Wednesday September 27th 2017
Julie Ankers Local Author
Author of "Feisty, Fabulous & 50 +" spoke about her arrival in the Blue Mountains and how it inspired her book.
Julie Ankers, a recent resident of the Blue Mountains is the author the book "Feisty, Fabulous and 50+".
Julie spoke about her history in the literature world her company which specialised as an agency for guest speakers. The agency had numerous high class speakers
on its books. Speakers could be engaged for as little as a few hundred up to several thousand dollars for a speaking engagement.
The first book, "Feisty, Fabulous & 50 +" has been a very time consuming task involving sourcing 21 women across Australia to share their candid and compelling stories.
Wednesday September 13th 2017
Louise Statz "Creating Links"
Louise Statz speaks with the aid of her Powerpoint presentation
Louise Statz is the Chief Executive Officer of 'Creating Links', a company which has just recently opened a new office at Falconbridge.
'Creating Links' is a boutique, person-centred organisation that has been delivering a diverse range of services across the Greater Sydney area for more than 40 Years. Services include: NDS, aged care, foster care, children and family, financial wellbeing and various community projects.
Wednesday September 6th 2017
Lynton Phillips
Lynton (widely known as ‘Blue’) Phillips - originally from Adelaide, joined the Australian army in Melbourne in 1966 as a recruit/private soldier (at the tender age of 17 and five days) - just ten days
before the famous battle of Long Tan.
He retired as a commissioned officer (major) after three age extensions on 31 December, 2016, deciding that his 50 year work-experience experiment had run its course!
He served in the Vietnam War 1970 -1971 at Nui Dat, Phouc Tuy province, with a light aircraft reconnaissance unit. Detached to the British army of the Rhine (BAOR), 1978, he then embarked on an adventurous military sub-career, running numerous adventure training expeditions throughout Australia, Papua New Guinea, Norway, New Zealand, and the United States.
Lynton has had a crack at virtually any pursuit. He commanded the army’s adventurous training school at Bonegilla, Victoria in its formative years.
His main adventurous interests have been white water racing and cross-country ski touring, climbing, caving, bush walking, abseiling, marathon running, and canyoning. He is still actively involved in bush walking, running, badminton, and the roping pursuits.
Lynton is an active member of local Blue Mountains SES, Wentworth Falls Garden Club, and volunteer driver with Smartlink / Great Community Transport.
He moved to Katoomba in late 2002 - Not moving again.
Wednesday August 30th 2017
Ray Wiles "The Great Murray"
Ray Wiles - home from a cruise on the "Mighty Murray"
Our Immediate Past President Ray Wiles and his lovely wife Margaret have not long returned from a relaxing cruise on the mighty Murray River. This was a well deserved opportunity to wind-down re-charge the batteries after an extremely bust year.
Ray spoke about the cruise and the many happy and enjoyable experiences whilst doing so.
Wednesday August 8th 2017
David Wilkinson "Prostate Cancer"
David Wilkinson has been the president of Nepean/Blue Mountains Prostate Cancer Support Group since 2013.
David discussed some of the theory and about his prostate cancer journey.
David’s knowledge about the subject is real. Although he had annual medical checks (including PSA) since he was 50, in September 2011, not quite three years into retirement, he learned that his PSA had risen slightly and was referred to a urologist. After a biopsy David heard those dreaded words . . . . .
“You have Prostate Cancer”.
Support groups help raise awareness of prostate cancer in their local communities. In Australia around 20,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer each year and more than 3,000 men die of it - more than the number of women who die of breast cancer.
Prostate cancer is generally a slow growing disease and the majority of men with low grade prostate cancer live for many years without symptoms and without it spreading and becoming life threatening. However, high grade disease spreads quickly and can be lethal.
Appropriate management is necessary.
Prostate Cancer is an insidious disease that most men either fear or don’t want to know about.
But it is real. It is out there. It can sneak up on you without symptoms. Maybe you need to get out of bed more than twice a night and go to the toilet. If that’s the case, and you are over the age of 45 years, seek medical advice.
David really brought this message home to us at Central Blue Mountains Rotary.
David is a prostate cancer survivor and he travels around as a member of the support group speaking to men and their partners about the need for men to have regular medical checks after the age of 45 years.
Prostate cancer is generally a slow growing disease and the majority of men with low grade prostate cancer live for many years without symptoms and without it spreading and becoming life threatening. However, high-grade prostate cancer can spread quickly and can be lethal. Appropriate management is necessary.
David Wilkinson says his association is there to help. It supports those who have prostate cancer, or suspect that they may have prostate cancer and their carer’s, to ensure that such people know they are, Not Alone.
“We have been operating for some years now and became an incorporated Association in March 2007, we are an approved DGR recipient with Australian tax office, which means that donations made to our association are tax deductible,” David said.
Further information is available on the association’s website: just ask Google to search for ’Nepean Blue Mountains Prostate Cancer Support Group’ or contact David Wilkinson on 1300 13 38 78.
Wednesday August 2nd 2017
Liz Benson "Birds in the Garden"
Liz Benson, of Lawson, is an extraordinary lady when it comes to imparting information about native birds that inhabit the Blue Mountains.
As a founding member of Central Blue Mountains Garden Club and the Blue Mountains Bird Observers Club, her knowledge of the local bird population and those that fly in from overseas is outstanding.
Initially, Liz worked as a high school science teacher, then with National Parks and Wildlife and Royal Botanic Gardens.
Liz says the Blue Mountains region is a bird spotter’s paradise. Brightly coloured noisy rainbow lorikeets can be seen and heard throughout the mountains. Bellbirds with their ringing call and whip birds, with their distinctive whip-crack call can be heard echoing in the valleys. Whip birds are very difficult to see, however, you will know of their presence through this unusual but somehow seemingly ever present call.
There are kookaburras, gang gangs, rosellas, currawongs and many others.
Another very interesting bird that lives in the patches of rainforest scattered around the mountains is the male satin bowerbird. Glossy black in colour, they use blue colour objects to attract a mate. They can even include clothes pegs.
