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SEPTEMBER, 2019// SENIORS

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News - Just sing out and smile Cover Story - Jack Charles News - A woodware wardrobe News - Sea change on location Wanderlust Living Wellbeing Community group guide What’s on Money Classifieds Puzzles

10 Multi-generational cast by the sea

Big life, big adventures Gail Forrer Seniors Group Editor THIS month we report on a couple of ‘big’stories. Local reporter Tania Phillips interviewed Stephanie Lymburner and her work to preserve and care for what is left of the legendary Big Scrub. The Big Scrub once covered an area of some 75,000 hectares from the Coastal plain inland from Ballina to Lismore out to the edge of Meerscaum Vale in the south up to Nightcap, Goonengerry and Byron in the north. Now less than one per cent remains in small scattered remnants of rainforest with a total area of less than 700ha, and people such as Stephanie are doing their bit to preserve what there is for the future. Tania’s other ‘big’ story is about voices, song and joy. Brunswick Valley resident Janet Swain is the driving force behing the creation of the Big Sing. What a wonderful community effort. This month’s cover personality is Jack Charles – and what a hero he is to have navigated a life path through enormous adversity – no wonder he was named Victoria’s Senior Australian of the Year (2016). We also follow up with Ricci Bartels – the lady who spoke up on national TV about the difficulties of older-age

unemployment and the fact that Newstart has not risen in 25 years. Have you ever thought of living with the family? Tracey Johnstone speaks to families who actually have, and in our regular two-page news feature she gives us a first-hand account of their experiences. In terms of travel, the man in charge of Seniors News online, Graeme Wilson, gets off the screen and into print with a story on the National Trust’s Great Walks of Qld. On the other hand, if you seriously want to stretch your horizons further, why not think about Armenia – check out our Wanderlust section for the story. Our Wellbeing section presents a number of accounts from people sharing authentic tales of finding their own way to live their best life – in this case I’m referring to Phil Hazell, who is tackling his dementia diagnosis his own way. What an inspiration.

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 Online Get your news online at www.seniorsnews.com.au Advertising, editorial and distribution enquiries Phone: 1300 880 265 Email: advertising@seniorsnewspaper.com.au or editor@seniorsnewspaper.com.au 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 “Northern NSW Seniors Newspaper”. The Seniors Newspaper is published monthly and distributed free in northern New South Wales and southeast 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.

Phil’s living well with dementia

Visit Bellingen to hear fine music IT’S time to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the popular Bellingen Fine Music Festival, which can rightly claim its place as one of regional Australia’s foremost fine music events. “Fine” music at this popular three-day festival includes fine jazz and world music as well as classical. David Helfgott heads

this year’s wonderful line-up. Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition is his choice of work and he will also be performing with up and musicians Suzanne Sherrington and Lachlan Wilkins. Other concerts include Trish O’Brien and Paul Dean with Ensemble Q, the Acacia Quartet with a new work by young composer Alice Chance.

The wonderful Bellingen Youth Orchestra opens the festival and this is always a sell-out event. Oud player extraordinaire Joseph Tawadros with brother James performs on the Sunday and the Festival closes with a brilliant jazz ensemble with Jonathan Zwartz, Julien Wilson, Hamish Stuart, and Carl Dewhurst.

There’s also a huge fringe program to fill the weekend with music. Fringe events include a huge Chorus of Choirs. Mark the date in your diary to come and visit the beautiful Bellingen valley. September 26-29, 2019. Tickets from $15. Details and tickets, bellingenmusicfestival .com.

LISTEN UP: Monique Clare will perform in Bellingen.

Photo: Rachel Vercoe

Class above: How does your grandchild’s school compare? An exclusive education series every grandparent must read. To find out more visit education.news.com.au THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO DECIDE YOUR CHILD’S FUTURE

SENIORS \\SEPTEMBER, 2019

NEWS

DIVERSE members of the Brunswick Heads community come together each week to sing, chant and enjoy – that’s the idea behind Big Sing.

Just sing out and smile

DIVERSE members of the community coming together each week to sing, chant and enjoy – that’s the idea behind Big Sing – the brain child of Brunswick Valley-based singer, teacher, performer and songwriter Janet Swain. “Big Sing started about 18 months ago at Brunswick Picture House,” Janet said. “We had the idea that the Picture House needed a choir, but I didn’t really know how it would work. “I’ve been teaching choirs for many years, usually community choirs with four parts, and music and long rather laborious rehearsals, so I wanted to do something different.

‘‘

The circle is open to everyone locals, visitors, kids, babies, singers “So now I spend one hour teaching simple chants and songs and guiding vocal improvisation that is often called Circle Singing. “I don’t hand out lyric sheets and I don’t teach complicated harmonies, so it really is a group for anyone who wants to connect with their own individual voice.” Every Monday morning all kinds of people gather at the Picture House to sing together and connect with their community.

The circle is open to everyone – locals, visitors, kids, babies, singers and anyone who has been longing to sing in a safe, friendly, joyful space. “We have mums with small babies and our oldest singer is 95 – Ray started singing when he was 90 and is now a regular with us in Brunswick Heads!” she said. Janet has founded and directed many community choirs in Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Singapore and the Byron Shire, and she has developed a dynamic and original teaching style. These days she lives in the Byron Shire and her current projects include not only Big Sing – Own Your Voice but the Dynasty8 Chamber Choir, music comedy ensemble The Loveys, and her private singing studio. This year Janet founded the inaugural Festival of the Voice in Brunswick Heads, which will be an ongoing bi-annual event, and she is working on a festival subscription series of six exciting concerts in 2020. But the expansion of Big Sing is also at the top of her to-do list. “Big Sing has just started in Lismore and is about to start in Kingscliff at the beautiful Kingscliff Community Centre, right on the beach,” Janet said. “It is a wonderful space for singing and I am planning some longer weekend singing workshops as well as the regular weekly Big Sing. “There are so many health benefits of singing together in community. “I have been researching the vagus nerve – the nerve that originates in the brain and

BIG SING: Brunswick Valley-based singer, teacher, performer and songwriter Janet Swain at her piano.

travels through the entire body. It is connected to the vocal chords. “Digestive complaints, high blood pressure, anxiety and inflammatory conditions can all helped by these practices. “Apart from just simply being fun and uplifting, I believe that singing together is a form of communion,” she said. “For many people the Big Sing takes the place of church, and there is a powerful and deep spiritual connection created with oneself and with others in the group.” For more and to join the mailing list, go to songdynastymusic.com.

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Tania Phillips

COVER STORY

SEPTEMBER, 2019// SENIORS

Living with no excuses, Tracey Johnstone

Glenferrie. “So, I was mixing with the crowd from the home and many of them were already on a life of crime,” Charles said. “One of them convinced me to go with him and we robbed a supermarket in Hawthorne. That was my first crime. I was easily led; a young, impressionable child, not knowing anything. “They were my first and foremost siblings I thought,” he added. “I ran amok with them, while at the same time staying on this journey of discovering who I was.” Homelessness, burglaries and drugs became an integral part of his life. And so did acting. He has appeared in many plays and Australian movies including The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith, Bedevil, Blackfellas and the international film Pan. But throughout all that, Charles still searched for his family connections. He was delighted to finally find out his mother was still alive and living in a humpie in a “blakfella camp” in NSW, and that

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TWO ARTISTS: Anh Do chatted with Australian actor Jack Charles while painting his portrait on an episode of Anh's Brush with Fame. Photo: ABC

THE stage is set, the lights are dimmed and the audience is anticipating an enlightening encounter with renowned Australian actor Jack Charles. He doesn’t disappoint. The Aboriginal elder, who has spent his life searching for his stolen identity, has offered a glimpse of his extraordinary life, revealing the lows and highs of his journey, in his book, Jack Charles: Born-again Blakfella. In this memoir, Charles is brutally honest about where the fault lies, while retaining his cheeky take on many encounters. Removed from his mother’s arms at four months under the White Australia Policy and taken to the Salvation Army’s Box Hill Boys Home, in 70-odd years Charles has done more damage and good in life than almost imaginable in his quest to answer the question of where he came from. “I was confounded by my heritage right from the get-go at the Box Hill Boys

Home,” he said. Charles was a bright student who learned to read and write, memorise and recite works, and mimic radio voices, which helped him develop his acting voice. He also experienced ongoing sexual abuse, like many of the other boys in the home. There was a brief moment when Charles thought he met one of his siblings, Artie, but the brothers put a stop to him finding out more. Denied the right to connect with “blood kin” and turfed out on the streets in his mid-teens, Charles gained work skills, both legal and illegal. “I believe that I was easily conned as a young fellow by my fellow comrades from the Box Hill Boys Home who were living around Auburn at the same time,” he said. “They were in a Salvation Army hostel.” He remembers his boss bailing him out of Turana reception centre to get him back to work, and putting him in a gentlemen’s residence in

SENIORS \\SEPTEMBER, 2019

COVER STORY

no regrets he had several living siblings. “She was well respected and even called a sergeant,” he said. But, there was also a dark story around her that has stayed with him well after his mother died. Charles is unapologetic about the crimes he committed, leading to 22 incarcerations, and for his heroin addiction. “I have outed myself and admitted to my crimes,” he said. “I remember clearing up the police books and they did suggest: ‘Jack, I think you are admitting to too many more crimes than we envisaged. Instead of 700 we will charge you for 75. Is that okay?’.” Undertaking the *Marumali Program at Loddon Prison, near the completion of his last prison sentence in 2008, proved a final turning point for Charles. “Those weeks of undertaking that journey of discovering the missing link in our lives, the missing denied heritage, really got many of us at those sessions pretty

upset,” he said. “It was the catalyst that relit the burning embers of my life: my drugged up, grogged up, mucked up dreamings.” Some of his confronting story has already been shared through the film Bastardy and in the play

‘‘

I have outed myself and admitted to my crimes

Jack Charles vs The Crown. He used the play as a chance to apologise to all from whom he had stolen and who he had disappointed. Has he finally found himself? “I am pretty happy now,” Charles said. “Through the Koorie Heritage Trust and Link-Up, I have discovered who I am now. “I won’t be around forever so the idea was to write a memoir, my ideas and to share it with

Australians. “I am 76 this year and I have been leaving a number of legacies in one form or another. The book just tops it off. I do intend to write further insights, sharing the journey of jumping off the methadone for instance.” Now an Aboriginal elder, Victorian Senior of the Year and recipient of the Red Ochre Award for Lifetime Achievement, Charles is using his “fine sense of com-artistry” to drive changes in the future of the younger generations as he enthusiastically continues his volunteer community leadership work. He’s still on stage, recently completing the last of the ABC’s Black Comedy series, and is booked for the Te Rehia Theatre play Black Ties. Charles plans to keep acting as long as he keeps getting asked. “I never audition; I am too far up myself to audition and I fear rejection. I am only a little fellow,” he said cheekily. Jack Charles: Born-again Blakfella is in bookshops now.

SELF-KNOWLEDGE: Jack Charles battled long and hard to find himself.

Photo: James Henry

A program of healing *WINANGALI Marumali has been working since 2000 to increase the quality of support available for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander survivors of removal policies through delivery of its Marumali Program. The program is based on the unparalleled Marumali Journey of Healing Model

developed and delivered by Aunty Lorraine Peeters, a survivor of the removal policies herself. She suffered forcible removal from her family and institutionalised at the age four. The Program supports service providers to realise the widespread impact of forcible removal.

And to understand the potential paths for recovery, recognise the signs and symptoms of trauma associated with forcible removal in clients, families and others involved with their service and to avoid re-traumatising members of the Stolen Generations. Info: marumali.com.au.

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SEPTEMBER, 2019// SENIORS

A woodware wardrobe

Artistry of master craftsman on show Tania Phillips CHESTA Drawz and The Lowboys is the latest and probably the last big exhibition (well at least for now) for master woodworker Geoff Hannah and his students. For the past three years Hannah, who is 71 at Christmas, has been working on his piece for the display at the Lismore Regional Gallery from October 19 to December 1.

‘‘

Considered a master craftsman, Geoff was awarded the Churchill Fellowship Geoff, the son of a sleeper cutter and sawmill worker, was born and raised on the Far North Coast, starting his career with Brown and Jolly before opening up his own business in 1973. “And I’ve been working ever since – though it was mainly restoring in the early days,” Geoff said. “I’m slowing down. “I can’t lift things like I used to and I’m easing back a bit.”

He said he had been holding exhibitions every four years since 1978 which was a big commitment “working four years ahead” and making it hard to go away for long. But just because he is slowing down a little and won’t be diving straight back into preparing for his next exhibition, that doesn’t mean he is giving up – far from it. He is still creating, still “living in (his) workshop” and could “teach every day of the week”. Considered a master craftsman, Geoff was awarded the Churchill Fellowship in 1980, travelling to France and England. He studied furniture at the Palace of Versailles, the Louvre in Paris and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Apart from being a gifted master craftsman, he is a renowned teacher of his craft, having taught aspiring woodworkers from Longreach to Launceston and Muckadilla to Perth. He was made an Honorary Fellow of the Southern Cross University in 2009. In 2018 Geoff was awarded the Order of Australia for service to the visual arts through the production of furniture and marquetry. As well Geoff’s work, the exhibition will include the work of his students including Colin Fardon,

SCULPTOR OF WOOD: Woodwork artist Geoff Hannah prepares for his show at Lismore Gallery. Photo: Contributed Barbara Riordan, Jan Page, Sue Eagan, Ted Slattery, Lucille Stace, Rick Stewart, Sally Bates, Brian Emery, Darren Shaw, Rob Hurford, Brian Henry, Greg Foster, Paul Amour, Francesco Stassi, Gary Shallala-Hudson, Paul Laird, Wendy Laird, Paul Frangos, David Gilmore, Paul Tiernan, Carla McGuire, Marek Sojka, Tom Scarabellotti, Mike Evens and Rick Billson. Contact details: 11 Rural St / PO Box 23A Lismore, NSW 2480 T | 02 6627 4600 E | art.gallery@lismore. nsw.gov.au W | lismoregallery.org

HISTORY THE permanent collection, which was started in 1948, gained pace with the formation of the Lismore Arts Trust and the Lismore Art Prize in 1953. The following year, Lismore Regional Gallery was established in its home in the Trench Building on Molesworth St. Since this first donation the collection has grown to almost 1000 works, acquired primarily through kind donations from individuals.

Like many regional collections throughout the country, the Lismore Art Prize was an impetus to develop a collection of national standing. In the early years of the prize, the gallery acquired works by artists such as Margaret Olley, Jon Molvig, Arthur Murch, Jack Kilgour and Peter Powditch. Over subsequent years the collection has grown to house works by other notable artists such as Lloyd Rees, Albert Namatjira, Thea Proctor and Kevin

Connor, while also collecting works by important Northern Rivers artists such as Jan Davis, Bronwyn Bancroft, Digby Moran, Angus McDonald, James Guppy, Patsy Hely and Michael John Taylor. The gallery also holds a unique collection of photographs, giving prominence to the 1973 Nimbin Aquarius Festival. More recent additions include works by Tim Hixson documenting houses built in the region in the post-Aquarius years.

Ready, set, go for friendly competition at Masters Games MORE than 1500 sports people are set to descend on Lismore for the biennial Masters Games. Now 20 years since their inception, the games are three days of fun, frivolity and, of course, sport held at grounds across the Lismore region from September 27–29. Lismore City Council events officer Leanne Clark said competitors would benefit from major upgrades to sporting facilities in the region over the past two years. She said these upgraded grounds included Crozier Field, the Albert Park Baseball and Softball Complex and the regional hockey centre at Hepburn Park. Sports include baseball, basketball,

cricket, equestrian, golf, hockey, lawn bowls, mountain biking, netball, Oztag, fitness challenge, football, five-side football, rugby union, softball, swimming and masters mini games (euchre, darts, pool and indoor bowls). Ms Clark said the event ended up being a festival of sport and fun. “The Masters Games is three days of fantastic fun – we’ll have more than 1500 competitors from our local region, Southeast Queensland, Australia and the world descending on Lismore to socialise, renew lifelong friendships and enjoy competitive sports,” she said. “It is hard to believe this event has been going for two decades.

EXCITED: Participants display all the colour of the Lismore Masters Games. “I remember when we held the first Games – it was popular right from the get-go. “We knew we had an enduring event once we saw the enthusiasm that was out there in the community.

“The fact it has grown to become such a major event on our sporting calendar is testament to the sporting spirit here in Lismore and the many hundreds of volunteers who work so hard to create an

unforgettable event.” Ms Clark said this would be the 11th time the biennial event had been held in the 20 years and through it all the event had just one naming rights sponsor. “We are also

celebrating two decades of sponsorship by the Lismore Workers Club,” she said. “The club came on board as the naming rights sponsor for our very first Games and has been a faithful partner ever since. “At this event we will pay tribute to the Lismore Workers Club and our hard-working volunteers, some of whom have been with us since the inaugural event. “The 20th year is the perfect time to say a huge thank you to the integral people that have made the Masters Games what it is today.” For more information on the games, go to www.lismoremasters games.com.au.

SENIORS \\SEPTEMBER, 2019

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Rejuvenation of scrub Joyous goal to revive original ‘Big Scrub’ Tania Phillips FOR Stephanie Lymburner her work to preserve and care for what is left of the legendary Big Scrub is as much about the past as the future. Stephanie and her husband Hugh, then in their late 40s, swapped their life as picture framers in Sydney to continue her mother’s dream of helping preserve the region’s rainforest. The Big Scrub once covered an area of some 75,000 hectares from the Coastal plain inland from Ballina to Lismore out to the edge of Meerscaum Vale in the south up to Nightcap, Goonengerry and Byron in the North. Now less than one per cent remains in small scattered remnants of rainforest with a total area of less than 700ha. Hugh and Stephanie, now in their 70s, are still working on their property finding pockets of introduced species to dig out – that’s when they aren’t off around the Pacific taking part in Ocean swims, their hobby away from the weeds. Steph is a long-time Big Scrub Landcare member, one of the largest and most successful Landcare groups in the country, and is on the organising committee for the Big Scrub Rainforest Day. Now in it’s 21st year the one day has been

CLOSE TO THE EARTH: Landcare member and property owner Stephanie Lymburner works to bring back original flora. extended across four days from September 19-22 and features 15 activities across idyllic locations learning about the critically endangered lowland subtropical rainforest. Stephanie’s love of the forest came from her mother Di Mercer who, she says, was “ahead of her time”. Di drove her her trusty Mini-Moke up the “rutted Coolgardie Road” in February 1968, parking and scrambling through a barbed wire fence and a tangle of kikuyu and

‘‘

She was the land’s steward, she was fulfilling her dream. lantana to the crest of the hill where she was treated to a vista of sweeping cane fields, the Richmond River, Pimlico Island and the ocean. Four years later she bought 8.2 hectares of

land near Ballina, built a small house and moved her teenaged daughters to the area to begin her stewardship and preservation of the land. “Once her daughters left home she sold the Moke, happily riding the 14 kilometres into Ballina for provisions, to see friends, barter herbs, and visit the library,” Stephanie said. “She spent her days planting trees, pulling weeds, and writing articles for magazines such as Earth Garden. “She was the land’s

steward, she was fulfilling her dream. “Unfortunately, this all ended abruptly after only six years. “In 1978 as she was cycling along the Pacific Highway she was struck from behind, dying instantly.” However that wasn’t the end of the story – just the beginning – because 15 years later, Steph and Hugh bought the land from the rest of the family and continued the journey Di had started. The couple went to work learning bush

regeneration at Wollongbar Tafe and, slowly but surely, bringing the forest back to life both on their property and around the area. In 1998 they entered into a Voluntary Conservation Agreement with NSW National Parks which protects 7.3 hectares of the property in perpetuity and fulfils Di’s dream of enduring stewardship. For more information on the Big Scrub and Rainforest Day head to bigscrubrainforest.org/.

Be a volunteer tourist in your town (and make friends too) BALLINA volunteer Donna Williams loves telling people where to go and she hopes that more people in her community will join her. The Ballina Tourism team is seeking more volunteers just like Donna to join their Tourism Ambassador Program. Whether a born and bred local, or someone who has only recently moved to the region — as long they are passionate about where they live, Ballina Tourism want to hear from them. The program, operating for the past seven years, sees volunteers working at both the Visitor Information Centre and newly upgraded Ballina Byron Gateway Airport. Donna said she joined

JOIN US: Trevor Dancer and Donna Williams, two of the Ballina Tourism ambassadors. the program because she enjoys helping visitors and making a difference to their time while they are

in the local area. “I have been volunteering as a Tourism Ambassador for 18

months. I volunteer at both the Ballina Byron Gateway Airport Visitor Services Desk and the

Ballina Visitor Information Centre,” she explained. “After retiring from full time employment, and moving to a new town, I missed the feeling of ‘making a difference’ as well as social interactions with others. I also embraced this opportunity to learn more about this very special shire that we have chosen to call home. “I have met some wonderful people, including interesting visitors to our shire. I enjoy helping them to plan their itinerary to get the most out of their visit to our area. “It’s great to see them head off on their Northern Rivers escape with anticipation and enthusiasm. “I have formed some

new friendships with other lovely and like-minded volunteers and Information Centre staff. Everyone is so friendly and welcoming and I always feel that my contribution is valued and very much appreciated.” Donna said her favourite are the bus trips aimed at making sure the volunteers know what they are talking about. “We have fun and informative ‘famil’ bus trips to local businesses,” she explained. To learn more about volunteering in the Tourism Ambassador program, go to discoverballina.com.au/ visit/corporate/ volunteering.

SENIORS \\SEPTEMBER, 2019

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SEPTEMBER, 2019// SENIORS

INTERGENERATIONAL STARS: The new Seachange series has been filmed around the Northern Rivers area including Brunswick Heads.

Photo: Vince Valitutti

Sea changes location to Tania Phillps IT’S TV history that 20 years ago headwriter and executive producer Deb Cox created a series about leaving the rat-race and moving to the Coast. The show was ABC smash hit Seachange – the story of lawyer Laura Gibson (Sigrid Thornton), on the brink of turning 40, who leaves Melbourne with her kids for a better life in a Coastal town after the breakup of her marriage. Twenty year’s later it is back on our screens changing both networks and filming location and

now Laura is looking down the barrel at 60, job loss, another failed marriage, dealing with parenting adult children, possible grandparenthood and in the midst of all that trying to find herself again. While the first series was filmed in Victoria for the ABC, this time around it will screen on Channel Nine/NBN and the filming, well that’s moved to the area that originally inspired both Cox’ move and her show – the Northern Rivers. For the past few months a crew has been hard at work filming at various locations around Far Northern NSW from Billinudgel to

Mullumbimby and Brunswick Heads while fans have been star spotting as far north as Kingscliff. For Executive Producer Fiona Eagger, and co-CEO of Every Cloud Productions with show originator Deb Cox, it was a chance to come North for the autumn and winter and enjoy some sunshine. It was also a chance to be part of one of her business partner’s most famous shows – not that they haven’t already got an impressive list of collaborations headed by the highly successful Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries. “I’m in Sydney at the

FARMING COUNTRY: Cultivated fields of fruit trees and nuts in remote green area of Bellinger near Dorrigo mountain of NSW on a summer sunny day. Photo: zetter

moment and I have been in Melbourne – after being in the Northern Rivers for the past three months it’s a bit chilly,” she laughed as we chat on the phone a week out from the shows debut. “My son has been working on the crew and he went swimming last weekend up there.” However, she said filming in Northern Rivers seemed like the natural thing to do this time and not just for the better weather. “Seachange originally came about 20 years ago when Deb Cox was trying to have her own sea change to Byron Bay,” Fiona explained.

Brunswick heads.

“She had hoped to film the original show on the Northern Rivers but 20 years ago it was too difficult. There wasn’t enough crew in the area, and it would have been expensive – more than the budget could have allowed. Plus the ABC’s studios were in Gordon Street in Melbourne and so the sets for the pub and other interiors were in the ABC.” So instead places like Barwon Heads became Pearl Bay in 1998 for the first three series. However Fiona said with “ScreenWorks (a regional film, television and digital media office supporting

the local screen industry) in the Northern Rivers and so many more creatives” here now Deb’s original dream could be fulfilled. In fact for many of the production staff, including Deb Cox who still lives in Byron, they didn’t even have to leave home to film. Eagger said there had been a lot of community support to help bring what is a multigenerational show to the screen. While this is the first time in Pearl Bay for Eagger there are plenty of old (and new faces) on and off screen including Sigrid Thornton who returns as Laura, along with Kerry Armstrong and

Photo: Camila1111

SENIORS \\SEPTEMBER, 2019

NEWS

John Howard with newcomers Kate Lister and Alex Tarrant. Photo: Jon Love

COMMUNITY TIES: Friends and family catch-up at the local.

Photo: Jon Love

Seachange cast members.

Northern Rivers Bob Howard as the Jelly’s and Kevin Harrington as the laconic and loveable Kevin Findlay. However this time around this is really about three Gibson women, who span three generations and a chance to explore turning sixty and looking to explore the next challenge while dealing with offspring who are still inter-dependent and frequently boomeranging to the family base, determined to thrash out the faults in their upbringing Eagger said. “When we were young we couldn’t wait to leave home but it’s not the same now.” She said Laura was

Brunswick Heads.

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a chance to explore turning sixty and looking to explore the next challenge while dealing with offspring turning sixty with adult children – a daughter (Miranda played this time by Brooke Satchwell) heading to 40 and a younger daughter (Stella who was only hinted at in the final episode of series three and now played by Ella Newton) turning 20. Eagger observed Laura’s journey was about parenting her now grown

children “working at that age and still being a mother and dealing with the idea of possibly being a grandmother as well”. And she’s no longer escaping the ratrace but the whole world, searching what she once had. She said just like the original series at it’s heart Seachange is also

about “community, about getting along in a small town despite different pollical views”. The new Seachange has a large multigenerational ensemble cast combining the old favourites with newcomers and it’s hoped that this will encourage a multigenerational viewing audience of old fans and new – something that isn’t as prevalent now as it was back when the show first began in 1998.

RIGHT: Sigrid Thornton with newcomer Dan Wylie.

Photo: Camila1111

NEWS

SEPTEMBER, 2019// SENIORS

Ricci Bartels raises her voice on unemployment

It’s been 25 years since a Newstart increase

Tracey Johnstone

LOUD AND CLEAR: Ricci Bartels speaks about her experience Newstart allowance.

SPEAKING out on national television about the devastating experience of being forced on to Newstart has been a surreal experience for senior Ricci Bartels. Ms Bartels was in the audience of the ABC television show Q&A where she spoke up about her experience of being caught in a downward spiral of unemployment and welfare, when all she really wanted to do was to get a job and pay her own way. It was particularly disconcerting for Ms Bartels, who had spent a good deal of her life employed in positions where it was her job to empower people. “All my life I have been a social justice activist,” Ms Bartels said. The opportunity to

speak out came about by accident. Members of the Q&A audience were invited to submit questions for panel to consider but Ms Bartel’s was the first to be read out. The now 66-year-old asked: “What would you or how would you suggest people like me have a go to get a go?” “Put in a nutshell, it was the worst time of life. “The loss of dignity. The loss of friends because you can’t go out, you can’t socialise. “Not eating proper foods even though I suffer various ailments,” she said. The story was posted on the Seniors News Facebook page, prompting a deluge of responses from people who were in similar position. Ms Bartels believes an increase of $75 a week, which is what the Raise

the Rate campaign is calling for, is needed. “The other side of the campaign is to raise the rent subsidy,” she added. Even though Ms Bartels is now on an aged pension, she plans to continue actively supporting the work of Raise the Rate as she sees the current situation with Newstart as wrong. It’s now 25 years since Newstart, previously called the dole, was increased by the Federal Government. Dr Kirsty Nowlan, a Benevolent Society executive director and a leading voice in the Raise the Rate campaign, said Newstart had only been indexed. “It moves with the level of CPI but it doesn’t move at the level of wages,” she said. “It has declined relative to both the pension and minimum wage.”

Older workers and rights

OLDER workers can learn their work rights with a new online toolkit that details the rights of older workers and the economic benefits for hiring older workers. The Australian Human Rights Commission recently published the Multigenerational workforces: a guide to the rights of older workers under the Age Discrimination Act 2004 (Cth). The guide also provides information about the Act. It addresses a variety of workplace issues including what is age discrimination, when it is and isn’t unlawful to discriminate, what constitutes an offence, promotion of inclusion through recruitment, training and flexible work, and who to contact to discuss workplace issues and complaints. The guide may also assist employees and workers in understanding their rights under the Act. The guide can be downloaded from humanrights.gov.au/ olderworkers.

Rennie organises the stage for the witches to return home SOMETHING wicked this way comes as the Lismore Theatre Company’s prepares to present Witches Abroad, the stage adaptation by Renoir (Henri Rennie) of Terry Pratchett’s book of the same name from his popular 41 book Discworld series. Put the dates in your diary and don’t miss this marvellous, magical production that will run for seven performances from October 11-20 at Rochdale Theatre in Goonellabah including two Sunday matinees. Discworld runs on magic rather than science and is full of surprises. In Witches Abroad, three county witches reluctantly take on the role of collective Godmother to a kitchen maid in far off Genua. Their task is to stop her marrying the Prince, who is not at all what he seems, and end the tyranny of the Other Godmot her. But first they must get to Genua — an adventure in itself. The director of this production is the writer of the stage adaptation, Henri Rennie assisted by Dave Montague-Elliott. Henri has been a fan of Sir Terry’s Discworld

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Discworld runs on magic rather than science and is full of surprises. key roles are played by Shae Salmon as Granny Weatherwax, Sharon Forbes as Nanny Ogg and Kashmir Miller as Magrat Garlick. “Kashmir is Shae’s daughter in the real world which brings a great dynamic to the stage,” Sharon explained. Sir Terry was the UK’s bestselling author in the 1990s and beyond with more than 85 million books sold. He died in 2015. ALL ABROAD: Writer and director Henri Rennie (Renoir) and Sir Terry Pratchett discussing characterisation at the annual Hogswatch celebration in Wincanton 2013. novels since their earliest appearance and credits them as inspiring his own work as an author. Sir Terry suggested Henri might look at adapting the iconic books for the stage and Henri has revelled in the

challenge. Witches Abroad has been performed to enthusiastic audiences in Australia and the UK. Sharing the late Sir Terry’s great fondness for close knit communities, the Ballina-based Henri is

delighted to now bring the show to Lismore. The producers of the show are LTC president Sharon Brodie and Meredith Yardley. Witches Abroad features a cast of 20 actors ranging in age from

17 to 60, many playing multiple characters, and will appeal to a wide audience not just those familiar with Sir Terry’s works. In an intriguing piece of casting according to producer Sharon Brodie

Patrons keen to see this new show are advised to book online, go to lismoretheatrecompany. org.au Please note: Don’t risk disappointment: Previous shows this year have generally sold out with no tickets available at the door.

SENIORS \\SEPTEMBER, 2019

Walking on the wild side

Take Queensland in your stride

PAGE 15

The Carnarvon Gorge is a feature of the Carnarvon Great Walk.

Photo: Robert Ashdown © Qld Govt

Win a double pass to see RIDE LIKE A GIRL at Event Cinemas on October 2 See the amazing true story ‘RIDE LIKE A GIRL’ at the Seniors Morning Tea and screening on Wednesday 2 October at BCC and Event Cinemas.

Thanks to Event Cinemas we have 5 double passes to give away to this exciting screening. To be in the draw just fill in our form online at seniorsnews.com.au/ competitions 6947124gk

As a little girl, Michelle Payne dreams of the impossible: winning the Melbourne Cup – horse-racing’s toughest two-mile race. starring Teresa Palmer, Sam Neill,

Sullivan Stapleton and directed by Rachel Griffiths. Book tickets at the box office or eventcinemas.com.au

Visit seniorsnews.com.au/competitionterms for full competition terms and conditions.The Promoter is ARM Specialist Media Pty Ltd (‘the Promoter’) of 28 Maynes Road, Bowen Hills Queensland 4006.ABN 73 064 061 794. The competition commences on Monday, September 2, 2019 at 08:00am and closes on Friday September 20, 2019 at 11:59pm AEST. Competition drawn 2pm 23/09/19 at Cnr Mayne Rd and Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006.Winners announced in Seniors November Editions, 2019.Total prize value $200.00 (including GST). Entry is open to all permanent residents of Queensland, residing in the Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and Toowoomba Seniors distribution areas and NSW in the Northern NSW, Central Coast and Coffs & Clarence Seniors distribution areas.Authorised under NSW Permit LTPM/19/04797

SEPTEMBER, 2019// SENIORS

Travel Briefs BARGE CRUISE IN UK

JOIN Magna Carta, a unique floating hotel, for the six-night journey from London. Bypassing the traffic, it meanders through past and present, stopping off at the historic cities, old-world villages and stately homes that line the Thames River. Departing from May to September 2020 from $11,595 per person. Book before November 30 for Fly Free Superdeal offer of a return economy airfare per person. Info: phone 1300 196 420 or go to aptouring. com.au/travel-styles/ barge-cruising.

MILITARY HISTORY CRUISE CRUISE & Maritime Voyages new five-night Military History Cruise departs Sydney on December 1 on board the 1220-guest Vasco da Gama which includes 40 cabins for solo travellers. Info: cmvaustralia.com /cruise/v002/ east-coast-discovery.

FAN ABOUT KAKADU

EXPLORE Bamurru Plains, a region of natural beauty and unique biodiversity, on an airboat a 4x4 safari or walking safari. The region is on the edge of the Mary River floodplains just a short distance from the coast and the western boundary of the Kakadu National Park. classicsafaricompany .com.au/activity/ bamurru-plains.

ON THE GO SPECIALS

GET a great discount with On the Go tours for solo travellers and over 50s, departing within the next two months. Choose your preferred destination and check out the last minute deals. Info: onthegotours.com /Last-Minute-Deals or phone 1300 855 684.

FIND TOUR SPECIALS

CHECK out this website – tourradar.com – for tour and travel specials worldwide. The site provides travellers with everything they need to plan and book their next great escape in one place. From thoughtfully crafted tours and their itineraries, videos and photos, to how-to guides and travel

experts available 24-hours a day, seven days a week.

NEW BUNNIK EUROPE TOURS

BUNNIK has released four new small group 2020 tours. Combine the ancient wonders of Greece and Egypt with experiencing the old-fashioned hospitality in England, Scotland and Wales. Book now to secure your spot and saving of $500 per person. Info: bunniktours.com.au.

STEAMBOAT THROUGH AMERICA’S PACIFIC NORTHWEST

THE American Queen Steamboat Company is offering savings of up to US$1000 per couple on its eight-night cruise packages along North America’s historic Columbia River. The special offer is for departures in March, April May, October or November 2020 if booked by December 31. Info: phone 1800 507 777 or go to cruisetraveller. com.au.

TRUFFLE HUNTING IN NSW CENTRAL WEST

FEEL immersed in the age-old craft of truffle hunting in NSW’s Central West. Attend the Black Tie and Gumboot Truffle Hunt and take part in the age-old craft of truffle hunting, before enjoying the fruits of their labour with a five-course truffle degustation dinner; visit Heifer Station Vineyard located on the volcanic basalt slopes of Mt. Canobolas, it has vineyard tours, a petting zoo and farm for the grandkids and special events year-round,Info: visitnsw.com.

DEADLY DINING ON COUNTRY

JOIN the Mandingalbay Yidinji people on their country for a four-course Deadly Dinner featuring traditionally inspired local produce and Australian native ingredients. Cruise from Cairns city across the water with a Traditional Owner to the natural environment of East Trinity Reserve to be welcomed with a smoking and cleansing ceremony, traditional dance, storytelling. Info: mandingalbay. com.au.

Stay and play in Waikiki Kerry Heaney HOME to Hawaii’s rulers for centuries, Waikiki’s gently curved, reef-protected beach offers ample room to pull up a canoe but is more famous for surfboards today. Known as the birthplace of surfing, Waikiki has a rich history, great shopping and plenty of dining choices. With Diamond Head in the background, it’s famous surf break is dotted by regulars every morning. Visitors can hire their own board under the 2.7-metre-high bronze statue of Duke Kahanamoku (1890-1968). The Duke was Hawaii’s first Olympian who is credited with bringing Hawaii’s ancient sport of surfing to the world. From the beach, you can see Diamond Head, and if you are feeling energetic, it’s a great walk to the top. The 2.5km summit trail takes around 30 minutes and is rated “very easy” and suitable for non-hikers, although there are some stairs and tunnels. Rent an audio headset from the ticket booth, and you can have a guided tour as well. On Saturdays, there is a Farmers Market near the tunnel entrance. Just on the edge of Waikiki are Honolulu Zoo, Waikiki Aquarium and Kapi’olani Regional Park. Head to the zoo to see komodo dragons and 905 different animals or the aquarium to view some of Hawaii’s beautiful sea life. It’s a half-hour drive, but you won’t want to miss the chance to see Pearl Harbour where an aerial attack in 1941 left thousands dead and hundreds wounded. Start at the Visitors’ Centre with a walk through the USS Arizona Memorial Museum. The USS Arizona Memorial has been closed since May 2018 for repair work but is expected to reopen later this year. You’ll be amazed by the size of the guns on the 60,000-ton USS Battleship Missouri. Walk around the ship and see where the documents ending WWII were signed. Each location can take up to two hours to explore so allow plenty of time. Just remember, no bags are permitted inside the Pearl Harbour Historic Sites unless they are wallet-sized. Bag storage is available. The Bishop Museum is where you’ll find Hawaii’s

HAWAII RULES: Waikiki Beach known as the birthplace of surfing. most extensive collection of Hawaiian and Polynesian artefacts. It’s a fascinating look at the rich history of the islands. There’s much more to discover about Hawaiian royalty at Iolani Palace, the only royal palace in the United States! Completed in 1882, this grand house looks as though the residents have just stepped out for a moment. Take a guided or self-led audio tour. Hawaii’s history from the 20th century is just as fascinating, and the Liljestrand House will take you back to the 1950s and Hawaii’s Tropical Modernism style. Designed for doctor and nurse Howard and Betty Liljestrand by Vladimir Ossipoff, It has the sort of cool vibe that makes you think of Dean Martin and Natalie Wood. This exceptionally well-preserved house is a treasure trove of memory prompters. The views from the secluded hillside block overlooking downtown Oahu are expansive. Guided tours are available. There’s one souvenir you must bring home from Honolulu, even if it is just for yourself. Pop into the Honolulu Cookie Company and taste before you buy their Hawaiian inspired cookie flavours. The signature pineapple-

Waikiki Beach from Moana Surfrider. shaped biscuits are memorable. Where should you stay in Waikiki? It’s hotel central along this famous stretch of beach, so your options are many. The Royal Hawaiian, known as the Pink Palace, holds a highly coveted beach spot dotted with cabanas. The luxury hotel has heritage rooms dating filled with 1920s glamour. Almost next door is another luxe resort Moana Surfrider. Known as the First Lady of Waikiki, it opened its doors in 1901 and offers

beachfront views with a historic banyan tree courtyard. Just one block back from the beach, The Laylow, combines mid-century modern style with Hawaiian charm. . Fly with Hawaiian Airlines to Honolulu and your Hawaiian experience starts at the airport with miles of smiles and a taste of Hawaii menu designed by Executive Chef LeeAnne Wong. The writer travelled as a guest of Hawaiian Airlines.

SENIORS \\SEPTEMBER, 2019

There are views forever at Lake Wabby on Fraser Island.

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It’s just made me so proud to be a Queenslander now

LIQUID REFRESHMENT: Lisa Marshall takes a dip at the Zoe Falls on the Thorsborne Trail on Hinchinbrook Island.

Photo: Contributed

The amazing Carnarvon Gorge amphitheatre.

next year to highlight the state’s offering. The Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast Great Walks are suggested as ideal starting points. Each provides the option to extract yourself at points along the way and stay with accommodation providers rather than being committed to camping. “So you’ve got the ability to create your own version of the walk with different start and end points,” Luke said. “With other walks, the further inland you go the more remote you are, so you need to be fully self-sufficient.” While most walks offer multi-day experiences with set start/finish points, Lisa said there was always the option to do day walks. “At Hinchinbrook, it’s just like being in a dreamworld for a day,” she said. “Carnarvon Gorge and Fraser Island also have spectacular day walks.” Lisa said the aim was to get as many people as possible out on the walks, but it was crucial they were well prepared. Hikers needed to do their homework, pack the right gear and train properly.

“We will be encouraging them to take their time, stop at all the beautiful towns along the way, and be realistic about what they can achieve in the time they have available,” she said. Lisa has written an online e-guide on how to get trek-ready, covering everything you need to know when you’re actually out walking, plus a 16-week training guide (visit trekcoach.com.au). NTA (Queensland) CEO Jonathan Fisher said the National Trust had always been committed to conserving and celebrating natural heritage, and was proud to be partnering with the Queensland Government in promoting the Q10 Great Walks. “We are really about promoting active lifestyles and getting people to celebrate the diversity of Queensland’s stunning landscapes,” Mr Fisher said. Environment and Science Minister Leeanne Enoch said Queensland was unlike anywhere else. “All of these places are incredibly valuable to our state, and help provide unique environmental experiences to visitors,” Ms Enoch said.

Queensland invites the world to its Great Walks Graeme Wilson QUEENSLAND believes it has hiking trails to match the best on the planet and two energetic explorers have completed a 10-day adventure gathering proof to present to the world. The National Trust of Australia (Queensland) and Queensland Government have combined to launch the Q10 Great Walks and intrepid duo Luke Edwards and Lisa Marshall accepted the challenge to complete one walk a day for a combined 400km of hiking from Currumbin to Cooktown. The Q10 Challenge had the two Queensland adventurers zig-zagging 4000km across the state. Luke, a National Trust employee, devised the idea to tackle all 10 walks in just 10 days and Noosa Trek coach Lisa Marshall was happy to join him. Both set off thinking they already had a pretty good idea of what lay ahead, but what they discovered surpassed all expectations. “I haven’t lived in Queensland that long and it’s just made me so proud to be a Queenslander now and to

realise there’s so many amazing walks for us to do,” Lisa said. “There’s some beautiful trails out there and, among the many highlights for us, the standout was Hinchinbrook Island … the Thorsborne Trail is just stunning. And Carnarvon Gorge. And Fraser Island. Everything really.” In particular, the pair loved the community spirit associated with Carnarvon Gorge. “The locals really came together to make us welcome,” Lisa said. “They’re so proud of what’s out there and so they should be. It’s just beautiful.” Unlike South Africa-raised Lisa, Luke is a born and bred Queenslander but he too was stunned by what they saw. “The exciting part is you think you know Queensland but then you go a bit off track and it’s so diverse,” he said. “We didn’t leave the state and look what we saw. At Hinchinbrook, everywhere you go you’re like ‘what, wow how can that be?’.” Publicity surrounding the challenge threw a

STEP OUT: The 10 Great Walks, from south to north, are: . Gold Coast Hinterland Great Walk . Sunshine Coast Hinterland Great Walk . K’gari (Fraser Island) Great Walk . Carnarvon Great Walk . Mackay Highlands Great Walk . Whitsunday Great Walk . Whitsunday Ngaro Sea Trail (includes kayaks) . Thorsborne Trail, Hinchinbrook Island . Goldfield Trail, Wooroonooran National Park . Gamaay Dreaming Track, from Cooktown spotlight on what will be producing a range of Queensland has to offer, informative and 2020 is targeted to get documentary-style videos on more hikers heading out on each Great Walk to help one or more of the walks. people make informed Luke’s dream is for decisions on their choices,” hikers seeking bragging Luke said. rights to mention one of the Each Great Walk has its Queensland walks in the own static page on the same way they now talk of Department of Environment New Zealand’s Milford and Science website Track, Italy’s Dolomites or (parks.des.qld.gov.au) with Tasmania’s Three Capes maps and other vital Track. information, but the idea of “At the launch we said wethe videos is to bring those wanted to find a bragging pages to life. right to throw on the table “People will be able to see and we absolutely found the beauty of each walk but that,” he said. also understand what they Part of the purpose of need to do in order to the 10-day adventure was successfully complete to gather promotional them,” Luke said, adding material for next year’s that the walks are all push to get hikers out available now, with April to exploring Queensland. October the peak season. “We have a huge amount The team is also of great footage, lots of producing a documentary interviews we did with the about the trip and plans to rangers on the trails so we head out with a road show

SEPTEMBER, 2019// SENIORS

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There seems to be a spirit under the surface that would take a little time to appreciate.

ARMENIAN SUMMER: The rustic charm of an old church at Lake Sevan, Armenia

All Photos: Paul Coffey

Armenia and the end

Paul Coffey reports on his stay in Armenia – the last city to visit before the end of his tour through the Caucasus.

THE landscape has dried out as we travelled further south through Georgia, ie. away from the Caucasus mountains, and Armenia seems drier still. The land is more undulating with high hills scattered about, but only the valleys are the least bit green, although it is summer after all. Together with a slightly more basic housing stock here in the rural areas, the impression is that Armenia is poorer than Georgia. The GNI per head is not greatly less, however. Modern Armenia is a small landlocked country of only about 30,000km sq (less than half the size of Tasmania), with a population of about three million, similar to Georgia’s. The lack of a port of its own, and of any oil, are major disadvantages; we’re told that the main industries are tourism (which is still nascent), agriculture and surprisingly IT. Chess is taught in the schools. Earlier Armenian civilisations and populations covered far

greater areas even as they waxed and waned, primarily further to the south in eastern Anatolia, and to the west in northern Persia including the current-day Azerbaijan. There are only around 50,000 Armenians in Turkey today, down from well over one million prior to the Armenian Genocide, and very few in Azerbaijan other than in the Armenian-controlled, disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabach. The area that has become modern Armenia was variously controlled by Hellenistic kings, Persian satrapies, Muslim khanates, the Ottomans, and of course the Russians. Wars and treaties between empires over the centuries, and especially after WW1, left Armenia in its present reduced state, something over which Armenians are resentful. Armenia proudly lays claim to being the first Christian nation, a king having converted and declared the kingdom Christian in 301AD. The Roman (or Byzantine)

Dancing in the square, Armenia. Empire was declared Christian in 380AD, some time after Constantine converted in c.312AD. The Armenian Apostolic Church was an important vehicle for a sense of cultural identity under Muslim rule, and remains central to Armenian identity today. Armenian Churches are very spartan, with none of the rich icons and ageing frescoes that feature in Georgian churches. En route to the capital, Yerevan, we stop at the gorgeous Lake Sevan, one of the world’s largest high-altitude and freshwater lakes, c.70km long. At 1900m of

altitude, it freezes over from time to time. When we were there it was a brilliant greeny aquamarine colour, quite beautiful. Invariably, there’s a church involved. Our first glimpse of Yerevan is of armies of dull apartment blocks in the distance. Unfortunately the whole city turns out to lack colour: grey to dun-brown is the limit of the colour range, and there are almost no buildings that distinguish themselves. The better inner-city buildings have facades of local stone, which varies from a grey through to a range of browns, some

attractive as individual stones, including tones of orange and even rose among them. But on the larger scale, the whole is less than the sum of the parts. The very dry hills surrounding the city don’t add to the city’s visual appeal. It would be very different in the winter, with snow on the hills and mountains all around. However the city grows on us all, as people appear on the streets in the balmy, temperate evenings and nights. On the Friday night we are lucky to witness local people in their hundreds doing their traditional dancing to that marvellous high-pitched middle-Eastern flute music that I love, in a main square. The next night provides a free water music show in another square, again with hundreds present. The streets are alive in a very European way. In fact, despite another a very different script here, there is a European feel to the look of the people as well as the way of life. All seems familiar.

SENIORS \\SEPTEMBER, 2019

of the Caucasus tour

We had only one full day here; it’s a city that one could easily live in for a time. There seems to be a spirit under the surface that would take a little time to appreciate. I gave a visit to another carpet factory a miss and instead wandered the local streets nearby. They featured several depressing Soviet-era apartment blocks, of about 15 storeys: grey, drab and unornamented. They had bitumen surrounds except for a couple of tiny parklets. As so often in such countries, I thought: Where do the children play? The Genocide Museum was largely what was to be expected, in terrible detail. Such a contrast with the version I heard when in Turkey in 1981. The Museum has an emphasis on eye-witness accounts, as if to deliberately counter Turkey’s decades-long denial. Only 31 countries officially recognise the Genocide: Australia, the UK and the US do not, while Canada, France and Germany are among those

Lake Sevan in Armenia. who do. Politics usually determine countries’ positions on it. As to the eternal question of why, there’s a long and complex history, with periods of tolerance and periods of oppression of Armenians by the Ottoman Turks. My quick conclusion was that politics ultimately played the primary role, although that story is also a complex one. And on reflection, it probably is politics that triggers and/or sustains the worst examples of large-scale ethnic or religious massacres, not merely

the human flaws that underlie the frictions between peoples. To the south of Yerevan lies the famed Mt Ararat, situated in Turkey but very visible at 5,165 metres at the summit. The summer haze makes it difficult to see well, but I got a shot from the airport on leaving, with its cap of ice visible adjacent to a small cloud. We’ve felt safe and seen absolutely no cause for concern on this whole trip. We had only one warning here in Armenia at a tourist site to watch out for boys selling

Water Music show, Armenia candles that the church won’t allow to be lit (that’s a church monopoly of course!), but saw none. Hardly life-threatening! It’s striking how often we assume that places that we know little about are

dangerous. But it’s a very human trait – valuable for survival in the long run. On my last morning my plane leaves too early to have breakfast at the hotel, but while waiting for my airport transfer I was

spontaneously offered a tea and some dried fruits, which are ubiquitous here. They are plumper and less desiccated than our dried fruits and quite delicious. A simple thing but an enduring memory.

SEPTEMBER, 2019// SENIORS

Travel with George Negus Tracey Johnstone THE public voice of hard-hitting news in Australia for almost 40 years still rings out strongly in George Negus, but it’s now being enjoyed in a more private arena. While criss-crossing the world to capture another major story, taking risks and digging for the whole story was his past job, Negus’ inquisitive brain is still switched on and full steam ahead. He’s still is working hard, maybe harder than Negus should at the age of 77. “Retiring is one of the few words that’s never been used to describe me,” he said. “I am trying to do less, but failing. I am still doing a lot, but just not the same as before, just a different version of it.” “I don’t feel my age,” he added. “Just because somebody says you are getting older doesn’t mean that you are changing in such a way that you are unrecognisable as a normal human being with the normal strengths,

TRAVEL ADVENTURES: Join George Negus as he returns to India and discovers Bhutan. traits and weaknesses that go with that.” Negus has visited over 100 countries and has no intention of stopping. “There is no such thing in the world as the greatest country as all 200 of them have qualities,” Negus

said. “I have been a professional traveller for most of my adult life. I became a journalist at 29.” At the time he was a school teacher from Brisbane. “One way or another very quickly after

that the world became my oyster. It’s become part and parcel of the way I think. It’s where I get my value judgements from.” One of his current projects is to host a group of Australian tourists on an extraordinary Travelrite

International journey through India and Bhutan. Negus has visited India twice. Once was to interview Indira Gandi when she was leader. The other time was to visit Mother Theresa

which he described as one of his most traumatic experiences. “It was in her House of Dying in Calcutta. That was one of the strangest places I have ever been in my life because these were people who went somewhere to die because they had nowhere to live.” He has wanted to return there to discover more about this complex country.Bhutan has also captured his interest. “Who wouldn’t want to go to a country that says being happy and content with your existence is much better than worrying about the economy, finances and conflict,” Negus said. It’s an experience far removed from the days when Australians sat in their living room watching Negus deliver his ground-breaking reports. He finds the one-on-one conversations give him a chance to enlighten his tour members on subjects they may not be sure about or places they haven’t heard about. Info: travelrite.com.au or phone 1800 630 343.

Great beauty of Bannisters Andrew Mevissen I’M CERTAIN if our hotel room was any closer to the sea it would be classed as a cruise ship cabin. Our room even boasts a balcony hovering over the waves, just like on cruise liners. And it’s on that sun-kissed balcony that we’re ensconced in our deck chairs, fixated on the mesmerising view. But it’s hard to know what to focus on – the waves caressing the clifftops just metres below or our resort’s uber-cool infinity pool with its inviting water seamlessly melting into the Pacific Ocean beyond. So this is how the other half lives? Our heavenly coastal hideaway is Bannisters by the Sea, which is perched, spectacularly, above the sea at sleepy Mollymook on the NSW South Coast, three hours from Sydney. It’s a tonic for the soul. And a lot of its magic comes down to the view, over the pool and out to sea. Bannisters by the Sea oozes chic coastal cool,

CHILL TIME: The magnificent ocean view seen from the bedroom. calming frayed nerves as soon as you park the car and glimpse sight of the shimmering pool, with accompanying bar. Grab a drink or one of the resort’s gourmet pizzas, relax, unwind and feast on the views. How’s

the serenity?! Bannisters was once a quintessentially bland 70s motel but in 2002 was transformed, totally, into a luxury getaway for discerning city escapees who like their views paired with gin and tonics,

sparkling wine and craft beer as well fine gourmet cuisine starring the best, fresh seafood on the NSW South Coast. Overseeing the culinary offering is celebrity chef, Rick Stein who gives the resort’s waterfront

restaurant its name. The restaurant and the resort have won multiple awards and in 2015, Bannisters opened a second property just up the road in Mollymook – Bannisters Pavilion – and more recently, a fading

hotel in Port Stephens was also transformed into a super-cool Bannisters property, showcasing the brand’s signature features of stunning water views and delectable cuisine from the water. Before leaving the next day we enjoy one last taste of the brand at Bannisters Pavilion, a two-minute drive away. Sleek and stylish and nestled amongst lush, palm-studded greenery, the Pavilion also offers accommodation but we’ve gone straight to The Rooftop – a pool, bar and outdoor/indoor restaurant that resembles a casual, coastal version of Sydney’s famous Ivy Bar. Then we hit the road to explore the eclectic antique stores and cafes of Milton. The more active can climb the birdcage-shaped Pigeon House Mountain. which was named by Captain Cook as he sailed up the coast in 1770. . Bannisters by the Sea from $349 per room per night including breakfast. Go to bannisters.com.au.

SENIORS \\SEPTEMBER, 2019

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Bob and Robyn have dabbled in port, and now produce a Frenchstyle rose

NEW CAREER: Bob and Robyn Holland's Crows Nest winery, started after retirement, offers both wine tastings and the largest collection of Arnott's biscuit tins on public view.

Quirky trip to find fine wines and vintage tins BOB Holland knew he couldn’t just sit still when he retired … and his thoughts turned to winemaking. Having bought their Crows Nest, Queensland property as a weekender in 1996, he and wife Robyn decided creating a vineyard and making their own wine “on a hobby basis to fill in a bit of time” was a good idea. The hobby has since become a new full-time career, and includes cellar door wine tasting and sales, attending markets, running a gift shop, and providing morning and afternoon teas and finger food in the gardens. But Bob admits it has been a steep learning curve. Having planted vines from 1998-2000, the couple discovered lorikeets were enjoying more of the grapes than they were. The grapes they did manage to salvage were

never sweet enough to produce a good taste. Having invested in netting, in 2005 they notched their first full vintage. “That created a new problem, because now we had too much for me to handle myself … so I had to pay someone else to make the wine for me,” Bob said. Having done that and completed their first goal of “producing a wine that was drinkable”, they found they had a new problem on their hands. “One tonne of grapes makes about 800 bottles of wine, so even if we drank two bottles a day we couldn’t drink that in a year and we had a storage issue, so I had to build a cellar,” Bob laughed. By 2007, they had further fine-tuned the taste of their wine, but realised they couldn’t just keep producing and storing bottles, so Bob began taking his Holland

Wines to the district markets. Still there was more to learn, including that people wanted a wider choice than shiraz and chardonnay. Bob and Robyn have since dabbled in port, and now produce their own French-style rose, a light merlot called Ravishing Red, medium and heavy reds including a sweet red, an unwooded chardonnay and a sweet pink moscato. They’ve developed a good following of return customers. However, Bob said it was still difficult to get word out about the local winery and to encourage people to try its produce rather than buying interstate and overseas wine from the chain stores. At generally $15 a bottle, he said, Holland Wines were a comparable price for a good quality wine.

“I know when you start a new business you’ve got to be patient, but I’ve got a good product, I just need people to try it,” he said. Under the new banner of High Country Hamlets, he believes the area is going to grow significantly in terms of tourism, and sees the winery as having an integral place in this food, art, accommodation and rural attractions destination. And, Bob has another string to the Holland Wines bow which is attracting visitors in its own right. The cellar boasts the largest display of Arnott’s biscuit tins on public view in Australia – over 400 – some dating back more than 100 years. “People are amazed by the designs and shapes,” Bob said. “A lot of people identify tins from when they were kids and it becomes a real talking point.”

None of their success to date has come easily, and Bob said the drought had made things that much harder on both a production and sales basis. “People are very money-conscious at the moment and they see buying wines as a bit of a luxury,” Bob said. “We didn’t get enough rain this year to make a product … the dam just has enough water in the bottom to be sure it doesn’t crack, but that’s all … “It’s a critical situation for everyone with the water.” However, in good Aussie farming tradition, Bob remains upbeat. “Things are going to pick up … you’ve got to be positive,” he said. The cellar door is generally open from 9am-5pm, but with weekend markets – including Toowoomba’s Cobb+Co and Queen’s

Park, Nanango and Murphy’s Creek markets – the rule is “if the gate is open, so is the cellar door”. To avoid disappointment, or if your group is interested in wine tasting and finger food, phone 07 4698 2277 or 0408 172 387 before visiting to confirm, or go to hollandwines.com.au.

Crows Nest is a town in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. The town is located on the New England Highway, 158 kilometres (98 mi) from the state capital, Brisbane and 43 kilometres (27 mi) from the nearby city of Toowoomba. It is within the Toowoomba Region local government area. At the 2016 Census, Crows Nest had a population of 2160.

SEPTEMBER, 2019// SENIORS

Living

Group exercise is music to ears of seniors BRAND INSIGHTS AN INNOVATIVE combination of group exercise and musical trivia – choreographed to a soundtrack of greatest hits – is empowering Northern NSW seniors, from Tweed to Lismore, to feel “Forever Young”. Aged care and disability services provider Feros Care’s industry-leading Forever Young program is a 26-week group exercise regime set to music that tests participants’ knowledge of songs from the 1920s to the late 1970s. The program is open to seniors of all fitness levels and abilities, designed to support them to meet the Australian Government’s Physical Activity Guidelines for

Older Adults by improving balance, strength, endurance and flexibility. Physiotherapist and Feros Care clinical lead Ben Happ has been in the creation and development of the Forever Young program, which since its inception has benefited hundreds of seniors in NSW, Queensland and Victoria. Mr Happ said the unique combination of exercise, music and trivia allowed seniors to work out their bodies and minds to improve their “overall fitness picture”. “Our seniors exercise to everything from big band music to ’60s pop and Australiana,” he said. “Participants sing along during the classes – they really love it and want

FOREVER YOUNG: The program is a unique combination of exercise, music and trivia that allows seniors to work out their bodies and minds to improve their overall fitness picture.

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The program is open to seniors of all fitness levels and abilities. more of it, to the point where we have a waiting list. “The quiz component of the classes is a favourite, training seniors’ long-term memory and encouraging interaction between participants, so it’s also great for socialising. “The music is a welcome distraction from exercising for seniors and is no different to plugging in our headphones when we go for a run or head to the gym.” Mr Happ said first-time

participants usually demonstrated “dramatic improvements” to their agility, leg strength and balance. He said the ultimate goal was to reduce the risk of falls for seniors, while keeping them living independently in their homes for longer and reducing the burden on residential care facilities and the healthcare and hospital system. Bev Klingbiel, 83, said the Forever Young program enabled her to overcome setbacks after a number of falls in which she sustained significant injuries, including two broken wrists. “I’m much more active now and I’ve enjoyed a huge boost to my confidence – I’m stronger and fitter than I have been in a long time,” she said.

Seniors become more active and enjoy the benefit of feeling more confident. “Day-to-day, things are easier for me now and I’m spending more time in the garden and going for strolls around the neighbourhood. “And I don’t need to get in the car to go to the shops any more, I just walk.”

The Forever Young program is funded by the Commonwealth Home Support Program. For more information on Feros Care’s full range of classes, go to www.feroscare.com.au/ group-exercise.

Fast action saves her husband’s life A STROKE survivor has paid tribute to his wife for knowing the F.A.S.T signs of stroke and saving his life in the lead up to National Stroke Week (September 2-8). In 2015, Rocco Giandomenico, 82, was with his wife Cecilia, 78, in their kitchen when Cecilia noticed Rocco’s speech sounded strange and she couldn’t understand what he was saying. They had sat down to eat fresh watermelon from their garden when Rocco kept touching his forehead and slurring his words. Recognising the signs of a stroke, Cecilia rushed Rocco to the

near-by local hospital – five minutes away. On seeing the seriousness of Rocco’s condition, health professionals quickly organised a transfer by ambulance to the larger Tamworth Hospital for treatment in the stroke ward. Here, Rocco was given a brain scan and treated for stroke. Rocco said he would forever be grateful Cecilia knew the F.A.S.T signs of stroke and sought medical help quickly. “Cecilia is my love and my hero,” he said. “I would never have gone to the hospital without her taking action and next year we’ll

celebrate our 60th wedding anniversary, with our children and 13 grandchildren.” Using the F.A.S.T test involves asking these simple questions: ■ Face Check their face. Has their mouth drooped? ■ Arms Can they lift both arms? ■ Speech Is their speech slurred? Do they understand you? ■ Time is critical. If you see any of these signs call triple zero (000) straight away Stroke is one of Australia’s biggest killers and a leading cause of disability. It occurs when blood supply to the brain is disrupted, either by a

Rocco Giandomenico with his wife Cecilia.

F.A.S.T signs of stroke and saving his life in the lead up to National Stroke Week (September 2-8).

blocked blood vessel or a leaking blood vessel. Treatments can stop this damage, but they must be delivered quickly. Stroke Foundation New South Wales State Manager Rhian Paton-Kelly applauded Cecilia on her quick thinking. “Cecilia‘s quick action

in recognising the signs of stroke and getting Rocco to hospital meant he reached treatment quickly and is able to live well after his stroke with his family,” Ms Paton-Kelly said. “The more people who know the F.A.S.T signs of stroke message and to call an ambulance at the

first sign, the better. “Share this important message with your friends, family and colleagues this Stroke Week.”

For more on National Stroke Week, go to strokefoundation.org.au.

SENIORS \\SEPTEMBER, 2019

Phil’s living well with dementia

Wellbeing

Difference between living life and prognosis Tracey Johnstone PACK your bags and get your affairs in order was the first bit of clinical advice early onset dementia patient Phil Hazell was told. Never mind the fact that he was already doing everything he could to live with the condition within his own environment. He also had to contend with finding a GP willing to take him on as a new patient. Four phone calls later he finally found one that was open to spending time with him. Mr Hazell was diagnosed with dementia in his mid-50s and kept working as an optical

laboratory representative with the support of his Melbourne employer until he resigned three years later. “The real impact is I was diagnosed at 55 and now I am 60 and it’s only going to get worse to be perfectly honest,” Mr Hazell said. “I still have a bright outlook on life. I’m not a half glass full, but a full glass full.” He’s been doing a “s—tload” since stopping work. The frustrations of dealing with some people in the medical profession who seemed not to want Mr Hazell to continue living a full and engaged life has driven him to be proactive in profiling how

people with dementia can in its early stages, live well and outside of care through his advocacy work. “I’m not cactus yet,” he said. “If I don’t get it done quickly in the next five or 10 years, I won’t get anything done. It’s getting quite urgent.” Mr Hazell is an advocate for Dementia Australia, chair of the Dementia Australia Advisory Committee, and advocate for assistance dogs for dementia and participating in research trials. “In one of these I mentor people who have just been diagnosed with dementia so they can see it’s not the end of the world,” he said. “I am a

REALITIES: Dementia advocate Phil Hazell and his assistance dog Sarah. living example of living well with dementia.” “With dementia, it’s not all the time that you are living with it,” he added. “Sometimes it can one day out of a fortnight or a couple of days a week.” At home Mr Hazell is responsible for keeping his home tidy while his wife, Jan, is out at full-time work. He also does some cooking. When it comes to exercise, he says he is “slack”. “I should be doing it, absolutely.” He does get moving when he walks Sarah, his assistance dog. Sarah is with him

everywhere, flying around Australia as Mr Hazell takes his living well message to all states. The specially trained labrador even has her own boarding ticket which she carries to the check-in gate. If he gets lost when he out of the house or gets confused: “Sarah comes in very tight and cuddles me. That gives me the chance to sit down for 10 minutes and get my mind back as to where I am or what I should be doing.” Sarah finds Mr Hazell’s keys, phone and wallet before he leaves home each day. “Otherwise I

would be wandering the house trying to find all these items to get out of the house,” he said. “If I can’t find these items I literally can’t get out of the house.” And that is critical to Mr Hazell as he is on the move as much as he can for as long as he can. His advice to people with dementia and those caring for them is to contact the counsellors at Dementia Australia on 1800 100 500. “I was at my wit’s end and they listened to me, and when I got off the phone, I felt a lot better,” Mr Hazell added.

Sobering tale - tips to get you off the grog by getting sponsored by friends and family to abstain from alcohol. If staying away from alcohol is difficult, remind yourself that you are doing it primarily for yourself, but others will benefit. ■ Keep busy. Opening the wine bottle can often be the result of boredom or an easy way to de-stress. Try to take up activities that do not involve drinking, such as going to the movies, enrolling in painting classes or joining book clubs. You could also think of preparing meals that do not naturally go with alcohol,

such as Asian and other spicy food. ■ Identify your drinking triggers. Whether it is your way of winding down after a hectic day or a way to socialise, recognising what triggers you to drink will help you to avoid them and to stay away from alcohol. ■ Limit or avoid social situations with a big drinking scene. It is much easier to abstain from alcohol when you are not in the vicinity of other drinkers or where drinks are consistently flowing. Do not feel pressured to accept invitations to

events with plenty of drinking. Instead, host a dinner party or encourage meet-ups at restaurants and cafes, instead of bars. ■ Surround yourself with sober friends. Join groups motivated to stay sober or get friends or family to also take a few weeks off alcohol with you. This will help you avoid the pressure of having to drink. Being around people with the same goal can also improve your mental health, as you are

not encountering social pressure to drink. You may also, as a group, seek sponsorship and donations to charities. ■ Choose alternatives for when you want to drink. When you would normally pop a bottle of champagne, opt for a different type of drink, such as sparkling mineral water or another alcohol-free drink. If you are still socialising regularly, take along a non-alcoholic beer and put it in a stubby holder. That

way, the stigma of not drinking will be taken away. ■ Put your personal spend on drinks towards another goal. Get yourself financially motivated by putting aside the money you would normally spend on alcohol. A few drinks here and there won’t put a dent in your wallet but spending on alcohol daily or weekly can add up quickly. When you put pause on drinking, you may be surprised by how much you save.

No Gap Eye Surgery At The Eye Care Clinic, our eye surgeons and specialists care enough to see you as people, not just as someone with a problem. Dr. Svoboda and Dr. Lamont personally see you all the way through your procedure - right from the first visit till they are totally satisfied all is well. Nor does this high level of care mean that you are charged an arm and a leg. We actively work to keep the costs as low as possible, and provide services including age related macular degeneration, cataract surgery, glaucoma, lid tumours, diabetic eye disease, iritis, laser surgery, dry eyes and lid malpositions. Those who are insured also enjoy the cost saving benefit of our No Gap Policy. What’s more, there’s no need to travel out of the local area for the actual surgery as our surgeons operate in Tweed Heads. When you want someone that takes a sight better care of both you and your health, ask for The Eye Care Clinic. You’ll see we really do care.

SOBER UP: Read these tips for getting sober, no matter the month. Photo: CREATISTA

Dr Emanuel Svoboda

Servicing the Gold Coast and Northern Rivers 6 Scott Street, Coolangatta Qld 4225

(07) 5506 6777

6544375aa

WE are risking our health by continuing to drink too much alcohol and too often. More than two standard drinks per day on a regular basis is high risk. One in five of us are at that level of consumption. Wesley Hospital’s Drug and Alcohol Program director, Professor John Saunders, has seven top tips on how to stop. ■ Identify your motivation to stay dry. Dry July allows for plenty of opportunities to raise money for alcohol-related health problems, such as heart disease and cancer,

Dr Meon Lamont

SEPTEMBER, 2019// SENIORS

Community notes

Community group guide WE WELCOME your neighbourhood news and pictures. If you would like to submit a photo, ensure it is at least 180dpi or 500KB to 1MB in size and of faces, in a nice bright setting. Email editor@seniorsnewspaper.com.au.

PROBUS CLUBS

Banora Point RETIRED? Looking to meet new people? We meet on the fourth Monday of each month at South Tweed Sports Club at 10am. Cost $5. We are a mixed club and have interesting speakers, as well as outings each month. This month’s speaker is Patrick Pickett, performer and conductor. Our next meeting will be held on Monday, September 23. Phone Ron or Annette on 07 5523 4016. Hastings Point/ Tweed Coast THE next meeting will be held on September 17 at 10am at Tricare Retirement Community, 87 Tweed Coast Rd, Hastings Point. The main speaker will be Rod Preston, who has given many talks on cruise ships and to Probus and Rotary Clubs. His topic for this talk will be “Convicts, Poms and the flash mob.” Visitors always welcome. Inquiries with Jean on 02 6670 4072. Kirra Tugun OUR club turned out in numbers on a visit to St Bernard’s Hotel in a really outstanding venue on a glorious day, lots of sunshine, great views, lots of happy chat, good food and a visit from a couple of patient puppies. Another happy memory to add to the past, with more plans to create many more. Retirees can talk to Rod on 0438 341 909.

TACT COMPUTER CLASSES

OUR classes are being held in a brand-new room located at South Tweed Sports Club, 4 Minjungbal Dr, Tweed Heads South. There are a number of classes to suit all students wishing to learn computer technology, which is an important part of our daily lives. Classes start at 9.30am, some classes are held at different times of the day. Classes are one-and-a-half hours duration and the cost of each lesson is $5. For further information,

go to tact.org.au or phone 07 5524 9212.

ART EXHIBITION

INTERNATIONAL artist Heather Bell and art group will be holding an exhibition of artwork in various genres. It will run from September 23 to October 4, Monday to Friday from 9am–4pm at Kirra Hill gallery. Located at the GC Community Centre on the hill behind the iron eagle. All artwork will be for sale. Don’t miss this opportunity to find a quality work of art in time for Christmas.

ACTIVITIES FOR SENIORS AT TINTENBAR HALL

CARPET bowls: a social, chatty game with morning tea, fortnightly on a Friday, 10am–noon, September 20 and October 4.. Then November 1, 15 and 29. Phone Marg on 02 6687 8033 for more information.

NATIONAL SERVICEMEN’S ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA (QLD) INC

Gold Coast South-Twin Towns OUR general meetings are held bi-monthly at 10am Queensland time. Venue: RSL Sub-Branch Twin Towns, Anzac Room, Tweed Heads. Our next general meeting will be our AGM, to be held on Friday, September 27. Veterans who served in any forces of the Commonwealth between 1951–72. Please show your support. Join us and rekindle the camaraderie you experienced during your service. New members and visitors are always welcome to attend. For further information phone public officer Tom Hughes on 07 5513 0665.

TWEED COAST CFS/ME/FMS SUPPORT GROUP INC

FIBROMYALGIA, chronic fatigue syndrome information and support

CLUB CELEBRATIONS: Twin Towns and District Garden Club celebrated their 40th birthday in style, (from left) founding president Graeme Williams, current president Monika Ross, Garden Clubs Australia’s George Hoad, vice-president Lesley Fydler and club members and GCA zone co-ordinator John Bennett. group meets on the first Friday of every month at 10.30am at the HACC Community Centre, corner of Heffron St and Minjungbal Dr, Tweed Heads South. All welcome. For further information, phone Bronwyn on 07 5593 9319.

TWEED VALLEY TOASTMASTERS

AS PART of his humorous speech, one of our members changed our upstairs room at Cudgen Leagues Club into a “hospital” for a short time while he informed his patient “Cyril” that he was pregnant. If you are interested, please join us on the first and/or third Wednesday of the month at 9.45am, where we improve our communication skills via personal storytelling. For more information, email Gary at 2018onwards@ gmail.com.

TWEED CENTRE COMPANY

A MUSICAL meander through the war years, A Brown Slouch Hat. Devised, written and directed by Doug Williams, on at Tweed Heads Civic Centre on September 13 and 20 at 7.30pm and September 14, 15, 21 and 22 at 2pm. Adults $18, concession $15, child $10, table of eight $13. Tickets available from Tweed and Murwillumbah Information Centres, online at www. tweedtheatre.com.au, phone on 1800 674 414 or at the door.

POTTSVILLE CLUB INC

COME and join our fun croquet club for a social game, beginners and visitors welcome. Games starts 9.30am Tuesday and 2pm Thursday at Black Rocks Sports Field, $5 a game. Inquires, phone 0413 335 941.

COOLANGATTA SENIORS

WELLBEING and activities for all. Pay just $8 to join the Coolangatta Seniors for access to more than 35 different activities at low cost. All ages welcome. Looking to add exercise to your routine, try our yoga, tai chi, table tennis, indoor bowls, qi gong, aerobic exercise or dancing. Too many activities to mention them all so come see for yourself. Go to coolangatta seniors.com.au or visit us at 2 Gerrard St, Coolangatta.

TWIN TOWNS AND DISTRICT GARDEN CLUB

TTDGC 1979–2019: we celebrated our 40th birthday in style on August 12 at South Tweed Sports Club, with a theme of “wear something red”. George Hoad from Garden Clubs Australia presented the club with a 40th birthday achievement award certificate. Angus Southwell, our club patron and CEO of South Tweed Sports Club, donated the cake and took part in the cutting of the cake ceremony, accompanied by Graeme Williams, the club’s first president of the founding

of the club in 1979. The birthday had a normal general meeting, with extra special trading tables, quirky plants display and a cent auction, with all those prizes being donated by sponsors and members. The major prizes being two nights’ accommodation at Twin Towns Resorts and a $100 Bunnings Card. Following our meeting members and guests enjoyed lunch, listening to music supplied by Colin Locke and Co. Musicians of Tweed Heads. Members took home party bags filled with goodies from sponsors such as Searles, Ozkleen and many more, too numerous too mention. A big thank you must go to all those sponsors that supplied gifts for the members. It was just an awesome effort.

TWEED HOSPITAL AUXILIARY

WE WILL be holding our annual fete on Saturday, October 12, in the Tweed Civic Centre Auditorium, corner Wharf and Brett Sts, Tweed Heads. Stalls include craft, books, jewellery, pre-loved clothing, cakes, trash and treasure, knitted baby wear, soft toys, remnants, plants, a barbecue and so much more. Doors open at 8am–2pm. This is a fun day and a great way to pick up a bargain and support our local hospital. All proceeds go towards equipment for Tweed Hospital.

YAMBA RED CROSS ON WEDNESDAY,

August 21, members of Yamba Red Cross and Yamba Seniors Inc (which unfortunately has now folded) and some residents of Palm Lake Resort Yamba enjoyed a wonderful day at the Remember When Cottage Museum at Waterview Heights. We stopped on the way at See Park in Grafton for morning tea and continued on to the museum, where we were able to step back in time enjoying the history of the Clarence Valley that is displayed in a 100-year-old cottage relocated from Grafton. We then enjoyed a delicious lunch consisting of soup, sandwiches, cakes etc, tea and coffee. We thoroughly recommend a visit to this museum but you need to phone and book. Please note that we will not be holding a September meeting. Blood donor days at the Yamba Bowlo will be on Monday, September 9, from 2–6.30pm; Tuesday, September 10, from 10am–2pm; Monday, September 23, 2–6.30pm; Tuesday, September 24, 10am–2pm. To register, phone Lismore 13 14 95 as walk-ins may be turned away. Our next meeting will be held on Saturday, October 5, in the roundhouse Palm Lake Resort Yamba, commencing at 10am. New members are most welcome. Phone Annette Callaghan on 0400 319 384 or email callaghan.annette@ gmail.com.

SENIORS \\SEPTEMBER, 2019

COMMUNITY

SING-ALONG: Colin Locke and Co. Musicians of Tweed Heads entertained members and guests over lunch at the 40th birthday of Twin Towns and District Garden Club. FROM PAGE 22

VIEW CLUBS

Coolangatta/Tweed OUR next luncheon will be held at South Tweed Sports Club on Thursday, September 19. All ladies are very welcome to join our friendly ladies for coffee and chat, 11am for 11.30am start. We meet on the third Thursday of the month. Guest speaker this month will be Ingrid Steynberg, who has very interesting tales of her time in Africa. Apologies/bookings phone Kay on

07 5524 4089 Monday prior to our luncheon. Twin Towns Evening WE WILL be celebrating our 30th birthday on October 9, to be held at Tweed Heads Bowls Club’s OPAL room. The theme will be “Fiesta” so glamour up in your brightest outfits. To mark this occasion, instead of our usual night-time meeting it will be a luncheon, thus enabling our sister daytime clubs to attend. For more, phone Pat on 07 5536 5227 or Trudy 07 5524 1770 or visit the Facebook page. Visiting ladies most welcome.

CALL-OUT FOR ARTISTS

SAVE the date – calling all artists, young and old, who want to enter this year’s Tintenbar Art Show, which is being organised by the Tintenbar Community Aid Network and scheduled for the weekend of October 18–20 in the Tintenbar Hall. Tina Farrow, local artist and TinCAN member, says that entries have opened and will close on October 4. The categories for artworks are: Landscape, Waterscape, People and Animals, Still Life and

One of the Tweed Valley Toastmaster members changed the upstairs room at Cudgen Leagues Club into a “hospital” for a short time while he informed his patient “Cyril”. Abstract. Cash prizes will be awarded to winners in all categories, with extra awards for Best in Show and People’s Choice. There will be also be cash prizes for winning children’s entries. Children’s age groups: 12 years and under and 13–16 years. Thanks must go to the range of sponsors who make this event possible: Boral, Tintenbar Medical Centre, Elders Real Estate Bangalow, Tintenbar Teahouse, Tintenbar

Garage, B Framed, Lois Buckett and Tintenbar Store. A special thanks to local artist David Lane, who has donated a painting to be raffled at the weekend of the art show. Proceeds from the art show will go to TinCAN volunteer support and to local charities. Further information and entry forms can be obtained from Tina Farrow on 0409 827 094 or email tintenbarcommunity@ gmail.com.

NORTHERN RIVERS COMMUNITY GATEWAY

BE CONNECTED - If you know how to use a computer, a mobile device and know how to access the internet, you could be a digital mentor for seniors in your community. We are providing free training now in Ballina, Casino and Lismore to give you the skills. It’s fun, free, you can do it in a day and includes free morning tea and lunch. For more information, phone 02 6621 7397.

Kindy children ‘ask Gran, not Google’ with new elderly friends THIS week the children at Twin Towns Community Kindergarten welcomed into their kindy a group of seniors who are part of the local Red Cross Social Inclusion program, after first exchanging messages with them through the “Ask Gran Not Google” program. Founded in 1961, Twin Towns Community Kindergarten is the oldest community kindergarten in the Southern Gold Coast and Tweed area. Generations of local families have fond memories of attending the centre for their preschool year. “Our centre philosophy recognises that we are a community that has a past, present and a future,” TTK co-director and lead educator Toni Kirby said. “We believe it’s important for the children to have a sense of belonging and as part of that, we encourage them to make connections with people in their local community. “We also believe in being ‘bucket fillers’ – inspiring the children to be mindful of the

well-being of others around them as well as themselves and to develop respectful relationships.” The Ask Gran Not Google program, run by Feros Care, benefits young and old and brings generations and knowledge together by encouraging children to seek information from seniors – who have rich life knowledge, wisdom and experience – instead of using technology to find answers. TTK co-director Elaine Clinnick is a big believer in the program. “We thought it would be lovely if instead of asking their own grandparents the questions, the children asked their questions to members of our local Red Cross Community Program, which supports elderly people in the community and focuses on social isolation,” she said. “So many of these people do not have immediate family living nearby or do not have regular contact with family, so we have created an opportunity for our kindy children to learn the

value of talking with their elders, while at the same time experiencing perhaps their first role in the community as volunteers.” Each child formulated a question to ask one of their senior friends and wrote it on a card that was placed in an “Ask Gran Not Google” pouch. The questions were shared and answered at a Red Cross social gathering on August 6, which was videoed. The children watched the video to hear the answers to their questions, before a group of the “grans and pops”, as the kids call them, visited the kindergarten to meet them. Ms Kirby said the seniors and children shared stories and got to know about each other’s lives. “The children gave their new friends a tour of the centre, sang songs with them, even taught them some yoga moves and listened with fascination to their tales of what life was like in ‘the old days’,” Ms Kirby said. Five-year-old Samirah said, “I loved showing

BONDING GENERATIONS: Jack and Luca show Margaret Barlow and Marie Ivos their herb garden at Twin Towns Community Kindergarten. them yoga poses so they could do them at their home. And I loved making new friends who are just like my nanny and poppy. I really want them to come back to kindy to hear more stories from them.” Red Cross community programs officer Carrie Brandon said the program was popular with the elderly participants too. “The intergenerational interaction between the two was heart-warming,”

she said. “The ladies were just stunned with how kindergarten had changed since they were young – the interactive gardens and play equipment were magic. “The questions the children asked really brought up wonderful memories of their childhood, pets they had and games they played – hopscotch was a favourite. And being a part

of the sing-along with the children brought a smile to everyone’s face.” Red Cross volunteers visit people in aged care as well as in their own home for friendship and companionship. Phone Red Cross Tweed Heads on 07 5524 5799 if you are interested in volunteering or participating in the program. For more, go to www.redcross.org.au.

SEPTEMBER, 2019// SENIORS

STRANGERS TOUR

Tania Phillips

What's on

DEMENTIA ACTIVITIES

THE Tweed Heads Library is offering two events for Dementia Action Week. Monday, September 16 at 11am local author Vicki Noonan will talk about her experiences living with dementia and her book Mazing Me. On Thursday, September 19 at 11am the library will host a Memories on the Move session for people with dementia and their carers.

BYRON BAY GUITAR FESTIVAL

THE Byron Bay Guitar Festival is returning on Saturday, October 12 and Sunday, October 13 at the Byron Bay Brewery for its third year. Headlining is Aussie punk-rock royalty Frenzal Rhomb, guitar hero protege Harts, and The Delta Riggs who will have had their much anticipated third album released this month. Tickets on sale now, go to byronbay guitarfestival.com. FLURO FUN: Brian Mannix stars in the Ultimate 80s Fluro Party at Twin Towns on September 21.

KRIS KRISTOFFERSON AND THE

THREE-time Grammy winner, actor, storyteller and country music superstar Kris Kristofferson returns to Australia and New Zealand for a national tour with band The Strangers, playing Twin Towns on Wednesday, October 2. Go to twintowns.com.au.

ULTIMATE 80S FLURO PARTY

religious group, just one that finds this music irresistibly uplifting. The choir performs all year round including school holidays and public holidays. Held from 11am-1pm, $80/$70 concession per five weeks or $19 casual, phone 0417 277 211 or find on Facebook.

LISMORE CUP

THE Ultimate 80s Fluro Party at Twin Towns on September 21 marks the return of the ’80s and features Brian Mannix (Uncanny X Men), Dale Ryder (ex-Boom Crash Opera), Scott Carne (Kids In The Kitchen), Ally Fowler (Chantoozies) and Dave Sterry (Real Life). The ultimate throwback to the decade of big hair and Rubik’s Cubes. Go to twintowns.com.au.

RAISE THE ROOF CHOIR

RAISE The Roof at The Channon on September 18 is where everyone is welcome to come and throw themselves into the joy of singing. They sing gospel music from the African American tradition, bluegrass, soul, and sometimes “eco-soul’’ adaptations, to celebrate Planet Earth. This is not a

THE Lismore Cup is back bigger and better in 2019 on September 19. The action trackside includes live music, food trucks and plenty of bars. Walk the red carpet with your pre-paid event tickets – skip the queues. Free buses from CBD. The Cup day is held from 11am to 6pm at Lismore Turf Club. Email info@lismoreturf club.com.au or go to lismoreturfclub.com.au.

WILD MOUNTAIN CREATIVE ARTS

JOIN artist Imbi Davidson for this women-only weekend of wild creativity on top of Mount Boorabee from September 20-22 at Boorabee Park. It is a chance to deepen arts practice and connections to nature, while taking in the vast views and mountain magic. All art materials, meals and

campsites provided. Phone Imbi Davidson on 0407 799 825, email info@darkhorse traditions.com.au go to darkhorsetraditions. com.au.

NIMBIN SHOW

THE Nimbin Country Show had its beginnings in 1919 and is the first show in the North Coast show circuit. This year’s show will be held on September 21-22 and is a traditional style agricultural show with horses, cattle, poultry, dog trials, arts, crafts, fruits, vegetables and horticulture. Located at Nimbin A&I Showground, 37 Cecil St, Nimbin. Email nimbinshow2 @y7mail.com or go to nimbinshowsociety.org.au

EXHIBITION: A RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBITION OF PHOTOGRAPHERS

THE latest exhibition from Crawford House Museum is all about showcasing the Ballina Shire, Countryside and People from the 1950s to the mid 1980s. Starts from September 20 from 10am to 4pm. Crawford House is open Fridays 10am-4pm and Sundays 1pm-4pm.

Foxtrot your way to the Picture House Tea Dance occasion consisting of afternoon tea with dancing, originating in 19th-century society. A tea dance, also called a thé dansant (French for “dancing tea”), was a dance held in the summer or autumn from 4–7pm in the English countryside. A garden party sometimes preceded the dance. The usual refreshments in 1880 were tea and coffee, ices, champagnecup and claret-cup, fruit, sandwiches, cake and biscuits. The expected feature was a live

orchestra or a small band playing light classical music, even after the invention of the phonograph. The dances included waltzes, tangos and the charleston by the late 1920s. The dining room served as the tea room, with the dining tables arranged at one end as a buffet. Floral decorations were modest. Before the 1950s, young people flocked to tea dances to socialise and dance the tango, waltz and foxtrot. Then the ’60s happened and for the next four decades we

preferred to dance in nightclubs alone or, at most, around our handbags. But recently, something has changed. Perhaps it’s the basic premise that everything old becomes new again or a more basic longing to connect but the tea dance is back in vogue — and this time the crowds are much more diverse. “Over time the move towards people dancing alone meant we lost the art of making contact through dance and we want to bring back this connection.”

Picture House co-owner Brett Haylock said. “We are holding our first Picture House Tea Dance to encourage this communication through dance to be available to all. We are welcoming teenagers through to centurions and giving them a space to dance together so we get a wonderful mix of ages and backgrounds.” High tea not included in ticket price. Go to brunswickpicture house.com or phone 02 6685 0280 for more.

GOLDEN YEARS: Relive them on September 29.

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BRUNSWICK Picture House is bringing back the golden years with its inaugural Picture House Tea Dance. Join us for an afternoon of live music, dancing and your favourite tea treats for purchase, with high tea served from our kiosk. Bring your old friends or come along to make new ones, in a true celebration of the golden years on Sunday, September 29, at 3pm, 30 Fingal St, Brunswick Heads. What is a tea dance, you may ask? Tea dance (noun) – an

Live events staged at 1000 seat historic heritage theatre with wonderfuL acoustics, air conditioning, comfortabLe seating and superb Line of sight.

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SENIORS \\SEPTEMBER, 2019

Stay scam aware It pays not to drop your guard at any time of the day. Scamwatch IMAGINE you’re sitting at home having dinner when the phone rings. You answer and the person on the line says they’re from Medicare. They know your name and address, and they tell you you’re owed a Medicare refund. All you need to do is make a small initial payment to cover administration fees, and they’ll deposit the rebate into your bank account. What would you do? “Hang up the phone,” Emma Cuthbert, from the Department of Human Services, said. “This is a scam. We’d never ask you to pay us money to issue you with a rebate. If you hand over your money you’ll be left out of pocket. “If scammers get your credit card or banking details, they can drain your accounts or rack up thousands of dollars in charges.” Telephone scams can

seem very convincing, especially when the scammer knows details about you. They might claim to be from well-known organisations, and try to get you to act quickly, or give them your personal information. How the department can help you “It’s so important to keep your personal information secure, and not to freely share it without verifying who’s asking for it and why they need it,” Emma said. “Our website has lots of great information to help you identify, report and protect yourself against scams pretending to be from us. “If you need tailored support, staff on our helpdesk can provide expert advice on how to protect your personal information, and can confirm if information you’ve received about our services is a scam. “We also support customers who responded to a scam,

SCAM WATCH: Be aware, be wise and report scams to Scamwatch. Photo: herraez which may include adding additional security measures to their records.” Emma said they get calls from people who have been contacted by someone claiming to be from the department. “They hang up and call us, so we can check to see if the call was genuine or not,” she said. “This is exactly the right action to take. “We do call, SMS or email people from time to time, and may ask questions to confirm we are speaking to the correct person. But our staff never ask you to

provide personal information or documents by email, text message or social media.” What to look out for Although text messages and emails are common ways for scammers to contact people, Delia Rickard, the deputy chairwoman at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, said older Australians are still most commonly scammed over the phone. “It’s easy to get access to landline numbers, and older people are more likely to have a landline and be home to answer

the phone,” Delia said. Emma added that many people call the department’s helpdesk after noticing suspicious activity in their online accounts, or after responding to a scam. “One of the most common scams older Australians call about is the promise of an increase in their pension,” Emma said. “Scammers promise back payment of their pension, but only after they pay a small application fee using gift cards. People may also be told the application fee will be refunded later. “All this combined means these scams are more likely to be successful. “Other signs it could be a scam are when the caller tells you a debt needs to paid immediately over the phone and threatens you with legal action or fines if you don’t comply.” What to do if you think you’ve been scammed If you think your identity documents might have been compromised,

Money Emma said people should contact the department’s Scams and Identity Theft Helpdesk on 1800 941 126. “People who call the helpdesk can sometimes be embarrassed to talk about their experience,” she said. “They may ring to say they want a new Medicare card, but they don’t want to say why. When we slowly unpack what has happened, it becomes clear they’ve been scammed. It’s important for people to know they’re not the only ones to fall victim to scams.” Delia also encouraged people to report scams to Scamwatch. “The easiest way to do this is using our online form at scamwatch. gov.au. “It helps the ACCC let Australians know the scams doing the rounds, how to avoid them and what to do if they see one. “Sharing your experiences of scams with friends, neighbours and relatives can help protect them in the future.”

Share the Good News If you’ve got big news, a heart-warming story or community event coming up, spread the word and share it online with Seniors!

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SEPTEMBER, 2019// SENIORS

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G E N E R A L K N O W L E D G E

ACROSS 1 Whose ashes were dumped in an East German river in 1970 by Russian agents? (5,6) 8 What are bundles of reaped cornstalks? (7) 9 Who (Andrew ___) played Manuel in Fawlty Towers? (5) 10 At 5600m, Mt Demavend is the highest peak of which country in the middle East? (4) 11 On which record label did Frank Sinatra record from 1953 to 1962? (7) 12 What is a small island in a river? (3) 13 What is a religious image typically painted on a small wooden panel in an Eastern Church? (4) 15 What is a former name of Thailand? (4) 17 What is a habitual or chronic drunkard? (3) 19 What type of beans are used for tinned baked beans? (7) 20 Hautbois is French for which musical instrument? (4) 23 The hickory tree produces what edible nuts? (5) 24 What are place names derived from the names of real or mythical people? (7) 25 Which ﬁctional horse began life as Darkie? (5,6)

11 12 13

18 20

22 23

PUZZLES

DOWN 1 What make of car had models Somerset, Cambridge and Westminster? (6) 2 A libretto is the text of what? (5) 3 How many senses do we have? (4) 4 What type of creature makes up the largest class of the phylum Arthropoda? (6) 5 What bugle call is sounded at military funerals? (4,4) 6 What soft Italian cheese is used in making ravioli and gnocchi? (7) 7 Deposits of what dark, volcanic rock sometimes form columns? (6) 12 What snake is also called the great water boa? (8) 14 What type of pipe did Huckleberry Finn smoke? (7) 16 Who composed the piece nicknamed the “Minute Waltz” (6) 17 What is to run naked through a public place? (6) 18 Which river reaches the sea at Liverpool? (6) 21 In the southern US, what is a marshy tributary of a river? (5) 22 Which city was ﬁrst to reach a population of one people? (4)

31/8

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

QUICK CROSSWORD 1

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.

A E

11 12

15 17

18 20

GK CROSSWORD Across: 1 Adolf Hitler, 8 Sheaves, 9 Sachs, 10 Iran, 11 Capitol, 12 Ait, 13 Icon, 15 Siam, 17 Sot, 19 Haricot, 20 Oboe, 23 Pecan, 24 Eponyms, 25 Black Beauty. Down: 1 Austin, 2 Opera, 3 Five, 4 Insect, 5 Last post, 6 Ricotta, 7 Basalt, 12 Anaconda, 14 Corncob, 16 Chopin, 17 Streak, 18 Mersey, 21 Bayou, 22 Rome.

SUDOKU

5x5 C E L T S

QUICK CROSSWORD Across: 1. Superﬁcial 8. Retract 9. Adage 10. Poll 11. Nourish 12. Sod 13. Magi 15. Rage 17. Guy 19. Replete 20. Urge 23. Stout 24. Skilled 25. Experienced. Down: 1. Seraph 2. Petal 3. Roam 4. Intend 5. In a hurry 6. Leasing 7. Crèche 12. Sidestep 14. Approve 16. Crisis 17. Geyser 18. Wedded 21. Relic 22. Cite.

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 20 Very Good 24 Excellent 28

DOUBLE CROSS Find a ﬁnished crossword by deleting one of the two letters in each divided square. Solution opposite

BLACKOUT

ALPHAGRAMS: INEPT, JILTED, KEEPING, LAMENTED, MUTILATES.

O R

WORD GO ROUND

Down 1. Angel (6) 2. Flower segment (5) 3. Wander (4) 4. Mean (6) 5. Pushed for time (2,1,5) 6. Renting (7) 7. Nursery (6) 12. Avoid (8) 14. Give permission (7) 16. Critical situation (6) 17. Natural hot spring (6) 18. Married (6) 21. Outdated object (5) 22. Quote (4)

WORD GO ROUND

P O

cert cooper cope coper copter core corer cote crept oreo pert poet poorer pore porter project PROJECTOR recto rector report repot repro retro rooter rope rote tope toper tore torero trooper trope

J T

SOLUTIONS

R C

PEN IT JET LID PINE KEG METAL END STIMULATE

Note: more than one solution may be possible.

Across 1. Cosmetic, skin-deep (11) 8. Recant (7) 9. Saying (5) 10. Survey (4) 11. Sustain (7) 12. Turf (3) 13. The three wise men (4) 15. Wrath (4) 17. Man (inf) (3) 19. Full, satisﬁed (7) 20. Impulse (4) 23. Portly (5) 24. Adept (7) 25. Practised (11)

L E

22 23

I S L E T

P A I R S

C S

S E R G E

A L T E R

SUDOKU

B Q I K C W I V N W S F F I K

D U M B O F C H E V A L I E R

E V P B U M O U O U G X G T E

V I E T N A M N P R O B L E M

O S R G T E M C H X H C E S A

I T I N E R A R Y B C L A N K

D Z L E R E A Z T B O L F I E

S D D H A L F P E N N Y J A G

R P D Y C T U Q Y K C E V M S

E X E R T I T U R Q U O I S E

W Y S J T Z U C E K S B B E P

I N C I S O R G M U S K R A T

N Z E S P B I K I F I X A C I

D I N N E R S E T V O P T I C

O P D D W P M A F A N N E G D

BLACKOUT

Work out which squares need to be deleted to reveal a completed crossword. Solution opposite

DOUBLE CROSS

C H N E V S A L F I E R D U I M B C O

E V O I D R E W I T X P E R I L D E S T N H R U N T E R A C T A R L O M M A F U T U R P U O P H Y T E R E R N Q G O C O N C U S B L Y O G L E A F V I B E N S E M A K E S E P

M U S K R A T I N C I S O R

I O N P A T E I I C N D I E N D N P E W R I S M E I T

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SEPTEMBER, 2019// SENIORS

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