Pleasingly for the Men's Shed, the public response this year was also much better than last year and was a reward for a more extensive promotion campaign, including a letter-box drop. Those attending obviously became aware for the first time of services available to them.

There were a number of speakers during the morning, key among them our own Dr David Moore, giving an oral and visual presentation on aortic aneurisms. Member for Lyne Dr David Gillespie followed that up with advice about maintaining a healthy social life.

No doubt you have seen or heard of Mother Nature’s disrespect of the sand traps. However, not to be deterred, work commenced last weekend to re-dress the stakes on the beach in more hessian. This is a temporary measure until a more permanent process is commenced.

The material for the dune fencing arrived last Monday. This will allow the dunes to be fenced off which helps prevent damage from human actions but just as importantly, protects children from the dangers of cave-ins and burial.

A smaller number of people attended this year's event. Uniting, Anglican, Catholic and Beachside Churches shared the readings. There was a table display with cultural symbols and a mannequin wearing a national costume of the Philippines..

The theme:  ‘Am I being unfair to you?’ highlighted the lives of many Filipino women and girls who are victims of domestic violence or sex trafficking, migrant domestic workers in the country or abroad, and survivors harmed emotionally and economically by disasters in the environment or unsustainable development policies.

Occasional speaker was Severina Walker, herself a Filipino who lives at Wallabi Point. She shared her story of growing up on the island of Mindanao in South Philippines, as the eldest daughter and leaving school at 15 to take up vocational training as a dressmaker. Her father ran a profitable tailoring business. Her mother died when she was young.  After 20 years she and her siblings encouraged her father to get married again. Severina moved here 38 years ago after marrying an Australian man and until a decade or so ago, he sent her back to visit her family every year. She joined the CWA after moving to the Manning Valley and still does the occasional sewing for friends and neighbours.

Lucy and Lolie, from the Filipino community in Taree, who provided two of the ‘voices of Filipino women suffering hardship’ are from Luzon, the largest island in the Philippines located in the northern region of the archipelago, and Visayas, a collection of islands in the central Philippines.

The Bible Society project being supported in the Philippines in 2017 is ‘Trauma Counselling for Hurting Women’.  With WDP contributions, the Philippines Bible Society will train more than 6000 facilitators who will guide traumatised women through 10 healing workshops. Natural disasters, especially typhoons, affect the Philippines heavily with typhoons growing in intensity and destruction each year. Trauma is also faced through child abuse, addictions, rape and domestic violence. Reports indicate that domestic violence has hugely increased in the last two decades.

The Philippines Bible Society has published the book ‘Healing Wounds of Trauma’ to help train facilitators who will be chosen by their churches. Once trained, these leaders aim to pass on their training to more than 77,000 participants over the next three years. The healing experienced by these women will be passed to their families and communities so the contributions of WDP could potentially work to heal over a million people.   

Everyone would remember the poppy project undertaken in 2015 in many communities around Australia, including here at Old Bar. The red poppies have become a symbol of ANZAC, especially commemorating the battles on the western front.

What is not so widely known is that purple poppies are used to commemorate the animals that also served in times of war. Horses, donkeys, mules, dogs and cats. Cats? you ask. Yes, there have been ships cats. Horses played a big part in the two world wars and dogs are being used to-day.

Sisters, Yvonne Bentley and Jenny Fisher, who coordinated the 2015 Old Bar poppy project, are again organising this year's purple poppy project. So find your old pattern and start to knit or crochet for the project. Completed poppies can be dropped in at the CTC at 5/45 Old Bar Rd. opposite Vinnies.