passes to their Seniors morning tea screening of BREATH on Wednesday 9th of May at BCC and Event Cinemas.

BREATH (M) is based on Tim Winton’s award-winning and international bestselling novel set in mid-70s coastal Australia. Two teenage boys, hungry for discovery, form an unlikely friendship with a mysterious older adventurer (Simon Baker) who pushes them to take risks that will have a lasting and profound impact on their lives.

To be in the running, simply visit seniorsnews.com.au/competitions to enter online. Good luck!

Want to buy some tickets to the screening? Cinebuzz for Seniors members can get tickets for just $10* from April 18 and best of all, membership is free! You can join online at eventcinemas.com.au

Visit seniorsnews.com.au/competitionterms for full competition terms and conditions. Promoter is ARM Specialist Media Pty Ltd of 2 Newspaper Place, Maroochydore Qld 4558. Promotional period 16/04/18 - 27/04/18. Competition drawn 3pm 27/04/2018 at Cnr Mayne Rd and Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Winners announced in Seniors May Editions 2018. Total prize value $80.00 (including GST). Entry is open to all permanent residents of New South Wales, residing in the Northern NSW, Central Coast and Coffs & Clarence Seniors distribution areas. Authorised under Permit NSW/LTPM/17/02038

Wellbeing + Travel + living + Money

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Visit www.seniorsnews.com.au for more information.

32 Seniors Central Coast

Travel

seniorsnews.com.au Monday, April 23, 2018

Heart of Queensland Carnarvon Gorge: so near yet far enough to get away Erle Levey

MENTION Carnarvon Gorge and most people will tell you they would love to go there. But they haven’t. It’s so near to Brisbane and other major population centres of Southeast Queensland yet far enough to leave it for another time.

That’s how I have thought about it for so many years.

The roof of Queensland they call it. The range of mountains are so vast and diverse. The rain that falls here gives rise to some important rivers and streams. Five major river systems rise within the park's boundary: the Comet, Dawson, Maranoa, Nogoa and Warrego. Such is the geography of the range that it virtually creates its own climate.

A fellow hiker put a visit to the national park into perspective. He had been driving down the Carnarvon Highway for 30-something years with his work, and thought it was time to turn off and have a look.

Arriving in late afternoon it was beautiful to see the cloud hanging majestically around the imposing sandstone cliffs … much like you see in the New Guinea Highlands.

It added to the mystery that surrounds the gorge, said to be where there are still trees and plants dating back to the age of dinosaurs. A good introduction to the national park is to attend the 4.30pm briefing at the Wilderness Lodge

Friendly face wallaby at Carnarvon Gorge.

The Ampitheatre at Carnarvon Gorge.

Discovery Centre.

It was arranged that I join Michelle Whitehouse, of Australian Nature Guides, as part of the guided hike up the gorge the next morning – 7.30am start from the Rangers Centre near the creek.

The tour takes you up the lower gorge to the Ampitheatre, Ward’s Canyon, the Art Gallery and the Moss Garden. It’s the diverse nature of Carnarvon that appeals so much.

The gorge is beautiful in

DAY ON THE FARM

its own right but those creeks and gullies off to the side hold some real surprises. The soft early-morning mist swirls around the cliff faces and the moisture drips from the trees. The wildlife is incredible. Wallabies and kangaroos feeding on the new shoots of grass beside the walking track.

They are not disturbed by our approach. They treat us as if it was the dawn of time and there is no need to be worried about our intrusion into their domain.

SPECTACULAR: The entry to The Ampitheatre at Carnarvon Gorge.

You could see where the echidnas had been digging in the dirt for ants.

Apparently they sense the movement of the ants and listen for them. The rock formations are stunning.

So weathered and pitted.

The trees reaching up towards the sky. The bird calls, the parrots darting through the trees.

As we walk Michelle tells me a major factor of the national park is the geology. Three river catchments interact here and it provides a major

intake for the Great Artesian Basin. This is a resource that is millions of years old, the minerals adding to the quality of the water, providing a resource as pure as you could find.

Despite the arid nature of the Queensland Outback the Carnarvon Creek has not dried up in five million years.

The gorge extends 20km to west, and there are huge elevation shifts.

From the Boolimba Bluff that forms such an

PHOTOS: ERLE LEVEY

imposing landmark you gain 200m but at the rim of the range you are 1000m above sea level.

And there is a wealth of cultural heritage such as the rock art at Baloon Cave, one of three sites accessible and that show how rich the area is in indigenous history. The track is suitable for wheelchair users if they have someone to assist them.

Read the full story at www.seniorsnews. com.au

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Monday, April 23, 2018 seniorsnews.com.au

Money

Seniors 33

Labor wants franking changes

FINANCE TONY KAYE THE spectacular u-turn by the Labor Party on its plan to remove the ability of retirees on the pension who own shares to claim a cash rebate on the tax-paid company dividends is certainly a welcome step.

But it will do little if anything for close to one million Australians who are members of self-managed superannuation funds and many other self-funded retirees who fall outside of the age pension safety net.

If the ALP is elected at the next election, and manages to get its planned legislation enshrined into law, there

is likely to be considerable upheaval in the retirement space as people are forced into selling assets, to shift capital into other areas, and perhaps even to sell and spend up some of their retirement funds to qualify for the age pension.

Indeed, the latter strategy may become the favoured choice of many who are outside of the age pension qualification limits but who actually earn less from their retirement savings than those being paid a part or full government pension.

After pressure from the Federal Government as well as superannuation and financial lobby groups, Opposition leader Bill Shorten went back to the drawing board and came up with a new draft of his plan to tax retirees.

The political olive branch from the ALP is there would be a

“Pensioner Guarantee” on its policy.

That means any pensioners owning shares and receiving either a full or part age pension, a disability support pension, carer payment, parenting payment, Newstart or a sickness allowance, would be able to avoid the planned dividends slug.

SMSFs with at least one pensioner or allowance

recipient also would be exempt from the changes.

The revised plan will reduce the additional revenue Labor’s policy was estimated to make in its first two years from $11.4 billion to $10.7 billion.

But even those revised figures show many Australians benefiting from the current dividends policy will still be caught in the crossfire.

Those people are the trustees and members of SMSFs and other self-funded retirees, who will be bearing the brunt of this proposed legislation.

Actuarial research house Rice Warner says the plan is “extraordinarily bad policy”. These are six reasons why: ■ It is product-specific, attacking SMSFs but no other types of superannuation funds.

■ Labor’s forecast additional revenue figures

do not take into account the major tax changes which took effect from July 1, 2017 and mean retirees with larger balances already face reduced franking credit refunds or an increase in their tax bill.

■ It is easily avoided by a change in asset-allocation, or by partial or full transfer into an APRA fund, so it will not deliver much of the tax claimed.

■ It signals that retirees should shift away from Australian shares to less appropriate assets, weakening our domestic capital market.

■ It will lead to some SMSF retirees earning less and moving to a part age pension earlier.

■ It further weakens confidence in the stability of government policy towards superannuation – even those not directly affected may experience

reduced confidence that saving extra for retirement will be rewarded.

“We accept that there are still many members of SMSFs with very large balances (which Labor ignored when it did its comprehensive review of superannuation),” Rice Warner says.

“If it is deemed that they need to pay more tax, there is a relatively simple solution. Simply have a limit on the total amount allowed to be held in superannuation at retirement.”

SMSF Association CEO John Maroney says many SMSF members receiving a partial age pension will be subject to an “unfair, two-tiered and complex” system.

Tony Kaye is the editor of Eureka Report, which is owned by financial services group InvestSMART, www.investsmart.com.au

WILLS

POWERS OF ATTORNEY ENDURING GUARDIANSHIPS

RETIREMENT VILLAGE AGREEMENTS

RESIDENT ACCOMMODATION AGREEMENTS

Robert Stephen 0422 902920 robert.ccsols@optusnet.com.au

Renchia Ambrose 0431 226427 renchia.ccsols@optusnet.com.au

CENTRAL COAST SOLICITORS

16 ADELAIDE STREET, EAST GOSFORD (Opposite the Elenora Hotel) www.centralcoastsolicitors.com | (02) 4339 7466

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Robert Stephen and Renchia Ambrose are solicitors who have years of experience assisting Seniors in legal matters. Convenient parking at East Gosford shopping centre within easy walking distance of the office.

Robert and Renchia are happy to visit you if you are unable to come to them.

34 Seniors Central Coast

seniorsnews.com.au Monday, April 23, 2018

Let’s save

Tasty homegrown tomatoes

HOME-grown tomatoes are the tastiest and they are very easy to grow from either seed or seedlings, provided you follow our simple, step-by-step program.

PREPARATION

Garden Beds: Add one barrowload of 5-in-1, Real Compost or animal manure per square metre to growing area and dig thoroughly into soil.

Sprinkle with garden lime at the rate of one handful per square metre.

Mulch thoroughly.

Raised beds are usually best unless soil is naturally very well drained.

No-dig method: Beds can be built up from layers of organic material topped with compost or potting mix into which seeds or seedlings are planted.

One method is to make a

newspaper base to suppress weeds and then add successive layers of lucerne or cane trash, animal manure, straw, another layer of animal manure and well-made, mature compost into which seeds are planted.

Each layer is about 20 cm thick and must be watered.

Sides can be left open or contained by boards or wire mesh.

Growing from seed: Use a proprietary Searles Seed Raising mix and make shallow holes about 0.5cm deep and 10cm apart. Cover lightly with the mix, firming it down and watering gently.

Thin out seedlings to 3cm apart when they are 2cm high. Plant out when about four weeks old and the same size as bought seedlings.

Growing from seedlings: In hot weather plant out in the late afternoon or evening; about 50cm apart in rows 1.2 metres apart.

Set roots firmly in place, leaving plenty of top growth above the surface and removing any leaves which might be buried.

Dose each plant with a dilute application of SeaMax Fish & Kelp to promote strong root growth.

Put 2m stakes next to each, train one or two shoots up the stake and secure with a soft binding material tied loosely round the stem but not right under the leaf.

Watering Tomatoes: Give plants a good soaking around the roots every other day, keeping the soil slightly moist below the

surface. In extremely hot weather watering once or even twice a day may be necessary; heat stress is shown by wilting.

Overwatering can cause root rot.

A perforated soaker hose or trickle/drip irrigation system is best.

Feeding Tomatoes: Keep soil healthy with regular mulching and applications of 5-in-1 or Real Compost and/or animal manures.

Tomatoes will grow very well in a healthy soil that is rich in nutrients, particularly if boosted with applications of SeaMax Fish & Kelp to the leaves and soil.

Pruning: Not strictly necessary but occasional pruning of top growth will encourage a low, bushy plant.

Pests: Most common pests can be kept at bay

GROW YOUR OWN: Tomatoes grow well in a healthy soil.

with an all-purpose organic spray such as Ecofend Vegetable & Garden.

Always try organic solutions rather than chemical solutions. Fruit can be covered by paper bags just before it starts to colour up.

Diseases: Visible signs are blotches on fruit and/or leaves, wilting of leaves or whole plant, unsightly patterns on fruit,

leaf-yellowing or distortion, sudden collapse of plant.

Most common prevention and control methods are copper-based fungicidal dusts and spray of Mancozeb but seek advice from your garden centre, taking a specimen of the problem with you.

More info at: searlesgardeniproducts. com.au

Quinoa, tomato, asparagus and goat’s cheese tart INGREDIENTS

190g (1 cup) quinoa, rinsed, drained 1 teaspoon Massel vegetable stock powder 500ml (2 cups) water 400g grape tomatoes 2 bunches asparagus, trimmed, halved 2 eggs 50g (1/2 cup) parmesan, finely grated 150g soft goat’s cheese 150g low-fat ricotta 2 tablespoons fresh continental parsley, chopped 2 tablespoons fresh chives, chopped 2 teaspoons lemon

Delicious and nutritious.

rind, finely grated Fresh basil leaves, to serve Balsamic vinegar, to drizzle

METHOD

Step 1 Place the quinoa in a small saucepan with the stock powder and water.

Stir to combine and bring to the boil over medium-high heat.

Reduce heat to low.

Cover and simmer for 12 minutes or until the water is absorbed.

Remove from the heat and then set aside to cool.

Step 2 Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan forced.

Line a baking tray with baking paper. Place the tomatoes and asparagus on prepared tray. Spray with olive oil. Roast for 8-10 minutes or until tender. Set aside.

Step 3 Place the cooled quinoa in a large bowl.

Add the eggs and grated parmesan. Season and stir until well combined.

Step 4 Lightly spray a 26cm non-stick fluted tart tin with a removable base with oil. Press the quinoa

mixture evenly and firmly into the base and side of tin to form a thick crust.

Place on a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes or until light golden.

Step 5 Combine the goat’s cheese, ricotta, parsley, chives and lemon rind in a bowl. Mix until smooth.

Spread the cheese mixture over the quinoa base.

Top with the roasted tomatoes and asparagus.

Roast for a further 5–10 minutes or until warmed through. Sprinkle with the basil leaves and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Staying connected with the free Wi-Fi available MOST of us with mobile phones are on a plan with a service provider that includes some data.

It is important to not exceed your data usage and be hit with unexpected charges. One way to avoid this is by taking advantage of the free Wi-Fi available in most public places.

Wi-Fi technology may be used to provide Internet access to devices that are within the range of a wireless network that is connected to the Internet.

One gigabyte (GB) is made up of 1024MB. The most popular plans offered by mobile phone companies, (unless you

BE THRIFTY AND THRIVE NICKY NORMAN have unlimited usage) are 1GB, 2GB or 5GB of mobile data allowance.

Devices that can use Wi-Fi technology include personal computers, video-game consoles, phones and tablets, digital cameras, smart TVs, digital audio players and modern printers.

Wi-Fi compatible devices can connect to the Internet via a WLAN and a wireless access

point. Such an access point (or hotspot) has a range of about 20 metres indoors and a greater range outdoors.

Hotspot coverage can be as small as a single room with walls that block radio waves, or as large as many square kilometres achieved by using multiple overlapping access points.

Your Apps can be busy running updates, checking for new emails or backing up content to the cloud like your photos – without you doing anything.

Therefore, you can be using data without realising. Be sure to close the windows/opened

pages from your phone to avoid this from occurring.

Wi-Fi provides service in homes, businesses as well as in public spaces at Wi-Fi hotspots set up either free-of-charge or commercially, often using a captive portal webpage for access.

Organisations and businesses such as airports, hotels, and restaurants, often provide free hotspots to attract customers.

If travelling overseas and you’re concerned about data roaming charges – simply keep your phone settings on ‘Aeroplane mode’ and this will disable any access to

TAP IN: Wi-Fi provides service in private homes, businesses, as well as in public spaces at Wi-Fi hotspots.

data, yet still enabling you to access free Wi-Fi. How to access free Wi-Fi: 1. Tap the Settings icon to open the Settings menu.

Tap WiFi. 2. Select the name (SSID)

of your WiFi network from the list of available connections.

3. Enter the WiFi password and then tap Join to finish. Some devices may be different.

Puzzles

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DOWN 1 Actor Ron Moody is most associated with which character? (5) 2 What garment is a surtout? (8) 3 The word coffee originated from what language?

(6) 4 What flavour is a humbug sweet? (10) 5 What bearded mountain goat of Eurasia and northern Africa has large backward- curving horns?

(4) 6 Under what pseudonym did Jean-Baptiste Poquelin write plays? (7) 9 What instrument with pivoted levers is used for copying drawings to any desired scale? (10) 11 In inches, how wide is a basketball ring? (8) 12 English mathematician John Hadley and American inventor Thomas Godfrey independently invented what thing used at sea? (7) 14 What insects excrete honeydew? (6) 16 What Yiddish word means silent or noncommunicative? (5) 17 What soft, mild creamy cheese comes from northern France? (4)

ACROSS 1 As a retirement Mecca, which US state trebled in population between 1960 and 1990? (7) 4 What transparent object refracts light into rainbow colours? (5) 7/8 Who has played on recordings by Bobby Darin, Ricky Nelson, Merle Haggard, The Monkees, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and The Mamas & the Papas? (4,8) 10 Transience is the only one-word anagram of what word? (10) 12 What type of song was originally sung by sailors as an accompaniment to work? (6) 13 Harold Dennis “Dickie” Bird gained fame as a what? (6) 15 Which flowering South African perennial plant of the lily family is popular for banks and borders? (10) 18 Venice is on a lagoon of which sea? (8) 19 What woollen cloth is made by rolling and pressing to mat the fibres together? (4) 20 What are ground in the habit of bruxism? (5) 21 Technically, what is the breastbone? (7)

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QUICK CROSSWORD

Fill the grid so every column, every row and 3x3 box contains the digits 1 to 9.

1

2

3

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5

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8 9

10

5x5

ALPHAGRAMS

Insert the missing letters to make ten words — five reading across the grid and five reading down.

Solve the anagrams. Each solution is a one-word anagram of the letters beside it, and the five solutions are sequential.

For example, if the fiveletter solution starts with J, the six-letter solution starts with K, and so on.

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FACES MANY Do AxLE PIN FIR CoNES LARGE SAWS

SOLUTIONS

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Across: 1. Shun 3. Psych out 9. Unfolds 10. Oasis 11. Gatecrashers 14. Lid 16. Atoms 17. Eel 18. Maiden voyage 21. Ideal 22. Hostage 23. Retreats 24. Gems.

Down: 1. Squiggle 2. Unfit 4. SOS 5. Clothes horse 6. Observe 7. Toss 8. Black-and-blue 12. Adorn 13. Clueless 15. Dialect 19. Agape 20. Tier 22. Hit.

QUICK CROSSWORD

ALPHAGRAMS: CAFES, DyNAMO, ExPLAIN, FORENSIC, GLASSwARE.

How many words of four letters or more can you make? Each letter must be used only once and all words must contain the centre letter. There is at least one nine-letter word.

No words starting with a capital are allowed, no plurals ending in s unless the word is also a verb.

TODAY: Good 15 Very Good 22 Excellent 27+

SUDOKU

5x5

O B E S E

WORD GO ROUND

GK CROSSWORD

Down 1. Illegible scrawl (8) 2. Not suitable (5) 4. Call for help (3) 5. Laundry frame (7,5) 6. Watch closely (7) 7. Throw (4) 8. Bruised (5-3-4) 12. Decorate (5) 13. Totally uninformed (8) 15. Language of a region (7) 19. Wide open (5) 20. Layer (4) 22. Strike (3)

Across: 1 Florida. 4 Prism. 7/8 Glen Campbell. 10 Nectarines.

12 Shanty. 13 Umpire. 15 Agapanthus. 18 Adriatic. 19 Felt. 20 Teeth.

21 Sternum.

Down: 1 Fagin. 2 Overcoat. 3 Arabic. 4 Peppermint. 5 Ibex. 6 Molière.

9 Pantograph. 11 Eighteen. 12 Sextant. 14 Aphids. 16 Shtum. 17 Brie.

Across 1. Avoid (4) 3. Mentally intimidate (colloq) (5,3) 9. Takes place (7) 10. Watering hole (5) 11. Uninvited guests (12) 14. Cover (3) 16. Particles (5) 17. Snakelike fish (3) 18. Ship’s debut (6,6) 21. Perfect (5) 22. Captive (7) 23. Goes backward (8) 24. Diamonds (4)

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WORD GO ROUND

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Note: more than one solution may be possible.

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aunt aura aural input lunar lupin natural nuptial nutria paua pilau punt puritan purl ritual ruin runt tapu TARPAULIN tulip tuna turn turnip ulna ulnar ultra unapt unit unlit until urinal

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Seniors 35

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36 Seniors Central Coast

seniorsnews.com.au Monday, April 23, 2018

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