Nundah’s community second hand bookshop, the CFQ Bookshop, received the Ted Tremayne Award, a recognition presented to a non-profit organisation that has made an important contribution to its own members of the community.
The Ted Tremayne Award is part of the Lilley Australia Day Awards which was established to recognise the generous contributions made by volunteers to the local community.
The CFQ Bookshop accepted the award at a ceremony at Kedron-Wavell Services Club on Australia Day.
For the last nine years, this humble bookshop in Nundah has been integral in helping children and adults with cystic fibrosis (CF).
Each time someone buys a book from the quaint little place on Ryan’s Road, he or she is supporting the services of the Cystic Fibrosis Queensland, an institution that funds research on the ultimate cure for the condition. According to a 2017 Queensland survey report, there is 838 people in the state who is living with CF, 56 of them are children.
“Raising money to make short lives big!” – CFQ Bookshop.
The bookshop has selections for different readers, may it be adult fiction and non-fiction, kids fiction and non-fiction, magazines and Mangas, even the Mills & Boons type. These books are donated which the bookshop sells at very low prices. Proceeds go directly to Cystic Fibrosis Queensland and a portion goes to the Lord Mayor’s Community Trust.
Australian jazz legend Don Burrows will be honoured in a tribute show at The Lounge in Nundah on the 25th of January at 7:00 p.m. The Art Deco Swing Band and Mark Pradella, a talented jazz player who was influenced by Burrows, will be performing the shows in Burrows’ honour.
Credit: The Lounge Facebook
The Lounge is a European-inspired bar and restaurant inside The Royal Hotel. It boasts of a cosy ambience with its sophisticated furnishings and classy interiors. The bar is located just 200 metres from Nundah Village Shopping Centre. It has been a favourite place for locals who are fond of drinking exquisite wine selections and cocktail drinks. The Lounge’s menu includes Italian cuisine which includes antipastos and pizzas.
Burrows is the first Aussie to receive a gold record for his Australian jazz recording, “Just The Beginning”. He also pioneered the first jazz course at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. He has been named Australia’s living national treasures twice. In 2016, the 87-year-old jazz legend was diagnosed with dementia. Today, he stays in a nursing home in Sydney. According to reports, he has continued to play the flute despite his condition. James Morrison, a jazz musician, whom he has mentored, and his wife are Burrows legal guardians.
Credit: pclorikeet1 YouTube
The Art Deco Swing Band, who will perform the tribute for Burrows at the Lounge, is a group composed of 16 fabulous musicians. They are famous for performing dance music of different genre like quicksteps, foxtrots, waltz, swing, cha-cha, tango, bolero, lindy hops, and charlestons.
Another musician that will be performing is Mark Pradella whose music was influenced by Burrows. He has also performed with Burrows’ popular prodigies like Morrison and Andy Firth. Pradella started his professional music career at sixteen years old and won the ABC Young Performer of the Year.
The Lounge is located at 1259 Sandgate Road Nundah
ABC Radio gardening presenter Annette McFarlane will be facilitating a workshop titled “Year in the Garden” at the Nundah Library on the 13th of January from 1:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. She will discuss how to effectively set priorities to ensure success in home gardening. She will teach participants on how to set goals for themselves and their gardens for the whole year round.
Credit: Annette Mcfarlane Facebook
By the end of the session, attendees will learn what to plant when, when the timely pruning is and when fertilizer and pest control needs to happen. Ms McFarlane will share the significance of planning ahead and how it is almost a requirement to be equipped with a gardening calendar for the summer, autumn, winter, and spring.
Credit: Annette Mcfarlane Facebook
Ms McFarlane personally makes use of a gardening calendar to know what flowers and vegetables are best to plant for each season. She has actually designed a calendar that can help gardeners successfully plant during the cool temperatures, in the subtropical and tropical areas of Queensland.
Credit: Annette Mcfarlane Facebook
Ms McFarlane studied horticulture and environmental education and is a former lecturer at TAFE Queensland. She is personally interested in organic fruit and vegetable growing, and heirloom seed saving, as well as rare breeds of poultry animals and pigs.
“Community education and creating edible gardens within cities and suburbs excites me. I am a teacher, garden writer, author and broadcaster, but first and foremost I am and always have been a gardener”. – Ms MacFarlane
Ms McFarlane has been a household name because of her ongoing stint with ABC Gardening Talkback and her stories and posts written for the Sunday Mail, Gardening Australia Magazine, and Live for Less website. She is also a published author and her books include “Successful Gardening in Warm Climates”, “Organic Vegetable Gardening”, “Organic Fruit Growing”, and Gardening Australia’s “Love Your Garden”.
“Year in the Garden” workshop at Nundah Library is free but reservations are essential. Please call the library at 0734078701 to reserve a slot.
In case you miss the workshop at Nundah Library, Ms McFarlane can be invited for presentations for industry seminars, gardening related shows, field days, nursery promotions, and staff training days. The requirements to book her for events can be found here.
The second annual Nundah Film Festival is going ahead on the 6th of February as the committee closed the deadline for entry officially last December. All chosen entries have been notified already as of the end of December.
Credit: Nundah Film Festival Facebook
The first ever festival held in early 2017, formerly called as North Brisbane Film Festival, was a success and organisers are expecting the same for this year. Both participants and audience have given good reviews about the previous festival.
“Although I was unable to attend the festival, a friend went along on my behalf and … said it was a joy to attend and it felt like stepping back in time to a friendly country event. He loved the festival night – the friendly folk taking the entry fee (a modest donation to the local Meals on Wheels), chatting about the festival with the enthusiastic organisers and some of the film makers, the volunteers taking drink orders and the aroma of the freshly popped (and yummy) popcorn. A good cross section of attendees watched the films which represented a diverse range of topics. This festival has all the ingredients for continued growth and success in future years” – Michael Barnett
“Thank you North Brisbane Film Festival for accepting our film. We’d also like to thank you for your marvellous communication and hope the festival gets bigger and better each year”. – Michael Rasso
NFF offers young and emerging filmmakers from all over Australia a platform where they can showcase their films, subsequently gain a following, and hopefully penetrate the mainstream film industry. The committee even welcomes film aspirants as young as high school students. Ultimately, the goal of NFF is to position Nundah as Australia’s local creative hub.
All films to be screened are family-friendly and rated PG+ or M. There are only three film categories:
Short documentary which should last a maximum of 15 minutes
Short Narrative which should last a maximum of 15 minutes
Music clips which should only last a maximum of four minutes
The festival will be held at Birch Carroll & Coyle Cinema in Toombul. Tickets can be purchased at $10 and it is highly advised to get them as early as now. Please click here.
All proceeds from ticket sales will go to the Rotary Club of Nundah to support its local, national, and international projects. The club takes pride in having members who are dedicated to community service, who are passionate about enriching the lives of others, and who have the vision to raise awareness about Nundah. It welcomes new members and regularly meets at the Prince of Wales Hotel at 1154 Sandgate Road.
NFF is also proudly sponsored by the Lord Mayor’s Suburban Initiative Fund and Cr Adam Allan, Councillor for Northgate Ward.
Anyone can be their favourite superhero or super villain, even comic book or manga character, when they attend the Prince of Wales Hotel “Superhero & Villains NYE Party” from 8:00 p.m. until 1:00 a.m. on the 31st of December. Ring in 2018 as your alter egos whilst The Grin provides the music all through the night.
Credit: Prince of Wales Facebook
The Grin will be playing hits from the 80’s along the genre of rock, pop, and soft rock. The band’s influences are Pearl Jam, Hoodoo Gurus, Live, and the Collective Soul.
The Prince of Wales Hotel, which a lot of locals call POW, has always come up with the most interesting, out-of-the-ordinary, and upbeat events. Just take a look at their previous event called the Santa Sack Fest:
Credit: Prince of Wales Hotel Facebook
So you better be sure that you are prepared.
Here are some DIY and affordable superhero/super villain costume ideas! Enjoy!
A fleece mask
Buy a fleece cloth of which colour is the same to your desired superhero or villain outfit. Cut into eye mask pattern, tie at the back of your head and match with a shirt with plain colour that matches another part of your desired costume.
Credit: vandorwolf YouTube
Cape from an Old Shirt
Pick an old shirt with hue similar to the majority of the colour of your desired character. Cut some paper out to make the insignia of the superhero or super villain of your choosing and voila! You’re ready, as easy as 1, 2, 3.
Credit: Kidspot YouTube
The Tutu Skirt for Women
The key is always choosing the primary colour of the character you are aiming for. In this case, buy tulle of at least 15 yards in those colours. Take your waist measurement and buy elastic based on your waist’s dimension. Measure the length from your waist to the part of your leg where the tutu skirt should end. Cut the tulle in 4-inch strips based on this size. Tie each tulle stripes to the elastic and you have a costume before you even know it.
Espresso Train and Coffee Club are two Nundah cafes that are both part of the Responsible Cafes movement, a group of coffee owners and coffee drinkers who aim to reduce or ideally eliminate the use of disposable coffee cups. Both cafes offer discounts to customers who bring their own cups with them when buying coffee or tea.
According to Responsible Cafes, Australians are wasting more than three billion takeaway coffee cups and lids yearly and most are never recycled. Hence, the people behind the movement are working hand in hand with the Brisbane City Council which, for its part, has unveiled its Reusable Cup Campaign in September 2017.
As part of the council’s campaign, it will provide 20 high-quality reusable “KeepCup” coffee cups to each of the 100 Brisbane cafes that accept the Business Recycling Challenge. These cups are to be given as a gift to loyal customers who regularly buy coffee in reusable cups. Such customers will also be given free coffee on their tenth visit.
Espresso Train Cafe and Catering
Credit: Espresso Train Cafe Facebook
Participating in the Responsible Cafes movement is something that is expected from the staff at the Espresso Train Cafe. To begin with, the establishment’s mission is to provide meaningful employment for people with disability. It is also a not-for-profit registered charity which is not owned by any single person, but rather run by members of the cooperative.
Being conscientious about the environment is also something ingrained with the Espresso Train. The cafe is solar-powered and has been working on installing more panels so they can be energy-neutral by 2020.
Additionally, the cafe mindfully conserves water by not washing on the sink but rather filling buckets when rinsing. It recycles cardboard, hard plastic, and paper and has in fact been encouraging patrons to bring with them papers with prints on one side. Instead of throwing them away, they write orders on the unprinted side.
Another great thing about the cafe is that it has been implementing a system called “suspending coffees” since May 2013. This is a practice where anyone can purchase two serving of coffees with one held “in suspension” for the homeless and less fortunate to claim.
Espresso Train Cafe and Catering is located at 46 Station Street, Nundah, Brisbane
The Coffee Club Nundah
Credit: The Coffee Club Nundah Facebook
The Coffee Club Nundah is a member of The Coffee Club, Australia’s largest home-grown cafe group with approximately 400 stores in nine countries and an estimated 40 million customers.
Sustainability is also fully embedded in the establishment’s consciousness, as it supports sustainable farming where natural resources are protected, where coffee is grown responsibly and farmers are assured to generate income.
The Coffee Club Nundah is located at 179 Sandgate Rd, Nundah QLD 4012, Australia
If you are a cafe owner and interested to join the Responsible Cafes movement, you can register your business here.
For those who are in other suburbs, you can find a participating cafe in your area here.
This is a story about harnessing one’s passion and growing a business from it.
Linda Watson of Nundah is becoming a household name for pioneering the first ever Houseplant Hotel in Brisbane. The place services clients who are travelling but want to make sure that their beloved plants are well-taken cared of while they are away for the holidays, business trips abroad, or while the whole family is on their getaway.
Credit: Brisbane Plant Sitting
Ms Watson’s company is called Brisbane Plant Sitting and its Houseplant Hotel provides temporary abode to indoor and outdoor plants while their owners are unavailable to care for them. Plants will be tended according to their owners’ specific instructions, and will receive tender-loving-care from Ms Watson herself. The hotel is usually chosen by those who are not comfortable having other people in their home.
Brisbane Plant Sitting also offers the Home Service arrangement for those who, on the other hand, are not comfortable having their dear plants transferred from one place to another and back again. This service is like having a baby sitter or house sitter at home at an agreed time and schedule. The same arrangement applies for those who want to have their plants at the offices, cafes, salons, etc to be tended regularly.
Credit: Brisbane Plant Sitting Facebook
About Linda Watson
Ms Watson is passionate about gardening; in fact, she owns more than 100 plants herself. She also has an expansive outdoor garden which she has been taking care of for 20 years now. She knows plants through hands-on experience. She realises the need for a plant sitting service because of her personal attachment and bond with her own plants.
She is now looking forward to grow her client base and hopefully grow the business. In fact, she has been contacted by a woman in New York in the hopes that there is a similar service being offered in the U.S. so she sees the big potential in her business idea.
In one media interview, Ms Watson shares that her patrons are usually those who invested hundreds of dollars for their plants and do not want to see them just wither and die. Some are those who own exotic plants that are so rare and could be irreplaceable.
If interested in having a “sitter” for your plants or have them stay at the hotel, please click here.
Urban Xtreme opened Queensland’s first ever indoor dry ski slope in Hendra, at 4/370 Nudgee Rd, just three kilometres from Nundah, with a grand Launch on the 18th of November. The facility will be open every Tuesdays to Fridays from 4:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m., on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and on Sundays from 9:00 am to 7:00 p.m.
What to Enjoy
Credit: Urban Xtreme YouTube
The indoor coaching facility is NOT cold, with temperatures in a comfortable range between 20-degrees Celsius to 30-degress Celscius. This environment makes great for skiers and snowboarders to learn the sports all year round as it accelerates the learning process by up to eight times than learning on snow.
The indoor facility uses advanced simulators that were manufactured by Maxxtraxks in the Netherlands. The slopes are designed similar to giant treadmills with high quality synthetic grass surface sprayed with water to create a realistic mist. The coaches have direct control of the slopes’ speed and slants, adjusting them for the safety of skiers and snowboarders.
The Urban Xtreme Ski Simulators are “better than the real thing” when it comes to learning to ski and snowboard. You can learn 8 x faster on these things than you can in real snow brand ambassador – Jacqui Cooper, a 5 x World Champion Aerial Skier
Who Will Enjoy
Advanced-level skiers or snowboarders (and even beginners!) are welcome at the Urban Xtreme slopes. The team of coaches is made up of professionals that are members of the Australian Professional Snowsport Instructors.
Aside from different coaching sessions, the slopes can also be rented for a private function with up to eight attendees or 12 persons if all of them are children. For group sessions however, skiers must be at least four years old and snowboarders must be at least 7 years old. Younger children are advised to take the one-on-one sessions.
More Extreme Activities Coming in 2018
Urban Xtreme will open a trampoline park in 2018. It will have over 1000 square metres of free jumping, slam dunk, high performance, big bag, dodgeball, and wall running.
A multi-level laser tag arena, with advanced “Helios” system and the world’s first broadcast ready live streaming facility, will also be launched early next year. The attraction is designed by Australia’s laser tag champion, Ben “Bootza” Baker.
Not to be outdone, Australia’s Xtreme Ninja brand ambassador and Ninja Warrior, Lachlan Fyfe, has designed an indoor Ninja Warrior and parkour course in Brisbane. It will also be open early next year.
Kids will have their own course with the Urban Extreme Adventure Play. It will have mini tramps, mini climbing wall, and other facilities that will develop their physical abilities and endurance.
To book for a coaching session at Urban Xtreme, click here.
Glen Matlock, the pioneer member of Sex Pistols, is back Down Under to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the band’s first album, “Never Mind The Bollocks.” Matlock’s first stop is in Nundah, on Friday, the 10th of November, at the Prince Of Wales Hotel.
Credit: Sex Pistols VEVO/YouTube
The concert is hosted by the Nightmare Music, a mainstay of successful concerts in the country. Nightmare Music has been handling events for the entertainment industry for more than 20 years now. The promotion company has been behind the Australian launch of Matthew Sweet, Indigo Girls, M People, The Bellrays, Prong, Slim Jim and The Meat Puppets among others. It also has worked with AC/DC, Cindy Lauper and Brian Adams.
Special Album Release
Just in time for Matlock’s Nundah concert, a budget-priced edition of the “Never Mind The Bollocks” album was released. The special release contains 3 CDs and includes the original studio album with 1977 B-sides, a disc of behind-the-scenes, and a disc of 1977 live recordings.
Also included is a DVD showing the Sex Pistols live from the boat party on the River Thames, other locations across the United Kingdom, and Sweden.
To know more about the deluxe edition of the album, click here.
Through The Years
After leaving Sex Pistols in 1977 and being replaced by Sid Vicious, Matlock has continued his music career, forming the new wave band “Rich Kids”, known for the album “Ghosts of Princes in Towers”.
Credit: dlusman /YouTube
Rich Kids’ popularity was short-lived, and after Sex Pistols disbanded in 1978, Vicious and Matlock also had a brief time playing together at another band called “The Vicious White Kids”. A CD of this short gig together was only released in 1993.
Credit: Johan Cederblad/YouTube
In 1979, Matlock reappeared with Iggy Pop, toured throughout 1979, and wrote the album “Soldier” and the track “Ambition”. The association with Sex Pistols, however, has remained strong. Matlock published an autobiography in 1990 titled, “I Was A Teenage Sex Pistols”.
In the early 90’s Matlock has continued with his musical career with The Mavericks. He did records collaborations with Ian Hunter, Frank Black and Primal Scream, until eventually going solo under Alan McGee’s Creation Records in 1995. He released his first solo album “Who’s He Think He Is When He’s At Home” in 1996, reuniting with the Sex Pistols in the same year for the “Filthy Lucre” world tour.
Credit: The Clip King/YouTube
All through 2001 to 2005, Matlock was a member of the Dead Men Walking. The band has been famous across the United Kingdom. At present, Matlock is with his band, The Philistines. The band’s fourth album has been successful since its release in 2010 and the band has since toured the world.
Credit: steinberg321/YouTube
Amidst success with his own music career, however, Matlock will always be best remembered as a member of the original Sex Pistols.
In an announcement made earlier this month, the Queensland state government’s “We Are Queensland“ program has recognised the Nundah Community Enterprises Cooperative (NCEC) as one of the lucky recipients of their grant for projects that will connect the Nundah community.
“We Are Queensland”
“We Are Queensland” is a small grants program funding projects that are foreseen to encourage social cohesion. Queensland formed this grant program to celebrate the diversity and individuality of every people living in Queensland through community-led projects that will bring together the local communities.
The grant is open to different organisations who are undertaking programs that will build family linkages to a broader Queensland community and will support community-based activities that will build bonds between people with different backgrounds.
NCEC connects the community.
NCEC received a grant amounting to $19,727 to fund their new program, “Picnics in the Park”. More than just free picnics that will be organised across North East Brisbane, the project will also encourage the community to connect and to learn about their advocacy.
Dating back in 1998, NCEC was formed to provide sustainable employment and training opportunities for people with mental conditions, learning difficulties, and intellectual disabilities. The organisation brings another “hope” and another “chance” for these people to move forward and live their lives “beyond” their limiting conditions.
As a non-profit organisation, NCEC was named as Australia’s best small social enterprise in 2015 and was a finalist in the years 2014 and 2016. They are currently training more than 20 people to have a meaningful work opportunities with the help of their two initiatives — Espresso Train Cafe & Catering and NCEC Parks & Maintenance.
Espresso Train Cafe & Catering
Photo credit: www.espressotrain.com.au
Espresso Train Cafe & Catering located at Station Street is serving their “superb” brewed Aromas Premium Organic Beans, together with their menu that is made from scratch. The cafe is not owned by anyone; instead, the staff are NCEC members and “trainees” that are working to make the initiative more economically, environmentally, and, of course, socially sustainable. They are not receiving an ongoing funding, so the whole operation of the cafe relies on their sales and the dedication of their members.
“We don’t employ people to make coffee; we make coffee so we can employ people.” — Espresso Train Cafe & Catering
Photo credit: www.espressotrain.com.au
The cafe also “suspends” coffees. What is a suspended coffee? It’s a movement that originated in Naples, Italy. A customer buys two coffees — one for him and another one being held in “suspension” until someone less fortunate comes to claim it. They may be homeless, people with mental illness who struggle, or asylum seekers. The cafe has been practicing this movement since 2013.
NCEC Parks & Property Maintenance
Photo credit: www.ncec.com.au
Parks & Property Maintenance is also a NCEC initiative. NCEC “maintains” public parks, not just in Nundah, but also in other parts of Brisbane through the help of the NCEC Parks crew. They are dedicated to preserving and maintaining parks and other places where families and the whole community connect and create bond.
Visit the NCEC website for further details about their projects that will help the disadvantaged workers and the rest of the community.
