Life's Rich Tapestry

My next guest Asha is the General Manager of Grace Funerals and Blue Mountains Funerals.  Along with her father Tom, they have owned their business for almost 10 years and have a collective experience of over 30 years in the Funeral Industry.  Along with their committed team, they are dedicated to offering the highest quality of service, the deepest care and compassion, and the most memorable expe...

What do you do when someone you care about has mental health issues. According to the Australian Govt website – the Australian Institute of health and Welfare – 10.6 Billion dollars was spent in the 2018-19 financial year on Mental Health and 4 million Australians received Mental health-related prescriptions, the following financial year …. What makes this staggering is that these figures are befo...

The pandemic, lockdowns and government regulations created havoc in many peoples lives but none so more than couples who planned their Wedding during this time.  Some couples were forced to change dates, venues, suppliers and the truth some even changed their partners or just decided to not get married.  But Love was not Cancelled and my next guest, had to change her wedding date 4 times until she...

Listen in on this highly informational podcast with Lisa Potter who is a ​ End of Life Guide and Doula | Death Educator & Advocate | Funeral and Memorial Celebrant | Grief and Loss Navigator She first discovered her desire to demystify and normalize dying and death at a fairly young age, after experiencing several impactful deaths in her immediate family.  ​She has committed 25+ years to both...

Mental Health -  a topic that has come to the forefront in recent years with the effects of COVID, social media and our ever changing world.   There are various life events when mental health issues can surface, the death of a parent, the loss of a job, COVID lockdown, etc   Mental illness can also be hereditary. Talking about mental health has thankfully become more mainstream. Listen in on a can...

Find about all things flowers for your wedding with Tash from the Flower Cottage.  Flowers are a key component of any wedding or special event; they add extra color, texture, and feeling to your special day. Flowers are an important part of creating the feeling or setting the mood with their beauty, color, elegance, and style. The use of flowers is a form of expression and is also used as an eleme...

In the fashion world, “style” is usually shorthand for “personal style,” or the way an individual expresses themselves through aesthetic choices such as their clothing, accessories, hairstyle, and the way they put an outfit together.  As one goes through events in their lives -- weight gain/loss, a new career , full-time mom, and ultimately we get older – our style changes. Some of us, are ok with...

Last year on the 18th of April, I had the pleasure of marrying my next guest Charlotte and her now husband, James, at the beautiful Everglades Gardens in Leura NSW the Blue Mountains.    Charlotte reflects on her past year -  they say the first year is the hardest, but also I want to talk about her wedding… some of things she was happy with,   in hindsight what she would have done differently, any...

 My Next guest Sarah-Jane or SJ as she likes to be called, is someone who you would describe as an adventurous spirit whose athleticism has taken her around the world. ….. She’s ridden a  pushbike from Mexico to tiers del Fuego in southern Chile and the figure 8 of Australia,  International ski holidays were taken every year to exotic places like the Himalayas of India, Japan, Canada, USA, or New...

In this episode, Meg Benson talks about her early life which had its challenges, and disrupted attachments.  Enthusiasm and choice were strong features for overcoming adversity. Even though Meg moved out of home at 14, she stayed at school until completion of HSC and was crowned school captain. Her resilience through optimism, skills of resourcefulness, and her can-do attitude shine throughout the...

Toastmasters started with a vision from a man named Ralph Smedley, who wanted to start a training program focusing on speaking and leadership … after a few attempts, the first chartered club was started in 1924 in Santa Ana California…  The organization's membership exceeds 300,000 in almost 16,000 clubs in 149 countries. Toastmasters runs the World Championship of Public Speaking.  This comp...

Did you know … 57 Australians are diagnosed with breast cancer every day. 1 in 7 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. About 1 in 700 men are diagnosed in their lifetime. In the last 10 years, breast cancer diagnosis have increased by 36%. In August 2018, my next guest, Maryanne, who at that time was 48 years old, is a bold and independent woman who forges on in life with enthu...

Jayne  Newling is a journalist with 25 years experience with print media.  She began her career on Sydney's Daily Telegraph switching to freelance with various magazine publications while raising her three sons.  In 2014 -  "Missing Christopher" - her memoir about the suicide of her middle son was published by Allen & Unwin and in that same year it won the Human Rights Award for...

My next guest ,  Neville Burns was born with a love of wildlife and was fascinated by any wild creatures he came across.  First shown a Bluetongue lizard at the age of 5 by his father, Neville made up his mind to catch one. At 8 he caught his first snake, at 12 he received his first mildly venomous snake bite and it was the panicked reaction of adults that were present that inspired Neville to wan...

Growing up in the stunning world heritage listed Blue Mountains, West of Sydney, my next guest, Aurora Li has been making music for as long as she can remember. Beginning with classical piano at the age of four, her passion has broadened to encompass folk, rock and indie/pop, and sometimes a little bit of country. Accompanying herself on guitar and piano, Aurora has performed professionally since...

I have had the pleasure of knowing my next guest for almost 15 years, I first met Debby and her husband Dick in 2008, when I decided to share my home with international students. I had heard around the Blue Mountains Hotel International School that students requested Debby and Dick, as they had a reputation of being exceptional homestay parents. They were welcoming to all of the students, immersin...

Ever since childhood, today’s guest has had a love of movies, music, stage, animation and video games. It wasn’t until early 2009 that he realized he had a talent and strong passion for voice acting.  He has worked on projects ranging from video games, animation, radio commercials, and his own radio program. His specialty and true passion are character voices in animation and games. Today’s show i...

In this podcast, Maria shares her story of her husband’s health journey. Maria -  “I love the fact that life is just so fluid, full of surprises, some great, some not so great. I believe that in my world I have choices and free will. This was particularly true,  I faced the discomfort of my husband's skin and gut issue in 2015.  I had two choices,  to succumb to the panic of uncertainty as I...

- Our body image is formed by the thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and beliefs we have about our bodies and how we look.   If you have grown up as a chubby or heavier child, body image issues can haunt you for most or maybe even all of your life.  We live in a world that can often be obsessed with unrealistic standards of beauty and obsession over diet culture. This can have a harmful effect on a pe...

Australia is a vibrant, multicultural country .  The culture of Australia's Aboriginal people is one of the oldest in the world – Aboriginal Australian Culture dates back more than 60,000 years Since 1945, almost seven million people have migrated to Australia. This rich, cultural diversity is one of its greatest strengths. In 2020, there were over 7.6 million migrants living in Australia. Ne...

The brand New Year is here and it's time to welcome 2022 with loads of positivity and enthusiasm. A new year brings with it fresh opportunities, possibilities and signifies a new start .   Our positive outlook can go a long way in making 2022 a special year for personal growth and development. As we grow more resilient in pandemic times and get ready to withstand the challenges life may throw...

Welcome to another episode of Life’s Rich Tapestry … At this moment in NSW, Australia we are celebrating Christmas What does Christmas mean to you –  Christmas means something different to each of us. For many, it’s an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ , observed primarily on December 25.    Christmas is celebrated as a religious and cultural day among billions of people arou...

Today I will be talking about an organization that has literally changed my life. Toastmasters Toastmasters started with a vision from a man named Ralph Smedley, who wanted to start a training program focusing on speaking and leadership … after a few attempts, the first chartered club was started in 1924 in Santa Ana California…  Today there are over 345,000 members involved in almost 16,000 clubs...

How many of us can say that we know what we want our funeral to be like, let alone making those decisions for a loved one’s funeral? We plan all sorts of things throughout our lives; holidays, weddings, buying a home, even going out to a restaurant. We do our research and work out the best possible options. Yet, when it comes to something that happens to all of us, we tend not to want to think abo...

I’ve always been a bargain shopper.  I probably buy things I don’t need just for the sheer pleasure of saving X amount of dollars.  I also have the bad habit when someone compliments me on anything, I will happily scream out, “I got this for only $3!!!”   When I signed up to study for my Marriage Celebrant course in 2007, the Celebrant training school was offering a discount if I were to sign up f...