Come and enjoy a rare and totally new unique massage experience with senior masseuse Honey.

The Forbes Thai Massage Centre has commenced trading and has employed an experienced Traditional Thai Masseuse with over eight years practising and hon­ing her skills by not only working in lead­ing International Resorts in Phuket but practising in a range of different massage outlets in Thailand. Places such as Pat­taya, Bangkok and Phuket. She has also worked internationally for one year in Ko­rea.

Her name is Honey, and her skills are in all the Traditional Thai Massage as well as foot massage. We offer the full range of accepted Thai massage products including Herbal Ball heated treatments and few in Forbes have experienced this unique treat­ment. We note for your interest it is rare to find these as few in Australia have the skill of using Herbal Balls. Honey’s foot mas­sage is normally done in a large comfort­able chair, and I’m sure you will find this a unique experience.

The Forbes Thai Massage Centre was built as a complete Traditional Thai Mas­sage experience, you will see and experi­ence the attempts we have made to repli­cate this unique Thai Experience. Our goal here is to have you experience peace and serenity not only is this created by the mas­seuse but often it is the little things we do.

Such as the soft Thai massage music, the aromas, from the washing of your feet at the start, to warm tea or a simple piece of candy at the end. This is a unique Thai ex­perience without going to Thailand .

Amongst our many features is we have the massage mat on the floor exactly how it is done throughout Thailand. Please note you’re more than welcome to have a mas­sage on the table.

2025 VIEW Committee members are L to R: Sue Pietch, Noelene Toohey, Pat Phillips, Therese Davis, Carol Whatling and Heather Mackinnon, Di Finlay, Judy Kerr and Helen Pitt. (Absent: Loris Malloy, Diane Huggett and Sue Cunningham.

At the first View Club lunch meeting for 2025 held on 13 February at Club Forbes, mem­bers were welcomed back after the Christ­mas break by new President, Helen Pitt.

During the meeting, Helen introduced the incoming committee for 2025 to View Club members. There are 12 committee members comprising a combination of ex­perienced members and those new to the committee, to help guide the club through the coming year.

Judy Kerr, a past District Councillor, presented long service badges to three members, with Helen Lupis and Helen Pitt receiving their twenty-year badges and Jen­nifer Purdy receiving her thirty-year badge.

Congratulations to these three ladies for a combined total of 70 years of service to the community.

After a tasty meal provided by Club Forbes, members listened to an interest­ing and informative presentation from guest speaker, Wendy Broome, from Forbes Sal­vation Army. Wendy spoke about her back­ground and provided a little history about the Forbes Salvation Army, her role and experi­ences in the community and how their pro­grams support people needing assistance.

Forbes View is one of 280 clubs around Australia and its members add to the 13,000 members Australia wide who support chil­dren’s education and the Smith Family.

The next View Club lunch will be held on 13 March at Club Forbes at 12 noon for 12.30pm start. Guest speakers for this meeting are Trish Humphries who will pro­vide information about Forbes Meals on Wheels. The second speaker will be Pauline O’Neill, talking about home modifications and maintenance services available. These ladies have a wealth of experience in sup­porting the community, they work at Forbes HaCC (Home and Community Care) Centre in Harold Street.

All members are requested to please RSVP to their new contact member on or before Thursday 6 March.

Universal Outdoor Mobile Obligation (UOMO) will secure new mobile coverage across regional Australia.

The National Farmers’ Federation (NFF) has welcomed an announcement that the Federal Government has committed to in­troducing a Universal Outdoor Mobile Obli­gation (UOMO).

If enshrined by legislation, the world-first proposal means telecommunications com­panies will be legally bound to guarantee basic, outdoor voice and text mobile cover­age across every corner of Australia.

NFF President David Jochinke, who had attended the announcement at the NSW Rural Fire Service HQ, said the obligation would both create and safeguard a right for every Australian to access basic calls and text services from any location.

This announcement is made possible due to Low Earth Orbit Satellites (LEO­Sats) and the arrival of ‘Direct to Device’ technology.

“Mobile black spots are a huge source of frustration for people in the bush. Coverage gaps can compromise safety and make it harder to run a business,” Mr Jochinke said.

“This new obligation will ensure that the safety of rural Australians, and their access to basic mobile services, cannot be put in the too-hard basket.

The obligation would secure new mobile coverage across an estimated 5 million square kilometres of land, including more than 37,000 kilometres of regional roads.

You may see signage in place when you enter your local Woolworths store Monday-Friday between the hours of 10.30am-11.30am.

Woolworths has expanded its low-sensory Quiet Hour to five days a week, an expe­rience designed to reduce anxiety and sensory stress for customers with specific needs.

During Quiet Hour, most Woolworths stores will lower lights, turn down music or radio, turn off beeps at the register and turn off oven buzzers for an hour, every Monday to Friday between 10:30am and 11:30am.

Quiet hour was developed in consultation with disability service provider Life Without Barriers and launched in 2019 one day a week to meet the need in the community for a low-sensory shopping experience.

Since then, the initiative has rolled out to over 900 stores across Australia.

Jeanette Fenske, Woolworths Director of Stores, said: “We continue to receive positive feedback from customers on the initiative, and our teams take great pride in ensuring the stores are quieter and less stressful for customers during this time.

“Quiet Hour is now an integral part of how we aim to assist independence in our stores, in addition to the opportunity pro­vided by Direct to Boot and delivery options for many customers.

Life Without Barriers Chief Executive Claire Robbs said: “The expansion of Quiet Hour at Woolworths from one to five week days is a fantastic initiative that recognis­es and is actively responding to different needs in the community.

“Life Without Barriers has been delighted with Woolworths leadership to give people more options to do their shopping in store and increase their independence in an en­vironment that is not stressful and over­whelming to them.”

Quiet Hour now runs from 10:30am – 11:30am every Monday to Friday in most stores nationally.

A higher proportion of people in regional NSW have participated in the Return and Earn Scheme (72%), significantly more than those in metropolitan NSW (65%).

The NSW Return and Earn scheme has hit a new record, celebrating a staggering 13 billion bottles, cans and cartons returned through the return point network since the scheme began. This means over $1.3 bil­lion in container refunds have gone back into people’s pockets, helping with the cost of living, saving for a special goal or supporting amazing causes. Over $72 mil­lion has also been raised for charities and community groups through donations and return point hosting fees.

Following a record-breaking summer, with 23 December 2024 setting a record for the biggest single day ever at 10.3 million containers, 2024 ended as our biggest year yet with 2.125 billion containers returned.

“This achievement shows just how im­portant drink container recycling is across NSW. With over 650 convenient and ac­cessible return points, it has never been easier to recycle in our state,” said James Dorney, CEO of network operator, TOMRA Cleanaway.

“Thanks to all the people of NSW, what was once seen as waste is now a valuable resource, delivering significant environ­mental, social and economic benefits. “ “Recycling isn’t just about cleaning up the environment – it’s about turning waste into valuable resources to grow our circular economy. Together, we are contributing to a more sustainable future, where the mate­rials that our bottles, cans and cartons are made of are kept in use and out of landfill,” said Ms. Smalley.

Return and Earn has raised funds for everything from weddings and holidays to free care flights for sick children and meals for people who are doing it tough. Com­munity members can donate their refund to one of over 300 donation partners listed on the Return and Earn app or to the cur­rent statewide donation partner, food relief charity, Foodbank NSW & ACT.

For more information visit www.returnan­dearn.org.au.