Saturday night I attended the Tibetan Earthquake Benefit concert organised by my friend Kirsty Chenery at the Z Pac Theatre, Zepher St. Hervey Bay.

The evening started with a viewing of: ‘The Sun Behind the Clouds …..Tibet’s struggle for freedom’ Movie. This movie was excellent, clearly portraying the current and ongoing dilemma Tibetans and His Holiness the Dalai Lama face in trying to see a middle path so that Tibetans can live in their own country (currently overtaken by the Chinese), keeping their customs alive and the practice of Buddhism.
This was a special preview as the movie is not officially released till October so we very blessed to be given this viewing.

We then enjoyed some food as many brought along a plate to share.

Following our break we had a great live performance from Alena of some of her original songs. Alena is a student at our local Buddhist Sanctuary and this was her first ever live performance – The Oddiyana Dharma Sanctuary.
The theatre was also decorated beautifully with pray flags by Alena earlier in the day.

This was followed by an exciting performance by the very talented special guests Tenzin Choegyal and Tibet2Timbuk2.

Their music ranged from relaxing, to mesmerising, to captivating to upbeat I want to dance songs!  
Most of their songs are either written about birds, lakes or mountains!
They were very amusing making us laugh.

Tibet2Timbuk2 has an eclectic repertoire including group arrangements of Tenzin’s Tibetan songs, Marcello’s English songs, collaborative songs and instrumentals and even classical tabla solo.  The overall sound is full and organic, with all three musicians sharing bass, percussion, harmony and melody roles to create a solid yet easy groove.

All up over $3,000 was raised on this very successful and enlightening night!
Awesome job, Kirst xox and all who participated, helped and attended!
There was alot of love in the room!

Sunday morning was so gorgeous at 6am I went for a 3:20min, 15km walk from Enzo’s at Scarness to Gataker’s Bay Boat Ramp and back with a couple of friends along our beautiful foreshore. The weather was perfect and I hadn’t walked around this way since I was a child so there were a lot of fun memories plus I’d forgotten just how beautiful our foreshore is.

When walking on the sand I said to my friend, “Holy Cr#p check out the size of that dogs paw print!!” who was then kind enough to point out to me it was actually a kangaroo foot print …

We made it to the summit of Gataker’s Bay hill which would be approximately 20m above sea level! (For experienced climbers only ha ha lol)

Yesterday (Sunday) afternoon I went down to the Jazz and Blues festival at the Pier in Hervey Bay to catch up with Enrique who was doing a Free Zumba demo. We had an awesome 45 minute high energy workout with Enrique and guest Zumba instructor from the Sunshine Coast, Celestia Spong.

Classes on the Fraser Coast can be found here

Today we ‘Raced the Rattler’ in Gympie, being an 18.5km foot race against the famous ‘Valley Rattler’ Steam Train.

The train departed Gympie Station for Dagun at 8.00 am with the first 300 runners and the race back to the station began at 9.30am.
There was just over 400 runners in total.
The first runners crossed the finish line shortly after 10.30 am.

We were told the course was a little hilly but I think that was the biggest understatement of the year. The whole course was nonstop HILLS OMG!!!

What a fantastic challenge. We all had an awesome time with some very fast run times!

The countryside was beautiful with some trail running also on the course.

We enjoyed a lovely BBQ in the park afterwards before coming home.

Yesterday I decided to go on a11+km hike with my friends and tackled our local Ghost Hill in Hervey Bay! The 2.5hr walk through the country side and cane fields was absolutely gorgeous; our council should really consider running a bike path out there and also up Ghost Hill plus down the whole of Main St, it is just such an enjoyable and scenic walk. I couldn’t find any online evidence but I’m sure the hill is at least 20m high! Ha Ha (perfect if you are just starting out with looking for some adventure!)!

The Tale of Ghost Hill
In the early days when the timber getters were felling timber at Pialba, Ghost Hill was just called The Hill.

One night Mr List, who lived on The Hill near the top, was late home from Maryborough and his wife was concerned. She went out onto the road in her long white night gown holding a lantern to look for him.

At the same time Boyle Martin and Anders Christiansen were making their way back to camp at Bunya Creek after a night at the Hunters Hotel. Mrs List, on seeing the two men, ran for the cover of the trees and the two men thought they saw a ghost.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Marianne Williamson

Omg it was pretty cold this morning on the Fraser Coast and the temperature was only 8°C/22°C. (Unlike many I really feel the cold)

I’m glad none of my clients dropped in for an unexpected visit!

My cold weather uniform reminded me of an amusing commercial I had seen ….

I’ve never really supported the Fraser Coast “Pub Crawl” ….  I just don’t see the logic in using tax payer funded government grants to promote and encourage binge drinking to get into the Guiness Book of Records.
Alcohol causes so much distruction and damages so many people lives yet our Fraser Coast Council actively promotes and supports this behaviour on what I assume is tax payer funded website!

All our local Police will be attending the event plus more are coming from surrounding areas and Brisbane including a riot squad … who covers this cost?? The Tax Payer?

Gee Anne how RESPONSIBLE!!!
 “It is good news from an operational point of view… this ensures publicans are able to serve as fast as they can.”

Is this the only event in Australia that is still allowed to sell full strength alcohol?

MID-STRENGTH alcohol restrictions and mandatory water breaks no longer apply to this year’s World’s Greatest Pub Fest…. Liquor Licensing when it decided on Friday not to impose alcohol restrictions to Maryborough’s world-renowned event….. “It is good news from an operational point of view… this ensures publicans are able to serve as fast as they can.” pub fest committee chair and Fraser Coast councillor Anne Nioa said. Read more here.

I tend to agree with Father Kelly, the local Maryborough Catholic Priest on this one:

“I am not getting at the pubs but after observing part of the pub crawl last year I truly fear for the safety of people…..The change of name and various additions over the years, such as more water, suggestions of lower strength alcohol, a charitable ‘cause’, etc, really are just trying to minimise the basic nature of the thing as a pub crawl, with all its negative connotations……This community does not need what is really still a pub crawl in spite of the council dressing it up as a festival and adding charities and church water stations.”

… Father Kelly’s full article here

What I do support is the  Wide Bay Sexual Assault Association and the remarkable work the councillors do in putting lives back together due to the abuse and adverse effects of alcohol. 
I think the Fraser Coast Council should more appropriately use tax payer funds for a free website for the Wide Bay Sexual Assault Association so that those who are abused mentally, physically or sexually by alcohol related incidents can seek help and know there is support and recovery systems within our community and know what to do if they become a victim.

Wide Bay Sexual Assault Support Services are getting the message out there this weekend with the use of their display stand created by Design House – “Drink Spike Alert ahead of Pub Crawl!”

IT CAN happen in an instant but lead to a lifetime of pain.

Drink-spiking is common and women attending the World’s Greatest Pub Fest on Sunday are urged to beware and take care so the crawl remains a safe and happy experience.

Counsellors from the Wide Bay Sexual Assault Support Service visited every participating crawl pub this week to distribute coasters, brochures and wrist bands warning of the dangers and advising people how to stay safe. … click here to learn more (image & info from The Fraser Coast Chronicle).

What to do if you think your drink has been spiked.
It is important to tell someone you can trust, a friend, security staff, the police and go to a doctor or hospital. Your doctor or a medical practitioner can test for the presence of traces of certain drugs through urine or blood tests within 24 hours.

Report the Crime 000 – Seek Medical HELP!
Statewide Sexual Assault Helpline  1800 010 120
Wide Bay Sexual Assault Service   07 4121 5999

Not long now and I’m off trekking around Fraser Island for the 3^rd time on Saturday 17th July 2010.

The Fraser Island Challenge is a fun walk / run across picturesque World Heritage listed Fraser Island QLD in One Day to raise Money in the name of Australian Cancer Charities.

Unique in that participants can choose their cancer related charity to raise donations for AND it is the first event of it’s size run in a QLD National Park.

From the beautiful Kingfisher Bay Resort & Village to the beach front resort at Eurong 100 competitors follow a course on established tracks (25km) with an extension option for elite competitors around the lake Wabby circuit (total 50km)…. Click here to find out more or register in the event.

Competitors in this event independently raise funds for their preferred Cancer Charity using a custom donation tracker on the event web site, with 100% of donations going directly to the selected charity

Please show your support and sponsor me …

proceeds go to the Queensland Cancer Council.