Category: News

Imagine poetry being proclaimed the length and breadth of the Kurilpa Peninsula, with every nook and cranny of the region ringing to the rhythm and meter of verse. That’s what the Westender is planning for World Poetry Day, Friday 21st March.

Poetry in the workplace, in the home, in the schools, in clubs and pubs, cafés and restaurants, coffee shops and public transport. A plethora of poets, perchance?

We’re inviting everyone from local businesses, organisations and households to pick up a book of verse and read a poem out loud some time during the day.

Local poetry collective Kurilpa Poets will carry their metaphorical soap boxes to various public venues in the neighbourhood to unleash original verse on unsuspecting passers by.

The day will culminate in a Poetry Extravaganza at the Boundary Hotel, where poets from near and far will compete for the inaugural Westender World Poetry Day Prize, with local businesses supplying the prizes.

Local businesses have sponsored the poets with prizes for Friday night’s performance and funds to pay for their time on Friday afternoon. The businesses include Bent Books, Terry White Pharmacy, Avid Reader, Lock and Load, the Loft, Archive and the Boundary Hotel. Other businesses are still planning to join the fun.

If you want to come and support your local bards get along to the Boundary after 6 on Friday 21 March. Check out the details of the event on Facebook and EventBrite.

Souths Logan Magpies will play their first game of the footy season at home in Davies Park on Sunday 16 March against the Burleigh Bears.

Southern Suburbs Rugby League Club CEO, Jim McClelland is giving away free tickets to this Sunday’s match to any Westender readers who want them.

“It’ll be a great day, first home game of the year, and we would love to see as many West Enders down here as we can. As a boy growing up in West End, I could not wait for Sunday to come along, as did all my class mates at West End State School. West End was the Magpies,” he said.

The tickets are available from Terry White (was JP Davies) Pharmacy on Vulture and Boundary, Micah Projects, the Boundary Hotel and the Archive bar.

The main match kicks off at 2 pm on Sunday 16th with a Colts game at from 10.30am.

Mr McLelland is inviting you to “Come and discover all the joy and excitement of grass roots Rugby League, when the Mighty Magpies kick off the 2014 Intrust Super Cup campaign, taking on the Burleigh Bears in their first home game of the season, at Davies Park in West End – the home of THE MAGPIES and Rugby League in the inner Southside of Brisbane since 1909.”

Bring a rug, pack a picnic, and let the kids kick a footy around in a safe and friendly environment that The Intrust Super Cup offers.

The club features a fully licensed bar and snacks and other refreshments are available.

McLelland explained that this year’s cup build toward a national competition.

“In 2014 the game has introduced a National Championship, played in two conferences, QLD and NSW. So [we have] the opportunity to play on the national stage in a curtain-raiser to the NRL Grand Final if we happen to win the Queensland Cup Final. Could it be the year of the Magpie?”

http://southsloganmagpies.com.au/ssrl/

Caption: Souths Rugby League Club has a long and proud history

Given today is World Sleep Day, it’s time to reflect on which professions get the least sleep – with lawyers, police officers and paramedics topping the list, followed by economists, social workers and computer programmers.

“It’s an eclectic list,” agrees Dr Carmel Harrington, a Consultant Sleep Scientist to Australia’s leading sleep company ResMed.

“But it does raise the importance of getting a good night’s sleep – especially if you’re a shift worker, and find it hard to ‘switch off’.”

If your profession appears in the most sleep deprived list, which was compiled using data from the U.S’ CDC’s National Health Survey, take comfort in these sleep solutions:

• Try to sleep at regular hours
• Do not exercise or eat a big meal within three hours of bedtime
• Open the curtains in the morning so that daylight can support your circadian rhythm
• Keep a sleep diary to see which of your daily or nightly behaviours help or hinder your sleep.

“It’s important to realise that good sleep is critical to our physical and mental wellbeing,” says Dr Harrington. “If you feel tired in the day – and you snore – then you should check that you don’t have a more serious sleep issue like sleep apnea.

Sleep apnea symptoms can include:
• Snoring
• Headache upon waking
• Dry mouth in the morning
• Feeling generally ‘flat’ or even depressed
• Your partner reports that you stop breathing at night.

“If you have some or all of these symptoms you may have sleep apnea and it’s important to speak with your GP about this. A diagnosis of sleep apnea – through an overnight sleep test – is an easy and accessible procedure,” says Dr Harrington.

“The important thing is that, especially on World Sleep Day, you should take time to look at your sleep habits and give them a spring clean.

“A good night’s sleep is invigorating and makes us feel great – sleeping well is one of the joys of life – so we need to make sure we get the quality and quantity of sleep we need; no matter our profession.”

Who gets the least sleep?

1. Home Health Aides
2. Lawyers
3. Police Officers
4. Physicians, Paramedics
5. Economists
6. Social Workers
7. Computer Programmers
8. Financial Analysts
9. Plant Operators
10. Secretaries

Who gets the most sleep?

1. Forest, Logging Workers
2. Hairstylists
3. Sales Representatives
4. Bartenders
5. Construction Workers
6. Athletes
7. Landscapers
8. Engineers
9. Aircraft Pilots
10. Teachers

For background to these stats, go to:

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis.htm and http://business.time.com/2012/02/24/top-10-most-yawn-sleep-deprived-jobs/

For more information on sleep apnea, go to: www.sleepvantage.com.au

For more information on Dr Carmel Harrington, go to: www.sleepforhealth.com.au

For more information on World Sleep Day, which takes place on Friday 14 March, go to: http://worldsleepday.org

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Friday 21st March is World Poetry Day and some local businesses are hiring a performance poet to perform at their portal, serenading shoppers as they slip in to spend up. Westender, Bent Books and the Kurilpa Poets are pushing poetry with a regular Poet of the Month prize provided by Bent Books, a performance poetry festa at the Boundary Hotel next Friday at 6pm and an afternoon of street performance.

Local businesses that have already signed up to put a poet on their doorstep include Terry White. Mary Fotinos said that she loves to support local creative people as long as they don’t wear boxer shorts that might upset her more conservative customers. The mind boggles at the sort of poetry readings the Fotinos family frequent.

For a run down on other poetry related activitities of late check the Westender website

If you want to put a loose c-note toward feeding a poet, please let us know using the comment form below.

Twenty West End businesses will have the opportunity to participate in a Mother’s Day promotion initiated by Fiona Stager at Avid Reader. The promotion was a huge success last year, encouraging local shoppers not just to buy for Mother’s Day but to buy locally.

The promotion will give residents who shop at participating stores the chance to enter into the draw for a $2,000 Mother’s Day prize. Each store will put a $100 voucher into the pool and contribute another $100 toward promoting the event.

Westender is offering some promotion for free as its contribution to the local business community that supports it and the West End Traders association will handle the administration. A number of businesses have already signed up, including Shay’s Shoes – What Mum doesn’t want shoes?

You can indicate your interest using the comments using the comment form below.