Edition Number 107

December 2012 / January 2013

INNISFAIL & DISTRICT Community Information Newsletter Produced by the

COMMUNITY SUPPORT CENTRE

13-17 Donald Street, P O Box 886, Innisfail 4860 WEB PAGE Phone: 40438400 Fax: 4061 7312 Freecall: 1800 616 001 Email: [email protected]

www.csci.org.au

The Community Support Centre is funded primarily by the Department of Communities

May you have the gladness of Christmas which is hope; The spirit of Christmas which is peace; The heart of Christmas which is love." — Ada V. Hendricks

With Best Wishes from the Management Committee, Staff and Volunteers of CSCI for Christmas and the New Year Contents

DISCLAIMER ALL ARTICLES IN THIS MAGAZINE ARE PRINTED IN GOOD FAITH FOR THE COMMUNITY AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT THE VIEWS OF THE INNISFAIL COMMUNITY SUPPORT CENTRE INC THE CENTRE ACCEPTS NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR THESE ARTICLES

Page 2 Pages 3 Page 4 & 5 Page 6 & 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10

Editorial, Chasing The Owl etc A different type of Xmas Giving Marie Casey’s Story Tai Chi Christmas Tips Guess The Christmas Carol Recipes

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Editorial Can you believe that it is nearly Christmas again? I always think of family around this time and this edition has a bit of a family theme. We have an appreciative daughter’s story of her much loved mother; tips for separated parents on how to handle the holiday season and a family’s concern for their daughter who needs a heart transplant.

The Community Support Centre Innisfail Inc is proud to announce the publication of..

CHASING THE OWL THE STORY OF THE FIRST TWENTY YEARS WHEN THE COMMUNITY SUPPORT CENTRE INNISFAIL WAS KNOWN AS

The weatherman is predicting a hot summer so I’ve found some cool recipes as an alternative to the traditional Christmas pudding - I hope you enjoy them.

THE COMMUNITY ADVICE AND INFORMATION CENTRE

Merry Christmas everyone and may 2013 be a good year for you and your family and friends.

Margaret Worrall was the first paid social worker to be employed by the CAIC and she has written a fascinating history of the first twenty years of the organisation — Chasing the Owl — which has just been published by the Community Support Centre Innisfail. The book traces the history of the Centre, through all its trials and triumphs, from the first public meetings in 1974 to Margaret’s retirement in 1994. The story that she tells is a powerful testament to what can be achieved by individuals, and the community at large, with dedication, determination and a lot of hard work and all those people and organisations who contributed to the inception and successful growth of the Centre have a great deal of which to be proud.

Gwen (Gwen is currently recovering from a knee replacement and all at CSCI and her loyal readers wish her a speedy recovery and a swift return to the bowling alley.)

A LITTLE BUSH FAIRY A little bush fairy on the Christmas tree! Tho' not like the fairies you usually see, For she wears not a gauzy gossamer gown but gumnut blossoms drifting down. And there on top of her pine tree tower she waves a wand of flannel flower. Flittering and fluttering her eucalyptus wings 'Neath a halo of golden wattle rings. What other fairy would be so blessed Or be, by nature, flora dressed? What other fairy would look so sweet With bottle brushes on her feet? At Christmas she comes come-what-may Tho' not to those lands far away, For only in Australia will you ever see A little bush fairy on the Christmas tree! ~ Maggie May Gordon ~ (Delightful country rhymes at www.countryrhymes.com)

The book will be launched at a function to be held at the Community Support Centre Innisfail on 06 December and will also be available for sale at Larsen’s Newsagency & Bookshop and at CSCI after that date. The Community Support Centre Innisfail Inc will close at 4pm on 21 December and will reopen at 9am on Wednesday 2 January 2013 Useful phone numbers: Lifeline 1800 222 050 Parentline 1300 30 1300 Kid’s Helpline 1800 55 1800

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A Different Type of Christmas Giving. A FAMILY IN NEED OF HELP - AND A HEART. Innisfail locals will have been shocked to read about the sudden illness of Charissa Simpson, daughter of David and Lynette Simpson who run the popular “Monsoon Cruising”.Innisfail locals will know Charissa as the smiling and helpful young lady who may have taken their order on Monsoon Cruising’s floating café. This is the family business where Charissa helped out during her university holidays. She has also worked in a number of local businesses.

Charissa is critically ill and is in hospital in Brisbane, waiting for a heart transplant and her family have closed the business to go and be with her. This obviously has huge financial implications so “The Charissa Simpson Recovery Fund” has been launched to assist Charissa and her family at this difficult time and all donations are very welcome ( Bendigo Bank BSB 633 000 Acc No 147330476). Further information is available at www.charissafund.org or phone Rodney 0420824173. The most crucial gift that Charissa needs - and the most difficult one - is a new heart. That will require an organ donation from a beloved member of some other family, something which is seldom discussed until it is too late. The following words from a donor’s mother may inspire you to have that discussion with your family about a very special sort of giving.

From a Donor’s Mother When the doctors at Cairns Base Hospital told us that our daughter Stephanie had suffered massive brain damage in the car accident, and was unlikely to survive, I felt the end of the world had arrived. However, somewhere in that mind-numbing moment, a very clear thought jumped into my head. Steph had always insisted that if anything ever happened to her, she wanted to be an organ donor. Looking back, I feel she was making sure I carried out her wishes. As I voiced my thoughts, her sisters and father also agreed that that was what she had wanted. When the doctors gave us the final prognosis the donor organ staff came to talk to us. The wonderful nurse coordinator gently explained very clearly what would happen and that we could stop the whole procedure at any time if we changed our minds. The doctors had declared Stephanie brain dead at 10am and certain procedures (such as tissue matching of potential recipients) had to be carried out and the organ donor surgeons and nursing staff had to be flown up from Brisbane. They estimated that the organ donor team would arrive soon after midnight. The one thing that really sticks in my mind is that I did not have to make the decision to turn off her life support. How on earth would you make that decision? I was really glad that this was made for us. It also meant we knew we had the next 14 hours to be with her and say goodbye. We allowed some of her friends come up to the ICU during the afternoon but from the evening decided it would be family only and her boyfriend who had flown down from Darwin. I had thought the evening would be very sad but we ended up telling stories about things we loved about Steph and some of the funny things she had done. I found out later that the staff, far from worrying about the noise we were making in ICU, were laughing along with us. Knowing now that Steph’s organs were donated to four people and that some of them would have died without them has meant a lot to us all. I have even received a letter from one of the donors and his partner thanking me for the gift of life. How special is that! Please talk to your family about being an organ donor. Noone ever thinks that something like this will happen to them and Steph was aged 23 when she died, the same age as Charissa. How wonderful to feel that your loved one’s death saved the life of someone like Charissa. Eileen Bedford

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The following is a story of appreciation for a life of giving and is written by one of our volunteers..

Marie Casey’s Story (written by one of her daughters)

Mum was born in 1932 in Taroom (Western Queensland). Her family lived on a massive property called “The Bentley.” Her days were filled with helping out mustering, branding and farm work. The family had to be self sufficient and her father (my grandfather) had a couple of dairy cows for milk. They made milk, cheese and butter. It is very dry country around Taroom but Grandad managed to have a vegetable garden with beans, corn etc — enough to look after his five children and Grandma. The mail was bought out by horse and buggy sometimes with fresh bread but usually bread was made at home. Mum had a happy childhood and still loves anything to do with horses and the open bush. In those days men never swore in front of women and children. They would get on their horses, ride down the creek, have a good cussing and then return. There was no high school in Taroom so Mum was sent to boarding school in Brisbane, only to return home twice a year. All Hallows’ was a very strict Catholic boarding school where you went to school six days a week. On Sunday you went to church, then had to write home to your families and then do any darning of stockings etc. Their uniform had to be immaculate for the nuns to inspect. Mum eventually went into nursing and met another young lady who invited Mum back for holidays in lower Tully where she met my Dad, who was her friend’s brother. Mum and Dad kept in touch and eventually married and bought a cane and banana farm in lower Tully where Dad had grown up all his life. They then went on to buy a farm at Mena Creek. Dad cut cane by hand and Mum stapled the boxes for packing bananas well into the night. Mum never drove a car but always helped Dad out on the farm driving the tractor and packing bananas. We were all happy out at Mena Creek, even though it was a different life to what Mum was used to. Pumps were always breaking down and snakes were always getting our chickens and any animals we owned. We had to watch for tractors, old Holden’s, lightning, flooding and what ever else came our way. One pet we did have that survived quite well was a pet pig. He would follow us to the bus each morning and would always try to get on.

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When their eldest daughter was nearly ready for high school Mum and Dad had to move again as there was no high school at Mena Creek and so they moved to East Innisfail and Mum still lives there today. Mum and Dad went on to have eight children (six girls and two boys). Her second eldest daughter was killed in a car accident, and her two children came to live with Mum and Dad. It was the highlight of Dad’s week to take his grandson to football games and help the kids with their homework. Sadly Dad died suddenly about four years after the children came to live with them. Mum and Dad have sixteen grandchildren and six great grandsons with another grandson on the way. Mum was a stay-at-home Mum after she married. I always remember walking up the East Innisfail hill, hot and thirsty after school, and Mum would always have cold cordial and home made cakes for us all. Mum and Dad always had kids from everywhere stay with us all the time. I would have about four friends over, my brother would have his friends over and my eldest sister would have another heap of friends but Mum never complained of the extra cooking and washing. When I was in grade seven my best friend’s family were leaving to live in Darwin, and they asked Mum and Dad if their daughter could live with us until she finished grade seven. We always had kids that had trouble at home and would spend the weekend with us, sometimes even weeks. Still to this day friends, they all say how they used to love Mum’s homemade smokos, with fresh patty cakes, date slices and chocolate cake. With all the kids growing up Mum always volunteered her time at the East Innisfail school tuckshop, and since her youngest daughter started grade one, Mum has volunteered at St Vincent DePaul. She turned 80 this year and still enjoys going to St Vinnies where she has worked every Wednesday and every Friday for nearly forty years. +++++++

Learn Cryptic Crosswords

Date: Monday 14th January Time: 9.30—11.30 am

Where: Community Support Centre Innisfail. 13-17 Donald Street, Innisfail

Eileen loves to do Cryptic Crosswords and invites you to learn the secrets to completing The Cairns Post cryptic crossword. Meet new people, have fun and morning tea is provided. Please phone 4043 8400 to register for this fun morning.

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Tai Chi

The gentle mind and body maintenance program.

Exercise Medicine Australia has developed some exciting new forms of Tai Chi specifically to address stress in the community, as well as to assist with issues associated with an aging population, such as to ward off dementia, help with balance control, and to build healthier bodies and minds. Dr Henry Zheng, PHD, an exercise scientist and with a doctoral degree in public health from the Faculty of Medicine UNSW, has specialised in, and researched, exercise intervention for disease prevention. His research, focused on good mental health and physical well-being, shows Tai Chi as an effective exercise to assist people to remain mentally alert, and to increase blood flow and oxygen delivery throughout the body, thereby promoting better mental and physical health. A version of Tai Chi has also been developed to improve balance and assist in preventing falls, while also improving cognitive function. The Community Support Centre Innisfail recently co-ordinated the training of twenty eight new facilitators of these new forms of Tai Chi, who will now be available as a resource to deliver their Tai Chi skills for groups across the Cassowary

Participants learning all the moves

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Coast Region. The training was presented by Dr Henry Zheng and Alice Yuan and was planned as a result of a newly formed Tai Chi Providers’ Reference Group made up of representatives of organisations and interested individuals involved in Health Care, Mental Health, Aged Care, Community Well-being and Support, as well as a number of private providers of Tai Chi. Funding was provided through Flexible Funding, as a community recovery program developed by the Australian and Queensland Governments and managed by the Cassowary Coast Regional Council. The benefits (besides encouraging organisations to work closely together to develop useful resources for the community) include plans to roll out community Tai Chi classes across the Cassowary Coast and to raise the profile of Tai Chi as a way of dealing with stress while at the same time building resilience and better health. Other areas being developed include Tai Chi activities for seniors and in aged care facilities. Also under consideration is a proposal to consider using Tai Chi in schools, workplaces and for people with restricted mobility. Tai Chi originated as a martial art, but the benefits also help in focusing the mind, building muscle tone, improving balance, slowing the on-set of dementia, as well as stress management. The patterns and gentle movements make it an ideal activity for people of all fitness levels seeking to stay healthy while enjoying the social aspects of a group activity. Check with your local Community Support Centre in the New Year for when and where groups will be operating.

A successful weekend – the laughing faces tell the story!

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Answers: Joy to the World, Deck the Halls, Jingle Bells, All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Noel (no ‘L’), Hark the Herald Angels, Silent Night, Little Drummer Boy, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Away (a weigh) in a Manger, Oh Christmas Tree.

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Cool Christmas Recipes Choc Honeycomb Ice-Cream Pudding 450g chocolate sponge rolls 2L hokey pokey ice-cream, softened 2 x 55g Violet Crumble bars, roughly chopped ⅓ cup dry-roasted hazelnuts, chopped 180g block white chocolate, chopped ⅓ cup thickened cream Halved strawberries, white chocolate curls and silver cachoue, to decorate 1. Line an 8 cup capacity pudding basin with plastic wrap. Cut chocolate rolls into 1cm thick slices. Reserve 4 slices. Line base & side with remaining cake slices, trimming to fit. 2. Fold Violet Crumble and hazelnuts into ice-cream. Spoon into prepared pan. Level top. Arrange reserved cake slices on top, pressing slightly to secure. Cover with plastic wrap, then foil. Freeze overnight. 3. Microwave chocolate and cream on medium (50%) for 2-3min until smooth, stirring with a metal spoon every 30sec. Set aside for 15min to cool. 4. Turn pudding onto plate, removing plastic wrap. Spoon ⅓ of chocolate sauce over pudding. Stand for 5min. Decorate. Serve with remaining chocolate sauce. Mango Ice-cream 300mL thickened cream; 1 cup milk; 8 cardamom pods, crushed; 800g can sliced mango, drained; 400g can sweetened condensed milk; Tropical fruit, to serve 1. Line 11 x 21cm loaf pan with 2 layers plastic wrap, sides overhanging. Combine cream, milk and cardamom in saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and set aside for 30min to infuse. 2. Meanwhile, process mango in food processor until smooth. 3. Strain cream mixture into small bowl, using the back of a spoon to press the cardamom pods in the sieve. Add the condensed milk. Beat with electric beater for 15min or until slightly thickened. Fold in mango. Spoon into prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap freezer overnight until firm. 4. Remove from freezer 10min before serving. Turn onto serving platter, removing plastic wrap. Top with tropical fruit. Christmas Pudding Ice-Cream 150g mixed dried fruit; ⅓ cup brandy; 2tbs dark rum; 1 orange, zested, juiced; 500mL thin cream; 1 cup milk; 1 vanilla bean, split; 1 cinnamon stick; 6 egg yolks; ½ cup castor sugar; 300mL thickened cream, lightly whipped; ½ tsp mixed spice 1. Place fruit, brandy, rum, orange zest & juice in a bowl. Set aside overnight to macerate. 2. The next day, place thin cream, milk, vanilla & cinnamon in a saucepan over medium-low heat until just simmering. Remove from heat & set aside for 5 min to infuse. 3. Meanwhile, place the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl & whisk until pale & thick. Strain hot cream mixture over egg yolks & whisk to combine. Clean pan & return mixture to low heat until it thickens & coats the back of a spoon. Transfer to a shallow container & leave to cool. 4. Once cool, fold in thickened cream, then freeze until frozen around edges. Beat with an electric beater. Re-freeze. Repeat twice more, folding in macerated fruit and mixed spice during final beating, then place in moulds. Freeze until firm. 5. To serve, dip base of each mould in warm water for a few seconds, then invert onto serving plates. Garnish with dragees & rose petals (optional).