Parkes Phoenix Editor

Maggi Barnard has been with the Forbes Phoenix since 2021 and loves writing about her community.

Still Time To Join The Platypi Juniors

March 23, 2017 by Maggi Barnard

The Forbes Platypi Juniors have started training for the 2017 season and are having a great time getting ready for their first competition game on Saturday, 1st April.

The first round of the season will see all grades from 13’s through to Seniors with a home game so it is shaping up to be a big day down at Grinstead Oval.

The coaches of each age group are motivated and keen to see the boys learn the skills and disciplines required to become well rounded rugby players. Most importantly, they are there to make sure the boys train and play safely, and have fun, which is what it’s all about.

Under the guidance of their coaches, the players will learn the rules of the game, im- prove their fitness, learn important life skills such as teamwork, respect for their fellow team mates, referees and opponents. They will also make new friends, who might become lifelong mates for some.

It’s not too late to register if you want to come down and try out rugby for the first time or if you are a returning player. The club looks forward to welcoming you back.

To register, turn up to training on Tuesday or Thursday nights, email us at forbesrugbyjuniors@hotmail.com or contact our Facebook page: Forbes Junior Rugby.

President’s Lunch A Celebration Of Community

March 23, 2017 by Maggi Barnard

Stand-up comedian Vince Sorrenti was taken aback last Saturday that a small country town like Forbes could organise such an outstanding event.

The sixth Forbes Rugby Union Club President’s Lunch has been described as the best ever with 820 guests joining in a spirit of friend- liness, politeness and generosity. “The food was magnificent, the crowd unbelievable and the weather was great,” said Chris Sweeney, chairman of the organising committee.

The Eat Your Greens Gourmet Dinner for 10 went for $10,000, a surprise Dinner with Vince for 10 at Ester in Sydney went for $9,500, the Wallaby jersey reached $2,000, a painting $6,000, a red gum mirror $2,200 and the winners of the $1,000 Platypus Charity Draw opted to donate the funds to the Garland Family.

“The support for auction items was just amazing and we are able to donate $10,000 to Batyr, far exceeding our expectations,” said Chris. While Vince’s entertainment was rated by many as the funniest they had ever seen, the comedian was equally impressed by the way the Forbes community look out for each other.

“I am extremely proud and happy to lead such a tremendous committee who can put together such a great event. All the happy, smiling faces at the event made me very happy,” said Chris

Snippets

March 23, 2017 by Maggi Barnard

Ava fundraiser: The music-themed fancy dress fundraiser for Ava Garland and fam- ily, and the McGrath Foundation raised $7,260 with 92 people attending. The Pink Ladies won the Name the Tune game, re- ceived a prize for the first to pay for table tickets and won best dressed group. Best dressed table went to Sally Duff’s team as Groovy 60s/70s. Best dressed man was Michael Butler as Kermit the Frog and best dressed lady Krystal Hanley as Baby Spice. The Man game winners were Nic Rebellato and Phil Peterson. The Ladies game was fairly close but Heidi Stewart beat Veronica Rebellato by three seconds. The auction was done by Tye Stewart for various donated items.

Win a double pass: Charlie Siem, one of today’s foremost young violinists, is in Australia for the first time. He is giving a concert with the Omega Ensemble on 1st April at Borrodell Vineyard in Orange. Born in London to a Norwegian father and Brit- ish mother, he began to play the violin at the age of three after hearing a broadcast of Yehudi Menuhin playing Beethoven’s violin concerto. He was educated at Eton College, before reading music as an un- dergraduate at Cambridge University. From 1998 to 2004 he studied with Itzhak Rashkovsky in London at the Royal College of Music, and from 2004 he has been mentored by Shlomo Mintz.

Charlie has appeared with many of the world’s finest orchestras, including the Lon- don Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philhar- monic Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Czech National Symphony Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Orches- tra and the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. Book tickets for the show at borrodell.com. au/events or call 6365 3425.

You can win a double pass in our competition today on page 11.

Seminar for farmers: SafeWork NSW has doubled safety rebates to farmers. Forbes Small Engines is holding a seminIaNr oTnER Tuesday, 4th April at 2pm that will count as an eligible interaction so farmers don’t need to do the online webinar.

SafeWork NSW and Tocal College (Quad bike safety training) will deliver the seminar. Contact 6852 3228 to book or for more information.

Spoons + linen: Drop your pre-loved and unwanted spoons (soup and dessert) and linen (napkins, table cloths and sheets)
at the Platypus Gallery in Forbes for the Grazing Down The Lachlan event.

Our Bloke

March 23, 2017 by Maggi Barnard

Chris Sweeney

How long have you lived in Forbes and what do you like about living here?
Forbes has been my home for 56 years, and it never ceases to amaze me how the Forbes people and businesses support our community both in good times and bad.

Where do you work and what do you enjoy most about your work?
I am self- employed as a lamb feed lotter and am proud to supply a quality product.

What do you do to unwind after work and on weekends?
I enjoy all facets of rugby, playing badminton, dragon boating and spending quality time with my family and friends. I also enjoy a beer every now and then.

What are you really good at?
Organising lunch for a few people… Also, rugby refereeing as I always try to finish in the top five referees on the field during the game. (PS: There is only one referee in rugby!)

If you could have a super power, what would it be?
To change the minds of the worst leaders of the world so people can live in their own country if they choose, so then there would be no refugee issues.

What is your pet hate?
My pet hate is selfish people who don’t contribute to either business or the community but then expect everything to be provided for them.

Barry Tells You How to Travel And Work

March 23, 2017 by Maggi Barnard

Image sourced from World Travel Guide

Barry Brebner had a lot of time to think and reflect whilst recovering from cancer in hospital. Reminiscing about the eight editions of Workabout Australia he wrote until 2011, Barry was motivated to start writing again. “During those years I met so many people who told me the most amazing travel stories,” said Barry. “So I set to work and here is the result,” he said proudly holding a copy of Workers on the Wallaby.

Barry was in Forbes last Thursday with his latest book meeting people at News on Rankin. He was happy to sell a book to a reader from his hometown of Dubbo, an- swered questions from the public and chatted to Forbes local, William Hodson who told him about his time working as a trailer driver in Cape York.

Workers on the Wallaby is a collection of 11 factual and very personal stories of people’s adventures whilst travelling Australia. Barry tells of how one traveller who felt God’s presence at Devil’s Marbles, and of a couple who raised and educated their children on the road and how important their journey was to their childrens’ education.

“Workabout Australia, is a book that every person thinking of travelling and or working around Australia should have,” said Barry.

By Dianne Collie

Catch of the Week

March 23, 2017 by Maggi Barnard

69cm Murray cod, caught near Waroo by Jim Carty and released.

Aussie Women Put Foundation Before Friends

March 23, 2017 by Maggi Barnard

Many Australian women would ditch their friends or risk their credit rating rather than go make-up free, according to new research. The research commissioned by leading online Australian beauty and haircare retailer RY.com.au, reveals the extremes to which Aussie women will go in the name of beauty.

It found 46 per cent of respondents would rather cancel a dinner with friends or scrimp on the weekly food shop if they needed the money to replace their foundation.

An even more hardcore bunch, 12 per cent of those surveyed, were prepared to borrow money, skip paying a phone bill or even overdraw their bank account rather than be forced to go foundation free.

RY.com.au co-founder James Patten said the research uncovered the extent of Australian women’s love affair with their beauty products.

“It has echoes of the so-called lipstick effect, which suggests that consumers will still buy luxury goods even when facing a crisis,” he said.

RY.com.au’s research also provides clues as to which age-groups are more likely to indulge in this make-up mania, with women aged under 35 leading the pack on how much they spend each month on skin, hair and beauty treatments.

A quarter of women aged under 35 spend more than $150 a month on treatments compared to just seven per cent of those aged over 55. The younger demographic was almost twice as likely to splurge on beauty products when they felt down or stressed.

And it was the youngest women surveyed who are reaching for top shelf items; with women aged under 25 the most likely to buy top-of-the-range expensive products, perhaps overdrawing their bank accounts in the process.

School Scoop

March 23, 2017 by Maggi Barnard

Bedgerabong Swimmers To Sydney

Bedgerabong students Ryan Pritchett, George Matthews, Annabelle Hain and Patrick Bird took part in the Western Region swimming trials. They came third in the Peter Dobson relay for small schools, and will be competing

at the PSSA State Swimming Carnival early April. Ryan Pritchett, with a first place in the 13 years boys freestyle, will be competing in two events in Sydney.

Forbes North Swimming

Forbes North Public School sent 24 students to Condobolin for the district swimming carnival. We had to be at Forbes Public School bus stop at 7am so we could catch the bus at 7:15am.

On the bus people were very excited. It took us an hour to get there. When we got there we got to get in the pool for our warm up lap. After a set time the racers got called and the pool got cleared. There were all different styles from freestyle to butterfly.

Sadly there were many disqualifications. Most of them were in butterfly and breast- stroke. In breaststroke you can get disquali- fied if your hands or feet break the water. You can also get disqualified if your hands go to far back or if your hands go down. Fortunately we had two successful students who made it to the third level. They were Annaliese and Jakiel. Annaliese made it for 50m butterfly and Jakiel for 50m freestyle. They went to Dubbo for the third round on Friday, 10th of March.

By Lauren House (Year 6)

Red Bend Blingo

The new phenomenon of Blingo will arrive in Forbes soon with the Red Bend Catholic College inviting parents and friends to come dressed to the nines in glamorous over the top evening wear and far too much jewellery.

A prize will be offered for the King and Queen of Bling for those who dare to dress up for the event at the Forbes Services Memorial Club on Friday, 31st March with 20 bingo games on offer.

The first game will start at 7.30pm, doors will open at 7pm. The renowned Molly Neilsen will be the experienced caller and director of proceedings. Cost will be $20 for 20 bingo games. Extra bingo games can be purchased. Prizes include $25 Why Leave Town vouchers, and raffle tickets will be available at the door at $2 each or three for $5. Players must be present to collect either a pamper basket of Jamberry products or a barbeque hamper.

During intermission, the walk up air-guitar competition has an iTunes voucher as prize.

Movement and Play at Forbes Preschool

With the support of an occupational therapist and speech therapist the Forbes Preschool developed a program to support children in all areas of development through movement and play. Children learn how to regulate their bodies, an essential skill for when they play and learn. This term the focus is on core stability and breathing. Good core muscles is vital to sit and attend! Pictured are Cael Ryan and Alice Davies using their core muscles and taking deep breaths to blow lots of bubbles.

St Laurence’s News

St Laurence’s Parish School community celebrated Catholic Schools Week in early March starting with a well-attended community barbeque breakfast on Monday.

The school community came together for the Mass on Wednesday to give thanks for the parish school and also reflect on this year’s theme: Catholic Schools: Great Learning, Great Communities.

A significant event at the conclusion of the week was the annual school fete on Friday evening. While this annual event is a significant P&F fundraiser for the school it is also a fantastic gathering and community building opportunity.

Last Monday St Laurence’s hosted the World’s Greatest Shave. At an emotional assembly the school community witnessed the actions of three very special and most giving people. Scarlett Garland, Tom Mas- lin and Graeme Uphill demonstrated what it is to be completely selfless for the benefit and well-being of others in honour of an- other special little girl, Ava Garland and her beautiful family.

The tremendous trio raised in excess of $13,000 for the Leukemia Foundation in support of research and families.

Question of the Week

March 23, 2017 by Maggi Barnard

Harmony Day on 21st March is a great opportunity to celebrate Australia’s diverse culture and respect for each other. How do you show respect?

Anne Hodges: I truly care about people, all peo- ple. I like to make sure that I give good things to everyone, things that they can hold onto.

Kathleen Broderick: I respect people’s confiden- tiality and their need for personal space. When I can, I send love and light to people in need.

Lee Hodge: I respect others by allowing them
to tell their story and listening to them. I also ac- knowledge and address what makes them unique.

Great Victory For Forbes Pennants

March 23, 2017 by Maggi Barnard

The Forbes no 4 golfing pennants team captured the Central West District Association finals flag with a 3-2 win over Cowra last Sunday.

Played at Orange’s Ex-Services Club, the Forbes players did not let a late night at the President’s Lunch deter their winning efforts. In fact some seemed to play better according to team officials.

Best for Forbes was Troy Howe with a 7-6 victory after winning the first six holes.

The team number 1, Richard Smith won 3-2, number 2 Stuart French sealed victory winning two up and number 3 Garry Py- mont lost on the 19th hole, while Gus Coles was behind all day going down 4-3.

Saturday’s 4-ball par event in Forbes was won by Barry Parker and Denis Culley with plus 8 from Lyndon Byrne and Frank Hanns on plus 7 on a count-back from Paul Kay and Paul Pymont along with Ronald Morris and Scott Kirkman.

Sunday’s medley was won by Jill Cripps with 36 points from Martin Woods, 35. Tomorrow is the Bali Memorial (formally Greg Sanderson Memorial) played as a 4-person medley ambrose. Members will gather to remember the late Brian Monaghan with drinks and chat from 4.30-7pm. Members of Brian’s family will be in attendance.

It is also rumoured Fred Collie, or is that Brian, let his partner down on Saturday fading late in his round due to condition. It is believed this has been caused by the shortage of chocolate in the family’s Wambat Street home…

By Andrew McDonald

Parkes Phoenix Editor

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