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“It was always something,” Baba says. “People were always fighting.”

Agafia Stawiski (known dearly to her family as Baba) with the most pleasure, teaches me how to knit at a seat in the kitchen. Baba is a great knitter. I am making a fool of myself. I have not knitted my whole life, not like Baba, who made jumpers for her children and grandchildren, and who knitted stockings many decades ago in Ukraine. “The cotton was so thin,” she had remarked; to knit the stockings was delicate, such was her time in Europe it seemed.

“It was always something.”

Baba’s life in Ukraine was always moving. She is from the Lemko region of Ukraine (now Poland), where the small village of Snietnica exists in the lowlands of the Carpathian Mountains. The peoples living in this region were constantly being displaced, which for Baba was in 1947. It began during the first world war and reached its height in the late 40s and 50s. She was right, it always was something – for if not for displacement, it was occupation by the Germans, the Russians and the Poles. “People were always fighting.”

Continue reading “Baba.” →

Geelong artist Steph Chapman picked up a paintbrush for the first time in 18 years, in early 2019. She was 32 and had just found out she had a complicated heart condition.“I no longer trusted my body to just… work,” Steph said. “I felt helpless, anxious and betrayed”.

Encouraged to take up a hobby to distract her mind from her fast-approaching cardiac operation, Steph started painting. “It brought me instant comfort and peace,” said the pink-haired 33-year-old. Painting quickly became my creative saviour and a life-changing obsession.”

Continue reading “Artist, Steph Chapman.” →

“Everyone says they have the best dog in the world, and everyone is right!” Karen tells me about her furry companion, the 2-and-a-half-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Penny. She is clever, affectionate and loves posing for photos. When Penny is not eating, she loves to chase bubbles. The more I learn about this dynamic duo, it is quickly apparent that Penny is one special pooch. “I could see from an early age that Penny had something quite special about her, like an old soul,” Karen recalls. Penny’s calm demeanour and intuition for her human’s needs caused Karen to investigate therapy jobs for her.

When Karen learned about Story Dogs, she was hooked. Karen is also a big reader and acknowledges that reading skills has a big impact on success in life. Story Dogs offer reading sessions for children to read to the dogs without pressure for the children to get it right. The children choose the books that they want to read, sit with the dogs and just enjoy the process.  As part of the session, the children are encouraged to speak to the dog and explain what is happening on the page. This allows the child to become the teacher as they help the dog understand, boosting their confidence. “It makes sense that if you enjoy something, you will do it more often and you will get better at it,” Karen explains.

Continue reading “Story Dogs, update.” →

“I was dubbed the ‘Banksy of Barwon Heads’ by someone on facebook when Premier Dan Andrews, in early December 2019, posted my art on his Facebook page, to uplift Victoria. The nickname stuck for some reason. But I am simply Edward, and my handle on Instagram is Breathe A Blue Ocean – It means – that familiar and initial inhale and exhale one takes when we look at the ocean.

“My art explores animism. Animism – from Latin anima, “breath, spirit, life” – is the belief that objects, places and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence.

“I don’t embody the art in a public forum, hence the anonymity, however I fully embody the art in ratio and dimensions on the sand canvas I use. I have no particular reason for doing what I do. I try not to have thought obstruct the process of what I do.

Continue reading “Breathe a Blue Ocean, Ed.” →

Dads. Their kids. Coffee. And maybe a playground. A simple formula that provides new fathers with the connection and support they desperately need.

The only qualification is that you identify as a new or expecting father or a father figure. Simon Hastings, Founder of Ksafekids and CEO of Katrina’s Sparkle Inc started up the Geelong Dads group last year and it now has 75 members. Simon tells us more.

“It’s a great way to connect and have a chat. As an expecting dad that moved to a new area with my fiancée Amanda, 1 month before Alby (my son) was born, I found it both confronting and challenging not having other dads around to share stories and experiences with”. “I reached out to the organisation Dads Group and after learning more about their ethos of changing fatherhood for the better and connecting dads in community I decided to start one up in Geelong”. It has been a great way to connect with dads and make mates in the area.

Continue reading “Dads Group Geelong, Simon.” →

e-Health for Older Adults.  e-Health technology has been thrust into our lives this year, and many of us have learned to adapt and embrace the opportunity of contacting our doctors online from home.  But what of our more elderly community members?  How are they faring when it comes to using technology for their health care?  This is Occupational Therapist Tara Johnson’s current research focus.

Tara is a PhD Student at Deakin University, and Student Liaison for the Community And Research Network (CARN) at IMPACT (The Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation).  Her PhD project focuses on the barriers and enablers for older adults to use health technology or ‘e-Health’.

Continue reading “Deakin IMPACT, Tara.” →

“It looked like a torrential downpour coming from the ocean. The energy that was pouring out from everyone… it was a surreal moment. I remember thinking, ‘We’re really on to something here.’ People are very upset and willing to stand up and protect their beaches.”

Damien Cole, newly appointed National Campaigns Manager for Surfrider Foundation Australia, describes the Fight for the Bight paddle out demonstration at Torquay in March 2019.  You may have heard him speak at that rally, seen him out in the surf, or perhaps you recognise him because he ran for both State (2018 South Barwon) and Federal (2019 Corangamite) elections.  Through his tireless campaigning and genuine commitment to his community, Damien has earned himself the reputation of being that young local tradie who put his hand up to protect our environment.

“No one thing brought me to where I am now, I guess it’s the building blocks of life.  My parents have been environmentally aware and outspoken in the community. I attended my first protest with them at age 6 in France.  All the pro surfers did a walk past the Vice President’s holiday house on the way to their competition when the French nuclear bomb testing was happening in the Pacific. I still remember the day so vividly, people coming together for a cause.  I remember thinking -Wow, these people are all standing up for what they believe in!’’

Controversially, Damien spent the first part of his career earning good coin in the fossil fuel industry.

Continue reading “Damien Cole.” →