Marion Unger in her amazing home garden that she has spent 20 years finessing.

Show your love and appreciation for your mother and support a local initiative to raise funds for a charity.

Parkes resident Marion Unger will be selling flowers from her garden on the front lawn of the Lutheran Church in Currajong Street (opposite Parkes Public School) from 8:30am tomorrow, Saturday 13th May. Her bunches start from $5 for the smallest size. The bunches of chrysanthemums, the traditional Mother’s Day flower, come mostly from Marion’s garden. She will be donating the money to a children’s ministry in Cambodia. She has attached a small card with information about the ministry to every bunch. Contact Marion on 0447 165 229 for more information. 

Authorised Child Restraint Fitters will be in Parkes on Friday 12th May and Forbes on Saturday 13th May.

Parkes and Forbes Shire Councils are ensuring that children are safe and secure when travelling in vehicles with free child restraint checks by Authorised Child Restraint Fitters in Parkes on Friday 12 May 2023 and Forbes on Saturday 13th May.

The Councils’ Road Safety and Injury Prevention Officer, Melanie Suitor, says that these free child restraint checking days will now be held bi-annually as they are usually well patronised and are important in ensuring the safe travel of young children.

“Due to the success of previous events, we’ve received funding to offer this service twice a year to residents in Parkes and Forbes – one round of checking days will be held in late November/early December and the other round will be in April/May,” Ms Suitor said.

The upcoming child restraint checking days will be held in Parkes on Friday 12 May from 11am – 3pm in the carpark at Kelly Reserve and in Forbes on Saturday 13 May from 10am – 2pm in the Bunnings carpark.

The correct fitting and adjustment of child restraints is vital. Research shows that two out of three child restraints are not being used properly and this puts children at risk of injury in the event of a crash.

“Most of the restraints we have checked at previous events have had minor problems that needed fixing to ensure the safety of the child – such as tightening and untwisting straps, fitting gated buckles and correcting the seatbelt’s path through the restraint.

“It is important to have your child restraint checked regularly after prolonged use and installed correctly before use to ensure that your precious cargo is safe,” Ms Suitor said.

Bookings are essential – phone 6861 2364 to secure your place. Information about the child restraint laws, the types of restraints and advice on moving children from one restraint type to the next will also be available.

Few children’s books have stood the test of time quite like Dr Seuss’s 200 word masterpiece ‘The Cat in the Hat’ As the top selling children’s author of all time, the story is as popular now as it was in the 1950’s when Dr. Theodor ‘Seuss’ Geissel wrote the book.

Now both children and adults alike are sure to be left in raptures by this zany and imaginative stage show, that will bring the story to life on a 22 city, 45 show nationwide tour of Australian theatres.

The play was adapted for the stage in 2009 by the National Theatre of Great Britain and tells the story of a brother and sister, bored at home on a rainy day when they are visited by none other than ‘The Cat’ in his red and white striped hat. Their outspoken and outraged pet fish is astounded and concerned, but this cat will not be deterred. He will teach us all to make our own fun with nothing but a little imagination. “It’s fun to have fun, but you have to know how.” Along with his friends, Thing One and Thing Two they turn the house upside down leaving mess everywhere but have no fear, The Cat brings in his red ‘Picker-Up Machine’ and all is back to normal before Mum walks back in the door.

So if you’re looking for ideas for your Thing 1 and 2 this coming school holidays, come and share in the magic and mystery of live theatre at the Dubbo Regional Theatre.

Spoiler alert: Things run amuck, and quickly!

For more information, please visit www.drtcc.com.au

With Mother’s Day around the corner, what better way to spoil her than with this delicious breakfast to start the day.

INGREDIENTS 

• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 x 420g cans corn kernels, drained
• 2 tbsp chopped chives
• 100g fetta, crumbled
• 30g piece cold butter
• 1 small avocado, cut into wedges
• 30g baby rocket
• 2 tbsp Coles sweet chilli sauce, to serve 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place flour into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. Use a fork to whisk eggs and milk in a jug and pour gradually into the flour, stirring gently to combine. Fold in corn, chives and fetta. Don’t over-mix or the fritters will be tough. 

2. Wrap butter in a piece of paper towel. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and wipe with the butter to grease. Drop 1/4 cupfuls of mixture into the pan (you’ll have to cook in batches). Cook for about 2-3 mins, until golden brown underneath, then turn and cook the other side. Repeat with the butter and fritter mixture. 

3. Serve fritters with avocado, bacon, cherry tomatoes, rocket and sweet chilli sauce. 

Forbes celebrated 150 years of history during Forbes Heritage Week Festival on 1st May 2021.

‘Sharing our stories. Revealing the layers of our history.’ is the theme for Heritage Week 2023 and Forbes Shire Council’s amazing events team has put together an itinerary that ensures more of our local stories are uncovered and remembered.

The celebrations will kick-off on Tuesday 2nd May, with the The Forbes Heritage Awards evening and presentation of the Forbes Medal, recognising the conservation and promotion of the stories within our community. Two community groups have been nominated for their dedicated compassion in preserving these stories and artifacts of days gone by.

The following evening, Forbes Town Hall will again come to historical life, as the Convict Footprint Knees Up takes to the stage. This will be a night of historical music-hall entertainment, a light-hearted look at the history of this town. Be ready from 6.30pm

For those feeling brave, sign up to join the Forbes Heritage Cemetery Ghost Tour.

The tour will start at the Book Dispensary before embarking on a Cenwest bus for the Ghost Tour with the famous ‘Blind Freddy’s bushranger’. The bus tour starts at 5.30pm on Friday 5th May.

Heritage Week will conclude on Saturday 6th May with the Forbes Rotary Ipomoea Vintage and Collectables Fair.

Step back in time with displays and sales of items of yesteryear – dolls, bears, crockery, giftware. Will you pick the use, and/or origins of mystery items? Enjoy all-day tea and scones at the Town Hall from 9am to 5pm. Entry is via gold coin donation.

St John’s Anglican Church will be open for tours of the historical church in addition to a cake and garage sale on Saturday 6th May from 9am to 5pm. 

Bookings are essential for the awards evening, theatre show and cemetery ghost tour. Please email events@forbes.nsw.gov.au or phone Council on 6850 2300. 

Motorists are advised of changed traffic conditions on Tuesday, 25 April, on the Great Western Highway through the Blue Mountains for Anzac Day services. 

Glenbrook: There will be no access to Hare Street from Great Western Highway between 5:15am and 11:45am. There will be no access to Ross Street from Great Western Highway between 10:00am and 10:50am. Great Western Highway will be closed in both directions between Hare Street and Ross Street for up to 15 minutes between 10:35am and 10:50am. 

Lawson: The westbound left turn lane from the Great Western Highway will be closed into Honour Avenue between 4:30am and 12:30pm. 

Blackheath: There will be no access to Govetts Leap Road from Great Western Highway between 9:30am and 11:00am. 

Motorists are advised to take extra care, drive to the conditions and follow the directions of signs and traffic control. 

Transport for NSW thanks motorists for their patience. For all the latest traffic updates download the Live Traffic NSW App, visit livetraffic.com or call 132 701. 

The Last Post is now associated with remembrance but originally was a bugle call to sound the end of the day’s activities in the military.

The Australian War Memorial is marking the 10 year anniversary of the daily Last Post Ceremony, held in the Commemorative Area. The first official ceremony, held on 17th April 2013, commemorated the service and sacrifice of Private Robert Poate who was killed in Afghanistan in 2012. 

Each ceremony shares the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour. To date, the Memorial has delivered over 3,300 ceremonies featuring individual stories of service from colonial to recent conflicts. It would take over 280 years to read the story behind each of the 103,000 names listed. 

“The Last Post Ceremony is our commitment to remembering and honouring the legacy of Australian service,” Memorial Director Matt Anderson said. 

“Through our daily Last Post Ceremony, we not only acknowledge where and how these men and women did, but we also tell the stories of who they were when they lived and of the families who loved and, in so many cases, still mourn for them.” 

Last Post stories are researched and written by the Memorial’s military historians, who begin the process by looking at nominal rolls, attestation papers and enlistment records before building profiles that include personal milestones and military experiences. 

Tickets are required if you want to attend the Last Post Ceremony. Tickets are free and can be booked on the Memorial’s website: www.awm.gov.au/visit