With the final week of 2016 upon us, it’s a time to reflect, but for some this time of year is challenging. Fortunately, many online and phone services, like headspace and Cancer Council will remain open this festive season. The holiday season can pose many challenges for people affected by cancer. The new Cancer Council Online Community provides the opportunity to connect, share experiences, and find information and support in a safe forum. It’s available 24/7 from any online device, regardless of location.

Cancer Council NSW’s Lead Supportive Care Manager, Hannah Baird said the online community aimed to reduce isolation by encouraging people to share their stories with others in similar situations. “What we are seeing through our peer support programs is more and more people are turning to digital platforms for information and support, to connect with others who can relate to what they are experiencing.”
The Cancer Council 13 11 20 telephone information and support service is available over the holiday period. For more
information visit: www.cancercouncil.com.au/OC

The beginning of a new year can also be a turbulent time for many young people. They may be facing some big life changes like starting a new school, awaiting exam results to get into higher education, or commencing employment. When normal routines change and daily structure is altered it can cause pressure. During these times, it is valuable for families and friends to be aware of signs and symptoms that something might be wrong with their loved ones. Being withdrawn, expressing ongoing worry, or irritability are just a few changes to look out for.

If you need support or advice, headspace can help. The National Youth Mental Health Foundation, headspace, provides support to young people aged 12-25 years who are going through a tough time. This includes support for mental health, physical health, work and study, or alcohol and other drugs. It is also open to parents. Visit headspace.org.au or access help via eheadspace.org.au for online and telephone
support between 9am-1am seven days-a-week.

Café Aglio & Olio will be holding the last of their popular series of High Teas on Sunday, 4th December from 11am to 2 pm. This is a perfect opportunity to have a day out to relax and unwind after a busy week. Bookings are required as all food is made to order. The cost is $38 per person or $42 for a gluten free option. There will be savoury and sweet high tea favourites, as well as fruit to follow. Do not miss out by calling 6851 5599 to book.

One of the best treats of summer is ice cream. The latest addition to Café Aglio & Olio is Mr Pisa Gelato from Sydney. With a commitment to fresh, high quality gelato, Mr Pisa Gelato has grown from a gelato stand outside the Sydney Opera House to a thriving company selling to 500 restaurants, stores and businesses.

Mr Pisa Gelato won the highest scoring gelato and highest scoring frozen product at the Dairy Institute of Australia’s 2016 Awards of Excellence. Pop in any time, the café is open Monday to Friday from 7:30am to 3pm, and on Saturday from 8am to 2pm.

As with fashion, home decorating goes through interesting cycles of what’s in
and what’s not. Key periods in styling will always be remembered through the colours and designs that were in vogue in a time period, i.e green laminated benchtops takes us back to the seventies.

Over the last few years decorating with neutral tones and adding the WOW factor with accessories became trendy. This has allowed everyone more freedom to style and update their looks much more frequently with a minimum of fuss and expense.

But I feel the tides are changing again. After attending the recent launch of the new Haymes Paint colour collection for the new season, I fell in love with a whole new palette of colours I think will be the new direction with soft greys to deeper silver and more blue-grey tones. Instead of always selecting a more stone-base neutral with varying shades of creams and browns, we will now be selecting softer tones.

These new shades will combine beautifully with the move towards using black as an accent colour, as well as adopting a new sophisticated feel to our styling efforts. The grey colour wheel also works perfectly with accents of red to make a retro inspired statement. It can also look soft and feminine when paired with lilac and silver and a touch of bling. Yellow looks amazing when splashed in a room of grey, and I love it when orange is combined with grey to look vibrant, and seriously stylish and sophisticated.

I think it will not be long before there is a new must have colour. We will select this colour to make our homes a true vision of neutral beauty and it will allow us to unleash the decorator within as our possibilities of choice become limitless.

By Karen Creith

Forbes Bowen Therapy & Wellness treats the whole body and offers natural, holistic approaches to pain relief, respiratory problems, digestive issues and other physical and psychological ailments. They can help whether you’re suffering from nerve and joint pain, reflux, sinus pressure, migraines, sleep disorders, scoliosis or any other form of pain. They perform a series of focused massages with frequent pauses to allow your body to heal naturally. Many
of their clients feel the results after the first visit, and most symptoms are relieved after just a few appointments.

Developed by Tom Bowen, The Bowen Therapy technique is based on a series of massages targeting certain points on your body. It is a gentle massage with frequent pauses to help promote your body’s natural healing. When they massage the soft connective tissue, impulses are sent throughout your body to improve circulation and lymphatic drainage. Contact 0427 592 771 for an appointment.