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Welcome Note
Let's Look Out For Each Other
Words James Hutton, Publisher
Welcome to the February 2021 edition of The Beast, the monthly magazine for Sydney’s beaches of the east. New cases of COVID-19 in Sydney have thrown a spanner in the works again, but we’re hanging in there with the support of our loyal advertisers, who we really can’t thank enough.
This month’s cover painting of Clovelly Beach is the work of 84-year-old Clovelly artist John Johnston, who only took up art about two years ago after his wife passed away. We’re stoked to be able to feature the work of local artists on our cover each month and we’ve decided to keep this theme running indefinitely as a result of all the positive feedback we’ve received from our readers.
January has been a hard month for many residents of our local area, especially the Bondi and Tamarama crews. Just within my extended circle of friends, two young lives were lost to suicide last month. I didn’t know either of these young men personally, but I’ve seen how their loss has affected some of my mates and I can’t even begin to imagine what their families must be going through right now.
Since we started this magazine over sixteen years ago there has been a huge increase, anecdotally speaking, in youth suicide along our little strip of coastline, and we all need to look out for each other and make sure we’re making the time to listen to our friends and be aware of what people are going through - even more so now with all the social restrictions and limited job opportunities.
I know a lot of young people flick through The Beast each month, so if you’re reading this and you’re not feeling okay, please think things through and reach out and talk to someone, whether it’s a family member, friend or medical professional. There are people trained in this field who are working to help people through mental health issues literally every day of the week, and they will listen to you and give you the tools you need to get through whatever it is you’re dealing with. Please reach out and get help, you don’t need to go it alone.
